Chapter 111 Qishan Fengchan 18 Ventriloquism
Li Xuanhe's thoughts went back to the time when he left the courtyard to look for the prince.
Prince Chen's concealment of 10,000 troops in the mountains and forests a few miles away was no small matter. Anxious, Li Xuanhe hurried to the Qing Palace, only to discover the Crown Prince was absent. A palace attendant said he had gone to the emperor's palace a stick of incense and would not return. Li Xuanhe couldn't afford to wait that long. Without further delay, he turned and left, returning to the emperor's palace before the sunset faded.
The palace they had just visited during the day now wore a completely different look. The gates were locked, guarded by imperial guards. Upon seeing Li Xuanhe, the two men didn't immediately let him in. Instead, they turned and went back inside to report, only allowing him entry after receiving permission.
Li Xuanhe's heart tightened, realizing that something big had happened.
The courtyard was packed with people. The palace attendants knelt in rows, heads bowed, bodies crouched low, and trembling. Around them stood a dozen imperial guards, their gazes fixed on them, preventing them from whispering or even leaving. The door to the main hall not far away was also tightly shut, but the guards at the entrance were not imperial guards, but several of the crown prince's personal guards.
The prince is in the palace.
Li Xuanhe was just hesitating whether to enter the palace when the guard outside spoke first, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is waiting for you in the palace."
Li Xuanhe keenly noticed the problem in his words.
This is His Majesty's bedroom, but the man only said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was waiting for him. So where is His Majesty? Is he not in the palace? Where else did he go?
Pushing the door open and entering the hall, the Crown Prince sat on a throne not far from the door. The table beside him was empty; not even tea had been served. Li Xuanhe glanced to the side, his gaze passing over the layers of curtains to the bed at the far end.
His Majesty lay soundlessly on the bed, as if asleep. Beside the bed stood two imperial physicians, inserting needles into His Majesty's body. Their movements were expert and focused, and they spoke to each other without a word. They didn't even glance at him when they heard him enter the hall.
The Crown Prince excused Li Xuanhe from his formalities and asked him to sit down to the side. A moment later, two imperial physicians, their brows lowered, approached the Crown Prince and Li Xuanhe, carrying their medicine boxes. They bowed and said, "Your Majesty is gone, as we are incompetent."
Their voices were very low, as if they were afraid that people outside might hear them.
Although he had anticipated this, Li Xuanhe was still shocked when he heard the result. The Crown Prince's expression remained unchanged as he said calmly, "This matter must remain confidential. You two must not tell anyone else. I will arrange a place for you two to stay. You will be inconvenienced for a few days. After the Fengshan Ceremony, I will send you off."
The prince's tone was very gentle. The two imperial doctors did not dare to resist at all and obediently followed the prince's men away.
After a while, the hall fell completely silent, leaving only the Crown Prince, Li Xuanhe, and His Majesty who could no longer speak.
The soothing incense in the corner had burned out, its fragrance fading slightly. The oil lamps within were all lit, illuminating the room like daylight. The prince looked up at the tightly closed palace door, his gaze seemingly peering through it, gazing upon the kneeling figures in the courtyard and the dark, overcast sky above them. After a moment, he spoke softly, his voice filled with relief at having finally settled, tinged with a touch of sadness: "I had long anticipated this day, but now that it has finally arrived, I feel this way."
Li Xuanhe didn't know what to say for a moment.
His relationship with His Majesty was not particularly close, and their occasional encounters were superficial, tinged with false motives and interests. Upon hearing the news of His Majesty's death, he could only sigh.
As for the prince——
Although he and the Crown Prince had grown up together and had a close relationship, he never forgot that the Crown Prince was the ruler and he was the subject. A subject should strictly abide by his duties, and even when expressing sadness or joy, he should not overstep his bounds.
Now that His Majesty has passed away, the Crown Prince will soon ascend the throne. Although he was confused and had questions about everything that happened tonight, he couldn't ask, nor did he dare. He had already stumbled into a place he shouldn't have been to, and learned things he shouldn't have known. If he said a few more words, he would plant a thorn in the Crown Prince's heart, and who knows what disasters would arise in the future.
Seeing that Li Xuanhe didn't say anything, the Crown Prince knew what he was thinking and sighed, "Father died suddenly of illness. When the imperial physicians arrived, it was too late to save him. After diagnosis, they said that the long-term use of elixirs, coupled with the two days of fasting, and Father's diet of elixirs, had caused his body to no longer hold out. The day after tomorrow is the Fengshan Ceremony, which should have been Father's big day, but these two days are missing..."
Li Xuanhe didn't know whether to believe it or not. After a moment of silence, he said, "Your Highness, do you want to keep this a secret for the time being?"
The Crown Prince rubbed his forehead. "There are only two days left for the Fengshan Ceremony. If I can't complete it in my father's name, or if it's suddenly canceled, I'm afraid it will cause controversy. I don't know what to do... Do you have any good ideas?"
Li Xuanhe naturally had no good solution, and even if he did, he wouldn't dare to say much. He paused for a moment, then told the Crown Prince about Prince Chen's arrival with his troops. Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince's sorrow completely dissipated, and his face darkened. "How bold of him to have so many private soldiers! This grand Qimen Dunjia formation must have been orchestrated by the Hall of Eternal Life. If the people from the Sitian Pavilion hadn't happened to be there and helped break the formation, what would they have planned? Leading an army in rebellion?!"
This was exactly what Li Xuanhe was worried about. He said, "We don't have enough people right now. Even though Prince Chen has left, if the Imperial Preceptor and Prince Chen's son join forces, working together from within and without, this situation will be difficult to resolve. We must be wary of the Imperial Preceptor and Prince Chen's son's movements."
"Then we must put the matter of the Emperor Father aside for now." The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes, rubbing the white jade ring on his thumb. "Before coming here, I sent a message to the garrison five hundred miles away, mobilizing twenty thousand men to station a hundred miles away. It will take a day to reach here. Now we have the upper hand, all we need is time. We just need to keep the news about the Emperor Father secret from the Imperial Master for a day and wait for the arrival of these twenty thousand men."
The troops were mobilized in advance? The commander of the garrison five hundred miles away is the Crown Prince's uncle, a member of his faction. Is Your Majesty aware of this? Li Xuanhe lowered his eyelashes, his face calm. In a flash, many thoughts flashed through his mind, finally stopping at the astronomical phenomena that Xun Shu had analyzed that night in the osmanthus forest.
Mars is guarding the heart and approaching the prince star.
He gathered his chaotic thoughts and echoed, "Your Highness is prepared for a rainy day, I truly admire you. Taking advantage of this opportunity, perhaps we can eliminate the Hall of Eternal Life and that demonic Taoist together."
The Crown Prince shook his head: "The Hall of Eternal Life has been rooted in Daliang for too long. Even if we kill the Imperial Master, we won't be able to completely eliminate their influence overnight."
"But at least it can keep them in disarray for a while, right? We can also use this time to plan carefully and seize the initiative." Li Xuanhe looked at the Crown Prince across from him. "Your Highness, this is the best opportunity. After the Fengshan Ceremony is over, the news of His Majesty's death will no longer be concealed, and the Imperial Preceptor will undoubtedly take action. Most of the people accompanying him in the Zhai Palace are your Highness's people, so we can still conceal the news and make it easier to take action. However, once we return to the capital, everything will be very different. The Changsheng Palace has many followers, so it may be possible to plan a way out for the Imperial Preceptor. At that time, it will be difficult to take action."
Li Xuanhe spoke sincerely. The prince pondered for a moment, his expression becoming more serious. "Then what do you think I should do?"
-
His Majesty's sudden death was finally suppressed by the Crown Prince.
After nightfall, His Majesty's residence fell silent. Everything appeared unchanged from the previous day, but a closer look revealed that most of the palace attendants had been replaced without notice, and the number of guards had been multiplied several times. Under the pretext of fasting, His Majesty had locked the palace doors, refusing to see outsiders. Only the palace attendants who served him closely were allowed in and out. And surprisingly, the two palace attendants who were allowed to serve him closely had also been replaced.
Some perceptive people noticed that this matter was unusual, but there were more than one or two unusual things happening in the Zhai Palace in the past few days, and it was not surprising to have one more thing added to the list.
Except for the national teacher.
At dawn the next day, the news reached the ears of the Imperial Master. Not long after breakfast, he hurried over with his men. When he arrived outside the palace gate, all his followers were stopped by the imperial guards at the door, and only the Imperial Master was allowed to enter.
The Imperial Master had never been treated so coldly, but with so many people on the other side, he was helpless. He sensed something was amiss in the hall and handed a prepared note to someone nearby, instructing them to pass it on immediately if he didn't leave.
After making all the arrangements, he went in alone.
The hall was filled with the pungent smell of sandalwood. A screen stood before His Majesty's bed, through which a figure could be vaguely seen, leaning against the headboard and coughing.
The Imperial Preceptor was about to approach, but His Majesty said, "Stop, Imperial Preceptor. I've caught a cold, so I'd better not pass my illness on to you."
The Imperial Master frowned, but kept walking. When he reached the screen, he just caught a glimpse of the Emperor's pale face and tightly closed eyes in the darkness of the bed curtains when he was stopped by a palace servant.
"Please step back, Imperial Master."
The face was His Majesty's, the voice was His Majesty's, so this person must be His Majesty without a doubt. But what had happened overnight to make His Majesty's attitude towards him so cold?
His Majesty spoke weakly from behind the screen: "What brings you here, Imperial Master?"
The Imperial Master gathered his thoughts and said, "I was overwhelmed with things yesterday. I forgot to mention something very important, so I came here early today. I hope I won't miss anything."
The Imperial Master paused for a moment, and seeing that His Majesty had no particular reaction, he gritted his teeth and explained the astronomical phenomenon of Mars in the Heart. Finally, he added, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the East Palace has begun to harbor rebellious intentions. I hope Your Majesty will make a decision soon."
There was no sound from the other side of the screen for a long while. Just as the Imperial Preceptor was about to ask further questions, he heard His Majesty's voice from afar: "What do you think I should do?"
The Imperial Preceptor lowered his eyelashes and, through the gauze screen, bowed toward the bed. "I believe that since Your Majesty has the elixir of immortality, you will soon achieve immortality. If so, why is there a need to appoint a crown prince?"
-
Xun Shu listened quietly to Li Xuanhe's account of what had happened over the past twelve hours. Curiously, he asked, "Who is the person speaking to the Imperial Master across the screen?"
"The person on the bed was naturally His Majesty, but the Imperial Preceptor couldn't get close, so he naturally didn't notice the bed had been moved a few inches. The Crown Prince had a palace maid skilled in ventriloquism hidden there, speaking to the Imperial Preceptor in His Majesty's voice. I stood beside him, telling him what to say under the guise of a cough."
"That's actually the case." Xun Shu sighed, "The Crown Prince is no simple matter. I thought he was completely unprepared and would be caught off guard by Prince Chen's incident. I didn't expect him to not only dispatch reinforcements in advance, but also bring with him a palace maid skilled in ventriloquism who can imitate His Majesty's voice at a crucial moment."
Li Xuanhe chuckled: "Where are there simple people in the palace? If they were really simple, they wouldn't have been able to sit firmly on the throne of the Eastern Palace for so many years."
Xun Shu sighed, "Tomorrow is the Fengshan Ceremony. You don't want to carry a corpse to complete the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, do you?"
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