After time travel, share a space with your modern family.

Chapter 167 The Death of the Western Rong Emperor

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You must leave here immediately! The army of Beisheng has already breached the city gates and is now charging towards the palace gates! Commander Lin's Imperial Guards probably won't be able to hold out for long."

"Even if this old servant begs you, please leave quickly!" Inside the Lingxiao Palace, Zhang Shun, his face streaked with tears, collapsed to the ground and knelt in the center of the hall, pleading with Emperor Zhou Geng with grief.

"How dare you, Zhang Shun, utter such discouraging words! Do you really think that my mighty army of the Western Rong cannot withstand those rabble of the Northern Sheng?"

"You are clearly cursing our soldiers for being incompetent!" Emperor Zhou Geng roared, his eyes wide open and veins bulging on his forehead. His furious roar echoed in the empty hall, terrifying everyone present.

At this moment, the center of the hall was in a mess, with broken ceramic shards scattered all over the floor.

Just now, when someone came to report that the enemy army of Beisheng had successfully breached the city gate, Emperor Zhou Geng instantly flew into a rage and smashed many precious ceramic items around him to the ground in a fit of anger.

The palace maids around were terrified by the sight and none of them dared to approach the area.

Just as Zhang Shun was about to say something more, about twenty or thirty women dressed in fine clothes rushed straight into the magnificent palace.

Their faces were filled with panic, tears streaming down their faces like a burst dam, as they cried out loudly, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! The army of Bei Sheng is about to attack!"

The cries rose and fell, echoing throughout the entire palace.

Emperor Zhou Geng was sitting upright on the dragon throne, his brows furrowed as he pondered a solution.

However, upon hearing the women's heart-wrenching cries, an inexplicable anger surged within me.

He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and roared, "Crying, crying, all you do is cry! You can only whine and whine over such a small thing, what kind of behavior is this! All of you, get back to your palaces and stop bothering me here!"

Emperor Zhou Geng's eyes widened, his face filled with rage, as if he could breathe fire.

Seeing this, the Empress was extremely anxious. She quickly stepped forward, reached out and tightly grasped Emperor Zhou Geng's arm, and said anxiously, "Your Majesty, the situation is critical. We must leave immediately! If we delay any longer, it may really be too late!"

As he spoke, he tried to pull Emperor Zhou Geng out of the palace.

Emperor Zhou Geng swung his arm forcefully and broke free from the empress's grasp.

His eyes widened in fury as he roared at the Empress, "Empress, do you want me to become a deserter who abandons his country and people? As the ruler of a nation, how can I easily back down! Even if I die, I will live and die with this capital!"

Having said that, Emperor Zhou Geng sat back on the dragon throne, straightened his back, and looked firm and resolute.

At this moment, Zhang Shun lowered his head like a frightened rabbit, even wishing he could shrink his whole body into the ground, just to desperately reduce his presence.

On the other side, the Empress walked up to Emperor Zhou Geng with her head held high and stood firmly beside him, her face resolute, as if she were a brave warrior about to die. She said loudly, "Your Majesty... then I will definitely fight alongside you!"

Wherever you are, I will never leave you. Now that I have entered the royal family, I am a member of the royal family in life and in death!

After saying that, she tilted her head slightly, her gaze fixed firmly ahead, as if she were ready to die for her cause.

However, upon hearing this, Emperor Zhou Geng's face instantly turned ashen, and he roared, "Empress, do you really believe that our Western Rong Kingdom is destined to perish like this?"

This roar sent a shiver down the spines of everyone in the hall.

Faced with Emperor Zhou Geng's questioning, the Empress was at a loss for words. She could only open her mouth but could not utter a sound.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall, followed by a guard rushing in, looking flustered and panting.

As he ran, he shouted, "Report! Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! The Northern Sheng army has broken through the palace gates and stormed into the palace! Commander Lin, Commander Lin... he has been killed in action!"

Upon hearing this devastating news, Emperor Zhou Geng felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, and his body swayed uncontrollably.

If it weren't for the Empress's quick reflexes and timely support, he would probably have collapsed to the ground.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must hold on!" the Empress cried out anxiously, her eyes filled with worry.

Meanwhile, the other concubines were also terrified by this sudden news. Several of them even collapsed onto the cold ground, their legs giving way, completely panicked and at a loss for what to do.

"Is this a sign that Heaven is going to destroy my Western Rong?" Emperor Zhou Geng's face was filled with despair, as if all his life force had been drained away in an instant. He slumped down on the dragon throne, which symbolized supreme power, his face ashen.

His eyes were wide open, his gaze empty and lifeless, staring straight ahead as if the whole world had collapsed at that moment.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this place is not safe to stay any longer. Please leave with me!" The Empress was extremely anxious. She tightly grasped Emperor Zhou Geng's hand, trying to pull him up from the dragon throne and take him away from this dangerous place.

However, Emperor Zhou Geng remained motionless like a statue, and no matter how the empress pulled him, it was to no avail.

"All of you get out of here! Only Zhang Shun is allowed to stay!" Emperor Zhou Geng's deep, hoarse voice slowly rang out, filled with endless grief and helplessness.

At this moment, the Lingxiao Palace was completely silent, so quiet that even the breathing of everyone could be clearly heard, and the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Everyone stared at Zhou Gengdi in horror, their bodies stiff, not daring to make the slightest movement.

"Go! Get out of here! I don't want to see any of you again!" Emperor Zhou Geng suddenly roared hysterically. At the same time, he grabbed a heavy inkstone from the table and hurled it with all his might at a thick pillar not far away.

A deafening "bang" resounded, like a bolt from the blue.

A cloud of dust rose up inside the hall, and the pillar even trembled slightly.

"Go..." Emperor Zhou Geng was like a madman, waving his hands wildly like a storm, sweeping the mountain of memorials, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones piled on the desk to the ground.

In an instant, papers flew everywhere, leaving a mess, as if foreshadowing the impending destruction of the Western Rong Dynasty.

Caught off guard, the Empress was shoved hard by Emperor Zhou Geng, causing her to lose her balance and stagger several steps before barely managing to regain her footing.

At that moment, her heart felt as if it had fallen into an abyss, utterly silent.

Suddenly, the image of my innocent and adorable ten-year-old princess being left alone in the Phoenix Palace flashed through my mind, and my heart ached.

Left with no other choice, she could only flee the suffocating Lingxiao Palace in a panic.

The other concubines, witnessing the Empress's hasty departure, exchanged bewildered glances before following in her footsteps, filing out one after another. In the blink of an eye, the entire Lingxiao Palace was empty.

"Your Majesty..." Just then, a trembling voice came from the corner.

Zhang Shun emerged from the shadows, tumbling and crawling.

"Zhang Shun, come here..." Emperor Zhou Geng waved his hand weakly. At this moment, he was like a deflated balloon, slumping limply on the dragon throne that symbolized supreme power.

"Your Majesty... this old servant is here." Zhang Shun replied tremblingly, then crawled on his hands and feet until he finally reached Emperor Zhou Geng's side.

"Zhang Shun, hurry and fetch me two cups of poisoned wine. Be quick, or it will be too late!" Emperor Zhou Geng murmured in an almost pleading tone, his words filled with despair and helplessness.

When Zhang Shun heard the emperor order him to fetch the poisoned wine, his heart skipped a beat, and he instantly understood the emperor's intention.

"Your Majesty, what...what's wrong with you?!" Zhang Shun cried out in terror, tears streaming down his face. He stared wide-eyed at the usually majestic emperor before him, now so weak and frail.

"Go quickly... cough cough cough..." Emperor Zhou Geng covered his chest with trembling hands and coughed violently.

Each cough felt like it was tearing his heart and lungs apart. Suddenly, a stream of scarlet blood gushed from the corner of his mouth, staining his pale clothes.

Seeing this, Zhang Shun was extremely anxious and instinctively wanted to rush forward to help Emperor Zhou Geng.

However, just as he was about to get close, Zhou Gengdi suddenly raised his foot and kicked Zhang Shun hard with all his might.

With a muffled thud, Zhang Shun was caught off guard and kicked to the ground, rolling several steps away in a disheveled state.

"Why aren't you going yet? Do you dare disobey my orders?" Emperor Zhou Geng roared, his eyes wide with rage.

His voice was hoarse and low, filled with pain and anger.

At this moment, his face was ashen, veins bulged on his forehead, and he looked like a candle flickering in the wind, his life force about to be extinguished at any moment.

"Your Majesty, is it really going to come to this?" Zhang Shun cried out again.

"Zhang Shun, is it that I can't command you anymore?" Emperor Zhou Geng roared again.

Seeing that Emperor Zhou Geng was truly enraged, Zhang Shun could only tremble as he went to prepare the poisoned wine.

After Zhang Shun left Lingxiao Palace, Emperor Zhou Geng's legs went weak, and he seemed to have lost all his strength, kneeling straight down on the cold, hard ground.

Then, he raised his head, gazing up at the high and vast sky, and said in a sorrowful and desolate voice, "Ancestors of the Zhou family! I have failed you! I am incompetent and have failed to protect this great land of Xirong..."

Just then, a small head quietly peeked in from outside the hall, curiously peering into the hall.

When the owner of this little head saw that Emperor Zhou Geng was kneeling on the ground, he panicked instantly. He staggered and hurriedly ran into the main hall.

As he ran, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Father, why are you kneeling on the ground? Get up quickly..."

After calling out, she stretched out her chubby little hands, trying to help Zhou Gengdi up.

However, he was only a four-year-old child, thin and weak, so how could he possibly shake the tall Emperor Zhou Geng in the slightest?

Upon hearing the sound, Emperor Zhou Geng slowly turned his head and his gaze fell on the child who was trying his best to support him.

But for a moment, his mind went blank, and he couldn't remember which concubine had given birth to the child.

So, he hesitated before asking, "Who are you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Zhou Geng couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself, thinking to himself: Over the years, he had held a talent show almost every year.

The number of women who entered the palace was so numerous that even the women themselves couldn't remember how many children they had given birth to.

"Father, I am blessed with both literary and martial talents! Mother said that this is the name you gave me, hoping that I will be both scholarly and martial." The childish voice rang in Emperor Zhou Geng's ears.

At that moment, he found the child's voice to be so beautiful.

Unexpectedly, at the very last moment before he left this world, one of his own children came to see him off.

"Shuangquan! Your father may not be able to accompany you as you grow up. You must grow up well, understand?" Emperor Zhou Geng stroked Zhou Shuangquan's cheek and said affectionately.

Zhou Shuangquan didn't understand what his father meant by not being able to accompany him as he grew up, but it was the first time his father had touched him with his warm, large hands, and he felt very happy.

"Your Majesty, your order has arrived." Zhang Shun entered from outside, carrying two cups on a tray.

When Zhang Shun saw Zhou Shuangquan in the main hall, he quickly went up to him and hugged him, saying, "Oh dear, what are you doing here? Someone, come and take him away to see which palace he belongs to."

Then they carried the child out of the main hall and handed him over to the eunuchs waiting outside.

"Father, I'll come to play with you again when I have time." Zhou Shuangquan didn't struggle, but obediently let the eunuch carry him away.

"Zhang Shun, bring it here!" Zhou Gengdi glanced at the gate and said calmly.

Zhang Shun handed the tray to Emperor Zhou Geng.

Emperor Zhou Geng stared at the two cups of poisoned wine, slightly taken aback, but he said nothing. He picked up the cup, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

Before long, Zhang Shun picked up another glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

"You're really stupid," Zhou Gengdi said to Zhang Shun, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Your Majesty, this old servant will follow you to serve you." Zhang Shun said before collapsing to the ground.

The two of them stayed together like that, and then fell silent.

"Quickly, quick, let's see if the old emperor of the Western Rong is in the main hall." Liu Ziyun, holding a pistol, was the first to rush into the Lingxiao Hall, followed by several members of the Sharpshooter Team and some ordinary soldiers.

When they rushed into the main hall and saw Emperor Zhou Geng and Zhang Shun lying on the ground with blood flowing from their mouths, they probably understood that the two had likely taken poison and died first.

"Ziyun, it seems Emperor Zhou Geng took poison earlier." Meng Hai stepped forward and checked the two men's breathing, finding that they were no longer breathing.

"Hey, Tinghao, where are you guys? Zhou Gengdi is gone." Liu Ziyun took out his phone and called Qiao Tinghao.