Chapter 312 This is a Trap
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci's eyes widened in astonishment, and she asked incredulously, "What? Really? Did our guards see it with their own eyes?"
"Absolutely true! Our people are right outside the palace gates, they can see it clearly, there's absolutely no mistake!" The guard's tone was certain, but his expression also carried a hint of surprise and doubt.
Shen Qingci's brows furrowed instantly, and she muttered to herself, "Something's not right..."
This was completely different from the plan that Chu Jichen had discussed with her before.
As agreed, Chu Jichen and she switched places; she stayed in the city while he led his troops out. Before leaving, he specifically mentioned that he would take the opportunity to quietly bring Huo Yunting and the late emperor outside the city, creating an empty city ruse for the rebels, leaving them empty-handed.
But why... are the heads of the late emperor and Huo Yunting now hanging on the palace gate?
Did Chu Jichen lie to her?
Or did something uncontrollable happen to Chu Jichen, forcing him to change his mind and kill him?
Or perhaps... this is just a smokescreen put up by the rebels?
Shen Qingci's mind raced as she tried to unravel the mystery.
Chu Jichen had no reason to lie to her.
The secret passages outside the city and inside the palace have been discovered, and she personally walked through them to confirm that they are passable and not dead ends.
If Chu Jichen encountered an accident while preparing to leave the city with his men after parting ways with her...
But if Chu Jichen really did have an accident, surely he would have some bodyguards by his side? Bodyguards have special ways of communicating with each other, and as long as there are any surviving bodyguards around Chu Jichen, they will definitely try their best to pass on messages to her.
Unless all the secret guards are under control, messages cannot be transmitted at all.
Shen Qingci felt increasingly alarmed as she thought about it, but she quickly forced herself to calm down.
The heads of the late emperor and Huo Yunting have already been displayed. If they were rebels, they wouldn't have used such a foolish tactic, would they?
This is entirely detrimental to them.
Once the heads of those two men were hung up, shouldn't all the rebels, including those officials who had been bribed and secretly supported by the late emperor, collapse in morale and be routed as soon as they saw that their leader was dead?
This is precisely why Shen Qingci had always felt that they could simply kill the late emperor and Huo Yunting.
The core of this rebel army is clearly the late emperor.
Once the late emperor dies, who else can they support?
They would inevitably lose their way and fall into disarray.
Just as Shen Qingci was deep in thought, the guard who came to report saw that she had been silent for a long time and couldn't help but lower his voice and ask tentatively, "Is Your Highness afraid that the heads hanging on the palace gate are not really those of the late Emperor and Huo Yunting?"
He frowned and suggested, "How about I send someone to investigate again? Or... perhaps Your Highness could go and take a look yourself?"
Shen Qingci paused, then suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze sharp: "Go and see for yourself?"
“Yes.” The guard nodded. “Judging from the news coming from the palace gates, the situation there seems to be somewhat complicated. I’m afraid that our people might be misled and send back false information, which could affect Your Majesty’s decision. Perhaps Your Majesty could go and see for yourself, so that you can be at ease…”
"Your Excellency, General Qingming is currently leading the Shen family army over there. We are confident that we can protect Her Highness's safety."
Shen Qingci slowly shook her head, her eyes becoming incredibly firm at that moment: "No, I can't go."
"I suspect their goal is to lure me there."
The guard was taken aback, somewhat puzzled: "Luring Her Majesty there? Does Her Majesty suspect that the head on the palace tower is a fake?"
“Yes!” Shen Qingci’s eyes were deep as he analyzed, “His Majesty once told me that he would take the late Emperor and Huo Yunting out of the city. Although I don’t know why he would do that, since he said it, he certainly wouldn’t be lying to me.”
"Unless something happened to Chu Jichen, but we haven't heard a word about it yet."
"I suspect that the head was most likely hung up by the rebels themselves!"
"If Chu Jichen had left the capital, the palace would be completely empty right now, with no one in charge."
"Is it possible that the rebels already know our plan? That they know I've entered the city again, and Chu Jichen has left?"
"The distance between the city and the outside world is far, making it troublesome and time-consuming to transmit messages."
“If Chu Jichen has left the city, he probably doesn’t know about this yet. But once I received the news, I’ll definitely be puzzled, suspicious, and worried.”
"I'm worried that something might have happened to Chu Jichen."
"The rebels are very likely trying to take advantage of my anxiety to lure me to the palace gates! They might have already set up an ambush there, just waiting for me to fall into their trap!"
After hearing Shen Qingci's analysis, the guards felt a chill run down their spines and realized that what she said made perfect sense.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right, then Your Majesty must not go!"
"Your Majesty is currently pregnant, and is the most important of His Majesty's few weaknesses."
"They certainly won't let this opportunity pass. They want to lure the Empress out, then kidnap her and use her as leverage against His Majesty!"
Shen Qingci nodded, her expression solemn: "For them, it's a good thing that Chu Jichen and I are acting separately. What they wanted was for us to separate."
"In comparison, I am a bit dumber than Chu Jichen, and therefore easier to manipulate. Their main target is definitely me."
However, the rebels' move was indeed clever.
If it were Chu Jichen's head hanging on the palace tower now, she would immediately recognize their conspiracy and would not fall for it.
But what they displayed were the heads of the late emperor and Huo Yunting.
This interplay of truth and falsehood, this blend of reality and illusion, is truly remarkable.
She never imagined that even though the late emperor and Huo Yunting had already fallen into Chu Jichen's hands, there would still be such a brilliant mind among the rebels, capable of devising such a vicious scheme.
Therefore, she needs to be extra careful.
But Shen Qingci still felt a vague unease in her heart.
She took a deep breath and decisively ordered, "There are always guards coming and going in our courtyard, which is conspicuous and makes us easy targets. From now on, try not to go out."
"Pass on messages and gather information, try to use some special signals between you."
"Try to contact Chu Jichen's bodyguards again. Whether they try to break through the city gates, sneak out of the city through the secret passage, or even send a message by carrier pigeon, they should send someone out to gather information."
"Ask Chu Jichen what exactly happened. Is it as I suspect?"
The guard's expression hardened, and he immediately bowed and replied, "Yes! I'll take care of it right away!"
After saying that, he quickly went out the door and disappeared into the night.
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