Chapter 147 The Inside Story of the Palace Coup
From Sheng Yunche, Ye Mingzhu learned the intelligence he had gathered and sorted out the situation from last night.
His Majesty is old and frail, and his health is failing. He should be cultivating his mind and body and taking good care of himself according to the imperial physicians' advice. However, he is the kind of person who cannot let go of women.
He was a womanizer when he was young, and he couldn't change his nature when he got old.
He was almost sixty years old, yet he would still visit his concubines every three days, even taking pride in getting a young concubine pregnant... If it weren't for this, he wouldn't have doted on Consort Shu so much, and the Wang family would have become so arrogant as a result.
Some time ago, the Third Prince presented a beautiful woman named Mei Niang to the Emperor. The Emperor cherished her and summoned her to his bedchamber for several days in a row.
To boost my virility tonight, I'll even take medication.
One or two nights was fine, but after a while, the emperor's health deteriorated rapidly, and he could no longer keep up.
A group of imperial physicians tried their best to find a solution, but they could only keep the emperor on his deathbed.
Upon receiving news that the Emperor's life was hanging by a thread, the Third Prince launched a coup last night, attempting to usurp the throne.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince's faction was prepared.
Sheng Yunche was entrusted with a critical mission. At the very beginning of the Third Prince's operation, he took the Crown Prince's blood-written letter and rode off at breakneck speed to mobilize the garrison soldiers around the capital.
The first garrison he visited happened to be where Xiang Tiancheng was serving as a deputy commander.
With his guarantee and the active cooperation of the deputy commander, five or six thousand soldiers were quickly assembled. With this good start, mobilizing soldiers from the other two garrisons went much more smoothly.
In the battle to quell the rebel army, Xiang Tiancheng displayed great bravery, displaying the strength and courage of a man who could hold off ten thousand.
He would certainly be among those rewarded after the war.
Another outstanding performer was a centurion named Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin is not yet the "general from humble origins" described in the storybook, but after making military achievements, he is probably not far from becoming a general, and his future is limitless.
While Sheng Yunche was mobilizing his troops, Qin Xuefei was secretly operating with several hundred men in Yanjing City.
As early as a month ago, thousands of border troops secretly entered Yanjing City to lie in ambush, and Qin Xuefei was one of them.
On the day the Third Prince usurped the throne, these thousands of brave and skilled border troops descended like heavenly soldiers, resisting a chaotic army several times their size, and successfully met up with the army summoned by Sheng Yunche at Taiping Gate.
Amidst the smoke and fire, Qin Xuefei, mounted on her horse, had a sharp gaze and wielded her long spear with great skill.
In a fleeting moment, her helmet was shot off by the enemy, and her smooth black hair fell loose, inadvertently revealing that she was a woman. She raised her hand and cut off the obstructing hair, then gripped her spear tightly and continued fighting.
After Sheng Yunche gathered his troops and met up with the border army at Taiping Gate, he secretly left again, changed into the flying fish robe of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and entered the palace under the identity of Wei Ji to find the emperor and the crown prince.
In general.
Although the incident happened suddenly, fortunately Sheng Yunche arrived in time with his men and rescued the Crown Prince from the heavily surrounded Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince was able to stop the Third Prince from forcing the Emperor to write the edict of succession, and he captured the Third Prince and quickly brought the situation under control.
The Third Prince had failed to usurp the throne, and on the surface he appeared heartbroken and even begged for mercy from the Crown Prince while weeping bitterly. Yet he dared to suddenly rise up and, in a fit of madness, attempt to assassinate the Emperor.
To protect the emperor, the crown prince shielded him with his own body at a critical moment, but was stabbed and coughed up blood on the spot, his life hanging by a thread.
After listening to Sheng Yunche's concise narration, Ye Mingzhu felt as if she had personally experienced the smoke and fire of last night, and she tightly gripped the handkerchief in her hand.
But the first question she asked was completely unrelated to the Third Prince's usurpation of the throne: "Your Highness, the beauty that the Third Prince gave to the Emperor, could it be Liu Rumei?"
Sheng Yunche looked surprised, then nodded: "I originally wanted to win her over and give you a surprise. How... how did you guess?"
“...Intuition,” Ye Mingzhu said with a complicated expression.
It really was intuition.
Whether it was due to a past life enmity or not, whenever she heard the word "eyebrow," she would think of Liu Rumei.
Furthermore, the involvement of a "familiar" figure, the Third Prince, further fueled suspicion, especially considering the Third Prince's relationship with the Liu family.
Ye Mingzhu then asked, "You rushed back to the manor at this time, is it so that I can save the Crown Prince? By using the Zi Gu?"
Sheng Yunche replied, "Not necessarily."
"Not necessarily?" Ye Mingzhu looked at him in confusion, clearly not expecting his answer.
“Hmm.” Sheng Yunche’s phoenix eyes were deep as he said seriously, “But I did come back to discuss this matter with you.”
“Save the Crown Prince. The news that you possess the Longevity Gu may not be able to be kept secret. Although I can say that the Longevity Gu is mine and that I will protect you, the royal family has many methods and it is very likely that they will find out the truth.”
"The Ye family has been practicing medicine and operating as imperial merchants for many years. Almost no one in Yanjing City knows about the Longevity Gu. I suppose you don't want this information to be exposed?"
“Exposing this secret does indeed carry risks.”
"The more people know, the greater the risk. Even if I trust the Crown Prince's character, I wouldn't dare gamble with your safety."
"But if we don't save the Crown Prince, even if the Third Prince has no chance of ascending the throne, His Majesty is most likely to choose one of the other mediocre princes to be the Crown Prince... This is not a good thing for the country and the people."
"Therefore, I hesitated."
He only had two things on his mind.
First, there's Ye Mingzhu's safety.
Second, the national economy and people's livelihood.
"Save it!" Ye Mingzhu smiled gently. "The Ye family, including myself, has never said that we must keep the secret of the Longevity Gu completely hidden."
"It's just that the Zi Gu loses its effect quickly after being removed from the blood, and even after being made into a Longevity Pill, it only has a three-day effect, so it's not easy to promote. We also have no intention of using it to climb the social ladder or to seek wealth and glory."
"So you see, even though Sheng Huai'an knew about the existence of the Longevity Gu, I didn't rush to silence him."
As soon as Ye Mingzhu finished speaking, a hint of surprise flashed across Sheng Yunche's eyes. His expression was complicated, and he coughed awkwardly, pressing his fist to his lips.
That little trick...
"You..." Ye Mingzhu understood immediately, tilting her head to look into his eyes, "Oh, you were afraid Sheng Huai'an would talk nonsense, so you warned him?"
Sheng Yunche: "Hmm..."
All right.
Ye Mingzhu laughed out loud.
Holding Sheng Yunche's hand, she smiled and said earnestly, "I'll go prepare the longevity pills now. You take the medicine to the palace to save the Crown Prince. I trust your judgment and the Crown Prince's character. The opportunity is right in front of me, and I'm willing to take a gamble to secure a future for the Ye family."
The merit of following the emperor is right in front of us; if we can take it, why not?
If the Ye family can advance further and secure a future for my father and brother, the Ye family's future will be more secure.
Now that the Ye family has become powerful, they no longer need to rely on the Duke of Wei's mansion, which is also her strongest support.
In this world, there are very few things that are entirely beneficial and without any harm; danger and opportunity always coexist.
So-called future wealth and prosperity are like a flower growing on a cliff; if you want to pick it, you have to risk falling off the cliff.
She is not afraid to take risks, provided the benefits are sufficient.
“Okay!” Sheng Yunche replied calmly, looking deeply at her.
Soon, Sheng Yunche left with the Longevity Pill.
He was the pillar of the Duke of Wei's mansion. Seeing that he was safe and sound, and hearing that the situation had been settled, the atmosphere in the Duke of Wei's mansion became much more relaxed, even though he had left again.
Sheng Wan'er breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't shed a tear before, but now her eyes were red, and she patted her chest in lingering fear.
Ye Mingzhu hadn't thought much about it before, but now she understood: "Are you worried about Xiang Tiancheng?"
"...A little." Sheng Wan'er blushed and said shyly, "Sister-in-law, please don't tease me."
Ye Mingzhu couldn't help but laugh: "Why would I make fun of you? I'm worried about your older brother too, aren't I?"
Everyone laughed when she said that.
Princess Ronghua shook her head with a smile.
"Alright, alright, go back to your own courtyards and rest," Princess Ronghua said. "You've all been working hard last night, go back and eat something, get some rest. If anything happens, you'll need to have the energy."
Everyone responded in unison, and Ye Mingzhu bowed and took her leave, returning to Linfeng Hall.
She slept soundly from dawn till dusk.
She was awakened by a kiss when she felt an itch on her face.
Noticing that she had woken up, the person behind her took a deep breath.
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