The day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory for the Fourth Prince was indeed a good one, with a clear sky and not a single cloud in the sky.
Princess Chang'an got up early, took a look at the sky outside, and then turned to look at her husband. She told him calmly, "Ah Sheng's body can't wait any longer. Consecrator Kong said that she had a miscarriage this time, which was very harmful to her body. If she doesn't go to the Qianjinke saint in Jin to treat her, she may not be able to have children in the future. You should pay more attention to it. Because of our past affairs, you don't have to go to the Fourth Prince's affairs this time. This is the grace of the saint."
Yuan Dong responded indifferently.
Seeing that Princess Chang'an's skirt was almost touching the ground and she was about to turn around and leave, he called her softly, "Be careful."
Princess Chang'an was slightly stunned, and then frowned unconsciously. Fortunately, she relaxed immediately, responded faintly, and turned to walk out.
As soon as she left, Yuan Dong calmly instructed his confidant: "Go and watch, wait until the emperor leaves the capital, estimate the time, and then go and pick up the county lady and settle her down."
The confidant agreed, then asked him hesitantly, "I just don't know where to put it?"
It was previously discussed that he would be placed with Shen Chen, but Yuan Dong did not seem satisfied at first and did not mention the matter again in the past few days.
Yuan Dong did not hesitate this time. He closed his eyes expressionlessly and said, "Let's follow what we discussed before and place him in Phoenix Terrace."
The confidant agreed and left.
A few days passed quietly.
There is no difference for ordinary people during these days.
But those noble families found it very unusual - some were the Yulin Guards, who were suddenly dismissed from their posts and forbidden to enter the palace; some had conflicts with the Imperial Guards and the Five Cities Army.
What’s even more terrifying is that the children and grandchildren of noble families who entered the palace to serve because of their favored positions never left the palace again after entering.
The palace gates were closed and no one knew what the situation was like inside.
Everyone whose family members were on duty in the palace was in a panic, but the people sent to get in touch with the connections found nothing. It was said that even the few ministers who stayed in the capital had not left the palace.
This time everyone was really panicked.
However, the palace gates were already closed, and there were royal guards patrolling near the imperial city, who would kill anyone suspiciously wandering in the streets with a single knife.
Although they had experienced the affairs of King Cheng and King Jin before, they had never been so serious. Now that the saint is not in the capital, all the nobles in the capital are in panic.
But there was no way to get any information.
The doors of the commander of the Imperial Guards and the commander of the Five Cities Army were almost broken down. People who wanted to know the news had nowhere to go, so they had to go to these two houses with a large sum of money and full of hope.
Now they are the only ones who can enter and leave the palace freely. For those whose family pillars are in the palace, there is no other way out except this method.
From this, some news was vaguely leaked.
It was said that Empress Fang had previously said that she would take the Fifth Prince in as her lap and raise him as her legitimate son, and it was obvious that she had no intention of leaving any way out for Concubine Peng De. In a rage, Concubine Peng De deeply hated Empress Fang for being so cruel, so she gathered the Yulin Guards and the Jinwu Guards, and took the opportunity when Empress Fang and the imperial carriage left the palace to take the initiative, occupying the palace. She asked the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Grand Secretary Tang, to write a false edict, saying that Emperor Longqing passed the throne to the Fifth Prince.
Starting from the seventh day, a fire suddenly broke out on the west side of the palace.
The fire lasted for a long time, and black smoke billowed over the capital, making it difficult to breathe.
Sometimes the nobles who often entered the palace would look from afar to identify the direction and wonder, "That is... the place where the Lanyue Palace is locked, right?"
The fire burned for three days and three nights.
On the day the fire broke out, the Desheng Gate in the capital, which had been closed for a long time, was also breached. It was the Prince of Zhennan who led the Beijing troops to break in.
The doors and windows of every household on the street were closed, and there was deathly silence.
The wife of the Marquis of Ping'an, who did not have to accompany him to the underground palace due to her old age, frowned slowly at the wife of the Earl of Qinghe who came over and cried non-stop, and asked her, "What did you say just now? I didn't hear it clearly."
The wife of the Earl of Qinghe burst into tears: "The Marquis is the commander of the Jinwu Guards, please ask him for help! My eldest brother has been trapped in the palace for seven or eight days, and there is no news at all..."
The wife of the Marquis of Ping'an had a headache because of her noise. She frowned and rubbed her eyebrows, shaking her head helplessly: "Why are you begging me? Isn't your son a member of the Imperial Guard? My husband and son are now in an uncertain state of life and death..."
The wife of the Earl of Qinghe cried loudly: "No, the city gates were opened early this morning, and the Prince of Zhennan led three battalions to kill into the city. Anyone seen dressed in the uniforms of the Imperial Guards and the Five Cities Army was arrested, and those who resisted were killed on the spot. The entire Zhengyang Street is now stained with blood... I know you have a good relationship with the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion..."
Nowadays, noble families basically stay indoors and don't even let out people who want to shop. Even so, even if people go out to shop, no small vendors in the capital dare to open their doors to do business.
The wife of the Earl of Qinghe was so anxious about her son that she had no other options, so she came to the Marquis of Ping'an's mansion.
The wife of the Marquis of Ping An helped her up, coughed and said, "Now is really not the time to talk about this. To be honest, I am very frightened when you came here today."
The wife of the Earl of Qinghe immediately understood what he meant. The situation in the capital was unclear now, and she didn't know what the final outcome would be. She couldn't help but sob.
Mrs. Ping'an Marquis couldn't care less about her and waved her hand to have the guest sent away.
When the second son, who had gone out to get information, came back and happened to run into the wife of the Marquis of Qinghe, he came over in surprise and asked the wife of the Marquis of Ping'an, "Mother, why is the wife of the Marquis of Qinghe in our house?"
The wife of the Marquis of Ping An briefly explained the reason in a hoarse voice, and finally smiled bitterly and shook her head: "She came for her son, Young Master Lin, but I refused her with an excuse."
The second master of Ping An Marquis's Mansion sneered, "She really thought of this. When her son was free to come and go a few days ago, why didn't she say that there had been no news for more than ten days? She had been arresting people everywhere before, and now that the wind has changed, she wants to ask for help. What is she thinking~!"
"Forget it. It's better to offend a gentleman than a villain. If you don't want to help, then don't help. But you can be more tactful in your words." Lady Ping An sighed and then hurriedly asked, "What's going on outside now?"
Although I had been informed of the plan long ago and knew that the Saint had already made a decision, how could I be sure about such a thing
She was still very worried.
The second master reacted and hurriedly said to the wife of Ping An Hou: "The three camps began to attack Deshengmen at night last night, and under the leadership of the Prince of Zhennan, they finally entered the capital at dawn."