1193 The Imperial Palace, all the plans failed

When Feng Qingchen returned to the Feng Mansion, she was treated like a star. Everyone in the Feng Mansion surrounded her and it was very lively. However, the situation with the Ninth Prince and the Ninth Prince's Mansion was completely the opposite.

The entire Ninth Prince's Mansion was filled with a gloomy and depressive atmosphere. When the housekeeper learned that the Ninth Prince had returned safely to the city, he did not go out to greet him. Instead, he led everyone in the Ninth Prince's Mansion to kneel in the outer courtyard.

As soon as the Ninth Prince walked in, he saw everyone in the Ninth Prince's Mansion, headed by the butler. After counting carefully, he found that there were quite a few missing people here.

The Ninth Prince knew very well about the missing people. He glanced at them coldly and said, "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace of not punishing me." The old butler stood up tremblingly, his face seemed much older than before. The servants behind him also lowered their heads, and no one dared to speak.

The remaining people were loyal to the Ninth Prince. Even when his life or death was unknown, they did not betray him. The Ninth Prince would certainly not blame them. He asked the old steward to reward them and then signaled everyone to leave.

The servants were rewarded because they were loyal, but the old butler could not be rewarded because he did not manage well.

"What's going on?" The Ninth Prince asked as he walked in.

"To reply to your Highness, it was my negligence. Seven people were found in the palace. Two of them were the emperor's men, and the others were Xiling, the queen, and His Royal Highness Prince Luo's men. The remaining two were bribed by Prince Zhou and the Cui family afterwards."

"Seven? You are really old." The Ninth Prince was dissatisfied.

There were few servants in the Ninth Prince's Mansion, and each of them was frequently interrogated again and again, and only after their three generations of ancestors were checked and someone guaranteed them, could they be allowed to enter the mansion.

These people were all managed by the old butler, but so many spies were planted right under the old butler's nose, which showed that the old butler had seriously neglected his duty.

The old butler knew he was wrong and knelt down again: "I am willing to ask for your punishment, Your Majesty."

"You are old now, so you should go to the farm to live out your retirement." The Ninth Prince left without looking back after saying this.

The old butler got up from the ground, his whole body was unsteady, but he couldn't utter a word to beg for mercy.

This time, the Ninth Prince was in trouble, and he was completely confused. If he hadn't failed to manage the situation properly, things wouldn't have become so serious. He was indeed old, and he was always thinking about what to do if the Ninth Prince was really in trouble.

When the Ninth Prince returned to his room, the servants had already prepared hot water. After taking a bath and changing his clothes, he took a carriage to the palace.

At this time, everyone in the palace also received the news. The originally joyful palace banquet suddenly became quiet, and everyone, from the emperor to the officials, changed their expressions.

The Ninth Prince is not dead? How is this possible?

There was a flash of shock in the emperor's eyes, and he glanced at Fu Lin quickly. Fu Lin nodded slowly, indicating that the news was true.

The emperor's pupils suddenly dilated, and his body involuntarily sat up straight, then he returned to his original position and said to the ministers in a gentle tone: "I just received good news."

Good news, what good news?

All the officials looked at the emperor. Some of them who were good at flattering him even stepped forward and said a few words praising his merits, but unfortunately the emperor did not buy it.

Although the emperor had a smile on his face, his eyes were cold, but the officials were too far away to see clearly.

"The Ninth Prince was attacked some time ago. I know that you are all as worried about the life and death of the Ninth Prince's Mansion as I am. I can now tell you that you don't have to worry. The Ninth Prince has good luck and he has returned to the city safely."

"What? Nine Emperors

Uncle came back alive?"

"What? The Ninth Prince is not dead at all?"

All the ministers were stunned on the spot. They looked at each other, and finally looked at the emperor.

"Your Majesty, you just said that the Ninth Prince returned to the city safely?" a senior official asked anxiously.

"That's right, the Ninth Prince is safe. My lords, please raise your glasses and congratulate the Ninth Prince on his safe return to the capital." The emperor raised his glass with a festive look on his face.

Prince Luo, Prince Zhou, and all the other gentlemen looked as pale as death, but they had to raise their glasses and say happy words with bitter faces.

Happy, happy for your whole family.

Nearly a month has passed and there is no news. Even the servants in the Ninth Prince's Mansion have rebelled. They were all discussing how to divide up the Ninth Prince's power, but he ended up coming back.

This is just teasing people.

The ministers raised their glasses mechanically and drank mechanically. They were all in a daze and didn't know how they sat down.

They had already regarded the Ninth Prince as a man doomed to die, and never thought that the Ninth Prince would survive.

What should I do now!

The atmosphere of the entire banquet changed. Although it was still lively, no one was in high spirits. Everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts.

I just agreed to serve His Royal Highness Prince Luo. Isn't this...

Oh my god, I helped Prince Zhou to suppress the Nineth Prince's power. Isn't this...

No matter which side they were on, they were inevitably uneasy at this time. In the past half month, they had done a lot of things against the Ninth Prince's party. Most of the Ninth Prince's loyal followers had been trampled down by them. Now...

The situation is about to change again. I wonder what the Ninth Prince will do.

The most depressed person was Prince Luo. He had just entered the city in high spirits this morning, ready to take over the remaining forces of the Ninth Uncle, but...

He had just begun and it was over.

Prince Luo looked at the officials he had just met, only to see their eyes flickering and they did not dare to confront him at all. Even the people Prince Zhou had won over before dodged one by one.

Prince Zhou and Prince Luo were extremely angry. What difference did it make if the Ninth Prince Uncle came back? The situation in the capital had changed, and the forces of all parties had been reshuffled. Even if the Ninth Prince Uncle came back, he would not be the same Ninth Prince Uncle as before.

Thinking of this, Prince Luo became more confident and stood up to the emperor and said, "Father, I am very happy to hear that my uncle is safe and sound. I have not seen him for several months and I miss him very much. I beg you to summon him to the palace."

Dong Ling Zi Luo's words sounded nice, but his real meaning was to let the Emperor intimidate the Ninth Uncle and let the Ninth Uncle understand that the current Dong Ling was no longer the imperial city where he could call the shots, and he was no longer the Ninth Uncle who had all the power in the court.

Prince Luo's proposal was exactly what the emperor wanted, so the emperor approved it and immediately ordered the eunuch to summon the Ninth Prince into the palace. As soon as the eunuch received the order and went out, the announcement of the Ninth Prince's entry was heard outside.

He went straight into the palace instead of asking for an audience, which showed that the Ninth Prince did not take the Emperor seriously at all and walked in on his own without waiting for the Emperor's permission.

The emperor was unhappy in his heart, but he did not show it on his face. He said with a happy face: "Ninth brother is indeed of the same mind as me. I was just about to summon you to the palace, but I didn't expect you to come. Quick, summon the Ninth Prince to the palace."

"Prince Xuan Jiu..."

Before the eunuch finished speaking, the Ninth Prince strode in and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am here."

Ignoring the officials present, the Ninth Prince walked all the way to the emperor and nodded slightly to him as a salute. Without waiting for the emperor to express his brotherly and respectful remarks, he spoke first...