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"When I see His Majesty, it is like seeing the bright sun."

After the memorial ceremony for the late emperor was over, Qingyang called his elder sister Yongkang to his side, and Yongkang explained Qin Liang's conspiracy of rebellion to the clan members and civil and military officials.

Yongkang's face was still pale.

When Qin Liang showed her the forged edict of the previous emperor, Yongkang's face turned pale and her whole body trembled because she was cold all over. Although she had been wary of the noble concubine, the empress dowager, and her second and third brothers who wanted to compete with her biological brother for the throne since she could remember, Yongkang had never been wary of Prince Yong and his son. She just hated Qin Liang for always wanting to suppress her brother. How could she have expected that Qin Liang, a cousin, would dare to covet the throne?

When she was completely unprepared, her cousin told her that he was going to murder her sister, the Queen Mother, and her second and third brothers. Uncle Wang also knew about it. How could Yongkang not be afraid and chilled?

Even though she had imagined various conspiracies to kill her brother, those were all her imaginations. The Queen Mother, the Noble Concubine, her second and third brothers, and even her sister had never done anything to her brother. It was her brother who resigned on his own initiative because he was unworthy of the position. As a result, Qin Liang directly put the real vicious plan of rebellion in front of her.

Yongkang was chilled to the bone by the cruelty of Uncle Wang's cousin. The scene where his sister stabbed Uncle Wang's heart with a sword just now also made Yongkang tremble physically and mentally. This was because she did not collude with Qin Liang. If she was really deceived by Qin Liang's 500,000 taels of silver and the honor of being the emperor's sister as described by Qin Liang, her sister would have stabbed her without mercy, right?

Yongkang admired and was happy that his sister was able to successfully suppress the rebellion of Uncle Wang and his party, but his sister's sword strike made Yongkang feel even more and more scared.

In front of all the civil and military officials, Yongkang repeated everything Qin Liang had said to her, including that on New Year's Day she had sent a secret letter to the Imperial Concubine through her daughter, who then passed it on to the Emperor.

The noble concubine nodded as a witness. When Fu Xi wished her a happy new year, he secretly slipped a small bamboo tube into her pocket. The noble concubine accepted it calmly. After returning to the palace, she saw the wax-sealed bamboo tube engraved with "The Emperor's Personal Letter" on the outside. The noble concubine then handed it to the emperor without leaving any trace when the emperor came to the West Palace to pay his respects, without asking for a single word.

Qin Hong, Qin Bing, Qin Ren, and the Queen Mother, who had been kept in the dark from beginning to end: "..."

Although Fu Kui was also confused, when he thought that Qin Liang had also plotted against him, his instinct as a subject made him kneel down and swear to the sky that he knew nothing about this matter, and it was even more impossible for him to be in cahoots with King Yong's party.

Oh my God, my father was stripped of his title because he colluded with the Pyu Kingdom to deceive the court, and was spared from death thanks to the mercy of the late emperor. If he gets involved with the rebellion of Prince Yong and his son again, the Fu family will be completely finished!

Yongkang glanced at him and testified for Fu Kui, "Your Majesty, I was afraid that the prince consort would reveal his secrets and Qin Liang would notice, so I didn't say a word to him or anyone else around him."

The main thing is that she is not sure whether Fu Kui will support Qin Liang. If she trusts him rashly, what if Fu Kui is seeking his own death?

As a couple who were making do with each other, Yongkang didn't care about Fu Kui's life, but he was the father of her two children after all. In addition, she was worried that Qin Liang would have a little more chance of winning with Fu Kui's help. So Yongkang simply kept it a secret from Fu Kui and only gave him a purple jade flute to deceive Qin Liang.

Qingyang could see that Fu Kui had no part in Qin Liang's plot, and he had also witnessed Fu Kui's unhesitating cooperation with Xue Ye in capturing Qin Liang. He said, "Don't be polite, my dear Prince Consort. You and my elder sister have both made contributions today. I will reward you based on your merits after we return to the capital."

Fu Kui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Qin Hong knelt down, filled with guilt and remorse. "I only learned today that Princess Yong's serious illness was actually Qin Liang's scheme. It's despicable that I even tried so hard to persuade my elder sister to visit Princess Yong. Fortunately, my elder sister was wise enough not to be deceived by him, otherwise I would have become a sinner for all eternity."

He leaned forward and kowtowed, tears streaming down his face.

The uncle and his son rebelled under his guise, exploiting his humility and respect, as well as his sisterly affection. If he had shown the strength expected of a prince earlier, the uncle and his son would not have dared to treat him like a clay figurine. Because he was useless, the uncle wanted to plot against him, and his sister didn't dare ask for help in suppressing the rebellion. Qin Hong felt guilty towards his sister and the spirit of his father in heaven.

Qingyang: "The fault lies with Prince Yong and his son. I believe in your loyalty, brother. You don't have to blame yourself."

Qingyang would not vent her anger on her elder brother, who was a soft persimmon, but at this moment, she was not in the mood to coax her elder brother any more.

Yongkang cursed his brother harshly, saying that he had good intentions but insisted on persuading her to go to Prince Yong's mansion, which almost caused her death. He even brought up the old account of his brother's promise to give Prince Yong a war horse.

Qin Bing and Qin Ren were still preoccupied with the aftermath of their uncle Wang's rebellion. They either hated their uncle Wang or felt ashamed of their own uselessness, and ignored their eldest brother who was being scolded. Civil officials such as Yan Xizheng and Yang Zhimin hurried out to smooth things over, and directed their scolding at Qin Liang, who had poisoned his biological mother and rebelled to usurp the throne, and at King Yong, who had betrayed the trust of the late emperor and was determined to kill the king, including the Deng Kun brothers and others.

After Qin Hong stood up with tears on his face and stepped aside, Yan Xizheng looked at the cavalry lined up outside the imperial mausoleum. He could not recognize the face of the leading military officer because they were too far away.

"Your Majesty, what is that?"

Qingyang sent the commander of the imperial army, Xue Ye, to bring the person over.

A short while later, Deputy Commander Li of the West Camp arrived, followed by two soldiers escorting He Jinglei. Arriving before the Emperor, Li knelt on one knee, holding the imperial gold medallion handed to him yesterday by West Camp Commander Zhang Jie. He declared, "Your Majesty, He Jinglei has withdrawn five thousand North Camp troops without imperial decree, intending to march to the Imperial Mausoleum to aid Prince Yong in his rebellion. Fortunately, we have fulfilled our orders, and all five thousand rebels have been executed."

There was a sudden gasp among the officials. Not only did Prince Yong and his son conspire with Deng Kun and other generals to assassinate the king, they even prepared 5,000 rebels?

The emperor only brought 3,000 personal soldiers with him on this trip. If Prince Yong's 5,000 cavalrymen really attack, not to mention the emperor, even these ministers who refuse to surrender to Prince Yong will be beheaded, right?

Yongkang staggered and nearly fell. Qin Liang didn't mention the matter of the 5,000 rebels to her. Fortunately, her sister had made preparations in advance and stopped the rebels. Otherwise, she would have pretended to promise Qin Liang and undermined him in front of all the officials. Qin Liang wouldn't even have to pretend to support his brother's succession to the throne. He could just send her and her brother's families away!

After being terrified, Yongkang quickly went to clarify with the emperor's sister that she was not hiding it on purpose, she really didn't know!

Qingyang personally helped his elder sister, who had made such a contribution, to her feet and comforted her, "Qin Liang is quite cunning and would never reveal his entire plan to you, elder sister. I understand everything, so you don't have to worry."

Yongkang didn't understand: "Then how could the emperor have predicted the rebellion in the North Camp?"

Many people had this doubt, such as the nervous empress dowager, the three brothers Qin Hong, Qin Bing and Qin Ren, and some civil and military officials. However, important officials such as Yan Xizheng, Yang Zhimin, Zhang Jie and Lu Zan had already changed their minds. The emperor knew in advance that Prince Yong and his son were going to rebel. The imperial mausoleum was so close to the North Camp that the cavalry could arrive in less than half an hour. With the emperor's wisdom and strategy, how could he not be on guard?

There are cavalry in the North Camp and there are also cavalry in the West Camp. When the emperor arrives at the imperial mausoleum in the northeast of the capital at the hour of Yin with his ceremonial guard, Deputy Commander Li, who holds the gold medal bestowed by the emperor, can ambush the rebels in the North Camp on the road they must pass before dark, without anyone noticing.

Qingyang turned towards the imperial mausoleum, his back to the crowd as he spoke, "Father has passed away. No one is more grief-stricken than us brothers and sisters. Prince Yong has always been unruly, and when he suddenly wanted to guard the mausoleum, I knew he had ulterior motives."

Prince Yong was not that smart. This must have been a good idea that Qin Liang had given him. It would not only win him a reputation as a friendly and respectful brother, but also lower her guard by being far away from the capital.

But Qingyang is not like her three royal brothers, who are either too kind or empty-headed. As early as when Prince Yong opposed her father's appointment of her as the Crown Princess, Qingyang had been wary of Prince Yong and his son. In this situation, Prince Yong and his son can only behave themselves to avoid her suspicion. Once the father and son make any unusual moves, Qingyang will be doubly vigilant.

"Xue Ye, you must return to the capital in advance and mobilize the imperial army to imprison Prince Yong, Duke Dingguo, and all the other rebel generals in their residences and await interrogation."

"I obey your order!"

"Zhang Jie, Lü Zan, and Hou Wanzhong, I order the three of you to temporarily take over the Northern Camp. Make sure you eliminate all remaining followers of Prince Yong within the camp."

The three commanders of the Beijing camp received the order in unison, and then galloped towards the North Camp with the cavalry transferred from the West Camp by Deputy Commander Li.

The emperor left the imperial mausoleum at noon and returned to the capital at dusk.

Except for the officials of the Censorate and the Supreme Court who were ordered to interrogate the rebels overnight, all other civil and military officials could return to their homes to rest. Not to mention, just walking more than a hundred miles back and forth a day was enough to exhaust these people, not to mention they had also experienced a thrilling rebellion.

As for the clan members, Qingyang also asked his eldest sister and three royal brothers to take the children back home directly, and to discuss anything tomorrow morning.

The Queen Mother must have been frightened by her personal act of killing Prince Yong, but on the way back to the palace, Qingyang asked the Queen Mother to ride in the same car with her and explained to her why she did that. Whether the Queen Mother understood or felt distressed, Qingyang was tired and went straight back to Qianyuan Hall as soon as she returned to the palace.

The noble concubine helped the empress dowager away, and before leaving, she gently asked Zhang Su to take good care of the emperor.

Zhang Su dismissed the palace maids, picked up Qingyang and took him to bathe first.

When Zhang Su took off her dragon robe and hung it on the hanger beside him, Qingyang saw the dark red bloodstains on the hem of the dragon robe. It was the blood of Prince Yong.

Qingyang was dazed for a while until Zhang Su put him into the bathtub.

The warm water submerged Qingyang below her shoulders. She subconsciously leaned her head against the side of the bathtub, closed her eyes and enjoyed it.

Familiar hands wiped her whole body with a towel. After that, the person brought an embroidery stool and sat behind her. He began to press her head, using a light force but just the right amount.

Qingyang raised the corners of his lips, opened his eyes, looked at the handsome face above him and said, "No headache, this is not the first time I have killed someone."

As early as on the battlefield of Donghu, Qingyang had shot and killed enemy soldiers, and even personally ordered the beheading of those Hu prisoners of war, and witnessed the bloody scene with his own eyes.

Zhang Su and the emperor in front of him were childhood sweethearts, but he couldn't always guess the emperor's thoughts.

For example, before changing the emperor's clothes, the emperor looked tired, so he wanted to help her relax. At this moment, he saw deep joy and a little pride in those black eyes with slightly upturned corners.

During this quiet eye contact, Zhang Su thought a lot.

As the emperor said, Prince Yong had already shown signs of rebellion, and the emperor had been on guard against him for a year. Today, Prince Yong really rebelled and was suppressed by the emperor. So the emperor has gotten rid of a worry, and he should naturally be happy.

Is she proud because she fought this battle of suppression so beautifully, because she did something that most people thought she would not do?

Zhang Su was taught by his father since he was a child to learn to restrain himself and not show his emotions.

Zhang Su studied very well, but he also liked the little princess's free-spirited nature since she was a child, and liked the emperor's open expression of his emotions in front of him.

Attention is relative. Qingyang also saw the joy in Zhang Su's eyes. She asked unexpectedly, "What are you thinking about?"

She killed her uncle, and her mother, eldest sister, and three royal brothers all looked at her with a complicated look, either fear, heartache, or guilt. Only Zhang Su was calm and firm whenever Qingyang and he met her eyes, as if whatever she did was natural and needed no further explanation.

Qingyang had seen Zhang Su's calmness many times, so he was curious about why he was so happy at the moment.

Zhang Su leaned over and kissed the emperor's eyes. When she instinctively closed them, he whispered, "Seeing the emperor is like seeing the bright sun."

The bright sun can dispel all haze and will not be dimmed by anyone or anything.

After experiencing a storm, I see the sunshine again, so I am happy.

【Author’s words】

Here I come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~