Chapter 99 Nowhere to Escape
"Your Majesty, after His Majesty dismissed the court, he left...left..."
"No need to say more!"
Concubine De shouted at the maid to stop her, and with a wave of her hand, she knocked the white jade chessboard in front of her down. The chessboard broke in two, and the black and white chess pieces scattered all over the floor.
Emperor Yongde had said yesterday that he wanted to play chess with her. She was overjoyed and had been preparing since early morning, meticulously dressing. But then Emperor Yongde stood her up again. Who wouldn't be furious?
Besides, this is not the first or second time that this has happened.
Concubine De stood up and walked out of the pavilion, looking at the sky above her head.
The sky was as dark as the bottom of a pot, with occasional slanting flashes of lightning on the horizon. The air was filled with a damp, stuffy feeling. Even though it was noon, she felt annoyed.
"Your Majesty, have you gone to see Concubine Xian?" Concubine De suppressed her anger and kept her tone calm.
"Replying to Her Majesty, Consort De, Consort Xian has learned a new dance. Your Majesty, please come to Changchun Palace to enjoy it."
As I guessed, His Majesty went to look for that vixen again.
Xianfei Mei Dai, with her outstanding beauty and talent for singing and dancing, was the youngest daughter of Xiliang King Mei Cheng. She entered the palace at the age of sixteen and had been there for less than two years.
As the only king of a different surname in the Great Yan Dynasty, the King of Xiliang's ancestors were crowned kings through military exploits and inherited fiefdoms. By the time of Mei Cheng, he had sent his daughter to the palace as a concubine. Empress Pei, the then-prime minister, governed the court effectively, keeping the concubines at peace, and thus, no one paid much attention to this obscure and virtuous concubine.
After Empress Pei's death, Concubine De thought she would be the only one favored by Emperor Yongde and would sooner or later become the lord of Fengqi Palace. However, Concubine Xian suddenly appeared out of nowhere and defeated all the other concubines with her youth and beauty, becoming the lord of Fengqi Palace.
Although Defei was unwilling to accept this, she was already a woman over 30 years old, and no matter how she took care of herself, she always fell behind.
It turns out Mei Dai was quite a secretive person. When Empress Pei was alive, she was dignified, gentle, virtuous, and uncontested. But after Empress Pei's death, she transformed herself, captivating Emperor Yongde to the point of complete obsession and obedience.
Concubine De gritted her teeth and ordered, "Get ready, and go to Changchun Palace."
She didn't have the ability of Empress Pei, and couldn't control Emperor Yongde's favor for that vixen. But her son was assisting the government, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would sooner or later be crowned the crown prince. By then, she would have gained status as a mother, and it wouldn't be too late to vent her anger.
Now she had to let Mei Dai know that she shouldn't think that she could ride on the emperor's head just because she had his majesty's favor.
Arriving at the gate of Changchun Palace, a row of imperial guards blocked the way. The accompanying maid was about to send someone to announce something when the leading guard stepped forward, bowed outside the sedan chair, and said, "Your Majesty has ordered that he must not be disturbed while enjoying the dance."
De Fei was furious and pulled back the curtain, pointing at the person who came and said:
"Wu Mingzi, you are so bold that you even dare to stop me?"
The guard commander, Wu Mingzi, smiled cautiously and bowed, saying, "Empress Defei, even if I had a thousand guts, I wouldn't dare stop you. This is Your Majesty's order, and I am acting accordingly. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
De Fei's face was uncertain. She sat back in the sedan chair and listened to the faint music coming from Changchun Palace. She slowed down her voice and said:
"In that case, I'll go back first."
After seeing off Concubine De's carriage, Wu Mingzi reached out and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The Second Prince was currently assisting the government, and he was Concubine De's son. Perhaps one day, Emperor Yongde would be so pleased that he would crown him Crown Prince. Of all the concubines in the harem, Concubine De was the one who absolutely could not be offended.
At times like this, the most difficult thing is for those who are caught in the middle.
Before he could turn around, another eunuch hurried over and handed him a scroll of documents, saying, "Commander Wu, this is an urgent document from the northwest border, six hundred miles away. Please pass it on to His Majesty."
"But His Majesty has ordered that we not disturb you..."
"It's the news about the deposed crown prince," the eunuch lowered his voice, "Isn't this what Your Majesty has been waiting for?"
Wu Mingzi was shocked. He quickly took the document, said goodbye to the eunuch, and hurried into Changchun Palace.
In the front hall, there were sounds of zither and fragrance. The musicians were standing on both sides. Among them was a young woman in colorful clothes dancing gracefully. Emperor Yongde sat on the throne, shaking his head and clapping to the rhythm, appearing to be enjoying himself.
Wu Mingzi passed the golden-armored guards guarding the door, entered the hall, and knelt down at the foot of the jade steps. Before he could open his mouth, the displeased voice of Emperor Yongde sounded from above:
"If there are any memorials, I will review them later."
"Your Majesty, it's the deposed crown prince." Wu Mingzi reminded in a low voice.
Emperor Yongde's expression changed, he stood up and waved his sleeves to the audience.
The musicians immediately stopped playing, gathered up their instruments, and fled the hall like a whirlwind. Consort Mei Dai, who was dancing in the audience, also stopped.
"Your Majesty has state affairs to attend to, so I will take my leave for now." After saying this, Concubine Mei Dai was about to take her leave.
"My beloved concubine, there is no need to avoid me. Come to my side."
At this time, the only people in the huge front hall were Emperor Yongde, Wu Mingzi, and Consort Mei Dai. Emperor Yongde asked Consort Mei Dai to sit beside him, took the document from Wu Mingzi, opened it, read a few lines, and suddenly sneered.
"This Xiao Zhuo, it turns out, has taken refuge outside the Great Wall... The wife of the Marquis of Pingyang has even taken refuge with her daughter, along with several generals and hundreds of soldiers... Could it be that he's planning to gather people for a rebellion?"
This document came from the border guard and was sent to the capital city at an express speed of 600 miles.
The border guards also knew about the Xirong army's attack on Xiaogang Village. Unaware of the enemy's goal, they sent spies to investigate the Xirong's movements and accidentally learned about the Dayan army in Xiaogang Village.
After further investigation, they learned that the commander of the army was the deposed Crown Prince Xiao Zhuo. They also learned that the Xirong's target was Xiliang King Mei Cheng, but they had to get past Xiao Zhuo first. The defending general dared not delay and immediately sent a letter to inform the enemy.
Wu Mingzi stood at the bottom of the stairs, hesitating for a long while before speaking: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go to the border to kill the deposed crown prince."
"You still want to go?" Emperor Yongde looked up at him and sneered, "If it weren't for Concubine Xian's intercession for you last time, I would have chopped off your head long ago."
Wu Mingzi was stunned for a moment, then he kowtowed to the ground like pounding garlic:
"I, your humble servant, deserve death a thousand times. Fortunately, Your Majesty has shown mercy and spared my life. I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty..."
He had been searching for Xiao Zhuo in Liangzhou like a headless fly. The Prince of Qi, Xiao Beiheng, met with him and made a deal: Xiao Beiheng would spare his life, and he would secretly provide Xiao Beiheng with information.
Xiao Beiheng's advice to him was to seek help from the virtuous concubine to save his life.
Emperor Yongde listened to Concubine Xian's words. As long as he could please Concubine Xian, and Concubine Xian said a few words, everything would be fine.
He returned to the capital, hardened his resolve, and secretly presented a set of priceless jade to Consort Xian, then trembling with fear he went to see Emperor Yongde. Under Consort Xian's persuasion, Emperor Yongde spared his life and did not even reduce his official position.
"Alright, don't bother me here," Emperor Yongde interrupted him. "Xiao Zhuo already has an army. Even if you lead your guards there, it will be useless. He's acting like a rebel... Convey my order to the border guards to send 30,000 troops to eliminate the traitor Xiao Zhuo."
Wu Mingzi was horrified when he heard this.
Emperor Yongde was truly ruthless. He would rather ignore the invading Western Rong than kill Xiao Zhuo.
As a result, Xiao Zhuo was attacked by a 10,000-man army of the Western Rong in front and strangled by 30,000 soldiers of the Great Yan behind.
There is truly no escape.
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