Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 635 - 633

Chapter 635: 633

Inside Zichen Palace, all the guards of the Third Prince had been taken under control.

Having beaten the Third Prince until he was full of injuries, the Empress was now having him under her foot.

"Stop! Let Third Prince go, or I’ll kill the Empress Dowager!" demanded Chang Guiren in a loud voice. It was the first time in her life that she spoke so loudly. For a moment, everyone was at a loss - they didn’t know who was yelling.

The emperor turned his gaze towards Chang Guiren, who had taken the Empress Dowager hostage, his expression darkening as he ordered, word by word: "Release my mother!"

As she looked at the Emperor, Chang Guiren felt a sense of melancholy. It was the first time he had regarded her seriously, but under such circumstances. She lowered her eyes to hide her emotions, looked back up and firmly stated: "Free the Third Prince! As soon as we safely leave the Capital, I will release the Empress Dowager!"

The Empress Dowager sighed in relief upon seeing her son safe and sound, but then she screamed out fearfully: "Your Majesty, save me..."

"Shut up!" Chang Guiren pressed the dagger she held against the Empress Dowager’s neck, a fresh line of blood appeared right away.

The Empress Dowager almost screamed, fearing the dagger would slit her throat if she made a sound. She held her mouth shut.

Without waiting for the Emperor’s proclamation, the Empress removed her foot and the Third Prince quickly stood up and ran to his mother’s side.

"My dear grandson, ask your mother to put down the knife," pleaded the Empress Dowager, turning to the grandson she had kept by her side for years.

"I’m sorry, grandmother, cannot. Once you are released, who would spare me? Mother, we must leave!" Picking up a sword from the ground, the Third Prince took Empress Dowager as his hostage.

The Empress Dowager was furious! She had always taken care of her grandson out of pity for his mother’s low status and the lack of the Emperor’s favour!

Even when it came to his marriage, she arranged a match with Mingfang despite the Emperor’s disapproval. However, he turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing and brought her grief. She’d either be killed by him or die of anger!

With the Empress Dowager as a hostage, the Third Prince quickly left Zichen Palace.

The guards outside the Zichen Palace quickly extended their long spears to block the entrance.

The Third Prince, his face streaked with whip marks, turned back around and pressed his sword slightly deeper into the Empress Dowager’s neck, causing another line of blood to appear. He cried out defiantly: "Father!"

His threat rang out with the word "father".

The Emperor’s face darkened even more, he spoke, "Release my mother, and I will spare your life!"

Seeing his father rendered livid by his actions, the Third Prince felt an inexplicable thrill.

"Spare my life? Ha... spare my life, just to imprison me for the rest of my life? Better I take the Empress Dowager and run. As long as she is with me, I will be safe, won’t I?"

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager turned pale. She lived a luxurious lifestyle and simply cannot endure the hardships of a fugitive life.

"My dear grandson, release me, and I guarantee that your father will spare you!"

"I can’t trust my father, grandmother!" The Third Prince replied, shaking his head.

"Do you actually believe that you could escape the imperial palace with the Empress Dowager as your hostage?" The Emperor scoffed, dismissing the idea as naive.

"Whether I can escape or not, will depend on whether Father cares about the Empress Dowager, won’t it? If you really care about her, you will allow me to leave safely. If her safety means nothing to you, then we’ll continue our companionship on the way to the underworld!" With those ruthless words, the Third Prince applied additional force to his grip on the sword, causing the wound to deepen, making the blood flow faster. This terrified the Empress Dowager half to death.

"No! Emperor, let him go! He’s mad, it’s killing me." A drop of blood fell onto the back of the Empress Dowager’s hand, startling her nearly into a faint.

Upon seeing this, the Emperor gave the order: "Let him go!"

The bodyguards outside the Zichen Palace quickly withdrew their long spears, standing rigidly upright.

The Third Prince stepped out of the Zichen Palace, cautiously observing his surroundings, sword drawn and ready. Chang Guiren tensely followed by his side.

The fight outside Zichen Palace had ended, with the forces of the Third Prince facing a crushing defeat.

At the moment Shangguan Xuanyi and Xiao’er stepped into the Zichen Palace, they saw this scene.

Upon seeing the two of them, the Third Prince, filled with intense hatred, halted.

It was their fault he had ended up where he was today!

It was they who pretended to fall off a cliff so that he would dare to stage a rebellion!

It was they who had constantly humiliated him in public, making him desperate for the throne!

Otherwise, he would have bided his time and acted slowly. He would never have acted rashly as he had done!

They were to blame for all of this!

"Empress Dowager, do you want me to release you?"

The Empress Dowager was about to nod her head when she remembered the sword against her neck. She quickly replied: "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Seriously, her old bones simply can’t handle this much stress!

"Very well. Have the Sixth Prince use a sword to stab the heart of Rui’an County’s lord. Then let Rui’an County’s lord stab the heart of the Sixth Prince with a sword. If so, I will let you go!"

Aren’t they deeply in love? Well, let them be together till death! He would like to see if they can still show their affection on the road to the underworld after being stabbed by each other!

Everyone was speechless after hearing his words!

This was an unreasonable demand! Could anyone survive a stab to the heart?

The officials, who had managed to survive the chaos, began to whisper among themselves.

"The Third Prince is totally insane! What do you think the Sixth Prince will do?"

"How would I know?"

"The Sixth Prince is so clever, he must have a way to dissolve this crisis!"

"How could he possibly solve this?"

"..."

"This is simply outrageous!" exclaimed Chengyao Shen, unable to contain himself.

The Empress Dowager was also stunned by the Third Prince’s words.

How could she bring herself to suggest such a thing! If she really let them stab each other, the world would see her as a selfish and heartless person. As a former queen, she’s also an Empress Dowager now, how can she be a model to the world?! She would be despised by everyone!

She absolutely could not speak such words. With hopeful eyes, she looked at Shangguan Xuanyi and Xiao’er, praying they would understand.

The Third Prince, seeing everyone’s expressions, laughed: "What? Do you all think that trading the lives of those two for that of the Empress Dowager’s is not worth it?"

Everyone lowered their heads after hearing these words, unsure of how to respond.

Each response could possibly offend someone!

The Third Prince’s move was really ruthless!

The Emperor was furious as well: the Third Prince was unrepentant, completely out of control!