Chapter 219 Want to go out? No way!
"Your Highness, with all due respect, Prime Minister Yun is cunning and ruthless. Since he dared to commit such a heinous crime, he must have already wiped out all traces. I'm afraid our investigation won't be smooth sailing."
Chu Xuanyi's worries soon became a reality.
The secret agent of the palace is the sharpest hidden blade of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was forged by Xiao Yu himself and is invincible.
But this time, the invincible knife seemed to have cut into a ball of slippery cotton, encountering obstacles everywhere.
Five days later.
The commander of the Black Armor Guards appeared in the study again.
"Your Majesty, I am incompetent."
"On the day of the autumn hunt, the deputy commander of the guards who were protecting the emperor died suddenly of a heart attack at home three days ago. The rest of the guards were either transferred to the bitter cold of the northern border within a day, or... their families had accidents and they had voluntarily resigned from their positions and are nowhere to be found."
Chu Xuanyi stood up with a jerk: "Everything is dealt with? So fast!"
"What's the Yun family's move?" Xiao Yu's expression didn't change at all, as if he had already expected this result.
"I can't find out." The commander lowered his head even more.
"Prime Minister Yun lives a secluded life, remaining in his mansion daily except for attending court. He has never interacted with anyone suspicious. The Yun family's accounts have been checked, and they are spotless, with not a single discrepancy. As for the manors outside the capital, our people have also searched them all, but found nothing. They... cleaned up their act too thoroughly."
"Alright, step back." Xiao Yu waved his hand, "Keep watching, don't relax."
"yes."
After the commander left, Chu Xuanyi sat back in his chair with a dejected look on his face.
"What should we do? Your Highness, what should we do? All the clues are gone! Are we just going to watch that fake guy sit on the throne and watch the Yun family do whatever they want?"
Xiao Yu also frowned, unable to think of any way to break the deadlock.
"Brother Xiong Xiong."
In the corner, Ajiu timidly asked, "Are you unhappy?"
Xiao Yu raised his eyes and looked at her. A ripple finally appeared in his eyes, which were as deep as a cold pond. He didn't say anything, but just looked at her quietly.
Ajiu ran to him, stretched out his little hand and gently pulled his sleeve.
"Don't be unhappy." She raised her little face and said seriously, "Whoever made you unhappy, Ah Jiu, go kill him, okay?"
Her voice was clear and innocent, but what she said made Chu Xuanyi and Xiao Jing shudder.
Chu Xuanyi smiled bitterly: "Ajiu, this time the enemy can't be solved by just killing them."
"Why?" Jiu tilted his head in confusion. "My Lord said that killing is the fastest way to solve a problem."
Chu Xuanyi: "..."
When did he ever say something like that? He clearly said "use your brain to solve problems", so how did this girl understand that?
Xiao Yu looked into Ajiu's clear eyes, and the irritability in his heart miraculously subsided a little.
"The King is fine."
…
Cining Palace.
On the bed, the Queen Mother slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at the bright yellow tent ceiling for a long, long time.
Those memories that had been suppressed by the evil magic and became confused and blurred were washed out again bit by bit.
She remembered Prince Yu's hypocritical face.
I remembered the bowls of "calming soup" with a strange aroma that he brought.
"ah--"
The Queen Mother sat up suddenly and held her head in her hands.
"My Lady, you're awake!"
Nanny Rong, who was standing by, was surprised and happy, and hurried forward to support her.
"My lady, how are you feeling? Are you feeling unwell?"
The Queen Mother grabbed her hand, her eyes frighteningly sharp.
"Where's Prince Yu?"
Rong Ma was startled by her appearance and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Prince Yu...his conspiracy was exposed, and he has already...has been executed!"
"He was executed?"
She looked around and felt that the Cining Palace was too quiet.
"Where's the emperor? Why didn't the emperor come to see me?"
When the emperor was mentioned, Nanny Rong's expression changed instantly.
She fell to her knees with a plop, tears streaming down her face.
"Empress Dowager, you are finally awake. If you don't wake up, the fate of the Great Zhou will change!"
"What do you mean?" The Queen Mother's heart tightened. "What happened to the Emperor?"
Nanny Rong choked up and told the whole story about how after the autumn hunt, the emperor was "seriously injured in an assassination", and how Concubine Yun and Prime Minister Yun controlled the government and appointed people based on personal connections.
The Queen Mother's face grew darker as she listened. When she heard that the palace gates were now closed and even the Regent could not enter to visit, she slammed the edge of the bed and shouted angrily:
"How ridiculous! What a great Yun family, what a great Concubine Yun! I'm not even dead yet, and yet they dare to act so arrogantly!"
She has been immersed in the harem for decades. What kind of conspiracy and tricks has she not seen?
As soon as she heard this description, she immediately understood the trick.
The emperor...I'm afraid he's in great danger!
"Madame Rong, immediately convey my imperial decree and summon Prince Regent Xiao Yu to the palace. I have something important to discuss with him."
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Nanny Rong quickly wiped away her tears, received the imperial decree, and hurried out.
However, as soon as she reached the gate of the Cining Palace, she was stopped by two guards who were dressed in the uniforms of the imperial guards but had very unfamiliar faces.
"Madam, please stay."
The leading guard stretched out his arm to block her way. His attitude was polite, but his eyes were cold.
Nanny Rong's heart sank, but she still maintained her dignity and said in a deep voice, "How dare you! I am following the Empress Dowager's order to come out of the palace to summon His Royal Highness the Regent. How dare you stop me?"
"I'm sorry, Mammy."
The guard had a fake smile on his face.
"Empress Yun has ordered that the Empress Dowager is unwell and needs to rest. To prevent any villains from disturbing the Empress Dowager, no one is allowed to enter or leave the Cining Palace at will."
"You!" Nanny Rong was so angry that she was shaking all over. "I am delivering the Queen Mother's decree. Do you dare to disobey the Queen Mother's decree? Are you thinking of rebelling?"
"We are also following orders," another guard said indifferently, "Madam, if you have any questions, please report them to Concubine Yun first, and she will convey them to you. Otherwise, you will not be able to leave this palace."
Nanny Rong returned to the inner hall with a pale face.
"Your Majesty..."
She fell to her knees in front of the Empress Dowager with a thud, "We can't get out... We can't get out... The Cining Palace is full of Concubine Yun's people. We are trapped here."
The Queen Mother slowly walked to the window, opened it a little and looked out.
There was a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps in the courtyard. It was filled with imperial guards holding long spears, surrounding the entire Cining Palace like an iron barrel.
The Queen Mother's face turned pale in an instant.
“Crack—”
A white jade teacup next to her was swept to the ground by her and shattered into pieces.
"Wow...what a great Yun family...what a great virtuous concubine I personally appointed!"
"Do they think they can trap me to death with just these few palace walls?"
"They underestimated me!"
"During the years when I was floating around in the harem, the ancestors of the Yun family were barely even playing in the mud!"
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