QT: The Rescue Of The Miserable Bigshots-Chapter 314 - 10.15

The old emperor hurriedly lifted the hem of his dragon robe, preparing to slip into the dark secret passage.

The sounds of fighting outside grew louder and closer. No matter how furious, resentful, or unwilling he felt, none of it mattered now.

At this moment, he no longer cared about imperial dignity.

Like a stray dog fleeing for its life, he tore off the heavy crown from his head and flung it aside before stepping into the entrance of the secret passage.

The moment he looked up and saw only pitch-black darkness, panic surged in his chest. He hurriedly turned his head and shouted at the eunuch behind him, "Quickly! Bring a lantern!"

No matter how reluctant he was to abandon this vast palace, he understood that the situation was already hopeless. If he were even a step too slow, once the people of the King of Huainan stormed into this room, he would truly lose his life.

Seeing that following the emperor still offered a chance to survive, the eunuch dared not delay. He quickly turned around, grabbed a lantern from a decorative lamp post nearby, and rushed back.

As soon as the emperor saw him return, his gaze fell once more on the unsettling darkness ahead. Impatient, he snatched the lantern from the eunuch’s hands and raised it high, trying to illuminate the path before him.

But the candlelight revealed something unexpected.

A face.

Standing directly in front of him, inside the secret passage.

"Ah!"

Startled by the sudden appearance of a person, the old emperor cried out in terror.

"Hi!"

The figure responded casually.

"You, you..."

The emperor stared in disbelief, as though half his soul had been ripped away in that instant.

"Hello, Your Majesty!"

Jiang Jiamian raised his hand and gave a small wave, his fingers twitching as if politely greeting him. He then took a step forward, forcing the emperor, who had just entered the passage, to stumble back two steps in fear.

Jiang Jiamian stood with his hands clasped behind his back, raising an eyebrow at the terrified emperor. A gentle, almost considerate smile appeared on his face.

"Your Majesty, may I ask where you are in such a hurry?" He asked lightly. "Perhaps I was standing in the wrong place and accidentally offended Your Majesty’s presence. Please forgive me."

"You... you are Jiang Jiamian?!"

The emperor stared at him in horror as he and the eunuch retreated out of the passage. When all three were fully exposed to the light outside, the emperor finally saw the man’s face clearly.

It was Jiang Jiamian, the very person he had personally sent to the King of Huainan’s residence not long ago.

He had believed that handing Jiang Jiamian over would allow the King of Huainan to vent his anger, reducing hostility toward the court and delaying rebellion.

He never imagined that after Jiang Jiamian was sent away, Xiao Jinan would rebel so soon.

Even after the rebellion began, the emperor still believed that Jiang Jiamian had been tortured to death, and that even then, the King of Huainan remained dissatisfied.

Who could have expected Jiang Jiamian to be standing here, completely unharmed?

"Traitorous scoundrel! Truly a traitorous scoundrel!"

Instead of reflecting on his own actions, the emperor became even more convinced that the Jiang family was utterly untrustworthy.

In an instant, thoughts such as Jiang Chong colluding with Tuojia, and Jiang Jiamian long being in league with the King of Huainan, took firm shape in his mind.

"Traitorous? Hah!"

Seeing that even now the emperor still harbored such vicious malice toward the Jiang family, Jiang Jiamian let go of his feigned gentleness and laughed coldly.

"Your Majesty truly cannot distinguish loyalty from treachery, right from wrong, black from white." He said calmly. "I really don’t know what you’re using those dog eyes for. You might as well gouge them out, perhaps then you’d look more like a human being."

"Where is Jiang Jiamian?"

As Xiao Jinan stormed into the palace, he suddenly realized that Jiang Jiamian had disappeared from his side at some point during the attack.

Although the two of them did not always fight together, often splitting up to handle different areas, the throne was now within reach, and the palace’s defenses were clearly collapsing.

Why had Jiang Jiamian vanished at this moment?

Xiao Jinan quickly scanned the palace amid the slaughter but did not see Jiang Jiamian anywhere. For a brief moment, panic flickered through his heart.

Only briefly.

He quickly dismissed it. Jiang Jiamian was not someone who would come to harm easily. He was probably off doing something of his own.

Grabbing a nearby Jiang family army soldier, Xiao Jinan asked sharply, "Where did Jiang Jiamian go?"

"I-I don’t know, Your Highness!"

Xiao Jinan frowned. Of course. Jiang Jiamian would never bother explaining his plans to an ordinary soldier.

"Forget it."

Annoyance surfaced in Xiao Jinan’s eyes. His queen was truly unpredictable.

Ever since meeting Jiang Jiamian, Xiao Jinan had more than once questioned whether the Jiang Jiamian who blocked him south of Huainan Pass for four years, yet never truly crushed the Huainan King’s Mansion, was the same person as the Jiang Jiamian he now knew, someone who seemed capable of accomplishing anything.

If his opponent back then had truly been this person...

Xiao Jinan’s heart sank slightly.

Had he really been merely ’blocked’ for four years?

No. That couldn’t be.

If Jiang Jiamian truly wanted to destroy the Huainan King’s Mansion, it would have been finished long ago.

Yet if he didn’t want to act, that didn’t align with the four years of relentless resistance either.

Amid the bloodshed and stench, Xiao Jinan finally ascended the supreme throne in the palace.

But the old emperor was nowhere to be seen.

Search orders had already been issued. The results should arrive soon.

Still...

Even as Xiao Jinan grasped the jade seal, the symbol of absolute power, and sat upon the cold throne, Jiang Jiamian had yet to appear.

"Still no sign of General Jiang?" Xiao Jinan asked coldly. "None of you saw where he went?"

The soldiers who had followed him into the palace stood at the foot of the steps with swords drawn, maintaining formation. None dared speak.

"Then what about the Emperor?" Xiao Jinan demanded. "Have you found him?"

Concubines and maids were being herded together, soldiers rushed back and forth, yet the one person they absolutely could not allow to escape was still missing.

The palace gates were sealed. Every corner had been blocked.

So where was he?

"The person you’re looking for is here."

Just as Xiao Jinan’s patience reached its limit, a clear voice rang out from outside.

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

There stood a young general in silver armor and a white robe, imposing and calm, carrying a person whose body hung limp, unconscious or dead.

Though the person’s face was obscured, the bright yellow dragon robe was unmistakable.

Their identity was obvious.