Outside the carriage, the wind rustled. After a long while, Empress Shen finally spoke: "She is quite capable."

But no matter how capable he was, he was already dead.

Empress Shen's voice was not loud, but extremely cold, and the jade beads on her wrist were crushed, making a faint "rustling" sound.

Empress Shen said, "The eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong's family dared to harbor the deposed crown prince. Her entire clan should be executed. Send someone to the palace to deliver this message to the Emperor. The Emperor will order the arrest of the entire Ye family."

She didn't need to do this herself at all.

The emperor would be furious and would confiscate their property and exterminate their entire clan.

Wanxin finally felt a sense of vengeful pleasure. If Ye Qingxue knew this in the afterlife, she would definitely regret not obediently going to her death that day. Now, the lives of the entire Ye clan are about to be taken to the underworld by her.

Just as she was about to agree and step out of the carriage to arrange for people, the nanny beside her said, "Your Majesty, if the Emperor finds out about this, the entire Ye family will surely be imprisoned."

Empress Shen stroked her jade bead. This was exactly the result she wanted. Ye Qingxue was simply audacious, daring to hide the deposed crown prince and kill Shen Jiefeng, opposing her at every turn. She truly deserved this fate.

If Ye Qingxue hadn't already died, she would have even ordered Ye Qingxue to be torn to pieces.

The old nanny said, "Your Highness, the second young lady of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion is Prince Ding's fiancée. Their wedding is approaching. If something happens to the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion at this time, how can the second young lady Ye remain unscathed and marry Prince Ding?"

A barely perceptible cold smile crept across Empress Shen's lips.

"Granny, you're being foolish. The Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion has committed such a heinous act. If Miss Ye is either imprisoned or executed, wouldn't the marriage automatically become invalid? As a noble prince, what kind of beauty or noble lady wouldn't Prince Ding have by then?"

The old nanny was taken aback for a moment, then immediately said, "Your Highness is right."

Wanxin stepped outside the carriage and arranged for a clever person to quickly enter the palace to find the emperor.

Just as she finished making the arrangements, she saw a group of people approaching from a distance. After taking a closer look, she knew who they were, and her eyes lit up with excitement again. She quickly climbed into the carriage.

"Your Majesty, I have just learned that the deposed Crown Prince has entered the territory of Taoxi Village with his men. There seem to be only a dozen or so people, not many. Moreover, Prime Minister Ning and Lord Lu have also arrived with their troops."

Empress Shen narrowed her eyes slightly: "The deposed crown prince is quite bold. He only has a dozen or so guards, yet he dares to enter Taoxi Village. He's courting death!"

"Kill a few villagers first, then send someone to tell Prime Minister Ning that the deposed crown prince wants to massacre the entire Taoxi Village. Tell Prime Minister Ning that he must rid the people of this scourge and not show mercy just because the deposed crown prince is his nephew, otherwise innocent people will suffer!"

After a slight pause, he added, "Don't forget to let Prime Minister Ning know that all the officials who appeared in Taoxi Village tonight are members of the deposed crown prince's faction. They want to support the deposed crown prince in his rebellion!"

Wanxin withdrew again.

Soon after, the sounds of fighting came from Taoxi Village, and gradually a large fire broke out, its flames illuminating the figures of the people fighting.

The wind was growing colder, and the night was drawing to a close, a time when people were usually sound asleep.

Outside Kyoto, it seemed like a boiling sea of ​​blood, while inside the city, it was as if covered by ice and snow, silent and still.

The carriage of Prince Yu's residence stopped silently at the palace gate. When Prince Yu stepped out of the carriage, it was still dark. He took out his token and entered the palace.

The emperor did not sleep well tonight. He got up in the middle of the night to drink water, and his restless state of mind made it impossible for him to fall back asleep.

He remembered that the Empress had left the palace two days ago, saying that she was seeking medicine for him so that he could live a long and healthy life.

Every year before, the Empress would leave the palace to find medicine for him, and the medicine she found was indeed effective, making him feel several years younger.

In Huaifu's words, "The Empress, as the mother of the nation, moved Heaven with her act of personally seeking medicine, which is why she was able to find a good medicine for His Majesty."

Therefore, the emperor had long been accustomed to the empress leaving the palace for a period of time every year, but tonight, thinking about this matter, he felt a vague unease in his heart.

Could it be that something bad has happened to the Empress?

Thinking this, the emperor became even more agitated and was already preparing to send someone to check on the empress's safety.

The news of Prince Yu's request for an audience arrived at this time.

The emperor glanced at the time; there was no sign of dawn. Why was Prince Yu requesting an audience at this hour? Had something serious happened? He immediately ordered Huaifu to fetch Prince Yu.

"The Prince of Yu requested an audience with me before dawn. Has something troublesome happened? Is it about the Empress?" the Emperor asked immediately.

Prince Yu paused for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, I was unaware of the Empress's affairs. My entry into the palace at this time is entirely for Your Majesty's sake."

The emperor frowned: "For me? What do you want with me?"

Prince Yu knelt on the ground: "Please, Your Majesty, do not be angry."

"you say."

Prince Yu then said, "Not long after I fell asleep last night, I dreamed that someone knelt down in front of me urgently, begging me to enter the palace immediately to protect my brother's safety!"

"Your Majesty, I found this incomprehensible and reprimanded him, saying that Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, blessed by Heaven, and is in the palace with tens of thousands of guards protecting you. What danger could you possibly be in!"

"Unexpectedly, this person stopped arguing and just silently shed tears. Your brother was unmoved, but upon closer inspection, he saw that the tears were bloody!"

"Your Majesty, I was awakened from my sleep and found it difficult to fall back asleep, so I had to go to the palace to see you. Now that I have seen that you are well, I am relieved."

After saying that, Prince Yu let out a long breath.

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