Chapter 172 Even in defeat, King Qi would still die.
"Master, Pei Anqing did indeed go to assassinate the Old Madam." Mo Ran entered the room. "I followed him all the way."
"He was seen walking towards the direction of the Prince of Jin's residence."
Pei Yanchuan wrote on his hand, “Prepare my official robes. Tomorrow I will enter the palace to meet the Emperor.”
"yes."
Early the next morning.
Pei Yanchuan was the last to arrive in the main hall.
Xiao Yu laughed and said, "What? The Prince of Langya is finally willing to attend court?"
"Your Majesty, I have been delayed in entering the palace due to family matters. Please forgive me," Pei Yanchuan said, bowing.
Xiao Yu slowly raised his hand, "Sigh~ Never mind, never mind."
"I can understand this matter. Now that the disaster has been averted, you are a hero to the people of Dongling."
"Speak, what reward do you want?"
Pei Yanchuan said, "Then please grant me a new house and pay me several months' salary in advance, Your Majesty."
The ministers in the court, who had been curious, were all taken aback. Pei Yanchuan had so openly admitted that he had been divorced and kicked out of the house.
"Hey, you two are bickering all the time, is it just so you can come here to ask me for a new house?"
All the ministers pricked up their ears, wanting to see if Pei Yanchuan and Jiang Wanning were telling the truth.
Sometimes they think it's real, and sometimes they think it's fake.
“Your Majesty, I am indeed homeless, and I have been having trouble getting food these past few days.” Pei Yanchuan showed no embarrassment whatsoever.
"In that case, why don't you stay in the palace with His Majesty for a while? I'm sure His Majesty would like to hear about the prince's victories on the frontier."
The speaker was the Vice Minister of Rites, a man of the Prince of Qi, but in reality, a man of the Grand Princess.
"Yes, why don't you stay here with me? As for the Princess Consort, I will have the Empress invite her to the palace."
Xiao Yu said, "No matter how much you two quarrel, you can't really separate like this. It was a marriage bestowed by me."
"Your Majesty..."
"Alright," Xiao Yu interrupted Pei Yanchuan, "it's settled then."
"Don't worry, I will have the Empress comfort the Princess. She is a sensible person and I don't think she will continue to make trouble for so long."
"Your humble servant..."
"Don't throw a tantrum anymore. Women are easy to coax. Besides, you were the one in the wrong in this matter."
"That's true, but..."
“If there’s nothing else, this morning court session is over. Prince Langya, please stay.” Xiao Yu gave Pei Yanchuan no chance to speak.
"Your Majesty, I would like to say that two of your personal guards are also without food."
Xiao Yu, who had just lifted his buttocks, put them back down. "You, A-Chuan, do you really think this place is an inn?"
"Since you've already said so, then let them all enter the palace together."
After the morning court session.
Jiang Wan Ning was also brought to the palace.
The four of them sat at a table eating.
Xiao Yu and the Empress exchanged a glance. The Empress said softly, "I heard that the Princess's two maids were injured. Are they feeling better now?"
"Your Majesty, I am feeling better, but it will take some time for me to fully recover, and I am still unable to get out of bed for the time being."
The Empress nodded slightly. "Several dishes today are your favorites. Eat more."
After the Empress finished speaking, she looked at Emperor Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu turned to Pei Yanchuan and said, "This was specially instructed by A-Chuan, wasn't it?"
Pei Yanchuan looked up at Jiang Wanning, then nodded to the Emperor, "Your Majesty is right."
Then the two of them stopped talking.
During the meal, Jiang Wanning and Pei Yanchuan exchanged no more than ten words.
The Grand Princess, who was waiting outside the palace for news, sat up straight when she heard the report from her scout. "So, they really have separated?"
"Based on my understanding of Jiang Wanning, it shouldn't be fake."
"Your Highness, can we now attack the capital?" Jiang Wanru asked excitedly.
Her mind was filled with images of trampling Jiang Wan Ning under her feet.
The Grand Princess frowned. "I have a feeling that this matter is progressing too smoothly."
"The death of the Duchess of England and the scheme to get them into the palace were all so successful that they aroused suspicion."
“When people are troubled by love, they often can’t care about anything else,” Jiang Wanru reminded her.
This was originally meant as a reminder, but the Grand Princess seemed to have been humiliated by Jiang Wanru and slapped her hard across the face.
"I don't need you to teach me how to do it."
Jiang Wanru quickly knelt down, covering the side of her face that had been slapped, "This servant was wrong, this servant did not mean that."
The Grand Princess ignored her and said, "You may leave now."
After Jiang Wanru left, the masked person appeared again without anyone noticing. "What do you think about this matter?"
The Grand Princess seemed to have known this person would come and showed no surprise. "I feel a little uneasy," she said.
"I always felt that something was driving this thing forward."
"You're just a woman's man. In the end, even if you lose, it will only be King Qi who dies. What are you afraid of?"
The Grand Princess was dissatisfied, but she did not show it.
"That's settled then, tonight," the man said, turning and leaving.
......
Emperor Xiao Yu was playing chess with Pei Yanchuan when Wu Panpan suddenly came to report, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened."
"The King of Qi's troops have rebelled!"
Xiao Yu paused in his chess game, looking at the composed Pei Yanchuan, "You really can't sit still."
"Who started it?"
"It seems to be a personal guard under the King of Qi, saying that the King of Qi's loyalty was betrayed by treacherous people, and that there are traitors around His Majesty who are causing chaos in the court, under the guise of 'purging the court of corrupt officials'."
Wu Panpan carefully reported back.
Xiao Yu calmly replied, "What about the Imperial Guards? How many men did they bring?"
Wu Panpan wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "There were at least 30,000, and some of them went outside the palace."
"Oh, by the way, a small portion of them surrounded the residences of various ministers."
Xiao Yu and Pei Yanchuan simultaneously dropped their chess pieces. "Summon the Imperial Guard leader to see me."
As he spoke, Xiao Yu walked toward the Imperial Study.
"After acting for so long, it's time to wrap things up." Xiao Yu smiled at Pei Yanchuan, "Achuan, you've worked hard these past few days."
"It's all what I should do," Pei Yanchuan said calmly.
soon.
The commander of the Imperial Guards arrived and knelt in the center of the Imperial Study. "Your Majesty! I have failed in my duty. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"
"This is not the time to talk about this. I order you to lead 50,000 Imperial Guards to fight against the rebels."
“Your Majesty, there is one more thing that Chief Steward Wu is unaware of…” the Imperial Guard Commander said, “Some members of the Imperial Guard have been turned against their cause.”
"What did you say?" Xiao Yu slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "What do you mean by 'turned them to their side'?"
"Someone planted a spy among them, and some people were...were...persuaded."
"How much exactly?" Pei Yanchuan asked.
This was something they hadn't anticipated; to actually manage to turn a portion of the Imperial Guards against their will was something no ordinary person could accomplish.
"At least half of them."
Of the 50,000 Imperial Guards, more than half had been turned against them, and Xiao Yu had lost his previous strategic command.
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