The lights outside the gate were brightly lit, and the road was full of soldiers with pierced armor, leaving only a very narrow passage. Even the King of the East Sea, who was accustomed to seeing big scenes, was stunned, stopped his steps, and refused to cross the threshold. , grabbed Han Ruzi's arm, and said in a trembling voice, "This is not the guard in the palace."
Han Ruzi was also a little hesitant. When he ascended the throne yesterday, he had seen a large number of ceremonial guards. They were far apart. He only saw countless brightly colored flags, helmets, armor and weapons connected together, like lanterns piled up into mountains. , more than majesty, lack of courage.
The group of soldiers standing outside the door at this moment is different. The armor pieces on their bodies rub against each other, making a very threatening sound. The swords and guns in their hands flash under the light of the lights, and they are clearly more than ten steps away. On the chest, there are more than a hundred people, which is even more hideous than the thousands of ceremonial guards lined up neatly.
"They are here to protect His Majesty." Yang Feng whispered, embracing the emperor out of the gate.
The King of Donghai hurriedly followed. At this time, he didn't want to be alone, but he was still uneasy, and regardless of whether Yang Feng heard or not, he said to Han Ruzi: "They all came from the camp outside the city. Army or Confederate Army—ah, it must be the Confederate Army, and the Queen Mother brought in her brother's army! I'll just say..."
The number of foreign soldiers was more than a hundred. The entire palace seemed to be turned into a military barracks, with soldiers stationed in groups of three or five everywhere.
The King of the East Sea was so frightened that he was almost paralyzed, and he had to be supported by two eunuchs. Han Ruzi was a little scared at first, but quickly regained his composure. No matter what Yang Feng meant by "it's time", he didn't care. Along the way, he Just paying attention to all kinds of eyes, the soldiers are different from the people in the palace, their eyes clearly reveal the thoughts in their hearts, there are doubts and curiosity, but also awe and excitement.
Among this group of soldiers of the Southern Army, there may be loyal ministers like Liu Jie, but there is no chance to show it. With such hope, Han Ruzi's every step was steady, and he refused the help of the eunuch.
The group quickly arrived at Tai'an Palace, where the Queen Mother lived. There were more soldiers gathered here. There were three floors inside and three floors outside.
The courtyard was lined with a phalanx of soldiers. Under the porch at the entrance of the main room, stood a general, wrapped in armor and covered with an embroidered brocade robe. As soon as the emperor appeared, he knelt awkwardly with the help of the guards. , "The minister is late to save the car, and His Majesty Fu Qi forgives his sins."
Han Ruzi knew that it was not his turn to speak, and sure enough, Yang Feng, who was by his side, said loudly: "The general is flat, and the general is in armor, so you can act with military courtesy."
The general thanked him and got up again with the help of the guards.
When Han Ruzi passed by him, he recognized that it was Guan Xu, the elder brother of the Queen Mother and the chief commander of the Southern Army.
There were also many people in the room, but there were no soldiers. On the couch in the center sat the imperial concubine Shangguan, and Han Ruzi was also sent to sit on the couch. There was a small case between the imperial concubine and the imperial concubine. . Zuo Ji led six eunuchs to guard in front of Dongnuan Pavilion, but the queen mother still refused to show up. Jing Yao and more than ten eunuchs in charge were scattered all over the place, and Liu Jie, the chief seal, was also among them, all with solemn expressions.
In addition, there were two eunuchs and two palace maids guarding the corner, which were extremely inconspicuous. Han Ruzi saw them and thought that they were probably the same kind of Meng E. The common feature was that they rarely looked at people. Always staring at a place with nothing, seemingly respectful, but in fact, beware of accidents.
Meng E didn't know where she was.
The East Sea King stood beside the emperor, his face was pale, and he did not dare to say a word.
Yang Feng stood in front of the emperor and didn't speak. In fact, although there were many people in the room, they were unusually quiet. Shangguan Xu outside the door bowed to the emperor anyway, but these people even spared the appearance of politeness, and the emperor quietly He came in, sat down quietly, and no one gave him a second look.
The sky was getting brighter outside the house, the candles in the house were burnt out, and the quiet atmosphere was finally broken.
The imperial concubine said to her brother: "General Shangguan does not need to be too polite."
Shangguan Xu stood still, clasped his fists and said, "The prime minister Yin Wuxian, Taifu Cui Hong, the military commander Han Xing, the right patrol censor Shen Mingzhi and others have been ordered to enter the palace and have arrived."
King Donghai couldn't contain his excitement, so he shouted excitedly, as long as his uncle Cui Hong was there, he was not afraid of anything.
The imperial concubine nodded, Jing Yao walked to the door, and loudly announced that the minister was entering the palace.
Prime Minister Yin Wuxian was the first to come in, staggering and sweating profusely. As soon as he entered the room, he knelt down, kowtowed several times in the direction of the chair and the Dongnuan Pavilion, and said in a trembling voice, "The crime of the minister deserves ten thousand death, and the crime of the minister is worth death. Damn it!"
Several other ministers followed behind, and all knelt down and pleaded guilty.
The imperial concubine changed from her usual gentleness, her expression was stern, and she did not say a word. The eunuchs did not ask the ministers to be flat.
Less than a day later, Shangguan Xu was no longer the upstart who shivered in the face of accidents, but the general who held military power and escorted him to the palace for the first time. By.
Not only these few ministers received the edict to enter the palace. Not long after that, ten more ministers entered the palace, all kneeling behind the prime minister. For various reasons, Feng Ju, Minister of Personnel, was one step behind the other ministers who took care of life, more than fifty. The old man actually burst into tears in public, took off his hat, and asked for a severe punishment.
There were also two ministers who, for some unknown reason, felt that they were guilty, and kowtowed, bleeding from their foreheads.
Han Ruzi looked at this scene in surprise. It was different from the pillars of the imperial court he imagined. Even if the ministers could not be like Liu Jie, they would rather die than give up, and they should maintain at least their dignity. back and sweaty forehead.
The imperial concubine nodded lightly, Jing Yao understood, waved his hands and ordered the eunuchs to support the ministers on the ground, and then said: "My lords, don't rush to plead guilty, the first day your majesty ascended the throne, someone entered the palace to assassinate, and the queen mother was burning with anxiety. , after hearing the news, he immediately summoned the chief Sima of the Southern Army to enter the palace for an overnight search, and three hundred people have been arrested..."
Jing Yao looked at one of the eunuchs in charge, and the eunuch immediately reminded in a low voice, "Three hundred and eighty-four people."
"Well, three hundred and eighty-four people have been arrested. According to what we know so far, the assassination is not accidental. It is necessary to investigate inside the palace, and even more thoroughly outside the palace. We must find out the mastermind behind the scenes. When the daily military is temporarily in use, your Majesty is in danger and the country is in danger, can you, my lords, have a good plan?"
Regardless of whether it was true or false, all the ministers present showed unbelievable surprise. Prime Minister Yin Wuxian took the lead, berating the rebellious assassins one by one according to the size of the official position.
Han Ruzi's shock was real. It was just over three hours after the strange incident happened last night. He didn't even see the shadow of the assassin, but it caused such a big disturbance. Not only did the troops from outside the city quickly enter the palace, but they also arrested him. Nearly four hundred people.
The King of the East Sea said that the Queen Mother had a big plan, but the scope of this plan was beyond Han Ruzi's imagination.
The ministers' denunciation came to an end, and the prime minister Yin Wuxian said the first useful sentence, "Thanks to the blessing of the ancestors of the Great Chu, Your Majesty was in danger. What was the situation at that time, can Your Majesty briefly describe it?"
"I was... zhen..." Han Ruzi was not so afraid that he could not speak, but felt that he should be cautious at this time. The less he said, the better. This was Yang Feng's reminder to him all the time.
The King of the East Sea jumped out next to him, and since seeing his uncle Cui Hong, he became more courageous, "Your Majesty is too frightened, let me tell you. It happened around the second o'clock last night. Your Majesty and I were talking about the imperial family. Princes, all of a sudden, the three candles that illuminated the light were all extinguished at once, the gloomy wind was blowing, and the shadows of people..."
Everyone's eyes were focused on the King of the East Sea, even Han Ruzi was no exception. The King of the East Sea told vividly and vividly. It seemed that there were not only one assassin, but many assassins. The emperor was so frightened that he was overwhelmed. , called the personal guards, and finally drove the assassins back, so shocked that the ministers repeatedly shouted "Long live".
After the King of the East Sea finished speaking, Jing Yao came on stage, without too much exaggeration, and said bluntly: "The Queen Mother made a decisive decision and ordered everyone in the palace to stand by, and they must explain their whereabouts at the time of the incident one by one. There is suspicion, and at the same time, the Southern Army is called to enter the palace to investigate all the guards, and the relevant people are being interrogated at the moment, and a confession will be available soon."
As soon as Jing Yao finished speaking, there was a loud noise outside, Shangguan Xu immediately went out to check, returned soon, and said solemnly, "An accomplice of the assassin has confessed."
"So fast?" Taifu Cui Hong blurted out, and immediately realized that he had made a big mistake, and hurriedly added: "The empress dowager is wise, General Shangguan is quick, the assassin... This one must be caught off guard..."
"Unfortunately, the assassin himself was not captured, only a few accomplices were captured. Two committed suicide on the spot, three were arrested, and one of them had confessed." Shangguan Xu was not surprised.
Cui Hong became more and more frightened, and kept nodding his head.
"Have you figured out the identity of the assassin?" Shangguan Huang Taifei asked.
Shangguan Xu nodded and didn't answer immediately, but said: "The assassin has been hiding in the palace for many years, and has a lot of involvement. Please allow me to do it cheaply to uproot it."
The only expression that Han Ruzi could make was to sigh, and the concubine Shangguan made the decision instead of the queen mother: "General, just let it go."
Shangguan Xu glanced at the dozen or so eunuchs in the room, and all those who were watching were horrified, even the Central Superintendent Jing Yao and the Queen Mother's confidant Zuo Ji were no exception.
Shangguan Xu didn't accuse anyone, he waved his hand, and two heavily armored officers came in, squeezed past the ministers without saying a word, grabbed the arms of Liu Jie, the middle palm, and dragged them out.
"You got it wrong, you got it wrong! I have nothing to do with the assassin, I don't even know who the assassin is!" Liu Jie only reacted when he was dragged to the door and shouted loudly.
Han Ruzi couldn't bear it any longer, stood up and said, "Wait a minute, I have something to say."