Yihua said she was used to Yinzhen being summoned by the Emperor in the middle of the night again, since it wasn't the first time.
Yinzhen washed his face to clear his head. He had already gone out but then turned back: "Martial law is in effect throughout the manor. No matter what happens outside, do not open the gates. Wait for me to return."
Yi Hua was immediately wide awake by his words. Looking at the faint gleam in Yin Zhen's eyes, she understood. She slowed her heartbeat and gave him a big smile: "I... have the children waiting for you at home."
"Oh right, take good care of Honghui!" Yihua suddenly remembered that Honghui was still in the palace, and worriedly got up to practice calligraphy to calm her mind.
Yinzhen nodded in acknowledgment and hurriedly disappeared into the night.
Speaking of Honghui, he also had a thrilling night.
Since entering the palace, Honghui had been living in Yonghe Palace. That night, as usual, he reviewed his lessons and then turned off the lights to go to sleep. However, he was woken up by Granny Lü not long afterward. He saw Granny Lü covering her mouth in a panic.
"Your Highness, don't make a sound yet, there are soldiers outside."
Honghui rolled out of bed and looked out the window. The moonlight was as clear as water, and he could clearly see shadows moving in the corridor.
"Weapons are not allowed in the palace. Take this for self-defense." Granny Green handed Honghui a dagger. "Don't use it unless absolutely necessary. Remember that."
The two had just finished their private conversation when the door was pushed open forcefully, and a soldier in armor strode in: "The Crown Prince has ordered that you all come to Changchun Palace for tea."
"Changchun Palace was the residence of the late Empress. The Emperor sealed the palace long ago, forbidding anyone from entering, so as not to disturb the late Empress's spirit. Who are you, daring to falsely convey the Crown Prince's decree!" Honghui asked with a frown.
The soldiers, unwilling to say more, immediately drew their swords.
"Honghui, come to me, let's go with him." Consort De's voice came from the doorway. She was already dressed and wrapped in a cloak, and she beckoned to Honghui.
Seeing this, Honghui took another serious look at the fierce soldier, and helped Consort De out of Yonghe Palace.
As they approached Changchun Palace, they heard a commotion. Honghui listened intently and heard what sounded like someone using the Crown Prince's name to bring over all the concubines from the harem.
The front hall of Changchun Palace was now crowded with people. Consort De arrived late, and a junior noble lady quietly made room for her.
Suppressed sobs could be heard intermittently from inside the room.
"Crying, crying, all you do is cry! The Emperor is perfectly fine, who are you mourning for!" Consort Yi, who was already short-tempered, vented her anger on the young noblewoman after being forcibly brought over by this concubine.
Consort Hui remained silent, closing her eyes to rest, as if she had already fallen asleep.
Consort Rong, on the other hand, did not seem flustered and even had the mood to comfort her younger sisters.
After Consort De sat down, Consort Hui suddenly spoke up: "It doesn't matter if all of us die here, it's just that you're unlucky. You have Honghui with you. He is the eldest son of Prince Yong, who is intelligent and favored."
"Sister Consort De, if anything were to happen to this child today..." Consort Hui said meaningfully, looking at Honghui who was keeping his head down and not looking around.
"There's no need for Consort Hui to worry about that. My son is cold on the outside but even cold on the inside. I dare to guarantee that someone will have to apologize for every hair that Honghui lost today." Consort De, contrary to her usual humility, refused to budge an inch.
"Ha, why get so excited? It's pointless." Consort Hui stared at the tightly closed door. "What do you suggest we do if the Crown Prince comes in?"
Consort De did not speak. She looked around, trying to find a good hiding place for Honghui.
Judging from this situation, it's obvious the Crown Prince is planning a rebellion. If the Crown Prince loses, everyone will be happy; if he wins, she'll have to find a way to protect Honghui. The soldiers were following too closely on the way, making it impossible to escape.
Everyone in the room had been woken up in the middle of the night, and after being exposed to a cold draft, they couldn't fall back asleep, and their stomachs started rumbling.
There was no water or food in the room, only fresh fruits offered in front of the late empress's memorial tablet. Honghui noticed that quite a few people were already secretly eyeing the food.
He thought for a moment, then got up and knocked on the door. The guard at the door impatiently opened it and brandished a knife: "What is it? Stay quiet. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be killed!"
Honghui took out a silver note from his pocket and put it into the guard's palm: "It's getting late and the dew is heavy. I'd like to invite you generals to drink. I wonder if you could give us some snacks and water? Anything is fine."
"Kid, do you think we invited you here? You expect me to feed and treat you to all the good food and drink?" The guard rolled his eyes, but honestly stuffed the silver notes into his pocket.
Honghui smiled and took out another stack of silver notes from his pocket. He glanced at them and saw that there were at least ten. He said, "Generals, you've all worked hard. Now it seems that His Highness the Crown Prince can't care about us. Besides, since His Highness the Crown Prince ordered us to be guarded instead of killed, we are still useful. We can't just starve to death here, or you won't be able to explain yourselves."
The guard was tempted; those nearly a thousand taels of silver were enough for him to gamble for a long time.
"Wait here." After saying that, he turned around and said a few words to the soldier next to him, and soon returned with a food box.
The food box contained only nameless pastries that even the head maidservants of the master usually looked down upon, and many of them were not whole, with crumbs all over the box. As for the water, it was really just cold water.
Honghui used whatever materials he had on hand to make a simple mesh screen to filter the water again. There was no charcoal available, and the guards wouldn't provide any either, as it would be their fault if a fire broke out.
Using his cloak to warm the teacups, Honghui could only manage to keep the water from getting too cold. He picked out a few that looked decent and arranged them in front of Consort De: "Empress Mother, these are all we can use. Oh, and this too, please have something to tide you over."
Honghui untied his purse, which contained half a bag of dried beef cubes.
"This was made by my mother, it's so delicious."
Consort De reached out and touched Honghui's shoulder: "Don't be afraid, let's eat together. Trust your Grandfather, okay?"
"Hmm." Honghui suppressed his urge to rush out and go home to protect his mother.
For a moment, the room fell silent. After having some snacks, some people couldn't resist the drowsiness and fell asleep on the floor, leaning against a pillar.
Honghui silently recalled the guards he had seen after opening the door. There were two at the entrance, at least four at the main gate, and three or five patrolling from time to time. The place was heavily guarded, and there was basically no chance of escaping under their noses.
Just as everyone was waiting anxiously, a large number of footsteps, the clanging of swords, and the roar of people came from outside Changchun Palace.
Honghui got up and peered through the crack in the door. The people outside had already forgotten about the "prisoners" inside. It turned out that another group of people had directly engaged them in close combat, catching them off guard.
Some arrows were stuck in the window. The concubines inside huddled together for warmth, and gradually, it became quiet outside.
With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Honghui's eyes lit up when he saw the person leading the way: "Fourteenth Uncle!"
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