Chapter 314 Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.
"Arrange for more people to go find Zhuque! Have Zhuque use all his resources to send people out into the streets, to every market town, to every corner, with gongs and drums!"
"Tell all the people that the late emperor faked his death. Now that Your Majesty has removed the cancerous tumor Liu Wenyuan and ascended the throne, he wants to reap the benefits. He has secretly recruited soldiers and horses, besieged the palace, and is determined to reclaim the throne!"
"Tell them that the troops the Shen family recently recruited intended to protect the Emperor, but they fell into a rebel trap and are now surrounded by the rebels right outside the palace gates! Ask everyone to save the Shen family's troops and save the future of the Great Zhou!"
The man from the secret service was somewhat surprised, clearly not expecting Shen Qingci to use such a method, but he quickly recovered, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes, and clasped his hands in response: "Yes, subordinate will do it right away!"
After the members of the secret service left, Shen Qingci felt as if all her strength had been drained, and she collapsed into a chair.
This was her last resort.
If that doesn't work, then she really has no other choice.
She could only gamble, gamble that the people of the capital still had spirit, gamble that the hearts of the people of the Great Zhou still belonged to the Shen family!
Shen Qingci felt anxious and paced back and forth uncontrollably, feeling like every second was torture.
After an unknown amount of time, hurried footsteps sounded again outside the door.
Shen Qingci suddenly turned her head to look at the door and saw a guard hurriedly walking in from outside, looking flustered.
"How's it going? Any news?"
Shen Qingci immediately stood up and asked anxiously, her voice trembling slightly.
The guard nodded, but paused slightly before saying, "Something unexpected happened."
Shen Qingci's eyes widened, her heart leaping into her throat: "An accident? What accident? Who was in an accident? Was it Qingming? Or..."
The guard took a deep breath and lowered his head, not daring to look her in the eye: "It's His Majesty's side."
"A secret passage...it's a secret passage."
The guard's eyes were dark and his voice was strained: "The secret passage leading out of the city, I don't know who activated the destruction mechanism, the secret passage... collapsed, completely destroyed."
Shen Qingci felt her whole body stiffen, as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
My entire body seemed to be completely out of my control, and my mind went completely blank after a single buzz.
The secret passage was destroyed?
Her lips were numb, and it took her a long time to find her voice, but it suddenly became incredibly dry, as if it were being forced out from deep in her throat: "Where is His Majesty?"
"Was Your Majesty in the secret passage at the time? Is Your Majesty... alright?"
She herself did not realize that the words she spoke were trembling, filled with an unconcealable fear.
The guard shook his head, his tone heavy: "We don't know the situation on His Majesty's side yet."
"We originally intended to leave the city through the secret passage to meet His Majesty. However, we discovered that the secret passage had been destroyed and the entrance was blocked by a huge rock."
"Our men have already tried to break out from the city gate, but we don't know yet whether they can succeed or find out any news about His Majesty."
Shen Qingci closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down, and nodded: "Okay."
She opened her mouth, but found that she could do nothing but wait.
That feeling of powerlessness almost suffocated her.
"Go down. Inform me immediately if you have any news."
"yes."
The door was closed, and Shen Qingci seemed to finally come to her senses. Overwhelmed by immense fear and sorrow, she was instantly engulfed.
She couldn't help but clutch her chest, feeling a dull ache in her chest, as if a large hand was squeezing her heart tightly.
Tears finally rolled down in large drops, silently hitting the back of my hand, burning hot.
Shen Qingci subconsciously raised her hand to cover her eyes, forcefully choking back the sob that was about to escape her throat.
"Don't cry, now is not the time to cry. Chu Jichen will definitely be alright. He's so powerful, how could anything happen to him?"
She muttered to herself, trying to convince herself with these pale words, but her slightly trembling hands betrayed her extreme unease.
"There's still no definite news, why are you crying? Crying won't solve anything..."
She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, but the suffocating pain in her chest did not lessen at all.
Chu Jichen has suffered terribly over the past twenty years.
Having lost his mother at a young age, he felt as if he were walking on thin ice in the deep palace.
Later, because of his exceptional intelligence, he was feared and suspected by his own father, the emperor, and even by his own brother.
In order to protect the soldiers who followed him and to find a glimmer of hope in the midst of the crisis, he had no choice but to choose the most tragic path: to cut off his own legs and ruin his future.
He dragged his disabled body and sat in a wheelchair for five whole years.
For five years, he endured cold stares and ridicule, and suffered unimaginable pain and torment.
Now, his leg has finally started to improve, and there is just a glimmer of hope for the future.
Why?
Why did you do this to him?
God, why are you so unfair?
Shen Qingci leaned back in her chair, tilted her head back, and bit her lip hard, trying to control her emotions that were about to burst forth.
The tears finally stopped, but her body was still trembling uncontrollably.
Just then, a sudden commotion broke the suffocating silence with the sound of rapid gongs.
"We have to go help Shen Jiajun!"
"We can't just stand by and watch the Shen family army be wiped out by those rebels!"
"We were able to enjoy such a long period of peace and prosperity before, all because General Shen led the Shen family army to fight bloody battles on the border and defend the country's gates to the death!"
"When General Shen was alive, the border he guarded was impregnable, and no enemy army ever managed to set foot in the Great Zhou!"
"After General Shen's incident, look what chaos has ensued on the border! We're barely surviving!"
"The Shen family army has finally been rebuilt, and they are the hope of our Great Zhou! We absolutely cannot let anything happen to the Shen family army again!"
"And His Majesty! And His Majesty!"
Someone shouted loudly, their voice impassioned: "When His Majesty was still the regent, he did many good things for the people. That Emperor Yongming was incompetent and foolish, indulging in wine and women all day long. If it weren't for His Majesty's regency, the Great Zhou would have been in chaos long ago!"
"Under Your Majesty's rule, we have enjoyed these years of peace and stability. Many affairs of state have been handled perfectly by Your Majesty."
"I've wanted to say this for a long time: the Great Zhou should have the Regent as its emperor! Emperor Yongming is not only incompetent and foolish, but he also listens to the words of treacherous officials and persecutes loyal and virtuous people. He is simply unworthy to be a ruler!"
"Although the regent was disabled at the time, and everyone said that there had never been a disabled emperor in history, we all knew in our hearts who was the truly good emperor who cared for the people!"
"Now that His Majesty's leg is finally healed, and he has rightfully become His Majesty, we are unwilling to let that faked-death late emperor return and disrupt everything! If he comes back, will we still have a good life?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com