Qin Ziqi tucked the imperial edict into his clothes and climbed over the wall to leave the Duke of Rongxiang's Mansion.
Right after he left, Lv Yi and Qi Luo returned to the Eastern Palace with the help of the maid.
The Eastern Palace was brightly lit. The crown prince and the crown princess were waiting in the main hall.
The two of them were led in by Xiao Anzi.
Before they could kneel down to pay their respects, the crown princess said, "Maidens Qi Luo and Lv Yi, you had the courage to venture into the tiger's den. You have rendered great service to the Eastern Palace. You are hereby promoted to third - rank female officials. You will be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold, a thousand taels of silver, and eight hundred mu of fertile land. Tomorrow when you get married, you will each receive a hundred sets of dowry. Your descendants will be supported by the royal family."
Qi Luo and Lv Yi exchanged a shocked look.
"Your Highness, the outcome is still uncertain. We dare not accept such rewards!"
Cheng Simian stood up, took one of their hands in each of hers, and personally helped them up, gripping their hands tightly.
"Regardless of the outcome, you two deserve these rewards!"
The crown prince sat upright in the main seat.
Cold and calm, he was like a steady mountain, quietly exuding his dignity.
Tonight was bound to be anything but peaceful.
After midnight, the capital city seemed like a dead city in the desolate cold wind.
Suddenly, the side door of Chunling Courtyard was knocked.
An old woman opened the door, yawning and asking what was going on.
"I am the heir of the Duke of Rongxiang's Mansion. Hurry and report to the Second Prince that I have urgent matters to discuss!"
The old woman had been instructed not to let anyone in. "The Second Prince has given orders not to see any guests tonight. No matter how important the matter is, it has to wait until tomorrow. Your Highness, please go back."
Qin Ziqi said angrily, "The matter I want to discuss is even more important than the sky! If you delay the Second Prince's accession to the throne, how many heads do you have to spare?"
Hearing the word "accession to the throne", the old woman woke up immediately. She stared at him for a long time before staggering off to deliver the message.
The chief eunuch came to receive him personally.
Lu Siming was wide awake.
There were strange movements in the palace. The emperor was probably dying. He had sent wave after wave of people to find out the news, but they had found out nothing.
All he knew was that all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau had gone to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, all the first - rank officials in the court had been summoned, and even the Prince Rui had rushed back from the military camp on the outskirts of the city.
Strangely enough, the queen and the imperial noble consort, who were usually the closest to the emperor, had not been summoned.
Lu Siming couldn't get any information from his mother either.
The only thing that consoled him was that the emperor hadn't summoned the crown prince either.
Just then, Qin Ziqi's words about "accession to the throne" struck a chord in his most sensitive nerve.
As soon as Qin Ziqi entered the room, he held up the imperial edict high and knelt in front of the Second Prince.
"Your Highness, this is the emperor's personal edict. The emperor has passed the throne to you!"
He repeated Qi Luo's words to Lu Siming word for word.
Lu Siming took the edict with trembling hands, held his breath, and opened it.
He checked over and over again to see if the handwriting and the imperial seal were fake.
"Hahaha!" He spread his arms and let out a long howl to the sky, unable to hide the ecstasy on his face. "Father is wise, Father is wise! Lu Sihong, you've lost. I'm going to be the new emperor of the Great Zhou!"
In his mind, he could already picture the court officials kneeling and shouting long live as they supported him onto the dragon throne.
He had to go to the palace with the edict immediately to prevent Lu Sihong from causing trouble and obstructing his smooth accession to the throne.
Qin Ziqi immediately pledged his loyalty. "Your Highness, my father is wavering and cannot be trusted. I am absolutely loyal to you and am willing to follow you to the death!"
Lu Siming was satisfied with his loyalty.
"Don't worry. Your father is your father, and you are you. The situation in the court is so tense. Lu Sihong holds great power, but you stood by my side in this critical moment. Such loyalty can be witnessed by the sun, the moon, the sky, and the earth. When I ascend the throne in the future, I will surely not treat you badly!"
With his guarantee, Qin Ziqi felt much more at ease.
He would be the number - one hero.
The leader of the civil officials in the future!
Suddenly, there were shouts outside the door. The maids and eunuchs panicked and ran in all directions.
"What's going on?"
Qin Ziqi was greatly shocked.
"Humph, it must be Lu Sihong trying to strike first! Don't be afraid. There are troops from the Gao family ambushed in Chunling Courtyard. If he dares to break in, he won't be able to get out alive!"
With the edict in hand, Lu Siming had nothing to fear.
"Give the order. Kill any rebel like Lu Sihong on sight!"
"Your Highness, it's the constables from the Court of Judicial Review. They've rammed open the main gate and said that there are people in the courtyard conspiring to rebel!"
"The Court of Judicial Review wants to get involved too? Is Shi Jinglu trying to show his loyalty to Lu Sihong?"
Lu Siming was quite surprised, but with the protection of the troops, he quickly calmed down. "What's there to be afraid of about the Court of Judicial Review? Kill anyone who dares to arrest me!"
"It's the Golden Feather Guards! The emperor's Golden Feather Guards are here!"
Lu Siming's pupils dilated in shock. "What, the Golden Feather Guards? How could Shi Jinglu possibly command the Golden Feather Guards?"
Not even Lu Sihong could!
The Golden Feather Guards were the emperor's personal royal guards and only obeyed the emperor's orders!
He suddenly realized something was wrong.
"Quick, tell the troops from the Gao family to retreat through the back door. Not a single one can stay. Hurry!"
The chief eunuch scrambled to go and deliver the message.
Qin Ziqi was still completely confused. "Your Highness, why are you panicking? The emperor has sent the Golden Feather Guards to protect you! The emperor is going to protect you so that you can go to the palace to ascend the throne!"
Lu Siming gave him a strange look. His trust from before turned into deep suspicion.
Just as he was about to open the edict and examine it carefully again, Shi Jinglu had already led the constables to surround the main hall.
General Xiao Shenyan, the leader of the Golden Feather Guards, snatched the edict.
"By the emperor's order, the Second Prince Lu Siming, the heir of the Duke of Rongxiang's Mansion Qin Ziqi, and the head of the Secretariat Qin Feng have forged the imperial edict of succession, conspired to rebel, and defied the emperor's will. Their crimes are unforgivable. Arrest them immediately and escort them to the Hall of Mental Cultivation for interrogation!"
Lu Siming's face turned ashen.
He had been set up by Lu Sihong.
He had trusted this stupid Qin Ziqi's words and fallen into Lu Sihong's trap.
There was no imperial edict of succession at all.
Originally, it was just Qin Feng who was seeking his own death, but now he had been implicated too.
Qin Ziqi only felt a thunderous sound in his ears, and the world seemed to be spinning.
How could this happen? Where had it all gone wrong?
The sound of the five - watch drum sounded. The night grew even darker.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, it was as bright as day.
Qin Feng knelt on the ground. Cold sweat had soaked through his official robe, and he felt icy cold all over.
He felt no different from a dead man.
Qin Ziqi stared blankly at the faces around him, his eyes empty and confused.
Just a moment ago, he was going to be the number - one hero in supporting the new emperor. How could he have become a rebel in the blink of an eye?
Lu Siming's face was no better than a dead man's.
He held onto his last bit of pride and refused to lower his head. He stared at the crown prince with venomous eyes, as if he wanted to gouge out the crown prince's flesh with his gaze.
The crown prince stood there with a cold face, his eyes showing no trace of emotion.
The emperor stood up. The crown prince instinctively reached out to support him, but was pushed away.
This emperor who had been on the throne for twenty - two years, though old and showing signs of illness, still exuded a strong sense of oppression when his eyes fell on others.
He was like an old but still fierce tiger. When he bared his claws, he could still make people tremble.
He paced back and forth among the three kneeling men, his expression terrifyingly calm.
Every wrinkle on his face was engraved with deep anger.
No one knew what he was going to say.
Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, there came miserable cries.
"Your Majesty, Ming'er is innocent. He has been framed. He is the most filial. How could he usurp the throne?"
The emperor suddenly laughed softly.
"Filial? If he had come to see me more often and paid more attention to the medicine I took, he would have known that I'm not about to die yet. The moment he got the fake edict, he must have been wishing for my early death, right?"
Lu Siming's legs could no longer support his body. He slumped to the ground.