Keyboard Immortal - Chapter 2977

Chapter 1490 The Little Empress and Lady Yin

Zaun felt the Valkyrie cards on the keyboard system light up again, and the fragments of the original true god’s soul that had been stolen returned.

However, what caught his attention even more was that the original soul of the Goddess of Pleasure and Desire seemed incomplete; clearly

, she had lost most of her essence in the recent battle. Zaun frowned; her essence was so damaged, it might not last long.

Just then, the Valkyrie Daji card suddenly lit up, as if something was attracting that wisp of broken essence. The remnant soul of the Goddess of Pleasure and Desire suddenly surged towards the card, entering it in the blink of an eye.

Daji’s card instantly turned golden, faintly radiating the aura of Pleasure and Desire.

Zaun was startled. He had long sensed that Daji seemed to harbor some kind of soul. Had the Goddess of Pleasure and Desire usurped it?

However, he immediately dismissed this guess. The Goddess of Pleasure and Desire had once said that Daji was one of her avatars; she had probably foreseen this day and made a backup beforehand.

It’s not surprising that the God of Order would leave a backup of Emperor Ling of Han, so she was prepared in advance.

He didn’t have time to think about these things in detail, but hurriedly led his army into the depths of the palace.

He was worried about Yan Hua’s current situation, and at the same time, he knew that in this chaotic situation, he had to control the young emperor and the Prince of Chenliu as soon as possible.

The palace was already in chaos, with guards, eunuchs and palace maids everywhere who had been drained into dried corpses by the previous National Guardian Array. These were all the direct forces of the Ten Attendants, who never expected to be used as fuel by the Ten Attendants until their deaths.

Unfortunately, Yongle Palace was deserted, and there was no sign of Yan Hua.

He then went to look for the young emperor and the Prince of Chenliu, but still couldn’t find them.

Instead, he made a discovery in the Empress’s palace. His soldiers reported that the new Empress had summoned him to meet her.

Zu An had heard of this new Empress. A few days ago, because Liu Bian became emperor, the court specially chose an Empress for him. She came from the prestigious Yingchuan Tang clan, and her grandfather was the Grand Minister of Works, Tang Zhen.

The wedding was originally scheduled for tomorrow, and He Jin had entered the palace so easily because he assumed it was to discuss the wedding.

Who knew the wedding wouldn’t take place, and instead, the palace would become a trap?

He didn’t really want to deal with the new empress; he had a mountain of things to do. But since she had invited him, if he didn’t give her face, he would easily be seen as a traitor. The imperial power hadn’t completely collapsed yet, so after some hesitation,

he went to the empress’s palace to pay his respects and inquire about the emperor’s whereabouts. He arrived at the palace, where soldiers stood guard, not daring to enter casually. He bowed respectfully from afar: “Greetings, Empress!”

“No need for formalities, Imperial Uncle, please come in.” The empress’s voice seemed somewhat excited.

Zu An was startled, vaguely sensing a familiarity. When he entered the room and saw that familiar face, he finally understood.

“Tang Tian’er, it’s you?”

The empress on the phoenix throne was none other than the long-lost Tang Tian’er.

She quickly ran to his side and hugged him tightly: “It’s so wonderful to see Brother Zu here!”

Now that all the eunuchs and maids in the palace had fled, there was no fear of being seen.

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land, Zu An was also overjoyed. After some questioning, he finally understood the whole story.

It turned out that Tang Tian’er had completed a mission in the Chaotic Temple in a secret realm, but was summoned to this world.

Not long after, she was inexplicably chosen by the court and her family as the new empress. Then she received a divine decree, instructing her to cooperate with Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo in setting up a trap.

She dared not disobey the true god’s orders, and since she had no feelings for the young emperor, the people of this world were no different from the NPCs in the previous secret realms to her. So she opened some palace gates according to the empress’s decree.

However, the power of the national defense formation and the battle with the true god terrified her, and she barely managed to escape by hiding in the palace.

Unexpectedly, she ran into Zu An, who turned out to be the famous imperial uncle Liu Bei from some time ago.

Zu An hurriedly inquired about the whereabouts of the Emperor and the Prince of Chenliu. Tang Tian’er replied, “Zhang Rang and the others, seeing their plan fail, originally intended to kidnap the Emperor, but Dong Zhuo easily killed them both. They were taken away by Dong Zhuo.”

Upon hearing this news, Zu An’s heart sank; he never expected that he still couldn’t escape his original fate.

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose outside. It turned out that another group had entered, seemingly composed of servants from various households. The elderly man leading them was none other than Lu Zhi.

Tang Tian’er quickly separated from Zu An and sat back down.

After entering the main hall, Lu Zhi first bowed to Tang Tian’er, then pulled Zu An aside and asked, “Xuande, what exactly happened?”

Zu An briefly recounted what had happened, and Lu Zhi listened with fury: “Those eunuchs are truly a scourge to the country and its people!”

“Dong Zhuo is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and Yuan Shao is so foolish to commit such a treasonous act!”

Upon learning that the young Emperor and the Prince of Chenliu had been kidnapped, he immediately ordered Zu An to lead troops to pursue Dong Zhuo and rescue the two.

Zu An hurriedly dissuaded him, “Now that Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo are allied, there are probably other forces involved in the capital. The situation is unclear, so we should first control the army. Then we can stabilize the situation. Otherwise, even if we find the emperor, we will be at the mercy of others.”

Lu Zhi frowned slightly. He was loyal by nature and really didn’t want to see the emperor in danger.

At this moment, Tang Tian’er spoke up, “Uncle is right. If those armies are controlled by Dong Zhuo and others, the whole situation will probably get completely out of control.”

Lu Zhi had experienced many storms, and seeing that the empress also said so, he replied, “Now that He Jin is dead, his personal guards are leaderless. This force must be controlled in time. Next is the Five Northern Army Schools outside the city.” Just as

the two were about to leave the palace, Tang Tian’er suddenly spoke up, “I’ll go with you.”

Zu An also said, “Now the palace is in ruins, corpses are everywhere, and most of the people in the palace have fled. It’s really dangerous to leave the empress in the palace.”

Lu Zhi thought it made sense, so he ordered someone to prepare the empress’s entourage.

Zu An secretly admired the other party’s maturity and composure. Now that the Empress Dowager was dead and the Emperor was missing, the Empress represented the legitimate authority, making these elaborate ceremonial guards indispensable.

Seeing the chaos in the capital, Lu Zhi quickly said, “Xuande, He Jin’s personal guard is commanded by five generals: Wu Kuang, Zhang Zhang, Bao Xin, Wang Kuang, and Qiao Mao. We heard that He Jin was killed in the palace, and many people are clamoring for revenge. Initially, they were targeting the eunuch faction, but it has escalated to venting personal grudges, burning, killing, and looting.”

“We want to subdue these guards, but we risk a bloodbath if we’re not careful. Therefore, we need to find a mediator.”

“Who should we ask?”

“Lord Qiao.”

“Why?”

Lu Zhi’s expression was strange. “Have you forgotten? You are now Lord Qiao’s son-in-law, and Qiao Mao is the cousin of the Qiao sisters.”

Zu An was both surprised and delighted, never expecting that marrying into the Qiao family would bring such benefits.

No wonder Lu Zhi had forbade him to marry Xiao Xi, instead insisting on a marriage alliance with another family.

He then sought the intervention of Qiao Gong, who naturally led his personal guards to ally with his brother-in-law, Zu An. He

then contacted Lu Zhi and his friend Cai Yong, with whom Wang Kuang had received great favors in the past, and the two had a very good relationship.

With Tang Tian’er’s status as Empress, Wang Kuang readily pledged allegiance.

From Wang Kuang, Zu An learned that Wu Kuang and Zhang Zhang had a long-standing feud with He Jin’s younger brother, He Miao. He Miao and Empress Dowager He were siblings from the same mother, while He Jin was a half-brother. Rumors circulated that Empress Dowager He had lured and killed He Jin in the palace, and Wu Kuang and Zhang Zhang used this as an excuse to attack He Miao. He Miao

, outnumbered, retreated to the He residence with his men, and the entire residence was in chaos.

Meanwhile, another general, Bao Xin, had defected to Cao Cao, and the two led their troops to the He residence to try and rescue Lady Yin.

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. He seemed to have heard that Lady Yin was He Jin’s daughter-in-law, renowned for her beauty.

He Jin’s son had died young, leaving behind only a widow and her son. Because of her grandson He Yan, Lady Yin

held a prestigious position in the He family. Historically, Cao Cao had taken Lady Yin into his household and treated He Yan as his own son. It seemed that besides his lust, he was also trying to subdue the He family’s power by winning her over.