When Xiao Yu came out of the emperor's palace, he felt a little confused.
His brows were furrowed, his steps were heavy, and he looked worried. His thoughts were still reflecting on the conversation with the emperor, especially the expression the emperor looked at him at the end, which seemed murderous.
This time he came in and out, it was like a different life, which made him give up some unrealistic ideas, but also picked up other ideas. How should he go forward?
When he stepped over the high threshold, looked up and looked around, he saw seven or eight more figures in the spacious corridor. They were all distinguished ministers waiting to be summoned.
Huainan King Xiao Wei stood among them, looking handsome and confident, surrounded by everyone like stars over the moon.
Seeing Xiao Yu's dejected look when he came out, a proud smile flashed across Xiao Wei's face, and then he quickly returned to his humble and gentle look.
Eunuch Gao stood in front of the door and sang and called for the King of Huainan to come in and have an audience.
When the two of them missed each other, Xiao Wei asked: "Did you fail?"
"Maybe!" Xiao Yu replied lightly.
"I have already expected this."
Xiao Weiruo whispered as if nothing had happened. He raised his head and nodded warmly in the direction of several important ministers, then strode in.
When these important ministers saw Xiao Yu, they all hurriedly got out of the way, fearing that others would see that they had any dealings with this down-and-out prince.
Xiao Yu didn't know if this was a sign of favor, but he didn't recognize any of the brightly dressed ministers.
When he was worried about where to go after coming out, he happened to see Xiao Yuwan standing alone at the other end of the corridor, her back to everyone, looking at the rain outside the window.
The thunder gradually died down, but the patter of raindrops kept hitting the double eaves and tiles of Jiankang Palace, making a crackling sound.
Xiao Yu thought for a while and walked towards Princess Yongning. This was also a rare opportunity for the two of them to be alone.
Xiao Yu came closer, and Xiao Yuwan just recovered from her previous thoughts. She glanced at Xiao Yu and continued to look at the rain curtain outside the window, letting the wind and rain mess up her delicate hair style.
"It rains heavily here, and it's easy to catch a cold when the wind blows. Please find another place!" Xiao Yu said.
Xiao Yuwan looked straight at the wind and rain with an expressionless face, and said calmly: "So what about this little wind and rain? There may be big wind and rain waiting for us in the future."
"Or will it be a nice day tomorrow? It will be sunny and windy."
Xiao Yuwan smiled lightly, but her expression soon turned gloomy again. She asked, "What did your Majesty tell you?"
"I didn't say anything..."
Xiao Yuwan didn't believe it and glanced up at Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu had no choice but to admit: "His Majesty said that if one day he is really gone, let me take good care of you."
Xiao Yuwan's beautiful face suddenly moved, the corners of her mouth trembled slightly, and tears kept falling down her cheeks.
"Hey, why are you crying? Your Majesty just said that if he is in his prime, he will turn misfortune into good fortune and disaster into good fortune."
Xiao Yu didn't know how to comfort her, he could only say a few auspicious words, and seemed a little clumsy for a while.
He looked around and saw several internal officials on duty looking towards them curiously.
Xiao Yu turned his head back and added: "I agreed."
"What did you promise?" Xiao Yuwan wiped away her tears to look calm.
"Promise to take care of you for His Majesty!" Xiao Yu said
Xiao Yuwan turned her head and looked Xiao Yu up and down.
"I don't need anyone else to take care of me. As long as Your Majesty can live, I would rather give my life in exchange for it!"
Xiao Yu was speechless for a moment. He opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer.
Xiao Yuwan looked at the rain and mist in front of her again, and said quietly: "Besides this palace, has your Majesty never told you anything else?"
Xiao Yu knew what Xiao Yuwan wanted to ask. He had some thoughts, so he didn't say anything just now.
After a long silence, he admitted: "I confessed."
Xiao Yuwan immediately said: "You can't refuse! The edict has been drafted by His Majesty himself, and the emperor's seal has been stamped, but there is only one name missing. You should fight for that name!"
Xiao Yuwan's meaning could not be clearer. If the emperor really died, she would help Xiao Yu ascend the throne.
But seeing Xiao Yu's hesitant eyes, Xiao Yuwan couldn't help but feel a little more worried.
"You declined?" Xiao Yuwan asked.
Xiao Yu was noncommittal: "Not really, I think the emperor will get better."
"Don't worry about it here. Several imperial doctors have shown it to His Majesty, and it won't be until noon tomorrow at the latest." Xiao Yuwan was a little excited, but when she saw people around looking at her, she lowered her voice again, but Unable to hide his anger and disappointment, he said, "Why do you refuse? For the sake of our unity, I think there is no more suitable candidate than you."
"Whether it's a refusal or not, Your Majesty has an idea. Isn't he summoning the King of Huainan now? He is my cousin and His Majesty's, and he is older than us."
"King Huainan?" A look of disdain appeared on Xiao Yuwan's face, "Just him? He is not worthy of coveting the throne. If nothing else, in terms of morality, he is too far behind, let alone other things."
"How bad is he?" Xiao Yu raised his eyes.
"Would Yudi not know?"
Xiao Yu thought of the short period of time he had been in contact with Xiao Wei. His domineering ignorance, greed and cold-bloodedness had been fully demonstrated. He was indeed not suitable to be an emperor, and being a county king could only bring disaster to one side.
"I know..." Xiao Yu's eyes were a little confused, "But Sister Yuwan, this is not a trivial matter. I admit that I had fantasized about getting the throne before, but after meeting His Majesty, I..."
Xiao Yu couldn't tell what he was thinking subconsciously, and he was a little hesitant about it.
"Don't stop, Brother Yu, what are you thinking about?" Xiao Yuwan said angrily, "Are you shrinking? Are you cowardly? Do you think you can't bear the responsibility of the country? You must know that you have the noble blood of Emperor Gao and Emperor Wu. , you should be determined to forge ahead and develop your hegemony, how can you be like you are now?"
Xiao Yu was silent. He had selfish motives, but he was by no means as bad as Xiao Yuwan said.
Xiao Yuwan provoked him so much because she probably hated iron!
Among the currently scattered clan, perhaps Xiao Yuwan is the most worthy of his trust.
But subconsciously, he always felt that something was wrong. Subconsciously, he was aware of it, but he couldn't express it.
He suddenly thought of his father. It would be great if he could see his father at this time. He would definitely give him guidance.
Yes, I want to see my father!
Thinking of this, Xiao Yu finally plucked up the courage: "I...can I see my father? I want to hear what he said."
"Prince Jiangxia..."
Xiao Yuwan pondered for a moment. This was indeed a good idea. Letting Prince Jiangxia convince him more than anything else. Besides, Prince Jiangxia would definitely put state affairs first.
But, what about Prince Jiangxia?
It's unreasonable that all the important ministers are here, but the two most important princes in the capital are missing.
Could it be that the emperor was so confused that he forgot about the two princes when his time was approaching? How could he forget?
When Xiao Yuwan was confused, Xiao Yu asked: "What happened to my father?"
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty is very good. He is always in the side hall of the harem. I even visited him a few days ago." Xiao Yuwan answered a little absent-mindedly.
She looked into Xiao Yu's eyes, and she seemed to see confusion similar to her own in the other person's eyes.
The two have not communicated further.
Suddenly, a "swishing" sound came from the rain and fog.
Xiao Yu's ears were pointed, and he suddenly narrowed his eyes: "What is that sound?"
Xiao Yuwan shook her head, and the two looked out the window together.
It seemed that deep in the rain curtain, there were figures rushing towards each other. They seemed to be groups of soldiers.
"Are those the soldiers you arranged?" Xiao Yu asked.
"No, there are guards guarding the palace. How can foreign troops enter the palace at will, unless..." Xiao Yuwan was shocked, but she didn't dare to think about it.
Xiao Yu squinted and looked outside again. Subconsciously, he hoped that what he saw was an illusion. After all, it was raining heavily outside.
But he still asked smoothly: "I saw the imperial army mobilized tonight, whose order was it?"
"Your Majesty, I was nearby at the time, and General Pei took the order to execute it. The imperial troops were arranged outside Jiankang Palace, at Dongyemen, Xiyemen, Dasimamen, Wanchunmen, Changpingmen, and Datongmen. , Qianqiu Gate, General Pei is in charge of the Da Sima Gate and supervises the imperial guards. They all block the outer perimeter of the palace to prevent the situation from changing and make sure nothing goes wrong."
These are completely consistent with what Xiao Yu saw and heard on the road. Considering the blank eyes of the soldiers on the roadside, they should only know that they have been mobilized, but they have no idea that something is about to happen in the palace.
"I also encountered something when I came here. At...at Chenghua Gate, yes, Chenghua Gate, there were soldiers blocking the palace gate to prevent us from entering. Later, we took a detour to Wanchun Gate."
"The names of the armies in the capital are complicated. What you met should be the Su Wei army who guard the palace. Their duty is to guard the palace gates." Xiao Yuwan frowned, "The order has been given to the Su Wei Zhonglang a long time ago. General, you must be strictly guarded tonight, but ministers summoned by His Majesty are allowed to enter. I have prepared a list of names in the palace and handed them over to the guards. How could they refuse to let you into the palace?"
"Well, Grand Attendant Zhou has been negotiating with them for a long time. If the general hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid we would have been blocked from the palace."
Here, Xiao Yu did not mention the fact that he brought down the palace gatekeeper Liu Xian, but thinking about Liu Xian's reaction at that time, he seemed to understand something.
Perhaps, Su Weijun was not only bribed to prevent him from entering the palace, but there was also a big conspiracy behind it.
That's what King Huainan mentioned to him before. If Xiao Yuheng refused to pass the throne to him, he would kill Jiankang Palace with blood...
He originally thought it was just King Huainan threatening him
Could it be that...he is really ready to do it...
Once the palace ban sees blood, with Xiao Wei's ability, he can't control the situation...
Xiao Yu shook his head, not daring to think further.
He looked up and looked around. Everyone present was immersed in worry about the emperor's condition. No one seemed to realize that the disaster was coming.
Xiao Yuwan saw Xiao Yu's expression was different and asked quickly: "What's wrong?"
"Sister Yuwan, how many people are there in the Su Wei Army and who is their chief officer?"
"There are about 1,200 people in the Suwei Army. There are twelve palace guards, divided into left and right armies, each with one deputy general. They are all under the command of the Suwei Zhonglang General. The current Suwei Zhonglang General is Lu Zixun, who comes from the Lu family of Wu County. .”
"Is the King of Huainan related to the Lu family in Wu County?" Xiao Yu asked.
"King Huainan... If I remember correctly, Princess Huainan is from the Lu family in Wu County."
"King Huainan is going to rebel!" Xiao Yu suddenly shouted.
Everyone present was shocked. After a moment of silence, they all turned their attention to Xiao Yu.
An important minister suddenly stood up, pointed at Xiao Yu and cursed: "Why did Prince Jiangxia say this? Don't disturb people's hearts!"
Two more ministers came out to build momentum for King Huainan and reasoned with Xiao Yu. Several other ministers did not know the reason and stood aside without helping each other, paying attention to the development of the situation.
It seems that the incident has not developed to that stage yet. If it does develop, it will be too late.
Xiao Yu had no time to argue with these ministers, so he turned around and asked Xiao Yuwan: "How many people are there in the palace to resist the rebels?"
"Brother Yu..." Xiao Yuwan had no choice but to think in the worst direction.
He squinted and looked out the window. Under the misty rain, more and more figures were slowly approaching the main hall.
"How many people do we have that we can trust?" Xiao Yu said anxiously.
Xiao Yuwan also became nervous: "There are six hundred internal guards scattered throughout the Forbidden Palace. Excluding those who are not on duty, there are about four hundred tonight, and there are only eighty in this Hanzhang Palace!"
"Eighty... can you withstand the rebels?" Xiao Yu asked.
"Yudi, that rebel is really..."
"When Xiao Wei was taking the medicine, he said that if he didn't get the throne, he would kill Jiankang Palace with blood. I thought he was joking before."
Xiao Yu could only say this. He looked outside the hall and seemed to hear the neighing of horses in addition to the footsteps mixed in the rain.
Xiao Yuwan was stunned. She still couldn't believe that Xiao Wei would have such courage, but what happened was that if she didn't believe it, what could she do?
At this moment, a leader of the imperial guard hurriedly walked over from a distance with a few of his men. He whispered a few words to Xiao Yuwan.
Xiao Yuwan frowned. He raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Yu, then gave a few instructions to the head guard and asked him to go out and make arrangements.
An uneasy atmosphere suddenly spread in the hall.
Xiao Yuwan suddenly found that everyone around her, whether they were noble officials or maids, were looking at her with uneasiness on their faces.
An important minister came forward and asked, "Elder Princess, what happened outside?"
Xiao Yuwan pretended to be calm: "A few thieves took advantage of His Majesty's illness and dared to cause trouble. The internal guards have suppressed them."
But things seemed far from as easy as Xiao Yuwan said. The ministers gathered in small groups and talked in low voices, and some people poked their heads into the emperor's bedroom from time to time.
No matter how calm Xiao Yuwan looked, she felt uncertain and turned to look at Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu frowned. He also looked at the quiet emperor's bedroom and walked up to Xiao Yuwan: "What should I do? His Majesty is summoning King Huainan. Are you going to find him now?"
Xiao Yuwan's chest rose and fell, and she was hesitant in her heart.
"What if Xiao Wei takes the risk and threatens His Majesty?"
A touch of frost flashed across Xiao Yu's calm face.
"If he dares, I will kill him!"
Xiao Yuwan looked at Xiao Yu with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe what came out of Xiao Yu's mouth.
She shook her head, she was hesitating, even if the emperor's end was approaching, as long as the emperor was still alive, she would not risk her brother's life.
At this moment, a howl from King Huainan came from the frightened emperor's bedroom.
Everyone knelt down, except Xiao Yu and Xiao Yuwan who were stunned.
I don't know who shouted: "The emperor is dead!"
Everyone present was crying and wailing incessantly. This kind of sadness extended inside and outside the hall.
After a while, Xiao Yuwan regained some consciousness from the blank mind, and infinite sadness came over her.
"His Majesty……"
Hot tears burst from her eyes, and she rushed to the emperor's bedroom desperately.
Xiao Yu was still sensible, so he followed behind to see what happened.
In front of the door, two tall men dressed as officials suddenly stood in front of Xiao Yu like two mountains, blocking him from outside.
Xiao Yu was shocked; "What are you doing!"
No one answered him, only two cold faces staring at him.
"Princess! Princess!" Xiao Yu shouted loudly.
But Xiao Yuwan was on the verge of collapse, and she couldn't hear Xiao Yu's shouts at all.
Xiao Yu became more and more anxious. He wanted to break through the two imperial officials who were blocking him, but he saw the senior internal official who had been guarding the door flick his fly whisk and walk into the door from behind the two tall internal officials.
"Eunuch Gao!"
The senior eunuch raised his head for a moment, and a sinister smile flashed across the face of the old eunuch who always treated others kindly. He closed the door gently without saying a word.
