The prince has made up his mind, but he has to carefully consider when and how to act.
The North Gate Guards were firmly in the hands of the emperor's trusted eunuchs. Of the two guards, the Huben Guards were originally under the command of Duke Wu'an. Since Duke Wu'an was executed, the Huben Guards could no longer be used by him, leaving only the Yingyang Guards. The leader of the Yingyang Guards was Wu Liangdi's elder brother. The Wu family and the Eastern Palace would rise and fall together, and as long as the position of empress was promised, the Wu family could not refuse.
However, the Qianniu Guards and Yulin Guards are responsible for ensuring the safety of the palace. If the emperor were in Penglai Palace, they would have no chance of accomplishing anything.
The prince and his staff discussed the matter over and over again, and concluded that there was only one opportunity in the near future—the Lantern Festival.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Taichang Temple have already issued the rules for the Lantern Festival. In addition to the lantern wheel, a mountain of ten thousand lanterns will be erected in front of Chengtian Gate this year, and a colorful pavilion will be built with brocade. The emperor will enjoy himself with the people, personally go up to the pavilion to watch singing and dancing, and acrobatics, and light lanterns on the pavilion to pray for blessings.
Although the lantern tower was guarded by imperial guards and Jinwu guards, there were so many people at the lantern festival that it would be easy to take advantage of the chaos if someone made a big noise.
Moreover, during the Lantern Festival, the capital city strengthened its defenses, and troops were drawn from the Twelve Guards, so that more Yingyang Guards could be mobilized into the city.
He had been the crown prince for many years. Once the emperor died, he captured Huan Xuan and Xiao Ling in one fell swoop. No one could stand in his way.
The general plan has been decided, and the remaining details need to be carefully considered.
The crown prince Meng Cheng said: "Almost all the assassins we have raised for several years were killed in Mount Li. There are not many people we can use this time. We must kill them in one blow."
After a pause, he glanced at everyone and said, "If you make the same mistake again as last time, everyone here will be buried with you."
Meng Cheng was startled, and fell to his knees with a plop, bowing his head and saying, "I obey your command."
…
On the second day after the plum blossom viewing banquet, Sui Sui suddenly had an impulse and took the female guard to stroll around the market. While strolling, they came to the famous Chang's cosmetics shop.
When the inn owner heard that the governor of the three towns of Heshuo was coming, he went downstairs personally to greet them and brought the two distinguished guests to the private room on the second floor.
The light in the secret room was dim, Sui Sui and Tian Yuerong sat on the same couch, the inn owner sat opposite them, attentively pouring tea for them. With three people sitting in the small room, it seemed a little crowded.
After not seeing him for a few years, the shop owner's face seemed to have grown bigger.
Tian Yuerong was surprised: "Old Chang, you have made a lot of money in the past two years, right? You are getting richer and richer."
The shop owner laughed and said, "Mrs. Tian is making fun of me again."
Sui Sui took a sip of tea and asked: "Has there been any unusual movements from the Crown Prince recently?"
The innkeeper said, "Reporting to the general, I have asked people to keep an eye on him. Since the general came to the capital, the prince has kept his troops on hold and has not made any moves yet."
Sui Sui nodded: "I think he will be unable to hold back soon. If he is determined to do it, he will choose the Lantern Festival. Please keep a close eye on him."
The innkeeper was confused and asked, "How did the general know that the prince would rebel? What rumors did he get?"
Sui Sui smiled and said, "I am not as well-informed as you. The Crown Princess must have recognized me in the palace yesterday, so the Crown Prince must have confirmed my identity."
She paused and said, "I deliberately left some clues during the autumn hunt. He should know now that I have evidence of his assassination of the King of Qi during the autumn hunt. He is afraid that I will reveal this matter before leaving Beijing. Who knows, he might take any action."
The shop owner frowned and said, "He wants to harm the general. I understand that, but why did the general suspect that he would kill the king?"
Sui Sui smiled and said, "Because there is only one person in the world who can depose and kill the prince. As long as this person is not dead, he will be in constant fear all day long."
She went on to explain: "If they just hired someone to assassinate me, let's not talk about whether it would succeed or not. Even if I died, there's no guarantee that the emperor wouldn't push him out to stabilize the situation in Hebei. When the counterfeiting case of Duke Wu'an happened, he was implicated in it. He has already lost the emperor's favor. If the emperor hadn't been afraid of his third son who held a large number of troops, and if he hadn't been concerned about his first wife's feelings, he might have deposed him as the crown prince."
The shop owner nodded thoughtfully.
Sui Sui continued, "During the Lantern Festival, the emperor will leave the palace to enjoy the lanterns and have fun with the people. How can we miss such a good opportunity? I guess he wants to kill two birds with one stone. He wants to take advantage of my presence in the capital to attack the emperor and then put the blame on me. Then he can get rid of me and Huan Xuan, his biggest confidant, and then he can rest easy."
Tian Yuerong said: "If this is true, the prince is too bold."
Sui Sui curled his lips and said, "People get bolder and bolder. They succeeded the first time, and were not held accountable the second time even though they failed. So they thought they could do it again the third time."
The shop owner nodded repeatedly: "General, what you said is absolutely right."
Sui Sui smiled and said, "These are just my guesses. Maybe he is smarter than I thought and knows that it is better to be still than to move."
Tian Yuerong asked, "What should we do if he does not take any action?"
Sui Sui said: "This will take a lot of effort."
Putting aside whether the assassination of the crown prince would succeed, it was impossible for her to disregard the lives of the three hundred Jingwei and the entire Heshuo just to avenge Huan Ye.
Only the emperor can depose or kill the crown prince, but forcing the emperor to depose the crown prince is not an easy task. The emperor is arbitrary and does not want to be coerced by others, especially by vassal generals.
The witness must deliver the gift, but how to deliver it and who delivers it requires some skills.
It is much more difficult to plot against the emperor than against the prince.
Sui Sui sighed: "I hope the prince will stop looking ahead and behind and save me some energy."
The shop owner thought for a moment and said, "After all, our manpower in the capital is limited, and the troops brought by the general are only a few hundred..."
He hesitated and asked, "Has the general ever considered joining forces with His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi?"
He did not hesitate to say anything, and immediately continued: "I have checked, and the incident at the Duke of Wu'an's mansion and the involvement of the prince in the counterfeiting case are all the work of the King of Qi. He and the prince are already at loggerheads. Even if the general does not take action, the King of Qi will deal with the prince, so it is not impossible for him to cooperate..."
What's more, the two of them have a history.
Tian Yuerong's eyes lit up: "Yes, it would be safer to join forces with the King of Qi. There are hundreds of Jingwei in the palace, and the capital also has the Shenyi Army that can be dispatched at any time..."
Sui Sui interrupted her and said, "No need."
Tian Yuerong asked: "Why?"
Sui Sui said calmly: "Don't involve irrelevant people."
Tian Yuerong and the shop owner looked at each other in surprise. This was not like the general's usual behavior. During the autumn hunt, she used the King of Qi as bait without hesitation. With her personality, shouldn't she use the King of Qi to the end
Tian Yuerong said: "But if we don't remind King Qi, if he is also in the lantern tower at that time, wouldn't it be more dangerous?"
Sui Sui's mouth corners slightly curved, revealing a shallow dimple, and he said helplessly: "If I don't remind him, he may not go. Once I remind him, he will definitely go."
He paused and said, "Don't worry about him."
Tian Yuerong and the shop owner breathed a sigh of relief. The general was still the cold-hearted general, which made people feel inexplicably reassured.
…
After discovering Xiao Ling's identity at the plum blossom viewing banquet, Ruan Yuewei has been worried every day.
New Year's Eve is approaching, and there have been countless things to do since the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, but the Crown Princess has no intention of taking care of it. She simply claims to be sick and leaves the trivial matters of the New Year to the two concubines.
She wanted to find the prince to ask about Xiao Ling's situation, but since that day, the prince had hardly ever entered the backyard. She went to the front yard to deliver soup twice, but was stopped outside by the guards, who said that the prince was discussing important matters with his assistants.
Ruan Yuewei was unable to get rid of the panic in her heart. She remembered that the prince had once said that the queen was their support. After much hesitation, she finally handed in a sign and entered the palace on the day of the Little New Year.
The New Year is a time to pay respects to elders. When the Crown Prince heard from the palace servants that the Crown Princess was going to visit the palace, he did not take it to heart. He just nodded and said, "I have been busy lately and have no time to visit the Queen. Let the Crown Princess stay in the palace to accompany your mother for the next two days." It is also crucial to get the support of the Queen Mother after the success.
She found the sky-blue Zen robe that she had worn when she accompanied the empress to worship Buddha, put on a jade hairpin and went out without any makeup.
When she arrived at the palace, the queen had just finished her morning prayers. When she saw her, she smiled a little, which was rare: "Aruan is here."
Ruan Yuewei said: "Ah Ruan is unfilial and has not visited you regularly for a long time."
The Queen said, "The end of the year is approaching, and there are so many things going on in the East Palace. It's not easy for you to be the mistress."
He looked her up and down and said, "You finally looked better after being nursed back to health with me. How come you look so ugly again after just a few days back home? Did the prince bully you again?"
Ruan Yuewei panicked and said, "Don't worry, Ajia, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince treats Aruan very well."
The queen smiled and said, "Don't be alarmed. If he bullies you, just tell me. He still listens to me as his mother."
Ruan Yuewei said: "Yes, His Highness often talked about the teachings that Ah Jia gave him in the past. He kept them in mind and never dared to forget them for a day."
The queen said, "You always speak up for Erlang, which is good. Husband and wife are one, and should support each other."
Ruan Yuewei chatted with the queen for a while, and seemingly took a bamboo basket from Shuzhu's hand casually: "At the plum blossom viewing banquet the day before yesterday, I saw that the red plum blossoms in the imperial garden were in full bloom. Today, I went to pick a few branches to offer to the Buddha."
Although the empress claimed that she didn't care about worldly affairs, she could hear and see all the big and small things in the palace. She naturally knew exactly who the emperor had invited to the plum blossom viewing banquet that day.
She nodded, and the nun instructed, "We have offered freshly picked green-calyx plums to the Buddha. Put these in a vase and keep them."
Ruan Yue said in fear: "But the flowers that Ah Ruan chose are not good?"
The queen said, "It has nothing to do with you, don't take it to heart."
Ruan Yue bit her lip and hesitated to say, "Ajia, I feel that I shouldn't hide this from Ajia, but I'm afraid that Ajia will be unhappy if I tell her."
The queen frowned and said, "Just tell me straight."
Although she liked her daughter-in-law's docility, she was too cautious and sometimes very annoying.
Ruan Yue bowed slightly and said, "The daughter-in-law is speaking frankly, please don't be offended, Ah Jia."
Then hesitantly and half-concealedly told the story of Xiao Ling concealing her identity and being the Prince of Qi's concubine.
The queen listened in silence, her lips becoming tighter and tighter until they became a line, her nasolabial folds were as deep as if carved by a knife, and her face was so gloomy that water could drip from it.
Although she ignored the third son, she still knew about the affairs in his house. When he kept a mistress outside the house, she just thought he was fooling around.
She heard that the concubine from the outer house had blocked an arrow for the third son. When the eldest princess came to ask for a title for the concubine from the outer house, she turned a blind eye and agreed. She deserved the reward based on her merits. Since Huan Xuan liked her, it would be fine to bring her into the mansion and give her a title - she still felt a little guilty towards these three sons.
I didn't expect that the one he raised was Xiao Ling.
"Are you sure you didn't recognize the wrong person?" asked the queen.
Ruan Yuewei said cautiously, "I don't think I'll make a mistake. They look and sound exactly the same. It's hard to find two people in the world who look so alike."
She paused and said, "I shouldn't have upset my family, but General Xiao is my aunt's cousin after all, and I watched my third brother grow up, so this matter has something to do with me..."
The Queen asked, "Do your Majesty and the Crown Prince know about this?"
Ruan Yuewei said: "A Ruan told His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but His Royal Highness was afraid that His Majesty would be angry, so he didn't dare to tell His Majesty."
The queen nodded: "I understand."
If the prince told the emperor about this, he would inevitably be accused of sowing discord.
Besides, even if she told the emperor, he would pretend not to know - she knew the emperor, he always had too many pros and cons to weigh.
The queen glanced at Ruan Yuewei and said, "You should go to the side hall and rest first."
After sending Ruan Yuewei away, the queen fiddled with the rosary in her hand, closed her eyes and chanted for a while, then called a eunuch and said, "Go and tell His Majesty that today is the New Year, I have prepared vegetarian dishes, and invite him to have dinner with me."