Zi'an couldn't risk Lao Qi's life. Even though he was misled this time, there were still many opportunities to kill King Nan Huai.
"Night King, can you give the order to recall the secret guards now?" Zi'an asked.
The Night King calculated the distance and shook his head gently, "I'm afraid it's too late. Old Eight is in Qiao Town tonight and will set off for Sujiang Town early tomorrow morning. They will take action tomorrow night. Even if I send someone out now, it will take a day and a half to get to Qiao Town at full speed. We can barely catch up, but we can't guarantee it, because we are not sure whether the secret guards will take action at night or during the day."
Zi'an also calculated that it took Prince Nan Huai three days to reach Qiao Town after leaving the capital. He walked slowly, so it was reasonable that he took three days. If he did not stop halfway, he could reach the destination in one and a half days by riding at full speed. If he could reach the destination in one and a half days, then even if the secret guards took action tomorrow night, it would be too late.
She was thinking randomly and felt that something was going to happen.
"Are you worrying too much?" The Night King saw her expression changing constantly and thought that she had something on her mind.
Zi'an expressed his suspicions and analyzed them with King Ye and King Liang. After listening to them, the two men's expressions became solemn.
According to Zi'an, things are indeed very strange.
Moreover, if Prince Nan Huai really wanted to kill Concubine Gui, and Concubine Gui fought back, who would be the most likely person to be sacrificed
It must belong to Murong Jie and his wife.
Now the assassin insists that Zi'an is the mastermind behind this, which explains the problem.
"I'd rather let him go than let Brother Seven take risks!" The Night King made the decision and walked out immediately.
As soon as the Night King left, Eunuch Sun arrived, "Princess, Eunuch Bao came to Huiqing Palace to look for you, saying that the Emperor wants to summon you."
Zi'an said, "I understand."
King Liang looked at her and said, "I will accompany you there."
Zi'an shook his head, "No, I'll go by myself. Don't get involved. The emperor is very suspicious. If you speak for me, it will be bad."
Now it's a critical moment to fight for the throne. Although Prince Liang has no intention, the emperor is not sure whether he really has no intention of competing. If he suspects that he is plotting and scheming to win the throne and colluding with the Regent Princess to hire assassins to enter the palace to assassinate, he will be in big trouble.
On the way to Xiwei Palace, Sun Gong admonished Zi'an, "Princess, when the emperor asks you, don't rush to refute or defend yourself. You don't need to say too much. Just say that you didn't do it. The emperor is very suspicious. The more you say, the more mistakes you will make. At most, when you find an opportunity, you can talk about your grievances, but don't say too much about other things. If you have to say something, you must say it when the emperor mentions it. You should say the key points directly. Don't say too much, but be delicate."
Zi'an knew that Eunuch Sun had served the ancestor in the past. He was an old man in the palace. He had watched the emperor grow up, and he was the person who knew the emperor's temperament best.
Therefore, Zi'an kept it in mind and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Sun, for telling me."
Eunuch Sun sighed softly, "It's easy to dodge an open attack, but it's hard to guard against an arrow from the dark. Sometimes, the people we think are the easiest to deal with are actually the most difficult to deal with."
Zi'an felt that what Eunuch Sun said was full of meaning, "Eunuch, if you have something to say, just say it."
Eunuch Sun said softly, "The emperor seems to trust you and the princess, and is even willing to give all power to the prince. This trust is actually a weapon that hinders the prince. The emperor's decision will make it difficult for the prince to move forward. Princess, please think carefully about what I said. This time, you must not let the emperor doubt you. Once he doubts you, it will cause a crisis of trust in the prince. The prince will be away now, and he cannot allow the court and the emperor to have any suspicion of him. That is a matter of life and death."
Zi'an knew how powerful it was, "I know."
Arriving at Xiwei Palace, he looked at the closed vermilion palace door. The two lock rings on the palace door shone coldly under the moon. Zi'an had been in and out of Xiwei Palace many times, but never had he felt as heavy as he did now.
The discovery of the assassin in Ci'an Palace was bound to keep many people awake that night.
After entering the palace, Eunuch Lu led the way. When they arrived at the door of the bedroom, Eunuch Lu said, "Princess, please wait here. Concubine Yi and the Seventh Prince are inside."
Zi'an lowered his head and frowned. The emperor had never seen Concubine Yi before, but this time he summoned her at this critical juncture. Was he pretending to be nice
Besides, wasn't the Seventh Prince at the training ground? Why did he come back? When did he come back
Zi'an felt more and more uneasy. She didn't even know that the Seventh Prince had returned to the palace. It seemed that she was really upset.
Zi'an waited for about an incense stick of time and felt his face numb from the cold wind. Then he saw Concubine Yi coming out leading the Seventh Prince. Concubine Yi looked very well and had light makeup on. Her cloud-like hair was tied into a bun, making her look indescribably charming.
When the Seventh Prince saw Zi'an, he ran towards the palace, shouting in fear as he ran, "Bad guy, you are a bad guy."
Zi'an was shocked to see the vicious smile in Concubine Yi's eyes.
The emperor coughed in the hall, "What's wrong?"
"Father, that evil woman is here. She is the one who kidnapped me." The seventh prince cried, his voice sounding particularly pitiful.
There was a moment of silence in the palace. Imperial Concubine Yi sneered, turned around and went inside, coaxing, "Qi Er, you're wrong. She's not some bad woman. She's your imperial aunt."
Zi'an followed him in and saw the Seventh Prince hiding beside the bed. He grabbed the Emperor's wrists with both hands and tried to hide closer to the Emperor. His eyes were filled with fear. "No, it's her. She said she wanted to peel off my skin and dig out my eyes. It's her. I recognize her."
The emperor raised his head and looked at Zi'an with an extremely cold gaze. Even though Zi'an had gone through many storms, he still felt a trace of fear in his heart.
However, she tried to keep herself steady and her face remained calm.
The emperor said calmly: "My dear concubine, take the prince away."
Concubine Yi responded and called the Seventh Prince over. The Seventh Prince grabbed the Emperor's wrist tightly and refused to let go. Concubine Yi walked over and forcibly dragged him away. The Seventh Prince then hid behind her and kept a distance from Zi'an.
Concubine Yi passed by Zi'an, raised her eyes, sneered, then dragged the Seventh Prince away.
Zi'an stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, how do you feel today?"
She greeted him as usual, as if nothing had happened.
The emperor stared at her and said in a low, dry voice, as if it was squeezed out from his throat, "Not very good."
"Let me take the emperor's pulse first." Zi'an stepped forward, but was stopped by the emperor's hand.
"Wait a minute," the emperor continued to stare at her, "Just now, Eunuch Bao came back to report to me that the assassin has confessed and identified you as the mastermind behind the scenes. I want to hear what you have to say."
Zi'an said calmly, "Your Majesty, I have never done that, and there is no need to do that."
"You and the noble concubine have always had disputes. I heard that you have never paid your respects to the prince since you married into the palace."
Zi'an said, "Yes, this is true. There is some unhappiness between the noble concubine and me. She doesn't want to see me, and I don't want to see her either."
The emperor laughed, "You are very direct, and you don't know how to cover up? After all, she is your mother-in-law."
Zi'an said, "She and I don't get along. This is a well-known fact. There's no point in me trying to hide it. The Emperor must know about it, too."
The emperor nodded and leaned back. "How many times have you met Huang'er before?"
The question was asked casually, but Zian knew that it was definitely not a casual question.
(End of this chapter)