When this group of blood-soaked Jingnan Army soldiers charged over, the palace maids and eunuchs shrieked in terror.
"Stop right there! How dare you!" Zheng Fan shouted.
About ten Jingnan Army soldiers halted their steps, looking back at Zheng Fan. Their eyes were bloodshot; it was hard to tell if it was from being stained with too much blood. However, Zheng Fan knew they were on the verge of madness from excessive killing, nearly at the point of slaughtering anyone not on their side. This was a common phenomenon; even the most well-trained elites, once allowed to kill freely and immersed in it, often found it impossible to pull themselves back.
"The Lord’s order: within the Elegant Garden, not even a chicken or dog shall be spared! Outside the Elegant Garden, not a single person is to be killed!"
One of the soldiers knelt on one knee before Zheng Fan; they recognized him. Once he took the lead, the remaining dozen or so soldiers all knelt. Their actions moments ago had nearly violated military orders. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵
"Where’s Tian Wujing? Tell Tian Wujing to come see me! Tell Tian Wujing to come see me!"
The Empress, hair disheveled, broke free from the palace maids restraining her and rushed towards Zheng Fan.
Zheng Fan moved to block her path, his saber held horizontally. The Empress collided with Zheng Fan. Due to his armor and Zheng Fan being a ranked martial artist, Her Majesty stumbled and fell to the ground.
"All of you, get up and guard this place!" Zheng Fan ordered.
The dozen or so soldiers immediately rose, weapons ready, and secured the path.
"Get out of my way! Get out of my way!" The Empress scrambled up and began to pound madly on Zheng Fan’s armor.
At that moment, the sound of a girl crying was heard.
Zheng Fan looked towards the sound and saw, among the palace maids and eunuchs, a little girl resembling a porcelain doll, crying. Who else could it be but the short-tempered girl? Did the Empress think she was cute and take her along when she left the Elegant Garden to rest?
Zheng Fan suddenly felt a little better. Humans always have an instinct to find something to console themselves with amidst tragic events. While people mock Ah Q, they don’t realize that everyone has an Ah Q living in their heart.
However, Zheng Fan suddenly saw the Empress pull out a phoenix hairpin. He immediately reached out and seized the Empress’s wrist just as she was about to strike. Across two lifetimes, this was the first time Zheng Fan had ever grabbed the hand of a woman of such noble status!
"How dare you! Do you know who I am? Believe it or not, I will exterminate your nine relations!"
Hearing this, a smile touched Zheng Fan’s lips.
When you threaten people, can’t you use your brain or open your eyes and see whose nine relations are actually being exterminated right now?
Seeing the smile on Zheng Fan’s lips, the Empress’s face turned deathly white. This wasn’t due to powder; the Empress was truly overcome with rage.
Zheng Fan pushed her arm forward. The Empress staggered back several steps and was caught by the palace maids and eunuchs behind her. Zheng Fan also retreated a few steps. What a joke. He had no intention of standing here and being the Empress’s punching bag. It wouldn’t matter if she hit him, as his armor would protect him; he could just treat it as an imperial spa massage. But if she used that hairpin to poke a few holes in him, Zheng Fan wasn’t willing to suffer that loss.
Taking a few steps back, Zheng Fan shouted, "The Lord has ordered: Within the Elegant Garden, not even a chicken or dog shall be spared! Anyone who dares enter the Elegant Garden will be killed without mercy!"
The dozen or so soldiers roared in unison, their blades pointing forward, directly at the Empress.
The Empress was frightened by this display. She knew that her status, at least at this moment, was utterly useless. If she dared to move forward again, this group of soldiers might actually kill her.
Just then, a muffled clap of thunder suddenly rumbled from afar, followed by an extremely hoarse, fierce cry:
"I smell the stench of blood! Which miscreants dare to invade my Tian Family’s estate?"
This New Manor had been constructed by the Tian Family under the pretext of welcoming Her Majesty the Empress back to the estate for a family visit. Originally, the Tian residence was divided into East and West Mansions. This time, the West Mansion had been renovated and expanded into the New Manor. Within the Elegant Garden, as the Tian Clan members were slaughtered, the stench of blood began to permeate the air, and blood started to flow with the small streams into the East Mansion.
Within the East Mansion, there was a Daoist temple. A story had long circulated within the Tian Family: it was said that the position of Tian Clan Head was not originally meant for Old Master Tian. When Old Master Tian’s father, the previous Clan Head, passed away from illness, Old Master Tian was only in his early twenties and considered too young. The Tian Family worried he couldn’t command respect, so they intended for Old Master Tian’s father’s younger brother to inherit the position of Clan Head.
However, that uncle of Old Master Tian—the ancestor of this generation of Tian Clan members—had no interest in such worldly affairs. He was singularly obsessed with Daoist studies. When the clan members wanted him to become the family head, he directly hid in the Daoist temple built in the Tian Family’s East Mansion and refused to come out.
Only then did the position of family head fall to Old Master Tian. In truth, setting aside today’s events, Old Master Tian had indeed managed the Tian Clan very well.
"Who is that?" Dujuan, standing beside Lord Jingnan, asked.
One whose words could boom like thunder was definitely no ordinary person; common experts were simply incapable of such a feat. Lord Jingnan released Dujuan’s hand and replied,
"That is your and my ancestor."
"Our ancestor has locked himself in the Daoist temple in the East Mansion for decades, single-mindedly pursuing the Dao. Very few outsiders know of his existence. Even within the family, most just consider him an old madman who was locked away at home."