Chapter 95: Havoc in the Imperial Palace part 1
High up in a large tree, Prince Yong realized Li Yilong wasn’t coming anytime soon, so he simply lay back to listen to the “live spring palace” performance happening below.
Beneath the tree, a palace consort let out a delicate, pained cry of protest. “Slow down, what’s the rush? Be careful not to leave a mark.”
“Don’t bite.”
Prince Yong had spent years amidst the wind and moon, but in truth, his heart belonged to only one person. Even though the consort’s moans were as melodious as flowing water, Prince Yong merely picked his ear with an air of indifference.
To think that Li Yilong’s advisor was secretly trysting with a consort?
Truly, one wears out iron shoes searching in vain, only to find the prize without any effort. Originally, Prince Yong had intended to sneak into the front court via the harem to scout the rebel leader’s countermeasures. Who would have thought the very man responsible for those strategies would deliver himself right to his eyes?
Prince Yong’s ears twitched.
Heh. Keep talking.
Fan Zhiai’s laughter was suppressed into a thin line. “He can barely protect himself. He’s so plagued by insomnia that he has fifty stout warriors guarding his bedside every night. The room is filled with nothing but grown men; how could it ever be my turn?”
The consort’s voice was raspy as she responded in confusion. “But didn’t you propose those two clever schemes? Today, when I went to the Mingren Hall to clear my head, I saw it was packed to the rafters, filled with the families of the generals.”
Prince Yong raised an eyebrow slightly.
Fan Zhiai laughed loudly, flipping the consort over to continue. “Every man has a weakness. How is that a ‘clever scheme’? If the soldiers don’t charge and the generals don’t fight, we’ll slaughter them all until not even a dog or chicken remains. It’s nothing more than relying on a black heart and a ruthless hand.”
No wonder I didn’t see any commoners moving about after entering the city.
Every citizen on every street had likely been concentrated in specific areas by district, waiting for the post-war settlement.
Prince Yong clicked his tongue inwardly—interesting. This Fan guy was a master.
The “master” Fan finished quite quickly. By the second round with the consort, he was already about to “surrender his armor.”
Prince Yong was still dwelling on Fan’s other “clever scheme.” For the first time, he didn’t want a man to finish too early. He shouted repeatedly in his heart: What else? What else is there?
Infuriatingly, Fan Zhiai threw his head back and finished.
Fan Zhiai picked up the consort in his arms. Their clothes were scattered all over the courtyard as he hooked the door shut with his toe to head inside.
As they continued their “mandarin duck dream,” Prince Yong’s face was filled with disdain. His phoenix eyes glared fiercely at the door before he leaped down from the tree!
The harem of the new capital was indeed vast in scale.
Before him was a maze of large courtyards within small courtyards. The powers of the various consorts were unbalanced, and Prince Yong nearly lost his way among them.
Thinking of his Imperial Brother’s palace, it was truly quiet and clean. Having spent so little time there, his brother’s figure naturally appeared before his eyes again.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know this mission was dangerous. If even a single thing went wrong, it could cost him his life at any moment.
But when he thought that his death could become a thorn forever embedded in his brother’s heart—making his brother feel a piercing ache every time he thought of him—then dying was nothing unacceptable.
With that thought, Prince Yong’s courage grew by another few degrees.
Before him was the main gate connecting the harem to the front court. Prince Yong’s gaze narrowed.
He took a step to test the waters. Two rows of guards stood outside the gate, their torches casting golden-orange light into the night.
Prince Yong retracted his foot, hiding back into the dense shadows of the harem trees, silently counting the number of guards by the gate.
…He actually counted nearly two hundred.
He had just heard at the Autumn Fragrance Hall that Li Yilong was terrified of death. He didn’t even summon his consorts at night, opting instead to sleep accompanied by fifty blade-wielding thugs.
Now it seemed that not only was his bedchamber full of brutes, but the entire front court—Li Yilong’s daily range of activity—was protected airtight.
Should he go in?
Prince Yong knit his brows, showing a rare expression of dilemma.
He could certainly choose a safer method of investigation, but as the saying goes, wealth and honor are sought amidst danger.
If he could successfully slip into the rebel’s bedchamber and cut off Li Yilong’s head, wouldn’t that be an even more legendary, peerless achievement than that “Vile Dog” skewering Xu Youyi?
At this thought, Prince Yong rubbed his hands in excitement.
Leaving the shadows, he leaped up to grab the top of the wall between the two gates. The two rows of guards were patrolling in a crisscross pattern, turning back once they reached the end of the wall.
Prince Yong thought that if he could slip in right when the squads diverged—entering the blind spot where both sides had their backs to him—the assassination might be possible.
Then let’s do it.
He was just about to take the risk. However, Prince Yong hadn’t considered that before the two rows of guards diverged, one squad was facing directly toward him. Just as his head popped over the wall, he fell right into their line of sight!
“There’s something on the wall! Quick, go look!”
“Halt! Don’t run!”
The guards raised their weapons and rushed toward Prince Yong.
Prince Yong shuddered atop the wall. He hadn’t expected the enemy soldiers to be so sharp; his assassination plan had turned to bubbles before it even started.
Prince Yong jumped down and sprinted along the edge of the wall!
The guards chased after him. These men were clearly elites, and none of them were slow. Prince Yong, still nursing his injuries, could only force himself to speed up until his lungs felt like they were about to explode.
His field of vision gradually opened up.
Between the front court and the harem, he discovered a flat, open space. At the end of the clearing stood a grand and majestic palace hall.
He set his sights on the pillars of that hall; the lacquered columns were as thick as several men combined.
Prince Yong hid behind one of the pillars.
However, the guards who had chased him this far stopped. It was as if they were terrified of being implicated in something. About ten paces away from the hall, they suddenly paced back and forth, craning their necks to look inside.
“Are you all certain you saw an assassin?” one guard asked.
The others hesitated. “It seemed like a flash of light was moving. It was quite fast; we couldn’t see clearly.”
The guard who asked let out a cold sneer. “I suspect your eyes played tricks on you! This gate alone has over a hundred guards. No matter how capable an assassin from Jiangbei is, would they deliberately seek death like a moth to a flame?”
At these words, Prince Yong’s heart sank halfway. His “peerless achievement” was out the window.
The guards who had been trailing him agreed. “Yes, yes, Brother Zhang is right. It was probably a stray cat kept by one of the consorts. They always come out at night; they’re quite a nuisance.”
“Then let’s go.”
As the guards turned away, Prince Yong spat fiercely in the dark. Tonight, he was either being treated like a cat or a thief.
Prince Yong didn’t dare linger.
But why were these rebels so tight-lipped and wary of this palace hall behind him?
Prince Yong’s phoenix eyes glinted as he turned his head back.
At that moment, through the paper-screen windows, he heard the sharp, ear-piercing cry of a young woman:
“General Che is out there killing countless enemies, yet you lot want the Old Madam’s life?!”
Prince Yong had originally intended to leave.
But hearing “General Che,” he thought of that Che Chengren outside the city who was quite good at fighting. His pace slowed, and he pressed his ear against the window lattice.
There wasn’t just one person inside; many people seemed to be confined there. Low sobs were accompanied by a cacophony of whispers. He thought of the Mingren Hall.
The place where the families of the rebel generals were being held.
Prince Yong raised an eyebrow.
The woman’s voice grew harsh. “It’s the middle of summer, and Mingren Hall is hot and cramped. The Old Madam has already fallen ill once. She was barely resuscitated, yet you lock us back in this ghostly place!”
“Headaches, dizziness, and hyperactive liver-yang—none of these can withstand the heat.”
“The thing the Old Madam cares about most is her youngest son. Why won’t you let us see him?”
Before the woman could finish, an elderly woman stopped her. “Ming’er. Stop…”
“Mother!”
“Madam Che! Madam Che!”
The elderly woman collapsed, and the surrounding crowd instantly fell into an uproar.
The eunuchs guarding the Mingren Hall finally panicked. A raspy, duck-like voice hurriedly said, “The front lines are busy with military affairs. We are merely following orders. Once we repel the Jiangbei Emperor, the Lord will surely allow your families to reunite.”
“What are you saying? Quickly, get the Imperial Physician for the Old Madam and move her elsewhere to recuperate.”
Prince Yong’s gaze grew even more playful.
No wonder the guards didn’t dare provoke this place; it turned out to be a hot potato.
The female relatives of these generals were usually pampered and accustomed to honor. Now, they were packed together like dumplings. Any illness, pain, or injury was a massive headache, not to mention their hearts were full of resentment.
Sensing an opportunity to cause chaos, Prince Yong curled his lips maliciously.
As it turned out, the moment the head eunuch ordered Madam Che to be carried out, the noise inside Mingren Hall surged tenfold!
The generals’ families were boiling over:
“Stop! You aren’t going anywhere!”
“Just because Che Chengren is out there killing enemies for the country, his mother gets special treatment?”
“General Xu just sacrificed his life, and his concubine is carrying his posthumous child, yet she’s still locked in this hall!”
“My husband is also a star general personally enfeoffed by the Lord! His kills aren’t any fewer than that fool’s! Why can’t we leave? Is a man who can lead an army inferior to one who only knows how to hack people?”
“You wretched woman! Who are you calling a fool?!”
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