The red cloth slid to the ground. The old eunuch surnamed Han was pale as hell at this point. Not to mention his right hand that had just grabbed the cloth, his entire body was shaking slightly.
With a pale face, he looked at Eunuch Li on the side, then looked outside and found that there were guards outside. His legs went weak and he knelt down immediately.
Eunuch Li looked at him and spoke indifferently.
"Eunuch Han, His Majesty is grateful for your years of service and has awarded you a ten-foot-long white silk and a pot of poisoned wine. You can choose whichever you want. As for why you received this reward, you should know it clearly."
"Hmm...Hmm..."
The old eunuch on the ground looked at Eunuch Li, then at the tray held by the young eunuch, his face filled with fear.
"No! No! I want to see His Majesty! I want to see His Majesty! I don't want to die, I don't want to die... Please, Eunuch Li, inform His Majesty, please, Eunuch Li, please consider our years of friendship!"
The old eunuch knelt on the ground in panic, trying to hug Eunuch Li's legs, but was easily dodged by the other party. Seeing his crying and snotting face, he was really afraid that his clothes would be dirty and it would be a disgrace to the emperor.
"Eunuch Han, you must know His Majesty's temper. If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? But it seems that you will not use the white silk yourself. Come, feed Eunuch Han some wine!"
"yes!"
Several guards with high martial arts skills immediately stepped into the room and pinned the old eunuch, who wanted to flee in panic, to the ground like an eagle catching a chick. One guard gently pinched his chin, forcing the old eunuch to open his mouth.
Another guard took the wine jug and without pouring the wine, he simply opened the bottle and poured the wine into the old eunuch's mouth.
"Woo... woo... woo..."
The old eunuch was so excited that he struggled violently with his hands and feet, but his greatest strength was nothing in the hands of the guards. After he drank the poisoned wine, the guards held his mouth directly to prevent him from vomiting.
Gradually, the struggles of the old eunuch's hands and feet began to weaken, and he only twitched after a few breaths, until there was no sound anymore.
Several guards stood up.
"Boom..."
The light from the lightning illuminated the face of the old eunuch on the ground. His mouth was covered with purple foam, his face was blue, and his eyes were bulging and not closed.
The sky has been gloomy these days, but it hasn't rained. Tonight was the first time thunder has been heard in several days.
The sudden thunder and lightning that night woke up many people who couldn't sleep, including the eldest prince and Prince Jin.
. . .
When Eunuch Li returned to the imperial study, the old emperor was lying on the bed, covered with a thin silk quilt, and a palace maid was gently massaging his forehead.
Arriving at the imperial study, the old eunuch subconsciously slowed down his pace and spoke softly only when he was at an appropriate distance.
"Your Majesty, Han Baishan is already on his way."
The old emperor opened his eyes and glanced at the old eunuch, waved his hand, and the palace maid beside him immediately moved away a few steps.
"Well, send someone to deliver the secret order on the table to Qian Junke and Yu Han, and tell them to just do their job well and not worry too much."
The old eunuch looked at the two rolls of yellow silk imperial edicts on the desk in the imperial study and swallowed subconsciously.
"yes!"
Not daring to guess the emperor's thoughts, after prostrating himself, the old eunuch took the imperial edict and left.
In a courtyard room in the largest posthouse in Gyeonggi Prefecture, Yin Zhaoxian and Ji Yuan were already talking about the growth of the second son of the Yin family.
Compared to the unusually intelligent Wei Wuwei's son Wei Yuansheng, the three-year-old second son of the Yin family looked much more normal. He was smart, but not too different from other children of the same age, and he only had a nickname, "Hu'er".
When the thunder sounded, the conversation between Ji Yuan and Yin Zhaoxian also stopped, as if they had just made a bet. Ji Yuan felt something when he heard the thunder, turned his head to look out the window, stretched out his hand and counted with his fingers. He didn't need to be too clear about the details, but he knew that the bet was in his favor.
Yin Zhaoxian frowned as he watched Ji Yuan's actions. A genius like Ji Yuan must have noticed something.
"Why, Mr. Ji, do you feel something is wrong? Is there something wrong with the child's nickname?"
Ji Yuan shook his head.
"No, it has nothing to do with Hu'er. It does have something to do with the bet between you and me. Master Yin will understand."
The next day, there was supposed to be a grand court meeting, but Emperor Yuande was unwell, so it was cancelled.
But at noon, Yang Qing in the Prince of Wu's mansion seemed panic-stricken.
"How could it be, how could it be? How is it possible!"
The King of Wu paced back and forth in the hall, his face covered with fine beads of sweat, and his usual calmness had disappeared.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, don't panic!"
"Yes, Your Highness, we must not mess around!"
The King of Wu looked at the several ministers and aides gathered in the hall and spoke in an angry voice.
"There is news in the palace that Han Baishan fell into a well last night, but I know that he died from poisoned wine. It is obvious that my father knew about my affairs and killed him. How can I not be anxious? With my father's temper..."
The people in the hall were all the King Wu's trusted confidants. At this moment, the King Wu was in a hurry and suddenly turned around to face everyone in the middle of his speech.
"Why don't we just ..."
"No! Your Highness, you can't!"
When the King of Wu was almost halfway through his words, an old minister shouted to stop him. A few people around him also sensed what was going on and tried to persuade him to stop.
"Your Highness, Lord Zhang is right. You must not entertain such thoughts now!"
"Yes, Your Highness, since you believe that the Emperor has noticed it, it will be extremely difficult to succeed if you just think of it now!"
"oops!"
The King of Wu slapped his thigh hard.
"It's extremely difficult to succeed, but at least there's still a glimmer of hope. Father has already begun to eliminate the hidden lines that I have planted. When I am powerless to resist, it will be too late. If I didn't have spies in the palace, I would still be in the dark and would die a confused ghost in the future. Now I still have the strength to fight..."
"Yes, if Your Highness is ready to start a rebellion, we will follow him!" "So will I!"
Several military officials responded by drinking.
"Your Highness! Listen to what I have to say!"
It was the old official from the Ministry of Personnel who suddenly spoke again, causing the hall to temporarily quiet down. The impatient King Wu also suppressed his anger and looked at him, but his expression was not very good.
"Your Highness, Prince Wu, compared to Eunuch Han, are the other spies in your palace more hidden?"
The King of Wu was stunned, frowned and did not answer immediately.
"Your Highness, I dare to say that the murder of Han Baishan might have been deliberately made known to you by Your Majesty. Since Your Majesty has long seen everything that Eunuch Han did, then it is possible that your other spies have also done the same thing!"
The King of Wu shuddered subconsciously, and his expression became even uglier.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. We must not start a rebellion at this moment, otherwise everything will be over. If Your Highness can remain calm, we may still have a chance!"
"What opportunity?" "Please explain yourself clearly!"
A few people who hadn't figured it out couldn't help asking impatiently, while some smart people began to think carefully, and the old minister bowed solemnly to the King of Wu.
"Your Highness, King Wu, we only have one way to go now, and that is to wait quietly. Don't have any more delusions! Please think twice!"
"Your Highness, please think twice!" "Your Highness, please think twice!"
Some people who had figured it out came forward to plead, saying that the King of Wu was not stupid, but as the person involved it was really difficult for him to remain calm. Even though he had figured it out now, it was still difficult to quell the strong uneasiness and uneasiness in his heart, he really felt too insecure.
But even so, it is still possible to force yourself to make the right judgment.
"Okay! I'll wait!"
That afternoon at the Prince of Jin's Mansion, Prince Jin and a few people around him also learned that Han Baishan in the palace had "slipped and fallen into a well" the night before.
However, there was no one on the side of King Jin who could tell the fact that Han Baishan died from poisoned wine.
But having no spies doesn't mean that it's impossible to guess. In fact, both Li Mushu and Prince Jin himself guessed that Han Baishan was definitely killed and it was not an accident.
Especially since there was a spy reporting that the King of Wu hurriedly summoned many of his confidants to the palace. Although they were all traveling in secret, they could not escape some of the hidden lines of the King of Jin.
"From what Lord Li said, it seems that Han Baishan might be the eyes and ears of His Majesty the King of Wu?"
The head of the Chu family said in surprise.
"Your Highness the King of Wu is so bold that he dares to lay hands on the emperor's personal eunuch?"
"My eldest brother is naturally courageous."
Upon hearing this, the King of Jin replied with a slightly stunned look.
A junior councilor in the hall also interrupted.
"If that's the case, then His Royal Highness the King of Wu and his men must be extremely uneasy, right? They must have done something out of the ordinary, but we just found out that His Royal Highness the King of Wu has extended his hand to the Imperial Guard Zhang Jianying and the Southern Army. What should we do if the King of Wu suddenly attacks?"
Li Mushu shook his head and smiled.
"Since Your Majesty has already made a move on Han Baishan, then everything is in Your Majesty's hands. It's possible that he also knows that King Wu has made a move on the imperial guards. I just don't know how hard Your Majesty will hit him with this stick. Will it be enough to knock him down to the clouds, or will it be enough to kill him directly..."
The head of the Chu family looked at Li Mushu and said the same thing.
"If His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu starts a rebellion, the chances of success are slim, but given His Royal Highness's temperament, he may choose to fight to the death, so we have to be on guard!"
Li Mushu looked at him and was about to speak, but suddenly realized that Prince Jin had been absent-minded from the beginning until now.
"Your Highness, isn't this good news? Why is Your Highness so worried?"
Prince Jin smiled at his teacher.
"Of course it's good news..."
But King Jin's smile quickly faded and he continued.
"But I was wondering, if it comes to this, Father still wants to make my eldest brother the crown prince?"
"Ah!?" "This..."
"Is it possible?"
Prince Jin narrowed his eyes and looked outside the hall. Outside was the garden where the auspicious sign fell that winter.
"Haha, I'll take that as the case. But we were in a desperate situation before, but now we have a glimmer of hope..."
King Jin turned around.
"Teacher, I think Big Brother will still choose to start a rebellion. If he can't make a decision, we will help him!"
"Your Highness, you..."
"Teacher, I know what you want to say, but I only see this one chance, the only chance. After all, we are brothers. In terms of courage, I am no worse than you!"