When the Qi General's Mansion was raided today, a servant reported that everyone in the Qi Mansion had been arrested, except for General Qi, who had managed to escape. This made the Tenth Prince, Murong Yunqian, feel a bit uneasy.
General Qi had escaped during the raid? It was also said that his eldest daughter had been abducted on her wedding day a couple of days ago, and her whereabouts were still unknown. Murong Yunqian was somewhat worried that General Qi might contact his old subordinates to put pressure on him. After all, the enthronement ceremony could only be officially held after the 27 - day mourning period. The longer it was delayed, the more disadvantageous it would be for him.
As soon as the Tenth Prince said this, the three officials from the Ministry of Rites became even more panicked. Minister Liu immediately stepped forward and said seriously, "Your Highness the Tenth Prince, it's not that we can't hold the funeral today! I'm just worried that it's already this late. By the time the funeral is over, it will probably be dark..."
The Tenth Prince snorted coldly and didn't comment.
Minister Liu had been an official for many years and knew how to assess the situation. He quickly changed his tune and said, "Your Highness the Tenth Prince is busy with state affairs. I'm just afraid of delaying your rest! If Your Highness doesn't feel tired, our Ministry of Rites will immediately start arranging the funeral and the enthronement in front of the spirit today!"
The Tenth Prince waved his hand and said, "That's good! Go and make the arrangements!"
"Yes!" Minister Liu quickly led the two vice - ministers away in a hurry.
The Empress Dowager watched the Minister of Rites flee in a hurry and couldn't help but angrily say, "Isn't this country going to be yours sooner or later? Why do you have to be so greedy?"
The Tenth Prince looked at the Empress Dowager unhappily, then at the Prince Rui sitting on one side as if it had nothing to do with him, and said coldly with a smile, "Grand Empress Dowager, one must always be on guard against others!"
The Empress Dowager was filled with grief and indignation. She was heart - broken by the Emperor's death and extremely indignant that the situation was already a foregone conclusion. It was only today that she realized that her youngest son, the Prince Rui, who seemed to be indifferent to worldly affairs, had actually been in private contact with many important court officials. Now, those officials were all following the trend and wanted to support the Tenth Prince to ascend the throne.
It was only yesterday that the Empress Dowager discovered that the Tenth Prince, Murong Yunqian, who had only recently been recognized, actually had such deep scheming! Was his filial piety, respect, and kindness after his recovery from madness all an act? Or was it that his madness had actually been cured long ago, and he had just been biding his time, waiting for the right moment to stand up and fight for the throne?
The Empress Dowager was filled with panic. If this was really the case, the Tenth Prince's scheming was truly terrifying! How could she forget that the Tenth Prince's biological mother, the deposed Empress Zhao, was always a person who would stop at nothing for her own self - interest! The son she had raised was indeed just like her!
Early this morning, the Tenth Prince "invited" her over and forced the Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict in the name of the late Emperor during the enthronement in front of the spirit!
The Empress Dowager had witnessed with her own eyes yesterday that the late Emperor had written an edict to pass the throne to the Ninth Prince, Murong Yuchen. How could she be willing to be manipulated by the Tenth Prince?
However, Murong Yunqian was extremely ruthless. He threatened her with the lives of other imperial grandchildren! The young child in Concubine Rong's arms was still so young. The Empress Dowager had already lost her son. How could she bear to watch her grandchildren be killed by him?
Moreover, the Ninth Prince was far away in Hanzhong City at this time. The Prince Rui was also intent on protecting the Tenth Prince. I'm afraid it would be too late for the Ninth Prince to return to the palace immediately.
"What a sin!" Tears welled up in the Empress Dowager's eyes, and she couldn't help but sob softly.
Murong Yunqian ignored the grief - stricken Empress Dowager and waved his hand to order Eunuch Cao to take the Empress Dowager back to groom herself.
Looking at the Empress Dowager's tottering steps as she left, Murong Yunqian felt extremely annoyed.
The Prince Rui looked up at Murong Yunqian and asked, "Are you sure that with that palm of yours, Murong Yuchen has absolutely no chance of survival?"
Murong Yunqian was looking through the secret letter in his hand and replied coldly, "Uncle, nephew is certain that he must be dead! Murong Yuchen is so bold that he actually secretly mobilized troops back to the capital! Does he think that no one knows about this commotion? It's simply ridiculous!"
When Murong Yuchen was feeding the ginseng soup to the Emperor yesterday, Murong Yunqian had clearly seen the admiration in his eyes and instantly guessed his identity. Coupled with the secret letter from the spy a few days ago, there were 80,000 imperial soldiers lurking in the Nanfeng Ridge area. How could it be hidden from his eyes!
The Prince Rui frowned and said, "The Northwest Iron Cavalry once joined forces with those 80,000 soldiers to attack Jiangcheng in Xiliang. If they attack the capital together this time, we can't take it lightly!"
This was exactly what Murong Yunqian was worried about. He turned to ask, "Uncle, do you have any news from the Xiliang Prince?"
The Prince Rui calmly stroked the stubble on his chin and nodded, "He should be almost in the capital by now."
Only then did Murong Yunqian's complexion look a bit better.
A secret agent knocked on the door and came in, quickly handing over a letter. Murong Yunqian opened it and read two lines. He was so shocked that he stood up abruptly, his face dark as he roared, "How could this be! Why did you inform this Highness so late?"
The Prince Rui quickly took the letter and read it. It said that General Qi and his subordinates were on their way back to the capital and were only two hours away from the city. The Prince Rui's heart skipped a beat. The Qi Mansion had only been raided today, and General Qi's subordinates had actually secretly returned to the capital long ago! It seemed that everyone's speculation was correct. This General Qi might have had the intention of rebelling when he was involved with the former son - in - law of the previous dynasty!
But why didn't anyone report the army's return to the capital along the way? Were all those post - station officials blind? And among all those secret agents sent out, not a single one had noticed?
The secret agent kneeling below quickly kowtowed and said fearfully, "Report to Your Highness the Tenth Prince! Report to the Prince! I'm afraid someone has tampered with it. All the secret agents outside the capital have probably been... We haven't received a single message from our comrades!"
Murong Yunqian's complexion changed greatly, and his heart was filled with panic. So General Qi had planned this for a long time and was quite vigilant, dealing with all the secret agents sent to spy on him along the way? A huge army had returned to the capital without alerting anyone?
General Qi was really good at his tricks!
The Prince Rui's complexion was also extremely ugly. General Qi, sitting in his mansion in the capital, actually had such a scheme. He had secretly mobilized his subordinates back to the capital without anyone noticing? Was this General Qi's doing, or was it the adopted son of the Yu family who was devising strategies?
If it was Yu Zixi, the dissolute playboy with a bad reputation, who had done this, then this person's mind was really not simple!
It made sense. If he was really as useless as the rumors said, how could he have the ability to marry into the Qi General's Mansion and easily get such a powerful support!
There were rumors in the folk that he had gotten the daughter of the Qi Mansion pregnant, which forced the Yu and Qi families to hold the wedding. But if that was really all there was to it, and if he had no special abilities, how could General Qi take such a great risk and mobilize his subordinates to pave the way for him?
Murong Yunqian waved his hand to let the secret agent back down and quickly asked the Prince Rui, "Uncle, General Qi's 100,000 troops will only obey his orders. What should we do?"