177 Poison V
Yang Lingxin scowled in annoyance when the noise coming from outside disturbed her rest. She was feeling good and was about to fall asleep while getting a shoulder massage, however, the disturbance coming from outside ruined her peace.
The maid noticed the change in her expression and could see that she was looking visibly annoyed. She wiped her hands with her clothes and volunteered to go outside to see what was going on and discipline other servants to keep quiet and maintain silence while doing the other tasks.
“You don’t need to go anywhere! You stay here and massage my feet instead.” However, Yang Lingxin stopped her maid as it seemed too much of a hassle and asked her to stay where she was. From massaging her shoulders, she asked her to massage her feet and waited for the servants to stop making noise outside.
However, despite her giving them a second chance, the noise coming from outside didn’t stop and she could hear the squealing sounds of other court ladies which irritated her even more.
Yang Lingxin gritted her teeth in rage when the chaos coming from outside didn’t seem to stop anytime soon and shouted, “What the hell is going on outside? What chaos are you guys cooking that you can’t stand outside silently? Huh?”
There was a long silence after she shouted and everything seemed to have gotten back to normal. She let out a tired sigh when she thought that the servants must have been scared by now and would not create any more trouble for her.
However, just as she was about to lie down on the bed to take an afternoon nap, the doors of the chambers were pushed open with force, causing a loud thud, and a few women who were wearing the uniform of the palace guards, barged into the chamber.
“AHHH!” The maid who was massaging Yang Lingxin’s feet was startled and scared when the door of the chamber was pushed with force and unknown female soldiers barged into the chamber.
Like her maid, Yang Lingxin was shocked as well at the unannounced appearance of the guests. In bewilderment, she stopped halfway from laying down on the bed and looked at the women who were wearing cold and merciless expressions and looked no less scary than the big-built men.
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Seeing so many people barging inside her chamber, she was speechless and did not know how to react in this kind of situation. This is the residence of an Empress and has many guards protecting the residence.
How did they manage to barge inside the chamber and why no one stopped them?
“Who…are you people? What are you doing in my chamber? Who…sent you? Tell me! Who sent you to kill me?” Her hands were trembling as she tried to gather all of her courage and confronted the people who barged into her chamber.
Did they come here to assassinate her? It was not a new situation where the members of the royal family were assassinated so that the people could flip over the Empire’s politics and take charge of the crown.
However, when did the Zheng Empire reach the point where someone would send people to assassinate her, the Empress of the Empire? Who can be the person behind all of this and try to kill her? She wondered and could see her whole life flashing in front of her eyes.
Just the way she was planning to murder the Emperor by feeding him the slow poison, is someone planning the same thing against her as well and trying to kill her?
“Guards! Guards! Is there anyone outside? They are here to kill the Empress. They are attempting treason, come and arrest them.” She panicked and hurriedly sat up on the bed, clutching onto the blankets, and started shouting, worried that she would be killed soon by their hands.
She wanted to shout as loud as she could and attract the attention of the people so that the guards would come sooner to help and protect her.
Seeing Yang Lingxin panicking and curling up in the corner while holding onto the blanket for her dear life, the female soldier who was standing in the front spoke up, “Your Majesty, Please calm down.”
“We are not strangers, we are the palace guards. I am the Head of the female guards’ squad at the palace. We did not come here to harm you.” She said while maintaining her poker face.
“What? You are the palace guards?” Yang Lingxin was in disbelief when she heard their introduction. She hesitantly let go of the blanket that she was holding and cautiously got down from the bed and observed them from head to toe.
Seeing them wearing the familiar uniform, she let out a deep breath and calmed down her nerves. So they were the palace guards.
However, her expression soon darkened when she realized what just happened and confronted them coldly, “If you’re the palace guards, how dare you barge into my chamber like this? Do you not know that this action of yours could be counted as treason towards the royal family for threatening the life of the Empress?”
“With whose permission, you dared to barge into my chamber and come with so many people while carrying swords?” Yang Lingxin was furious at the rude manner of the palace guards and could not contain her temper anymore.
She was so scared a while ago and was wondering how she could get out of this situation. Who would have thought that the palace guards would fight with her servants who were standing outside and would barge into the chamber despite everyone trying to stop them?
She will not let this matter go easily and will punish them heavily for behaving rudely and threatening the life of the Empress.
The female guard was not fazed by Yang Lingxin’s power display and impassively answered her question, “Your Majesty, we have orders from His Highness to bring you to the royal court for the emergency court session.”
“According to the orders, we were not needed to follow the royal palace protocols and ask for anyone’s permission before the chamber. Kindly cooperate with the royal orders and follow us to the royal court.” The female soldier said in a formal yet indifferent manner.
Yang Lingxin’s face turned pale as she could not believe what she just heard. “Zheng Liang ordered you to bring me to the royal court for the session? Is…he trying to humiliate me in front of everyone?
“Even if he needed me at the royal court for some reason, how can he ask the palace guards to escort me to the royal court, that too while they were carrying the swords? Am I some criminal that the palace guards will come to escort me?” She scoffed in disbelief.
Seeing the guards not reacting, Yang Lingxin gritted her teeth and asked, “Why….why is he calling me to the royal court? What is the reason for this emergency court session?” She asked while trying to understand what was going on.
The female guard looked at her emotionlessly and said, “Your Majesty, we do not know about anything. Kindly corporate with us and follow us to the royal court. You will find out about everything at the royal court.”
Yang Lingxin frowned and was bewildered by the same repetitive response of the female guard. “I will not go with you. Who are you to take me to the royal court? I am the Empress of the Empire and not some criminal. I will not go anywhere.”
“If Zheng Liang has something to say, tell him to come to my chamber and talk to me here. I will not go anywhere.” She shouted at the guards and firmly stated her ground.
The head of the female guard’s squad flicked a glance at Yang Lingxin with her unexpressive eyes before turning to the other female guard standing next to her and signaling her to do something.
Yang Lingxin frowned to see the two female guards interacting with each other without uttering a single word. However, before she could understand what was going on, the other two female guards walked toward her maid and grabbed her by the arms, and held her captive.
“What are you doing? Why are you grabbing her like that? Where are you trying to take her?” Yang Lingxin panicked and tried to stop the guards from moving and taking her maid away.
The head of the female guards’ squad of the palace turned to the Yang Lingxin and said coldly, “Your Majesty, it is not a request but an order. Along with you, we have orders to bring your maid to the royal court as well.”
“If you do not cooperate with us, we have orders to bring you to the court even if we have to use force.” She said while showing her the other female guards who were standing behind her and were ready to grab her by the arms well.
Yang Lingxin gulped nervously and understood the meaning behind her words. They are not here to escort her but to forcibly take her to the palace.
“Kindly do not put us in a difficult spot and follow us to the royal court. We will not force you as long as you cooperate with us and come to the royal court to attend the emergency session.” The female guard said and waited for Yang Lingxin’s decision.
Yang Lingxin was left with no choice and gritted her teeth before saying, “Alright. I will come to the royal court with you. However, be prepared to be punished after I deal with this matter. Because I will not spare you for this disrespect.” She glared at the female guard and walked away from the chamber while the female guards followed behind her and were holding onto Yang Lingxin’s maid.
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