Chapter 316 Evacuation

Eunuch Chu and the three palace servants who made mistakes were all taken away, and the beaded curtain and incense ash on the ground were all cleaned up.

The cold wind blew even more fiercely than before, and without the obstruction of the beaded curtain, it poured entirely into the Hall of Diligent Governance. The blue smoke was stirred and swirled wildly, wisps and strands resembling a chaotic dance of demons.

The emperor sat quietly, his expression unreadable.

A young eunuch rushed in and reported, "Your Majesty, Consort Xi of the Cold Palace has disappeared. I have searched the entire Cold Palace, but I haven't seen her anywhere. The guards at the gate said they didn't see Consort Xi leave, but I have searched everywhere I can think of. I don't know how a living person could suddenly disappear..."

There were few servants in the Cold Palace to begin with, and Consort Xi was generous. After moving in, she used most of her good things to bribe people, so as long as she didn't run away, the servants didn't make things difficult for her.

When he brought dinner yesterday, there was no one in the room. He assumed that Consort Xi was wandering around the Cold Palace, so he left the food on the table and left.

He was too lazy to deliver breakfast, and when he went to deliver lunch at noon, he found that Consort Xi was still not there, and the food he had delivered last night had not been touched.

He then realized something was terribly wrong and searched the entire Cold Palace inside and out, but still couldn't find the person. He had no choice but to run to the Emperor to report.

When the emperor saw the eunuch's expression, he thought that the King of the Northern Frontier had sent troops to invade. He was already at the point of fighting the King of the Northern Frontier to the death, so why would he rush over to report that a neglected prince had been lost? It was as if the eunuch was deliberately trying to upset him.

Most likely, a guard from the Cold Palace saw that the palace was besieged and thought there was an opportunity. He was seduced by Meng Xiyao's beauty and secretly hid her away.

He didn't want to get involved in such a trivial matter, but he also felt that if he didn't, it would encourage this bad trend, and the guards would all steal from their posts, wouldn't the palace be in chaos?

A cold wind raged, and the emperor's gloomy face flickered in and out of view behind the blue smoke.

“How could someone just disappear? The entire capital is under lockdown. Where could she possibly have gone? Send men to investigate and search. Dig three feet into the ground to find Consort Xi and the thieves who helped her escape. Skin them alive and tear them apart as a warning to others.”

"Yes," the young eunuch replied. "This servant doesn't have enough men. Could you perhaps transfer a few from the Hall of Diligent Governance?"

The emperor was furious.

The Qin Zheng Hall is full of useless people; they can't even handle things properly. Today, these three even had thoughts of assassinating the emperor. It seems they haven't been punished enough. It would be good to take them to search for people and let them witness the consequences of betraying the monarch.

"Take more people with you, and after you find them, have all the servants in the palace go and see what the consequences are for betraying their masters and running away."

Even if the King of the Northern Frontier attacks, he still has hundreds of thousands of soldiers guarding the imperial city to resist. They won't be able to reach the Hall of Diligent Governance for a while, so he doesn't need that many people here. Besides, he also has the secret guards led by Ye Jian and Ye Fan to protect him.

The young eunuch received the order and led over a hundred eunuchs and palace maids away from the Hall of Diligent Governance, leaving only about a dozen people to serve the emperor personally.

A large group of people left in a hurry. A moment later, the chief eunuch, Eunuch Ren, rushed in and shouted before even entering the room, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened..."

I was just scared, and now this happens again?

This time, the emperor was not too panicked. He just stared coldly at the eunuch who was running out of breath and said, "You had better have something really important to tell me, or I will cut out your tongue."

Eunuch Ren seemed not to have heard this and continued anxiously, "Your Majesty, the Prince of the Northern Frontier has broken in! All four gates—east, west, south, and north—are under attack simultaneously. The Imperial Guards and government troops are fighting back at the same time, but they still cannot stop the rebel army's offensive..."

"Even if we can't stop them, we must. All men, charge! What are you doing telling me this? Do you expect me to personally fight the King of the Northern Frontier?" The Emperor slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "The King of the Northern Frontier's army is no larger than mine. Even if we can't win, we can't be defeated so quickly. What are you trying to do by spreading rumors and stirring up trouble?"

Eunuch Ren was almost in tears. He knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, this servant doesn't know what happened. The palace stables have been tampered with. All the horses have diarrhea and are useless. The armory locks are broken and can't be opened no matter what we do. The water in the kitchen is contaminated with rat droppings. Our men have neither horses nor weapons, and we can't even get a drink of water..."

The Imperial Guards and soldiers were not as brave and skilled as the Tiger Soaring Army, and now with so many mistakes, their fighting ability was greatly reduced. If it weren't for the Northern Frontier King's men showing mercy and not exterminating those who surrendered or were unconscious, there would probably be mountains of corpses by now.

The Emperor, feeling weak, sat back down and looked at the bronze crane incense burner. The section of the dragon robe had burned out, and the smoke looked thinner and thinner, as if it was about to die out.

When he spoke again, he had already made up his mind and said calmly.

"By my order, transfer the remaining forces at the East Gate to the West Gate. Make sure the West Gate remains under your control and cover my departure from the palace through the West Gate."

The capital city can't be defended, but as long as we survive, we can always fight again. If he can escape this time, he can return like the King of the Northern Frontier.

He had been prepared for this for a long time, but he didn't expect this day to come so soon.

Eunuch Ren understood the Emperor's meaning and was not too surprised. After all, the situation was hopeless, and staying would only result in capture or death, which the Emperor, who valued his life, was naturally unwilling to accept.

But the emperor's words seemed to imply that he had no intention of taking anyone else with him, which left him somewhat puzzled.

Eunuch Ren spoke cautiously.

"Your Majesty, shall we inform the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, and the Crown Prince, princes, and princesses to leave with you?"

The Emperor glared at him and said, "It's too late. Take the Seventeenth Prince with you. No need to notify the others."

When life is at stake, the more people you consider, the less chance of survival you have.

He was inherently cold-hearted and ungrateful; he only brought the seventeenth prince along because he was old and needed an heir.

Choosing the youngest prince was also to prevent the adult princes from being under his control and from betraying him at crucial moments.

Eunuch Ren never expected that the Emperor would disregard even his closest confidants and children, only willing to take a four-year-old seventeenth prince with him to escape.

But he could not question the emperor's orders, so after hearing them clearly, he prepared to obey and leave.

The Emperor, impatient for him to leave the palace, used a coded signal to urge the guards to appear. However, after lightly tapping the dragon table twice with both hands, not a single guard came forward.

The emperor could no longer sit still and shouted loudly.

"Nighttime briefing, nighttime busy schedule, obey orders!"

Two men in black finally jumped in through the window.

"Immediately escort me to the West Gate..." The Emperor said, only then noticing the faces of the two guards. Startled, he stepped back a few feet, exclaiming in disbelief, "How could it be you? Where are my guards...?"

Eunuch Ren had already retreated to the doorway. Hearing the Emperor's exclamation, he turned his head to look. When his gaze fell on the two guards, he even wondered if he was hallucinating.