Chapter 1022 Cannot Kill
Speaking of, it was not that Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu had truly had enough of serving the Emperor. After all, she had been a grass widow in the palace for so many years. How could a woman at her age possibly not hope to be more intimate with her husband? But compared to having her son ascend the throne, the Emperor’s life was worth too little. In the end, the Emperor would only be able to provide her with momentary glory; however, once Xuan Tianmo ascended the throne, he would provide her with glory for a lifetime.
But Xuan Tianmo did not believe that the current time was ripe, reminding Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu: “Don’t forget that the tiger tally is still in old ninth’s hands. That is the right to command half of Da Shun’s armies. In addition to that, there’s the one that he had from before. The majority of the country is in his hands. We must not act hastily; otherwise, even if I ascend the throne, it will be unstable.”
With him saying this, there was nothing that Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu could do, “That’s right. The military rights are still in his hands, but I don’t dare bring it up when His Majesty right now. You don’t know this, but when I brought up Winter Moon Palace last time, your Father Emperor immediately began to have a headache. If it was not for me being at his side, I fear… that he would have gotten free.”
“Imperial concubine mother must not rush.” Xuan Tianmo nervously reminded her: “Imperial Concubine Yun and old ninth have been in his heart for so many years, so it won’t be that easy to get rid of them. We need to move slowly.”
“Un.” Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu nodded, “I’ve calculated it. To have him become completely obedient, it will need to be at least half a year.”
The words coming from mother and son caused Feng Yuheng to become a little confused. There was even a sudden feeling that washed over her. Could it be that there was nobody from the South who raised the gu, nor was there any outsider? Instead, it was Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu herself? But it had been so many years. If Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu knew how, why did she wait until now to use it? What had she been doing before?
The eighth prince sat for a while then left, and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu did not do anything else. Instead, she used the time while the Emperor was handling official matters to lie down and get some rest. Feng Yuheng did not linger and hastily left the palace. Her mind was filled with thoughts about what she had just heard in Cun Shan Palace.
When she returned home, Xuan Tianming was preparing to head to the military camp. She urgently told him about what had happened in the palace, and Xuan Tianming told her: “Seventh brother is investigating in the capital, and I have arranged for someone in the palace to keep an eye on Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, but they have not noticed anything to this moment. Right now, aside from waiting, there’s nothing that can be done, unless…” He thought for a bit then said: “We kill Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu! Didn’t Lu Ping say that her face recovered after the person raising the gu was killed? If Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu is the one raising the gu, won’t he recover once she’s dead?”
Feng Yuheng shook her head helplessly, “There are differences between gu. Some gu will disappear when the person that raised them passes away. The victim of the gu will naturally recover in that case. But there is another type where the victim will die along with the person who raised the gu. Based on Father Emperor’s condition, it looks like it’s most likely… a heart gu. Don’t ask me what a heart gu is because I don’t really understand it myself. Either way, we can’t take any risks; otherwise, it will cause harm to Father Emperor.” She sighed and looked at Xuan Tianming, saying: “Go ahead and go to the military camp. Even if there is a day when we can no longer protect the military rights that we have, at the very least, we need to keep popular opinion. After all, that is also a lifeline.”
Xuan Tianming patted her head and comforted her, saying: “Don’t worry. Even if I don’t have the tiger tally, my people will definitely not do anything for old eighth. Moreover, we still have a large number of troops from the north and the south. It’s not an easy thing for old eighth to unify the three regions.”
The Emperor becoming afflicted by a gu seemed to have become an impasse. Feng Yuheng had worked hard for an entire night. After returning home, she immediately went to catch up on sleep. In the Imperial Palace, Head Eunuch Wu Ying, who finally had a chance to return to his room, let out a shrill scream upon seeing the state of his empty room.
All of the palace servants who heard this gathered around. Initially, they did not understand why Wu Ying had let out such a cry; however, they immediately understood after setting foot inside the room. They understood everything but also understood nothing at all. The people looked at this empty room in a daze, and a question mark appeared in their minds.
Wu Ying gnashed his teeth viciously, and the first person that he thought of was Zhang Yuan, thus he loudly asked: “Who was it that sent Zhang Yuan to the department of guilty servants today?”
Two eunuchs immediately stepped forward and said: “It was we servants who took him, but Zhang Yuan had nothing on him when he left? We also took the bundle that he had been carrying around. There were a few shattered silver inside, and it was all… We snatched all of it.” While he said this, he very reluctantly pulled out the bit of money that he had stolen from Zhang Yuan.
With him taking the lead, everyone who had participated in the theft could only begin to follow suit and take out their money. But even after it was all taken out, it only amounted to a few tens of taels. There was too much of a difference between that sum and what was in the room. Thus someone said: “Eunuch Wu, I fear that this matter might be unrelated to Zhang Yuan. He is merely one person, and he is injured. No matter how much he tried to steal, he could not possibly steal it all. Moreover, he can steal silver and banknotes, as those can be hidden, but…” As he said this, he looked all around the room, “All of the items in the room have disappeared. Even if he wanted to steal those, where would he hide them? An entire room was emptied out!”
Indeed, an entire room had been emptied out. Even the large chests containing jewels had disappeared. Wu Ying was so distressed that he nearly passed out. At the same time, he felt that this situation was filled with mystery. Exactly what sort of person could take away so many things? And even do it without anyone noticing?
Wu Ying was dazed. Standing in place, he did not know what to do; however, someone brought up a bold idea, saying: “Could it be… His Majesty? In the past, Zhang Yuan was the one favored by His Majesty. We are all very clear on just how favored he is. This servant always felt that His Majesty suddenly sending Zhang Yuan to the department of guilty servants was a little strange. Eunuch Wu, say, could His Majesty be feeling regret after the fact but cannot neglect Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, thus he helped Zhang Yuan tidy up these things and took them away? His Majesty does have hidden guards at his side, and those hidden guards can do things without us noticing.”
With him saying this, Wu Ying also became startled. It was possible! This analysis was reasonable, but if this really was done by the Emperor… he needed to find a chance to tell Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. The eighth prince would need to act accordingly to protect himself.
Life in the palace was filled with boredom, especially for those in the imperial harem. Aside from visiting Jing Ci Palace every morning to pay respects to the Empress, they had nothing else to do. Now, things were great. There was an additional mission of currying favor with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, but today, Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu slept during the morning. At noon, she was called over by the Emperor. They had no chance to curry favor with her, thus they all went to the imperial garden to admire the wintersweet.
It had to be said that the members of the imperial harem going into the yards was very normal, but it just so happened that the Emperor did not call for Zirui. That child remained on his own in the palace, thus he said to the palace maid taking care of him, Yue Rong: “How about we go out and walk around a bit. Thinking about it, the members of the imperial harem won’t be going out on such a cold day. Let’s go out for a bit. It’s truly too boring inside.”
Yue Rong sighed. In the end, he was still young. Staying in the room the entire time would leave him bored. She nodded but was still a little bit worried, thus she reminded him: “We can go, but we cannot go for too long. At most, we can go for one hour before coming back. Is that alright? If His Majesty sends for you, it would not be good for nobody to be here. Also, this courtyard is filled with eyes keeping watch. As soon as we leave for this walk, word will quickly spread, and it’s possible that it will be used by someone. The people in the palace are all sharp, and we must remain vigilant.”
Zirui nodded, “I know. We’ll go quickly and return quickly. I don’t know how much longer I will be kept in the Imperial Palace, and I need to get some fresh air.”
Yue Rong could not dissuade him, thus she helped him put on a coat then added a cloak. She then greeted the servants outside and told them to immediately send someone to the imperial garden if the Emperor sent for them. Only then did she take Zirui out of the courtyard.
Speaking of, Zirui did not really want to go and play in the imperial garden. That was a place for girls to enjoy. He was a boy. What would he go and look at wintersweet for? He just wanted to leave that courtyard and experience the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace. He wanted to see what sort of changes had occurred since Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu and the eighth prince became favored.
With these sorts of thoughts in mind, he was led to the garden by Yue Rong. Along the way, he carefully observed his surroundings, and he was able to notice that there were many more imperial guards on patrol. Also, the imperial guards were not all wearing the same uniform. There was also a group that had clearly been brought in from somewhere else. They were not people that originally existed in the central region. Most importantly, when the people on patrol saw him, they would all cast investigative glances at him. Although they did not say anything, there was a clear look of rejection.
Zirui was cautious along the way. Even after arriving at the garden, he had no desire to look at the wintersweet. Instead, he looked at the members of the imperial harem that were gathered together and frowned. He quietly said to Yue Rong: “Sister Yue Rong, it seems that I was wrong. There are still people who wish to come out on such a cold day. Since they are here, it would not be good for Zirui to go any further. Let’s go back.”
Yue Rong saw that he was so understanding and felt very comforted, thus she nodded and began to lead Zirui back; however, there was a member of the imperial harem with sharp eyes who saw them, and she let out a very exaggerated scream: “Oh! Who is that? How could a boy appear in the imperial garden?”
This shout caused all of her sisters to become startled, as they all turned their heads in the direction of Zirui. These people were all members of Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu’s faction, and they were all clear on the situation behind Zirui entering the palace. Seeing this young boy, even if they did not usually remember what Zirui looked like, they could guess his identity. Once this identity was recognized, all kinds of wicked ideas began to circulate through the minds of these women. One of them did not even think and rushed to shout in the direction that Zirui was departing in: “Who is that up ahead? Stop!”
Yue Rong felt her head swell. She had been in the palace for too long, and she understood what it meant when a member of the imperial harem used this tone. She could not help but hold Zirui’s hand a little tighter and quietly reminded him: “Young master, you must be careful in handling this. They are all people siding with Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu.”
Zirui nodded and turned around, very politely performing a salute. He then let go of Yue Rong’s hand and stepped forward, stopping three to four paces away from the members of the imperial harem. He then swept his robe and kneeled on the ground before saying: “This lowly citizen, Feng Zirui, greets Your Highnesses. For this disruption, I hope that Your Highnesses will forgive me.”