The men Su Yuanzhou brought into the palace were the elite troops of the Xishan Camp. As soon as they took action, they firmly suppressed the Second Prince's private soldiers.
Soon, all the rebels in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were killed.
Su Yuanzhou dispatched another small team and ordered them to search the entire inner palace and kill any rebels they found immediately.
The courtyard in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was littered with corpses and blood flowed like a river.
Emperor Xuande felt particularly happy and did not feel that it was cruel or bloody at all. He thought that killing them directly was already too easy for these people.
Afterwards, Su Yuanzhou ordered his men to clean up the bodies, and he took Prince Rong to the palace.
"I returned to the capital without the emperor's permission. I ask the emperor to issue an order to punish me severely." Su Yuanzhou knelt on the ground and apologized first.
It was a serious crime for a military general to return to the capital without an imperial edict. Even if he knew the emperor would not blame him, he had to apologize first. This was his attitude.
Prince Rong also knelt obediently behind them, feeling indescribable regret in his heart.
Emperor Xuande said in a deep voice: "You returned to the capital to quell the rebellion. What crime have you committed? Stand up."
Su Yuanzhou thanked him and stood up.
Emperor Xuande looked at Shen Zhixiu and Song Zan again and asked, "Can you two explain this to me?"
At this moment, the ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were still suffering from the effects of the muscle softening powder and were unable to move. Mr. Zhou was giving them acupuncture in turn.
When the emperor asked this question, everyone listened with their ears tilted.
Song Hongshen leaned forward and said, "Father, the virtuous concubine is in the side hall with the ladies and daughters of the various mansions. I must go over and take a look."
Emperor Xuande immediately said, "Go quickly and make sure everyone is alright, then bring Concubine Xian here."
Song Hongshen replied yes, turned around and left for the side hall.
Shen Zhixiu walked to the center of the hall and bowed, "Your Majesty, when I was investigating the Armory, I discovered that Junior Supervisor Deng You and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had close private dealings."
"But I did not tell Your Majesty, because there is no other evidence to suggest that there was any shameful dealings between the two."
"Before the Lunar New Year, I stumbled upon a shipment of gunpowder being brought into the capital. Following the transporters, I discovered that the Crown Prince's men were developing firearms at Yuntai Mountain in Yuzhou."
"And the gunpowder sent to the capital was converted into gunpowder bags by Deng You."
"I felt something was wrong at the time. I was afraid someone was trying to overthrow the government."
"Of course, I dare not doubt any of the princes, let alone link this matter to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"So I can only discuss with Prince Zhongyi and ask Prince Ning in the northern border to quietly return to the capital and replace the gunpowder bag in the Hall of Supreme Harmony."
"In fact, it was only today in the Hall of Supreme Harmony that I confirmed that it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who was plotting a rebellion."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. These are all speculations, so I have not reported them to Your Majesty. We can only make every possible preparation, but we cannot convict the Crown Prince when nothing has happened."
Naturally, what Shen Zhixiu said was eight parts true and three parts false.
This three-point lie was to prevent the emperor from thinking that he was all-powerful and had the imperial power in his hands.
Emperor Xuande frowned and lowered his eyes to think about Shen Zhixiu's words.
After a moment, he said "hmm" and looked at Prince Rong again, and asked Su Yuanzhou in confusion, "What's going on?"
Su Yuanzhou bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I returned to the capital last night. King Zhongyi handed over the military command of the Xishan Camp to me, saying that if there was any unrest in the capital, I would lead the troops into the capital to quell the rebellion."
"I originally thought that Lord Shen and Prince Zhongyi were overthinking it, but today at the beginning of the afternoon, spies suddenly reported that there were unusual movements at the four gates of the capital."
"I went to check and found that the people guarding the four gates of the capital had been replaced by Prince Rong's confidants. I knew something was wrong in the capital, so I led my men to break through the Xihua Gate and enter the city."
"When I entered the city, several major government offices in the capital had already been taken over by Prince Rong and his men. That wasn't enough. Even the Shen family was surrounded by rebels. When I rushed in, a maid from the Shen family died while protecting her master. If I had been any later, the consequences would have been disastrous."
When Shen Zhixiu heard that someone had died, he suddenly clenched his fists and his eyes were full of worry.
But now is not the time to ask questions, and from what Su Yuanzhou said, the others should be fine.
Emperor Xuande picked up the wine glass on the table in front of him and threw it directly at Prince Rong.
"I have always treated your Rong family well, yet you are joining forces with the Crown Prince to rebel?"
He had practiced martial arts since childhood and was proficient in both riding and archery. Therefore, the wine glass was thrown accurately, hitting Prince Rong on the forehead.
Blood flowed down from the center of the eyebrows, strangely dividing the face into two.
Prince Rong didn't even dare to raise his hand to wipe it, and could only kneel down and apologize, "I was confused for a moment, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Although he said this, Prince Rong knew in his heart that the crime of treason was unforgivable.
Just at this moment, Song Hongshen walked in, followed by guards escorting the virtuous concubine into the palace.
"Father, I have already checked, and all the ladies and girls in the various mansions are safe and sound."
Emperor Xuande stopped looking at Prince Rong and turned to glare at Concubine Xian and the Crown Prince.
One is his bedmate. Although they are not married, they have been together day and night for more than 20 years.
The other is his own son, his successor whom he carefully taught and trained.
It was these two people who almost took his life today.
And the second son kneeling behind him is also his biological son, but he is waiting for the fisherman to benefit from the quarrel between the snipe and the clam.
No wonder people say that the royal family is heartless, it is true.
He looked at the Crown Prince with disappointment and said, "I do want to change the crown prince, because Hong Shen is more suitable than you to inherit the great cause, both in terms of wisdom and talent."
"Of course, I don't want to belittle you just to elevate him. So I've been waiting for him to make great achievements, and then I'll find an opportunity to change the crown prince. I've also prepared a fiefdom for you, so that you can live a worry-free life for the rest of your life and become the overlord of a region."
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