He trembled as he tried to pull out the second one, his eyes like those of a hawk. Even though the Qingxin Palace behind Yu Nanqing was engulfed in flames, it did not make him give up the idea of ​​protecting his master.
However, the next second, there was a "swoosh" sound as a sharp weapon pierced flesh, and a masked guard held a dagger straight for Yue Duan's neck.
In an instant, the wounded musician fell silent.
The masked guard dared not delay, and the instant Yue Duan collapsed, he hurriedly grabbed his body and disappeared into the darkness.
Emperor Yuanhe was not entirely idle; the shadows of the secret agents were everywhere in the palace, and because they could not be drugged, the so-called plague did not reach them.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until today to sneak into the palace while Emperor Yuanhe was in a coma.
News of the fire in Emperor Yuanhe's bedroom spread throughout the entire palace within moments after Yu Nanqing left.
All the palace maids, eunuchs, and guards rushed to put out the fire, and within a quarter of an hour, the entire palace was in chaos.
The concubines, who had already retired for the night, sat up in alarm upon hearing the news.
Ignoring the pandemic lockdown, they all ordered their maids to dress up and head to the scene to investigate.
When Empress Xia Yunshang heard the news, cold sweat soaked her entire back. She was both surprised and delighted. She was surprised because she was afraid that others would find out about her, after all, she was involved in this matter.
What made her happy was that her son was the legitimate heir. Once Emperor Yuanhe died, her son would be the rightful successor. Once her son ascended the throne, she would be the Empress Dowager!
Although she knew this day would come sooner or later, she couldn't contain her excitement when it actually arrived, especially since it came so much earlier than expected.
Now that her son is still a minor, if he were to truly ascend the throne, she would inevitably rule from behind the curtain, and she would be the one holding the reins of power in the court!
There have been examples of empress dowagers ruling from behind the curtain throughout history, and Xia Yunshang never imagined that such a thing would happen to her!
At the same time, she never expected that if she hadn't gotten involved in the Yuanhe Emperor's affair, she wouldn't have known that her feelings for him were so weak.
From the day she married him, her wealth and status had been dependent on Emperor Yuanhe. Now that she learned of his death, all she could think about was the vacant throne!
For the first time, Xia Yunshang felt like a stranger to herself.
"Your Majesty."
The palace maid's cry startled Xia Yunshang, turning her face deathly pale.
Seeing that it was his personal maid, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The palace maid said, "I just received news that all the palace mistresses are going to Qingxin Palace to investigate. Your Highness, would you like to..."
Qingxin Hall was the sleeping quarters of Emperor Yuanhe.
Now that the Qingxin Palace is on fire and Emperor Yuanhe's fate is unknown, it's unreasonable for the Empress, who is the only one staying in the palace and not being seen by anyone, to be so precarious.
Even though she was terrified, Xia Yunshang, now realizing what was happening, had no choice but to suppress her fear and say, "Help me with my hair and makeup."
"yes."
However, after thinking about it, she changed her mind and said, "Never mind, just change me into my everyday clothes."
If she were to dress up elaborately after the incident at Qingxin Palace, it would surely draw criticism. At this time, the more understated she appears, the better.
Meanwhile, on the other side, in Consort Lin's palace.
Upon hearing that Qingxin Palace was on fire, Consort Lin rose from her bed in disbelief: "What did you say?"
The palace maid who came to report knelt on the ground with her head bowed and said nervously again, "There is a fire in Qingxin Palace, and the Emperor is inside... his fate is unknown."
Consort Lin's face darkened.
"What do you mean by 'life or death unknown'?" She hurriedly got out of bed: "Quickly help me change my clothes!"
She and Emperor Yuanhe were childhood sweethearts, and she harbored feelings for him. However, she knew that as an emperor, Yu Nanyi could not possibly be devoted to only her.
She had already come to terms with it; as long as she had a place in the palace in the future and her children could grow up safely, she had no other desires.
But now, if something happens to Yu Nanyi, the princes in the palace will certainly not have peace!
Even if she didn't fight for it, the Empress Dowager wouldn't allow the throne to fall into the hands of others, even if the Empress's son was the legitimate heir. So what?
The legitimate son is still young, and no one knows what might happen during that time!
She had to go and see... she hoped that heaven would protect her and not let anything really happen to Yu Nanyi!
The entire palace was in chaos.
However, no matter how chaotic things got, it didn't affect the villas on the outskirts of Beijing.
When Yu Nanqing returned, he was still chilled, the candle in the room was still lit, and Su Wanyan was sitting in the room, carefully reading a book of herbs.
When she encounters rare or unfamiliar herbs, she will mark them with a pen.
Seeing Yu Nanqing return from outside, she quickly put down her book, looked up, and went to greet him: "You're back? How was it?"
As she spoke, she reached out to remove his outer robe.
Yu Nanqing looked at the nearly burnt-out candle flame on the candlestick: "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Because of the difference in their body shapes, whenever Su Wanyan helped him remove his outer robe, she would almost always tear it off. Therefore, Yu Nanqing would always have to take off half of his robe first, following her movements.
"I wasn't very sleepy, so it was a little late." In reality, Yu Nanqing had been leaving early in the morning and returning late at night for the past few days.
Sometimes they wouldn't see each other for two nights in a row, and it would be a lie to say I wasn't worried.
She simply waited inside the house; it wasn't a strenuous task for her.
Yu Nanqing had no choice but to wait outside the palace to seize the opportunity. It did take him quite a bit of time to deal with the secret shadow.
"How is the situation?" Su Wanyan asked nervously.
This is understandable; regicide is no ordinary matter.
Although Yu Nanqing always appeared calm and collected, others didn't know that it was fine as long as the murderer couldn't be found. But Su Wanyan knew that if the murderer were discovered, Yu Nanqing would have to bear the infamy for the rest of his life, and in severe cases, he would never be able to recover.
Yu Nanqing took out the bottle of medicine Su Wanyan had given him from his pocket: "I didn't use it..."
Su Wanyan was stunned, and took the medicine bottle: "It didn't work? Why?"
This medicine is elusive and can't be traced, so even if someone dies, no one can find out the cause of death. It's the best solution and the most advantageous method for Yu Nanqing, yet he didn't use it.
"..." Yu Nanqing pursed his lips, as if afraid of Su Wanyan's blame, and after a while he finally said, "I always feel... that it's too easy on him."
To let him die so silently and painlessly is too merciful.
"So how...did you solve it?"
"The Qingxin Palace is on fire."
"..." That's it. With such a grand announcement, the entire capital will probably know about Emperor Yuanhe's death by tomorrow morning.
The people in the city were already prone to rioting. If they were given medicine, the palace could still cover it up. But now that the king of the country is dead, who knows what will happen in the capital.
Su Wanyan frowned, wanting to say something.
But seeing Yu Nanqing's willing and aggrieved expression, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
In the end, he had no choice but to say: "It will take several more days for the epidemic to be eradicated in the capital. How can we appease the people in the inner city during these days? It doesn't matter how the people in the palace fight each other, but if it affects the people, it will be a loss. Moreover, this is not our intention. If the capital really riots, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"
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