The sudden upheaval in Luojing City left the entire capital’s population as nervous as startled birds, locking their doors tightly and looking outside with great fear at the squads of black-armored soldiers moving through the streets.

The people of the capital prayed fervently at home, hoping not to be swept up in this turmoil that seemed like a change of fate.

These past few years had been tough enough for them.

Since the Empress Dowager took control six years ago, the relatively comfortable lives of the capital’s citizens had gradually taken a turn for the worse.

Taxes kept increasing, with various types of taxes emerging incessantly, and labor duties becoming more and more burdensome.

At the same time, there was a growing number of arrogant and oppressive idle young nobles in the capital. Especially during the first two years of the Empress Dowager’s rule, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Feathered Forest Guard frequently acted. They were either capturing so-called “rebellious officials” or “corrupt officials,” searching residences, or suppressing supposed “rebels,” leading to extended families being punished.

The frequent disturbances left the common people of the capital restless. They were afraid that at any moment, they might become the “tenth clan” of some official suspected of plotting against the court. Many well-off families even left the city.

It could be said that since the late emperor took over a kingdom that had been turned into a mess by his pleasure-seeking father, the prosperous era established through 25 years of hard work and governance had been undone by the Empress Dowager’s mere six years in power.

Nowadays, most of the capital’s citizens could barely make ends meet. Ordinary households couldn’t even withstand the risk of a serious illness, let alone natural disasters or misfortunes.

It was only these past few years of stable weather that prevented even worse circumstances.

Of course, ordinary commoners didn’t understand the court’s situation. They only knew that their living standards had deteriorated significantly. They largely attributed this to corrupt officials in the court. They believed that the emperor was oblivious and allowed these officials to deceive and oppress the people.

As a result, the empress had very limited credibility among the common people. Even if a new emperor were to ascend the throne, like the well-regarded Prince Qin, the common people wouldn’t react much.

Some might even celebrate.

As for the prominent families and scholars, it was even more pronounced.

In their eyes, the empress was nothing more than an excessive puppet. Not only did she lack power in the court, but she also had no foundation outside it. She was useless for matters of military and political control, merely a malleable piece of scrap metal.

Therefore, they wouldn’t even consider that the squads of soldiers patrolling the streets of Luojing were under the empress’s command.

Of course, up until now, they still didn’t know that the empress had managed to turn the tables.

They were aware of the change of power in Purple Pole City, though.

This was evident because those soldiers dressed in black armor, exuding a bloody aura, couldn’t possibly be the empress’s forces. Furthermore, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Forbidden Army under the empress’s control had suffered casualties, and news of the major changes in Purple Pole City had naturally spread.

Throughout the day, the Azure Dragon Guard was running around the city, and the sound of galloping horses could be heard on the streets from time to time.

Sometimes, pleas for mercy or the sounds of intense combat could be heard from certain locations. Following these, a chilling bloodthirsty aura would fill the air.

After two restless days, on the early morning of the third day, the palace, which had finally become calm, issued proclamations and public notices bearing the official seal.

Upon reading the contents, almost everyone widened their eyes in shock.

“What did you say? The Empress Dowager, along with some court officials, as well as the commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Forbidden Army, have already fallen under the control of a demonic entity, and…”