As the evening light faded outside the window, the steward, accompanied by a maid, brought congee and side dishes into the courtyard and knocked on the door.

Wei Qinglou relaxed his mind, turned around and went outside to fetch some porridge and dishes, then called Zhu Jiayu to get up and eat.

He sat down at the table and continued, "After that, the palace became Gu Chonghua's domain. He befriended the generals of the three major palace guards and guarded the entire palace like an impregnable fortress, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving. He also wrote a letter to the princes to resign, intending to usurp the throne without firing a single shot."

"But despite his best efforts, he still overlooked Gu Jinshu. Gu Jinshu had to enter the palace on the first and fifteenth of each month to accompany the Empress in worshipping Buddha and copying scriptures. This Empress was the younger sister of the original Empress. Because she looked very much like the original Empress, she was sent to the palace by the Yan family and was given the title of Empress. Gu Chonghua also respected this aunt very much, so naturally he would not make things difficult for Gu Jinshu, who was well-liked by his aunt."

"It was precisely because of the Empress's secret actions that Gu Jinshu was able to find out about the Yangxin Hall, and I was able to peel back the layers, learn about his schemes, and begin to make my own arrangements."

He began by explaining how he contacted Prince Cheng and Prince Ke, how he persuaded their soldiers stationed in their fiefdoms to travel thousands of miles to Yujing, and how he selected elite soldiers to enter the palace under the pretext of performing for the Empress.

"Later, he used my second brother's matter to make trouble, but in the end he was outmaneuvered by me."

"The Ning family?" Zhu Jiayu looked up and asked in confusion.

Wei Qinglou had calculated so much; it was impossible that he hadn't anticipated that the Crown Prince would target the Ning family.

Wei Qinglou chuckled. He had been explaining things to her this morning when she fell asleep, but she hadn't forgotten to settle accounts with him now.

"I had already entrusted Gu Jinshu to take care of the Ning family, but I never expected that someone from Gu Chonghua's side would deliver a letter to you."

Before Zhu Jiayu could ask any more questions, Wei Qinglou sighed and said, "I originally wanted to spare his life, but he frankly said that a loyal minister does not serve two masters, and then he committed suicide."

Zhu Jiayu pursed her lips: "Does he still have family members at home?"

"Don't worry, I'll have someone take good care of my elderly mother, wife, and children," Wei Qinglou said, ladling a bowl of porridge for her and pushing it towards her.

...

The emperor's death brought grief to the entire nation. Only those imprisoned grieved.

They didn't care who would become emperor, nor did they care about who would be happy or who would be sad; they only cared about their own life and death.

There was no hope in prison; it was nothing but suffering and waiting.

However, among these prisoners, there was one who was different.

That was Chang Beiqiu, the Grand Tutor who was once famous throughout Da Ye. At this moment, he was dressed in white, sitting cross-legged in prison.

The weather is fine today, and the sunlight streaming in through the window is unusually bright.

Although it was already evening, he remained calm. In his view, the Crown Prince was certain to win this battle. Leaving aside the Crown Prince's own cunning and shrewdness, the old subordinates he had left for the Crown Prince alone would be enough to help him succeed.

All he needs to do now is wait for good news.

However, they waited until the next day, and a whole day and night passed, but still no news came.

He finally couldn't sit still any longer. In the dim morning light, he quietly opened his eyes and called out to the jailer who had come to bring him food.

The jailer still held him in high esteem. He glanced at the untouched food piled on the ground and asked softly, "Is this food not to your liking, sir?"

Chang Beiqiu smiled gently and shook his head, then asked him, "I heard the palace bells tolling, so I wanted to ask you, young man, about the Emperor...?"

The jailer looked around before lowering his voice even further and said, "His Majesty has passed away."

"The Crown Prince?"

The jailer became even more cautious, almost whispering, "The Crown Prince has rebelled! The one currently in charge of the palace is His Highness Prince Ke."

"Prince Ke?" Chang Beiqiu slowly opened his eyes in astonishment. His brows furrowed deeply, and his already thin and gaunt face looked even more forlorn at this moment, even carrying a hint of bitterness.

How could that be...?

He slumped down, utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend the intricacies of the situation. How could the Crown Prince have lost?

He was someone he personally trained, someone who should have been the one sitting in that position, how could he have turned out like this...

Seeing his appearance, the jailer tentatively called out "Sir" twice, but received no response, so he shook his head and turned away.

How could a nobody like him possibly understand the affairs of important figures?

He couldn't be bothered to understand. He'd rather just stick to his job and make a living.

...

Before she knew it, it started snowing lightly again. Zhu Jiayu sat by the window, feeling rather bored. Wei Qinglou had been summoned to the palace by the new emperor after eating porridge and dishes yesterday, and hadn't come to see her since.

Her father was taken to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the middle of the night. If it were anyone else, they would inevitably have become suspicious. But he was fine. As soon as he heard that the Duke of Zhenguo had invited him to go night fishing, he didn't have the slightest suspicion. He was completely unaware of the turmoil that had taken place in the mansions of the powerful and wealthy in the capital the night before last. As for the Emperor's death, that had nothing to do with him! He was only thinking about when the two old men could meet up again.

Master Zhu was quite pleased with this: although he was not as good at business as his daughter and did not have the ability to become an official, he still had something that could be related to the first-rank Duke of Zhenguo.

That is, they all like fishing.

But this is good too.

As Zhu Jiayu pondered this, she reached out and caught a snowflake.

Snowflakes drifted down gently, landing in her hand, and instantly melted into a puddle of water. But this puddle was only a tiny bit, and it quickly disappeared.

Suddenly inspired, she called over Green Zheng and asked her to bring her brushes, ink, and painting supplies to the pavilion so she could paint.

With a pained expression, Lüzheng advised her, "Miss, why don't you just forget about it? It's so cold..."

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