The next day, they continued their journey, traveling as if on a tour. Finally, after ten days, they arrived in the capital. Once inside the city, Xiao Yubai remained in the carriage and did not show his face.
Once they arrived at the An residence, he had the secret guards who were monitoring the area deal with the situation before disembarking from the carriage. "Madam, please take your time."
An Shuyi took his hand and got off the carriage. Looking at the person coming out of the courtyard gate, she said, "Hua Hua."
Xia Hua smiled and said, "You're really slow. It took you more than ten days to get here. Luckily, she came back soon." Xiao Zili didn't know this, otherwise they would have been summoned to the palace long ago.
She arrived in the capital a few days ago, but worried that Shushu would be too playful and get delayed on the way, so she returned home at night and hasn't shown her face in the past few days.
"We spent some time playing on the way. Let's go inside. Have Young Master Cheng and Yan Zhen arrived yet?"
"You're here. You're in the courtyard next door. You're probably studying. You didn't know you were coming, so I sent someone to call you." Xia Hua pulled her inside.
"How have you been these past few days? Your face is a bit fairer than before." Shushu had gotten tanned before and had complained to her more than once, but thankfully she's much fairer now.
"You had a great time. I also bought a lot of groceries and a lot of jewelry. I bought you a few sets, I guarantee you'll like them." An Shuyi said with a proud look.
Whenever she sees pretty jewelry, she'll bring some for Huahua.
"Thank you, but will you be able to wear so many?" Even if you wore them for several lifetimes, let alone taking them back to the modern world, you still wouldn't be able to wear them all.
"I can't wear them all, but just looking at them makes me happy. I'll give them to you tonight." She loves looking at pretty jewelry; it makes her happy.
The two sat in the hall, chatting about the interesting things that had happened to them, while Xiao Yubai could only listen to their conversation and couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Fortunately, Cheng Yumo soon brought Yan Zhen over.
"Yan Zhen greets Grandma Xia!" Yan Zhen stepped forward and bowed.
An Shuyi nodded. "It's been a few years since we last met, and Yan Zhen has become more and more polite. However, from now on, you won't need to bow to anyone else; you'll only see others kneeling and bowing to you. Do you have any complaints about our decision?"
In fact, they never asked their grandson's opinion when they made the decision. Instead, they made the decision themselves and only informed him a few years ago.
Yan Zhen nodded, "I have no complaints, but I am happy. I had guessed it before, but I was never sure. Grandma, you must know that I am not stupid if you can accept me. I can also guess the difference between me and the other boys in the village, especially those books."
“Those books are not allowed for others to even glance at, but I can read them freely. If after reading those books I still can’t guess what you’re thinking, how can I be the one you’ve chosen?”
He had his own courtyard. In the past, apart from his two tutors and two grandmothers, no one else was allowed to step into it, not even his parents.
At first, he had a slight suspicion, but he wasn't sure. It wasn't until Dean Cheng took over that he became more certain, and he liked it. He could also accept the arrangements made for the two grandmothers.
“Since you have no complaints, we are relieved. Spend the next few days learning from Dean Cheng and General Xiao. If you have any questions, you can ask us. Don’t worry, we are not interested in that position, so you can completely trust us,” An Shuyi said.
"Grandma, don't worry, your grandson will definitely study hard."
“Okay, then you go read your book first. We need to discuss some things,” Xia Hua said.
"Then I'll take my leave first. Grandmother, you two can discuss this." Yan Zhen left the room and went to the courtyard next door.
“Shushu is going to the capital today, and we’ll be returning to the palace by tomorrow at the latest. The Emperor might then order us to hand over the military tally. So our best chance to act is tomorrow night,” Xia Hua said.
"It can't be that fast!" Cheng Yumo said.
Xia Hua said, "It's happened so fast. In just a few years, Xiao Zili is no longer the timid man he was four years ago. He is very ambitious and is now grooming a new prime minister."
"Furthermore, the Left Chancellor has restrained Wen Liu, and he no longer relies on the Lin family. Moreover, the Emperor's first prince was born among these people."
"The prince's mother is the empress. As for why the news wasn't released, it was the emperor's order to prevent others from knowing that he already has a prince and to find an opportunity to harm him."
This man is really smart and ambitious. If he could trust the Lin clan members wholeheartedly, perhaps they really wouldn't have taken action and would have stayed here until the end of their lives.
"Huahua, how come I didn't know about such a confidential matter?" An Shuyi asked in confusion.
"Don't even mention you, even Eunuch Deng didn't know. The Emperor didn't tell him either. The Empress also has to deal with palace affairs every day, so she can't possibly notice. I only found out a few days ago when I went to the palace," Xia Hua said.
Xiao Zili certainly couldn't have imagined that even though he had arranged the palace so meticulously, she was still able to enter. Now, the palace was not as lax as it had been during the reign of the Emperor Emeritus; instead, it was filled with secret guards and traps.
She and Shushu used to sneak into the palace without being discovered by the guards. Xiao Zili knew their abilities, so he arranged the palace very carefully. But there were some places that she could still get into no matter how carefully they were arranged.
“In that case, we cannot allow the prince to be born, and even if he is born, we cannot allow him to have the opportunity to appear in the world,” Xiao Yubai said.
He still wants to marry his wife. If this world doesn't allow it, then he'll find another. Therefore, anyone who tries to stop him from marrying his wife should be eliminated.
“Since the Empress’s mission is in the next few days, let’s act tomorrow night and finish this quickly,” An Shuyi said.
Xia Hua nodded, "Okay, the palace has already made arrangements. As soon as we move out, we can lead our men straight into the palace." She brought more than 2,100 iron cavalry with her this time, and they will be Yan Zhen's guards from now on.
Furthermore, the secret guards have already taken control of the palace and are just waiting for the right moment to storm in.
That evening, when Wen Liu and the others returned, I told them about it, since they would be going to the palace when the imperial edict was read.
The next morning, someone from the palace came and told An Shuyi and Xia Hua to come into the palace so they could set off immediately. The carriage was outside, and they didn't need to bring anyone with them.
An Shuyi and Xia Hua exchanged a glance, waved their hands behind their backs to signal the two people inside not to come out, and then got up, left the courtyard, and got into the carriage.
They were escorted all the way to the palace, surrounded by guards who made sure the carriage was completely sealed off, not even a mosquito could get in. There were also secret guards following them around. The two people inside the carriage remained calm, though they didn't say anything, they were gesturing quite a bit with their hands.
Upon reaching the palace gate, they followed the eunuch into the main hall. Seeing Xiao Zili sitting high up, the two knelt on the ground to pay their respects to the emperor, using their skirts as cover.
But only they knew that their knees hadn't touched the ground, and no one in the world could make them kneel.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
