Chapter 169 Assassination
Minister Wang was so anxious he was about to jump up and down: "Sixth Sister, this is not the time to be willful. A major incident has occurred in the court. How can Prince Xin hide at a time like this?"
The crown prince is about to ascend the throne. If Prince Xin cannot come out to stop him, all their previous efforts will be in vain.
Wang Liuniang sneered, "I'm willful? Father, what kind of deadly scheme are you and Prince Xin plotting? Why did Prince Xin pack his things and flee with his guards after the Emperor's death? I want to ask you what exactly happened!"
Seeing that Wang Liuniang was unwilling to speak properly, Minister Wang immediately asked Yingxiu, a maid who had come with him as part of the dowry, in a serious tone, "Tell me carefully what happened to Prince Xin after hearing the bell? Where did he go?"
Yingxiu dared not lie, and stammered, "The prince and young lady had already retired for the night, but suddenly they heard the bell ring. The prince ran out of the house first, and then immediately took more than ten guards and left in the dead of night... The young lady thought he was going to the palace, so she quickly changed her clothes and prepared to go with the prince. However, before she even reached the door, she was stopped by the guards. Without asking any questions, they took her back to the bridal chamber and locked her up, not letting her go out... About an hour later, the prince returned with his men, his face very grim. He packed several large bundles and took almost all the guards from the manor with him, and never came back. The young lady chased after him and asked where the prince was going and why he wasn't going to the palace, but the prince..." She glanced at Wang Liuniang fearfully and stopped talking.
Vice Minister Wang angrily said, "What did he say? Tell me now!"
Wang Liuniang said coldly, "He told me to pack my things and go back to my parents' home, to pretend I had never married him, and then he ran away with his guards."
It's absurd, utterly absurd! Her marriage to Prince Xin was a wedding personally officiated by the Emperor and Empress, known throughout the capital. Yet Prince Xin himself wanted to run away, leaving her with the only message: "Pretend you never married him."
Even though Wang Liuniang never expected to have a harmonious relationship with Prince Xin, she never imagined that he would treat her like a joke.
She was so angry that she wanted to whip him, but seeing his face as black as ink and the ferocious-looking guards around him, she barely managed to hold back.
Only then did Vice Minister Wang believe that Prince Xin had indeed fled, abandoning everything to escape.
He sat limply in the chair, as if his soul had been ripped from his body, his face deathly pale.
Prince Xin fled because he knew there was no way to reverse the situation. So he only thought about escaping for his own life and forgot to remind his own man, who had become his father-in-law!
The Crown Prince might keep his promise to the Empress and spare Prince Xin's life, but he never said he would spare Prince Xin's accomplices!
If he started investigating, Vice Minister Wang's face turned pale. No, he couldn't stand the investigation either. He had to get rid of everything that was bad for him immediately, or his whole family would be in danger!
Looking at her father, who used to be so powerful and authoritative at home, now seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, Wang Liuniang felt an uncontrollable sense of satisfaction. It seemed that he must have been plotting something with Prince Xin behind the scenes, but when disaster struck, Prince Xin fled first without even telling her.
He was betrayed and abandoned.
Wang Liuniang said, "I was just about to send someone to find out what happened in the palace and why the prince fled immediately after His Majesty's death. Since Father is here, why don't you tell your daughter about it?"
Wang Shilang said blankly, "The Empress poisoned His Majesty and then committed suicide by poisoning herself. The Crown Prince is about to ascend the throne."
It was impossible for the Empress to keep the Emperor Jian'an's affair a secret from the world in front of hundreds of people. Wang Liuniang could find out the truth with just a little inquiry, so there was no need to keep it a secret any longer.
Wang Liuniang and the maids who had accompanied her in the room were stunned. Wang Liuniang, who was usually a bit slow-witted, strangely grasped the key point: "Since the Empress told the Crown Prince to take good care of the Prince before she died, why did he run away? What was he afraid of?"
Wang Shilang dared not mention this to Wang Liuniang. The Empress had already shifted all the blame onto Emperor Jian'an. How could he possibly reveal that it was actually Prince Xin who had done it? The Empress had used her own death to buy him a way out.
But Prince Xin clearly disappointed the Empress; he fled.
Perhaps he didn't believe the Crown Prince would let him go, or perhaps he was unwilling to be relegated to a lowly position as a prince in a remote fiefdom, never to enter the capital again. Since he escaped, there must be other possibilities.
Wang Shilang dared not harbor any illusions about someone who had already escaped. He only wanted to go home immediately and get rid of what he had. He stood up, glanced at Wang Liuniang, and said, "Since Prince Xin has already declared the marriage annulled, there is no need for you to stay here any longer. I will have your mother arrange for someone to come and take you back."
Go home? Wang Liuniang gave a cold laugh. Had he finally realized he had made a mistake and ruined his daughter's life? Did he really think she was so stupid as to go back and be used as a pawn to be given away to whoever he wanted? Absolutely not!
She sat up straight with pride: "My daughter is now the Princess Consort of Xin, married in a ceremony personally presided over by the Emperor and Empress, and is a member of the Imperial Clan Register. Why should I go back?"
It's better that Prince Xin isn't here. She's the one who calls the shots in this huge palace; she's the true mistress! Why would she want to go back to her parents' home to suffer?
Minister Wang was dumbfounded. Just as he was about to try to persuade him again, a servant ran in: "Your Highness, someone from the Imperial Household Department has arrived. They're asking where the Prince is..."
Wang Shilang felt a bitter taste in his mouth, but Wang Liuniang slowly stood up: "Father, go back. The Prince is not here. As his daughter-in-law, I must go to the palace to keep vigil for His Majesty and the Empress. Yingxiu, help me change my clothes. I will go to the palace with the people from the Imperial Household Department now."
The Crown Prince soon learned of Prince Xin's escape, and his response was simple: pursue him.
They will chase this unfilial son to the ends of the earth and bring him back to his mother's spirit to repent.
She risked her life to save him, but he secretly plotted so many things, even trying to turn the Qilin Army against her.
If the Empress Dowager hadn't promptly sent Wu Zisang with the military tally to find He Xiang, the Qilin Army would likely have been incited.
But the Crown Prince was overwhelmed with tasks: the Emperor and Empress's funerals, the affairs of the court, and the various preparations to be made before his ascension to the throne. He was exhausted, sleeping less than two hours a day, and the matter of capturing Prince Xin was no longer so important.
Like him, Li Xiaoxiao also had bloodshot eyes. Meng Guanqi was an official outside the capital. Apart from entering the palace to mourn for an hour each day, he spent the rest of his time working and leaving the office as usual. He had almost returned to a normal routine. But as Aze's first-class bodyguard, the responsibility on her shoulders suddenly became more than ten times heavier.
With the Crown Prince about to ascend the throne, Aze, as his only son and the heir apparent, is the future Crown Prince, making his safety extremely important.
The Crown Princess was also extremely busy and had no time to care about Aze. However, she specifically instructed Li Xiaoxiao that during the Emperor and Empress's funeral, the palace was bustling with people of all kinds, and she had to keep a close eye on Aze at all times and not take her eyes off him.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have not yet fully taken over the palace affairs. Most of the people they employ are still the old people from the Eastern Palace. However, the number of people in the Eastern Palace is already limited, and they have been assigned to various places by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. They do not trust the people of Emperor Jian'an and the Empress, so they can only have Li Xiaoxiao keep an eye on things from the sidelines.
Li Xiaoxiao has not been home for six consecutive days and has hardly had a good night's sleep.
As the Crown Prince's only son, Aze, despite his young age, still had to keep vigil all night. Li Xiaoxiao stayed by his side, and when she saw that he couldn't stay up any longer, she used her own body to shield him so that he could secretly sleep for a little while. Once Aze was asleep, Li Xiaoxiao, who was on lookout duty, naturally couldn't sleep. She had to keep an eye on the surroundings to prevent Aze from being discovered while he was sleeping.
Fortunately, she only needs to endure seven days. After the emperor and empress are buried, she should be able to go home and get a good night's sleep.
She made up her mind: if the Crown Princess was so worried about Aze's safety, then she would take him home to sleep and bring a dozen or so guards from the Eastern Palace back with her. She didn't believe anyone would dare to sneak into her house to assassinate Aze.
Li Xiaoxiao, who was in a terrible mood from staying up all night, secretly made up her mind.
Aze, who was leaning against her, suddenly moved and straightened up. Li Xiaoxiao threw a paper ingot into the stove and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Aze rubbed his eyes: "I need to use the restroom."
There was a chamber pot in the side room of the mourning hall. When the Crown Prince heard him speak, he looked over with concern.
Aze pointed to the side room, stood up, and walked out.
Li Xiaoxiao was too sleepy sitting up, so she stood up and followed them out.
She didn't go into the side hall, but waited outside the door, stretched, and tried to wake herself up.
Today is the seventh day. After dawn, the emperor and empress will be buried, and she should be able to go home and sleep soundly tonight.
After waking up, she wanted to have a big meal. She had been eating only vegetarian food for the past few days in the palace, and she really wanted to eat meat, chicken legs, pork knuckles, roast duck, stewed mutton, and milky white fish soup...
Thinking of this, her stomach rumbled involuntarily, and she was about to drool when she suddenly smelled a foul odor coming from the outhouse, which instantly killed her appetite.
Upon closer inspection, she saw that a slightly hunchbacked eunuch was carrying a chamber pot to change his clothes. Perhaps because he had been dealing with excrement and urine all the time, the eunuch also had a stench that he couldn't wash off. When he passed by the entrance of the mourning hall with the chamber pot, even the guards standing at the door couldn't help but cover their noses and move aside with disgust.
The eunuch carrying the chamber pot seemed to know that others disliked his smell, so he bowed apologetically to the guards several times, quickly passed by them, and headed in Li Xiaoxiao's direction.
The closer he got, the stronger the smell became. Li Xiaoxiao couldn't help but cover her nose and tried to move aside like the two guards, but she suddenly stopped halfway there.
She had been keeping vigil in the mourning hall for seven days. This was not the first time she had seen this eunuch emptying the chamber pot. Because there were many princes and grandsons keeping vigil for Emperor Jian'an, the chamber pot filled up quickly and needed to be changed frequently. The chamber pot was a large round barrel made of solid wood. Not only was it inconvenient for one person to carry it, but it might also spill and soil the mourning hall, which was a capital offense.
So these days, only two people come to change the chamber pots: one is this slightly hunchbacked, elderly eunuch, and the other is younger than him. Together, they carry the chamber pots out of the latrine and put them on a cart outside to be transported out.
But today, only he came to change, and he was covered in the smell of excrement and urine. Although he was a eunuch who emptied chamber pots, and it was inevitable that he would have a slight smell on him, it was definitely not as strong as it was today, so strong that people couldn't help but avoid him.
Unless he did it on purpose.
"Stop!" Li Xiaoxiao suddenly called out to the eunuch who was about to open the door of the side hall, and walked towards him step by step.
The hunchbacked eunuch was startled. Before Li Xiaoxiao could even get close, he quickly lowered his head, bent over even more, and his hands seemed to tremble: "What, what are your orders, sir?"
He seemed to have never interacted with important figures because he had spent his whole life emptying chamber pots, and his voice trembled as if he were very afraid.
Li Xiaoxiao stopped about a meter away from him: "Where's your other companion? Isn't it always the two of you who carry it together?"
The hunchbacked eunuch said, "He... he had an upset stomach today and asked the steward for leave, so only I came to change the chamber pot."
Li Xiaoxiao frowned: "He's sick. Didn't your supervisor send someone else to cover his shift, leaving you to handle such heavy work all by yourself?"
The hunchbacked eunuch hurriedly said, "Others also have their own jobs, and there's no money to be made in this job, so no one wants to do it."
The answer is correct. Emptying chamber pots in the palace is indeed a dead-end job with no lucrative prospects. It is usually done by the least favored eunuchs with the least connections, so it is not too surprising that no one covers for them.
But Li Xiaoxiao still had a bad feeling: "What's wrong with the smell on you? Did you fall into a latrine?"
The hunchbacked eunuch's voice was already trembling with tears: "This servant... this servant was working alone, and while emptying the chamber pot just now, I accidentally got my clothes wet. I was afraid of delaying my work here, so I didn't dare go back to change..."
He said in a panic, "It's stinking up, sir! This servant deserves to die! This servant will change the bucket right away, and the smell will be gone once it's taken out..." He pushed the door open and went inside. Just then, Aze finished relieving himself and came out. He immediately saw Li Xiaoxiao at the door: "Sister Xiaoxiao?"
Why is she standing at the door and not coming in?
The hunchbacked eunuch suddenly straightened his slightly bent back, reached into the bucket, took out a knife more than a foot long, and stabbed at Aze in one swift step.
Aze's eyes suddenly widened. He wasn't fully awake yet, staring blankly as the knife in front of him got closer and closer, without any reaction.
Li Xiaoxiao was still standing outside the palace gate. The hunchbacked eunuch was too close to Aze and watched helplessly as he took a knife from the bucket and stabbed Aze. It was too late for her to rush forward. She shouted, "Fall backward!" and her body shot into the palace like an arrow.
Aze was used to listening to Li Xiaoxiao, so when he heard her shout, he fell backward without thinking. The gleaming knife almost grazed his nose, and he fell to the ground. Although he was badly hurt, he avoided the hunchbacked eunuch's fatal blow.
The hunchbacked eunuch's expression changed drastically; he had failed to land the crucial blow! He immediately turned his blade around and lunged at Aze on the ground again.
Aze fell to the ground in the side hall. Although he managed to brace himself with his hands to avoid hitting his head, he didn't have time to dodge the hunchbacked eunuch's knife again. The gleaming knife was right in front of him again, and he screamed in fright.
But the hunchbacked eunuch missed his first strike, and he didn't have a second chance.
Because Li Xiaoxiao had already arrived.
With a clang, the jarring sound of weapons clashing rang out. The next moment, the hunchbacked eunuch felt his body fly up and crash heavily into a pillar in the side hall.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, leaned on a pillar to stand up with difficulty, a cruel smile appeared on his lips, and his voice was sinister: "As expected of the Crown Prince's number one warrior. Even in this situation, you still managed to save the person. If you don't die, the master's revenge will never be achieved."
Li Xiaoxiao held her sword horizontally in front of her and said coldly, "Who is your master? Is it Prince Xin? What deep-seated hatred does he have that makes him want to harm a child? Can't he just stand up and fight his enemy to the death?"
Aze's screams and the sound of Li Xiaoxiao kicking the hunchbacked eunuch into a pillar had already alerted the Crown Prince and his entourage before the coffin. Pang Shi led the guards to the front, followed by the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and several princes. They all rushed over and immediately saw Aze lying on the ground, Li Xiaoxiao standing in front of Aze with a sword in her hand, and the hunchbacked eunuch with blood on his lips, a foul odor, and a knife in his hand.
The Crown Prince broke out in a cold sweat: "What happened? Ke'er, are you alright?"
The guards surrounded the hunchbacked eunuch, drawing their swords. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess rushed towards Aze, picked up their son from the ground, and held him tightly in their arms.
Pang Shi shouted, "Take him down!"
The hunchbacked eunuch laughed loudly, tears streaming down his face, and cried out to the heavens, "Young master, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Jingwen is incapable of personally killing his enemy, so I will go down and apologize to you right away!"
Pang Shi's expression changed: "Stop him!"
But it was too late. The hunchbacked eunuch drew his sword and committed suicide, his blood spurting out half a meter away.
His aged body collapsed to the ground with a thud, his eyes wide open, and he soon breathed his last.
The princes immediately covered their sons' eyes, trembling with fear. Someone had actually attempted assassination in front of the Emperor and Empress's coffin! It was utterly audacious!
Li Xiaoxiao remained silent, then committed suicide. Again, suicide. Is this some villain from a family known for its suicides?
Those imperial guards who heard the news later surged toward Fengxian Hall in waves, and all the eunuchs and palace maids were pulled aside for questioning one by one.
The head eunuch of the Imperial Household Department was so frightened that he knelt before the Crown Prince, barely able to straighten his back. How dare a palace eunuch assassinate the Crown Prince? Did he want to ensure that the Crown Prince would have no heir?
The Crown Prince's eyes, already bloodshot from staying up all night, turned even redder from nearly losing his son. Enraged, he smashed a teapot in front of the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department: "Investigate! Who is this audacious eunuch? What is his background? Where is he from? You have one day to find out everything clearly and come back to me. If you can't find out, you can relinquish your position and step down!"
The Crown Prince's furious outburst terrified everyone, including several princes.
The Crown Prince roared, "Is there any clean place in the entire palace? Is there any clean place at all? My son could be assassinated in his own home! Wei Dexin, do you still want your head? Investigate immediately! Investigate not only this damned eunuch who empties chamber pots, but also everyone who is colluding with outsiders, engaging in secret dealings, or wandering around. Find out everything so I don't have to sleep with one eye open, not knowing when a knife will pop up above my head to chop off my head!"
Wei Dexin, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, kept kowtowing on the ground to beg for forgiveness, and his head quickly became red and swollen.
The crown prince, having stayed up all night and then lost his temper, felt his vision blurring and a wave of dizziness washing over him. Almost instantly, he collapsed backward.
"Your Highness!"
"Father!"
"Brother!"
Wan Quan rushed forward and embraced the Crown Prince's body, anxiously calling out, "Imperial Physician, quickly summon the Imperial Physician! His Highness has fainted from anger!"
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