King Lu was not affected by the new emperor's words. He secretly thought about how to get some gold and silver from the new emperor to get through the current difficulties.
The new emperor made a condition to Prince Lu: "If you can persuade your other brothers to come and kneel before me in a grand ceremony, I will reward you with abundant wealth."
Upon hearing this, the King of Lu was overjoyed and quickly patted his chest, assuring him, "This matter is simple; your subject will certainly be able to accomplish it."
What does the lost wealth matter as long as he can receive the new emperor's generous rewards?
But the Prince of Lu did not give up. He then made another request: "Your Majesty, could you please reward me with some gold and silver? The Prince of Lu's mansion is now completely broke, and I have no money to bribe anyone to kill that brat."
After a moment's thought, the new emperor decided to grant Prince Lu's request, since he also needed Prince Lu to persuade his other brothers.
"Very well, I will reward you with some gold and silver now," the new emperor said readily.
"Chief Steward Wei!" the new emperor suddenly shouted.
Upon hearing this, Chief Steward Wei hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and asked, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
The new emperor looked at Chief Steward Wei and said in a deep voice, "Quickly take some men to fetch several boxes of gold and silver to reward Prince Lu."
"Yes, sir!" Steward Wei replied hastily, then turned and left.
Not long after, Chief Steward Wei rushed back like a gust of wind, his face full of terror, shouting, "It's terrible, Your Majesty! The palace treasury is completely empty!"
Upon hearing this, the new emperor's face instantly turned extremely ugly. His eyes widened, and he asked incredulously, "What? How could this be? What about the other storerooms?"
After calming himself down slightly, Chief Steward Wei replied in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the other storerooms... seem to be empty as well."
The new emperor's shock was palpable. He frowned and muttered to himself, "How is this possible? The palace is heavily guarded. I even brought a large contingent of garrison troops to surround the palace. How could there not be a single piece of wealth left?"
When Prince Lu and Princess Kaiyang, who were standing to the side, heard the news that all the wealth in the palace had disappeared, they both looked astonished.
They exchanged a glance, both harboring doubts about Steward Wei's words.
King Lu pondered to himself, "Could it be that Chief Steward Wei is acting under the new emperor's orders, deliberately lying to avoid giving me gold and silver?"
Princess Kaiyang pondered to herself, "Is there some unspeakable secret involved? Is the new emperor the kind of person who says one thing to someone's face and another behind their back? If that's the case, then what he promised me was probably just empty talk, and he would never keep his word." Thinking of this, Princess Kaiyang frowned slightly, realizing that the situation might be more complicated than she had imagined.
Princess Kaiyang's gaze inadvertently fell on Guard Duan.
Duan, the bodyguard, was tall and imposing, with a fair complexion and handsome features. He was Princess Kaiyang's most favored man. After exchanging a glance, Princess Kaiyang and Duan seemed to convey some kind of message.
Duan, the guard, understood immediately and turned to his men, ordering, "Quickly summon all the assassins back." Before he finished speaking, a guard swiftly departed like the wind to carry out Duan's order.
Prince Lu noticed the interaction between Princess Kaiyang and Guard Duan. A slight, almost imperceptible smile appeared on his lips, and he then gave a wink to the head guard, Huang, beside him.
Upon seeing this, Chief Guard Huang nodded knowingly, seemingly understanding Prince Lu's intention.
This royal brother and sister openly engaged in underhanded tactics in front of the new emperor.
This is because the new emperor had neither an edict of accession nor the imperial seal, so his ascension was illegitimate and he had no way to deal with the royal family.
The alliance that the new emperor had just formed with Princess Kaiyang and Prince Lu collapsed instantly due to the sudden loss of the palace's wealth.
The new emperor sat on the dragon throne, his face ashen as he looked down at Princess Kaiyang and Prince Lu. His brows were tightly furrowed, clearly showing his dissatisfaction with their behavior.
When he saw that Princess Kaiyang and Prince Lu had each sent their guards to carry out their missions, his displeasure intensified. So he snorted coldly and asked loudly, "What do you want to do?"
Princess Kaiyang raised her head and said in a sweet voice, "Your Majesty, I am very worried because I have noticed that the wealth in the palace seems to have decreased. So I sent someone to find out where this wealth has gone."
Upon hearing this, the new emperor's face grew even darker. He glared at Princess Kaiyang and angrily rebuked her, "How dare you doubt me!"
Princess Kaiyang waved her hand and questioned, "The palace is heavily guarded, how could wealth have been lost?"
"But it is indeed lost." The new emperor frowned. "I don't know why, it must have been done by the Duke of En's men!"
Princess Kaiyang, however, did not take it to heart. She slightly raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a forced smile, and said unhurriedly, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty, I am only acting out of good intentions. After all, the wealth in the palace is related to the foundation of the country. If it is lost, it will be no small matter."
The Prince of Lu quickly chimed in, "Yes, Your Majesty, I also find this matter quite strange, so I sent people to investigate, also so that Your Majesty can recover the lost wealth as soon as possible."
The new emperor's anger was further fueled by the two men's coordinated attack. He slammed his fist on the imperial desk, stood up, and roared, "What are you trying to do? Are you plotting a rebellion?"
Princess Kaiyang and Prince Lu exchanged a glance. Princess Kaiyang raised her voice and said coquettishly, "Oh, Brother Prince Song, you're going a bit too far with your words! Which of the three of us is the one plotting a rebellion?"
"I did not wear the dragon robe and sit on the throne!"
Her voice echoed in the empty hall, and all the officials outside could hear it clearly. They all turned to look into the hall, their faces showing fear.
The King of Lu also shouted, "Brother King of Song, do you have an imperial edict? How dare you call yourself a king?"
"Guards, seize these two for me!" The new emperor was furious, his voice echoing throughout the palace, as if the entire palace could hear his roar.
Upon hearing the order, the imperial guards rushed towards Princess Kaiyang and Prince Lu like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey, ready to capture them in one fell swoop.
Princess Kaiyang was shocked to see this. She never expected the new emperor to be so ruthless as to want to kill her.
Without a second thought, she quickly stepped forward and shouted, "Your Majesty, hold on! Listen to me, the Imperial Seal is actually in my hands..."
Before she finished speaking, she had already quickly reached into her bosom and fumbled to take out a white jade seal.
This jade seal is pure white and crystal clear, with exquisite patterns carved on it, clearly a rare treasure.
Everyone looked over and found that it did indeed resemble the Imperial Seal of the State.
Princess Kaiyang smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I already coaxed this treasure from that boy. I originally wanted to present it to Your Majesty!"
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