Lu Linglong didn't feed the medicine properly and no one cared about her. Xiao E came back to see the emperor and saw some medicine stains on the corners of her mouth. People thought she had fed the medicine and didn't ask anything.
The next day, Imperial Noble Consort Li held a banquet in the palace to entertain the female members of the court.
Imperial Noble Consort Li also intended to choose a queen for the Fourth Prince, so she also invited young ladies from various families to a banquet.
A group of female relatives gathered at the palace gate, and the scene was quite spectacular.
Princess Jing glanced at the crowd and asked with a smile, "Why didn't Madam Meng come?"
When the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, Lord Wu was released from the Heavenly Prison and was directly promoted to a higher level.
Madam Wu stood beside Princess Jing and said with a smile, "I heard that Madam Meng went to the temple to worship Buddha because of something at home."
Princess Jing sneered, "What a coincidence."
Mrs. Wu agreed, "That's right. She hurriedly took the children to the temple yesterday. I met her on the way, and she said a few words. She said she had a dream the night before, that her ancestors had appeared in her dream, but she didn't say anything else. After she woke up, she suddenly felt palpitations and felt very uneasy. However, the journey was long, and they couldn't rush back, so they could only go to the temple to perform a ritual and pray for the children, as a token of their gratitude."
As they were talking, the group entered the palace.
Imperial Noble Consort Li, dressed in splendid attire, received them. Seeing that the Xuanwu Marquis's residence hadn't sent anyone, she didn't care. The Crown Prince wasn't a concern now. The Crown Princess was under strict guard in the Eastern Palace. Perhaps she still didn't know what had happened. With all the men from the Xuanwu Marquis' residence away, leaving only a bunch of elderly, weak, women, and children, what could they possibly accomplish?
Imperial Noble Consort History spoke to the ladies in a friendly and amiable manner.
Madam Chen looked at the clothes and jewelry of Imperial Noble Consort Li and whispered to Madam Lu beside her, "The Imperial Noble Consort's clothes are all ready. I think this was planned in advance. I don't think we can leave today."
Madam Lu whispered, "Fortunately, I didn't bring the girls into the palace today, otherwise it would be really difficult to deal with now."
"Who said it wasn't?" Mrs. Chen whispered. The two looked at each other and huddled in the corner silently without saying a word.
Lady Wei, the wife of the Marquis of Chang'an, brought her two daughters to the imperial concubine and introduced them with a smile: "These are my two little daughters. They are old enough this year and are now ready for marriage. What do you think?"
Imperial Noble Consort Li glanced at them and remembered that Marquis Chang'an had no real power. His two sons only worked under Marquis Pingyang and had no power at all. It was just a declining marquisate. So she nodded casually and asked them to sit down.
The guard was unhappy with the imperial concubine's attitude, but she didn't dare to say anything more at the moment. She could only let her two daughters perform better.
If one of the two daughters entered the palace and gave birth to a son or daughter for the Fourth Prince, wouldn't their Chang'an Marquisate be prosperous?
Soon everyone was present, and Imperial Noble Consort Li asked a group of girls to go play in the garden. Her meaning was very clear. Since the Fourth Prince was now the Regent, it was not easy for him to get close to them. These girls could go out and play, so that the Fourth Prince could take a look at them from afar when he had time, and whoever he liked would be brought into the palace.
Once they capture the crown prince and send the emperor to the west, the fourth prince can ascend the throne and one of these girls can be chosen as the queen.
The progress on the side of Imperial Noble Consort Li was smooth, but the progress on the side of the Fourth Prince of the previous dynasty was not smooth.
The court officials were not so easily fooled. When they entered the court, they all knew that the imperial edict read out yesterday had not been approved by the Secretariat, let alone the imperial seal. Everyone wanted to see whether it was written by the emperor himself, or whether they wanted the emperor to speak out.
The Fourth Prince slammed the table and said angrily, "Father has fainted from poisoning. The imperial physician has examined him. If you don't believe me, you can go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity and see for yourself."
The Minister of Revenue said, "Of course I will go and see Your Majesty."
An imperial censor stepped forward, pointed at the Fourth Prince's nose, and angrily shouted, "Regardless of whether His Majesty is unconscious or not, the imperial edict should have been drafted by the Secretariat and affixed with the imperial seal! The Fourth Prince and Li, for falsely conveying the imperial edict, should be executed!"
The Fourth Prince drew his sword but hesitated to step forward. He slashed the censor's throat with one blow. Holding the still-drenched sword, he looked at the courtiers and said, "My father has been poisoned and is unconscious. He has handed over the Great Zhou to me. All you have to do is obey my orders. Anyone who questions me will be punished along with the rebels."
He looked at everyone with sinister eyes. Seeing that no one spoke, he threw away the knife, strode towards the dragon throne, turned around and sat down.
The Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Rites looked at each other quietly. Even the Crown Prince who was Regent had never sat on the Dragon Throne, but the Fourth Prince sat on the Dragon Throne as soon as he arrived, which showed his ambition.
There must be some hidden story behind the emperor's poisoning, but I don't know where the prince is now. Can they contact him?
The Minister of Rites thought to himself, "Oh no! I forgot to tell my wife to inform the Crown Prince!" But then he thought again, the Crown Prince is on patrol at the border, and his whereabouts are unpredictable. Even if they sent someone, they probably wouldn't be able to find him.
The Minister of Rites was secretly anxious. He only thought that after returning home from court, he would quickly send someone out of the capital to deliver the letter. Sending more people would help him find the right place. Oh, and he also had to send a letter to the Marquis of Xuanwu's Mansion. They would definitely know where the prince was.
Thinking of this, the Minister of Rites felt a little uneasy again. The Crown Princess was in the palace, and she didn't show up even though such a big thing happened. Had the Crown Princess been controlled by them?
Calculating the time, the prince should be at the border now, right?
Now that the arrest warrant has been issued, I'm afraid all places are thinking about capturing the prince to gain merit.
If the prince returns to the court with his troops, he will surely be regarded as a traitor. If he returns alone, he will be hunted down along the way. How can he save his life?
The Minister of Rites grew anxious. He searched the court but could not see the eldest and third princes. He felt a little relieved. The eldest and third princes were on good terms with the crown prince and had not appeared in the court. Had they already found a way to inform the crown prince?
It was a little too early for the Minister of Rites to be happy. After the court officials had discussed state affairs in the court, they were not let go by the Fourth Prince, but were kept in the palace.
The same thing happened in the harem. Until dark, the imperial concubine did not say to release anyone.
Outside the palace, the old prince and Prince An played chess together.
Two bad chess players started arguing while playing chess.
The two old men argued until their faces turned red and their necks were thick, neither of them willing to give in. Finally, Prince An slammed the table and said, "We're both unwilling to give in at chess, so why don't we go fishing at my farm in the suburbs of Beijing? The fish there are very plump and delicious, and we can even make a whole fish feast!"
The old prince blew his beard and glared: "Why should we go to your farm? Let's go to the imperial farm."
The two men did what they said and got on the carriage and headed straight for the city gate.
Before I reached the city gate, I saw a long queue there. I asked someone at random and found out that all the city gates had been closed since early this morning, and people were only allowed to enter but not leave.
The old prince and Prince An looked at each other.
Prince An jumped off the carriage. The old man swiftly rushed to the city gate, pointed at the defenders' noses, and cursed, "Do you know who we are? Let us out of the city! Can you afford to delay our gambling?"
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