Chapter 88 Heavenly Punishment: I was so focused on marrying you that I forgot about this...
The Empress noticed the Emperor's expression and coughed lightly, almost imperceptibly.
Consort Shu was also looking at the two children with the same concern as the Shen couple when she heard the soft cough. She immediately came to her senses, gently squeezed Qi Jingxuan's arm, and gave him a wink.
Qi Jingxuan suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly pulled Shen Yan to pay her respects to the emperor. He asked her if she was injured or frightened, and then he fiercely scolded Prince Ning, saying that as a son, he was disloyal and unfilial for rebelling against his superiors.
The emperor's expression softened slightly, and he offered a token expression of concern for him.
No sooner had Prince Ning staged a coup than the Emperor and Qi Jingxuan put on a show of filial piety, as if this would prove that Prince Ning's rebellion was merely an accident, evidence of his unfilial behavior, rather than a sign of the Emperor's lack of compassion. Otherwise, why would all the other children be well-behaved, while Prince Ning alone remained so restless?
Fortunately, this coup attempt was all bark and no bite, posing no threat to the emperor and causing no major losses. However, it did eradicate the Xie family's traitorous faction in the court and the army.
The Emperor looked at Qi Jingxuan with satisfaction and said, "You and the Shen family deserve great credit for discovering the Ning Prince and Xie family's actions in advance. From this moment on, you are restored to the rank of Prince, and your title remains Jin. As for the Shen family..."
He looked at Shen Yan as he spoke, but was momentarily speechless.
Like her father, this girl sought neither fame nor fortune; even the title of princess was forced upon her by Qi Jingxuan. The emperor was unsure what reward to bestow upon her. He initially considered asking her what she desired, but feared she might publicly declare that she only wished for a divorce from Prince Jin and to return home—that would surely create an unpleasant scene.
The emperor had no choice but to swallow his words, giving her no chance to refuse. He directly rewarded her and Qi Jingxuan with a lot of gold, silver, jewels, silks, and satins, and also gave Shen Yan several properties and shops.
As for Qi Jingxuan, the emperor was still angry when he thought about the hot spring resort that Qi Jingxuan had casually given away, and originally did not want to give him any more land. However, when he thought that it was because Qi Jingxuan had given away that estate that the young man from the Lu family had traveled thousands of miles to Yingzhou to do things for him, and had also discovered the irrefutable evidence of the rebellion between Prince Ning and the Xie family, he was not so angry anymore, and thus still gave him another estate.
He and Shen have been practicing archery lately, haven't they? That manor has a hunting ground, which is perfect for them.
Just as the emperor was awarding prizes, a group of people rushed in from outside. It was none other than the sixth prince, Qi Jinghong, and Grand Tutor He, among others.
Although Qi Jinghong was young, he was very weak due to his long-term indulgence in wine and women. He was in such a sorry state that he was comparable to the oldest tutor, He Taifu, on his way here.
He strode into the palace, panting, and said breathlessly, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I'm late to your rescue! Are you... alright?"
With his help, Grand Tutor He staggered down to his knees, saying similar things.
They never expected Prince Ning to suddenly rebel. When they learned of the news, they hesitated for a long time, unsure whether to side with the emperor or Prince Ning.
On the one hand, they felt that the emperor was in his prime and had a firm grip on the court, making it difficult for him to be dethroned. On the other hand, they also felt that Prince Ning wouldn't act rashly without absolute certainty, and since he had taken action, he must have been extremely confident. Therefore, they were very hesitant about which side to choose and found it difficult to decide.
On the contrary, Qi Jinghong, who was drinking and carousing outside at the time, jumped up immediately upon hearing this and wanted to enter the palace without hesitation.
He didn't think that far ahead; he was only focused on ensuring that Prince Ning didn't succeed!
Neither of them were born of the principal wife, neither were the eldest son, and both coveted the throne. How could they let the fourth son snatch it from them? That fourth son, that habitually hypocritical smiling tiger, if he truly ascended the throne, how could he possibly let his brothers off the hook?
Qi Jinghong was unwilling to let the throne fall into the wrong hands, so he rushed to the palace immediately. However, he was shocked to realize that he only had a few attendants with him. What if he was killed by Prince Ning's rebel army before he could reach the palace to save the emperor? So he changed direction and went to the He family first.
He was unaware that Grand Tutor He had given up on his grandson and intended to abandon him in favor of the Crown Prince or Prince Ning. Upon entering the palace, he immediately asked Grand Tutor He to dispatch troops to protect him, saying that he wanted to seize the opportunity to rescue the emperor.
Grand Tutor He was discussing matters with several masters of the He family when he spoke. Everyone frowned upon hearing his words and were about to find an excuse to send him away when Grand Tutor He, seated at the head of the table, suddenly asked, "Your Highness, where did you come from? Did you encounter any obstacles?"
Qi Jinghong was quite impatient to hear him ask such questions at such an important time. However, the Prince's residence was too close to the palace, and he dared not go back to deploy his own men at this moment. He could only rely on the He family, so he patiently answered.
Upon hearing this, Grand Tutor He abruptly stood up from his chair, his voice trembling, and said, "Quickly, quickly! Enter the palace to save the emperor!"
Although the He family's residence wasn't as close to the palace as the Jing'an Prince's, it wasn't too far either. With the Ning Prince's rebellion, the capital should be in chaos, and even areas that hadn't been affected much shouldn't be so peaceful.
Qi Jinghong traveled through Flower Street without any obstacles, and apart from some commotion among the people, there was no other disorder.
This illustrates two things. First, Prince Ning did not have enough troops to disperse and simultaneously control several major city gates, so he could only concentrate his forces to force the emperor to abdicate. Second, the emperor was well-prepared for Prince Ning's rebellion and responded very appropriately, without any panic.
That means... Prince Ning was completely unprepared; he acted hastily and made a desperate gamble.
At this point, there's no need to hesitate about which side to take; the most important thing is to get to the palace and the emperor as soon as possible!
Grand Tutor He and his family immediately mobilized their forces to rush to the palace, but the closer they got to the palace, the more disheartened they became.
That useless Prince Ning, he acted all confident and in control earlier, but he only held out for such a short time? In such a short time, the Imperial Guards had already taken control of the entire situation. There were no more large-scale battles in the streets, only one-sided routs. And the routs were undoubtedly Prince Ning and the Xie family.
Grand Tutor He managed to reach the palace gates with his old face, and was not stopped by the imperial guards on the way. However, once he arrived at the palace gates, he was unable to enter the palace immediately.
Zhang Zhenting, the commander of the Imperial Guards, accused Prince Ning of treason. His Majesty ordered the palace gates closed, and no one was allowed to enter or leave without an imperial edict. Even Qi Jinghong, who stepped forward as a prince, was unable to enter the palace.
Zhang Zhenting sneered at Qi Jinghong's unreasonable accusations and said, "Prince Ning is also a prince. He didn't enter the palace to protect His Majesty. How could I dare to let Prince Jing'an enter the palace?"
Qi Jinghong was furious. He pointed at Zhang Zhenting and stammered "you" for a long time without being able to utter a complete sentence. Finally, he angrily asked, "What about the seventh brother? He didn't go to the palace, did he?"
Zhang Zhenting cupped his hands in greeting towards the palace and said, "Prince Ping and his wife have entered the palace by imperial decree."
Qi Jinghong's face immediately turned ashen, and he almost couldn't help but swear.
Therefore, of the princes who left the palace to establish their own residences, he was the last to arrive, and he was the only one who was kept outside.
He was furious and turned to Grand Tutor He and the others, yelling, "I told you all to hurry up! But you kept asking questions and dawdling. Now look what happened, only I am left locked out!"
Grand Tutor He was already impatient, and upon hearing Qi Jinghong's words, he nearly fainted. He angrily said, "Your Highness, please watch your words!"
The fact that the He family was dragging their feet on rescuing the emperor raises questions about public opinion and how their reputation would be affected by what happened to His Majesty. It also threatens the He family's standing in court and their own interests, particularly with Qi Jinghong.
The He family… how could the He family produce such a stupid grandson! The eldest son born to Consort Hui was so intelligent; they were brothers born of the same father and mother, how could the difference be so vast?
If only... if only Consort Hui hadn't been given the medicine to induce premature labor, if only that child hadn't been born weak and died young, would everything be different now?
Regret, regret!
Grand Tutor He waited in front of the palace gate for a long time, filled with regret and anger, before finally receiving news that the emperor had granted them permission to enter the palace.
In order to show their concern for the emperor, the group disregarded all rules and etiquette, and even less about appearances. They rushed all the way here, losing all semblance of grace and image. As soon as they entered the palace, they began to inquire about the emperor's safety.
The emperor looked on coldly and said in a deep voice, "I am fine, all of you may rise."
He knew what the He family was thinking. They initially wanted to support their grandson in his bid for the throne, but later found that their grandson was utterly useless, so they wanted to switch their allegiance to someone else.
It's normal for relatives of the emperor to have such thoughts, and he didn't care. But the fact that the He family arrived so slowly today shows that they hesitated after learning of Prince Ning's rebellion, wavering between him, the emperor, and Prince Ning.
This wasn't simply a matter of wanting to support a crown prince; it was about siding with a rebel. That was something he couldn't tolerate.
But such matters require concrete evidence. The He family was only thinking about it and hadn't actually done anything, so the emperor didn't immediately take action. He exchanged a few polite words with them and then discussed with the officials all the matters concerning the handling of Prince Ning and the Xie family, leaving them aside.
Qi Jingxuan wore a gloating expression. Seeing Qi Jinghong glaring at him while wiping his sweat, he wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he walked up to him with a grin, patted his shoulder, and whispered, "Sixth Brother, I've restored your title of Prince Jin. From now on, you're the only Prince among Father's sons. You should cherish it!"
Qi Jinghong had been running all the way and was still out of breath. He couldn't catch his breath after saying those few words and ended up with a side stitch, which caused a sharp pain in his stomach.
Unfortunately, this was the imperial palace, and the emperor was sitting on the dragon throne. He could only suppress his anger and glare at Qi Jingxuan hatefully.
Just as Qi Jingxuan was about to say a few more sarcastic remarks, someone rushed in from outside and said, "Your Majesty, the traitors Xie Cheng and Xie Shuyun have been captured and are being taken to the Ministry of Justice prison. The two young masters of the Xie family resisted with weapons and were killed on the spot."
Qi Jinghong had just arrived and was unaware of the details when he heard Qi Jingxuan beside him exclaim, "Didn't they escape from the city? How come they were caught so quickly?"
Xie Cheng and Xie Shuyun were the patriarch and eldest master of the Xie family, respectively. Although the rebellion was caused by the entire Xie family, it was hasty and poorly prepared. They were afraid of losing the whole family, so before the second master of the Xie family led troops to force the emperor to abdicate, the patriarch and the eldest master of the Xie family disguised themselves and left the city with two sons. They thought they would come back if things went well, and if they failed, the Xie family would still have an heir.
To avoid alerting the enemy, the emperor did not order anyone to stop them, but instead instructed that they be brought back once things had settled down.
The person has indeed been brought back, but the speed was somewhat unexpected.
The messenger spoke of the matter with a rather complicated expression, and said with a forced smile, "Xie Cheng is too old to ride a horse, so he went out of the city by carriage. Xie Shuyun took care of him in the carriage. There is a pavilion about ten miles outside the city, and not far in front of the pavilion on the road... there is a big ditch."
"They were in a hurry to get on their way, and they were riding so fast that the carriage overturned when it went over a large ditch, throwing Xie Cheng and Xie Shuyun out of the carriage."
"Xie Cheng fainted on the spot, Xie Shuyun broke a leg, and the group was delayed just like that."
They were quickly caught up by the pursuers. The commander, acting on the emperor's orders, killed the two young men of the Xie family without hesitation, and then brought back Xie Cheng, who was half-dead from a head injury, and Xie Shuyun, who had a broken leg.
Those around him said that the Xie family had brought this upon themselves and were now being punished by heaven. Qi Jingxuan, however, was stunned. After regaining his senses, he left Qi Jinghong and ran back to Shen Yan's side, pulling her aside.
"Aci, thank you so much!"
He said.
Shen Yan asked, puzzled, "What?"
Qi Jingxuan looked around to make sure no one could hear them before whispering in her ear, "I know that pit. I've passed by it every time in my eight past lives! It's huge, right in the middle of the road. Carriages can't avoid it at all. No matter how careful you are, you'll still get jolted."
"I was hit in the head because of this, so every time I had to do a job again, I would get angry with the people from the Ministry of Works and make them fill in the hole."
"This time, in this lifetime, I'm so focused on marrying you that I forgot about this matter. I didn't tell the Ministry of Works, so they just left it alone."
"Look at the Xie family now, they've fallen into this mess! Isn't this all your fault?!"
Shen Yan couldn't help but burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth, saying, "Your Highness, please stop talking nonsense. What does this have to do with me?"
Qi Jingxuan insisted that it was Shen Yan who had brought misfortune upon the Xie family, and shook her hand back and forth, saying, "It's all because of you! I told you you were my lucky star, and you see, I was right. I died eight times in my previous lives, and I never even found out who was behind it all, let alone got revenge."
"In this life, we got married, and with your help, we caught the mastermind. Now Prince Ning has been arrested, the Xie family has been arrested, and everything is resolved—all because of you!"
Although their corner was inconspicuous, there were still many eyes and ears in the hall. Being held by the hand in public by Qi Jingxuan, Shen Yan blushed slightly and tried to pull away.
Qi Jingxuan was delighted and had no intention of letting go; instead, he gripped the handle even tighter.
Qi Jinghong watched them from afar. Seeing Qi Jingxuan smiling so brightly, swaying and twisting like a maggot, he spat inwardly, feeling disgusted, and rolled his eyes, no longer looking.
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