It was late at night. Eunuch Xia came in on tiptoe and called out "Your Majesty" with courage. When he saw Emperor Yuanfeng looking up, he asked softly, "Your Majesty, it's already three o'clock..."
There is still an early court session in the morning.
Emperor Yuanfeng raised his head. It was clear that only one day had passed and the night was not yet over, but it felt like he had already spent half his life.
He stood up and told Eunuch Xia calmly, "Go to Kunning Palace."
Eunuch Xia's face changed slightly, but he still respectfully went to prepare immediately.
All the furnishings in Kunning Palace remain the same as when Empress Hu was alive, the only difference is that there is now a portrait of Empress Xiaoci hanging in the main hall.
In the portrait, Empress Xiaoci is wearing a queen's dress, looking dignified and poised, and looking very amiable.
Emperor Yuanfeng waved his hand, and Eunuch Xia understood and led the servants to retreat, leaving Emperor Yuanfeng alone in the spacious main hall.
Everything is new, but the old ones will never come back.
As he thought about it, he suddenly felt a little sad. Those people who had accompanied him all the way through the oppression of the deposed emperor and won the supreme throne, either died or scattered, and now he was the only one left.
The moonlight gently spread throughout the hall, not sparing its brilliance. Under the moonlight, Emperor Yuanfeng looked at the portrait of Empress Xiaoci and suddenly took two steps forward and knelt on the cushion in front of him.
Then he reached out to touch the portrait of Empress Xiaoci with regret, and sighed almost inaudibly: "Mingzi, you must be very disappointed in me, right?"
The topic that had been untouchable for these years was opened, and the next words seemed to be not so difficult. There was a little sob in Emperor Yuanfeng's voice: "Mingzi, I am sorry for you. It is obviously because of me that you can no longer have children. When I gave Pei'er to you to raise, I swore to you that Pei'er is your child, and I will treat him as my legitimate son..."
But he didn't do it.
When Queen Hu was alive, the relationship between father and son was very good, but as soon as Queen Hu passed away, he felt that something was not right with the prince.
In addition, the second and third brothers were ambitious at that time and kept scheming, so he was finally completely disappointed with the prince. Especially after the incident in the enclosure, even the Su and He families became suspicious.
But he never expected that the prince would die in Shandong and never come back.
In fact, he regretted it the moment he learned of the prince's death.
But he could still comfort himself by saying that the prince himself was guilty.
But since last year, things started to show that something was amiss with the assassination of the crown prince.
Until now, the evidence was laid out in front of him, and he could no longer lie to himself and Queen Hu.
The prince did not die at the hands of Japanese pirates, but was strangled to death by the second and third princes.
This child, whom he and Queen Hu raised, died before he could even defend himself.
The candle flame burned for a long time, making crackling sounds. Emperor Yuanfeng sat on the cushion for a long time, like a stone statue.
He didn't know how long it had been, but he raised his hand and wiped his eyes. He regained his composure and looked at the portrait of Empress Xiaoci, saying softly, "Fortunately, there is still Ah Heng."
The moon was deep, and the silvery light shone through the gaps between the leaves onto the bamboo chair. Mother Shen quickly walked down the steps and walked under the tree. She covered Su Yao with a thin blanket and called out with some concern, "Girl."
Su Yao was looking at the stars in the sky through the gaps in the leaves. When he heard Mother Shen calling him, he asked softly, "Mom, what time is it?"
Mother Shen was a little worried. After all, Mrs. He had been in the palace for so long, but there was still no news.
But she still tried to answer Su Yao calmly: "It's already three o'clock in the morning, girl, it's late at night and the dew is heavy, go in and sleep..."
Even if there was something, she would leave it to worry about tomorrow. She felt that Su Yao was too tired.
Su Yao smiled and shook his head, then stood up and pulled the thin blanket up: "Wait a little longer."
Everyone regards her as the backbone. Old Madam Su and the Wang family are so worried that they can't sleep at night. She cannot show any weakness at all. At this most critical moment, if she can't bear it and shows any signs, then all her efforts will be wasted.
But she is not really as fearless as she appears to be.
Relying on some information from her previous life, she was barely able to piece together the general thoughts of Emperor Yuanfeng, but if she wanted to guess accurately, she didn't know she had the ability to do so.
Everything has been done as perfectly as possible. She has discussed every detail with Song Heng, Su Rong and Guangping Hou repeatedly, striving to leave no loopholes.
But nothing in this world can be calculated with absolute certainty.
She couldn't guarantee that Emperor Yuanfeng would definitely follow their plan.
I don’t know whether Emperor Yuanfeng can accept the version that Chen Haohui replaced.
This is the key to whether Song Heng’s life experience can be successfully resolved.
Mother Shen couldn't help but sigh, feeling a little sorry for her staying up late for several days in a row, but she also knew that something big was going to happen, so she had to endure it and told Yancao to prepare some stomach-warming porridge: "You have to eat a little bit. How can your stomach stand staying up late in such a cold weather?"
Su Yao agreed, and just in time he heard Yan Cao softly call him "Young Master", so he quickly stood up.
Su Rong had already walked in from outside. When he saw Su Yao and Zhu Yi, what else did he not understand? He couldn't help but frowned slightly: "It's getting cold, why are you still so careless? It's no joke if you get cold."
Although she had been used to it for a long time, every time she saw Su Rong walking, Su Yao would unconsciously feel happy from the bottom of her heart. She followed Su Rong into the main hall, watched people serve tea, and then asked Su Rong: "I heard Xiao Jiu come back during the day and said that you accompanied Madam Wang Wu to the palace. Why did you come back so late?"
Su Rong drank a sip of hot tea and said bluntly: "Mrs. Wang Wu was with Fengfen, but they encountered assassins on the street and almost got into trouble. Those assassins were clearly sent by Prince Zhuang's faction. After Mrs. Wang Wu died, Song Heng became the biggest suspect. How could I not know? I followed him and sent Mrs. Wang Wu to Xihua Gate before stopping. Then I waited outside the palace for a while..."
Su Yao nodded: "What's going on in the palace?"
They had no connections in the palace, nor did they have any channels to get the news. Su Rong guarding outside the palace gate could at least feel more at ease - no matter which side was defeated, there would always be a big commotion.
"Princess Zhuang and Madam Qin were summoned to the palace." Su Rong spoke briefly. Seeing Su Yao's hand pause, he continued, "Not long after, Zheng Tao, the commander of the Jinwu Guard, left the palace and must have gone to Prince Zhuang's mansion."
That is to say, these actions are aimed at Prince Zhuang's Mansion.
If the false accusation by Prince Zhuang's Mansion was successful, these people should have come to the Song family or the Su family.