Chapter 391 Could it be that... the dust is almost settled?
From this day on, the gates of Xun Mansion were closed.
Everyone in the mansion obeyed the order and stayed indoors, even the younger generations of the Xun family who used to love the hustle and bustle. They had made an appointment with their classmates to have dinner together, but after hearing the order, they had no choice but to break the appointment and return to their rooms.
There was also some movement in the residences of other ministers.
Some people locked the door tightly, while others quietly sent their servants out, only to return in a hurry after a while.
The people in charge of surveillance did not dare to slack off in the slightest and reported the news up the chain of command like water, and it soon reached Zhang Chengyan's desk.
At this time, there were still six days before his resurrection.
Zhang Chengyan sat in front of the hall, holding the secret report in his hand, stroking the edge of the letter with his fingertips, and sneered, "It is just as the master said, this plan can distinguish between loyalty and treachery! Look at this court of civil and military officials, some are loyal, while others are wavering! When this matter is settled, I will definitely demote all those people!"
Thinking about how just after his death, some people were trying to curry favor with the Xun family and didn't care about him as the emperor at all!
Zhang Chengyan's anger grew even stronger. He threw the secret report on the table with a cold look in his eyes. "Keep watching. If there is any news, inform me immediately. I want to purge the court all at once!"
Wang Decai stood beside him with his hands down and quickly responded, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will keep a close eye on it."
Zhang Chengyan changed the subject and asked in a slightly lower tone, "What is the situation in the harem?"
"Your Majesty, the ladies in the harem are becoming more and more impetuous." Wang Decai replied, "The ladies of high rank like Concubine De and Concubine Xian are relatively calm, but the ladies of lower rank are all extremely anxious. If Concubine Zhao hadn't said that she would not see anyone, I'm afraid they would have come to visit."
"Well, you can temporarily lift the palace ban. I want to see how many people want to leave in the end!"
The news of the lifting of the palace ban quickly spread throughout the harem.
It was not that Wang Decai deliberately spread the news, but the concubines noticed it from the details.
First, the imperial kitchen began to deliver fresh ingredients, and those delicacies from land and sea that were rarely seen in the past appeared on the menu again.
The daily garbage is taken out and everything seems to be back to normal.
As long as the palace gate is opened, there will be a chance to send the message!
Many concubines' eyes lit up, and they immediately picked up their pens to write letters, preparing to have someone secretly send the news out of the palace.
A day passed.
All the letters to be sent out are now in Zhang Chengyan's hands.
He sat under the lamp, reading each letter.
After observing for a period of time, he now understands how many people in the harem are sincere and how many are fake!
The night passed quietly and the dawn broke.
There are still five days until Zhang Chengyan is resurrected.
Bai Wutong went to the mourning hall as usual.
She was dressed in plain clothes and had a slim figure, which made her stand out among the concubines.
Other concubines also came, but they didn't come to burn paper for Zhang Chengyan. They just wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words to Bai Wutong.
However, Bai Wutong never paid any attention to these people.
She knelt quietly on the mat, threw paper money into the brazier, and watched the paper curl up in the fire, burn, and finally turn into ashes.
When they were burned out, she picked up the gold ingots she had carefully folded and put them into the fire one by one.
Ding Zhaoyi knelt aside and said respectfully, "Madam Zhaofei is so thoughtful that she even folded the gold ingots herself."
Bai Wutong pretended not to hear and continued to concentrate on burning the gold ingots.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Ding Zhaoyi sighed again and made a sad face, "It's a pity that the emperor left so early. What should we do? Your Highness, you have children by your side, so you don't have to worry about anything. But it's different for us. We don't know whether we will be buried with him or guard the emperor's mausoleum in the end."
As she spoke, she began to sob, her voice full of sorrow.
After Bai Wutong finished burning the gold ingots, he gently patted the ashes on his hands, stood up, looked at Ding Zhaoyi calmly, and finally said the first sentence to her, "I firmly believe in one truth, that is, people with good hearts will definitely be rewarded. People with sincere hearts will definitely have good luck."
Having said this, she said no more, turned around and left quickly.
When Ding Zhaoyi saw her leave, the tears on her face stopped instantly. She picked up a handkerchief and wiped them. A trace of disdain flashed in her eyes. She muttered in a low voice, "It's just like what others say, you are incorrigible! If it weren't for the prince, you would have entered the palace so late and grown so thin. It would be strange for the emperor to dote on you like this!"
After saying that, she glared fiercely in the direction where Bai Wutong left, then stood up and left the mourning hall.
Not long after she left, the two young eunuchs immediately reported to Wang Decai every word of the conversation that took place in the mourning hall.
"Humph, at this critical moment, this Concubine Ding still dares to make up stories about Concubine Zhao behind her back. She is really walking on the edge of a knife." Wang Decai sneered, "The emperor's favorite now is Concubine Zhao. Just wait and see. When the emperor wakes up, she will be in trouble!"
He immediately walked quickly into the Yangxin Palace and reported everything to the emperor without missing a single word.
A day passed quietly.
There are still four days until Zhang Chengyan's resurrection.
The palace was abnormally quiet; even the bronze bells in the corridors seemed mute.
Wang Decai no longer urged his concubines to come to the mourning hall to pay their respects as he did before. Instead, he often sat alone in the Yangxin Palace or the mourning hall for half a day.
The previous suggestion that Bai Wutong should support Zhang Yunhe to succeed the throne also stopped completely after she refused.
The servants vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
This unusual tranquility is more like the calm before a storm.
They were more cautious than before. They dared not even let the soles of their shoes touch the blue bricks when walking, and they always looked around before talking to their companions, for fear of saying a wrong word.
In the past, the little palace maids who always liked to gather in the corridor and whisper to each other now all lowered their heads and did their own tasks.
The concubines were not as sensitive as the servants, and their minds were all focused on thinking about the future.
They either huddled in the hall and stared at the dressing table in a daze, or pretended to go to the mourning hall to burn paper, but actually wanted to get information.
Because his mind was focused on himself, he naturally did not notice the subtle changes in the attitudes of the palace people around him, let alone the pairs of eyes watching him in the dark.
Bai Wutong's heart suddenly trembled, and he keenly caught the abnormality in the palace.
It's been unusually quiet these days.
In this harem, any subtle change may hide secrets.
She didn't dare to be careless at all, let alone summon Chan'er to discuss the matter.
There are so many eyes hiding around us now. If we are not careful, the information may be leaked.
So she sat alone in the inner room, facing the cold bronze mirror, staring at herself in the mirror, but her thoughts had already drifted away.
Wang Decai seems like a different person now. He used to be so attentive, but now he seems to have lost interest in everything.
The Emperor passed away not long ago. Normally, the palace should be busy and chaotic with all sorts of things going on.
Could it be that... this matter is about to be settled?
The more Bai Wutong thought about it, the more he felt that it made sense.
If the overall situation was not about to be settled, given Zhang Chengyan's personality, how could he allow Wang Decai to be so lazy?
Thinking back to everything that had happened before, Bai Wutong became more and more certain that his guess should be true!
She has endured for so long, it's time to take action.
At this final critical moment, the emperor must completely recognize Jin Weige’s true face and give up on her completely!
Although she had expressed her feelings several times before, they were just lip service after all. If Zhang Chengyan remembered their past friendship and didn't get angry about it, then all her efforts would be in vain.
This last chance cannot be missed!
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