After the height of summer, the weather did not immediately cool down. Instead, after a few light rains, it got hot again.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the emperor paced anxiously back and forth, his gloomy face as dark as the sky before a storm.
"You're saying the prefect of Qingzhou discovered someone using the Crown Prince's seal to persuade the soldiers?"
The person kneeling below the stage was one of his most trusted bodyguards.
It was an open secret that the imperial palace had an inner guard.
But no one knows exactly how many guards there are, who they are, or how many things they do for the emperor in secret.
In recent years, however, the emperor has relied more and more heavily on the Imperial Guards, not only entrusting them with the protection of the palace, but also granting them more power.
Planting spies in officials' homes to monitor their private interactions... If this continues, it won't be much different from the infamous Embroidered Uniform Guard in parallel universe history.
"Are you sure it's the Crown Prince?"
The emperor asked again.
The guard's voice was deep: "I can't be sure, but judging from his build, he looks about seven or eight parts like His Highness the Crown Prince."
The emperor's eyes flickered, and he pondered for a long time before issuing the order.
"You personally lead a group to Qingzhou Prefecture. If it really is him, execute him on the spot. We must not let him return to the capital!"
The guard remained calm and respectfully withdrew.
In the deep night of the palace, the emperor pondered recent events, feeling inexplicably restless and uneasy.
Despite all the preparations made, why is that bitch's child still alive?
Could it be that he is truly blessed by Heaven and is a true Son of Heaven?
No, no, no!
I am the true Son of Heaven!
Fate has placed me in this position so that I may sit on this dragon throne and become the supreme emperor!
The light in his eyes faded completely, leaving only a cold, murderous intent.
Just then, a voice rang out from outside the hall.
"Your Majesty, someone from Yongshou Palace says that the Imperial Concubine's headache has flared up again."
The emperor was already in a bad mood and had no time to care about the concubines vying for his favor. He immediately cursed them.
"roll!"
There was a moment of silence outside, followed by the sound of tumbling and crawling.
Inside Yongshou Palace, Consort Shu, who was lying on her bed groaning in pain, felt her heart sink to the bottom upon hearing the eunuch's report.
She struggled to her feet and asked again in disbelief.
"Is that really what His Majesty said?"
The young eunuch prostrated himself on the ground, nodding hurriedly.
Consort Shu slumped back onto the bed, her face pale.
The young eunuch was dragged away, and Consort Shu's personal maid rushed over to comfort him.
"There are many matters to attend to in the court these days. His Majesty is probably in a bad mood because of those ministers. He has no intention of targeting Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please take your medicine first!"
A palace maid handed over a bowl of dark medicine.
Consort Shu twitched the corner of her mouth and raised her hand to cover her eyes.
She was genuinely ill; it wasn't a tactic to win favor. This time, the headache came on suddenly and intensely, and her previous medications were no longer effective.
People are especially vulnerable when they are sick, and they always want to seek care and hope that someone will come to see them, even if it's just a superficial gesture.
Consort Shu never expected that the Emperor had lost his patience to this extent.
So, I'm no longer of any use to him?
The Shu family... I wonder if Father's return to Beijing can turn the tide of the current situation?
Consort Shu drank the medicine and fell into a daze.
However, her headache did not improve the next day; in fact, it became more severe, alarming two imperial physicians.
When the Eighth Prince heard that his mother was ill, he refused to go to school and insisted on staying.
The emperor had just finished court and heard about this, so he couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that the imperial concubine is really seriously ill?
Although he harbored resentment towards the Shu family, he still needed to rely on them for the time being, and it was not appropriate for him to be too cold towards Consort Shu.
After some thought, the emperor then proceeded to Yongshou Palace.
After comforting Consort Shu for a few moments, the Emperor picked up the Eighth Prince, asked him a few questions about his studies, and his eyes showed a clear gentle smile.
Consort Shu saw it clearly and breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, I still have my eighth son!
The emperor did not stay long, but when he left, he took the eighth prince with him.
When Consort Shu's father returned to the capital, no one was alerted.
He returned to his residence discreetly and quickly figured out what had happened. Without even changing his clothes, he went directly to the palace to apologize to the emperor.
No one knows how the two talked, but the next day, Lord Shu went to court with an air of composure, which attracted the attention of many people.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, the emperor actually put him in the Ministry of War!
He was directly appointed as the Minister of War!
As for the original Minister of War?
It was then moved to the Beijing Garrison.
All the officials thought that Lord Shu had been disliked by the emperor, which was why he was stripped of his governorship without saying a word. But to their surprise, the emperor's favor did not diminish, and he was even promoted by half a rank.
This made those who opportunistically took advantage of the situation extremely annoyed.
When Song Xibai, who was at the manor, heard the news, he merely raised an eyebrow, showing no particular surprise.
Granny Fangqi was very worried.
"It's a real shame that the old man didn't break ties with the Shu family!"
"This was expected. After all, a knife that's been used for so many years, even if it becomes disobedient, you can just give it a few pointers. How could it break its own blade so quickly?"
Song Xibai remained calm and composed.
"It won't be easy to cultivate such a good knife again."
"Won't the Shu family be in trouble again?"
"What's there to be afraid of? It's just a last-ditch effort."
Granny Fangqi was relieved.
Over this period of time, she had come to admire Song Xibai immensely. She even had a disrespectful thought: if the Empress were still alive, she probably couldn't compare to Consort Xi in terms of wisdom and strategy.
Song Xibai was unaware of what Granny Fangqi was thinking; she was trying to guess the Emperor's plans.
The fact that he brought the old master of the Shu family into the Ministry of War and moved the original Minister of War to the camp in the suburbs of Beijing shows that he already felt a sense of crisis.
Although they say they respect civil officials, they actually rely more on military generals.
Come to think of it, after all, scholar rebellions rarely succeed within three years, and often as long as military power is in hand, one is invincible.
Song Xibai was also troubled by this problem.
Because she knew absolutely nothing about military operations and warfare. She had no idea how to cleverly seize the enemy's military power.
After thinking for a long time, Song Xibai simply gave up on it.
Let the capable people want to go!
Then, she inquired about the situation with the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard.
This was mainly handled by Commander Yue.
So far, there have been no results.
Seeing Song Xibai's troubled expression, Wei Hong couldn't help but ask, "Didn't the previous General Xuanwei have a good relationship with our prince? Why not give it a try?"
Song Xibai waved his hand.
“General Xuanwei has already gone to the border; he’s too far away to help in this urgent situation. He’s a border general, and his duty is to guard the border and prevent invasions from the northern tribes. If he leads troops back to the capital for personal reasons and breaks the rules, who will trust him to lead troops in the future?”
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