Chapter 304 Who is the Hunter
In just two days, the capital city recovered from chaos to order.
Originally, there were still some soldiers taking advantage of the situation to loot on the streets, but when the supervisory team of the Fengning Iron Cavalry walked around the streets, chopped off some soldiers who did not return to the camp on time and attempted to cause chaos outside, and hung their headless bodies at the Meridian Gate for public display, there was no longer a single soldier running around on the streets of the capital.
Basic order was restored in the imperial palace... but everyone was silent and cautious, fearing that they would become chickens and fish sacrificed to the gods at this special moment.
Especially since it concerned Prince Ding Xiao Nanchen, no one dared to say a word.
By this point, anyone with a bit of common sense would have reacted.
Prince Ding, who was supposed to have gone to fight against the Liaodong Army, returned to the capital with half of the Fengning Iron Cavalry without anyone noticing. It seemed that Lord Xu, who had been supporting the prince, turned against him at the critical moment and used a forged edict of succession to completely condemn the prince to the pillar of shame as a traitor.
The royal guards in the palace attacked without warning, but were repelled by the well-prepared Imperial Guards...and the Emperor, who had been said to be unconscious, woke up at this moment.
In the end, the crown prince committed suicide out of fear of punishment, the deposed empress was imprisoned for life, all the officials who followed the crown prince's party were imprisoned, and General Xie Fengting, who led the four major camps to seal the imperial city, also committed suicide out of fear of punishment...
Therefore, this is not about supporting the king to quell the rebellion, but about luring the snake out of its hole.
As for the hunter who lured the snake out of its hole... needless to say, everyone knew who it was.
A chill rose in the hearts of all the court officials.
Now that the crown prince is gone, one can easily guess who the next heir will be. The future heir who is now Prince Ding is completely different from his father and brother.
Emperor Jiaping was amorous and casual, and the former crown prince Xiao Nanyu was dissolute and absurd. For the ministers, they were both easy masters to deal with.
But this one is different.
He had never been defeated since he led the army at the age of seventeen. It was originally believed that he was the Wu Quxing who was invincible and would be the mainstay for defending and expanding the territory of the Da Xuan Dynasty in the future. The court officials had always been very pleased with this... But in the end, he suddenly turned out to be the Da Xuan God of War who was not only able to dominate the battlefield, but was also equally good at scheming.
Ministers may accept a dandy prince, like a brave prince... but they don't want to see a crown prince who is not easy to fool with both civil and military skills.
If this person comes to power, their lives will probably not be so good in the future!
I don't know what Lord Xu is thinking. If he supports a puppet prince to take the throne, he will still be the uncrowned king of the Daxuan Dynasty in the future, and he will have the final say in the court... Why bother to think so much and choose a master who will make people afraid?
The good times have lasted too long...
But of course, the court officials could only think about these words, and no one dared to say a word. The only one who dared to discuss them, besides the former crown prince and the deposed queen who was sentenced to life imprisonment, was Concubine Xu who was deposed for no reason.
Yes, Concubine Xu was deposed and imprisoned in the cold palace.
No one could understand why Concubine Xu had such bad luck.
It was said that the Xu family had violated a taboo this time, but Lord Xu was still standing in the court... They could only say that they didn't understand it, as this was not an inside story they could interfere with.
But soon, a faint rumor spread: Some people said that Concubine Xu was cheating on His Majesty.
It is said that after Concubine Xu was deposed, the Tenth Princess Xiao Bi knelt down and cried for an audience, but the current emperor, who had always loved the Tenth Princess, refused to meet her.
Gossip with a romantic connotation always spreads very quickly and quietly. The surface of the water may seem calm, but there are already huge waves beneath the surface.
Besides the fact that the Tenth Princess wasn't His Majesty's biological child, some people even started saying that the Second Prince wasn't His Majesty's either...
In short, the news of the Crown Prince's rebellion and Concubine Xu's affair spread among the high-ranking officials in the capital, and everyone was whispering about it.
Shen Ning no longer had the heart to care about those things. Her uncle Xie Fengting committed suicide, and all the members of the Xie family were now in prison.
Xie Yunqing, the married daughter, was not implicated, but it was her family that suffered, and her brother and nephew who died. While she was deeply grieving over their deaths, she was also extremely worried about her mother who was imprisoned...
Shen Ning comforted him for a long time and repeatedly assured him that she would find a way to take care of her grandmother. Only then did Xie Yunqing feel a little relieved.
But Xie Fengting's rebellion this time is of no small importance, and the Xie family's affairs are not easy to handle... but they have to be handled even if they are difficult.
When she first returned to the capital, her grandmother treated her very well.
Later in Beihai Prefecture, the grandmother often had people send things to her... Even though they didn't spend much time together, she still felt grateful for her kindness.
What's more, she was Xie Yunqing's mother...
It’s not a big deal for the other people in the Xie family, but we need to think of a way to deal with the old lady.
Shen Ning watched Xie Yunqing take the medicine, and then left home and entered the palace.
In the carriage, Sanyue reported in a low voice: "The Second Young Master sent Siyue to pass on a message saying that he is fine and that the young lady should not worry about him and should focus on her own affairs."
Shen Ning nodded: "Okay."
After entering the palace, Shen Ning originally wanted to go directly to Xiao Nanchen, but as soon as she entered the palace, she was told that the Queen Mother was ill.
The palace messenger had a worried look on her face, saying that the Queen Mother forbade anyone to disturb Shen Ning or to tell her.
Shen Ning felt a little helpless, but she also understood that the Queen Mother knew that she was busy with many things and had no time to take care of herself, so she asked someone to keep it secret from her.
But things always have their priorities. To be frank, it might be a bit pretentious to say this, but the Queen Mother treated her closer than her grandmother, so how could she just ignore the sick old lady?
So, Shen Ning went to the Cining Palace, intending to see the Queen Mother first and then go to Xiao Nanchen for consultation. However, she didn't expect that as soon as she arrived at the Imperial Garden, she saw Xiao Nanchen walking towards her.
Seeing her, Xiao Nanchen quickened his pace. Qiyue immediately walked to the corridor next to her and counted the grapes on the vines.
"How is my aunt?" Xiao Nanchen asked gently.
He looked normal, but he was paying attention to Chen Ning's expression...
Xiao Nanchen knew how the court officials and the noble circles in the capital had been talking about him in recent days. They were almost demonizing him.
The chaos in the capital was indeed under his control, and everything was basically in line with his arrangements... but he didn't expect that the Sixth Prince would die.
Originally, Xiao Nanchen was a little worried that Chen Ning would think that he was as cunning and scheming as those people in the capital. Now that the Sixth Prince's life, Xie Fengting's death, and the overthrow of the Xie family were at stake... he was afraid that Chen Ning would blame him.
"She's fine... just worried about Grandma."
At this time, Chengying took a few steps closer and whispered, "Your Highness, His Majesty is calling you over."
Xiao Nanchen hummed and then said to Shen Ning, "Don't worry about Madam Xie. I will have someone secretly move Madam Xie to another place and take good care of her. She will never suffer."
Shen Ning immediately breathed a sigh of relief: “Okay.”
This matter was settled, and only the old lady of the Cining Palace remained. Seeing that Xiao Nanchen was too busy to handle it, she said, "I'll go to the Cining Palace first. You can go and get busy too."
Shen Ning originally thought that everyone should finish their business before gossiping. She was worried about the Queen Mother, and Xiao Nanchen also had something to do, so she didn't say much... But she didn't expect that as soon as she finished speaking, she saw Xiao Nanchen's expression opposite her change.
Grabbing Shen Ning's wrist, Xiao Nanchen pursed his lips: "Are you blaming me?"
Shen Ning was slightly startled, and immediately shook her head: “No, don’t let your imagination run wild.”
Not knowing what this Imagination Emperor was imagining, Shen Ning laughed helplessly: "If I have something to say, I will tell you directly. If I don't say it, then there is nothing. Don't make random guesses... His Majesty summons you, go and see first, and tell us after you're done."
Xiao Nanchen was reluctant but knew that this was not the time to have a good conversation. He pursed his lips and hummed softly, "Then I'll come find you later."
Shen Ning nodded: "Okay..."
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