Chapter 83 Forced Entry into the Palace
The Imperial Palace, outside Chengtian Gate.
Lou Jin was dressed in a prince's casual robes, his posture upright, his face ashen.
Ye Xunyang stood beside him, scanning the guards in front of the palace gate.
Behind them were twenty guards from the King of Jin's mansion. Although their numbers were small, their battle-hardened aura made the palace gate guards feel breathless.
The gatekeeper, steeling himself, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, Prince An has ordered that His Majesty has been overworked recently and needs rest, and will not see any officials for the time being. Please grant His Highness's request..."
"Foreign official?" Lou Jin interrupted him, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable air of authority.
"I am the Emperor's own son. I returned to the capital after a great victory and heard that the Emperor was unwell. I came here to visit him and fulfill my filial duty. When did I become a foreign subject? Does the Prince of An's order outweigh human ethics and filial piety, or outweigh my concern for the Emperor?"
He stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the general: "Or is there some shady business going on inside this palace gate that even I, your own son, cannot enter?"
The general was intimidated by his imposing presence, broke out in a cold sweat, and stammered, unable to answer.
Ye Xunyang stepped forward at the opportune moment, "Can you bear the consequences of obstructing the prince from fulfilling his filial duties?!"
Just as the stalemate was at hand, Prince An, Lou Qin, arrived hastily from the palace with a group of trusted guards, a seemingly sincere but actually hypocritical smile plastered on his face.
"Jin'er, what caused your anger at the palace gate? His Majesty does need to rest, and the imperial physician has advised against disturbing him. Your filial piety is appreciated on His Majesty's behalf. Please return to your residence to rest first, and His Majesty will summon you when he recovers."
Lou Jin looked at his hypocritical face and sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm: "Uncle, your information network is quite impressive. I had just arrived at the palace gate when you came to 'greet' me. However, as a son, I must see Father's health with my own eyes to be at ease. Your obstruction, Uncle, could it be... that there is another reason for Father's illness?"
His words were extremely harsh, almost implying that Prince An had something to hide.
Prince An's expression changed slightly, but he forced a smile and said, "Nephew Jin, what are you saying! His Majesty is merely tired..."
"Since it's just exhaustion, then I should go in and serve you medicine to show my filial piety!" Lou Jin stopped wasting words with him, gave Ye Xunyang a wink, and stepped forward. "If you stop me again, Uncle, don't blame me for suspecting you... your intentions are despicable!"
The last four words were like an ice pick piercing Prince An's heart.
His face instantly turned extremely ugly. Seeing that Lou Jin was about to force his way in, none of the guards around him dared to actually step forward to make a move under the imposing aura of Lou Jin and Ye Xunyang!
"Stop them!" Prince An roared in exasperation.
Several of his trusted guards stepped forward, steeling themselves.
"Clang!" Lou Jin's personal guards stepped forward simultaneously, their hands on their sword hilts, ready to spill blood at the palace gates at the slightest provocation.
Seeing Lou Jin's firm stance, Prince An realized that if a fight broke out, he might not be able to gain the upper hand and could instead completely escalate the situation, making it impossible to control. For a moment, he dared not actually order a forceful intervention.
In that brief moment of stalemate, Lou Jin stopped looking at him, and, with Ye Xunyang in tow, ignored the blustering but cowardly guards, and strode straight through the palace gates toward the Yangxin Hall in the inner palace.
"You...you all!" Prince An watched their departing figures, trembling with rage, yet utterly helpless. He could only stomp his foot and growl at his trusted aide, "Quick! Go and inform Consort Xian! The plan has changed!"
Lou Jin and Ye Xunyang traveled at a rapid pace, and the eunuchs and palace maids on the palace road were so frightened by their imposing manner that they all gave way.
"Your Highness, Prince An must have gone to inform Consort Xian. We need to hurry!" Ye Xunyang said in a low voice.
"Yes!" Lou Jin nodded, quickening his pace.
The Hall of Mental Cultivation was already in sight, but outside the hall gates, there were several times more eunuchs and palace maids than usual, each with shifty eyes and a tense expression.
A matron dressed in the robes of a high-ranking female official stood blocking the palace gate, and said with a forced smile:
"Your Highness, please wait! His Majesty has just taken his medicine and fallen asleep. His Majesty is personally taking care of him inside and has instructed that no one should disturb him!"
Consort Xian was indeed inside!
Lou Jin's eyes turned cold, and he was about to speak.
Ye Xunyang, however, spoke first, his voice clear yet imbued with inner strength, enough for everyone in the hall to hear: "Your Majesty! Prince Jin and the First Prince, concerned for Your Majesty's health, have come to visit! They have important matters concerning Consort Xian and Prince An that they must report to Your Majesty in person!"
His words were like a thunderclap, exploding outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation!
The old woman's expression changed drastically: "How dare you! You dare disturb His Majesty's presence?!"
Inside the hall, a faint, slight commotion could be heard.
Lou Jin no longer hesitated and said to Ye Xunyang, "Break in!"
"yes!"
The two set off at the same time, and Ye Xunyang pushed aside the eunuchs who tried to stop him.
Lou Jin moved with lightning speed, directly pushing aside the old woman who was trying to block the palace door with her body, and pushed open the tightly closed palace door of the Qin Zheng Hall!
Sunlight instantly flooded into the slightly dim hall.
On the dragon bed, Emperor Lou Qingtian sat leaning back, looking somewhat tired, but his eyes were clear, showing no signs of serious illness!
Consort Xian was sitting by the couch, holding a bowl of medicine in her hand, her face still showing signs of panic.
"Father!"
"His Majesty!"
The Emperor looked at his son and Ye Xunyang, who had suddenly barged in, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. His gaze then fell on the pale-faced Consort Xian and the bowl of medicine, his brows furrowing slightly: "Jin'er? What's going on here...?"
Lou Jin straightened up, his gaze like a knife, piercing directly at Consort Xian, his voice icy cold:
"Your Majesty, I have disturbed you and deserve to die! But if I had not come soon, I fear that someone would have used the pretext of recuperation to usurp the throne and commit treason!"
He raised his hand, pointing to the Consort Xian, whose face had instantly turned deathly pale, and said, word by word:
"Consort Liu has colluded with Prince An, Lou Qin, to use the Emperor's serious illness as a pretext to support her illegitimate son, Lou Yi, in usurping the throne! The evidence is conclusive, and we beseech Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, there was an instant deathly silence.
"presumptuous!"
Consort Xian was the first to react. She stood up abruptly, and the medicine bowl in her hand crashed to the ground with a loud bang, splashing brown medicine everywhere.
Her face turned deathly pale, her chest heaving violently. She pointed at Lou Jin and screamed, "King Jin! How dare you slander me! Your Majesty, look at him! He's trying to force me to my death and defaming the royal family!"
As she spoke, tears welled up instantly, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Emperor Lou Qingtian leaned back on his dragon bed. After the initial surprise, his deep eyes did not reveal much emotion. His gaze lingered for a moment on Consort Xian's overly excited reaction and the broken medicine bowl on the ground before slowly turning to Lou Jin.
"Jin'er, do you know what you're saying? Accusing a concubine of the current emperor and a prince of treason is a heinous crime. Without solid evidence, even I cannot protect you."
"Your subject naturally knows!" Lou Jin met the emperor's gaze without fear, his tone firm and resolute, "Without irrefutable evidence, how dare your subject disturb Your Majesty's presence!"
He stepped forward, took out the bronze snake-shaped token from his pocket, and presented it with both hands: "This is the token of 'Viper,' the leader of the Shadow Serpents! And 'Viper' is none other than Feng Bao, the former eunuch who has been silenced by Consort Xian and Prince An."
Consort Xian's pupils contracted sharply, and her body swayed almost imperceptibly.
Before she could argue, Lou Jin continued, "Before his death, Feng Bao confessed that Consort Xian, Liu, conspired with Prince An, Lou Qin. Wang Quan, the steward of the Jin Prince's mansion, has also confessed that he was coerced by Consort Xian and Prince An for many years to pass on messages, and even poisoned me three years ago."
"You're talking nonsense! Where's the evidence? It's all just your side of the story!" Consort Xian shouted hysterically, trying to interrupt him.
"Evidence?" Lou Jin sneered.
“Wang Quan is in my hands right now! He has revealed how he contacted Consort Xian, and how Consort Xian had an affair with Prince An and gave birth to the Fifth Prince, Lou Yi!”
"If Father Emperor does not believe me, he may immediately interrogate Wang Quan, or send people to search the Prince An's residence and the Consort Xian's palace. They will surely find their secret correspondence and such tokens!"
"Lou Yi... is he the son of the Prince of An?"
The emperor's voice finally carried a subtle change in tone, and his gaze toward Consort Xian became incredibly sharp and cold.
Consort Xian was struck dumb, collapsing to the ground, her lips trembling, unable to utter a complete rebuttal, only repeating desperately, "No... Your Majesty... No..."
Just then, a commotion arose outside the hall.
Prince An, Lou Qin, led a large number of guards and forcibly rushed to the outside of the Hall of Mental Cultivation: "Your Majesty! Prince Jin is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He led his troops to forcibly break into the palace, slandered the concubines and relatives, and intended to commit treason!"
"Your Majesty, please issue a decree to arrest this rebellious son!"
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