Because of that secret, Zhou Yongli couldn't eat or sleep properly, was repeatedly scolded in court, and became completely listless.
However, he wasn't the only one who was unlucky. Recently, His Majesty's temper had become increasingly volatile. It was said that even Prince Huai had been reprimanded, accused of having ulterior motives, and then His Majesty fainted.
This truly caused a stir throughout the entire court. Of the four elder brothers of Prince Huai, one was dead, one was implicated by his maternal family and had not yet been granted a title of prince, one was in poor health and had no legitimate son, and the other was from a powerless maternal family and was not well-liked himself.
Among the remaining brothers, there were some outstanding ones, but compared with Prince Huai, they were not as powerful in the court or as favored by His Majesty.
Therefore, even though His Majesty has not yet appointed a crown prince, almost half of the court has believed that Prince Huai is the one who will succeed to the throne.
But what exactly did Prince Huai do to make His Majesty utter such malicious words and even faint from anger?
If His Majesty were to be so angered that he were to fall ill, would Prince Huai still be able to ascend the throne smoothly? At least in terms of etiquette and law, he would no longer be qualified.
If Prince Huai cannot succeed to the throne, then who can? His Majesty is old, and now he has fainted from anger; no one knows if he will wake up this time.
Prince Huai remained kneeling outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and the entire Prince Huai's residence was filled with worry.
His Majesty is personally cared for by the Empress, and because of Prince Huai, even Consort De is not allowed to enter.
In fact, Prince Huai himself was also confused. What had he done to anger his father? Had he not done his job well recently?
Or is it because he did his job so well that even the Emperor is starting to be wary of him?
It's impossible not to yearn for that position. Now that I've entered the fray, there's no turning back. And if it doesn't pass to me, who else could my father pass it to? Who else could compete with me?
"Aunt." Upon seeing the Empress emerge, Prince Huai quickly inquired, "How is Father? What did the imperial physicians say?"
"His Majesty has fallen asleep, but the imperial physician is unsure when he will wake up. You should return to your residence first."
Upon hearing that the imperial physicians had not found anything wrong, Prince Huai secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Father has not woken up, I dare not go back."
The Empress did not try to persuade him further, but Prince Huai asked again, "Aunt, has Father... has Father said anything recently?"
"We'll discuss everything once His Majesty wakes up."
Prince Huai frowned. Could it be that his father had given him some instructions beforehand? Then why didn't his aunt tell him?
After returning to the palace, the Empress smashed the vase in a fit of anger.
"Your Majesty..."
"go out."
The palace servants fell silent, only the sounds of things being smashed echoing through the palace.
The Empress's face was contorted with rage. She had already informed His Majesty about the plot by Prince Huai and Consort De to poison him, yet His Majesty still protected Prince Huai, merely reprimanding him twice without pursuing the matter. He was truly determined to pass the throne to Prince Huai!
Since that's the case, then don't blame her for being ruthless. This reprimand will make it easier for her to act.
If His Majesty really goes, Prince Huai will be condemned by everyone, and her carefully laid plans of so many years will proceed more smoothly.
Consort De, Prince Huai, don't blame me for being ruthless. This empire originally belonged to my son. My son sacrificed himself for this empire and for His Majesty, and the throne can only be inherited by my son's descendants.
Thanks to Princess Rongcheng, otherwise I really wouldn't have known that you and your son were so bold, giving me such a big handle to use against you.
After an unknown amount of time, the commotion inside the palace finally ceased, and the palace maids and eunuchs all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come in and clean everything up. Jiang Chuanfu, send this letter out as usual."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Empress's gaze was deep. His Majesty was getting old and becoming increasingly confused. If she continued to wait, he might really make Prince Huai the Crown Prince. She couldn't gamble.
In any case, all the evidence that they asked for was already complete, and King Huai couldn't refute it no matter what.
In the evening, Song Xia received a message from the Prince's residence, telling her to be extremely careful and to guard against any unforeseen changes.
Song Xia was shocked. Could it be that the changes in her past life were coming sooner than expected? It was hard to say, after all, the medicine that Zhou Ying used on the heir of the Marquis of Yong'an in her previous life was now being used on His Majesty by Prince Huai and Consort De.
His Majesty has fainted from anger, and anything could happen at any moment.
Will Yuqing be alright, being all alone in the manor?
Song Xia selected several guards to go out of the city, but they all returned with tense expressions not long afterward.
"Madam, the city gates are sealed off; no one is allowed to enter or leave."
"It's not curfew yet, which means something has already happened. Have all the servants lock the doors. From this moment on, no one is allowed to leave the manor, especially the master and the second young master."
"yes."
Song Xia also made a special trip to inform Aunt Gao and Aunt Meng, who came from a small place and had brought Lin Jie'er with them. They would inevitably be afraid if anything happened.
"If they want, they can come to my yard too."
Before long, Aunt Gao and Aunt Meng arrived with Sister Lin. They trusted Song Xia unconditionally. Although they didn't know what was about to happen, they knew that following Madam was always the right thing to do.
"Don't worry too much, maybe I'm just too nervous."
"As long as we follow you, Madam, we have nothing to fear."
"Take Lin-jie to bed."
Song Xia looked at the sky; it was getting darker and darker. The conclusion would be reached tonight.
Although in her previous life Prince Ding ultimately ascended the throne, she remained worried until the outcome in this life was revealed.
Perhaps it was a mother's heart that was connected to her son's, because Zhou Yuqing also wanted to return to the mansion today, but she was also unable to enter the city.
His expression changed, and he returned to the estate, ordering everyone to be on high alert.
The turmoil probably started around 7 PM. The General's Mansion was right next to the Zhou Mansion, and Song Xia could hear the cries coming from next door even from the main courtyard.
Aunt Gao and Aunt Meng were terrified, but seeing that Song Xia remained calm and composed, they forced themselves not to panic.
A short while later, a servant came to report that Zhou Shuqing was about to leave the mansion, but Song Xia ordered him to be tied up. Liu Fangniang was also tied up at the same time. If the old lady hadn't been unable to move or speak, Song Xia would have tied her up as well.
"Song Xia, what are you doing?" Zhou Yongli stormed in angrily, pointing at Song Xia and questioning her.
Just then, a loud knocking sounded at the door, and a soldier's stern voice came from outside the mansion: "By order of Her Majesty the Empress, we have come to arrest the traitor. Open the door immediately."
"Traitor?" Zhou Yongli's face turned pale. Then he realized that they said they were acting on the Empress's decree. Could it be that His Highness Prince Huai was about to ascend the throne and they had come to arrest Song Xia?
Besides this, Zhou Yongli couldn't think of any other possibility, so he gave Song Xia a gloating look. Zhou Shuqing and Liu Fangniang shared the same thought.
"Why aren't you untying us yet? You ungrateful servants, you'll be serving a different master in this mansion from now on."
Liu Fangniang laughed loudly: "Song Xia, Song Xia, you have lost in the end. So what if you are a county princess? So what if you have the Prince of Cheng's mansion behind you? When Prince Huai ascends the throne, you are nothing."
"This..." The servants looked at each other, not daring to act without Song Xia's orders.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
