Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 856 Breaking into the Palace
Empress Dowager Wu found this kind of formal banquet rather uninteresting.

However, as a member of the royal family, this was not a matter of whether she liked it or not, but an obligation she had to fulfill.

However, she was, after all, the Empress Dowager, and her status and seniority had reached their peak.

So after sitting for a while, she said, "I am tired and will return to the palace now. Although the emperor is young, he has already worked hard all day and should not stay up too late."

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, the courtiers around her immediately stood up.

Prince Zhao Qu of Jin was raised by Lady Wu. Despite his unruly and dissolute nature, he held his adoptive mother in exceptional respect.

Upon hearing that the Empress Dowager was returning to the palace, Zhao Qu quickly put down his wine cup and stood up.

He felt dizzy and lightheaded as soon as he stood there.

With a loud "thud," Zhao Qu himself felt nothing, but to onlookers, it looked as if he had hit his head on the ground and fallen there.

At this moment, Zhao Qu suddenly stood up, as if he had spun around in place more than a dozen times, and his internal balance system had already failed.

However, because of this dizziness, his forehead was punctured and bleeding profusely, but for a moment, Zhao Qu felt nothing at all.

Wu was taken aback and hurriedly stepped forward with unusual agility.

Madam Wu hugged Zhao Qu tightly, pressing a handkerchief to his forehead, and cried out, "Qu-ge'er, what's wrong with you? Don't scare your mother to death!"

Zhao Qu felt dizzy, but struggled to comfort her, saying, "Mother, don't worry, I'm just..."

Zhao Qu felt nauseous and, fearing he might soil his mother's body, quickly turned his head and vomited a mouthful of black blood.

When Wu saw her son vomiting blood, which was a dark purple color, her expression changed drastically.

Zhao Qi only knew that Zhao Chen had prepared poison, but he did not know how potent it was. He did not expect it to take effect on the spot.

He was initially panicked, then rushed forward and said urgently, "Uncle, what's wrong? He's been poisoned! Quickly, summon the imperial physician, summon the imperial physician..."

Wu suddenly looked up, her sharp gaze sending a shiver down Zhao Qi's spine.

The Empress Dowager was always gentle and calm, and he never knew that her eyes could be so terrifying when she got angry.

Zhao Qi was still just a child; in terms of wisdom, experience, and temperament, he couldn't compare to a mature person.

In his panic, he only wanted to clear himself of any wrongdoing, so he put on a very convincing act.

The problem was that Prince Jin had just fallen and vomited blood, and Lady Wu had only seen the purplish-black blood. The thought that had just crossed her mind was, "Could it be poisoning?"

Zhao Qi had already shouted out in a hurry.

He thought this would make him appear more upright and clear his name, but in Wu's mind, it was nothing short of an admission of guilt.

The imperial physician, who was naturally by his side, hurriedly ran over with his medicine chest on his back. After a brief examination, his expression changed drastically.

"Your Majesty, the King's condition is critical. Please dismiss your attendants immediately and allow me to treat him."

"Get out, everyone!"

Before Zhao Qi could speak, Wu had already given the order in a stern voice.

The ministers were horrified, but they also knew that they could not afford to make any mistakes at this time, and that curiosity would surely kill them.

At that moment, the ministers, led by Prime Minister Wei Liangchen, hurriedly withdrew.

Those remaining in the main hall, besides the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, Emperor Zhao Qi, Princess Zhao Ning'er, were only the two women who had been selected as concubines during the previous selection process.

If the emperor does not have a preferred candidate at the moment, or for other reasons, he may temporarily not appoint an empress.

As long as there are concubines who can bear children, and designated concubines to manage the harem, the officials will not urge too much.

It's unclear whether Zhao Qi still harbored feelings for Li Fengniang, or whether he felt that the other two candidates were not as beautiful as Li Fengniang.

Therefore, he did not immediately establish an empress, but instead appointed two concubines.

The attending imperial physicians were busy examining Zhao Qu's body and hurriedly ordering people to fetch medicine. They were so anxious that they didn't even have time to write down the prescriptions, and the eunuchs had to write them down.

For a moment, the attending imperial physician was unsure of the cause of Prince Zhao Qu's poisoning, but he could see that it was a sign of poisoning.

Therefore, in addition to prescribing some common antidotes, he also asked someone to fetch some emetics.

In ancient times, emetics were mostly made from Chinese medicinal herbs such as Changshan, copper sulfate, melon stalk, Veratrum nigrum, and soapberry, and their effects were quite obvious.

But Wu immediately realized what was going on.

Indeed, Qu'er has just been poisoned, and it must have happened at the banquet. Inducing vomiting is crucial at this time.

Even if you can get the medicine quickly, it still takes time.

Wu immediately stepped forward, supporting Zhao Qu with one hand, and let him rest his head on her lap.

Wu put two fingers into Zhao Qu's mouth and pressed down on his throat a few times.

Zhao Qu vomited his food and wine all over the floor with a "whoosh," soiling Wu's skirt as well.

Wu didn't take it seriously at all. Seeing that Zhao Qu had vomited, Wu didn't care about the dirt on her hands and the unpleasant smell. She made him vomit a few more times. When she saw that Zhao Qu could no longer vomit, she stopped.

The imperial physician also knew this method, but the person in front of him was such a distinguished person that he dared not offend him.

Seeing the Empress Dowager personally taking action, the imperial physician felt relieved, thinking that there might still be time to save the patient.

Before long, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy led a large group of imperial physicians and rushed over.

These old men are really well-preserved; they all have white hair and beards, yet they walk with incredible speed.

When these people arrived, they all stepped forward and surrounded Zhao Qu, immediately starting to discuss the medical case.

Wu took the handkerchief Zhao Ning'er handed her and wiped her hands clean.

Seeing that a group of imperial physicians were surrounding Zhao Qu and unable to intervene, Lady Wu calmly said to Zhao Qi, "Your Majesty, come to the side room."

This city gate tower has three rooms, with the middle one being the largest and the two side rooms being just two small side rooms.

After saying this, Wu turned and left.

Zhao Qi hurriedly followed, still feigning resentment as he said, "How could my royal uncle be poisoned? If I find out the truth, I will definitely..."

"Snapped!"

As the two entered the side room one after the other, Wu turned around with a "whoosh" and slapped Zhao Qi hard across the face.

Zhao Qi was so struck that he staggered, seeing stars.

After all, she was the daughter of a military general. Although she had stopped practicing martial arts in recent years, her strength was still considerable.

Zhao Qi covered his face, his expression a mixture of astonishment and fear.

He stammered, "Grandmother, what...what are you doing?"

……

At the foot of Zongyang Palace, following Yang Yuan's command, Yang Ze immediately waved his arm towards the distance.

The order was given, and a short while later, a group of officers and soldiers arrived in neat formation.

The guards below Gongyang Palace were quite surprised. It wasn't their turn to be on duty yet. What was going on?
However, precisely because this was the capital city, and this was Zongyang Palace, they never considered that they could be enemies.

"Halt! Stop!" The guards in front of Zongyang Palace immediately shouted to stop them, and two captains stepped forward to block their way.

The officers and soldiers stopped and opened a "divisional document".

When the emperor issues a document, it is an imperial edict or decree.

When the government issues official documents, those are official letters.

Military documents, especially those issued by the Imperial Guards in the capital region, were called "Shi Zha".

"We are on duty as ordered, you can leave now."

The man spoke casually and handed over the "master's certificate".

A captain opened it and saw that it was stamped with the seals of the Privy Council and the Infantry Command, so there seemed to be no problem with the procedure.

However, this step wasn't included in their prior orders for tonight's duty.

One of the captains hesitated for a moment, then said, "Wait here, I'll go find Lou Gongshi and ask him for clarification before we talk about it."

"Lou Gongshi" refers to Lou Wangchen, who was sent by Zhao Qi to the Infantry Commandery and was the person who actually controlled the Infantry Commandery.

The soldiers walked right among the people, so there was no need to clear the area. Yang Ze, Xin Qiji, Yang Shou, and others listened from the side.

Upon seeing the captain blocking the "soldiers" and heading to Zongyang Palace to find Lou Wangchen, who was attending a palace banquet, Xin Qiji glared and shouted, "Let's do it!"

Xin Qiji moved with lightning speed and rushed towards the Gongyang Gate.

People are allowed to walk around in front of the palace, after all, it's a way for officials to enjoy themselves with the people.

However, there is a designated area beneath the palace gates that is off-limits to visitors.

The place doesn't seem very big; it's about seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters) from the roadside to the palace gate of Zongyang Palace.

But Xin Qiji walked with incredible speed, faster than a galloping horse, and arrived in an instant.

The composition of the guards below the city is quite complex.

The stationary sentries were officers and soldiers transferred from the Three Military Commands, while the patrol sentries were spies from the Imperial City Guard and the State Trust Bureau.

Guoxin Law Firm was rebuilt and expanded under Zhao Qi, much like the Eastern Depot in later generations.

Therefore, in Emperor Zhao Qi's mind, he was even more reliable than the veteran imperial guards.

Therefore, several people from the Guoxin Bureau, dressed in brocade robes and holding knives, stood on the outermost side of the palace gate.

Seeing a burly man charging towards them like a galloping horse, one of the men from the Guoxin Bureau cried out in alarm, and his long sword was already drawn.

"Stop advancing, or you will be killed without mercy!"

He gave a stern warning and brought his sword down on the head.

Xin Qiji suddenly stopped, turned to the side, and the sharp longsword missed its mark, grazing the tip of his nose.

Xin Qiji reached out one arm to snatch the knife, and then reached out the other arm to grab the leather belt around his waist.

As the knife was snatched from his hand, the spy from the National Trust Bureau was also lifted high into the air with a "hey!"

Xin Qiji gripped his belt tightly and slammed it hard onto the ground!
With a "thud," the head hit the ground first.

The area in front of Zongyang Palace is paved with extremely firm and smooth blue granite.

The head slammed heavily onto the bluestone and smashed instantly.

This startled several spies from the National Security Bureau nearby, who let out a strange cry and jumped back.

When Xin Qiji made his move, Yang Ze and Yang Shou also made their move.

It is unknown how skilled Yang Ze was in martial arts, but Yang Shou's martial arts skills were extremely formidable.

However, he is used to military skills and weapons, so why not use them when he has them?
Therefore, he was a step behind Xin Qiji.

He rushed to a bullock cart with lanterns hanging nearby, ripped off the curtain with a "rip," and pulled out a pair of melon-sized iron hammers.

Almost immediately, Yang Ze pulled a large gun out from under the car.

The two Yang family generals, one wielding a spear and the other a hammer, charged forward with Xin Qiji.

That group of officers and soldiers were the three thousand rangers who survived the disaster.

These common soldiers, when wronged, are prone to mutiny if they are impatient.

But most people, without anyone to take the lead, can only vent their frustration by cursing and swearing.

But once someone takes the lead, they become a group of reckless and impulsive people.

Now Xin Qiji, Yang Ze, and Yang Shou had already rushed forward. They immediately shouted, drew their swords and spears, and charged forward.

The captain who was blocking the way had only drawn his sword halfway when he was slashed and stabbed until he was riddled with holes, blood gushing from his body, and he fell to the ground with his eyes wide open.

"The court has treacherous officials who deceive the emperor, oppress the people, and bring chaos to the nation!"

"Prince Yang Yuan of Yan has sacrificed himself to purge the court of corrupt officials; all other unauthorized persons, step aside!"

Yang Yuan shouted these words out into the crowd.

What he wanted was for the people to hear it, and if the people heard it, it could spread.

As Yang Yuan spoke, he strode down towards Zongyang Palace.

Wu Youyao held the vajra pestle, while Tsubakiya Kona followed closely behind, one on each side.

"King Yan?"

"The Prince of Yan is back!"

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

At the foot of Zongyang Palace, the Imperial Guards and the officials of the Imperial City Guard, who were about to rush forward, paused in their tracks.

Many of these Imperial Guards had fought alongside Yang Yuan in the Battle of Lingbi.

Within the Imperial City Guard, Yang Yuan's name was also quite renowned.

Yang Yuan's elder brother was a member of the Imperial City Guard. Yang Yuan not only had unparalleled merits, but also held the title of king.

This was naturally something the Imperial City Guards would use to boast and show off, treating it as if it were one of their own.

Suddenly, Prince Yang Yuan of Yan appeared, who was indignant about the inaction of the court due to the loss of the northern kingdom.

They inevitably struggle to grasp the concept at first glance.

The people at Guoxin Law Firm don't care about Yang Yuan or the Prince of Yan.
But how could they possibly withstand the three killing gods Xin Qiji, Yang Ze, and Yang Shou?
Yang Yuan strode in, stepping over the blood, dismembered bodies, and rotten bones scattered on the ground.

He didn't need to look around or take any action.

Occasionally, a few survivors who managed to escape from the three killing gods and a squad of rangers were killed by Xiao Nai's shuriken.

Even those who are lucky enough to survive still have the help of the nun Fanqing to guide them to the afterlife, right?
(End of this chapter)