Chapter 1 The Palace

The palace.

Jiang Chen rode his horse at full speed, charging into the inner palace.

His cold and stern expression terrified the palace staff along the way.

At this moment, the gate guards had received the news of intruders entering the palace, quickly sealing off the palace gates and ambushing personnel at each exit.

A tense and grim atmosphere enveloped the entire inner palace.

"Your Majesty, the Noble Consort did receive a group claiming to be physicians today, but not in her sleeping quarters, but rather in the small pavilion in the imperial garden…" The Deputy Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace followed behind Jiang Chen, reporting Noble Consort Shu's whereabouts, a hint of fear in his eyes.

Jiang Chen followed his guidance forward, a large number of imperial guards behind him, exuding a murderous aura.

He said indifferently, "Without my order, why were they allowed to pass?"

"Are you also an accomplice of those rebels?!"

Questioned in this manner, the Deputy Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace instantly broke out in a cold sweat: "Your, Your Majesty, this servant is innocent!"

"That group came with Noble Consort Shu's handwritten warrant; this servant dared not stop them…"

These words of shirking responsibility made Jiang Chen's gaze even colder: "You dog, you still dare to make excuses for yourself at this point. If anything happens to the Noble Consort, I will make sure you are buried with her!"

"Get out!"

Seeing Noble Consort Shu's beautiful figure in the distance, Jiang Chen kicked the Deputy Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace away and charged straight up with the imperial guards.

The imposing momentum caused heads to turn.

The palace staff standing guard outside the pavilion were instantly subdued, kneeling down and shouting, "Long live the Emperor!"

This respectful, even slightly trembling, greeting interrupted Noble Consort Shu's thoughts.

She had been happily chatting with these foreign witch doctors. Hearing of Jiang Chen's arrival, she was about to share her joy with him, but when she turned her head and met his furious eyes, her heart trembled.

Your Majesty, why is Your Majesty's expression so gloomy… Is he displeased with me summoning outsiders into the palace?

But among these witch doctors, several are women.

Noble Consort Shu stood up uneasily, her beautiful eyes filled with panic and fear. Ever since she and Jiang Chen pledged their love, she had never been treated so coldly, and she was very afraid of being abandoned.

But at this moment, Jiang Chen did not notice Noble Consort Shu's abnormality. His eyes were fixed on the witch doctors in the pavilion, and a murderous aura filled the air!

Clang!

Blades were drawn.

Under Jiang Chen's instruction, the imperial guards directly drew their sabers, the blades pointing straight at the witch doctors in front, seemingly ready to pounce at any moment.

The grim atmosphere made the air feel cold.

Even those witch doctors who had mentally prepared themselves before coming could not help but feel weak in the knees at this moment.

But after all, they had been wandering the martial world for many years, and they quickly suppressed the fear in their hearts and took the initiative to step forward and say, "We, the common people, pay our respects to Your Majesty!"

The respectful demeanor coupled with the appropriate amount of fear, if Jiang Chen had not already figured out their identities, he would have been deceived by this seamless performance.

Glaring coldly at the kneeling witch doctors, Jiang Chen's lips curled up, but there was not a trace of a smile in his eyes as he said, "Common people?"

"You are all direct disciples of the foreign Gu Masters. Isn't 'common people' a bit too self-deprecating?!"

The indifferent voice rang out, falling into the ears of this group of malicious witch doctors, but it was like a thunderclap!

Realizing that they might have been exposed, they exchanged glances imperceptibly, and braced themselves as they said, "Your Majesty, you seem to have some misunderstanding about us."

"Although we come from the Western Regions, we have nothing to do with that heinous foreign Gu Master. Our medical skills are inherited from the Western Regions Sacred Sect, the Zoroastrianism!"

"This sect was personally ordained as a sacred sect by the Great Wei Emperor Taizu, and its status in the Western Regions is comparable to that of the royal family. We are all true disciples…"

Bang!

Before the leading woman could finish her words, Jiang Chen kicked her out of the pavilion.

"Zoroastrianism? Then you deserve to die even more!"

"This sect has often disobeyed government orders and incited the people of the Western Regions to resist my celestial dynasty. I didn't expect you to be involved with this evil cult."

"I cannot easily let you go!"

After seeing those young girls who had been made into insect nests, Jiang Chen hated these Gu Masters who regarded common people as insects, and at the same time, he was afraid that Noble Consort Shu and others would be poisoned and suffer a fate worse than death.

Calamity should not extend to family.

The unscrupulous methods of these Gu Masters, no, these rebels, completely enraged him!

Looking at the woman who had been kicked out of the pavilion, coughing up blood, a fierce glint flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes: "Take action!"

"Take down all these dogs, don't let one slip through."

"If anyone makes a mistake, I'll take their life."

The words, cold to the bone, made everyone tremble, and they summoned all their energy and pounced fiercely at the enemy.

The tense scene completely stunned Noble Consort Shu, who was still in a daze, her beautiful eyes filled with panic and helplessness.

What exactly is going on?

Aren't these people witch doctors who are good at seeking children? How did they suddenly become involved with evil cults and Gu Masters?

Your Majesty, will Your Majesty think that she, and the Xu family, have ulterior motives because of this?!

The more Noble Consort Shu thought about it, the more desperate she became, standing pale-faced in place, unable to recover for a long time.

At this time, the hidden guards and imperial guards had completely entered the pavilion and engaged in battle with the witch doctors. The occasional flashes of swords and shadows made Jiang Chen's heart tighten.

Ignoring his anger, he grabbed Noble Consort Shu, who was in the center of the battle, into his arms, looking her up and down, afraid that she might be accidentally injured.

He said angrily, "You didn't even find out where these people came from, how dare you summon them into the palace?"

Noble Consort Shu's eyes turned red, and she trembled, "Your, Your Majesty, it was this concubine who was reckless and made a big mistake… Please punish Yun'er!"

"As long as it can make you feel better and not hate Yun'er, Yun'er is willing to endure any punishment or torture!"

For Noble Consort Shu, being neglected and forgotten by Jiang Chen was more terrifying than death.

No one can accept losing what they have gained. As long as she can make up for this mistake, she is willing to pay any price.

Hearing her sobbing voice, Jiang Chen's heart softened, and he softened his tone and said, "I didn't mean to blame you. It's just that these people's methods are too vicious. I was afraid that they would take the opportunity of entering the palace to poison the imperial concubines, so I overreacted."

"However, Yun'er, how did you get to know these rebels? And even let them into the palace?"

Noble Consort Shu looked dazed. She did not expect that her selfishness would cause such a big disturbance, and she smiled miserably, "Your Majesty, this concubine, this concubine has been childless for a long time, and accidentally heard that foreign witch doctors are good at this, so, so I had the thought."

"This concubine really didn't expect them to be rebels."

Jiang Chen did not expect the reason to be this, and he felt ridiculous, and his brows furrowed instantly.

But considering that Noble Consort Shu was not a modern person after all, and urgently needed children to prevent the officials from putting pressure on her, he swallowed the words of rebuke.

He turned his head and said, "Xu Mu, take people to send the Noble Consort to the side hall first. I have other things to deal with. Come back as soon as you settle her down."

After speaking, Jiang Chen released Noble Consort Shu's slender waist and said, "I want to interrogate these audacious rebels. The scene is not very pleasant. You should go back to your sleeping quarters to rest."

"After I finish dealing with things, I will go back to accompany you."

Noble Consort Shu was a little uneasy, thinking that Jiang Chen was too angry and did not want to see her, and she felt sad in her heart…