Chapter 255 Winning Hearts and Minds is Paramount
Although Emperor Yongming agreed, he was unwilling to be coerced by Chu Jichen.
"Fine!" He gritted his teeth, a calculating glint in his eyes. "What my royal uncle said... is all right! I grant it!"
“But,” he changed his tone, his voice filled with unyielding firmness, “I also have a condition!”
"Do as your royal uncle says, that's fine. But... you and the Regent's wife must stay in the palace!"
"Once this matter is... over, I will allow you to leave the palace!"
"No." Chu Jichen refused without even thinking!
"Since Your Majesty does not wish me to interfere, then I will not interfere." His voice was icy cold. "I am merely suggesting that Your Majesty... may also dispatch troops to search the area yourself."
"The King and the Regent's Wife," he stood up, preparing to leave, "will be returning now."
"I," his eyes filled with chilling killing intent, "absolutely cannot allow my queen to be detained as a hostage!"
Emperor Yongming's gaze instantly darkened!
He needed Chu Jichen's elite private army, but... he was also wary of it!
Chu Jichen, however, did not seem to care much about any of this. He took Shen Qingci's hand and prepared to leave.
Emperor Yongming closed his eyes briefly, his voice filled with just the right amount of concern: "How could you possibly think that I'm keeping you here as a hostage, Uncle?"
"I was just worried about my uncle."
"After all, Liu Wenyuan has run away now. We don't know if he has left the palace or where he might be hiding."
"Just now, my uncle said that Liu Wenyuan's first target is definitely me. But I think that Liu Wenyuan's first target is more likely to be my uncle. If... if he can't capture my uncle, then he is very likely to use my aunt to blackmail him!"
"I am also worried."
"The Imperial Uncle will not be under house arrest while he is in the palace. He can live in the palace he had before he established his own residence, and he can have the palace servants prepare whatever he needs."
Chu Jichen smiled wryly upon hearing this.
Emperor Yongming's words were quite tactful.
What he really wanted to tell him was that if he didn't stay, he wouldn't let him leave the palace today... right?
The only difference is whether it's proactive or reactive.
Before Chu Jichen could speak, Shen Qingci, who was being held in his hand, smiled.
A hint of interest appeared in her eyes: "I'm quite curious, what was the palace like when the Prince lived there before he left the palace?"
"How about," she looked at him, her eyes crinkling, "Your Highness, you take me to see him?"
Emperor Yongming was suddenly overjoyed!
Today, for the first time, he was so forceful in threatening Chu Jichen, and he was actually a little scared.
But Shen Qingci's words made it seem more like Chu Jichen was taking her to visit the palace he used to live in in order to pamper his queen, rather than imprisoning her.
There is absolutely no way Chu Jichen will let him go!
If he were released, he would agree to use his private troops to search for Liu Wenyuan in the city.
At that time, it will be difficult to tell whether it will be a proper search or a covert uprising.
Liu Wenyuan alone has already given him a huge headache.
If Chu Jichen takes advantage of the situation again, then his throne will probably be in real danger!
Chu Jichen twitched the corner of his mouth, raised his eyes, and smiled at Shen Qingci: "Since the princess wants to see, then your husband naturally has no reason to refuse."
"Then I will have someone take you to see it."
"I will have the palace servants take the Imperial Uncle there!" Emperor Yongming said hurriedly. "The place is usually cleaned, but the Imperial Uncle can also take a look and see if there is anything he is not satisfied with."
Emperor Yongming called out to Chu Jichen again: "By the way, Imperial Uncle, do you need any tokens to mobilize your private troops?"
Chu Jichen summoned Ye Lan: "Your Majesty, please look for him."
After saying that, he took Shen Qingci directly to the palace where he had previously lived.
It was an extremely secluded palace located in the northwest corner of the palace, named "Tingzhu Pavilion".
As its name suggests, the courtyard is filled with lush green bamboo, which rustles in the wind, creating a serene atmosphere.
Shen Qingci looked around the palace and smiled, "The place where Your Highness used to live in the palace... wasn't very big."
Chu Jichen nodded, maneuvering his wheelchair, and touched the vermilion pillars under the corridor. His voice carried a hint of barely perceptible nostalgia: "When I was little, I thought it was quite big. Big... and desolate."
"Looking back now, this palace is only the size of one courtyard of our Regent's Palace."
The palace servants said that everything had been arranged.
Chu Jichen then told them to step outside, saying that he was not used to being taken care of by outsiders and that they should wait outside for orders.
After the palace servants left, Shen Qingci pretended to squat down in front of Chu Jichen, her back to the door, and massaged his legs while quickly saying in a low voice:
"I've made all the arrangements on my end. It's no surprise that Emperor Yongming is wary of us. We just need to proceed according to the established plan."
Shen Qingci's lips slowly curved into a smile.
“Emperor Yongming would never have imagined,” her voice was filled with endless sarcasm, “that all of this, including his proposal to keep us in this palace, was already within the prince’s guess and plan.”
"Not everyone can see through the prince's psychological tactics."
Upon hearing this, Chu Jichen lowered his eyes and chuckled softly.
“Emperor Yongming,” his voice carried a subtle, almost imperceptible unease, “after all, he was someone I personally raised for several years.”
"He now handles many things by imitating me. But he himself has never noticed it."
"It's too late." A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "I won't wait until he notices it."
Chu Jichen and Shen Qingci were doing as usual, enjoying themselves comfortably.
Inside the Taiji Hall, as the palace servants meticulously reported every move of Shen Qingci and Chu Jichen, Emperor Yongming couldn't help but furrow his brows.
Could it be that he's just being paranoid?
Could it be that Chu Jichen really... has no intention of seizing the throne?
As Emperor Yongming was lost in thought, suddenly a group of imperial guards rushed in from outside the palace!
"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!" The imperial guard knelt on one knee, his voice filled with anxiety and panic. "Outside the city... something has happened outside the city!"
"We...we were with the Regent's private army, preparing to search! But...but suddenly a group of people of unknown origin rushed out from the shadows and started fighting us!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongming stared in astonishment, his eyes widening in shock, followed by overwhelming fury!
"What kind of people are they?" He slammed his hand on the armrest of the dragon throne and shouted sharply, "And they're of unknown origin?"
"How many people are there? And where did they come from?"
The imperial guard raised his head, his face full of lingering fear and confusion: "Your Majesty, it...it suddenly emerged from among the common people!"
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