Palace Incident
On the second day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Duanmu Huaixin got up early. Wen Weili tossed and turned on the bed in the inner room, listening to the noise outside. She wanted to get up and greet Duanmu Huaixin as usual, but she hesitated for a while and still didn't say a word.
After Duanmu Huaixin went to the bathroom, Wen Weili called Zhiyun into the house: "Zhiyun, Xinxin got up early today, please give him some dry snacks that I made earlier."
Zhiyun looked at the young lady's face and asked doubtfully, "But..."
"No need to ask," Wen Weili interrupted Zhiyun's question, "...I have my own arrangements. Let me think about it first."
Yes, Wen Weili thought, she must have overlooked something. Once she figured it out, this strange feeling in her heart would naturally disappear.
She turned over again in annoyance, pulled the quilt over her and buried her head in it, like a self-deceiving rabbit, hiding in a hole in vain.
Duanmu Huaixin boarded the carriage. He lowered his eyes, staring at the food box that Zhiyun had brought him and asked, "Is this the snack that Sister Wen made earlier?"
Zhiyun bowed and said, "In reply to Prince Huai, it was made by Madam Li."
Zhiyun felt a little uneasy. The atmosphere between the young lady and Prince Huai had been one of sisterly friendship and brotherly respect, and the two had never been in such a stalemate. But since this morning, the entire Prince Huai's Mansion seemed particularly cold and solemn.
Duanmu Huaixin took the lunch box, his face cold. He opened his mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say. He gently rubbed his forehead and sighed, "You should go back. Maybe I didn't do something well and it upset her."
After saying that, Duanmu Huaixin turned around and got into the carriage. The coachman whipped the horse and drove towards the palace. Everyone respectfully saw the prince off.
Inside the carriage, Duanmu Huaixin held the food box in his hands, but he had no appetite at all. He carefully recalled the scene of last night: the dragon dance, the lanterns, the alleys. What on earth had angered Sister Wen? Could it be that Sister Wen didn't hit him? Thinking about it, this was the only thing.
Duanmu Huaixin breathed a sigh of relief, and his frown relaxed. Although it made sense, deep down in his heart he felt that it was not the case.
"Your Highness, we're here." The carriage stopped outside the palace gate.
He paused in thought for a moment and got out of the carriage, feeling a little puzzled. There were four palace gates on the road to court, from the outside to the inside, namely Yongle Gate, Yong'an Gate, Mingtong Gate, Mingcheng Gate and the main hall gate in front of the Golden Throne Hall.
As a prince, Duanmu Huaixin could ride a carriage to Mingtong Gate, but today, strangely enough, he was stopped at Yongle Gate.
A senior eunuch in navy blue clothes, accompanied by several junior eunuchs, respectfully greeted Duanmu Huaixin and said, "Please forgive me, Prince Huai. I am willing to serve as your sedan chair."
"No need." Duanmu Huaixin refused coldly. The sedan chair was often used by some overly spoiled concubines in the palace. He was not weak enough to need to be carried into the palace, so it was impossible for him to ride in it.
"Your Highness, please come this way." The eunuch followed Duanmu Huaixin respectfully.
The further he walked, the more uneasy Duanmu Huaixin felt. The way these eunuchs walked didn't seem like they were leading or following. Instead, it looked like they were monitoring him and trapping him among them.
Duanmu Huaixin stopped in his tracks and asked sternly, "When did the palace change this rule?!"
The head eunuch forced a smile and said shamelessly, "Prince Huai, don't worry too much. Just follow me."
Duanmu Huaixin became more and more suspicious that there was something wrong with this eunuch, so he refused to leave and said, "Go back to the mansion."
The chief eunuch stood in front of Duanmu Huaixin and smiled strangely, "If Prince Huai is unwell, I will call the imperial physician. If you are tired, please take a sedan chair. If you miss court without reason, it will be considered a serious crime."
This eunuch came prepared. Duanmu Huaixin looked at the other young eunuchs surrounding him, and his heart became more and more solemn. He was afraid that something had happened in the palace!
"Prince Huai, let's go?" the eunuch urged.
Don't panic, you have to find out what they want to do first. Duanmu Huaixin nodded slightly, "Lead the way."
Along the way, Duanmu Huaixin silently observed his surroundings. In the past, some court officials would arrive early and some would arrive late at the morning court, but today there was no sign of them.
After passing through Mingtong Gate, many court officials gathered here. They also looked innocent and didn't know what had happened. Seeing Duanmu Huaixin coming from a distance, they hurried to greet him.
"Prince Huai, what happened in the palace? Why are you stopping us here?"
"Yes, the morning court is about to begin, and we are still at Mingtong Gate. Isn't this a bad idea?"
Duanmu Huaixin looked around. All the people here were officials of the third or fourth rank. The prime minister and others were not here. He still said nothing and continued to walk forward.
Going further to Mingcheng Gate, you will find officials of the first and second ranks here.
Some of them did not look panicked, and when they saw Duanmu Huaixin coming, they avoided him and walked away. Some of them were confused and greeted Duanmu Huaixin, wanting to know what happened from him.
Duanmu Huaixin didn't know either, but he already had some guesses in his mind, but he hoped that the facts would not be what he hoped.
When they reached here, the chief eunuch and the junior eunuchs retreated quietly. Duanmu Huaixin looked at a minister for a second and shook his head slightly. He pretended to be careless and dropped the jade pendant on the hem of his clothes to the ground. When he bent down to pick it up, he sent a signal to the dark.
For a moment, the leaves seemed to be blown by the wind and swayed slightly.
Duanmu Huaixin and the court officials waited here for a long time. When the morning court session was almost over, the chief eunuch invited them to go to the Golden Palace.
Crossing the gate of the Golden Throne Hall, they saw a familiar yet unbelievable face sitting on the high dragon throne: the prince!
General Hu reached for his sword, but found nothing. Remembering he had to remove his armor before entering the palace, he hesitated and looked at his colleagues. Most, like him, felt a little uneasy, but eventually calmed down. However, a few officials, like Prime Minister Niu, couldn't hide their elation, no matter how hard they tried to feign composure.
The prince half-leaned on the dragon throne, watching the various officials with great interest. He paid special attention to Duanmu Huaixin's expression, but this bastard was neither panicked nor looked at him with a dead look, which made him lose his appetite.
Prime Minister Niu received the Crown Prince's gaze, coughed forcefully, and asked pretentiously, "May I ask why the Crown Prince is sitting on the Dragon Throne?"
"My father has been feeling very unwell since before the Dragon Boat Festival. He was seriously ill last night and was unable to get up for court this morning, so he summoned me and told me... to take over temporarily, ha... to be the regent." The prince acted very sad, and when he said the word "regent", he seemed unable to bear the sadness. He raised his sleeves, covered his face and said
Even though the prince's smile couldn't be hidden even by his sleeves, the court officials remained extremely quiet, as if they were selectively deaf and couldn't hear the prince's laughter.
Imperial Tutor Pi was the first to agree with the Crown Prince, saying, "Your Majesty is wise, and the Crown Prince is exceptionally intelligent. He is the perfect candidate to be Regent. He will surely be able to relieve Your Majesty's worries when His Majesty is uneasy. Brother Niu, don't you agree?"
With Grand Tutor Pi leading the way, Prime Minister Niu nodded, knelt down and said, "Grand Tutor, your words make sense. The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. We respectfully welcome the Crown Prince to govern the country."
Few of the court officials were foolish, and they quickly knelt down and shouted, "Welcome the Crown Prince to govern the country!"
The other princes thought they were no match for the crown prince at the moment, and knelt down unwillingly. In the crowd of black people, only Duanmu Huaixin stood still.
The prince narrowed his eyes and asked, "Second brother, why don't you kneel?"
"Why should I kneel?" Duanmu Huaixin actually sneered. He looked at the eunuchs walking in from outside the hall and said, "Hasn't the Crown Prince already made preparations for me?"
Rage surged in his heart, and the prince shouted, "Come here! Prince Huai is disobeying my order and plotting rebellion. Capture him!"
The young eunuchs surrounded Duanmu Huaixin. They seemed to be unaware of Duanmu Huaixin's martial arts skills and wanted to capture Duanmu Huaixin with their bare hands.
Duanmu Huaixin had already seen through the prince's intention and dodged twice. A young eunuch then covered his chest, screamed, shook his body a few times, and fell to the ground.
The senior eunuch hurried over to the junior eunuch, sniffed his breath, and exclaimed in horror, "He, he's dead! Prince Huai has killed someone!"
The prince was furious and ordered the imperial guards to rush into the Golden Palace and capture Duanmu Huaixin.
Surrounded by a group of armored imperial guards, Duanmu Huaixin sneered and was enraged as the prince wished, but he did not struggle and was easily taken away by the imperial guards.
The plan was clearly going smoothly, but Duanmu Huaixin's look, as if everything was under control, made the prince uneasy. He kept thinking back to how Duanmu Huaixin looked before he was taken away, and the more he thought about it, the more panicked he became. Could it be that this bastard had already known about this?!
But even if this bastard already knows, it’s useless! My father is already seriously ill and can no longer stop me. The position of regent is mine, and he is already guilty. Everything is according to my plan, and it cannot fail! The prince thought, and suddenly he remembered that the person he sent to Prince Huai’s palace had never returned!!!
Elsewhere, at Prince Huai's Mansion, Wen Weili stood up after Duanmu Huaixin left. For some reason, she felt a sense of unease. With a self-deprecating laugh, she wondered if this was truly a demonic barrier. She should just let last night's events pass. She might as well think about what to cook today.
Just as Wen Weili was busy in the kitchen, a dark figure appeared beside her silently, "Madam, something happened in the palace."
Wen Weili's hands and feet instantly went cold to the bone. She took a deep breath and ordered the shadowy figure, "Don't move in the palace for now. Send someone to check the area around the palace for any ambushes. Keep an eye on the princess and the others to see if there are any suspicious people coming in or out. Also, take the things in the study away first."
The black shadow took the order and left. Wen Weili leaned her hands on the stove, worried about Duanmu Huaixin's safety, but her mind was extremely clear. She knew very well that if the palace sent people to surround the palace, it would only be a threat to Duanmu Huaixin; if the palace sent people to break into the palace to arrest people or if there were any unusual movements among the wives and concubines in the palace, it would definitely be aimed at her!
Having made up her mind, Wen Weili walked out of the small kitchen with a normal expression, still holding a food box in her hand. She smiled at Zhiyun and said, "Go to the storehouse and get some snow lotus, ginseng, purple blood grass, and bird's nest. I'll make some healthy food today."
"Yes." Zhiyun walked towards the storeroom, thinking secretly, "Young lady, this is a bit strange. Didn't you say you were going to make water elm soup today? How did it suddenly become a health-preserving food? Besides, young lady never likes to use bird's nest, so why would she ask her to get bird's nest?"
No, there is danger around the young lady! Zhiyun suddenly stopped and turned to run towards the courtyard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
