Chapter 162

Chapter 162

When a voice sounded from within the dragon curtain, the spy planted among the palace attendants realized something was wrong. Impossible. He knew the Emperor's condition perfectly well. The coma over these past days had been genuine, and back then, in those medicines...

Prince Yongjia abruptly retreated several steps. Forced into open rebellion?!

"I have a divine physician well-versed in poisons at my side. The moment you sent that poisoned medicine into Qianqing Palace, you were already exposed." Ying Fusheng said softly.

The palace attendant spy, who had remained calm until now, felt his gaze waver. Just as he tried to struggle, a Brocade Guard pressed his blade down on him.

Ying Fusheng drew his blade and turned, glancing at the startled Prince Yongjia.

Qianqing Palace had many attendants. When Eunuch Rong fell under suspicion, those around him were even more likely culprits—and the poisons from the former dynasty were nearly impossible to guard against. So when Chu Taiyi returned to the palace, what Chen Xuqiu had given him was also sent to the Emperor. The seemingly ordinary incense in this hall would turn black at the base the moment it touched anything tainted with poison.

Over the years, the Secret Faction behind the scenes had tried every trick in the book to assassinate Ying Fusheng, and Chen Xuqiu had long since prepared countermeasures. The reason Ying Fusheng acted so boldly and recklessly at court was precisely to lure those hiding in the shadows out into the open. The Northern Territory was now in peril, a perfect opportunity laid out before the Secret Faction, and the powerful nobles at court were eager to protect themselves. From the moment the military supplies incident happened, Ying Fusheng knew exactly what the mastermind was plotting.

The Emperor was a mountain weighing down on their heads—but if anything happened to him, a golden opportunity would present itself before them.

Whoever made a move would find the Eastern Palace's eyes on them.

Prince Yongjia retreated several steps until the "Imperial Guards" around him closed ranks.

The sound of blades being drawn finally jolted him back to his senses.

He turned to look behind him—the "Imperial Guards" were still there. He was certain the heavy troops of the capital had been transferred away. That was a chess piece he had buried deep in the Ministry of War years ago; even Hu Buyu and Shen Changcun hadn't noticed anything off about him. The troop deployment was perfectly reasonable—there was no way they could have stopped it beforehand.

"Forcing me into rebellion?" Prince Yongjia sneered. "Within the palace right now—"

Before he could finish, screams broke out from outside the hall. At some point, a group of Imperial Guards hidden in the palace had surrounded Qianqing Palace. The sound of clashing blades outside was unmistakable. Prince Yongjia spun around to see the Imperial Guard Commander already leading the Imperial Guards into Qianqing Palace, taking up positions in front of the dragon curtain.

Old General Lu strode in with his troops and saluted in front of the curtain: "Your Majesty, this old minister has come late to your rescue. You must have been alarmed."

Prince Yongjia saw Old General Lu and felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He'd heard the Lu family had escorted the military provisions to the Northern Territory—when had Old General Lu shown up here?

Old General Lu reported: "Traitors disguised as bandits were found on the capital's outskirts, trying to pin down the capital's Imperial Guards. They've all been subdued, awaiting Your Majesty's judgment."

With that one simple statement, Prince Yongjia's heart sank to the depths.

For this coup, he'd deployed every private soldier he'd raised over the years, and he'd also diverted over ten thousand of the Emperor's elite troops. He knew the capital's garrison inside and out—how many soldiers, how their defenses were arranged—he'd mapped it all out long before launching the coup. And now, Old General Lu could walk into the palace unscathed, which could only mean one thing: the Emperor had long been wary of him and had hidden troops in the capital under Old General Lu's command.

These troops had been waiting for him the whole time.

His soldiers had seemingly marched into the palace, but in truth, they'd all walked into a trap set by both the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

After hearing Old General Chen's report, the figure behind the dragon curtain shifted slightly, as if gazing at Prince Yongjia. "Over a decade of foolishness, now used by the Secret Faction while thinking yourself clever. I've kept you alive far too long."

"Take him away," he said to Old General Lu.

Against overwhelming force, Prince Yongjia's fake Imperial Guards—marked from the moment they entered the palace—had already been wiped out along the way. The hundred or so men outside the hall had also been subdued by the Lu family army, leaving only the dozen or so inside, who were no match at all. Before they could resist, the long-lurking Brocade Guards moved as one and took down this group of "Imperial Guards" completely.

As Prince Yongjia was led away, he shot Ying Fusheng a vicious glare.

Beside him, the spy's face had gradually gone pale. If the Emperor was unharmed, and all of this was the Crown Prince's scheme within a scheme, then the master's plan...

Ying Fusheng watched everything calmly, his eyes dark and unreadable. "Keep this one alive."

The spy had lost all composure, especially when he caught the Crown Prince's gaze—a panic of being completely seen through welled up inside him.

The Brocade Guards cleaned up quickly. This coup, long anticipated, had all been part of the royal father and son's calculations in this hall. As the surroundings quieted, Eunuch Rong, still shaken, hurriedly knelt down to pledge his loyalty to the Emperor.

The Emperor was already tired and waved him off.

Eunuch Rong had served him for many years; the Emperor knew his background.

Ying Fusheng quietly waited for the Brocade Guards to finish, and had Ye Xuanqi, who'd been hiding in the shadows, follow along to provide support at any moment.

When he'd returned to the capital, the Emperor had given Ying Fusheng the evidence of corruption accumulated by the powerful nobles over the years, including Prince Yongjia. He'd been able to cause trouble behind the Yun family for years. Had it not been for the court's deep malaise upon returning from campaign, and then the matter of the Secret Faction—everything requiring gradual progress—the Emperor's blade would have long since reached the Yun family and Prince Yongjia.

These nobles had deep roots. Dealing with them through evidence alone was too slow and prone to letting fish slip through the net.

And most importantly, Prince Yongjia had raised private soldiers. If those soldiers weren't eliminated in one stroke, the threat to the capital's safety would be far too great.

Given the current situation—the Northern Barbarians already pressing against Dayuan's borders—if one wanted to thoroughly excise the internal rot of Dayuan and bring down all these corrupt noble clans, there was only one fastest method: force them into rebellion.

Once they rebelled, it was the crime of treason.

The privileges promised by the late Emperor were worthless in the face of treason. This was the chance to strip the capital's nobles clean.

If Prince Yongjia had kept his composure, Ying Fusheng's swift and decisive actions could have quickly stabilized the court, keeping a tight grip on these nobles until the Northern Territory conflict was resolved, then dealing with them. But the Secret Faction wouldn't give up this opportunity. As long as the capital fell into chaos, everyone hiding in the gutters seeking profit would make their move.

Ying Fusheng was waiting for these people to make a move.

Forcing Prince Yongjia into rebellion was only the first step.

"Over the years of embezzling stone materials, he's also got military provisions in his hands."

Noticing the Emperor's gaze, Ying Fusheng reminded him: "Your son has already sent men to track them down. These provisions will exactly meet the Northern Territory's urgent need."

When the hall fell completely silent, the dragon curtain was pulled open. The Emperor sat in his robes, looking at Ying Fusheng. The blade he'd thrown moments ago had aggravated his old wounds, but the ferocity of that throw still showed the might he'd once displayed on the battlefield.

The Emperor's declaration of illness this time wasn't merely a scheme—his body truly could no longer sustain continuous strain.

Prince of Pingnan's mention of trouble in the palace and poison wounds was because he knew of the recurring poison injuries the Emperor had suffered during his campaigns, and he wanted to warn Ying Fusheng that the Secret Faction might exploit this weakness.

Chen Xuqiu had investigated—the poison used by the spy could set off the Emperor's old wounds all at once.

Had their wicked scheme succeeded, to outsiders it would appear that the Emperor's old wounds had simply relapsed... a scene identical to the past life.

But the circumstances were different this time. The Emperor had become aware of the Secret Faction's existence and guarded against them.

This time, it was caused by years of overexertion, not poison.

"Your son has already summoned the imperial physicians," Ying Fusheng said, seeing this. "Chen Xuqiu is skilled in toxicology. With him and Chu Taiyi attending to your injuries, there's sure to be improvement."

The Emperor made no comment. He knew his own physical condition well.

The young man before him had fully grown into his build. His steady handling of affairs in the Southern Territory, his decisiveness in rooting out the capital's malignancies—all of it told the Emperor that this child had gradually matured, his mind now deep and inscrutable. In the days the Emperor had stepped back, the Court and Country had seemed turbulent on the surface, but in truth every department operated in order, the reins of government were stable.

The blade he'd passed on had reached this child's hands safely—and he wasn't even twenty yet.

Seeing the young man's composed demeanor, the Emperor asked, "What of the others?"

"Prince Yongjia was used by the Secret Faction. The Secret Faction will leave contingencies in the capital. Only if the capital falls into chaos will the Qi family be caught off guard and expose their weakness." Ying Fusheng, seen through by the Emperor, showed no change in expression. He said—

"Outside the palace walls, everything's been arranged."

...

The sudden crisis within the palace sent shockwaves through the civil and military officials outside. The palace gates were tightly sealed, turning it into a lone fortress. The officials, roused from sleep, only heard news of the Secret Faction launching a coup but couldn't learn what was happening inside. All that was left was the sound of heavy troops passing through the streets.

The old foxes knew something had happened in the palace.

The Ministry of War and Works grew anxious. Hu Buyu and Shen Changcun seemed to be probing for news about the Eastern Palace. Minister of Works Liu Yunshi hurried to the Court of Judicial Review... All these odd signs were caught by eyes watching the palace closely.

"Something's happening at the Ministry of Rites. Several flustered palace attendants came out, headed by Eunuch Rong, the Emperor's trusted eunuch." At the tavern, a spy came back with word, saying Eunuch Rong had gone to the Ministry of Rites, and some officials there had begun to move.

Hearing this, Concubine Xian raised her eyes. If Prince Yongjia's coup succeeded, he'd need an imperial decree to rule as regent without the court officials impeaching him. Eunuch Rong was a man the Emperor trusted through and through, so it made perfect sense for him to carry word to the Ministry of Rites. Prince Yongjia was having the Ministry of Rites draft an "imperial edict."

She furrowed her brow a little. "No movement from the Eastern Palace?"

She knew exactly how clever and cunning Ying Fusheng was; she doubted he was without a card up his sleeve.

But when she saw the Rites officials actually leave with Eunuch Rong, the tension in her brow eased a little. Whether or not Prince Yongjia's plan worked, tonight she had to use his rebellion as a pretext to throw the capital into chaos.

She gave a small wave, and the spy beside her slipped off to spread the word.

Throwing the palace into chaos was simple—just get word of Prince Yongjia's revolt to the military officials' homes, let the civil officials know something was wrong at the Eastern Palace, and since the Lu family was still in the capital, as long as the military officials rushed to defend the Emperor, Prince Yongjia's scheme to quietly take the regency would be dead in the water.

But barely had the message gone out when the spy came rushing back, his face ashen. "Madam, our agents outside the capital have gone quiet."

The instant those words left his mouth, Concubine Xian's face shifted, and the death warriors beside her quickly closed in to shield her.

"Go, now!" Concubine Xian said without hesitation.

But before she could even reach the tavern's exit, the place was already surrounded. She peered down from the window—the man left behind to send word was already dead.

They'd been blown, completely.

The shadow guards surrounding the tavern belonged to no one they knew. They'd slipped past Prince Yongjia's posts and their own without a sound, lying in wait near the tavern. When the shadow guards outside made their move, Concubine Xian had slipped into the capital quietly, bringing only a handful of death warriors. In no time, everyone around her was dead, their bodies turning the ground into a slick of blood.

Concubine Xian blew her secret whistle, but the call went unanswered.

Only then did her composure crack. Every hidden agent she'd planted across the capital had gone silent at that very moment.

Dozens surrounded the tavern. Her death warriors were all dead, and no backup was coming.

Just then, a carriage drew to a slow halt outside the tavern.

From inside the carriage, the curtain lifted, carrying with it a whiff of sandalwood.

Empress Xu lifted the curtain, stepped out before the tavern, and took in Concubine Xian, pinned down by the shadow guards. From the moment Concubine Xian set foot in the capital, a carrier pigeon from afar had been reporting her every move. The agent she'd buried deep inside the Secret Faction had already fed her Concubine Xian's every location.

When the Crown Prince cracked down hard on the powerful clans, the Censorate and the Xiao family had already set their sights on the Secret Faction. From the moment she arrived in the capital, everyone she'd so much as spoken to had been mapped out in full.

They'd planned to use Prince Yongjia to throw the capital into chaos, never realizing they'd been the prey all along.

Concubine Xian's pupils shrank when she saw Empress Xu. "It's you."

"When you left the palace back then, did you really think the agents you left behind wouldn't be found out?" Empress Xu spoke softly, yet her gaze at Concubine Xian was pure ice. "You planted spies in the Xu family—did you ever think I'd planted someone right beside you too?"

Concubine Xian seemed to realize who. She opened her mouth to speak, but Empress Xu grabbed her chin, and her words died into a choked whimper. Empress Xu didn't let go. This woman, and the Secret Faction behind her, were beyond forgiveness.

These people had turned half her life into a twisted joke. The hatred between them couldn't be settled with one life. What she wanted was the Secret Faction utterly destroyed, hacked to pieces. This woman could die a thousand deaths and it still wouldn't be enough.

Empress Xu's voice stayed soft, even as her fingers slowly tightened. "A leftover of the former dynasty's royal line, conspiring with a side branch, scheming in Dayuan for years."

Concubine Xian's eyes gleamed with venom.

Empress Xu held her face in a vise grip, forcing her to look out. Out in the streets, the Court of Judicial Review's men were racing to the homes of the great clans. Hu Buyu and Liu Yunshi weren't moving because something had gone wrong at the Eastern Palace—they were acting on the Eastern Palace's orders.

From the moment Prince Yongjia raised his banner, the Xiao family's eyes weren't just on the Secret Faction. Every court official loyal to the Eastern Palace was watching the nobles tied to Prince Yongjia. Pushing him into open revolt was just the first step—tearing the whole web out by the roots. Whether they were the dynasty's rotting parasites or the former dynasty's remnants eyeing their prey—tonight, they were all caught in the net.

Concubine Xian's eyes went wide.

"There's nowhere left for you to run."

A dripping sound broke the night's stillness.

Through the capital's streets, the Eastern Palace's guards prowled, and the Court of Judicial Review raided noble estates in the dead of night.

At some point, rain began to fall, washing the blood from the ground and drumming softly on the capital's streets. The Xiao family's shadow guards slipped into the tavern, swept through it completely, then filed out one by one to report to Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan watched with cold detachment as the Xiao family worked the scene with drilled precision. Those still alive were all taken into custody. Hidden agents still in the tavern tried to slip away, but from elsewhere in the streets came the sound of blades slicing through flesh.

The Xiao family was clean and ruthless—no chance for suicide—and brought every member of the Secret Faction to heel.

Some of these people were bound for the imperial prison, others for trial at the Censorate. The matter wasn't over yet.

As for the rest—when dawn came tomorrow, everything would be settled.

"Should we report this to the Crown Prince?" A subordinate hurried up to ask.

Xiao Yan gazed into the distance. Empress Xu stood in the rain as the Eighth Prince, emerging from the Ministry of Rites, hurried over with an umbrella to shield her from the growing downpour.

"No need," he said quietly.

His Highness already knows all of this.

It's just that fate has a cruel sense of humor.

Xiao Yan turned his gaze to the palace city. "Let's hope this rain is a blessing for Dayuan."