412 Searching the City (2/2)
”This is the royal palace.” A soldier whispered, appalled by the general's decision.
The royal palace was the only place in the capital that had not been searched.
Although the king and queen had escaped, the royal palace was not empty. There were many eunuches and court maids, and it was said that the king's concubine was still there.
The An Kingdom was located on the edge of Western Region, but it had been established for a long time, so people's respect for the royal family went deep. Even if they were angry and disappointed in the king, they did not want to and dared not break into the palace.
Gu Shenwei did not force soldiers to break into the palace, because only Guan Shang was left. He thought that he could fight against her with Maid Lotus.
Instead, he arranged a large number of soldiers around the palace and ordered them to kill anyonethey found trying to escape.
For nearly four days, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus climbed over the wall and sneaked into the palace without the soldiers' knowledge. They all thought that he had returned home to have a rest.
The palace was small, not as large as the private residence of Meng family in Jade City, not to mention Golden Roc Fort.
After a simple search, they deduced the innermost room as their target.
Together, they pushed open the door and saw Guan Shang.
In front of the Dragon King and Maid Lotus, the killer's cloaking technique was of little use. Therefore she chose not to hide, but took a simpler route: holding hostages.
She put her saber on the neck of an elderly woman. Four maids lay in a nearby pool of blood.
That woman was dressed in loose pajamas. Although looked scared, she still had a trace of nobility, so she was obviously the master of the palace.
To their surprise, the king's concubine had not run away with the king.
However, Gu Shenwei did not understand why Guan Shang would do that. He was not be afraid of sacrificing innocents.
But Guan Shang was aware of this, so she immediately explained, ”This is the Queen Mother of An Kingdom, the king's biological mother.”
However, this was of no significance to Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus. They looked around carefully. Although Guan Shang was supposed to be the last renegade of New Moon Hall, they could not drop their guard.
”She is the princess of the Central Plain.” Guan Shang revealed what was really at stake, ”If the Dragon King wants to compete for hegemony with Golden Roc Fort in the Western Region, you'd better keep her alive.”
Actually, Gu Shenwei had broken ties with the Central Plain, and they were only nominal allies. Guan Shang clearly knew this fact, but what she said was true. The Central Plain was caught unprepared by the alliance between Golden Roc Fort and Norland. As a result, it was temporarily in a weak position and hadn't the ability to counterattack, but it was still one of the most important forces in the Western Region. If Gu Shenwei wanted to return, it would be futile to fight by the army of 10,000 soliders. Sooner or later, they had to compromise with the Central Plain.
”You had good methods.” Guan Shang went on, ”You cheated all people in this city, but you have to reveal your real identity sooner or later. If the princess of Central Plain dies in front of you, the army of the Great Snowmountain will be isolated. By then, the Central Plain will not forgive you.”
Her words were somewhat accurate. Gu Shenwei was a native of the Central Plain, so he knew the standard of behavior of the Central Plain court. Their emperor might turn a blind eye to the princesses who married abroad all. However, if the princess was humiliated, it was a challenge to the imperial power. Over the past hundred years, many wars had happened for this reason.
However, things had became easier over time. The control of the Central Plain over the Western Region had been greatly weakened, and the troop closest to An Kingdom were still thousands of miles away.
Gu Shenwei snorted, and did not even look at the two women. He held the Five Peaks Saber which he had unsheathed and walked slowly around the maids in the pool of blood, ”Which emperor's princess are you?”
The queen mother, caught by Guan Shang, was frightened and could barely keep calm. She answered Gu Shenwei after a long while, ”My father is An emperor.”
An Emperor was the emperor of the Central Plain three generations ago. Therefore, the Queen Mother of An Kingdom was the grand aunt of the current emperor of the Central Plain.
” Why didn't you run away with the king?” Gu Shenwei asked slowly, as if making simlpe conversation. He seemed to be unconcerned about ”the Princess of Central Plain”.
”He was an unfilial son who betrayed the Central Plain and surrendered to the self-styled Supreme King, and I have broken the bond between mother and child. Are you really the Dragon King?”
”Yes.”
”Are you also the General Gu who was selected by people? ”
”Yes.”
She sighed lightly. Gu Shenwei did not know whether it was in admiration or disappointment.
After Gu Shenwei was certain that there was no one else in the room, he turned to Guan Shang and said, ”It is strange that your machete skills have regressed so much after several months. You killed several maids, but there is so much blood.”
When Gu Shenwei finished his words, the four maids who fell in blood suddenly resurrected, and launched an attack at the same time. Their target was Maid Lotus.
These four maids were flexible and quick. They were as skillful as Guan Shang, and did not appear to be disciples of New Moon Hall.