The palace under the night was dark and gloomy.
The palaces and pavilions in the outer court looked like monsters huddled in the darkness, but the Imperial Academy was still brightly lit, as bright as day.
Xu Shizhen knew that his health was deteriorating day by day. After he decided to make King Yong the crown prince, he rushed to the ceremony. It had to be fast and complete. For this purpose, he even transferred people from various ministries. Many people went to the Hanlin Academy.
The appointment of a prince is a national event, and the Hanlin Academy does not dare to neglect it. Even though it is late at night, the Hanlin Academy is still busy in various halls.
In the Common Hall, Wei Chen sat at the table with a solemn expression, holding a pen soaked in thick ink in his hand, but he was still unable to write.
The ink gradually gathered on the tip of the pen under the action of gravity. After an unknown period of time, the ink on the tip of the pen finally dripped down and hit the yellowish paper, and it smudged instantly.
After coming back to his senses, Wei Chen stared blankly at the paper stained by ink, and couldn't help but sigh. Then he put the pen on the inkstone and leaned back on the chair.
Wei Chen looked at the candlelight in the lampshade, frowning, not feeling sleepy at all.
Zhao Zhen has decided to make King Yong the crown prince, and the corresponding procedures and ceremonies are being prepared. A formal crown prince canonization ceremony will be held soon.
Calculating the time, King Yan should take action, but Wei Chen didn't know which day King Yan would choose to take action.
Is it the day after tomorrow or tomorrow?
Or..., just tonight?
Wei Chen was just thinking about something when he suddenly saw his cousin Li Zhong, who was running errands for him, walking in.
Li Zhong walked in a hurry, looking panicked: "Xue..., Master Bachelor, something doesn't seem right outside!"
Wei Chen was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He stood up from his chair and stared at Li Zhong: "What's going on? Tell me in detail!"
Li Zhong looked a little flustered and stuttered: "There should have been a team of guards outside the Hanlin Academy to watch the night, but I just went out for a walk and didn't see anyone. Everything was quiet. Very scary!”
Wei Chen's expression changed immediately when he heard this.
Something happened, something must have happened! Unexpectedly, King Yan and the others would actually start an incident tonight!
Judging from the situation described by Li Zhong, this should be before the incident, Rong Xian was secretly clearing out the disobedient guards in the imperial city and clearing the way for the rebels to enter the imperial city.
In other words, a large number of rebels have not yet entered the imperial city, and of course, it is estimated that they will not be for long.
If he wants to do something, he must hurry up. Otherwise, if he is blocked by the rebels in the Hanlin Academy, it will really make heaven and earth unable to respond.
Wei Chen thought for a moment, then made up his mind, and immediately ordered Li Zhong to inform Liu Tingxi and others of the unusual situation outside.
As for himself, he put on his outer robe, walked out of the Hanlin Academy, and walked quickly towards the emperor's palace in Funing Hall.
Along the way, Wei Chen traveled unimpeded and did not encounter any patrolling guards at all.
It seems that these guards were either transferred away by Rong Xian for reasons, or they were killed.
It wasn't until Wei Chen arrived outside Funing Hall that he was stopped by a group of people from the inner hall holding spears.
The inner palace has always been Zhao Zhen's most trusted personal bodyguard. It is responsible for guarding the emperor's palace. It is the last barrier to protect the emperor. It has always been controlled by Zhao Zhen's most trusted confidant, that is, the old chamberlain who worked in the Imperial City Department.
Although the Inner Palace Commander is also considered a guard, his status among the guards is extremely special. Even Rong Xian, who is the deputy commander of the Palace Front Division, cannot assign him.
However, neither Rong Xian nor King Yan paid much attention to the Inner Dianzhi. Although the Inner Dianzhi were all elites selected from thousands of troops, there were only so many people in total, and it was impossible for everyone to be equal to ten.
As long as thousands of King Yan's troops enter the palace, they can easily solve this last trouble with their absolute superiority in strength.
Of course, at this moment, the inner palace was completely unaware of the danger they were about to face, and was still guarding the Funing Palace as usual, with all their heart and soul.
When Wei Chen appeared outside Funing Palace, several sergeants immediately came forward to question Wei Chen's identity and purpose of coming.
Hearing Wei Chen say that he had something to ask to see the emperor, several sergeants were a little surprised. They heard the seriousness in Wei Chen's tone and did not dare to neglect for a moment. Someone immediately entered the palace to report.
Funing Hall, the emperor's bedroom.
Zhao Zhen did not sleep peacefully at this time, but sat in front of the imperial eucalyptus and read the memorial with his head hanging down.
As Zhao Zhen grows older, it becomes increasingly difficult for him to fall asleep. Even if he falls asleep, he is always awakened.
Tonight, Zhao Zhen was particularly restless. He tossed and turned in bed and couldn't fall asleep, so Zhao Zhen simply put on his clothes and got up to review the memorial.
At this time, an old figure walked quietly outside the palace. It was Zhao An, the old chamberlain who had been with Zhao Zhen for more than thirty years.
Zhao An was in charge of the Imperial City Department, and nearly ten thousand imperial guards in the imperial city were under his command. Even Rongxian was his subordinate, which can be said to be a high and powerful position.
However, Zhao An is several years older than Zhao Zhen. As he grows older, his energy and physical strength are not as good as before. Zhao An basically leaves Rong Xian in charge of the defense of the imperial city, while he only takes care of it. The most important inner hall is straight.
However, just now, Zhao An suddenly discovered that the guards who were supposed to report to him every hour did not come back, and not one of the guards did not come back, but dozens of guards did not come back.
Zhao An again sent someone to call Rong Xian, the deputy commander of the front department, to come over and ask questions. However, no matter how hard he searched, he could not find Rong Xian.
】
Hearing the news, Zhao An's mood suddenly fell into an ice cave. He hesitated outside the palace for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth, plucked up the courage, and walked into the palace.
"Your Majesty, I have something urgent to report."
"What's the matter?"
Zhao Zhen raised his head from the hill-like pile of memorials, his expression was very tired, but his tone of voice was still so calm and unhurried, which made people feel like taking a breath of spring breeze.
Just when Zhao An was about to speak, he suddenly heard a loud bang and a raging fire broke out in the direction of Xuandemen. The flames shot up into the sky, lighting up the night sky and waking up the entire imperial city from their sleep.
Then, a deafening cry of death was heard coming from a distance, and the sound was getting closer and closer to Funing Hall, making both Zhao Zhen and Zhao An tremble with fear.
Thinking of all the strange things in the palace before, Zhao Zhen suddenly realized that the worst guess had finally happened. After today, his good head might not be safe, and he couldn't help but despair.
"Could this movement outside be..., could it be the other way around? Zhao An, Zhao An?" Zhao Zhen raised his eyes and looked at the fire in the distance, and then looked at Zhao An with disbelief.
Zhao An plopped down and knelt down in front of Zhao Zhen, crying bitterly: "Your Majesty, this old slave is old and dim, and was taken advantage of by traitors. Now the palace is not guarded. This is all the fault of the old slave's negligence. The old slave deserves to die. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Zhao Zhen's face changed several times, and he managed to calm down, and asked in a trembling voice: "Do you know who the rebels are, how many guards and thieves there are in the palace, and how far away the rebels are from the palace?"
Facing Zhao Zhen's barrage of questions, Zhao An couldn't answer any of them. He felt more and more ashamed and frightened. He could only kowtow to the ground to apologize, until his head and face were covered with blood.
Zhao Zhen became even more angry when he saw Zhao An's useless look.
By letting him work in the Imperial City Department and be in charge of the imperial palace, he put his life and property in his hands. Now that the rebels have entered Xuandemen, he doesn't know anything about it!
Zhao Zhen pointed at Zhao An, who was kneeling on the ground, and became furious for the first time in his life. He slapped the table and gritted his teeth and said: "Zhao An, Zhao An, you are really old!"
At this moment, there was a sudden rush of footsteps outside the palace, and then someone was heard shouting: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen, the academician of the Hanlin Academy, is outside the palace asking for an audience."
