Chapter 118 The situation was urgent and time was of the essence.
There were hurried footsteps outside the door, including palace servants, soldiers, and some people with lighter footsteps. As Shen Yujiao listened to these footsteps, her mind was racing to think about the current situation.
The emperor suddenly collapsed, Consort Yao restrained the empress, Yongjia suppressed Yong'an, and Prince Zhao controlled access to the palace. Even the room she was currently in—just from Chu Rou's decision to keep her from waking up and making a sound—one could sense something was amiss.
Someone was watching them from inside the room.
This situation... isn't it a palace coup?
What exactly happened while she was unconscious? She originally entered the palace because of the Empress's demotion, so how did things become so chaotic when she woke up? When did Prince Zhao join forces with Consort Yao? The speed and efficiency of the operation suggest it wasn't a sudden incident.
Shen Yujiao subconsciously tightened her grip on Chu Rou's hand. The tacit understanding that the two had developed over a long period of time made Chu Rou realize that the Crown Princess understood the current situation. Taking advantage of the shift change of the supervising nanny, she poured a cup of warm water in the chaos. Then, when she pretended to feed the Crown Princess the water, they bumped into her, and the cup of water spilled onto the brocade bedding without missing a single drop.
"ah--"
Someone gasped first, followed by a chorus of voices as they knelt down, crying, "Auntie, please forgive us!"
"Tsk!" Chu Rou quickly turned around, and when she spoke again, she had transformed into Mu Tan, the Crown Princess's personal maid. Her face, which she had deliberately made ugly by applying black powder and drawing thick eyebrows, now showed a somewhat frightening imposing manner: "His Highness is still asleep, what are you all doing making so much noise!"
Although these old women were ordered by Consort Yao to monitor the Crown Princess, they were not foolish enough to think they could bypass the head maidservant by the Crown Princess's side. Therefore, they were all alarmed when they saw the large water stains on the brocade.
"Since you've made a mistake, why don't you hurry up and get a new one? Although it's getting warmer now, His Highness is still weak. Quickly take a new quilt out to air it in the courtyard, and bring it in when it's warm!"
Everyone seemed surprised that the head maidservant by the Crown Princess's side did not punish them. They were all stunned for a moment, but in a short while, they immediately reacted, some cleaning and some getting blankets.
Mu Tan stood by the bed, watching them work with a dark expression. After a while, seeing that they were quite diligent, he sat back down.
"Your Highness has been unconscious for more than two days. Not long after you fainted, His Majesty also fell ill. That night, everyone was placed under surveillance and has not been relaxed to this day. I have not been able to find out any information. Mu Jin and Zhu Yu are unable to enter the palace from outside."
Chu Rou spoke very quickly, her hands never stopping as she recited: "Just hang in there a little longer. Once everyone is asleep at night, the caretakers will leave and you can wake up then."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yujiao quickly squeezed her hand to indicate that she understood.
"Auntie, do you think it's okay for me to get this much sun?"
Two old women brought in a freshly aired quilt and let Chu Rou feel it. When he felt the warm and soft brocade quilt, his dark face softened slightly: "Two more people, change the quilt quickly, don't let Your Highness get cold."
"yes."
Feeling the warmth of the blankets covering her body, Shen Yujiao suddenly remembered her dream. If what Miss Shen said at the end was true, then something must have happened in the Northern Frontier. But the capital was not stable either. The popular support she had painstakingly cultivated for the Eastern Palace outside the palace was too weak to support her in defeating Prince Zhao.
But at this point, even if you're at a loss, you have to come up with a solution, otherwise you'll be sitting ducks.
It was fine when she was asleep, but now that she was awake, making Shen Yujiao lie still was like torture. After being tormented for most of the day, Shen Yujiao finally sat up with her stiff body.
Seeing that Chu Rou, who had been sitting stiffly for several hours just like her, remained calm and composed, Shen Yujiao sincerely admired her and said, "You really can endure it."
Chu Rou smiled at her and said in a low voice, "They thought you were asleep, so they only had one serving of dinner. If Your Highness doesn't mind, you can have mine."
Shen Yujiao moved her shoulders and neck with difficulty a few times, and couldn't help but grimace as she said, "Let's eat together, I'm not that hungry. Tell me about the situation in the palace now."
"Outside, the controls are still quite strict, just like yesterday. When the food was delivered just now, the palace servants, who were usually more relaxed, were all silent. The situation inside the palace can only be more serious—"
Chu Rou paused, and the two of them looked at the golden thread cake in Shen Yujiao's hand. The Crown Princess had not yet woken up, and in order to ensure that nothing could be hidden in the food of the palace servants, all the food had to be opened and inspected. Even these cakes had to be cut in half. However, when this half of the golden thread cake was broken open, there was a paper roll inside.
In an instant, the sentence suddenly popped into Shen Yujiao's mind: The answer is on the next page.
The reason for the decisive strike was that no one had considered striking it again. She opened the scroll, and the oil-soaked characters were slightly blurred, but still legible. The smaller scroll could only contain two characters: "亥" and "鸯".
At 9 PM, the duck will arrive.
Shen Yujiao looked up and exchanged a glance with Chu Rou. Then she pressed Chu Rou's hand and said quickly, "A Rou, listen to me. Something may have happened in the Northern Frontier. Although I don't know the specifics, considering the current situation in the capital, one of us must pass on the news from the palace to the Northern Frontier."
These words startled Chu Rou. She dared not think that if something happened in the Northern Frontier, wouldn't He Zhiju be the first to be affected?
Seeing her expression, Shen Yujiao didn't know how to comfort her. If something unexpected happened at the front, she would also be worried about Jiang Chen. The two finished dinner in silence. Chu Rou gave her a general account of the current situation in the palace. As Hai Shi (9-11 PM) approached, Shen Yujiao lay down again.
At 1:15 PM, there was a knock on the door, and the sound of a conversation could be faintly heard through the door: "Princess... you're worried... about the token... it will be out immediately..."
As the door was pushed open, the sound of footsteps rubbing against the carpet drew closer, and then Chu Rou stood up and bowed: "Greetings, Aunt Shi Yang."
Has Your Highness woken up?
Shi Yang peeked forward and took a look. Chu Rou became somewhat wary because of her step. Shi Yang was usually a very proper person, so her reaction at this moment was a bit out of line.
"Does Aunt have something to tell His Highness?"
“No, Miss Mu Tan, if His Highness has not yet woken up, why don’t you go in his place? The princess has something to discuss with His Highness, but this matter cannot be discussed aloud.”
"Then let's not waste any more time."
Shen Yujiao quickly made a decision. She sat up and realized that Shi Yang had come tonight wearing a large black cloak. The cloak was so big that it covered her whole body. If she had put on a hat, it would have been difficult to tell who she was.
"Your Highness!"
When Shi Yang saw that the Crown Princess was awake, she seemed to breathe a long sigh of relief. She hurriedly bowed, and then, disregarding everything else, immediately began to remove her cloak. "Your Highness, I have offended you. Please put on this cloak and go to Qian Yuan Palace immediately."
"Where are your clothes? Don't you need to change?"
“No need,” Shi Yang draped the cloak over Shen Yujiao’s shoulders, then deftly began tying the straps: “Your clothes have already been prepared by the princess. The situation is urgent and time is of the essence. Your Highness will leave with the token in a moment. No one will stop you along the way. When you arrive at the main hall, remember to enter through the west gate. The princess is waiting for you.”
Shen Yujiao seemed to realize something. She took the token, took a few steps, then turned back and hugged Chu Rou tightly, whispering in her ear, "I'm leaving this place to you. If there's any unexpected event, you can ask Xu Zhiyuan for help. The Shen family and the Chu family are both in the capital now. If things get chaotic in the capital, go back to the East Palace. There's a hidden compartment on the left side of my dressing table with the key to the Duke of Yi's mansion. Take your trusted men and hide there, and no one will be able to find you."
"Your Highness..." Chu Rou saw her turn to leave, took a few steps forward and grabbed her hand: "Don't worry, I'm here in the capital. You will all return safely."
"good."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yujiao did not hesitate any longer and stepped into the night of the Summer Palace.
After leaving the room, Shen Yujiao truly understood what Chu Rou meant by strict control and what Shi Yang meant by the urgency and unease.
Everything was more serious than she had imagined. The palace was now guarded every five steps and sentries every ten steps, so no one could move freely. Fortunately, Shi Yang had made full preparations for her all the way. Although she was wearing a cloak, she carried a token and no one dared to stop her.
"The princess is back?"
As soon as she reached the side hall, a young eunuch quickly stepped forward to open the door for her. Shen Yujiao sensed something was wrong, but she didn't say anything. She just nodded and followed the young eunuch into the bedroom.
Compared to the strict control in the palace, the Qian Yuan Hall was relatively quiet. The young eunuch stopped in front of the sleeping quarters and gestured for him to leave: "Your Highness, please rest well. This servant will take his leave now."
As soon as she entered the bedchamber, Shen Yujiao saw Yong'an standing in the center. She looked much thinner than when she last saw her before she fainted. Now she was holding a dagger and pointing it at her: "Whoever it is, stretch out your hands and raise them above your head."
Yong'an's vigilance and tension were visible to the naked eye. Shen Yujiao then did as she was told. Seeing that the person in front of her obediently did so, Yong'an stepped forward and used a knife to lift the brim of her hat. Almost instantly, all the tension in her body dissipated, and even her expression softened. When she spoke, she was full of exhaustion: "Sister-in-law."
"The little girl has grown up."
Shen Yujiao stepped forward and hugged her, gently soothing her unease with her hands on her back. "Yong'an is great, but don't come here by yourself next time. If I have a weapon on me, you'll be in danger."
"My intuition tells me it's my sister-in-law..." the little girl replied in a muffled voice. She didn't hug her for long before quickly pulling away from the warm embrace and leading her straight towards the cabinet.
The bedroom in Qian Yuan Palace was sparsely furnished. Near the bed was only a cabinet, which Shen Yujiao suspected wasn't for storing bedding. Yong'an's action of opening the cabinet door confirmed her guess—
Inside the half-meter-high cabinet was a person, with eyes closed, curled up in a ball, limbs bound, and eyes covered with a silk cloth. Who else could it be but Princess Yongjia?
Shen Yujiao gasped. No wonder she felt something was wrong when she entered the palace. She was wondering where Yongjia had gone.
The next second, something even more astonishing happened—Yong'an dragged her out like a sack of potatoes, letting Yongjia fall to the ground with a thud. Seeing that her head was about to hit the ground, Shen Yujiao quickly reached out and tugged at her clothes to cushion the impact. Yong'an seemed to think nothing of any of this.
After moving the person away, Yong'an removed the floorboards that had been seamlessly integrated with the cabinet walls, revealing a shallow hidden compartment. Shen Yu's eyes darkened slightly; it was an imperial edict.
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