Chapter 423 The Queen Enters the Game (1)
Inside the palace.
The Queen glared at Leng Jian, who was kneeling on the ground. "Useless! You are all useless. You can't even get rid of an old man who is powerless. What use do I have to you?"
"It was my fault for being careless. I didn't expect that the old master would be protected by a master."
Leng Jian lowered his head and explained, "I thought that the old master usually only had two ordinary guards around him, and I was also worried that if we sent too many people, Qing Wu and the Crown Prince would easily notice us, so we only sent six people."
But this is already a lot. If no one helps, it will be easy for them to kill the old patriarch.
"The old Zongzheng has been with the Wei envoys these days. In order not to alarm them, I have specifically instructed the secret guards to lead the old Zongzheng out.
Even so, the Great Wei still sent experts to escort the old Zongzheng. Your Excellency, I suspect the Crown Prince and his men have guessed something."
Therefore, the envoys from the Great Wei sent people to protect the old Zongzheng.
The Queen also thought of this and frowned, "I underestimated them. They might have guessed that I would make a fuss about Shi Yu's life experience.
He also guessed that Tudao would go to rob Posha, so he used the same trick to lure Tudao and the others into the trap.
But do they think that without the butcher knife, I can't use Shi Yu's identity to make things right?"
Even if she couldn't give Shi Yu the title of concubine's son, he was still the illegitimate child of Lin Qianning and the late emperor. How good could his reputation be?
The Queen sneered, "Now it seems that they did intend to make a move at the palace banquet. I am curious about how they plan to deal with me.
"Have you found a witness? Evidence? Or perhaps you can bring those two puppets, Xiao Pei and Lin Qianning, to the public?"
But what could she do? She had already eliminated all the important witnesses and evidence, so what was she afraid of?
Having lived for three lifetimes, how could she be brought down so easily by them?
The queen looked out the window, her eyes filled with contempt and disdain for the world.
The pawns on the Wei side will take action when they receive the news. Wei Qingyan can hardly protect his own country, but he still has the mind to jump around in Feng Zhao.
I really want to see what expressions Wei Qingyan and Shi Yu will have when the Wei Dynasty falls into her hands in the future.
It will be soon, she will be able to see it soon. Thinking of this, a sneer appeared on the queen's lips.
Leng Jian didn't know what the prince had in his hand and how he was going to deal with the queen, but he wanted to stand in front of people and be the superior one, so the queen could not be defeated.
"Please direct me, Your Excellency. I am willing to go through fire and water for you."
The Queen nodded. "Since they have discovered something, the plan must indeed be changed..."
After giving some instructions, Leng Jian retreated.
Just as the Queen was about to rest, she heard the imperial guards report that the Prince was assassinated by Chen Wu, the steward of the Prince's Mansion. Before his death, Chen Wu confessed that he was ordered by the Queen.
Princess Qingwu and the Crown Princess are currently at the palace gate, requesting to see the Queen.
There was a hint of interest in the queen's eyes.
Chen Wu got the wrong information, which led to the annihilation of Tu Dao and his men. Now he is probably anxiously waiting for her decision. Without her permission, how could he dare to assassinate Shi Yu on his own?
Everything was just Shi Yu's own directing and acting.
Is this their method?
"I collapsed today and haven't woken up yet. How could I have ordered someone to assassinate the Crown Prince?"
The palace gate is now locked. According to Fengzhao law, after the palace gate is closed at night, if there is a special situation, a memorial must be submitted through the crack of the door and approved by the emperor before the palace gate can be opened.
Now that she was unconscious, the imperial guards did not dare to open the palace gate for them without her signal. If Qingwu forced her way through the palace gate, it would be tantamount to treason.
Even if they entered the outer palace gate, the inner palace gate was guarded by eunuchs and was full of her people, so they couldn't enter just because they wanted to.
It is now midnight, and there are still two hours before the palace gates open at 3 a.m. If they like to stand, then let them stand.
It would be best if Wei Qingyan got rid of the fetus in her belly and saved her the trouble, the queen thought viciously.
After sending away the imperial guards, he walked leisurely to the bed and lay down in a very good mood.
The imperial guards are her people, the imperial doctors are her people, and this imperial city is her territory. How can they fight her?
The queen was very disdainful in her heart, and told the palace servants to wake her up when it was time for court, and then she fell asleep quickly.
But for some reason, the queen slept very uneasily that night, and many things from her past life came into her dreams. At the end of Yin hour (almost five in the morning), she got up before the palace maids called her. The palace maids filed in and helped her wash and change clothes.
No matter how unwell she was, as long as she could get up, she would work hard to handle state affairs. This was the good image she had established in Fengzhao over the years.
Naturally, today is no exception.
After hearing from the palace servants that the Crown Prince and the old Zongzheng were assassinated last night, Qingwu and the Crown Princess waited outside the palace all night. She acted guilty and hurriedly asked the palace servants to lead Qingwu and the others to a side hall to rest. She would go to see them after the morning court.
But she didn't expect that she would be stopped by Xiao Zhian on the way to the morning court.
"Mother, did you really send someone to assassinate my brother the Crown Prince and Grandpa Zongzheng?"
He stretched out his arms to block the queen, and spoke loudly.
The Queen was very unhappy about this, but considering the presence of many palace servants, she leaned on them, raised her head and touched her forehead, looking unwell.
"Zhi'an, don't listen to anyone's instigation. The Queen Mother was unconscious yesterday and only woke up at 3:00 AM. How could you send someone to assassinate them?
Besides, why did the Queen Mother send people to assassinate them?"
"Because you don't want the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, you are reluctant to give up the imperial power, but you also want to do things in a decent way."
Xiao Zhian said bluntly, "So, you pretended to support the crown prince's ascension to the throne, but in fact, you wanted to kill him all the time."
"Nonsense."
The Queen's eyes suddenly lit up with anger. "How can you speak of your mother like that?"
"That's the truth, isn't it?"
Xiao Zhian took a step closer, "Mother, no one knows better than your son how obsessed you are with power. For power, you are willing to sacrifice everything: your husband, son, and family."
"What do you mean?" The queen's pupils shrank slightly.
Xiao Zhian smiled bitterly, "Mother, I dreamed about it, do you still want to hide it from me?
Why didn't you let Rong An get close to me? Wasn't it because you were worried that I would discover something? You killed Grandpa Zong Zheng because of the secret of the pattern, right? "
"you……"
What on earth did you dream about?
Thinking that she was still on her way to the morning court and that there were many palace servants around her, the Queen hurriedly said, "Dreams are all false. Go back first. I will explain everything to you after the Queen Mother finishes the morning court."
Xiao Zhian shook his head and suddenly pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, pressing it against his neck. "Mother, please ask them to leave. I just want an answer."
The Queen saw Xiao Zhian's determination and knew that some things could not be discussed with him. He would not put down the dagger, so these palace servants naturally could not stay, so she waved her hand to signal them to retreat.
She looked around again and saw that there was no one else, so she spoke, "Queen Mother did not send anyone to assassinate your Crown Prince brother. This is his false accusation against Queen Mother."
"So, it was you who assassinated Grandpa Zongzheng, and it was to frame the Crown Prince."
The queen wanted to deny it, but when she saw Xiao Zhian pressing the dagger hard against her neck, leaving bright red blood, she finally neither denied nor admitted it.
But Xiao Zhian knew that this was a default.
His eyes were red, "In this life, the first person I called was Father, and he treated me very well.
The Queen Mother always said that it was for Zhi'an's own good, but what the Queen Mother wanted was never what Zhi'an wanted. Zhi'an only remembered that he had promised his father to protect his brother, the Crown Prince.
This kingdom originally belonged to the Crown Prince. The Queen Mother has been stealing it for all these years and should have returned it to the Xiao family long ago. Why does she still resort to such despicable means? "
"How dare you! I think you are possessed by a ghost, that's why you say such nonsense."
The queen became angry when she saw his voice getting louder and louder.
"You keep saying no, but if it weren't for the Queen Mother taking power these years, how could you have had all these years of peace?
You say you don't care about power, but if you didn't have the power held by your mother, how could you be respected by officials and the people of the world, and how could you be so honored today?"
“But if these are all at the cost of my mother’s lives, Zhi’an would rather be just an ordinary citizen.
Mother, do you still remember that what Zhi'an wanted was always a family, to live together in peace and harmony, to watch the willows by the river in spring and the snow in the sky in winter. All he wanted was the warmth of home and the presence of his relatives.
If the Queen Mother insists on taking Father Huo's kingdom, disrupting the empire of Feng Zhao, and insisting on killing my brother the Crown Prince, Zhi'an will sever all ties with the Queen Mother from today onwards.
If the Crown Prince is ultimately defeated by you, then Zhian will repay my father's kindness with this life, and will spend the rest of his life avenging his father and brother, and will fight you to the death."
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