Empress Ashina stood atop the high palace walls, gazing towards the direction of the Tangquan Palace outside the city.
The heavy rain had stopped, but the dazzling flames had not disappeared.
"Fire! The fire is huge!"
"I just don't know where it got burned?"
"It shouldn't be the imperial palace. Helian Gui is a man who values his life."
Empress Ashina gazed at the raging fire that seemed to illuminate half the sky and couldn't help but mutter to herself.
"Your Majesty, we have received a message!"
Granny Helu rushed over and whispered to Empress Ashina, "The Second Prince plotted rebellion and was captured on the spot by the Shadow Guards!"
"The Fifth Prince sent men to assassinate the Third Prince. While fleeing, the Third Prince fell off his horse and broke his leg."
"The Fifth Prince was shot in one eye by an arrow from the Third Prince's assassin."
Granny Helu explained the matter of the Three Kings' Palace Coup in a concise and clear manner.
"Haha! Good! Great!"
Empress Ashina was overjoyed upon hearing this.
The three adult princes were either of noble birth, favored by their concubines, or renowned for their virtue; they were all the strongest contenders for the crown prince position.
As a result, a palace coup occurred, some were arrested, some were left lame, and one even went blind.
The second prince was one thing, but he led troops into the palace, making him a blatant traitor and rebellious son.
The sage did not kill him; this shows his kindness and compassion.
If things go wrong, he could be forced to commit suicide.
The Third Prince and the Fifth Prince weren't the main culprits; they were just along for the ride. (Reading...)
The sage probably won't punish them severely, but they've been crippled.
Which emperor in the world was a cripple or a blind man?
The emperor did have other sons, not to mention several young princes.
In Lingnan alone, the emperor had two princes who were already adults.
Helian Jue was a deposed crown prince, but since he was deposed, why can't he be reinstated?
Helian Huang, on the other hand, was an incompetent fool and could be disregarded.
Anyway, in Empress Ashina's eyes, her Ashi was the most qualified person to be the crown prince.
This palace coup is also Ah Xi's best opportunity!
"And Helian Gui? His sons are rebelling against him one after another, and his eldest son, whom his favorite woman bore him, has become a cripple, yet he hasn't reacted at all?"
Empress Ashina's words were full of sarcasm.
They had been married for over twenty years, but the sage had mostly used her.
If the emperor had even the slightest affection for her as a wife, he wouldn't have deposed Helian Jue the moment after the Turks were defeated.
It's laughable that the saint thought he was kind and compassionate enough.
Pooh!
Not deposing her as empress shows compassion and kindness.
The thought of her husband, the Sage, filled Empress Ashina with icy coldness.
"The emperor vomited blood and fell ill. The imperial physician said it seemed to be a stroke."
"And then there's Consort Xiao. When the Second Prince killed his father and murdered the Emperor, she took a knife for the Emperor, was slashed in the shoulder, and developed a high fever."
Granny Helu seemed not to have heard that Empress Ashina was extremely disrespectful to the sage—daring to call the sage by his name so directly!
The content of He Lu's report was even more astonishing.
In less than half a day, what happened at Tangquan Palace, even the absolute secret of the emperor's stroke, was discovered by Empress Ashina's spies.
Empress Ashina truly lived up to her reputation as an empress for over twenty years.
Empress Ashina: ...Actually, it was mostly a case of the sage "hitting the mark by accident".
He only thought about setting up the Tangquan Palace, but forgot that when the Tangquan Palace was built, Empress Ashina had the most transcendent status in the harem.
Many of the eunuchs and palace maids in Tangquan Palace were appointed by the Empress.
How many of her spies were there? Even the Empress probably couldn't remember.
It can only be said that over the past three years, Empress Ashina has kept a very low profile, as if she has become invisible in the palace.
So much so that even the sages have forgotten how capable and powerful the former Empress Ashina was, and how she managed the entire harem.
The consequences of underestimating one's opponent immediately became apparent.
The sage orchestrated the scheme, but the real winner is very likely to be the empress.
"It's been several days already. Has Ah Xi already started taking action?"
Empress Ashina turned her head and looked towards Lingnan again.
As early as the day the emperor moved to Tangquan Palace, the empress, who had been forgotten in the palace, sent a message to Helian Jue by pigeon.
In the letter, the Empress reminded her adopted son: A great upheaval is imminent in the capital; lead your troops to the capital immediately!
Judging by the days, Helian Jue's troops should already be on their way.
"Alas, Lingnan is still too far away! Even if Ah Xi's carriage is a thousand-mile horse, and he travels day and night, it will still take several days to reach the capital."
Empress Ashina couldn't help but sigh.
And the situation she described is still the most ideal scenario—
The horses are all thoroughbreds; they work day and night without ever getting tired.
In reality, it's simply impossible to do.
First of all, Helian Jue cannot return alone; he must bring a certain number of men with him.
Otherwise, coming back would just be suicide.
For three to five thousand men to travel eight hundred miles a day is simply wishful thinking.
Traveling three to five hundred miles a day is already the limit.
Furthermore, with so many troops marching towards the capital, the governor of Guangcheng would be the first to discover it.
In Guangcheng, the sage set up a large camp with ample troops.
With just a single order from the governor of Guangcheng, the troops in the Guangcheng camp would launch a full-scale attack and intercept Helian Jue.
Unless they can bypass Guangcheng and forge a completely new, unknown road.
But is that even possible?
Although her adopted son wrote to her, telling her that they had found a way to sneak in, the Queen still couldn't help but worry.
However, whether you can or not, you should still give it a try!
Having missed this opportunity, it will be extremely difficult for Helian Jue to return to the capital legitimately.
Yes, it's perfectly legitimate!
"The sage is ill! Alas, what can we do!"
Empress Ashina increasingly felt that the sage was very "cooperative" with her plans.
He fell ill just like that.
The emperor is ill, and the court cannot be left without someone to take charge.
Although she was a woman and had fallen out of favor, she still held the title and the right to rule.
She has the authority to recall the adult princes who have been enfeoffed to their fiefdoms and bring them back to the capital to take charge of the overall situation.
No one could accuse her of favoritism, because the Empress had the power to choose the Crown Prince.
There are indeed other princes in the capital, but they are too young.
The country relies on a long-lived ruler.
Establishing a young prince as heir could easily lead to a crisis of a young ruler and a state rife with instability.
If the Empress summons back older princes like the Prince of Yue, and the Prince of Yong, the court officials will not only not object, but will actually agree.
The only ones who were unhappy or disagreed were probably the saints.
But Empress Ashina didn't care whether he was happy or not.
Since you're already sick, just focus on getting better. Why worry about these little things?
"Let's go! Let's go to Tangquan Palace!"
In contrast to her low-key and docile demeanor of the past three years, Empress Ashina was now full of vigor and high spirits.
She's going to Tangquan Palace to "take charge of the overall situation"!
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