Chapter 122 Ending 1
Steward Fu was stunned. Having the Crown Prince serve as regent was a monumental undertaking. But seeing Song Qingyuan's unquestionable gaze, and the Emperor's silence in the inner hall behind him, he instantly understood. A flicker of grief crossed the eyes of this old man, a man who had lived through his life in the palace, and he kowtowed heavily, "Your servant... obeys your order."
He knew that the world was about to change.
By the time the carriage returned to the East Palace, the sky was already turning pale. Shen Yanzhi had waited in the study all night, not closing his eyes. When he saw Song Qingyuan push the door open, he immediately stood up to greet him.
"How about it?"
Song Qingyuan didn't say anything, but walked forward and hugged him tightly. Her body was trembling slightly.
Shen Yanzhi felt her trembling, his heart tightened, and he patted her back gently: “It’s okay, I’m here.”
After a long time, Song Qingyuan raised her head, her eyes clear and determined. She took out the private seal from her sleeve, placed it on the table, and then told Shen Yanzhi everything that happened in Gan'an Hall.
The study fell into deathly silence.
Shen Yanzhi looked at the small private seal, his fingers slowly tightening, his knuckles turning pale from the force. He had no sadness, no anger, only a terrifying calmness on his face.
"Six days..." He repeated the number in a low voice, his eyes filled with surging waves. "Alright, very good. Since they want Father to die, then I will make the entire Wei family, and everyone hiding behind them, be buried with Father!"
He raised his head and looked at Song Qingyuan: "Qingyuan, father has entrusted us with the most difficult task. We can't let him down."
"Yeah." Song Qingyuan nodded heavily.
"The plan for 'Huang'en Terrace' needs to be changed." Shen Yanzhi walked to the map, his eyes sharp as a knife. "Not only must it be done, but it must be done more 'real' than the original plan. Doesn't Wei Yande want to act in a play? I'll let him play the leading role."
A cold smile played across his lips. "Tomorrow morning, I will present a memorial to the Emperor, stating that my father is gravely ill. I am deeply concerned and willing to take the blame on his behalf and pray for his well-being. At the same time, to demonstrate the Emperor's great grace and accumulate merit for my father, I will personally oversee the provision of relief at the 'Emperor's Grace Platform.' Duke Wei, as a man bearing the brunt of his guilt, should be even more grateful for the Emperor's grace and share His Majesty's worries. At that time, he will... assume full responsibility for the security of Suzaku Street."
Song Qingyuan's eyes lit up.
This move is really too vicious.
Putting the entire responsibility for security on Duke Wei put him in a dilemma. If the scene remained safe and the people received their money smoothly, then Shen Yanzhi would have successfully contacted all the "insiders" and the network of Duke Wei's mansion would be dug out.
If there was trouble at the scene and people died, then the Duke of Wei, who was in charge of security, would be the primary culprit and would not be able to clear himself even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
No matter which choice he made, it was a dead end. This was like putting a rope around Duke Wei's neck, and the other end of the rope was in Shen Yanzhi's hand.
"Also," Shen Yanzhi continued, "From today on, you will be stationed in the Eastern Palace. Use your father's personal seal to contact Chen An and Zhang He, the commander of the capital's garrison. He is a humble military commander personally promoted by your father and is absolutely reliable.
Let him secretly change the guard and firmly control the Nine Gates in our hands. I want to turn the entire capital into an iron barrel."
"What about you?" Song Qingyuan asked.
"Me?" Shen Yanzhi smiled, with a bit of youthful cunning, "Of course I will play the role of someone who is worried about his father's illness, has no interest in state affairs, and can only rely on doing some 'small things' to provide relief to the people.
I have to go to the Duke of Wei's residence frequently to ask for advice on how to run the Imperial Grace Platform more effectively and reassure my father. After all, he is my uncle, isn't he?
Song Qingyuan couldn't help but laugh as he watched him. This wasn't asking for advice; it was clearly putting Duke Wei on the spot. He was being forced to watch helplessly as he fell into the abyss, powerless to stop it, and even forced to force a smile to offer advice. This torture was worse than killing him with a single blow.
Just as the two were discussing the details, Lin Xiaoshu arrived outside the door to report, "Your Highness, Your Majesty, the Empress has sent someone to say they heard Your Majesty is unwell and have come to ask about your well-being. They also want to see the Crown Princess."
Here it comes.
Song Qingyuan and Shen Yanzhi exchanged a glance. The woman in the palace finally couldn't sit still anymore. The Duke of Wei was her biological brother, the Emperor was gravely ill, and the Crown Prince was acting as regent—this double blow was enough to send her into a state of panic.
"Just say that I was taking care of the patient last night and was overworked, so I have already gone to bed and am not available to see guests." Song Qingyuan instructed lightly.
"yes."
"It seems that she is also anxious." Shen Yanzhi sneered, "The more anxious she is, the more likely she is to make mistakes. In the next two days, it depends on how they will act."
He walked to the window and pushed it open. Outside, the morning light had already pierced the darkness, gilding the entire East Palace with a golden glow. But beneath this light, the deepest murderous intent lurked.
"The stage has been set, waiting for everyone to make their debut." Shen Yanzhi looked towards the distant imperial palace and said softly, "I hope they... won't disappoint me and my father."
Three days later, Suzaku Street.
Before dawn, the entire central axis of the capital was encircled by thousands of Jinwu Guards and soldiers from the capital's garrison. The common people, separated by several feet, gathered and chattered. Everyone knew that today, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would set up the "Imperial Grace Platform" here to publicly distribute pensions.
This was the first time in history that the imperial court had distributed money, even setting up a platform and beating drums and gongs to distribute it, as if to prevent others from knowing.
On the dais, on the left sat the Minister of Revenue and several vice ministers. Before them lay neatly stacked boxes of silver ingots and copper coins, gleaming alluringly in the morning light. To the right, a single chair sat Duke Wei Yande, dressed in the court robes of a second-rank official, seated at attention.
But the color of his face was even uglier than the color of his official uniform.
He understood Shen Yanzhi's scheme, but couldn't unravel it. For the past few days, the Crown Prince had been visiting his residence daily, calling him "Uncle" with a look of admiration, yet all they discussed was how to put him to death. He even had to force a smile, praising the Crown Prince's "unparalleled benevolence and filial piety," and volunteered to take on this "good job" of security.
He knew it was a trap, but he had to jump into it. Refusing would imply a guilty conscience. During this sensitive period when the emperor was seriously ill and the crown prince was acting as regent, any hint of non-cooperation would be magnified immeasurably.
He could only hope that the backup plan he had laid out could keep today's chaos within the scope of "accident".
At noon, Shen Yan, dressed in plain, casual clothes, appeared on the high platform. He didn't sit down, but stood in front of the stage, addressing the dense crowd below. He spoke loudly, "My fellow countrymen, I am Crown Prince Shen Yan. A month ago, a rebellion case in the capital implicated innocent people. My father and I have been worried day and night. I have set up this stage today, for no other reason than to tell everyone that the emperor's grace is immense, and he will not leave out any suffering citizen! The imperial court is your most solid support!"
These words were so powerful that thunderous applause broke out from the people.
"Now, start the show! Distribute the compensation according to the list!"
Following an order, officials from the Ministry of Revenue began to call out names loudly.
"South of the city, in Lijia Lane, Wang Erma's mother, Wang Liu, comes forward to listen!"
The crowd was in an uproar, and a gray-haired old woman, supported by her neighbors, staggered out, her face full of fear and uneasiness.
Wei Yande narrowed his eyes and his hand unconsciously pressed on the hilt of the knife at his waist.
Wang Liushi walked to the front of the stage and, looking at the box of silver, her legs gave way and she nearly fell to her knees. A Ministry of Revenue official supported her and handed her a heavy purse and a document bearing the Eastern Palace seal. "Old lady, this is fifty taels of silver from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince as a pension. Furthermore, this document exempts your family from taxes for three years. Take it."
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