Chapter 1275 Chess Pieces in a Chaotic Game
Go to the palace with him?
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's brows furrowed subconsciously, but she didn't say anything immediately. After Yuwen Yuan finished speaking, he immediately turned to look at the person behind him.
His gaze first fell on Xue Daotong, who had been silently following beside him.
After hesitating for a moment, he looked away and said to Eunuch Yu, "Immediately send people to the East Palace and the Qi Prince's residence to convey my imperial edict, summoning the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and the Qi Prince to the Liangyi Hall to see me!"
Eunuch Yu hurriedly replied, "Yes."
After saying that, he hurriedly went down to give instructions to his subordinates.
Only then did Yuwen Yuan lift his foot to continue walking down the road, preparing to board his golden carriage. But Shang Ruyi behind him immediately said, "Father, I cannot enter the palace yet."
Yuwen Yuan frowned and turned to look at her: "Hmm?"
Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "Your subject dares not disobey the imperial decree, but—Yuan Gan is still ill. If your subject goes to the palace, I'm afraid the people in the mansion will not take good care of him."
Seeing that Yuwen Yuan was about to say something, but before he could speak, she interrupted, "His illness is most aggravated by exposure to wind."
The implication was that Yuwen Yuan's visit was already detrimental to his condition. If he were to bring this seriously ill child into the palace as well, who knew what they might encounter along the way? If they were to run into a riot among the people outside, then all would be lost.
Yuwen Yuan frowned even more deeply, but didn't say anything immediately.
Zhang Yuping, who was standing to the side, was initially somewhat alarmed, but upon hearing Shang Ruyi's words and seeing Yuwen Yuan's expression, she immediately rebuked, "Princess Consort of Qin, do you dare to disobey the imperial decree?"
Shang Ruyi ignored her completely and solemnly said to Yuwen Yuan, "If Your Majesty insists on sending me to the palace, please allow me to settle the affairs of the Prince of Qin's residence before bringing Yuangan into the palace. I simply cannot go to the palace alone, neglecting my own child!"
She did not verbally express her disobedience, but her actions demonstrated her readiness to do so.
But Yuwen Yuan wasn't really angry. He looked at her, then looked up at the Qin Prince's mansion, which was still quiet and seemed tense because of the tense situation, and finally said, "Very well, once you've settled things in this mansion, come to the palace immediately."
Shang Ruyi replied, "Yes!"
After Yuwen Yuan finished speaking, he immediately turned and got into the golden carriage. Zhang Yuping had no choice but to follow him into the carriage. Shang Ruyi stood silently on the side of the steps, watching the emperor's carriage leave before letting out a long sigh of relief. She turned to Tushe'er and Woxue and said, "Quickly, hurry back to the manor!"
With that, the three of them strode into the Qin Prince's residence.
Upon entering the gate, they immediately felt an indescribable chill. In such hot weather, there shouldn't be such an atmosphere, but when they turned their heads, they saw that the long corridors on both sides of the gate were almost full of soldiers, stretching as far as the eye could see. Shang Ruyi also knew that the backyard, which extended from these two corridors, was also crowded with people.
The women's army under her command, as well as part of the Imperial Guards, had all been summoned to the Prince of Qin's residence in advance.
If Yuwen Yuan had actually entered the Prince of Qin's residence just now...
Thinking of this, she breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had escaped death. The leaders, Gao Feng and Jiang Kesheng, then sheathed their swords, which were already half-drawn, and immediately stepped forward to bow to her: "Your Highness, what just happened was—"
Shang Ruyi said, "The Emperor was about to come in to visit Yuan Gan, but it's alright, he has already returned to the palace."
The two of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But Shang Ruyi immediately added, "However, news just came from outside the city that Xiao Yuansui and his Right Thousand Bull Guards have rebelled."
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, the two stared in astonishment, their faces filled with disbelief: "Xiao Yuansui? He's rebelled? What's going on?"
According to the intelligence they received, shouldn't the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi have sent him to intercept Yuwen Yuan on the way out of Tongguan, so that when Yuwen Ye returned to Chang'an, or rather, as soon as they made a move, news of Yuwen Ye's rebellion would immediately be sent back, and then they might have taken action against the Prince of Qin's residence?
Most of their preparations are geared towards dealing with this situation.
How come now, the one rebelling has changed from Yuwen Ye to Xiao Yuansui?
The two of them were still somewhat bewildered after saying this. They looked at each other and then looked at Shang Ruyi again, whispering, "Your Highness, could it be that the Crown Prince and Prince Qi have some kind of treacherous scheme again?"
Shang Ruyi frowned and gently shook her head.
Based on their performance on the city wall today, neither the Crown Prince nor the Prince of Qi knew that they were aware of the other side's plan. Moreover, according to their guess, the other side would probably choose Taolin Pass as the location to intercept Yuwen Ye. It would take two or three hours to get back to Chang'an from there by fast horse. Based on this estimate, Xiao Yuansui's "rebellion" probably happened last night.
Yuwen Qian and Yuwen Cheng had no time to change their plans.
Therefore, this matter is most likely true.
In other words, in this game of chess, someone broke away from the previous arrangements, became a disobedient piece, and began to disrupt the entire game!
At this moment, Shang Ruyi finally recalled that when she was discussing with everyone, Yuwen Ye had repeatedly mentioned the importance of Xiao Yuansui as a pawn, and she suddenly understood.
Xiao Yuansui was never one to be manipulated by others.
With his temperament and abilities, it was impossible for him to truly submit to others. After all, he was once able to be an enemy of Yuwen Ye, but now he could only be a pawn under the Crown Prince who was vying for power with Yuwen Ye. How could he be willing to accept that?
Therefore, he became a pawn that disrupted the game!
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and immediately told them what was on her mind. Gao Feng and Jiang Kesheng thought about it for a moment and then said, "The princess is right."
"So, the Crown Prince and Prince Qi's plan also failed?"
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment and shook her head, saying, "Not yet. Everything is just beginning. Changes in the plan do not mean the plan has failed."
"..."
"The important thing is that the Emperor has now also entered this game!"
Wo Xue immediately said, "Just now, the Emperor wanted the Princess to come to the palace with him. He wanted to—"
Shang Ruyi said, "He suspects me, he suspects the King of Qin, and he also suspects the Crown Prince and the King of Qi. He wants to summon all of us to the palace, partly to control us and partly to protect us."
"..."
"Those who want to take action will be controlled by him; while the innocent will be protected by him."
Tushe'er hurriedly asked, "Shall we go to the palace?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at her, then at Gao Feng and Jiang Kesheng, and at the group of fully armored women soldiers who were her own, and said solemnly, "At this time, you can't rely on anyone but yourself!"
"..."
"Close the Qin Prince's Mansion. No one is allowed to set foot inside without my order!"
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