Chapter 286 Drag him away and beat him to death.
Upon receiving the order, Ye Lan immediately summoned the guards and had each of the kneeling palace servants searched.
A moment later, a guard found several tiny white pearls in the sole of the shoe of a eunuch guarding the palace tower.
The pearl was so small that it could be mistaken for grit on a shoe sole if one did not look closely. However, if one stepped on a smooth stone step, it would be a sharp weapon that could shatter one's body.
Shen Qingci's eyes turned cold instantly, and she understood.
As expected, someone deliberately set a trap! Taking advantage of the fact that Chu Jichen had just ascended the throne and the palace had not yet been completely purged, they intended to use this insidious method to test whether Chu Jichen's leg had truly healed or was just a charade.
Today's visit to the palace tower was a spur-of-the-moment decision between her and Chu Jichen, without informing anyone beforehand.
Therefore, this whole scheme was probably not specifically planned in response to today's ascent of the tower.
Rather, those people had already made preparations from the very beginning, and may even have been carrying these harmful items with them, secretly waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Today, they just happened to see an opportunity, which is why they made their move.
Chu Jichen's gaze fell on the pearls, then he coldly looked at the pale-faced eunuch: "You're the one who's been serving outside the Taiji Hall, aren't you?"
"Drag him away and beat him to death!"
Upon hearing this, the eunuch abruptly raised his head, terrified out of his wits. He hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, spare my life! This servant really doesn't know anything! This servant doesn't know where these pearls came from, or how they inexplicably stuck to the soles of this servant's shoes!"
"I'm innocent!"
“That guard fell on the stone steps. I was waiting downstairs the palace tower the whole time and never went up there. There was no way I could have thrown the pearl onto the steps! Your Majesty, please understand…”
Chu Jichen didn't even blink, and casually continued, "You're absolutely right."
“You’ve been standing below the palace tower the whole time, never up inside. It’s impossible that you threw this pearl onto the stone steps.”
“So…” Chu Jichen’s lips curled into a cruel smile, “you have at least two of you working together. Or, more than two.”
He squinted slightly, as if deep in thought, and after a moment said slowly, "The person who threw the pearl onto the stone steps is most likely one of those people who carried the wheelchair earlier."
"Men, drag those who carried the wheelchair away and beat them to death!"
After Chu Jichen gave his orders, the Imperial Guards immediately rushed forward like wolves and tigers, and immediately restrained the palace servants who were already limp on the ground.
Chu Jichen sneered, his cold gaze sweeping over the group, his voice filled with chilling killing intent: "It's been too long since you've killed anyone. You've probably forgotten what I was like before I ascended the throne, when I was still the Regent."
"What? Do you think that just because I've ascended the throne, I'll become merciful?"
"I have always believed that it is better to kill a thousand innocent people than to let one guilty person go free."
He waved his hand and said in a chilling tone, "Kill!"
The Imperial Guards immediately agreed and dragged the men away. The pleas for mercy gradually faded into the distance, leaving only a chilling atmosphere.
After dealing with these people, Chu Jichen raised his eyes and glanced at the imperial carriage not far away.
Shen Qingci had been watching his expression closely, and almost immediately understood what he wanted to do.
These people were clearly there to test Chu Jichen's legs.
Although Chu Jichen jumped off the wheelchair and landed steadily, it was merely an outburst in a moment of panic, and perhaps not enough to completely dispel some people's doubts.
Chu Jichen probably wanted to take this opportunity to walk directly onto the imperial carriage and completely intimidate those with ulterior motives.
Shen Qingci also looked over, secretly estimating the distance in her mind, and immediately frowned.
She accompanies Chu Jichen in his daily exercises and is very familiar with his current condition. Although he is better than before and can walk a few steps with difficulty, it is on flat ground and the distance is extremely short.
The distance from the palace tower to the imperial carriage was clearly beyond the furthest he could walk at the moment, not to mention the steps he had to climb on the imperial carriage.
If one tries to be forceful, it may backfire.
Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Qingci immediately took two steps forward and threw herself into Chu Jichen's arms, tightly hugging his waist. Her voice trembled with fear as she said, "I was so scared! Fortunately, Your Majesty is unharmed. If anything had happened to Your Majesty, how could I have lived?"
Chu Jichen lowered his head and met Shen Qingci's gaze in his arms. Seeing the anxiety and hint in her eyes, he immediately understood what Shen Qingci was about to do.
His heart warmed, and he naturally pulled her into his arms, a gentle smile playing on his lips as he said softly, "What are you afraid of? I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"
"Let's go back to the Taiji Hall. You were frightened too."
After he finished speaking, he casually put his arm around Shen Qingci's shoulder, seemingly to protect her in his arms, but in reality, he was subtly leaning part of his body weight on Shen Qingci.
The two had already developed a perfect understanding of each other's moves.
Previously, when Shen Qingci accompanied him during training, he would often act spoiled and ask Shen Qingci to half-carry him when he was tired.
Chu Jichen took the first step, and Shen Qingci immediately followed, their steps perfectly coordinated. Once Shen Qingci caught up, Chu Jichen quietly leaned against her, using her momentum to move forward.
On the surface, the two walked with ease, merely displaying the affection between the emperor and empress, with Chu Jichen half-embracing Shen Qingci.
The two arrived at the imperial carriage together. Chu Jichen took the lead and used Shen Qingci's wrist for support, then steadily climbed onto the carriage. He then turned around, reached out to Shen Qingci, and pulled her up as well.
From the perspective of a loving couple, it seems somewhat illogical for the husband to get into the car first.
But Chu Jichen is now the emperor, and Shen Qingci is the empress. It is not inappropriate for the emperor to take the place of the empress.
And probably because Chu Jichen's thunderous methods had just affected those palace servants, the surrounding palace servants were all terrified and kept their heads down. No one dared to look directly at the emperor's face, so naturally no one noticed this trivial detail.
Shen Qingci boarded the imperial carriage, lowered the curtain to block the view from outside, and then tightly grasped Chu Jichen's hand.
Upon touching the cold, damp surface, Chu Jichen's palms were already soaked with cold sweat.
Shen Qingci felt a pang of pain in her heart, but fearing that others might be listening, she dared not ask a question. Instead, she quietly took out an embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve and carefully wiped away the cold sweat that had seeped from Chu Jichen's palms and forehead.
However, she was still full of worries, so she used the imperial carriage as an excuse to get through it.
So when we get to the outside of the Taiji Hall, does Chu Jichen... have to get off the imperial carriage himself and walk back to the Taiji Hall?
Given the current condition of Chu Jichen's legs, it is absolutely... impossible for him to do so.
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