Chapter 362: Shocking Changes (Part 2)
Sun Wei woke up with a start and immediately got up and dressed.
A'ru said, "It was a group of armed thieves who attacked the other palace at night. Captain Yin was leading the guards in a fight at the palace gate. He told us to prepare ourselves and wait for his instructions."
"Thief?" Sun Wei asked, "Do you know who it is?"
"I don't know. I don't know how they got through the door. If we hadn't discovered them in time, I don't know what they would have done. But I think they were probably coming for you."
As he was speaking, Yu Kuan, accompanied by several eunuchs and holding lanterns, hurried into the courtyard and asked, "Is the lady dressed properly?"
Aju replied, "It's all done."
Yu Kuan then entered and said, "The bandits have breached the outer courtyard. Captain Yin has ordered me to take the lady away."
Sun Wei couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going?"
"There's a small path at the back door of this palace that leads to a cave. It was dug at the order of the previous king and used as a refuge. The cave is very well hidden, my lady, you can go there for a while. Come back after you've eliminated the thieves here."
"Where's Captain Yin?"
"Captain Yin's duty is to protect the Lady. The Lady only needs to protect herself. Captain Yin will have his own way to deal with it." Yu Kuan said, and then glanced outside the door. "There is no time to lose. The Lady, please follow me!"
Bie Gong didn't answer. Sun Wei just went out and heard a noise coming from not far away. He hurriedly followed Yu Kuan out of the yard.
Yu Kuan walked hurriedly, panting, and took many detours to bring Sun Wei to the back door.
The back door was wide open. Sun Wei looked at the dark doorway and suddenly stopped.
"Why is the back door open?" she asked.
"Of course, someone below has opened it." Yu Kuan said hurriedly, "It's too late, my lady, please leave!"
Sun Wei looked at him, but did not move.
"Did Captain Yin really order the steward to take me away?"
"Absolutely true!"
Sun Wei said, "But His Highness has ordered me not to leave this palace. Thank you for your kindness, General Manager. I will not leave."
After she finished speaking, she was about to go back when she was stopped by someone Yu Kuan had brought with him.
A Ru sensed something was wrong and immediately drew out her knife, protecting Sun Wei behind her and shouting, "What do you mean?"
But then a group of men in black rushed in from outside the door, all holding knives.
A man slowly walked out and said with a smile: "It is really not easy to lure the lady out."
Sun Wei looked closely and found that it was Zhao Tong, the chief eunuch of the Eastern Palace.
Ah Ru turned to Yu Kuan and said sternly, "Chief Steward Yu, are you going to betray His Highness?"
Yu Kuan said calmly, "The lady-in-waiting deceived the emperor, a crime punishable by death. Your Highness should not have protected the lady-in-waiting, much less disobeyed the Crown Prince. If I can mitigate the charges against Your Highness, I will not hesitate to die, let alone become a traitor."
Aru glared at him with gritted teeth.
Sun Wei patted Aju and asked her to leave.
Now that everything is a foregone conclusion, there is no difference in asking Yu Kuan again.
She only looked at Zhao Tong: "I wonder what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants?"
Zhao Tong smiled and said, "Your Highness has not seen the Lady for a long time and misses her very much. I would like to invite the Lady to visit the East Palace."
"What if I don't obey?"
"This is Jiangzhou. If your Highness refuses to leave, I have no other choice. However, failing to report this knowledge is considered complicity. Everyone in this palace is guilty of the death penalty today. Your Highness, how do you think you can protect these people?"
It has come to this.
Escaping relies on luck. If luck doesn't work, you have to face it.
Seeing that she was silent, Aju knew that she was thinking.
"Don't listen to his nonsense," A'ru whispered hurriedly, "Your Highness has his own way."
Sun Wei looked at her, and after a moment, he patted her shoulder and said calmly, "Go back and tell Captain Yin everything about this matter, and have him tell His Highness to think twice before acting, and never be reckless."
Aju opened her eyes wide and said, "You can't go! If you go, I will follow you."
"You can't accomplish anything by following me. It's more harmful than beneficial." Sun Wei said, "Do you remember what I entrusted to you in Jiankang?"
Aju naturally remembered it.
Sun Wei tightened A'ru's hand and said, "From now on, they will be in your care."
Aju looked at her steadily, knowing that she was determined to leave.
"Why do you have to..."
"What needs to be faced must be faced," Sun Wei said slowly, "This is my path."
After she said that, she let go of Aju.
——
Zhao Tong's plan of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west would not have been successful without Yu Kuan's help.
This backdoor road was built by Prince Yuzhang as a wartime refuge, so few people know about it. The flat road led all the way to a waterway where several small boats were already moored.
Sun Wei stood on the boat, looking at the increasingly distant Pencheng, and said, "Manager Zhao is very wise."
Zhao Tong lowered his eyes and said, "His Royal Highness Prince Yuzhang hid well. If it weren't for my old friend Yu Kuan, I'm afraid I would be helpless."
"So Steward Yu and Steward Zhao have a connection?"
"When we were young, we served the late emperor together. After the late emperor passed away, I went to the Eastern Palace, and Yu Kuan went to the Prince of Yuzhang's Palace. We have been apart for many years, and many people don't know about this past, but we both still cherish this friendship."
"I see," Sun Wei nodded. "Since they are old friends, Steward Zhao shouldn't have harmed Steward Yu. Your Highness had just left Xunyang, and Steward Zhao instigated Steward Yu to betray Your Highness. How will he face Your Highness in the future?"
Zhao Tong sighed deeply, "My Lady, you don't know. We are all old now. Whether it's the Crown Prince or His Royal Highness Prince Yuzhang, we watched them grow up. As long as they are well, what else do we have to worry about?"
Sun Wei sneered, "Master Zhao, it's fine if you're deceiving yourself, but why bother implicating Master Yu? He's far away in Xunyang Palace, unaware of the situation in Jiankang, nor the conflict between the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Prince of Yuzhang. Let me ask you, Master, even if I'm gone now, will the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Prince of Yuzhang return to the way they were before?"
Zhao Tong remained silent.
Sun Wei continued, "The emperor is critically ill, and this is a precarious time. Your Highnesses should have worked together to overcome this difficult time, but Chief Steward Zhao sent me to Jiankang, adding to the chaos. What is his intention?"
"I have no choice but to obey the Crown Prince's orders."
"Then don't say it's for the good of the Crown Prince. The steward is just blindly loyal."
Zhao Tong blushed and simply stopped answering.
Sun Wei knew that the prince now refused to listen to even the queen mother, so what could Zhao Tong do?
She stopped arguing and turned back to the boat house.
——
The ship sailed from Xunyang to Jiankang overnight.
Sun Wei guessed that if she continued to hurry, she would not be more than a few days behind Sima Jun.
Before getting off the boat, the maid helped Sun Wei to dress and dress, and then sent her off the boat and onto the carriage.
When the carriage was stable, Sun Wei recognized that the place in front of him was an old place, Jingyuan.
It was still in that monastery that Sun Wei met the prince again.
Today's prince is in a very high-spirited spirit.
Sun Wei could not see the slightest trace of grief on his face for the emperor's critical illness. However, Sun Wei had tried to get information from Zhao Tong on the way, so the news of the emperor's critical illness must be true.
Just as she was about to perform the ceremony, the prince gently asked her to excuse herself.
"I'm a little dazed. The last time I saw you in this quiet courtyard was two years ago." He smiled, "Do you remember me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
