shocking change

In the 34th year of Xianshun, the capital, which had been peaceful for several years, was in turmoil again.

In the capital, at the feet of the emperor, any disturbance in the palace would cause panic in the entire city.

Yu Jin was married in the spring of the 34th year of Xianshun, after her 18th birthday. Her wedding allowed the capital to witness how much Prince Xuan loved his eldest daughter, and her dowry was only 10% smaller than that of a princess.

Yuzhen's marriage was also settled this year. Yuzhen was conferred the title of Princess Pingcheng and went to the palace with Prince Xuan and the Princess to attend the banquet on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

He Yan was actually almost fifteen, but Prince Xuan said that the Emperor might arrange a marriage with another imperial grandson during the selection next year, so he brought him into the palace to make himself familiar. He Yan was the Crown Prince and was supposed to come with him anyway.

Unexpectedly, I got into trouble when I entered the palace this time.

At that time, Li Qingping and others who stayed in the mansion were having a family dinner in Concubine Li's courtyard when they were suddenly informed that someone wanted to see them through the secret door. The secret door was a small, hidden door in the mansion. Why did someone suddenly want to see them during the holiday? Concubine Li had a feeling that something was wrong and quickly put on her clothes to go to see him.

The person who came was actually one of the palace maids that came with Yu Jin as a dowry, named Fuchun.

Yu Jin's dowry included not only the lanterns that had been with her from the beginning, but also four senior palace maids specially trained by Princess Xuan. Each of them was extremely loyal and steady, and had some martial arts skills to her credit. Why would she suddenly ask for an audience? And even if she did, she should have done so openly.

"Concubine! Time is running out, so I'll cut to the chase." Fuchun, clad in a black cloak, lowered her voice, not intending to enter. "The Emperor has decreed that the princes and grandchildren, missing them during the Mid-Autumn Festival, must remain in the palace to enjoy the autumn moon. The princess, who had been ill and about to leave the palace early, has now been urgently summoned back. She sought a way to avoid the eyes of the palace and ordered this servant to deliver the message."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Li was shocked.

Something happened in the palace.

This is for sure, otherwise why would they suddenly keep all the princes and grandchildren who entered the palace? Even Yu Jin, who was about to leave the palace, was stopped.

"Do you know what happened?"

"I don't know. The palace gates are under martial law now." Fuchun looked anxious. "I have to go back. If I delay too long, I might be discovered."

Concubine Li twisted her handkerchief and said, "Go ahead."

What happened? Even Prince Xuan couldn't pass on the news.

When they returned to the banquet, Concubine Li looked unhappy and did not intend to hide it: "I am afraid something big has happened in the palace."

For a moment, everyone at the table became nervous and panicked.

Li Qingping was able to remain calm and asked, "What's wrong? Who is coming?"

Concubine Li: "The princess is marrying Fuchun as a dowry. She said that no prince or grandson who enters the palace can leave and must be kept under guard."

For a moment, Madam Wan and Zhao, whose children had entered the palace, felt dizzy. Li Qingping had no choice but to say, "Don't panic. After all, they are princes and grandchildren. Their lives are definitely safe. The prince and princess are still in the palace. They will definitely not let anything happen to the children." But she also looked extremely nervous.

Everyone was about to leave after eating, but how could they move after hearing this news? A group of people huddled in Concubine Li's courtyard in panic, and although they were exhausted after staying up most of the night, they were also worried.

At daybreak, there was a noise outside the palace, but it was not Prince Xuan and his men returning home, but the imperial guards surrounding the palace.

Now everyone in the capital knows that something happened in the Mid-Autumn Palace.

Not only Prince Xuan's mansion, but also the mansions of many princes and relatives were surrounded.

It's not just Prince Xuan's Mansion. Everyone is now terrified. But no news has come out of the palace. The fear of the unknown hangs over the capital for a long time.

After waiting all night without any news, Concubine Li sent everyone in the backyard back and asked them to rest and wait.

"Sister, if, if the prince and the queen... what should we do?" Concubine Li's eyes were red with sleep, and she lost her composure in front of others. She held Li Qingping's hand tightly, and her voice was hoarse.

For these women in the backyard, Prince Xuan was the pillar of support for the palace, and Princess Xuan was the anchor. But now, the two most important figures in maintaining order were imprisoned in the palace, along with the Crown Prince and Prince Xuan. If anything were to happen in the palace, what would happen with only a group of women and young children in the mansion? How could Prince Xuan's palace survive?

Li Qingping was also very nervous, but he managed to remain calm and analyzed: "Don't worry. No news is the best news now. If something really happened to the prince and his wife, even if the palace gates were under martial law, they would definitely report it to the mansion, and they would have to be prepared. But now it's not just us, all the mansions are under siege. I think it's not just the clan members, but..."

She pointed to the sky implicitly, then gestured to the two of them. Concubine Li's eyes widened, and after she realized what was happening, she trembled uncontrollably all over.

If something happens to the Emperor or the Crown Prince during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, then the weather in the capital will be...

"Qingyan," Li Qingping called Concubine Li by her maiden name softly, but his tone brooked no room for him: "You must keep the palace stable until the prince and his wife return. Do you understand?" Concubine isn't just a nice title; when the prince and his wife are away, she's the backbone of the palace. To be disrespectful, if anything were to happen to the prince and his wife, Concubine Li would be the most powerful woman in the palace.

Concubine Li explained it clearly with tears in her eyes and gritted her teeth, and the two sisters leaned against each other tightly.

After a long pause, Concubine Li gathered her spirits and called Chunhui over, passing down instructions one by one: "The children should continue as usual. Not a single word can be leaked, otherwise you will be beaten."

"Madam Wan has ordered the court doctor to come and take a look at her pregnancy. There must be nothing wrong with the baby."

"Zhao, Liu, Zhang..."

The situation outside the palace was so gloomy, and it was not much better inside the palace.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people enjoy the joy of viewing lanterns and guessing riddles. A few years ago, the palace also began to join in the fun. The concubines of the harem sat together with the princesses and wives of the royal family, while the emperor sat together with his children, grandchildren, royal family members, and ministers.

It just so happened that bad things happened today.

The sudden strong wind blew down a row of lanterns, killing everyone standing under them. Remember, the lanterns were made of paper and candles, so the falling of the lanterns might have been fine, but they caused a huge fire.

It’s okay on the outside, but the area inside has the most lanterns, and the emperor and the princes are all inside!

There was chaos and war for a while.

Fortunately, the emperor was protected by the crown prince and was not seriously injured. However, the crown prince suffered burns on many parts of his body and even fainted.

If it were just that, we wouldn't be in this situation now. When the imperial physician came to treat the crown prince, his eyes suddenly widened. Before the people waiting outside could find out anything, they were all forcibly detained here, and the palace gates were strictly prohibited.

It was not until the imperial physician distributed pills to everyone and the princes and several beloved clan members and ministers vomited black blood in the middle of the night that everyone realized that this was really bad news!

Is this... poison?

In the prince's residence, Prince Xuan's face was pale, his stomach was burning, and there was excess blood on his handkerchief. Prince Xuan's wife was handing him water.

The royal family and their ministers were still crowded in the front hall. The princes had been taken to the prince's quarters, barred even from their mothers' palaces. A messenger from the palace had come to offer some food, but not much more. Even though their relationship had been strained over the years, they both knew that their fate was shared.

If there was anything at the palace banquet that these gushing blood had consumed, it was probably the pot of wine that the emperor had distributed as a reward. Who would dare not drink the wine given by the emperor? Fortunately, there was only so much wine in the pot, so it was quickly distributed. The crown prince drank the most, followed by the eldest son, Prince Xuan.

I heard that the Crown Prince's condition was not good because the medicine for his injury conflicted with the poison and he did not spit out the poisonous blood in time. He was now unconscious with a high fever.

"But His Majesty also rewarded the concubines with that pot of wine, so no one in the harem is safe." Princess Xuan sighed.

Prince Xuan knew the poison wasn't in the wine. It was probably in the jug. The emperor had just improvised the idea, and the two jugs weren't prepared in advance. The eunuchs at his side had personally fetched them, and the jugs had been stored in the storeroom. The old eunuch was loyal to the emperor and wouldn't be so foolish as to poison him. Who could have foreseen this? And how could he have known which jug would be delivered to the front and which would end up in the hands of the concubines? Besides, the emperor hadn't drunk the wine because of a heart attack. If he had drunk the poisoned wine...

Now the crown prince, who is the heir to the throne, is in danger, and many princes and ministers have been harmed. The emperor must be furious. No matter what, that person is very capable of disrupting the situation.

Prince Xuan coughed up another mouthful of blood.

The imperial physician said that fortunately the poisoning was not serious and that he would be fine after taking the detoxification pills to cough out the poisonous blood and recuperating for a while.

"I don't know what's going on at home. I don't know if the sudden incident frightened them."

Princess Xuan said softly, "Although Qingyan doesn't usually take care of things, she still knows what to do. With Qingping here, it won't be a problem to keep things stable for the time being. Fortunately, Yujin found an opportunity to ask Fuchun to pass on the news, otherwise it might be even more frightened."

Yu Jin was not here at the moment, having gone to the back to look after her younger brothers and sisters. Yu Jin was four months pregnant and had originally wanted to leave the palace early because of the hardship of her first pregnancy. This ordeal had exhausted her both physically and mentally, so Princess Xuan persuaded her to rest.

Prince Xuan was also worried about his daughter: "Now I just hope there will be good news from the Crown Prince. The situation in the palace is not conducive to the pregnancy right now."

Only the Crown Prince's life was safe. The Emperor had to find out who was behind this so that he could release them from the palace sooner. Now, in the Emperor's eyes, each of them was a traitor who was plotting to murder the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

But until dawn, no good news came from the Eastern Palace. Instead, the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau went there one after another, and the medicinal materials were taken again and again.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat.

"If the prince doesn't make it through this..." This thought arose in many people's minds: the position of crown prince will be vacant.

The imperial palace was under strict prohibition for three days, and the capital city was also extremely cautious for three days.

On the fourth day, the death knell sounded.

The crown prince died.

Everyone was in disbelief as they listened to the ringing of the bells, especially those outside the palace who didn't understand what was going on. They couldn't understand how the crown prince could be gone.

But no matter how unbelievable it was, the prince was the officially crowned crown prince, and every household involved still hung a white banner.

In the palace, the emperor, with rage, had many palace maids slaughtered to accompany the crown prince in his burial, and countless nobles were killed in anger. The emperor discovered the poisoning, but he still felt something was wrong. However, in his rage, he ignored it and executed all nine families of the poisoned people.

After the rage came grief. The emperor was deeply saddened by the death of the crown prince and posthumously named him the Qianyuan Crown Prince. He suspended court for seven days and held mourning according to the rites for the crown prince.

The crown prince is half-king, and all relatives, ministers and ladies of noble rank must go to the palace to mourn.

When they heard the emperor's posthumous title for the prince, many people covered their faces with their sleeves to hide the shock in their eyes.

Qianyuan... What a great Crown Prince Qianyuan! Even two such precious characters wouldn't be enough to hold the coffin lid in place! Once these two characters were uttered, any subsequent Crown Prince would be inferior to him!

For a moment, everyone had different thoughts.