The atmosphere in the hall froze for a moment. Soon, the elders reacted, straightened their clothes, and hurriedly followed the eunuch out the door.
The crown prince suddenly realized what was happening and stood there stunned for a while before reacting. He immediately ran towards the Qiankun Palace.
The civil and military officials also immediately went to the Qiankun Hall. Even if the emperor did not see them, they still had to make a show of it.
Yuwen Wuji's fever would subside and then return, then subside again, over and over again.
He was delirious with fever, but he had many dreams. In his dreams, he always saw Xie Wanqing. He dreamed that the person he married was a charred corpse, and that one moment he was being affectionate with Xie Wanqing, and the next moment he was holding a piece of charcoal in his arms.
He was repeatedly frightened in his dreams, so much so that when he woke up, he was in a state of extreme fear and unease.
Li Wei stepped forward to wipe away his cold sweat, changed his clothes, and brought him rice porridge to feed him.
After finishing a bowl of hot soup, Yuwen Wuji finally came to his senses.
"How many days have I been unconscious?"
"Your Majesty, it has been almost half a month!"
Yuwen Wuji was surprised, "Who is in charge of the court now?"
"Major decisions in the court are made after discussions among the cabinet ministers. The Crown Prince has just returned to the capital, but..."
Yuwen Wuji narrowed his eyes slightly, "Speak!"
"Officials have testified that the Crown Prince sent people to plan this assassination."
Yuwen Wuji's pupils contracted, and anger felt like a heavy stone pressing on his chest.
"Summon a few Grand Secretaries over here!"
Several senior officials received the summons and quickly entered the hall. They saw the emperor lying on the dragon bed, pale-faced and seemingly lifeless, and they didn't know what to say.
"Has the Crown Prince truly plotted a rebellion?"
The emperor's voice was cold, and several senior officials immediately knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, this is only the official's side of the story."
As the head of a powerful family, Wang Xuan remained silent. The Crown Prince was indeed useless, but he was also easier to control.
Although the Fifth Prince was still young, he could tell that the Fifth Prince had completely followed Yuwen Wuji and was a deep and difficult person to control.
If the Fifth Prince ascends the throne in the future, their aristocratic family may have to continue to be humble and subservient.
"Your Majesty, I also think this matter is very strange. The Dali Temple has been investigating the case for so long without any results. How come that official not only found out who the mastermind was, but also put the evidence in the open? This seems to be a conspiracy prepared for the Crown Prince."
Yuwen Wuji listened with displeasure as his ministers pleaded for the crown prince, though he knew they were only saying so for the greater good.
After all, the Crown Prince assassinating his own father would cause turmoil throughout the land if word got out. In the days since he fell into a coma after the assassination, things have probably been in an uproar outside, and figures like the Prince of Yan may already be plotting something.
After a long silence, he finally spoke: "The Crown Prince has been imprisoned in the Eastern Palace. This matter has been transferred to the Court of Judicial Review, and the Crown Prince's innocence will be cleared after the investigation is completed."
In other words, the goal is to protect the crown prince.
Wang Xuan breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief.
Yuwen Wuji had just woken up and was then shocked by the assassination attempt, so he quickly became exhausted and fell asleep again.
Today it was Physician Zou's turn to be on duty. After taking Li Wei's pulse, Physician Zou glanced at him.
There were other people in the main hall, such as the Fifth Prince, who had been studying in the Qiankun Hall under the pretext of filial piety, and Lu Yinghong, who controlled the harem and prevented other concubines from visiting.
If there were things he couldn't say directly, he could only hint at them.
"His Majesty is simply suffering from blood deficiency and fatigue. He has been unconscious for so many days and has not been eating properly. Now we can replace rice water with meat broth and feed him some minced meat porridge every day. He will be fine in a few days."
After Physician Zou left, a ruthless look appeared on Lu Yinghong's face.
Surprisingly, even this couldn't bring down the Crown Prince!
The Emperor was trying to prevent his relatives from interfering in politics, so he never gave the Lu family any real power. She thought that if the Fifth Prince's faction and the Crown Prince's faction fought each other, she might be able to reap the benefits, but she didn't expect the Fifth Prince's faction to be so useless.
They had already prepared the evidence and witnesses for them, and this was all they got in return.
However, the Crown Prince being confined to the Eastern Palace is perhaps a good thing.
News of the Emperor's awakening quickly spread throughout the capital. Prince Xuan was entrusted with important duties and had no time to visit him personally, so Princess Xuan brought Princess Yongle to the palace to visit him.
Xie Liwei and Song Yaozhu also entered the palace at this time, and the four of them bumped into each other at the palace gate.
"Why are you here?" Princess Xuan stepped forward with concern, handing her hand warmer to Song Yaozhu. "His Majesty has just woken up and we don't even know if he'll see anyone. We'll have to wait outside. It's freezing cold, but we're family, so we had to come. Why don't you two wait a few more days?"
Song Yaozhu smiled and said, "I had to make this trip sooner or later. Maybe if I do it early, the Emperor will remember me."
"Oh my, you two have saved the Emperor, that's a great achievement!"
Once inside the palace, Princess Xuan realized that she was several steps behind everyone else.
News of the Emperor's awakening spread yesterday, and today, many third-rank officials are standing outside the Qiankun Palace. They all exude a chilling aura, so they must have arrived early this morning.
Yuwen Wuji woke up very early, and Li Wei was serving him. It was early morning, and there was only a dozing eunuch guarding the palace.
While he was still lucid, Li Wei burst into tears.
"Your Majesty, it is this servant's incompetence that has prevented me from taking good care of you!"
Yuwen Wuji was shocked to see him like this.
"Doctor Zou said that you have been poisoned by a slow-acting poison, which has only been present in recent days."
Yuwen Wuji understood perfectly well that someone in the palace had harbored ill intentions during the days he was unconscious!
Who could it be? The Fifth Prince?
Li Wei also told him that Lu Yinghong controlled the inner palace and forbade anyone from visiting him. Even if the Fifth Prince did manage to enter, he could only read books from afar in the outer hall.
Yuwen Wuji's eyes widened in fury. "Lu Yinghong! She truly doesn't know her place!"
Li Wei wiped away his tears, "Your Majesty, now that you are awake, this servant is finally entitled to ceremonial regalia!"
Yuwen Wuji then noticed that Li Wei's face was pale and his legs were limping, indicating that he, as the steward, had not had a good time while Li Wei was unconscious.
This is Yuwen Wuji's personal attendant. To treat him poorly is to slap him in the face!
He immediately summoned Jiang Peiwang, the commander of the Imperial Guards.
Li Wei cried out, "Commander Jiang was too badly wounded in this assassination attempt, and... he's gone!"
Yuwen Wuji was incredulous. One by one, his people were leaving him. Was he really going to be reduced to being controlled by others?
Who is the new commander of the Imperial Guards?
"Currently, Deputy Commander Lin Qi is temporarily acting as Commander."
Lin Qi, it seems he married the Tao family's daughter.
"When the Crown Prince returned to the capital, did Chengcheng come back with him?"
"This servant will go out and ask right away!"
As soon as Li Weifang left, Lu Yinghong's men received the news and immediately woke him up.
"Your Majesty, the Qiankun Palace says that the Emperor has woken up and wants to summon the Imperial Guard general Chengcheng to inquire about the Crown Prince's situation in Yunzhou."
Lu Yinghong thought for a moment and said, "No! He is Jiang Peiwang's apprentice and must be loyal to the Emperor. We must not let Chengcheng enter the palace!"
"So what should we do?"
Lu Yinghong bit her lower lip, wondering whether she should take the risk or remain inactive.
"Granny Lu, summon Lu Rui to the palace!"
The Lu family also sent a strategist to the capital, and it was he who came up with the idea of inciting the Fifth Prince's faction and the Crown Prince's faction to attack each other.
"This servant will go right away!"
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