Chapter 133
Qin Sang sat under the lamp looking at the Kyoto defense map, while Xie Wu was on the other side making a wedding gift for Qin Sang.
After experiencing a series of perplexing events, including the sudden loss of his mother, the funeral, and the hasty arrival of an imperial edict, even the foolish Xie Wu could sense something amiss.
"Such an obvious move, is the Emperor afraid that the Crown Prince won't rebel?" After crying for half a month, she finally agreed to say a few words.
Although she knew this wedding day was also an inauspicious one, if it went well, Qin Sang would still be the rightful Princess Consort of Ning'an, and there would certainly be no second wedding. Therefore, the wedding ceremony was still necessary.
"Have you prepared your things for leaving the city?" Qin Sang asked instead of answering. "If you're ready, let's leave tomorrow. Who knows, we might not be able to wait until the wedding day."
"Xiao Cui went to the city gate today and said that families are not allowed to leave the city. You can't get out, so don't even think about it." Xie Wu didn't even lift his eyelids, and although he was saying such alarming news, his tone was very calm.
Qin Sang's heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at the woman opposite her. Remembering how busy the workers had been in the yard lately, she couldn't help but feel alarmed: "You're not planning on leaving the city, are you? The basement in the backyard isn't safe!"
"Don't you understand that none of the noble families in the city could escape? In every upheaval and struggle for the throne, how could we possibly escape?" Xie Wu smiled bitterly. "Born into a family like ours, if the world is peaceful and without trouble, that's our blessing. But if any political upheaval occurs, we're all fish on the chopping block. My mother taught me this when I was very young. So you don't need to blame yourself too much. Your mother knows this; she's known it since the day your grandfather passed away."
Qin Sang suddenly felt weak all over and had no way to refute.
How to refute it? Every word is precious.
As they were talking, a servant from the side gate rushed over, his voice trembling: "Miss, Her Majesty the Empress requests your presence."
***
Bai Yiqing's private residence had already been renovated, but the furnishings inside were very simple, and the number of servants was pitifully small.
However, he didn't live here often, and the eldest princess couldn't find any clues here either, because the other courtyard next to this one was abandoned for many years. At this moment, in a dilapidated room in the side room, a candle the size of a soybean was burning. The two people sitting around the candlelight could be easily seen to have some similarities in their eyes and eyebrows.
The middle-aged man dressed in the simple clothes of an ordinary person was Prince Su, who was rumored to have been assassinated years ago. Sitting opposite him, in fine robes, was Prince Ning'an.
He took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Prince Ning'an: "This is a letter from Li County, for her. Please pass it on."
Prince Ning'an glanced at the letter's cover, frowning in confusion: "What does the letter say?"
Prince Su laughed: "I will not be a thief who steals other people's privacy, and I advise you not to either."
Prince Ning'an tucked the letter into the wide sleeves of his robe. Just then, the door creaked open, and the two turned to look. Bai Yiqing, dressed in black, brought in the dust of autumn, and even the candlelight in the room flickered slightly.
He rarely wore black, but it only accentuated his snow-white complexion and jade-like features.
He sat cross-legged between the two men, his voice still cold and calm: "I've found out that the remnants of the Night Owl Kingdom are not only hiding in the capital city, but also have a garrison outside the city."
"A garrison?" Prince Su was slightly surprised. "With such a large target, how did they manage to conceal it from the capital's defenses?"
"And the expenses for food supplies are enormous..." Prince Ning'an also clearly sensed that something was wrong.
"The cost of provisions is not a big deal for the island lord of Wuyou Island. Besides, nearly half of the officials in the court are controlled by the government. Even if they know that the island lord has troops stationed in the suburbs of the capital, no one dares to speak out."
Prince Ning'an said, "I previously thought he was working for the Crown Prince, and that the income from Wuyou Island should also be under the control of the Eastern Palace. Now it seems that your mother had planned everything all along, just waiting for us to fight like the snipe and the clam so that she could reap the benefits."
Bai Yiqing fell silent, feeling a pang of sorrow that she didn't know where to begin.
From the time he was old enough to understand, he worked for his mother. At first, he thought his mother was supporting the crown prince, so he did his best to serve the crown prince, even though some things did not go as he wished.
But later, her actions gradually aroused his suspicion.
For example, the gold mine in Quzhou was ostensibly mined privately by the Crown Prince, but in reality, most of it was transferred by people placed by his mother. Similarly, Wuyou Island was ostensibly established by Xie Xiao with the Crown Prince's support, but the real mastermind behind it was not the Crown Prince, because he only learned of the existence of this murky place later.
So who would be so audacious as to set up such a large brothel behind the royal hunting grounds? There are very few people in the royal family and nobility with such power.
Later, she suddenly switched sides and openly sided with Prince Ning'an, and began to support him from all sides, which finally made him realize that something was wrong.
Why would someone as intelligent as her, knowing the Crown Prince was incompetent, still go to such lengths to support him? And now, seeing him gain power, why does she want to destroy him with her own hands?
At this point, he began investigating the case of Prince Su from that year.
The so-called rebellion of Prince Su was actually a scheme orchestrated by her mother. Before the trip to the Nanlin hunting grounds, she instigated the Yellow Emperor to commit various unjust acts, provoking frequent remonstrances from the upright Prince Su, and even causing arguments between father and son. This led to the Emperor issuing an edict forbidding Prince Su from accompanying the emperor during the autumn hunt at Nanlin.
Then, she falsely accused Prince Su of speaking insolently and secretly incited the court officials to plead for Prince Su, further provoking the emperor's rebellion and his fear of Prince Su. When the time was right, she stole the dragon robe and imitated the Yellow Emperor's handwriting to write a blood edict pleading for help, which led Prince Su to lead troops to the rescue, but he was accused of treason.
At that time, apart from Prince Su, a capable prince, and his mother, a favored concubine, there was absolutely no indication that any other prince might overstep his bounds. Princess Yuanzhao was always gentle and taciturn, and she had always been as close as sisters with Prince Su's mother... Although everyone felt that someone was behind this, no one suspected her.
Even when Bai Yiqing guessed it was her mother, he couldn't figure out what motive she had for scheming to frame a promising prince out of nowhere.
Her life was so simple and pure; even her first love was with her father, and she had no enemies.
Even with his initial disbelief, he couldn't help but investigate, clinging to this suspicion. But as he investigated, a chill ran through him, especially after the incident on Worry-Free Island and the revelation of Xie Xiao's identity. He suddenly realized that his mother wasn't seeking personal revenge at all. She was clearly stirring up trouble, creating a political crisis in the Southern Kingdom out of nowhere!
She first eliminated a brilliant prince, then supported a foolish crown prince. As his power grew, she then supported a prince who had been biding his time, feigning illness for many years, all in preparation for this final battle.
She had no foreign blood and no reason to support the restoration of another country, so there was only one possibility: her mother wanted to become empress herself.
What a ridiculous conjecture! His mother, such a gentle and kind woman, with a kind face, actually plotted for so many years to become empress herself?!
Should he support his mother? He hesitated, but what empress could there be in this world? Besides, a civil war would only invite trouble, leaving the people of the capital in a terrible situation.
He didn't want to go crazy with her, nor did he want to be some kind of puppet successor.
So he kept quiet and slowly investigated until he found out about Prince Su, who had been deliberately spared by her mother back then.
She took everything from others, yet mercifully spared their lives. It's hard to say whether to call her arrogant or kind-hearted.
Prince Su was a man who was already dead on paper. Xie Zhongxu arranged for him to retire to Gong County, which was next to Li County, where he lived a simple life. He thought that the glorious days of being a king were a thing of the past, but unexpectedly, he was found by someone one day.
Bai Yiqing actually came to plead guilty. He recounted his mother's sins, shared his speculations, and hoped that Prince Su would intervene to stop his mother's madness.
Although Prince Su had retired from public life, he was not entirely indifferent to the affairs of the realm. He knew of Zhao Kun, so he came to the capital to see him.
Even though he has been taking medicine for years to prevent the current Crown Prince and Empress from harming him, and even though he pretends to be eccentric and unruly in front of others, he can still shoulder heavy responsibilities, and only he has the ability to shoulder such responsibilities.
Thus, a strange situation arose: the eldest princess used her son as a tool, Zhao Kun as a pawn, and Prince Su as a useless piece. Yet, these three secretly joined forces to prepare a counterattack.
The root of this matter was Qin Sang and Xie Suian's investigation of the gold mine and Wuyou Island. Their recklessness alerted the enemy, which led Bai Yiqing to follow the trail and tear open that bloody hole.
After a long silence, Bai Yiqing took a sip of wine to warm himself up, but he was shivering all over, and the warm wine seemed to cool down instantly when it entered his mouth.
"The Crown Prince faction will definitely target the Xie family before they take action. They want Qin Sang to perform a flag-raising ceremony, so they should send someone to take her away." He put down his wine cup and looked coldly at the empty cup in front of him, saying.
“We cannot afford to fight this battle with the Crown Prince,” Prince Su said gravely. “We must strike at the root of the problem.”
Prince Ning'an and Bai Yiqing both looked at Prince Su, who said, "Now that we're in the game, what is there to fear about life and death?"
***
The bright and spacious Huiyu Palace floor was stained red with blood. The glaring color and the stench of blood made people shudder. Xie Sui'an suppressed the nausea in his chest and stood aside without changing his expression, staring at the emperor who was old and out of shape but in fact exhausted.
He killed the Empress with his own hands. This woman had murdered many of his princes and concubines, and also harmed the woman and son he loved most. Every day after learning the truth, he wanted to strangle this woman with his own hands.
However, even the emperor was not entirely whimsical. The fledgling he had raised with his own hands had now become his hindrance. He took over his patrol battalion, entrusting his life to a beast worse than a pig or a dog.
The crimes committed by that beast were all horrifying: torturing and murdering palace maids, forcibly taking wives of officials, forming cliques for personal gain, and privately minting coins... What kind of monster had he raised? And why should he entrust the ancestral legacy to such a person?
He knew that within ten years, the world would inevitably descend into chaos.
He took a breath and disgustedly grabbed the bed curtains to wipe his hands. Seeing this, Xie Sui'an quickly wrung out a wet cloth from the basin and handed it to him.
"Go and deliver the decree," the Emperor said breathlessly. "Summon the future bride of Prince Ning'an to an audience. Tell her it is the Empress's decree that she wishes to see him."
Xie Sui'an's pupils contracted sharply, but he was of low status and had no say in the matter.
The eunuch who delivered the imperial decree bowed his head and left. Xie Sui'an's heart pounded wildly, and his hands gradually clenched into fists.
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