Chapter 927 How dare she!
Early in the morning, the first rays of sunlight shone on the newly cleaned gate of the Crown Prince's residence. A palace carriage stopped there, blocking out the rare ray of sunlight. Eunuch Yu was helped down by his attendant eunuch and hurriedly went inside to summon the Crown Prince to the palace immediately.
To his surprise, as soon as he stepped outside the main hall, he saw the Crown Prince and General Ningyuan sitting inside, seemingly talking about something.
Both men frowned, especially the Crown Prince, who looked at Lou Yingxiong with a serious expression. His gaze seemed to be questioning, or perhaps even more so, interrogating. But as soon as he entered, both men looked away and immediately stood up.
Yuwen Qian came out to greet him: "Why have you come, Father-in-law?"
Eunuch Yu bowed to the two of them and then said, "His Majesty has decreed that His Highness the Crown Prince and General Ningyuan must come to the palace to see him immediately."
A hint of joy immediately flashed across Lou Yingxiong's face.
He knew, of course, that after receiving news of the defeat at Cijian, the Crown Prince had recommended him to the Emperor to lead the army into battle, but the matter was delayed overnight due to the Emperor's illness. However, he also understood that among all the officials in the court, the most suitable candidates were only him and the Prince of Qin. But because of the incident at Tangquan Palace and the Emperor's growing suspicion of the rebels at Wanggang Village, suspicion would also fall on the Prince of Qin. Therefore, the choice of who would lead the army would almost certainly fall to him.
But what he hadn't expected was that the Crown Prince would ask such a question—
He broke out in a cold sweat and almost gave himself away.
Fortunately, Eunuch Yu arrived and diverted the matter, much to his relief. In any case, as long as he accepted this assignment, he would be far from the capital and the court. If the court couldn't find anything wrong, the blame would ultimately fall on the people of Wanggang Village. If he could achieve further military merit, then the Duke of Wushan, who had already lost an eye and the emperor's trust, and his daughter, the crown princess, would have no way to compete with the crown prince anymore.
Thinking of this, Lou Yingxiong breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Since the Emperor has summoned us, we should go to the palace immediately."
Eunuch Yu smiled slightly: "Yes."
After saying that, he was about to turn and leave when Yuwen Qian suddenly asked, "Eunuch Yu, did the Emperor say why he summoned us to the palace?"
Lou Yingxiong looked at him strangely. At this point, what else could it be?
Eunuch Yu also looked up at His Highness the Crown Prince and said with a smile, "Your Highness, although I serve His Majesty, I am not qualified to inquire about important matters of the court. Since His Majesty has summoned Your Highness and the General to the palace, there must be important matters to discuss with you."
"..."
"Please hurry into the palace, lest His Majesty remain waiting."
Lou Yingxiong also said, "Yes, Your Highness, let's go quickly."
Yuwen Qian frowned slightly, seemingly still shaken, but given the circumstances, he couldn't disobey the imperial decree. He could only say, "Let's go."
So the group quickly left the Crown Prince's residence, boarded a carriage, and headed towards the palace.
Just as the carriage left, a middle-aged man, covered in mud and with a few injuries on his face, emerged from a nearby alley, looking terrified. He was one of those who had escaped during the chaos of the previous night when the village was surrounded by the Left Guard outside the city. He had hidden in the mountains for half the night, only sneaking into the city at dawn. But when he arrived at General Ningyuan's residence, he was told that General Ningyuan had arrived at the Crown Prince's residence early that morning. Due to the urgency of the situation, he couldn't think of anything else and had to follow along. Unexpectedly, before he could even go in and tell General Ningyuan, the Emperor had already summoned him to the palace.
"It's over,"
The man watched the departing carriage, then knelt on the ground in utter despair: "Everything...it's all over..."
Just then, a stunningly beautiful woman emerged with a young and pretty maid; it was none other than Crown Princess Yu Mingyue.
Yesterday, she recommended Lou Yingxiong to lead troops to aid Cijian on behalf of Yuwen Qian. She had just heard that someone from the palace had come to announce Lou Yingxiong's appointment. She was very unwilling, but when she chased after him, he had already left. She could only stand at the door in disappointment, watching the palace carriage gradually disappear into the distance. Finally, she sighed and prepared to turn around and go back to her residence.
She turned her head and saw the disheveled man. She asked in confusion, "Who is that?"
As soon as the man saw her, he immediately got up and ran away in a panic.
Yu Mingyue was very puzzled, but she didn't want to chase after him to ask again. After thinking for a moment, she turned around and asked the gatekeeper, "Who was that just now?"
The gatekeeper said with a forced smile, "I don't know where this beggar came from. He came early this morning looking for General Ningyuan, saying he had something urgent to report. I tried to send him away, but then people from the palace came, and I didn't have time to deal with him. He left on his own, but I didn't expect him to come back just now. He has offended the Crown Princess's eyes. Please forgive me, Crown Princess."
"Looking for General Ningyuan? Is it a matter of life and death?"
Yu Mingyue looked on in confusion, glancing at the man's retreating figure, then back at the mansion. Suddenly, as if struck by a flash of inspiration, she realized something and her eyes widened in anger: "Could it be—"
The gatekeeper and maids standing nearby were somewhat at a loss and asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Yu Mingyue gritted her teeth, making a grinding sound: "How dare she!"
When the maid Bingbing saw her suddenly display such anger, she was startled and asked cautiously, "Your Highness, what happened to her?"
Yu Mingyue forcefully waved her sleeve and said, "Let's go, I'm going to find Consort Lou and have a talk!"
Hearing those words spoken through gritted teeth, Bingbing seemed to sense something, but dared not say anything more. She could only lower her head and follow the furious Crown Princess back into the Crown Prince's residence.
Meanwhile, in the Qianqiu Hall of the palace, Yuwen Ye finished practicing his sword and changed into a neat set of clothes after washing up. Shang Ruyi helped him button up his clothes while looking at them, and then said softly, "Aren't you going to the military camp to train today?"
Yuwen Ye shook his head.
Shang Ruyi looked up at him, her voice even softer: "Can things work out?"
Yuwen Ye looked down at her and smiled slightly: "Even if you don't trust Mu Xian's abilities, you should trust me. When have I ever lied to you?"
Shang Ruyi immediately said, "It's not that I don't believe Mu Xian, it's just—"
"What?"
"Can things really work out in just one night?"
As they spoke, Yuwen Ye had already put on his clothes. He gently dusted off the corner of his robe and said calmly, "Lu Qianfeng's ability to handle affairs is definitely not low, otherwise Father would not have entrusted the Left Guard to him. If I am not mistaken, he should have already investigated everything that needed to be investigated and arrested everyone who needed to be arrested."
"oh?"
"If he had acted more swiftly,"
As Yuwen Ye spoke, he lowered his head and whispered in Shang Ruyi's ear, "Perhaps by now, Father Emperor has already—"
Before he could finish speaking, Wo Xue hurriedly entered the inner hall from outside, bowed her head and whispered, "Your Highness, the Emperor has sent someone to convey a message, requesting that Your Highness come to the Xuanzheng Hall to see him immediately."
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