Hearing this, Li Nian asked in doubt, "What happened in the capital again?"
Xiao Yunchen replied: "The emperor has passed away."
Upon hearing this, Li Nian asked in shock, "The Emperor is dead? How did he die?"
Xiao Yunchen replied: "He died on the dragon bed."
Li Nian pressed on, "Huh? I'm not asking where he died. I mean, the Emperor was always in good health, right? How could he die so suddenly?"
Li Sisi explained: "Oh, what he meant was that the emperor died in his bed."
"I know. Die...die in bed?" Li Niannian looked at Xiao Yunchen and then at Li Sisi in astonishment. "Is that what I understood?"
Li Sisi nodded: "That's what you understood. The old antique emperor of feudal society died in his bed."
"Besides! The one in the room at that time was the Fifth Prince!"
Li Sisi raised her chin towards her with a gossipy look on her face, and said with sparkling eyes, "Do you understand what I mean?"
Li Nian was stunned: "Isn't this too... explosive?"
Li Sisi pulled Li Nian's arm, looking eager to share gossip with someone: "Of course not, I'm telling you!"
Suddenly remembering that Xiao Yunchen was still there, she waved at him and said, "We women are chatting, you go out first."
Xiao Yunchen: ...
Just throw it away after use, that's about it.
Nodding: "Okay, then I'll go to the study first."
Li Sisi watched him leave and closed the door tightly.
Then she continued to chat with Li Nian about the gossip she had heard.
Li Sisi immediately pulled Li Nian to sit on the soft couch by the window and said in a low voice: "Do you know what the situation was at that time? It is said that the fifth prince ran out of the bedroom in disheveled clothes, shouting 'Father is dying'. When the imperial physician arrived, the emperor had already..." She made a gesture of wiping her neck.
Li Nian's eyes widened as she heard this, her face filled with shock: "This, this is too..."
"Explosive, isn't it?" Li Sisi curled her lips. "And even more explosive, the will actually states that the throne will be passed on to the fifth prince! How can this be such a coincidence?"
"What about the prince?" Li Nian's refusal must be more than just that.
Li Sisi leaned closer and lowered her voice: "The prince who guarded the imperial mausoleum is missing. I heard he fled south..."
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside, and Li Sisi quickly fell silent.
The maid whispered outside the door, "Madam, Her Royal Highness the Princess has sent a letter."
Li Nian took the letter, unfolded it, and his face suddenly changed.
Li Sisi hurriedly asked: "What did Tongtong say?"
"The princess said that Wen Luoxin gave birth to a child for the Fourth Prince. Many members of the Crown Prince's faction have suddenly defected to the Fifth Prince. If others knew that the Fourth Prince had a child, the Fifth Prince might take action. She told us to leave the city as soon as possible to find Wen Luoxin. However, the road is not safe, so we should bring more guards."
Li Sisi came over to read the letter: "It seems that Yun Chen is right. The capital city is really going to be in chaos. But..."
She frowned, her tone doubtful. "I don't think the Fifth Prince is the type to kill his own nephew. He's quite innocent. Are we being paranoid?"
"I always feel that the Fifth Prince must have been used by someone."
"We can't just look at the surface." Li Nian frowned. "The letter says there's unrest on the southern border. I'm afraid it's not just the northwest that's causing the chaos. Now even the south might be in turmoil."
"Shh!" Li Sisi suddenly covered her mouth and pointed out the window. The two held their breath and concentrated as they heard the clatter of orderly footsteps and armor outside the courtyard wall.
Li Nian's hands unconsciously clenched the letter, his knuckles turning white. "They look like the Imperial Guards. What are they doing in the Xiao Mansion?"
Li Sisi's face turned pale: "Will our Xiao family... be implicated?"
"No," Li Nianqiang said calmly, "Xiao Yunchen has always been neutral and never takes sides in the court. It's just..."
"Just what?"
Li Nian shook her head. "Nothing. We'll proceed as planned and leave early tomorrow morning."
At this moment, there was a commotion in the distance, and faint shouts of "Catch the rebels" could be heard. The two men looked at each other, and saw uneasiness in each other's eyes.
"I'm going to find Chenchen." Li Sisi walked quickly to the door. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Xiao Yunchen standing outside with a serious expression.
"Did you hear everything?" he asked.
Li Sisi nodded: "The Imperial Guards are arresting people?"
"Well," Xiao Yunchen walked in and closed the door, "Over 300 people from the Taifu Mansion have all been imprisoned."
Li Sisi exclaimed, "More than 300 people? What crime have they committed?"
"Colluding with the Crown Prince, plotting rebellion." Xiao Yunchen sneered, "It's just a false accusation."
Li Sisi grabbed her husband's sleeve and said, "How could this happen? This happened so suddenly!"
Li Nian also looked at him, his face tense. "Even if the Emperor's will states that the Fifth Prince will inherit the throne, an auspicious day should be chosen for the new Emperor to ascend the throne, right? And a coronation ceremony should be held, right? Then who is behind all these actions?"
"Of course, it's the left and right prime ministers who control the government." Xiao Yunchen's face was solemn. "It seems that these old guys want to be the powerful ministers who cover the sky with one hand."
Li Nian: ...Isn't this what you wanted to do? In the book, you actually did it!
Could it be that... Xiao Yunchen achieved his goal by taking advantage of the turmoil in the capital?
Li Sisi pulled Xiao Yunchen's sleeve: "What are you going to do? Will you be okay? Will the Xiao family be okay?"
Xiao Yunchen was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "It's safe for now. But you must leave Beijing tomorrow, the sooner the better."
Li Nian handed the princess' letter to Xiao Yunchen: "Take a look."
She said helplessly, "We originally thought that to save Wen Luoxin, we only needed to fight against the Qi family. Now it seems that we have to fight against the Fifth Prince and his followers. You must be more cautious in the future."
Finally, she said in a serious tone: "Xiao Yunchen, Wen Luoxin must not die. If she dies, Sisi and I will not be able to survive. As for her child, you can do whatever you want."
Xiao Yunchen read the contents of the letter, and after hearing Li Nian's words, he looked at Li Sisi meaningfully.
"My lady, once this matter is safely resolved, tell me your secret, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Li Sisi looked at Li Nian.
Li Nian said, "Okay."
Xiao Yunchen paused, then looked at Li Sisi and Li Nian, nodded slightly, and said nothing more.
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