Chapter 1277 Fishing in Troubled Waters
Yuwen Cheng and Su Changjing led the Right Valiant Guard troops to the widest Zhuque Avenue in Chang'an City. At this time of day, Zhuque Avenue would normally be bustling with people and vehicles, and the shops and restaurants on both sides would be packed with customers, creating a lively and prosperous scene.
Today, all the shops and restaurants are closed, and there are no carriages or pedestrians. Occasionally, one or two carriages or pedestrians will pass by, but most of them are carrying luggage and packages, looking frightened and wanting to leave the city, but they are stopped and turned back.
An uneasy, dangerous atmosphere permeated the entire city of Chang'an.
Yuwen Cheng held the reins in one hand and let the other hang by his side, looking completely relaxed and carefree, without any of the tension one would expect when going to war. Su Changjing was a little puzzled: "Your Highness, we must hurry over there."
"What's the rush?"
Yuwen Cheng sneered, "The one who should be anxious now is the Crown Prince, not us."
Su Changjing's eyes lit up: "Oh?"
Yuwen Cheng said, "Whether it's the dead Shang Shoufei or Xiao Yuansui who is going to rebel and come back, the Qianniu Guards they led were all guarding the Eastern Palace. In other words, they were all the Crown Prince's men. These people are killing each other and rebelling against their superiors. In the end, who will bear the responsibility for this? Do I have to remind you?"
"...!"
Su Changjing immediately snapped out of his daze and then revealed a delighted smile: "Your Highness, you are truly a diviner!"
Yuwen Cheng laughed twice and then said, "Whether he is a divine strategist or not doesn't matter. Anyway, I have the Crown Prince above me who can take responsibility for everything. If things get out of hand, my father can depose him and it will benefit me. As for the Prince of Qin—although we failed to drag him down this time, he is just a useless pawn that has already been driven out of Chang'an."
"..."
"This round is mine to win!"
"yes!"
Su Changjing became excited, not only realizing that they had won this game, but also realizing that as long as they won, the Crown Prince would fall from power, and the Crown Princess would lose all value, and they would no longer have to depend on him.
Su Changjing said, "Then should we still go and kill Xiao Yuansui now?"
Yuwen Cheng's eyes turned cold: "Xiao Yuansui must be killed, but not immediately. If the rebellion only makes a sound or two outside the city gates, it won't be of much significance. We need to muddy the waters so that we can profit from it."
"So we're going to—"
A cold glint flashed in Yuwen Cheng's eyes: "Once he returns to Chang'an, we'll take the opportunity to open the city gates for him!"
|
Inside the Qin Prince's mansion, swords and spears stood like a forest, and watchtowers were arrayed in a tense atmosphere.
Seemingly sensing the murderous aura outside, Xiao Yuangan cried incessantly from early morning until his voice became hoarse. He only stopped crying when Shang Ruyi returned to the Qin Prince's mansion and he nestled into his mother's warm and soft embrace.
Seeing the child's aggrieved face with tears still clinging to it, Shang Ruyi's heart softened.
She held the child in her arms and gently patted him to lull him to sleep, but the child could still sense the tension in the surrounding environment. Although he was tired from crying, he still refused to fall asleep, staring at Shang Ruyi with his big, dark eyes: "Slap, slap slap."
Shang Ruyi asked, "What 'papa'?"
The wet nurse whispered from the side, "The young prince is probably a little scared."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi frowned slightly, then looked at the baby in her arms with a serious expression and said, "You are the child of General Tian Ce and Lady Wei Feng, how can you be afraid?"
"..."
"Who knows what storms await you in the future? Are you afraid of this?"
"..."
"Don't be afraid!"
It was rare for her to speak so seriously to a child. Xiao Yuangan immediately opened his eyes wide, looking at her with a mixture of shock and fear. Shang Ruyi said, "I'm keeping you here this time so you can learn from this, and not be frightened by the slightest storm."
Nanny Feng and Chang Wan exchanged a glance. Although they were both very nervous, they couldn't help but laugh when they heard this.
After all, this was a rebellion, and with such a huge upheaval, who wouldn't be afraid? Besides, Xiao Yuan is so young; he can only barely understand some simple words, and he can't understand anything more complicated. How could he possibly "learn" this?
But Shang Ruyi, still quite serious, seemed to have thought of something and added, "Of course, it's to teach you how to deal with trouble, not to teach you how to rebel!"
Xiao Yuangan blinked.
Just as the two people, one big and one small, were talking seriously and the other listening blankly, there was a knock on the door. Tushe'er hurriedly went to open the door and saw Shi Yuxin, fully armored and holding the sword at her waist, striding in.
"General, you've arrived."
Upon seeing her, Shang Ruyi immediately handed the child to Nanny Feng, got up and walked over. Shi Yuxin gave her a simple bow, and Shang Ruyi immediately asked, "How is the situation outside?"
She worried that someone might take advantage of the chaos to harm the women and children left behind in the Prince Qin's mansion, so she ordered the gates to be kept tightly closed and no one to enter without permission. However, she also needed to know what was happening outside, so she sent Shi Yuxin out with people to investigate and report back immediately if anything came up.
Now that she's back, there's bound to be something new happening.
Shi Yuxin said, "The messenger I just sent to the vicinity of the Crown Prince's residence has brought back news that the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and Prince Qi have all left."
"They've all entered the palace?"
"No, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were escorted into the palace by the Left Guard, but they were walking very slowly, probably to delay them."
"And what about the King of Qi?"
"King Qi and Su Changjing of the Right Valiant Guard went to Mingde Gate."
"them……?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "They want to go to the city gate and stop Xiao Yuansui from entering the city?"
Shi Yuxin remained noncommittal, and then said, "On the way to the palace, the Emperor issued two more decrees, ordering the Jinwu Guard and the Yulin Guard to be dispatched to protect the palace and to set up defenses at several city gates."
Shang Ruyi frowned.
In other words, both the emperor's and the crown prince's men were sending troops to the city gate, which was normal, but she had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
Shang Ruyi asked, "What are your thoughts?"
Shi Yu thought to herself, “The Emperor has decreed that the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, Prince Qi, and the Princess Consort all enter the palace. The Princess Consort has the young prince’s illness, so it can be delayed for a while. But the Crown Prince has no reason to delay, so the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess have already entered the palace.”
"..."
“But King Qi, by going to the city gate, he was openly defying the imperial decree.”
"..."
"What he's being asked to do even if he defies an imperial decree is probably not so simple. I fear he intends to kill someone to cover it up."
Shang Ruyi looked at her intently: "You mean, Father Emperor sent so many Imperial Guards to the city gate, perhaps wanting to capture Xiao Yuansui alive, but if Xiao Yuansui is alive and their plan is exposed, then they are also traitors who rebel against their superiors!"
Shi Yu thought to himself, "That's right, so the King of Qi's trip was to destroy the evidence!"
"That makes sense,"
Shang Ruyi nodded, but her tightly furrowed brows did not immediately relax; instead, they furrowed even more. Seeing her increasingly troubled expression, Shi Yu thought, "What is Your Highness still worried about?"
Shang Ruyi was silent for a while, then murmured, "I always feel that there is something wrong with this matter."
"wrong?"
After listening to her words, Shi Yuxin pondered for a moment, then said, "Although I have only served under the Prince of Qin for a short time, I have heard many rumors about the Prince of Qi while serving in the Imperial Guard. He is a narrow-minded and vindictive man—"
She didn't say the words "despicable person" aloud, but Shang Ruyi nodded knowingly.
Shi Yuxin continued, "The previous melee between the Xiaowei Army and the Qianniu Guards has already exposed the conflict between Su Changjing and the Crown Princess. As for Prince Qi, if he is completely on the side of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, then he should also have a grudge against Su Changjing."
"..."
"However, it seems a bit strange that he went to Mingde Gate with Su Changjing."
After hearing what she said, Shang Ruyi finally understood why she had felt something was off.
Yuwen Cheng and Su Changjing!
Although they both belonged to the Crown Prince's camp, on the surface, the two did not have much personal relationship. In fact, at this sensitive time when someone was rebelling and the emperor had clearly ordered the Crown Prince and Prince Qi to enter the palace, he should not have disobeyed the imperial decree. Even if he really wanted to kill Xiao Yuansui to silence him, he could have ordered the Xiaowei Army or the Zuo Qianniu Guard, which had lost its commander, to do it.
However, he actually went to Mingde Gate with Su Changjing...
Shang Ruyi murmured, "Those two... we didn't even notice all this time. They might have been secretly colluding all along!"
Shi Yuxin was also taken aback.
She whispered, "Does the Princess mean that Prince Qi has designs on the Crown Prince?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at her: "Even Xiao Yuansui, a pawn, has his own ideas. How could he, as a prince, not have them?"
Shi Yuxin fell silent; clearly, she was thinking of her younger brother, Shi Yutao.
Human nature is so unpredictable.
Shang Ruyi seemed to have fully understood why things had been proceeding as they had guessed from the beginning, yet it always felt like there was a hand manipulating the course of events, causing unexpected events to occur. Now that she thought about it, it was the King of Qi who had been plotting for himself from the start, which was why the whole thing seemed so strange.
She sneered, "These brothers are all cunning, and don't underestimate Prince Qi just because he's young. He's never been easy to deal with."
After hearing her explanation, Shi Yuxin understood: "So, if they kill Xiao Yuansui, then this rebellion will ultimately just be the Crown Prince's 'lax rule,' which will not affect the status of the dignified Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace."
Shang Ruyi nodded: "But this will not benefit King Qi."
"..."
"He has been using the Crown Prince's name to make trouble, and he must be trying to profit from it."
"..."
"And the current situation is that the more chaotic the situation, the more advantageous it is for him."
"..."
"And how to make the situation even more chaotic—"
Just then, Shi Yuxin's eyes widened suddenly: "If I were him, I would open the city gates. When Xiao Yuansui's men storm into the city, it will definitely cause chaos in Chang'an! At that time—"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi gasped in shock.
When chaos erupts in Chang'an, Yuwen Cheng can seize the opportunity to send men to the Prince of Qin's residence to attack them. If he succeeds, he can pin the blame on Xiao Yuansui!
What will he do next? In such chaos, there's so much he can do!
Shang Ruyi immediately said, "We have to stop him!"
After saying that, she led Shi Yuxin to walk outside.
But just as I reached the door, I heard a sweet voice calling from behind me, "Mom!"
"...!"
The call made her breath catch in her throat. She slowly turned around and saw that in the arms of the wet nurse, little Yuangan was wide open with his clear black and white eyes, his hands reaching out to her. Shi Yuxin's heart softened at the sight, and she said softly, "Your Highness, why don't you let me handle this matter?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi remained noncommittal, but walked back to the bedside in a few steps. Xiao Yuangan immediately reached out and grabbed her clothes. A satisfied smile appeared on his chubby face. At the same time, he looked up at her, kicked his two strong, chubby legs and tried to climb into her arms, repeatedly calling out, "Mommy, hug me, hug me."
Normally, Shang Ruyi would have already bent down and hugged this precious little one into her arms.
But today, she remained unmoved. Although she returned to the child's side, she did not hug him as usual. Instead, she reached out and gently stroked his chubby little face with her palm. Then she said to Granny Feng, Changwan, and Tushe'er, "You stay in the mansion and guard Yuangan well. There are heavy guards here, so there will be no danger."
Upon hearing this, everyone understood what she was about to do.
Wo Xue, without waiting for her instructions, had already walked to the door, ready to depart.
Although Xiao Yuangan couldn't quite understand her words, he seemed to sense something and gripped her clothes even tighter, stretching out his arms and urgently calling out, "Mother! Mother! Hug me!"
Shang Ruyi's face was expressionless, yet she seemed to be being subjected to an invisible, slow torture, her breathing becoming unbearably heavy.
She reached out and grasped her son's two small hands, squeezing them firmly, then pulled her clothes from his grasp. Yuangan panicked and burst into tears, crying, "Mother—"
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Protect him!"
After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.
The cries behind her were like knives stabbing at her, but Shang Ruyi did not hesitate at all. She walked quickly outside, and soon the child's cries could no longer be heard.
Walking beside her, looking into her resolute gaze, Shi Yuxin felt a surge of emotion.
But she didn't say much. Instead, she thought for a while. When they had reached the gate and there were already cavalrymen waiting in front, she suddenly said, "There is something I must remind the princess."
Shang Ruyi stopped and turned to look at her: "What is it?"
Shi Yuxin hesitated for a moment, but still said in a deep voice, "No matter what, we must stop Prince Qi from killing Xiao Yuansui. If it is absolutely necessary to kill Xiao Yuansui, it must be done by us, even if it is the Princess Consort."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com