Unlike all the previous ones, this time the emperor summoned him to his bedroom, a first. It seemed the emperor was still very weak, otherwise he would have summoned him to a more respectable place.
Entering the inner hall, I could smell a strong scent of water and wood incense, which was indeed the configuration of the imperial palace.
His Majesty half-leaned on a thick cushion, lying on the couch and looking out at the people in the hall. The Empress Dowager and the Empress were at his side, and the Emperor's five remaining sons and seven daughters, along with their families, waited solemnly.
"Greetings to the Emperor!" Xu Yixing and the other two were the last to come in. It might be because Yixiao Pavilion had not been used for a long time and was relatively remote.
"Get up." The emperor's voice sounded normal, with only a slight cough. The look in his eyes when he looked at Lu Anyuan was different from usual. It was three parts admiration, three parts fatherly love, three parts guilt, and one part vigilance. It was hard to describe.
Lu Anyuan and Xu Yixing stood aside, not in the middle nor at the end, but at the very side.
"Father, has the imperial physician told us anything about your condition?" The eldest princess spoke first, with some concern.
"It's nothing, just an ordinary poison. Humph, you good brothers are still not cruel enough, it's difficult for you to accomplish anything great!" When the emperor mentioned the second prince again, he was not angry, but more disappointed.
Xu Yixing couldn't understand this disappointment. From the tone of his voice, did the emperor think that it would be a big deal if the second prince simply poisoned him to death?
The rest of the people in the hall were indeed silent. They could hear that their father was about to make the final decision on his favorite son.
The emperor took a breath and continued, "Bring the bitch up first."
Everyone was puzzled. They saw the Royal Guards dragging in a man dressed in yellow and throwing him to the ground.
Xu Yixing was standing off to the side, but he recognized Concubine Ying at a glance. But the clothes... the Empress Dowager's attire? Xu Yixing silently moved behind Lu Anyuan, wanting to get away from this lunatic. It seemed the Second Prince had informed Concubine Ying of his rebellion, otherwise she wouldn't have been crazy enough to wear the Empress Dowager's clothes.
"What else do you have to explain?" The emperor looked at the person on the ground with disgust, as if that was not the person who had been with him for twenty years, not the mother of his child.
Concubine Ying timidly raised her head and glanced around at everyone, her eyes tinged with madness: "Yan'er, where is my Yan'er? Your Majesty, where is our Yan'er?"
Even though she seemed a little crazy at the moment, she still asked about the second prince when she opened her mouth.
From the moment Xu Yixing heard her first words, he felt something was off. Was this Concubine Ying? The last time he saw Concubine Ying was at her birthday party, almost a year had passed. How could she have changed so much in just a year? Not only did her tone lack the pride of a favored concubine, but even her eyes had become strange.
Is she really crazy?
"You still have the nerve to ask about the good son you raised!" The emperor pointed at Ying Fei's nose and cursed, while covering his heart with his hands. Now one can see a little bit of his feelings as a father.
Concubine Ying seemed to be extremely frightened. She shrank into her clothes and her body kept shaking like a frightened little rabbit.
The Empress Dowager sighed and continued on behalf of the Emperor, "You may have questions, and I will answer them today. Ever since Zhou Shuren was punished to meditate in the Dharma Flower Palace, she has been acting a little out of character. When Xier lost her child last time, I noticed she was a little crazy."
Later, she was imprisoned in the cold palace, and she became even more crazy. I don't know if Chi Yan had told her something in advance, which made her do such a ridiculous thing. I heard that as soon as His Majesty left yesterday, she broke out of the cold palace and made a scene, even shouting something like "funeral". It's clear that she is truly crazy.
The Queen Mother explained Concubine Ying's actions, which was equivalent to sentencing her to death. The Fourth Princess stood in the middle, looking at Concubine Ying with a look of indignation and relief on her face.
"Emperor, up to now, the child Chi Yan has not been found, but Concubine Zhou has disturbed the whole palace. You should give her a quick death." The Queen Mother turned to the Emperor. She would not participate in the fate of Concubine Ying. Only the Emperor could decide her life or death.
"Alas! I never thought that a momentary frustration would turn her into a shrew. It's my fault after all. I gave her too many honors and made her have improper expectations!" His Majesty looked at Concubine Ying again with heartache, and turned to the Queen Mother with indifference.
"Commoner Zhou has disturbed the harem and shown great disrespect to the emperor. I have ordered her to commit suicide. After her death, she will be taken to a mass grave and will not be allowed into the imperial mausoleum."
The emperor closed his eyes briefly after speaking, as if unwilling to witness this scene. The fourth prince stumbled forward at just the right moment, not falling, but ensuring that everyone could see his emotional turmoil.
Concubine Ying seemed to no longer understand what was being said and just trembled silently. It was not until the Imperial Guards approached again and dragged her out that she let out the last long howl of her life in the dark night.
Xu Yixing grasped Lu Anyuan's arm, feeling a little tired. She had witnessed more life and death today than she had in the previous twenty years, and it was hard to digest.
Lu Anyuan silently held her somewhat cold hand in response.
His Majesty was briefly sad for a moment, then opened his eyes again and spoke these words to everyone:
"Earlier, Prince Cheng sent a message reporting that the traitor Lu Chiyan had escaped from the outer palace, and we're still searching for him. I know some of you have good relationships with him, while others don't, but right now, justice is at stake. If he contacts any of you, or anyone knows his whereabouts, you must report it to us, or we'll all be guilty!"
The Second Prince ran away? Everyone in the palace was surprised for a moment, then looked at each other and the person they wanted to see, and answered in unison, "Yes."
"Well, there are many people who have made contributions in this matter, but there are also many ungrateful people. When the matter is resolved, I will reward them according to their merits. You all, please go back first."
After the emperor finished speaking, he looked at Lu Anyuan carefully. Everyone left one by one, not daring to stay in the palace for long, and left before the night curfew.
"How could he run away?" As soon as he got in the car, Xu Yixing didn't care about being sleepy and grabbed Lu Anyuan's hand tightly. How could this happen?
Lu Anyuan didn't answer immediately, but lowered his head in thought. He couldn't figure it out for a moment. The last time he saw the Second Prince was on the city wall. He was shot by an arrow at that time, and the Weiwei army broke through the city gates soon after. Logically, he should have had no chance to escape.
And how did he escape? The outer palace was on a mountain, and at the foot of the mountain were either rebels or soldiers defending the emperor. How did he escape?
"This may be because the outer palace has been around for a long time and there are some secret passages that we don't know about." He said the most likely result. Not to mention the outer palace, even the current imperial palace has rumors that there are secret passages inside.
"This?" Xu Yixing retorted without words. The outer palace was so big that it was normal to have some corners and even secret rooms.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
