Chapter 65 Dead...dead?

"Let's go to the gate." Zhao Qiuci led two guards away, placing a hand on her wrist.

"Be careful," Yu Tan whispered. "If the gate is breached, run! I'll take Grandmother with me."

"Don't worry, I'll outrun you." With a relaxed tone, Zhao Qiuci walked steadily and quickly disappeared into the night.

After Zhao Qiuci left, she returned to Hexiang Courtyard, preparing for the worst. She changed into a maid's dress, while Old Madam Song changed into a nanny's attire.

The rebels wouldn't recognize their faces; blending into the crowd would be the fastest way to escape.

She pinched her palm, calculating. Leaving the mansion by carriage would be too conspicuous, and running on foot would be too slow.

It's best to find a place to hide.

"Madam." Aunt He appeared in Hexiang Courtyard dressed in short clothes, followed by Uncle Chen, the gatekeeper, both of whom wore broadswords at their waists.

The fact that Yu He'an actually let them into the Marquis's residence shows that it's not safe outside. The best course of action is to guard the gates of the residence.

Yu Tan nodded, pursed her lips and thought for a while, "Aunt He, come with me. Bring a few strong maids to come with us."

*

Under the guise of kidnapping government officials and their families, the rebels carried out acts of violence, murder, and looting, and ordinary people and merchants also suffered.

When the rebels stormed into the Yutan courtyard, they found it already empty and went to the next house while cursing.

Bianjing City was like a living hell for a time.

The abducted officials' families were taken to the capital.

Inside the Imperial City, at the Taiming Palace.

The copper bells at the corner of the corridor jingled wildly in the autumn wind, and only silence remained at the solemn palace gate. The eunuch on duty lay in a pool of blood, and in his place, the Imperial Guards firmly took control of the imperial city.

The Qianniu Guards are nominally loyal to the Emperor, but in reality, the Grand General of the Qianniu Guards, Wei Han, is the maternal uncle of the First Prince.

"Your Highness!" the Imperial Guards shouted in unison, their momentum as if they were supporting the new emperor's ascension to the throne, as they opened the gates of Taiming Palace.

The eldest prince, Chu Yunfei, dressed in a black robe embroidered with gold python patterns, the scales gleaming coldly in the candlelight, with flowing cloud patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs, walked swiftly into the emperor's bedchamber with a tall and straight figure.

The main hall was already filled with a great commotion, with a large number of high-ranking officials kneeling in mourning. This afternoon, Chu Yunfei had all entered the palace with a false imperial edict.

What's that fighting noise outside?

The sound of the Imperial Guards killing the Imperial Guards had just reached the hall, causing panic among the ministers.

"Your Highness, what is the purpose of His Majesty's summons us here?"

"Why have I not been summoned by His Majesty for so long?"

Chu Yunfei lowered his eyelashes and glanced at the ministers kneeling in the main hall. All the ministers from the Three Ministries and the Six Departments were present, as was Yu Zheng, who had been summoned back to lead the troops.

As far as he knew, Yu Zheng had brought the elite Shenwu Army of the Northern Army with him when he returned to the capital. The person kneeling beside Yu Zheng was his newly promoted general, who seemed to be his prospective son-in-law, named Shen Wujiu. His eldest son, Yu He'an, was not with him.

Chu Yunfei sneered twice. Thinking about it, he could understand why Yu He'an was a freak. The Yu family clearly had a noble title and the family had been military generals for generations. However, because his mother came from a scholarly family, he insisted on taking the path of a civil official. Even if he succeeded, he probably wouldn't be liked by Yu Zheng.

Yu He'an is merely a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy; he should be imprisoned there and is not worth his trouble.

The more troublesome issue is that the Left and Right Imperial Guards, supervised by the Third Prince, refused to obey summons, citing the commander's illness as the reason.

But it doesn't matter. Even if the Imperial Guards can protect the capital, they can't protect Bianjing.

The 30,000 soldiers from Zhengzhou are almost here, and the Third Prince cannot stop them.

After years of court infighting, he ultimately prevailed.

"Please don't panic, everyone. I was also summoned by my father."

Chu Yunfei calmly took a few steps, then smiled and said, "You've come so late at night because Father has been seriously ill for a long time. You all probably already have a guess in your hearts."

The emperor's chief eunuch personally led Chu Yunfei into the inner hall. For a moment, the ministers in the hall looked at each other and whispered among themselves, fearing that they could not escape the disaster that was about to happen.

Several upright civil officials stood with their backs straight.

"If Your Highness truly harbors rebellious intentions, I would rather die by crashing into this pillar than serve this traitor as my master."

"Your humble servant feels the same way."

Hearing this, Chu Yunfei, who hadn't gone far, smiled even more broadly and entered the inner hall without looking back.

In an instant, the tightly closed doors of Taiming Palace opened again. The Thousand Bull Guards held torches high, and a group of people knelt outside the hall, including the elderly, women, and children, all bound hand and foot. Tang Hengdao held a sword to his neck, and his face was deathly pale in the light of the blade.

The civil official, who had just wanted to prove his loyalty by sacrificing himself, was now speechless.

He saw them in the crowd: his wife holding their infant son, his eldest son kneeling beside them, whom he had taught for several years and who was now able to read and write, his elderly mother, and his father enjoying his retirement.

If he dares to run himself to death here, his whole family will be buried with him.

Some people were still relieved that their family members had not been arrested, and before they could relax for even half an hour, the Imperial Guards continued to escort the newly arrested officials' families.

They understood that Chu Yunfei wanted to ascend the throne and also needed to silence all of them.

The inner hall is separated by a wall.

Chu Yunfei lifted the bright yellow curtain, revealing a gaunt body wrapped in a bright yellow brocade quilt. His cheeks were sunken, his cheekbones were high and prominent, and his eyes were tightly closed. Only his faint breathing proved that this once majestic emperor was still alive.

"Father, I've come to see you." Chu Yunfei sat beside the dragon bed and thoughtfully lifted the brocade quilt.

Beneath the withered eyelids, the eyeballs rolled twice before the eyelids finally opened a small slit.

"You unfilial son." He could only manage to squeeze out two words through his throat, barely able to speak.

"Father, after all these years, you still favor my third brother, don't you? But all these years, I have been diligent and fair in my work, and you really can't find a reason to depose me."

"I have already explained the iron mine matter. It was just a mistake made by a few advisors behind my back. Why are you still making a fuss about it?"

“You rebellious son, you disregard the laws of the country and have been mining iron ore without authorization. You have long harbored rebellious intentions.”

"Father has always told me that the Pei family is powerful and has become a festering sore on the beautiful land of our Great Zhou. He asked me to be the sharp blade to remove this sore. I am willing to do this because I think Father is trying to temper my character and strengthen my will."

Only after what Father Emperor did to me a few days ago did I suddenly realize that I was also a whetstone for my third brother.

Father, you have deceived me so cruelly.

"You unfilial son!" Without the brocade quilt to cover him, the emperor's chest heaved violently with anger.

"Father, are you waiting for your third brother? You've been in a high position for so many years, shouldn't you have seen through it long ago? Why didn't your third brother, who holds the Imperial Guard, come to your rescue? He's waiting for me to kill you."

Your son is a filial son and will be a wise ruler in the future, so naturally he would not do such a thing.

Your son begs Your Majesty to witness your subjects bowing and submitting to me.

The chief steward took out the bright yellow imperial edict from his desk and followed Chu Yunfei to the front hall.

The emperor's chest heaved violently, and he could no longer utter a word.

The Grand Steward of the Imperial Household stood in the main hall, holding the bright yellow imperial edict, and issued the decree to pass the throne to Chu Yunfei. The moment the edict closed...

Arrows rained down outside the palace, some piercing the window frames and embedding themselves in the wooden pillars, frightening the ministers into scattering in all directions.

Amidst the sounds of fighting and howling, several thousand Golden Guards stormed in. The Thousand Bull Guards were no match for them and were quickly defeated.

The Third Prince, Chu Yunlan, stepped over a group of corpses and entered the Taiming Palace.

At that moment, none of the ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

Chu Yunfei, holding the imperial edict, and Chu Yunlan, holding the Golden Bull Guard, faced off across the ministers.

Everyone thought they were the victors in this palace coup.

Until outside Taiming Palace, bright torches blazed, and another troop of iron-clad cavalry surrounded the palace.

A person no one expected walked into Taiming Palace and knelt in the main hall.

"Your subject, Chu Yunce, has arrived late to save Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

The usually neglected Fifth Prince Chu Yunze led the Imperial Guards, the personal troops of the Emperor, to the rescue.

All the ministers present were as if they had seen a savior. Only Yu Zheng, who was kneeling in front of the military officers, had a livid face. Behind Chu Yun Ce, the silver-armored young man stood tall and elegant, his demeanor undiminished even when the blade was bleeding. He was none other than his adopted son, Yu He An.

How could Yu Zheng so naively believe that the emperor sent his Divine Martial Army to suppress the 30,000 soldiers in Zhengzhou, using him and Shen Wujiu as hostages, to make him a loyal subject?

It turns out that he had already found his adopted son, who would become the sharpest blade.

This emperor is truly a master of balancing things.

The inner palace doors opened, and in the main hall, a young eunuch helped the emperor, dressed in bright yellow, steadily walk towards the dragon throne. Although he still appeared to be ill, he was not as breathless as he had been just moments before.

Chu Yunlan knelt down like Chu Yunce: "Your subject Chu Yunlan is late in coming to the rescue, please forgive me, Father Emperor."

All the court officials knelt down: "We are late in coming to the rescue, please forgive us, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"

Chu Yunfei clutched the imperial edict and fell to the ground, muttering in disbelief, "Impossible, impossible."

"Ahem, I owe my life to Yun Ce this time."

After the emperor coughed a few times, his gaze finally fell on Chu Yunlan. Even though Chu Yunlan had arrived first, Chu Yunlan's disloyal intentions had already taken root.

There was already a rift between father and son. After a while, he said, "And Yunlan, I raised an unfilial son, but luckily I have two obedient sons."

"Yu He'an, who was beside Yun Ce, also came forward. Let me see how much we owe you this time."

At this moment, all the court officials turned their attention to Yu He'an. This newly appointed top scholar had just solved the iron mine case and had now come before the emperor to save him. He was truly in the limelight.

*

Zhao Qiuci stood in front of the mansion gate, nervously gripping the knife in her hand. The mansion's soldiers had already run out of arrows by midnight.

The red-lacquered gate shook violently as the rebel soldiers relentlessly rammed it with logs, determined to break it down.

Without arrows, this gate could hold out for at most half an hour.

She couldn't run; there were no deserters on the battlefield.

"The moment the door breaks down, charge in and kill."

In the darkness, the sound of the cart wheels seemed out of place amidst the sounds of fighting. Zhao Qiuci turned around.

Several large carts pulling bamboo tubes stopped behind them. Yu Tan ordered her maids to bring out all the wine stored in the cellar, put it into dry bamboo tubes, light them, and throw them out. A chorus of wails erupted outside the mansion gate.

As dawn broke, the bamboo tubes on the cart were almost all thrown away, and the rebels suddenly began to disperse and flee like a receding tide.

Everyone was finally able to catch their breath.

Zhao Qiuci collapsed to the ground, exhausted, and Yu Tan was in no better shape.

Zhao Qiuci tilted her head and smiled: "Didn't you say you were going to run away?"

Yu Tan smiled and said, "I've thought about it and I think we can win, so let's not run away for now."

Even so, they dared not relax in the slightest. Only when the Divine Martial Army began to enter the city to clear out the rebels and the families of officials who had been kidnapped or hidden returned home one after another did they finally feel at ease.

However, Yu Zheng and Yu He'an did not return to the mansion for a long time. It was nightfall when Yu Tan finally waited for Yu Zheng at the mansion gate. Behind him was a tall figure. When she got closer, she saw that the person behind Yu Zheng was Shen Wujiu, not Yu He'an.

She craned her neck to look back, but Yu He'an was nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to ask Yu Zheng, she simply waited at the gate of the mansion.

After waiting for an hour without seeing Yu He'an, he ran into Yu Zheng on his way back to Lanfang Courtyard and left the mansion looking very annoyed.

She couldn't contain herself: "Father, why hasn't my brother returned?"

Yu Zheng, like a raging lion, gritted his teeth and said, "You bastard, just pretend he's dead."

"Dead...dead?"

Author's Note: "Rabbit Demon Osmanthus Cake"

Embracing the Bright Moon

"Mi Cat"

Thank you so much for the nutrient solution! [hugs][hugs][hugs]