Chapter 108 Those who truly contributed to the country are them…
Thick black smoke rose up and lingered in the air for a long time, like a ferocious monster baring its fangs and claws.
Emperor Qingxi stood on the white marble plaza in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, looking in the direction from which the explosion came, his face ashen.
The commander of the imperial guards on duty today ran over, covered in sweat, and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, three rooms of the East Annex Hall were destroyed by the explosion. There should have been eight eunuchs and palace maids on duty inside the hall at the time of the incident. Three of them have been recovered so far, one dead and two seriously injured... In addition, an old eunuch who committed suicide by poison was found in the garden of the rear hall. A tinderbox was found in his arms, and he is suspected to be the culprit of the explosion."
Emperor Qingxi sneered after hearing this, "Thank goodness, I am truly blessed with good fortune."
In the past, on days with grand court assemblies, Emperor Qingxi would occasionally meet with his ministers or handle some government affairs in the East Annex Hall after the court session ended, and then return to his residence in the inner palace in the afternoon to continue reviewing memorials.
There was no grand court assembly today; otherwise, he would probably be buried alive with those eunuchs and palace maids by now.
Emperor Qingxi made a self-deprecating remark, and all the servants around him immediately knelt down, not daring to utter a sound.
He said to the commander of the Imperial Guards, "Keep digging. Find the person alive or dead. Send more men to thoroughly inspect every palace, leaving no stone unturned. If you blow up a second one, you'll have to answer to me with your head!"
After saying that, he angrily flung his sleeve and said to the eunuch, "Where is the imperial carriage? Send me to the imperial prison."
He wanted to ask that treacherous bastard himself how he dared to bury detonators in the palace!
Inside the prison, Prince An, with disheveled hair and clothes, was bound tightly to a wooden frame. Hearing a series of hurried footsteps coming from the entrance, he slowly raised his head.
Upon seeing Emperor Qingxi, a clear look of disappointment flashed across his face, and he lowered his head listlessly.
"What, are you disappointed to see that I'm still alive?"
Emperor Qingxi took a few steps forward and suddenly kicked him hard in the stomach with all his might.
Prince An groaned in pain, but then looked up at Emperor Qingxi and burst into laughter: "Have you been wanting to do this for a long time? Pretending to be a good older brother for over ten or twenty years must have been driving you crazy, right?"
"Xiao Sheng, have you no shame?" Emperor Qingxi's beard trembled with rage as he pointed at him angrily. "I have always treated you well, but is this how you repay me?"
"It's nothing but the victor's hypocritical goodwill. Do you really think I'd be grateful to you?"
The Prince of An's face no longer held its usual refined and gentle demeanor; it even showed a hint of madness. "If Father hadn't passed away so suddenly, who knows who would be sitting on that throne right now!"
Emperor Qingxi's tone was icy: "I think you've gone mad. Before his death, my father personally passed the throne to me in front of all the officials and relatives. I am the Crown Prince, and my ascension to the throne is legitimate. How can you say I've usurped the throne?"
He grabbed Prince An by the collar. "Where else in the palace is gunpowder buried? Tell me honestly, and I might spare your life."
Prince An curled his lips into a chilling smile: "Guess what? As long as you don't release me, my men will set off all that gunpowder. Today they'll bomb the Wenhua Hall, tomorrow the Wuying Hall, and the day after... how about we bomb your beloved Consort Gao? Hahahaha!"
Emperor Qingxi was so angry that he punched him in the stomach again, "Believe me or not, I'll skin you alive first!"
He took a few steps outside, then suddenly turned back, pointed at Prince An, and cursed: "Do you know why you can't have a son, while I have seven sons and five daughters? It's because you're a wicked seed! Heaven has eyes, and a wicked person like you deserves to have no descendants!"
These words pierced Prince An's heart. He struggled frantically, uttering indiscriminate and vicious attacks on Emperor Qingxi.
However, Emperor Qingxi didn't care at all. He laughed loudly and walked out, leaving only Prince An in a helpless rage, causing the iron chains on his body to clang loudly for a long time.
As soon as Emperor Qingxi was released from the prison, his smile vanished, and he ordered in a deep voice, "Send people to the inner palace to gather all the concubines, princes, and princesses together and settle them in. Start by checking Consort Gao's palace. Once it is confirmed to be safe, have her take care of the others. Without my order, no palace servant is allowed to move around without permission; otherwise, they will be executed without exception."
...
Late at night, Lu Sheng, having received the news, rushed back to the palace on horseback. Without needing to announce his arrival, he went straight to Emperor Qingxi's bedroom.
"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your aid. Please forgive me." Lu Sheng knelt before the bed, covered in dust from his journey.
"It's alright, Xilou has grown up too, and he has some of your charm from back then."
Emperor Qingxi waved his hand, gesturing for Lu Sheng to sit down and talk.
"I always felt that I was not favored by Heaven," Emperor Qingxi sighed, with a hint of relief. "But if it weren't for the kindness of Yunzhao and his wife in burying that nameless maid, how could Heaven have sent down this prophecy to remind me to take precautions?"
He asked Lu Sheng with great interest, "So I am still favored by Heaven, right?"
Lu Sheng nodded quickly in agreement, then tentatively asked, "Does Your Majesty think that Young Master Pei possesses an extraordinary appearance?"
"Hey, it's definitely not him." Emperor Qingxi waved his hand. "That child grew up under my nose. If he really had any supernatural abilities, he would have shown them long ago. Why wait until now?"
Coincidentally, both of Pei Jingyi's two trips to the palace to warn others were related to Prince An. The illegal mine in Xiaowangzhuang last year has now been found to be manipulated behind the scenes by Prince An.
"He's quite cunning, using my son as a shield for himself." Emperor Qingxi sneered. "Fortunately, I saw through the eldest son a long time ago. Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to use gunpowder or stage a palace coup."
But when I think of Prince Heng, I can't help but think of his wretched daughter.
Emperor Qingxi, who had been holding back his grievances, finally found a safe place to vent: "No matter how bad Jiang Ping is, he is still the top scholar personally selected by me. I bestowed the marriage upon him, but Rongcheng, that boy, didn't take my words to heart at all. He cut off the marriage of a perfectly good man just like that!"
In the end, wouldn't it be his imperial grandfather who had to clean up the mess?
"Fine, it's better that she dared to lay a hand on her husband than that she'd be bullied by him in the future. There are no pushovers among the daughters of the Xiao family."
Emperor Qingxi was reminded that Lekang's marriage was still undecided, and he felt a headache coming on again. "Who did this child take after? She doesn't dare to utter a word even when she's wronged... Sigh, how about we betroth her to your Xilou family?"
Emperor Qingxi thought it was a good idea more and more. "Le Kang is gentle and I would not feel at ease if she married into another family. Xi Lou is a handsome man. Although he may not be able to inherit your mantle in the future, I can grant him a title."
Lu Sheng quickly declined, saying, "Your Majesty's kindness is deeply appreciated, but Xi Lou is capricious and spends all his time researching those horrifying torture instruments at the Northern Garrison, showing no tenderness whatsoever. The princess is gentle and refined, and should find a considerate and pleasing husband to accompany her, so as to be worthy of her noble status."
“You’re right. If she had five parts of Rongcheng’s fierceness, she could hold her own against your Xilou.”
Emperor Qingxi made a joke and dropped the matter, sighing, "Children are all debts."
...
For the next few days, various places in the palace were searched in turn, causing chaos and confusion.
When Emperor Qingxi learned that even the area under Fengxian Hall had been secretly planted with gunpowder by Prince An's spies in the palace, he broke out in a cold sweat.
The Fengxian Hall houses the ancestral tablets of the Xiao family. If Prince An were to go mad and blow them up, future historical records would only state that he, as emperor, had incurred the wrath of both heaven and man, causing his ancestors to suffer unrest.
The more frightened he became, the more satisfied he was with Pei Jingyi's timely advice, which seemed like a divine intervention.
Various rewards were sent into the Marquis's residence like a flowing river, along with an imperial edict:
Pei Jingyi, the eldest son of the Marquis of Changning, has rendered meritorious service to the country and has been appointed as the heir apparent of the Marquis's household.
In addition, Pei Jinghuai, the second son of the Marquis, is quick-witted, decisive, meticulous, and bold, and has been appointed as a sixth-rank Yunqiwei (a military rank).
Pei Xian quickly led his family to receive the imperial decree and express their gratitude.
Meng Wanyin knelt half a step behind him and quietly wiped away her tears.
Now that the title of heir apparent has been established, and Huai Zhou has also received a nominal sixth-rank official title, the family should be able to live in peace from now on.
Only Pei Jinghuai, the person involved, still looked completely out of it, saying, "Me? What did I do to get myself banned?"
Enraged, Shen Lingyue secretly pinched his lower back, "Idiot, of course it's because you discovered the secret passage and detected Prince An's conspiracy in time!"
Thinking further ahead, it's also possible that they were given credit for discovering the illegal mine in Xiaowangzhuang last year.
Pei Jinghuai scratched his head, a little embarrassed, "But isn't that all thanks to my... my elder brother's excellent guidance!"
Meeting Pei Jingyi's warning gaze, he snapped to attention and changed his tune, grinning foolishly, "Right, big brother?"
Pei Jingyi: "...Hmm."
Although the two men knew perfectly well that these honors were part of a performance orchestrated by their wives.
They are the ones who have truly contributed to the country.
...
Since Prince An was imprisoned, his residence has been completely surrounded by the Imperial Guards.
Princess An was completely stunned and at a loss, so she could only go to the backyard to ask the Dowager for advice.
"There must be a villain framing the prince. How could he possibly be plotting a rebellion?"
In her haste, she inadvertently blurted out her true feelings, "He doesn't even have a son, so what good would it do if he succeeded in his rebellion?"
Consort Li, who was chanting sutras with her eyes closed and counting prayer beads in her hand, suddenly opened her eyes and said coldly, "What's the panic? Even if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up; it won't hit your head."
She turned to look at the bleak autumn scenery outside the window, her gaze drifting into the distance, a cold smile appearing on her lips.
...Did they really think that the gunpowder they found in the palace was all there was?
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