Chapter 845: The Funeral Bell
"Your Highness and I have been scheming against each other to this day. It's not impossible that we might even abandon our plans after crossing the river and abandon our bows. You've witnessed how we've oppressed Xiao Yan and his wife. Once Your Highness seizes the throne and secures his seat at court, our promise today will be gone, and could be broken at any moment. By then, Your Highness will likely be no more merciful to us than he was to Xiao Yan."
"After all, it's hard to trust anyone who has betrayed you once. This is true for us, and for you, His Majesty."
"So instead of trusting the prince's promises, which we don't know if they can be fulfilled, it's better to believe that since we have evidence in our hands, the prince won't give us up easily."
Feng Qiuli's voice was not loud, but every word she spoke was extremely sharp.
King Hui's expression kept changing, and even Wang Huailu and the others were speechless.
Seeing the hesitation on their faces, Feng Qiuli softened her tone and said, "And your Highness, don't worry. Even if you write this today, it will only provide us with a guarantee. All we want is for our family to prosper."
"As long as you can follow through on your promise and reuse the members of the aristocratic families after seizing power, and ensure that the aristocratic families remain as stable and unfettered as before, we will never tell anyone about this. If Your Highness is still worried, this letter can be slightly altered to state that you and the aristocratic families are conspiring to instigate Cen Guang to rebel, and have everyone present sign and seal it."
"I will write two copies of this letter, one for each of us. This way, we'll both have leverage over each other. Whoever tries to turn against us will be courting disaster. What do you think, Your Highness?"
"Feng Qiuli!"
Min An and the others' expressions changed. This was not what they had discussed before. Feng Qiuli had clearly said that they should force King Hui to give them enough benefits, but now she actually wanted them to take the initiative to give King Hui a handle. This...
Several people wanted to speak immediately, but they were stopped by Liang Guangyi before they could say anything.
After Liang Guangyi stopped Min An from speaking, he looked at Feng Qiuli deeply and then said to King Hui:
"What Feng Qiuli said reflects the intentions of this old man and the aristocratic family. If Your Highness is willing, the aristocratic family will be devoted to you and help you achieve your goals. But if you can't even give me this little bit of trust, then there's no need to talk about the future. We never want empty promises."
Liang Guangyi's words undoubtedly represented the entire family. Min An and the others who were about to speak fell silent, obviously tacitly agreeing with what Liang Guangyi and the others meant.
King Hui's eyes were full of hesitation when he saw this.
If he was only allowed to leave a handle, he would definitely not be willing to do so. Who can guarantee that the aristocratic family will not turn against him? But if everyone present had a "handle", and he and the aristocratic family shared the same "secret", then this handle would become a weapon for him and the aristocratic family to check and balance each other.
Moreover, once he has this thing, he and the aristocratic family will be completely tied together, and no one can leave the other behind.
King Hui's original reluctance was shaken a little, and he turned to look at Wang Huailu.
Wang Huailu lowered his voice and whispered in King Hui's ear, "Your Highness, the most important thing right now is to capture the Queen..."
King Hui thought of the situation in the capital and the tens of thousands of troops in the Queen's hands. He made a decision instantly: "Okay, I can promise you to leave the handwritten letter, but you must also do your utmost to help me capture the Queen and seize the imperial power."
"It's natural."
Feng Qiuli's expression softened, without the sharp sarcasm from before, and she smiled faintly.
"As long as the prince provides us with security, we will naturally return the same loyalty. The future of our family depends entirely on the prince, so we will naturally do our utmost to help the prince ascend to the throne."
King Hui finally relaxed after hearing this: "It's a deal."
After the two sides reached an agreement, someone brought in paper and pen. King Hui did not hesitate after making a decision. He quickly wrote down on the paper the details of his "cooperation" with the aristocratic family according to what they had just discussed. After he finished writing, he copied it exactly, then wrote his name on it and stamped it with King Hui's private seal.
Liang Guangyi read what he had written and handed it to Min An and the others. After hesitating for a moment, they saw Feng Qiuli sign her name without hesitation and stamped the Feng family's patriarch's private seal. Min An and the others then calmed down and signed their names in the same way as Feng Qiuli did.
Liang Guangyi signed his name last, and after his private seal was stamped, he separated the two copies of the letter and handed one to King Hui.
King Hui put it away and asked in a deep voice, "The matter at Munan Pass cannot be concealed for much longer. When will we take action?"
"We need two days to prepare. The Imperial Guards are blocking our way inside, and outside we have the Imperial Patrol Battalion and the Black Armor Guards. The four suburban battalions are also eyeing us covetously. We only have one chance. We must find a way to enter the palace and capture the Queen immediately. Only then can we suppress the external forces. Otherwise, if they counterattack, we won't have enough people to resist."
"Furthermore, the Queen is extremely cautious now, and the palace is heavily guarded. It would be extremely difficult to sneak someone into the palace and approach the Queen without leaving a trace..."
Liang Guangyi frowned and spoke in a low voice, but just when he was halfway through his words, a bell suddenly rang out.
Several people stood up at the same time, and heard the continuous sound of bells that seemed to shake the earth and sky, and in just a moment it echoed throughout the capital.
Min An walked quickly to the door, listened quietly for a moment, and looked surprised when the bell stopped.
"Twenty-seven bells are the bells of great mourning!"
King Hui and others looked at each other, and someone spoke after a while.
"Is it the Empress Dowager?"
The big bell in the palace would never be rung normally. It would only be rung when the emperor or empress passed away or when an elder passed away to inform the capital. The bell had just rung twenty-seven times, which was the funeral bell representing the death of an elder in the palace. And now the only elder in the palace was the Empress Dowager who had been seriously ill for a long time.
The Grand Empress Dowager was the only person in the palace who was willing to redress Xie Tianzhao's innocence after the Eastern Palace incident. Moreover, because the Eastern Palace father and son had been imprisoned for many years, Xiao Yan took care of her in the palace after he ascended the throne.
It is said that people from the Imperial Hospital and Lady Qin stayed in Shoukang Palace every day to take care of her, and the Queen did not ask anyone else to help her and stayed by her side all the time, but the Empress Dowager was already terminally ill.
King Hui had visited the Empress Dowager before, but only twice. The Empress Dowager was in a coma and had not been summoned. No one expected that she would go at this time.
"God help the prince!"
King Hui turned around and heard Wang Huailu's delighted voice: "Just now, Prime Minister Liang was still worried that the palace was heavily guarded and we would have difficulty bringing people in. Now that the Grand Empress Dowager has passed away, the Empress must have been distracted by the funeral ceremonies and relaxed. This is a godsend."
King Hui also reacted after hearing this and a look of joy appeared on his face.
Yes, with the passing of the Empress Dowager, there will definitely be chaos in the palace for a while. Isn’t this their best opportunity?
King Hui couldn't help but look at Liang Guangyi and the others. Min An and the others were also full of surprise, but Liang Guangyi was the only one who looked towards the brightly lit palace with his lips tightly pursed.
"Prime Minister of Liang?" King Hui urged.
Liang Guangyi said slowly: "It is indeed a good opportunity."
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