While the two were in the teahouse in the small town, Tokyo was already in complete chaos.
Xue Gui had already spread the news of Prince Chen's rebellion as quickly as possible, but Prince Chen's reaction was not slow either, and he hurriedly summoned all civil and military officials and their families to the palace.
Upon learning the news, the high-ranking officials tried to intercept them, but they only managed to stop half of them, while the other half had already entered the palace.
Just as they were getting anxious and worried, they heard that the deposed crown prince had rushed back from the imperial mausoleum.
Xue Heng, dressed in a Taoist robe, was serving his ancestors at the imperial mausoleum when he suddenly received the news. He drew a sword from the waist of one of the guards and rode over. His brows were furrowed, and his aura was chilling. Even though the other court officials knew he had been deposed, they still willingly submitted to him, feeling as if they had found a pillar of support.
"How is the palace now? How many people have entered the palace?" Xue Heng asked.
“Those who live close to the palace have all entered. It was only those of us who live further away that were intercepted by Prince Shou’s men on the way, and that’s how we managed to escape this calamity,” said Prime Minister Wang Yuanguang.
Xue Heng's gaze swept over the few people: "Has Prime Minister Xie also entered the palace?"
Wang Yuanguang sighed, "Yes, the messenger was late. When he arrived, the person had just entered the palace gate. We were afraid of alerting the enemy, so we didn't dare to call him back."
Whether he was deliberately delaying or genuinely missed the deadline remains to be seen, given his long-standing political disagreement with Xie Lianhong.
Xue Heng was well aware of this, but this was not the time to settle scores. He asked, "Where are the commanders of the Palace Guard, the Imperial Guard Cavalry, and the Imperial Guard Infantry?"
Of the three commanders, only the commander of the Imperial Guard Cavalry Commander stepped forward; the other two had already been summoned to the palace.
Xue Heng could only say, "You arrange for the Imperial Guards to secretly surround the palace and await orders. I will go into the palace."
Wang Yuanguang hurriedly stopped him: "How can Your Highness put yourself in danger? Moreover, once Your Highness enters the palace, won't the rebel king know that things have been exposed? The Emperor and the Empress are still in his hands."
Xue Heng raised his hand to stop his persuasion and said, "It's alright. The assassins sent by Prince Chen are not here to take my life. If he wants to capture me alive, then I'll let him capture me."
He drew his sword, carefully controlling the force and placement to stab himself in the chest. He then had his guards disguise themselves as assassins and said with a serious expression, "Take me to the palace to see Prince Chen."
*
A group of court officials were urgently summoned to the palace, but they did not see the emperor.
They waited in the Zichen Palace, speculating about the emperor's intentions. It was only the beginning of the new year, the holiday wasn't even over yet, so there shouldn't have been any major events in the previous dynasty.
Xie Lianhong frowned, his gaze sweeping over the heavily armed guards surrounding the Zichen Palace. Then, remembering that the Empress had summoned the wives and children of officials to the palace again today, he inexplicably thought of the palace coups recorded in history books, and his heart suddenly felt a little heavy.
He casually walked to Cui Zichen's side, gazing out the window with his hands behind his back, but in reality, he lowered his voice and reminded him, "Something's not right."
Cui Zichen had already sensed something was wrong when he entered the palace. He said, "I heard that after Prince Chen entered the palace for the New Year's Eve banquet, he has not left the palace."
Xie Lianhong immediately understood the key point. Although it was inconceivable that Prince Chen had rebelled, after eliminating all the impossibilities, this most unlikely answer might be the truth.
Cui Zichen then added, "If I'm not mistaken, the Emperor is already under the control of Prince Chen at this time, and the Empress may also be under control, or she may be an accomplice."
Xie Lianhong glanced at the officials present and, noticing the absence of several important figures, his expression of worry lessened: "It seems the news has already spread."
Cui Zichen and he were thinking the same thing, but he was actually worried about the other side.
If Prince Chen has designs on the throne, he will likely treat the civil and military officials of the court with courtesy first, then force. But as for his female relatives... that's another story.
Today, both Madam Xie and Xie Qinglan entered the palace.
He said in a low voice, "If anything goes wrong later, I'll go check on the women."
Xie Lianhong glanced at him, feeling a pang of heartache, but knew this wasn't the time to dwell on such things. Cui Zichen came from a poor family and had made a living by hunting in the mountains; he was quite skilled in riding and archery.
"You go ahead, I'll keep an eye on things here."
While the two were whispering to each other, they saw two guards dragging a person toward the Ciyuan Hall.
The court officials all looked over, and some with sharp eyes immediately recognized the man's identity, exclaiming in surprise, "Doesn't that look like the deposed crown prince?"
Then they remembered that the Emperor had urgently summoned them to the palace, but had not yet granted them an audience. Their minds began to race again, and they guessed that this might be related to the deposed Crown Prince.
That is indeed a big deal.
Xie Lianhong and Cui Zichen looked slightly relieved. Although the Crown Prince had been deposed and the Li family had been forced to lie low for the time being, they had not fallen. None of the Li family members were among those who entered the palace this time.
The fact that the deposed crown prince was brought into the palace at this time is highly questionable.
Xue Heng was dragged to Ciyuan Hall by two guards wearing helmets and armor. His wounds were real, and because he had deliberately left them untreated, blood stained his Taoist robe and it was covered in dust, making him look extremely disheveled.
At that time, Prince Chen falsely conveyed an imperial edict, instructing the assassins: if they could capture the enemy alive, they should do so; but if they found that they could not capture him alive, they should kill him on the spot.
He didn't expect that the men he sent out would actually capture Xue Heng.
Two heavily armored guards threw Xue Heng like a dead dog in front of Prince Chen. One of them said, "Your subordinate has not failed in his mission."
King Chen was greatly surprised, his gaze drawn to Xue Heng, who lay on the ground barely breathing, and he didn't notice the slight discrepancy in the guard's imitation. He clicked his tongue twice, squatted down, and examined Xue Heng: "Big brother?"
Xue Heng forced himself to look up at him, his pupils shrinking: "It's you."
Chen Wangzhi nodded smugly: "It's me, didn't expect that, did you?"
Xue Heng tried to prop himself up, but his injuries were too severe to move, and he fell back down, letting out a muffled groan of pain. After catching his breath for a long time, he asked weakly, "What have you done to Father?"
“That’s my father, what can I do to him?” Prince Chen said with a smile. “Once I ascend the throne, my father and mother will be the retired emperor and empress dowager. As for you, instead of worrying about others, you should worry about yourself.”
Xue Heng smiled at him: "What do I have to worry about?"
Chen Wang sensed something was wrong and instinctively took a few steps back, intending to draw the soft sword at his waist: "Guards—"
Before he could finish speaking, Xue Heng nimbly snatched his sword. He dodged to the side, only to see the two guards kneeling on the ground also surrounding him.
Although he had the temporary advantage due to his weapon, he knew he was no match for Xue Heng, and the two guards were clearly Xue Heng's men. If they continued to fight, he would definitely gain the upper hand.
Prince Chen glanced back, realizing the news had leaked and there was no way to reverse it. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Light the fire!"
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