The order was given, and the two armies clashed in chaos.
Corpses were thrown from the palace walls, smashing into soldiers climbing the wooden ladders.
A volley of arrows rained down. On the palace walls, wave after wave of archers were in a state of tense combat.
Nan Rong Qi was protected by eunuchs and his副将 (fùjiàng - deputy general) Qi Xing.
Below the palace walls.
Gu Qian Ying, clad in red, wielding the Chi Xue Dao, did not dismount. Arrows seemed to pass through her as if they were nothing.
Her long sword cut through several sharp arrows. She was unharmed, her movements graceful, her gaze indifferent, looking down on all.
Among the others: Ouyang Qing Lin, with a flick of his sleeve, sent all the arrows shot at him back.
Several arrows pierced the archers, and numerous archers fell, tumbling down the wall.
At this moment, he too had not dismounted.
Beside him, Du Chun, in flowing white robes, swung his long sword. As a myriad of arrows attacked, he cut them all down.
Gu Ye Feng was no less formidable. Riding his horse, he did not use a sword.
He hooked a bow and arrow strapped to his back, drew it, and as he dodged the incoming arrows.
He shot several arrows from his hand, straight towards the palace walls.
The arrows shot from his hand were all accurate, piercing the foreheads of the archers standing on the palace walls.
A batch of Nan Rong Qi's archers fell.
At this moment, he was enraged.
"All useless! Useless! What use are you to me! Go and summon the three elders. I refuse to believe that these people below cannot be killed today!"
Nan Rong Qi kicked a nearby young eunuch.
The young eunuch got up, bowed, dared not utter a sound, turned, and immediately went to summon the three elders who lived secretly in the palace.
Meanwhile.
Gu Qian Ying's Gu family army had already slain all the surrounding guards.
Few of Gu Qian Ying's men were injured.
On the contrary, Nan Rong Qi's Imperial Guards and Qi Xing's men suffered heavy casualties.
The palace gates were breached.
However... three figures suddenly appeared on the palace walls.
The three were each clad in cloaks: white, black, and red.
Beneath the cloaks, the faces of the approaching figures could not be seen.
Among the three, one hid their face beneath the cloak, another wore a veil.
And one dared to reveal their face.
But that person was a woman, exquisitely beautiful, wearing heavy plum blossom makeup, exuding an alluring charm.
As this woman arrived, she directly nestled into Nan Rong Qi's embrace, provocatively glancing towards Gu Qian Ying.
"Your Majesty, you are not being good. You are dealing with that slut here and did not call for me. I am becoming jealous!"
Her voice was charming and seductive, bewitching the heart.
As she spoke, before Nan Rong Qi could reply, she continued with a smile, "Your Majesty, is that the rebellious Imperial Consort Gu Qian Ying? She is nothing special to look at. She is not as beautiful as I am, Your Majesty..."
As she spoke, her slender, long fingers directly lifted Nan Rong Qi's robe and reached inside his sleeping garment.
Through the last layer of clothing, she felt a certain part of Nan Rong Qi.
This caused Nan Rong Qi's breathing to quicken, his heart to flutter.
"Your Majesty, this utterly reckless slut, let me peel off her beautiful skin and roast it for you to eat!"
As she spoke, she withdrew her hand from Nan Rong Qi's sleeping garment, turned, and with two short swords, one in each hand, leaped from the palace wall.
Her beautiful eyes were filled with a layer of frost.
She intended to kill that slut, Gu Qian Ying!
Looking at the woman attacking her, Gu Qian Ying, as she got closer, could see the hairpins and expensive ornaments representing her status on the woman's head.
So, she was Consort Rong, whom Empress Meng had spoken of?
Her lips, usually serene, curved into a smile.
Interesting!
Sitting steadily on her horse, Gu Qian Ying's expression remained unchanged.
She seemed unafraid of the two short swords about to stab at her.
This demeanor, in Consort Rong's eyes, made her believe that Gu Qian Ying was simply stunned by fear.
Hmph! The legitimate eldest daughter of the Gu family, Gu Qian Ying, is nothing special!
However... a woman dressed in simple, fitted attire, holding a long sword, leaped up from behind Gu Qian Ying, stepping on the shoulders of soldiers.
Her long sword clashed against the two short swords.
As Consort Rong retreated, holding her short swords, Lu Zhu kicked her in the chest.
Consort Rong dodged swiftly and was not injured by Lu Zhu.
She landed steadily.
Lu Zhu also stood at Gu Qian Ying's feet. She turned to Gu Qian Ying, knelt on one knee, and clasped her fist: "Miss, this servant has arrived late."
Her mistress had asked her to go to the Gu residence to handle some matters, hence her slight delay in arriving.
"Heh, you still need a maid to protect yourself? Gu Qian Ying, are you not just a good-for-nothing!"
Consort Rong's lips curved into a contemptuous smile.
She sharply swung the short sword in her right hand, and it stabbed the hindquarters of the horse Gu Qian Ying was riding.
The horse roared, its front hooves rearing, its hind hooves digging into the ground, becoming frenzied.
"Miss!"
Lu Zhu exclaimed.
She wanted to rush to save her.
But before Gu Qian Ying could finish speaking, she leaped from the horse and landed steadily on the ground.
She did not draw her saber, merely stood with her hands behind her back, looking indifferently at Consort Rong: "Lu Zhu, this person's mouth is too foul. Go and tear her mouth apart!"
"Yes, Miss."
Lu Zhu obeyed and acted.
Consort Rong was no pushover either.
As Lu Zhu attacked her, she did not passively await her fate.
The two engaged in a fierce battle amidst flashing blades.
Ouyang Qing Lin, seeing that Gu Qian Ying had no horse to ride, extended his hand to her.
"Come, quickly get on."
Gu Qian Ying looked up at him, remaining silent.
Suddenly, the air, filled with falling snow, carried a pungent, difficult-to-bear smell.
Ten thousand layers of snow swirled up from the ground.
Like a tornado, it rushed towards Gu Qian Ying.
Its speed was as fast as lightning.
The horses of the few people still mounted, Ouyang Qing Lin, Gu Ye Feng, and Du Chun, were caught in the blizzard and swept into the ice and snow.
The three of them leaped up simultaneously and flew towards Gu Qian Ying.
Gu Qian Ying frowned, looking at the strange phenomenon of swirling snow.
Du Chun and the other two landed steadily beside Gu Qian Ying.
At this moment, such anomalies were not isolated. Behind Gu Qian Ying, this phenomenon appeared.
And the soldiers caught in the ice and snow let out similar screams.
Consort Rong, after landing a punch on Lu Zhu, also turned and flew towards the palace wall at this moment.
Thus avoiding the indistinguishable, extremely fast tornado of snow.
"It's Xue Sha Bao! Let's quickly avoid it!"
Ouyang Qing Lin grabbed Gu Qian Ying's wrist.
He pulled her and retreated.
Du Chun and Gu Ye Feng followed on either side.
After the three reached a temporary safe spot, Du Chun asked, "What is Xue Sha Bao?"
"A dark art that can use ice and snow as weapons! It is not found in the Central Plains, only in the Western Regions. Therefore, Nan Rong Qi must have invited a powerful expert from the Western Regions."
As Ouyang Qing Lin explained, he did not release Gu Qian Ying's hand.
But Gu Qian Ying calmly shook him off.
Ouyang Qing Lin's heart clenched.
A bitter smile played on his lips.
"Western Regions?"
Gu Ye Feng was very surprised.
Du Chun's expression remained unchanged.
At this moment.
The area where the snow had swirled was now a pool of blood, with severed limbs and some heads blown off.
The screams continued.
Gu Qian Ying finally could not bear to watch any longer.
She held the Chi Xue Dao and walked forward, gripping the top section of the Chi Xue Dao with both hands, half-squatting. She clenched the Chi Xue Dao tightly and slashed it fiercely towards the ground!
Suddenly, the ground shook, and the ground cracked open.