Emperor's Rescue
The morning sun was rising, the sky was clear and beautiful, the heat not yet at its peak, and the streets of Guxiang and Ming Street were already bustling with business. A richly decorated carriage passed through the street, slowly heading towards the Imperial City.
The man in the car simply lifted a corner of the side curtain to reveal his face, and the soldiers guarding the palace gate immediately stepped aside and let the man in, not forgetting to greet General Wenren with awe.
The carriage drove smoothly all the way to the inner palace and finally stopped outside Jingtai Palace.
"Then I'll be leaving first." Wen Rencuo was about to move when he froze in his tracks, lost in thought as he stared at the girl sitting across from him. Jing Yao skillfully donned the human skin mask, showing no sign of nervousness or fear, unafraid of the danger of what lay ahead.
Jing Yao carefully checked the mask to make sure there were no flaws. Turning back, he saw that he hadn't gotten out of the car yet and couldn't help but wonder, "What's wrong?"
Wen Rencuo came back to his senses, held back what he wanted to say, and only said "Be careful" before hurriedly getting off the carriage. If others saw his hurried and embarrassed look, they might misunderstand him, but Jing Yao didn't notice it at all.
She only hoped that Wen Rencuo could play his crucial role. After all, his primary task was to delay time and keep Si Jue in Jingtai Palace to give her an opportunity to take advantage of.
The Jingtai Palace is neither close nor far from the Qianqing Palace.
But if she wanted to get to the emperor smoothly, she still lacked one thing.
Jing Yao quietly got off the carriage and looked around. It was exactly as she remembered. The guards had not patrolled here since their shift change.
She walked two steps further to the garden outside Jingtai Palace, stopped a passing palace maid, and pointed to the right: "Does this road lead to the Imperial Garden?"
The maid saw that she was unfamiliar but elegantly dressed, so she must be a member of a wealthy family visiting the palace. She nodded respectfully and said, "Yes, just turn around the end and you'll be there."
"Thank you very much."
The palace maid bowed and said, "Your Excellency's words are too serious. I will take my leave first."
After saying that, the maid left in a hurry. Jing Yao had been in the palace for many years and naturally knew how to get around the Imperial Garden. She asked someone for directions just in case.
She always felt that Yue Ningning had other ways to find her.
Thinking of this, Jing Yao realized that time was precious and could not be wasted, so he raised his foot and walked to the other side.
The place where the palace maids and eunuchs' clothing was kept had a convenient back door, allowing one to enter quietly, bypassing the patrolling guards outside. However, the back door was blocked by the clothing baskets, so almost no one knew about it. When Jing Yao was young, he often hid there.
She returned to the palace like a duck to water and found the familiar back door with ease.
Pushing aside the piled-up clothes baskets, Jing Yao struggled to squeeze in through the small door. This opening was originally supposed to be for the baskets to enter and exit, but it had been abandoned and sealed for some reason.
"call."
Jing Yao was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she suddenly heard the sound of a door opening. She raised her eyes and caught a glimpse of two people walking towards her through the layers of clothes. She immediately hid in a large cabinet at the side and buried herself with the hanging clothes and silks.
Two younger palace maids came in. Jing Yao saw them through a small gap and saw that the color of their clothes were from the imperial kitchen.
The two chatted from time to time while choosing their own sizes.
"Your Highness has been in a bad mood lately."
"Yes, perhaps it's because of the old prince's matter..."
"Hush, be careful with your head." The sister interrupted her, "You'd better finish choosing clothes and go back. You haven't steamed the pear blossom cake yet. His Highness said he likes your cooking."
"I see." The little girl stuck out her tongue, "But Your Highness seems to like sweet things more than before lately."
The girl hugged her clothes and shook her head: "Maybe eating something sweet will make me feel better."
"Perhaps."
The two people's voices were getting farther and farther away, but Jing Yao's heart was getting heavier.
No, she had to find the emperor quickly.
She picked up a set of clothes and quickly climbed out of the small entrance. When she walked outside, she met a group of guards. Since she had already walked far away and it looked like she had just come out of the Yanqi Palace in the back, the guards did not stop her.
If she had been a little later, she might have been caught on the spot crawling out of the small mouth.
Jing Yao didn't dare dwell on it. Her most urgent task was to find a way to quickly enter the Palace of Heavenly Purity. She had already considered it over and over last night. The few maids allowed in and out of the emperor's presence were all elderly people who accompanied him. The emperor needed to take medicine and wash himself every three hours, so Jing Yao had to rush to the kitchen to take the medicine away before the senior maids could. As for the reason, she hadn't spent all these years in the palace in vain.
The maid in charge of making medicine in the kitchen looked suspicious: "You said it was Aunt Jin who asked you to come?"
Jing Yao stood at the door of the kitchen without changing his expression or heartbeat, and put on a proud look without any panic. Those who could work under the senior palace maid usually had such an arrogant look.
She glared coldly and said, "Aunt Jin just went to Jinkang Palace. She visits the concubines on the emperor's behalf every month on this day. Concubine Liu has been enjoying tea lately, and she invited Aunt Jin to stay and taste the new Pingnan tea just imported from the Imperial Household Department. Jinkang Palace is quite far from the pharmacy, so they sent me to get the medicine first to avoid missing the appointment."
The palace maids in charge of making the medicine looked at each other. The girl in front of them was so imposing and had no guilt at all, but the emperor's medicine could not be taken lightly... If they gave it to her carelessly, they would lose their heads.
Jing Yao saw that they were still hesitating and was about to take drastic measures when a familiar shrill voice suddenly came from behind him: "What are you guys still doing standing there? How dare you neglect Aunt Jin's people!"
"We, the servants, have failed to recognize the true master. Please forgive us, eunuch!"
When the young palace maids saw the visitor, they hurriedly bowed and when they received the order to stand up, they immediately rushed to bring out the medicine.
"Eunuch Ming..."
Jing Yao bowed slightly, but before he could fully bend, Eunuch Ming grabbed his elbows and said, "Between you and me, there's no need for such formalities."
She looked at the old man in front of her, whose hair was already white. He nodded slightly and blinked his gentle and smiling eyes, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
Jing Yao took the medicine handed to him by the palace maid, and Eunuch Ming waved his whisk and said, "Come with us."
"yes."
The two walked quite a distance, and when they saw that there was no one around, Jing Yao straightened his hunched back and whispered gratefully, "Thank you for your help, eunuch."
"My family said that there's no need to say thank you between you and me."
Jing Yao felt much more at ease with an acquaintance by her side. Originally, she just wanted to give it a try and use Si Pei's only remaining secret guard to pass a message to Eunuch Ming, but she didn't expect that Eunuch Ming would really come to help her.
"Is everything okay, father-in-law?"
Jing Yao thought that Si Jue would eliminate all of Si Pei's people, but he didn't expect that judging from the palace maid's reaction just now, Eunuch Ming's status in the palace should remain the same.
"I was originally going to be dismissed, but since there was no one else available in the Imperial Household Department, I was allowed to continue." Eunuch Ming shook his head. "The palace is far from being as impenetrable as it appears from the outside. In my opinion, there are serious problems."
Jing Yao could also see that the security in the palace was not as strict as when Si Pei was there. The so-called strict defense was only at the palace gate, and it looked like there was a mix of good and bad people in there.
Is Si Jue's ability to govern so poorly? Or is there something wrong internally that he's no longer interested in rectifying...
It seems that Si Pei has a great chance of regaining his position.
Eunuch Ming also had something to worry about: "How is my old friend?"
"I am fine now."
Eunuch Ming smiled with satisfaction and nodded: "That's good."
The two of them walked in silence, and with Eunuch Ming as their guardian angel, they arrived at the gate of the Palace of Heavenly Purity unimpeded. The guards wanted to stop them, but after testing the poison, they found that the decoction was indeed the emperor's. With Eunuch Ming around, they had no choice but to let the man in, half believing and half doubting him.
"What are you looking for here?"
Jing Yao shook his head: "I'm not looking for things, I'm looking for people."
Eunuch Ming was shocked. The emperor had been in a coma for a long time. Could there be anyone else in the Qianqing Palace?
Jing Yao knew there was no time to waste, so he quietly took out the pills that had not been searched out from his bun.
"This is……"
Before Eunuch Ming could finish his words after catching a glimpse of this scene, Jing Yao had already roughly pried open the old emperor's mouth and stuffed the pill in under the pretense of feeding him medicine, and then poured the medicine in at lightning speed to help deliver it.
"How dare you! What did you feed His Majesty?"
The senior palace maid guarding nearby screamed, but before she could stand up and call for help, she was knocked unconscious by Jing Yao.
In a flash, the secret guards on the roof and outside the window rushed in instantly. They were about to step forward with knives in hand, but Jing Yao shouted, "You bunch of idiots, I'm saving him. If you get any closer to the old emperor, you will really die."
The emperor secretly arranged so many secret guards for himself, but after so much time, their vigilance has decreased significantly.
Eunuch Ming looked around with an expression of surprise. He had no idea what Jing Yao was up to, and the group of secret guards were even more unsure.
Seeing this, Jing Yao immediately took off his mask, revealing his true face. From the concubines and maids to the guards and secret guards, everyone in the palace knew Lady Jing of the Eastern Palace, but hadn't she already escaped with the Crown Prince?
"I didn't go through so much trouble to sneak into the palace to kill him. You should have guessed why I came."
After Jing Yao finished speaking, he no longer paid attention to the secret guards behind him and turned around to wait for the reaction of the person on the couch.
Liu Shiwei said that this was a specially formulated medicine and it would definitely work immediately, but the side effects were a little severe.
Anyway, the old man has been half-dead, and it would be good if he could live for a while longer in a conscious state. Besides, the situation is critical now, so Jing Yao has no time to care about whether he is good to him or not.
Eunuch Ming, standing on the other side, was almost pounding his heart. Could it be that there really was such a miracle drug in the world...
The secret guards approached slowly, and their weapons were almost reaching behind Jing Yao.
A thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead, and she tapped the edge of the couch with her fingers, counting the time.
Finally, when the secret guards were about to capture Jing Yao, the man on the couch, who had become even older due to illness, finally showed some reaction - he lifted his fingers slightly, and his eyelids twitched as he struggled to open his eyes.
"Awake! The Emperor is really awake!"
Eunuch Ming was overjoyed and quickly protected Jing Yao and repelled the secret guards: "Put away your weapons! It was Madam Jing who saved the emperor!"
The secret guards looked at each other, and the leader frowned, "We only follow your Majesty's orders."
The emperor twisted his neck stiffly. His body was numb and his throat was hoarse from lying in bed for so long.
Eunuch Ming hurriedly brought tea. Just as Jing Yao was about to step forward to help, he was pushed away by two secret guards, and the teacup in Eunuch Ming's hand was snatched away.
The secret guards helped the emperor up gently and then carefully fed him some tea to moisten his throat.
"Cough cough..." The emperor's dry throat was finally relieved. He coughed twice to clear his throat, and after a while he looked at Jing Yao who was pushed to the sides.
He looked the girl up and down, frowning: "Why are you wearing the clothes of a palace maid?"
Jing Yao fell to her knees with a thud: "Your Majesty, your servant pays homage."
The emperor didn't quite understand why she suddenly performed such a grand ceremony. In his memory before he fell into a coma, he clearly remembered that his good son Si Pei was determined to make her the Crown Princess. How come after he woke up from such a long coma, this girl from the Jing family had fallen to this state?
"How long have I slept?"
Eunuch Ming bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, it's been almost two years."
The emperor frowned: "Has the crown prince succeeded to the throne?"
As soon as the words fell, everyone in the room fell silent, unsure how to respond. Only Jing Yao raised his head and stared at the emperor. "Your Majesty, Prince Lin Sijue has murdered his brother and usurped the throne. The Crown Prince is now leading an uprising in Jieyang, and Prince Lin has already usurped the throne in the palace."
The emperor pondered for a while. This matter was somewhat unexpected but also seemed reasonable.
Although his sons had different talents, each of them had their eyes on the throne and had their own plans. He was not unaware of Si Jue's rebellious intentions. What puzzled him was how someone with Si Jue's talent could usurp Si Pei's position?
"As the saying goes, it's all about the right time, right place, and right people. Prince Lin has been blessed with great luck. Your Majesty may not believe this, but Prince Lin is definitely aided by a master from another world, which is why the Crown Prince fell for his trick."
The emperor turned his gaze back to the girl in front of him: "So you saved me so that I can help you?"
"Your Majesty, I want you to save Dajing from this dire situation."
"Why do you say that?" The emperor, despite his age, still held a fierce look in his eyes. "Are you trying to say that Dajing will perish at Si Jue's hands?"
Jing Yao was startled for a moment, then forced herself to suppress her fear. "No. I suspect the one who is in charge of government affairs now is not the real Prince Lin."
She paused under that gaze and continued, "I overheard today that Prince Lin likes to eat pear blossom cakes. However, as far as I know, Si Jue has hated pear blossom cakes since he was a child, because Crown Prince Si Pei loves pear blossoms the most. However, in order to pretend to have a good relationship with the Crown Prince, he never shows it in front of others. He rarely eats pear blossom cakes, and even if he is forced to eat pear blossom cakes, he will spit them out privately. He would never specifically ask for it."
"It's just a small pastry. What if his taste has changed?"
"Others might change, but Si Jue isn't like that." Jing Yao shook his head. "He hates Si Pei to the core and would never touch pear blossom cake, just like how Si Pei forbade the palace from making the cakes that Queen Yue loved after he came to power."
"Even if you don't mention the pastries, the palace's supervision is lax and its defenses are lax. It appears impregnable on the outside, but is rotten on the inside. If your Majesty's secret guards have investigated this, they should be well aware of it."
The emperor sighed deeply. He had always known that Si Jue was not a good candidate for the throne, but he never thought that he would cause such a thing.
But he might just be experiencing a last burst of energy now. Even if Si Jue did something stupid like this, he was still his own flesh and blood after all...
"I have already killed one of my sons. Now you want me to kill another one of my own children for my eldest son?"
The emperor might be really old. Although the man in Jing Yao's memory was cold towards the concubines, he was never timid in national politics and was one of the heroic rulers of Xijing who could be recorded in history.
Now, after rapid aging, even his mentality is no longer as strong as before.
No matter how much Jing Yao hated Si Jue, she had to appease the old emperor. Old people who had been through the gates of hell several times were indeed sentimental and easily softened. "That's not what your humble servant meant. When the Crown Prince returns to the East Palace, you can send Prince Lin back to his fiefdom to enjoy his old age. You know Si Pei's character; he wouldn't kill his brothers. And your majesty may not know that Prince Jin is not dead."
"What did you say?"
A glimmer of light flashed in the emperor's cloudy eyes. Changyuan was also one of his most beloved children in the past, otherwise he would not have suffered a stroke due to his foolish betrayal.
"He... is still alive?"
Jing Yao nodded heavily. "Yes, and he's still alive and well. After Your Majesty fell into a coma, Si Pei didn't execute Prince Jin as you ordered, but instead relocated him somewhere else. He's no longer as domineering as he used to be, and is more responsible and capable."
"So that's how it is..." The emperor lowered his eyes. Si Pei was indeed the most sensible and kindhearted of all his sons, otherwise he would not have become his chosen crown prince.
Jing Yao was afraid that he still hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation, so she burst into tears and complained, "Si Jue tried to poison Si Pei but failed, and has been sending his pursuers to hunt him down and kill him. He has so disregarded brotherhood, and Si Pei and Si Cheng will surely die at his hands!"
The emperor closed his eyes and pondered for a long time, then finally nodded: "I understand."
Jing Yao immediately bowed deeply. The emperor smiled and said, "I didn't realize you were so smart and courageous before. It seems Si Pei likes you for a reason."
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