The people serving in the bedchamber were still Eunuch Xiang and several familiar eunuchs.
Seeing them calmed Rong Ning down a bit.
Shu Zhongjing lay on the bed.
Rong Ning stepped forward: "Royal Brother!"
Shu Zhongjing frowned: "Rong Ning?"
“It’s me, Your Majesty. How are you? I haven’t been able to enter the palace for the past few months. That little brat Shu Chengfeng has become increasingly audacious! He actually dared to…” Rong Ning stepped forward, choking back tears.
"What's happening outside? Tell me quickly." Shu Zhongjing struggled to get up.
Xiang helped him lean against the pillow.
Rong Ning looked at his lifeless eyes and dragging legs, and felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
"Your Majesty...Brother...what...what's wrong with you?" Rong Ning asked in a trembling voice.
"Tell me quickly. How is it outside?" Shu Zhongjing asked again.
“Outside…the Prince of Nan’an committed suicide after ascending the throne, and the war has ended. That little beast imprisoned the second son in the Imperial Clan Court. The third son has also bowed his head and is relatively safe. The seventh son was sent to the outskirts of the city and imprisoned there, burdened with the crime of plotting against the Crown Prince.”
"Although the ministers who were loyal to the Emperor are still there, most of them have already... have already defected. Some have even been banished to other places by him. He has mobilized troops from the capital region, and General Xu is right at the palace gate. The entire imperial city... the entire imperial city is under his control."
She herself was already terrified as she spoke.
Looking at Shu Zhongjing's expression, she understood that her brother was powerless to reverse the situation.
"Brother, why...why did this happen?" Rong Ning cried.
"Why? What else could it be? I'm poisoned!" Unfortunately, no matter how many times he asked, Shu Chengfeng wouldn't admit it.
He knew that it might not be Shu Chengfeng, but what difference would it make?
"You should...you should call Yan Lingyun back! Come back to protect the emperor! You are his wife, call him back!"
"Your Majesty! I am his wife, but the Crown Prince's Consort Yan is his daughter!" Rong Ning cried out in anguish. "Over the years, I have drifted further and further away from him. How could I possibly come back? How could I possibly call him back? Your Majesty, how could things have come to this? What am I to do?"
"Shut up!" Shu Zhongjing had no patience to listen to her sobbing.
"Who else? Who else? General Huo, General Xie, either one is fine. Call them back to protect me! We must purge the court of corrupt officials! I want to depose him, depose him!"
"...Brother, there's no one left. General Huo has returned to Bailu Prefecture, and the Crown Prince sent people to commend him with great fanfare. Xie Yuan has no troops at his disposal. Now...everyone in the court supports him." Rong Ning wasn't a fool.
Knowing that once the emperor had reached this point, it would be impossible to depose the crown prince.
The Crown Prince has grown up too fast in recent years.
Shu Zhongjing was still furious, listing names one by one, hoping someone would come to his rescue.
Rong Ning, however, had already gotten up with tears streaming down her face.
She lost her balance and swayed several times before a palace attendant quickly helped her up.
After a long while, she waved her hand, indicating that she was leaving.
Then, without listening to what his elder brother was saying behind him, he slowly walked out.
At the very edge, Shu Chengfeng stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for her.
Hearing the eunuchs' voices, he turned around and said, "Aunt is all better now, so let's go back."
Rong Ning opened and closed her lips several times before finally uttering a dry word: "Okay."
Shu Chengfeng seemed to have already anticipated her reaction after seeing His Majesty, and he didn't care at all.
As long as she's not insane, she should know what to do.
Now that things have come to this, is there still a choice?
Back outside Yaoguang Palace, they saw Yan Nangui standing there with a lantern in his hand.
Today she was wearing a light red long dress, and on her hair in a snake-shaped bun was a cat's eye stone that Shu Chengfeng had given her.
At this moment, she tilted her head and said, "I have been waiting for Your Highness and the Princess for a long time, under the pretext of changing my clothes."
"There are people here to serve you, why are you waiting?" Shu Chengfeng smiled.
"I can't wait to see how happy the Princess will be when she sees His Majesty," Yan Nangui said with a smile.
Shu Chengfeng raised an eyebrow.
The princess behind her had an extremely ugly expression: "What are you so smug about? You little brat, do you think you'll get any benefits from this in the future?"
"We'll talk about the future later. Maybe we won't benefit from it, but isn't it enough that the Princess is happy right now? Oh, congratulations! Princess, your good days are yet to come," Yan Nangui said playfully.
"How dare you! I am the eldest princess! Who do you think you are to speak to me like that!" Rong Ning was filled with anger and fear, and this was a way to vent her anger.
"I am but a lowly concubine, and I am unworthy. I am a concubine of the Crown Prince's family, Your Highness!" Yan Nangui stamped her foot. "Look, she doesn't respect you at all! You are His Highness the Crown Prince! In this world, His Majesty is first, and you are second. What's wrong with the Princess? Does being an elder give you the right to bully others?"
"Alright, stop fooling around." Shu Chengfeng smiled. "It's time to take your seats."
Rong Ning glanced at Shu Chengfeng, then looked at Yan Nangui, and gritted her teeth, saying, "You really are a fool, relying on your looks to court death. You'll grow old and lose your beauty one day, and you can't have children. Do you think being a woman in the palace is easy?"
"Princess, you are overthinking it. You're a concubine too, and I'm quite happy being one. Even the poisoned wine His Highness bestows upon me will taste sweet. As for you, tsk tsk."
With that, he followed the Crown Prince inside.
Rong Ning almost rushed forward, but thankfully she managed to suppress her inner thoughts.
Upon re-entering the palace, naturally, someone inquired about Emperor Rongning.
She could only offer a vague answer, saying that His Majesty indeed needed to rest. She dared not utter another word.
Her greatest reliance was His Majesty, and now that His Majesty had reached this point, there was nothing she could do.
If they still don't understand the times, they're likely doomed.
Perhaps there's something else she can do, but she can't say anything right now.
We have no choice but to go back and reconsider.
As the party was about to end, Consort Zhen rose and knelt before the Empress: "Your Majesty, I have not seen the Eighth Princess and the Twelfth Prince for a long time. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy and let them return with me."
The Empress said calmly, "Your conduct is immoral, and you bewitch the Emperor. How can someone like you raise children? Your two children are being raised in the palace, where they are being taught by nannies. You don't need to worry about them."
"Your Majesty! But they've been following me the whole time! Please, Your Majesty!"
"Mother, please don't worry about me and my brother. The Empress Dowager treats us very well. We are doing well every day, just like when we were in Feiluan Palace. Now that Father is ill, we pray for him every day and dare not neglect it. Please don't worry about us, Mother." The Eighth Princess hurriedly said.
She was well aware of her mother's current situation, and what good would it do to stand up to the Empress?
Although the twelfth prince looked on longingly, he listened to his sister and didn't dare to say anything. After all, he was already ten years old.
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