I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 128 News Finally Arrived
It has been half a month since Emperor Qing's death, and now the capital city is completely immersed in a sea of ​​joy.
But many people can feel that there is something unusual in this cheerful atmosphere.

For example, the officers and soldiers of the Thirteen City Gates were extremely strict in checking and inspecting the customs documents, especially for the family members of the officials of the Kyoto Supervisory Council, who were not allowed to leave the city.

For example: The Kyoto garrison increased its alert at the Yuantai camp.

For example: The imperial guards guarding the imperial palace were suddenly ordered to take over the royal villa in the west of the city, and a conflict broke out with the officials of the Censorate.

For example: The merchant caravans of Prince Ding’s Palace are all gathering towards Kyoto.

All these unusual signs made the officials of Kyoto Prefecture nervous, and they all tried to find ways to get information. Many officials especially visited the Qin, Ye and Fan families, among which the largest number of officials came from the Fan family.

Fan Xian returned to Kyoto on the seventh day after Emperor Qing's death. Without anyone knowing he was back, he secretly went to the Supervisory Office. Then Chen Pingping was suddenly poisoned. This was one of the important reasons why the officials of Kyoto Prefecture became nervous.

Compared to the nervousness of the officials, the people of Kyoto were very happy.

The reason is very simple, that is, there have been frequent reports of victorious battles on the border recently.

The originally serious situation seemed to have completely changed direction overnight.

Except for some small countries in the south led by Nanzhao who were still resisting stubbornly, other places had stabilized and expressed their desire for a truce and peace.

The people of Kyoto Prefecture were not surprised by the successive victories. After all, the Qing Kingdom had a strong military force and even Northern Qi was no match for it, let alone the Hu people and the small countries headed by Dongyi City.

To be frank, the people of Kyoto have long been accustomed to victories in wars. Even when three parties besieged Qing Kingdom some time ago, they had no worries.

Although they were accustomed to victory, they were naturally happy that they had won a battle after all. So in such sultry weather, the increasingly prosperous people in Kyoto were no longer willing to stay at home to endure the heat, but were accustomed to hiding in the shade of teahouses, drinking inexpensive herbal tea, enjoying the large-leaf pull-cord fans produced in the inner treasury, talking about recent events in the court, and gossiping about their neighbors.

What happened in the court was nothing more than the frequent good news coming in recently.

There is not much to say about this kind of thing. It will die down in a day or two at most. It will only become a long-term heated discussion if we cannot win.

Therefore, what Kyoto residents talk about more is the daily lives of their neighbors.

And this neighbor refers to the Imperial Palace, because for the people of Kyoto, there is actually not much difference between the Imperial Palace and their neighbors.

As a result, the matter of His Majesty's trip to offer sacrifices to heaven, which had originally fallen silent, became a hot topic in Kyoto again.

The rumor has been circulating for several months. Now everyone in the world knows that His Majesty went to Mount Dadong to offer sacrifices to heaven in order to depose the crown prince. However, the crown prince has behaved well in the past two years, being kind and stable, which is very different from his previous performance. So the officials and the people are actually wondering why His Majesty wants to depose the crown prince.

No one dared to ask Emperor Qing directly, but there was always talk behind his back.

In general, the people of Kyoto showed great sympathy for the Crown Prince. Perhaps it was because people all had the need to sympathize with the weak, or perhaps it was because as ordinary people, they always hoped that the world could be more peaceful and did not want too much turmoil to arise because of the abolition of the crown prince.

In the eighth year of the Qingli period, it was the End of Heat.

Kyoto Prefecture, which had been hot for three months, welcomed a long-awaited heavy rain.

In the early morning of that day, the sky was clear and extremely hot. At noon, dark clouds rolled in, covering the sky and the sun. Heavy rain fell like soybeans. In the blink of an eye, the world was in chaos.

Those who had no time to run were soaked, but no one complained. Instead, there was laughter. The tea drinkers upstairs squinted their eyes, happily appreciating the rain that had not been seen for a long time, and the unique beauty that seeped out of the wet courtyard, thinking that God had finally made this world a little clearer.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the city gate.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of horse hooves could be heard, breaking through the rain on the long street, each one of them rapid and hurried.

People on both sides of the street looked carefully and saw a horse galloping towards them. There was only one horse, so everyone understood that there must be good news coming from somewhere again, and they couldn't help but laugh.

They only noticed the white foam around the horse's mouth and the anxious and haggard appearance of the rider with a dusty face. The smiles on everyone's faces froze, and their hearts tightened. They all wondered, could there be an accident at the border?
It was raining heavily. The exhausted horse mustered up its last bit of strength and galloped wildly against the wind and rain. The knight riding the horse, with tattered clothes and a serious expression, did not care about the life or death of his mount at all. He waved the whip in his hand fiercely, urging the horse under his crotch to maintain the fastest speed, rushing through the long street under the teahouse, splashing water all the way, and galloping towards the direction of the palace.

Fortunately, the heavy rain came early, forcing pedestrians and vendors to take shelter under the eaves on the street. Otherwise, who knows how many people would have been knocked to death or trampled to death by running wildly on the long street.

"Something happened!"

Someone cried out in surprise, which immediately made the surrounding tea drinkers and pedestrians and vendors hiding from the rain nervous. They looked at each other and then in the direction where the sound came from.

An older tea drinker seemed to remember something and suddenly said in a trembling voice: "The soldier was wearing a white scarf..."

After these words were spoken, the surroundings became even quieter. Although the people of Kyoto who were born relatively late had not experienced the great war when Qing Kingdom expanded its borders, they had more or less heard about it. During the worst of the three northern expeditions, the Qing army suffered tens of thousands of casualties in one battle, and the soldiers of the Thousand Mile Flying Cavalry at that time wore white scarves!

"That's not right. Recently, our Qing Kingdom has been receiving frequent news of victory. The eastern and western borders have been pacified. How could a small country in the south possibly defeat our Qing Kingdom's army?"

"It's a fast horse in the army, there's no doubt about it!"

This older tea drinker was also a soldier in his early years, and his voice was still trembling. He was extremely sure of his judgment that the reporter was wearing a white towel, so something big must have happened.

"Here we go again, still wearing a white towel!"

A young man screamed in panic. He saw a knight who was not wearing armor, but only a black shirt, with a white scarf tied on his left arm and a token held high in his right hand. He held the reins with one hand, kicked his feet quickly, and rode a black horse, galloping towards the palace.

A moment later, the third rider who had delivered the message over a thousand miles away once again broke through the city gate guarded by the City Gate Officer and walked through the street under the teahouse. He looked just as miserable, with a white scarf tied around his left arm, and he also ran quickly towards the direction of the palace.

At this moment, the people on both sides of the street had become numbed by the continuous shock. They opened their mouths but could not say anything. Although they did not know which forces the three cavalrymen who passed by represented, they knew that the three cavalrymen must have brought the same news. It was obvious that something big had happened in Qing State.

After the three riders passed by, the whole Kyoto began to fall into an unknown fear and confusion. All the people did not know what had happened. They only heard the funeral bell coming from the corner tower of the imperial city in the evening. In the twilight after the rain, it was so slow and shocking.

In the deep palace, there were many people in the spacious Taiji Hall, but it was completely silent. The second son who was the regent looked at the crown prince who should be confined to the East Palace with an inexplicable expression. He couldn't help but wonder what he would do if his grandmother supported the crown prince?
Even though he has the power of regent, the actual control of the entire Qing Kingdom is now in the hands of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is not only the Crown Prince's grandmother, but also his great-aunt. In addition, the Crown Prince has not been deposed yet after the death of his third brother, so she holds the righteous position. Therefore, in the current situation, the Crown Prince has the best chance of ascending to the throne. Relatively speaking, his situation as the regent is the most dangerous of all.

The empress dowager, wearing a phoenix robe, was extremely majestic, and her power was no less than that of Emperor Qing. The empress dowager, who temporarily took over the power of presiding over the state affairs, had now walked out from behind the pearl curtain and stood in front of the dragon throne.

Her right hand was supported by Eunuch Hou, and Hong Zhu was waiting beside her with a pen and ink. It was obvious that the empress dowager was not as calm as she appeared, and the hand supported by Eunuch Hou was shaking constantly.

With the help of Eunuch Hou, the old lady sat on the chair next to the dragon throne and said, "Second Prince, His Majesty is dead. As the regent, what arrangements do you have for him?"

"Grandmother, I think we should close the palace gates and impose martial law throughout the city."

The Queen Mother hummed and said, "The palace will be closed immediately, and Prince He will be in charge of guarding the imperial city. Anyone who enters or leaves the palace without my permission will be beheaded!" "Yes!"

The princes all responded, and the eldest of them inexplicably felt that the burden on him was a bit heavy.

The Queen Mother continued to order: "The two Grand Secretaries Xuan, Su and Hu must enter the palace immediately."

"Yes."

"Xuancheng Gate Commander Zhang Xun enters the palace."

"Yes."

"Starting immediately, the city gates are closed and the entire city is under martial law. No one is allowed to open them without my permission."

"Yes."

"Now that the south has been settled, order Ye Zhong to lead the Dingzhou Army to exchange defenses with the Northern Border Blood-Cloaked Army within three days, and the Blood-Cloaked Army will return to the capital to rest."

Hearing this, the second brother couldn't help but smile bitterly. It was obvious that they were going to transfer the military forces around him away from Kyoto and replace them with the Blood-Clothed Army of his deceased third brother. It was obvious that they were going to support the prince. This was dangerous.

But the Empress Dowager had already given the order, and no one in the court dared to object, so he had no choice but to respond respectfully.

The old lady was old after all. After receiving the order, she couldn't help but feel her head buzzing. She couldn't help but frowned, gently rubbed her temples, and forced herself to be alert. After thinking for a while, she continued: "Prince Xuanjing, Minister of Revenue, Qin Ye, Qin... Heng, enter the palace."

"Yes!"

"Have the Queen, Concubine Ning, and Concubine Yi move to Hanguang Palace, and bring Xiaosi with them."

As she spoke, the actual controller of Qing State, the aging Queen Mother of Qing State, could not help but cough twice. A complex emotion flashed across her eyes, and she said coldly: "Tell the inner court to invite the Princess and Princess Chen to stay in the palace temporarily, and also invite Fan Xian's pregnant concubine to the palace."

The Queen Mother had not attended to government affairs for a long time, but every decree she issued at this moment was so direct to the heart of the matter. She tried to isolate the entire Kyoto from the outside world as quickly as possible and control those who might be able to deal with the unrest within the palace walls.

"Grandmother, Wan'er and Fan Xian's pregnant concubine went to Danzhou to escape the summer heat a few days ago and are not in Kyoto now."

The old lady's face suddenly became extremely ugly, and she was shaking with anger: "Li Chengru, how dare you..."

"Grandmother, Fan Xian has returned to the capital secretly. He has the token and will of His Majesty in his hands. I think that Master Fan has nothing to do with the assassination of the emperor. The news from the prefectures and the army must be a frame-up."

The Queen Mother was stunned for a moment, glanced at Li Chengru with extreme disappointment, then turned to Eunuch Hou and said, "Go to Prince Ding's mansion in person and have the maid from the Qin family bring all the guards of the mansion into the palace immediately to guard the Hanguang Palace. Have Fan Xian accompany Fan Jian into the palace."

Li Chengru lowered his head, his heart tightening involuntarily. He had always known that the Empress Dowager was worried about him, but now she was becoming more and more worried. He didn't care about this at all. Anyway, he firmly believed that his father's death had nothing to do with Fan Xian.

After all, no matter what, Fan Xian is their brother and the emperor's son. There is no way he would join forces with Si Gu Jian and Ku He to assassinate his biological father.

"Yes, I will do it right away."

Eunuch Hou bowed and left the Taiji Hall midway.

It was already dusk, the bells outside had stopped ringing, and the candlelight in the Taiji Hall was flickering, looking extremely bleak and uneasy.

"Where's Chen Pingping?"

The old lady asked coldly, "Why didn't he enter the palace for such a big event?"

Hong Zhu stopped writing with the brush in his hand, faced the empress dowager's questioning gaze, and replied in a trembling voice: "President Chen was poisoned a few days ago and returned to Chen Garden to be treated by the imperial physician. I'm afraid... we don't know yet..."

The old lady's eyes turned cold, she gritted her teeth and said angrily: "Send that old dog to the palace, and tell him that if he doesn't come to the palace, he will commit suicide in Chen Garden."

……

……

As decrees were issued one after another, the palace became quiet and only the old lady and Hong Zhu were left in the Taiji Hall.

Suppressing the sadness and fear in her heart, after the news finally reached Kyoto and the most appropriate arrangements were made in the shortest possible time, the Queen Mother of Qing seemed to have suddenly lost all her strength. She slumped against the back of the chair, slowly closed her eyes, and a tear wet the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

Before this, she could still deceive herself, thinking that perhaps the news from Prince Ding's Mansion was wrong and everything was just arranged by her son.

But today, the prefectures, the military, and the Supervisory Council sent a message thousands of miles away to Kyoto, delivering the shocking news to the nobles in Kyoto - His Majesty was assassinated.

According to the news from the prefectures and the military, the person who assassinated His Majesty was Fan Xian, the Commissioner of the Supervisory Council.

Young Lord Fan colluded with Si Gu Jian of Dongyi City and Ku He, the national teacher of Northern Qi, and plotted rebellion and murdered the king during the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven at Mount Dadong!

The news from the Supervisory Council only confirmed the death of His Majesty, saying that Hong Sixiang, the Ministry of Rites, and officials from the Taichang Temple were transporting His Majesty's body back to the capital, but did not say much else.

But whether or not it was Fan Xian who assassinated His Majesty, it didn’t matter to the Queen Mother of Qing. What mattered was that she could no longer deceive herself.

Her son is really dead!

The extremely grief-stricken old lady took a long time to come back to her senses. She asked in an unusually hoarse voice, "Did the Qin family girl bring anyone back to the palace?"

"Her Majesty the Concubine is already in Hanguang Palace." Hong Zhu bowed and replied.

"Where's Zong'er?"

"His Highness the Third Prince is currently at the border of Xihu. He has received the news and is rushing back to Kyoto as quickly as possible. He will be back in the capital in about ten days."

The old lady hummed, stood up and glanced at the dragon chair beside her, then forced herself to say, "Let's go back to Hanguang Palace."

(End of this chapter)