"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?" Eunuch Yu and Xia Ji exchanged glances quickly. They didn't understand why Emperor Yugan suddenly became furious with murderous intent in his eyes, and they didn't understand what Emperor Yugan wanted to do by leaving the palace so late at night!
"Your Majesty, the palace gates are now locked. For safety reasons, you'd better stay in the palace. If there is any urgent matter, please ask me to handle it!" After receiving the gaze from Eunuch Yu, Xia Ji pondered for a moment and spoke, hoping that Emperor Yugan would change his mind!
"Pah!"
Little did he know that his words caused Emperor Yu Gan to slam the table. There was a loud bang, and the mountain of memorials instantly tilted and fell to the ground due to the vibration of the table, and spread all over the ground with a "crash", making the hall look messy for a while!
Eunuch Yu was so frightened that he immediately fell to his knees, wondering what on earth was written on that note and why it had caused such a rage in the Emperor Yugan! Even Qu Yan's diligent attempts to sow discord hadn't angered the Emperor, so why could this little piece of paper cause such a fury?
However, despite being furious, the emperor still held the note tightly in his hand, as if he was very reluctant to let anyone see the contents inside!
"What? Even you want to restrict my actions? Do you think I'm easy to bully, so you want to use the emperor to control the princes and rebel?" With a roar, the palace maids serving in the hall knelt down one after another, their bodies trembling and not daring to speak. Even Xia Ji lowered his head tightly and dared not respond to Emperor Yugan's words!
For a moment, the hall was as silent as before, and Emperor Yugan opened the note again, staring at every word on it with hatred in his eyes!
While Emperor Yugan was distracted, Eunuch Yu immediately raised his head and winked at the young eunuch outside the hall, asking him to go to the harem to get help!
"Xia Ji, are you dead? Don't you understand what I say or are you deaf? Hurry up and go out to count the 5,000 guards!" With eyes that seemed to want to burn the note in his hand, Emperor Yu Gan suddenly raised his eyes and glared at Xia Ji who lowered his head and said nothing, and shouted loudly!
Xia Ji had never expected that Emperor Yugan would be so furious after reading the note. A layer of cold sweat had already broken out on his forehead. Now that Emperor Yugan was forcing him to speak, he could only bite the bullet and say, "Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven. How can you take such a risk? I dare to ask Your Majesty, what exactly is in that note that has made Your Majesty so furious? Moreover, we have not yet figured out the situation, and we don't know who dared to shoot arrows in the palace. What if this is just a conspiracy, just to lure Your Majesty out of the palace? If Your Majesty really leaves the palace, wouldn't you have fallen into the enemy's trap?"
After he finished speaking, Xia Ji didn't dare to speak again. He lowered his head and looked at the red carpet where he was kneeling. The cold sweat on his forehead had already slid down his face and dripped into the carpet, blurring out dark red plum blossoms!
"Yes, Your Majesty! Deputy Commander Xia is absolutely right. We cannot act solely on a piece of inexplicable paper! What's more, Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. The well-being of the people of Western Chu is at stake. How can you take risks easily? Why don't Your Majesty hand this matter over to Deputy Commander Xia? On the one hand, we can find out the truth of the matter, and on the other hand, we can ensure Your Majesty's safety!" Eunuch Yu was closest to Emperor Yugan, so he was naturally the first to feel that Emperor Yugan's anger had slightly weakened. He immediately spoke up and joined Xia Ji's persuasion, hoping that Emperor Yugan would listen to their advice and not act on impulse!
Hearing this, Emperor Yugan once again tightly grasped the piece of paper in his palm. However, compared to his previous rage, although he still had obvious anger in his eyes, it had dissipated a little. This also made the palace servants serving in the hall breathe a sigh of relief, and they relaxed their tense bodies as if they had been reborn!
"Don't worry, go down and prepare as soon as possible! I will leave the palace immediately!" But even though his anger subsided, Emperor Yugan's mind did not change at all. He still ordered Xia Ji to do as he said before!
"No!" At this time, a majestic shout came from outside the hall!
Emperor Yugan looked up and saw the Queen Mother walking in with a solemn expression, supported by the Queen!
"Your Majesty, it's late at night, how can you leave the palace? If something unexpected happens outside the palace, who will take the responsibility?" The Queen Mother walked in quickly and spoke seriously, trying to persuade Emperor Yugan to retract his order!
"Mother, I have an urgent matter and have to leave the palace! I hope your mother can understand!" Emperor Yugan lowered his hands and hid the note in his palm in his sleeves. Then he walked down the jade steps and came to the side of the empress dowager, frowning and stating his position!
However, upon seeing the Empress supporting the Empress Dowager, Emperor Yugan frowned and spoke in a somewhat hostile tone, "Empress, why did you come along? It's even more dewy out here. As the head of the six palaces, how could you let your mother come here in the frost and dew? If your mother catches a cold, are you up to the responsibility?"
Emperor Yugan's words not only reminded the Empress of her position in the harem, but also warned the Empress Dowager not to forget that the harem was now his, and that it was the Empress, not the Empress Dowager, who was in charge of it for him! He hoped that the Empress Dowager would not meddle in other people's affairs and that it would be more appropriate for her to stay in Fengxiang Palace and enjoy her retirement!
How could the empress dowager not understand the meaning of Emperor Yugan's words? Her well-maintained face suddenly darkened. However, no matter how big the gap between her and Emperor Yugan was, she could not let Emperor Yugan leave the palace. If something happened to the emperor, how could a group of orphans and widows in the harem withstand the offensive of those relatives and princes?
Hiding her anger, the Queen Mother spoke with a sorrowful expression, "I know I am old, and it is time to let go of the affairs of the harem and hand them over to the Emperor and Empress! But, Your Majesty, please do not forget the heavy responsibility you bear! Is there anything so serious that a ruler would disregard his own safety and leave the palace late at night? If you do not tell me, I will definitely not let you leave the palace! Or do you want to step over my dead body and leave the gate of this palace?"
The Queen Mother had already spoken harsh words, and her face was filled with a ruthless look. Her sharp eyes revealed her determination to do what she said, but it gave Emperor Yu Gan a headache!
The queen looked at the stalemate between the mother and son, and knew that no matter what the actual relationship between Emperor Yugan and the queen mother was, if the two of them quarreled too ugly at this time, and she, as the queen, just stood aside and watched the show, she was afraid that it would be even more difficult for her to survive in the cracks in the future!
Moreover, the queen herself was also very curious and didn't understand what had happened that made the emperor so persistent in clamoring to leave the palace!
"Empress Dowager, calm down!" The Queen reached out and gently stroked her chest to help her breathe. She turned her gentle eyes to Emperor Yugan, her eyes revealing deep confusion and worry. With her unique gentleness, she said, "Your Majesty, your mother is also worried about your safety! Although there are guards, it is pitch black outside. If the enemy is ambushing in the dark at this time, I am afraid it will be difficult to defend against a hidden arrow! Your Majesty, you shoulder the responsibility of the country of Western Chu. How can you take such a risk? Why not hand it over to Deputy Commander Xia! Not only does your mother worry about you, but I am also uneasy!"
The Queen's words were gentle and humble. Although she was also trying to stop Emperor Yugan from speaking, her soft tone made it easier for Emperor Yugan to accept!
After hearing the Queen's words, the resistance in Emperor Yugan's eyes faded slightly. He sighed and said, "Mother, don't worry. Since I have decided to leave the palace, I am sure I can protect myself! I am wrong to ask you to come here so late at night! However, this matter is urgent, so I cannot tell you for the time being. I hope you can forgive me! Queen, please help me return to Fengxiang Palace!"
As he spoke, Emperor Yugan took a step forward, walked past the Queen Mother and others, and headed straight out of the palace!
"Your Majesty! You are the ruler of a country, how can you act arbitrarily? Your most important thing is to protect yourself, otherwise what is the point of having so many court officials? If everything needs to be done by the emperor himself, then can you handle it? This palace is not unreasonable, but in this palace's eyes, nothing is more important than the safety of the emperor! The emperor must not forget that outside the palace walls, there are the city defense forces of Prince Chen in the city, and there are tens of thousands of troops in the hands of Hai Chenxi outside the city. A mere 5,000 people is simply like an egg hitting a stone. "The emperor acted so rashly without thinking it through. Did he consider the concubines and the heirs in the harem at all? Moreover, such a major matter should be discussed with the ministers. How can he act arbitrarily and impulsively? This palace does not seek glory and wealth, but the last thing she wants is to see her children die!" Seeing that Emperor Yugan was stubbornly going his own way and refusing to listen to advice, the empress dowager shouted loudly and spoke these words in a sonorous and powerful voice. Every word in the words was reasonable and full of deep mother-son affection, which made the palace people in the hall kowtow and petition continuously, and also made the empress's eyes wet!
"Your Majesty, considering Yao'er's young age, you should stay in the palace!" The Queen covered her mouth with a handkerchief, tears slowly sliding down her face, and pleaded with a hint of weakness!
Suddenly, there was an endless sound of kowtows and requests for orders in the hall, which made Emperor Yugan's already irritable mood even more depressed!
"Enough!" A loud shout! Everyone was frightened into silence!
Emperor Yugan turned around and looked at the stunned crowd, angrily shouting, "I'm just going to see someone. Stop all the crying faces, as if I'm going to die! If you try to stop me again, I'll exterminate his entire clan! Xia Ji, get out of here and prepare the carriages and horses. If I don't see the horses in a quarter of an hour, bring me your heads!"
"Yes!" Seeing that Emperor Yugan was determined to leave, Xia Ji had only one thing in mind: to obey his orders. He lowered his head and quickly left the hall!
But Emperor Yugan was too lazy to pay attention to the Queen Mother and the Empress, and strode out of the hall!
Seeing this, Eunuch Yu had no choice but to follow Emperor Yugan. He hurried down the jade steps and was about to run out of the hall when he was stopped by the empress dowager!
"Little Yuzi!" If they couldn't subdue Emperor Yugan, could they also control Eunuch Yu? The Empress Dowager, with her natural dignity, cast a cold glance at Eunuch Yu, who had abruptly stopped in his tracks, and asked in a cold voice, "What happened? Why did the Emperor suddenly clamor to leave the palace?"
Eunuch Yu was also filled with grievances and confusion. He could only turn to face the Queen Mother and respectfully replied, "To answer your question, someone just shot an arrow with a note attached to it! But when the Emperor saw the note, he suddenly said he wanted to leave the palace!"
After briefly recounting what had happened, Eunuch Yu wanted to quickly catch up with Emperor Yugan, but the Empress Dowager clearly didn't want anyone to know. "Has anyone seen that note? Who is so bold as to cause chaos in the palace?"
"Replying to the Empress Dowager, only the Emperor has seen it! As for who did it, Deputy Commander Xia has not yet tracked it down due to time constraints!" As he said this, Eunuch Yu quickly raised his eyes to glance at the Empress Dowager who was lost in thought, and took advantage of the moment when the Empress Dowager was distracted to sneak out of the hall and chase in the direction where Emperor Yugan disappeared!
"Mother, the Emperor..." Looking at Emperor Yugan disappearing in the hall, the Queen's heart was even more distressed than the Queen Mother's contemplation! After finally seeing the Emperor, he disappeared in an instant before her eyes!
"Okay, wipe your tears. Don't forget that you are the queen and the mother of the country. How can you easily shed tears and show weakness in front of others? Since the emperor is so confident, nothing will happen! You should go back to the palace and have a good rest. Don't worry!" After saying that, the queen mother turned around and left the hall with the support of Aunt Lan and Eunuch Qu!
"Empress Dowager, why did you order someone to call the Queen just now?" After all, the Queen did not have much status in the Emperor's heart. Even if she was called over, it would probably not have much effect!
The Queen Mother walked slowly back to the palace. She looked up and saw that the moon was getting even rounder! Before she knew it, the full moon was approaching again!
Listening to Eunuch Qu's confusing question, the Queen Mother withdrew her gaze from the night sky, put away the expression that should not have existed in her eyes, and put on her usual calmness and wisdom. She slowly said, "She can't play any role! But she is not without use!"
The Empress is merely a pawn in the hands of the Ruan family, a mere link between them and the Yugan Emperor! Though useless, no one can shake her position. Since that's impossible, then discredit her! Although the Yugan Emperor is helping the Empress today, he's probably also resentful of her rash interference in his affairs. If this resentment builds up, it will eventually erupt, and the Empress's position will eventually be vacant!
"Find someone to secretly investigate what happened tonight and find out the truth!" The Queen Mother changed the subject without talking about the Queen anymore. She also felt that what happened tonight was strange!
"yes!"
"Your Majesty, five thousand troops are ready!" In less than a quarter of an hour, Xia Ji ran to Emperor Yugan and reported seriously!
"Get on the horse!" Emperor Yugan glanced at the dragon sedan chair behind Xia Ji, but snatched the warhorse from his hand, mounted on the horse's back, and then gave the order in a cold voice!
The five thousand soldiers immediately mounted their horses in an orderly manner, waiting quietly for Emperor Yugan's next order!
"Leave the palace!" He put the sword on the horse's back at his waist, and immediately whipped the horse and galloped towards the palace gate...
A group of cavalry marched through the long street, shaking the ground. The people were awakened from their sleep by the noise, but they did not dare to go out to check, for fear of losing their lives because of curiosity!
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
I attended a wedding banquet today and wasted a whole day, 555555555555, that’s all I can say!
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