Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

Rong Mansion!

Because of the plan to force Rong Feiyan to abdicate at noon, Rong Feiyan was sent back to the Rong family by Consort Rong early in the morning!

After returning home, she leaned against the window, lost in thought. The chicken soup on the table had gone cold three times. In recent days, she hadn't even touched her favorite osmanthus cake. She felt that even delicacies tasted like wax, utterly tasteless.

After leaving the Sheng family, Consort Rong did not rush back to the palace, but went back to her residence to find her sister and tell her the good news.

"Why aren't you eating properly again? You've lost so much weight," Consort Rong said with concern.

"Greetings, elder sister!" Rong Feiyan bowed.

Consort Rong pulled her down to sit, laughing, "Sister, I've avenged you. I helped Prince Yan force the abdication with Rong Xian, and now Prince Yong's entire clan is dead. Those Princess Jiacheng and Princess Yong dared to treat you like that, so I gave them to the soldiers to be publicly humiliated to death!"

Rong Xian is the most important family supporter of Consort Rong in the court. He serves as the commander of the Imperial Guards. Although he can only command 500 men, he fully supports Consort Rong in taking revenge and will never allow Prince Yong to succeed to the throne!

"What? This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family! How could my sister do such a thing for me? I should have committed suicide long ago!" Rong Feiyan cried.

Consort Rong said, "Silly girl, the Rong family has no way out; we can only go all the way down this path. By the way, I've found the person who saved you and then bullied you!"

"Is he dead?" Rong Feiyan asked urgently.

For the past five days, she has been dreaming about that kind of thing, and the thought of Zhou Ning's breasts gives her a tingling sensation as if they are being grabbed.

Consort Rong sighed, "If I could, I would truly wish for his death, so that no one would ever know about this again. But he is incredibly skilled; he fought his way out of the palace, killing and wounding over three hundred of us! My two most capable guards died in an instant at his hands. We couldn't kill him!"

"Who is he?" Rong Feiyan asked.

Consort Rong said, "He is the top scholar in the civil service examination in the fifth year of the Jiayou era. His name is Zhou Ning. He is just sixteen years old this year and currently serves as a fifth-rank official in the Imperial Secretariat."

"He's only sixteen..." Rong Feiyan shook her head. "That's impossible. He's very capable; how could he be younger than me!"

Because of her high standards and the favor of Consort Rong, she has been picky for a long time and has only taken a liking to Qi Heng. But she will be seventeen in three months!

Consort Rong said, "You can go and find him yourself to confirm. They should have just left the city, towards the northwest gate, in the direction of Yuzhou! The Emperor is very tough, and the Prince of Yan is ruthless. I can no longer see the future of the Rong family. If you take a liking to him, then I will give him a chance."

"Sister, stop!" Rong Feiyan advised.

Consort Rong said, "Qi Heng, don't even think about it. Our Rong family has come to this point, they won't treat you well! I'll leave you a letter. If you meet Zhou Ning and are satisfied with him, then give him the letter. He's a smart man, he knows how to choose. If you're not satisfied with him, then you don't need to give it to him."

"Sister!" Rong Feiyan exclaimed anxiously.

"obedient!"

......

Outside Bianjing City!

As soon as they left the city, they encountered Zhao Zongquan, the military commissioner of Yuzhou. The women of both families were overjoyed while the other was worried, and they all got out of their carriages.

Zhou Ning handed the tiger tally and blood edict to Zhao Zongquan, saying, "The Prince of Yan forced the emperor to abdicate, and His Majesty, in a time of crisis, entrusted me with this task, ordering me to deliver these to you, sir! It is truly a blessing from Heaven for our Great Zhou, that I met you the moment I stepped out of the city!"

Zhao Zongquan tremblingly accepted the blood edict and tiger tally, speechless. He had come to the capital seeking protection, so how did he end up being entrusted with a mission in a time of crisis?

With so many people watching, if he doesn't accept the gift, it would be blatant defiance of the imperial decree!

After handing over the duties, Zhou Ning went to the group of women to calm the emotions of the Sheng family women and ask them to help him!

He needs a dark-colored nightclothes to sneak into the palace at night!

Zhao Ceying leaned forward to examine the blood-written edict with his father and asked, "Is this truly His Majesty's own handwriting?"

Zhao Zongquan said with a sense of despair, "Although the writing was done with fingers, the robe is genuine, and the tiger tally is real too."

Zhao Ceying exclaimed excitedly, "Then Father must be the Crown Prince who has been officially appointed!" He led the way in kneeling and bowing.

The Yuzhou boy band members all wore joyful expressions and knelt down in worship!

Did I come to Bianjing and somehow gain merit by following the emperor?

They might even be able to save the day!

This is truly a case of "one dynasty, one emperor"!

"No, no! Get up! Don't worship me!" Zhao Zongquan was terrified.

Gu Tingye said, "This is a good thing, Your Highness, there is no need to panic."

"What Your Highness? What Your Highness? Don't mention those two words, they make me nervous!" Zhao Zong said, his face flushed with excitement.

Zhou Ning returned from the women's quarters and knelt down, saying, "Your Highness, please take the imperial edict and, in the name of the Crown Prince, mobilize troops to enter the palace and rescue His Majesty! If we are too late, His Majesty may lose his life!"

"Lord Zhou, please get up! It is only natural for a son to succeed his father. As a member of the imperial clan, I have been appointed to this position in a time of crisis, and I am forced to take the throne. I will inevitably face trouble in the future!" Zhao Zongquan quickly helped Zhou Ning up.

If he still doesn't acknowledge himself as the Crown Prince, then he's just a fifth-rank military commander of Yuzhou, while Zhou Ning is a full fifth-rank official!

Zhou Ning stood up, deciding not to mention the situation in the palace yet, lest this coward be too afraid to save people!

Zhao Ceying stood up and said, "Father, what makes you say that? The current emperor has no heir, and now an edict has been issued, making it perfectly legitimate. How could there be any trouble?"

Damn it, if you don't become emperor, how can I be the crown prince?

"Have you forgotten the Candlelight and Axe Shadow? If in the end, brothers have to kill each other and fathers and sons have to turn against each other, then even becoming the crown prince is meaningless. I am already content to live a peaceful life. Please spare me!" Zhao Zongquan pleaded.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Yan already knows that I will give you the blood edict and that you have the tiger tally. Do you think he will let you live a peaceful life?" Zhou Ning asked.

I'll also benefit from the merits of following the dragon!

Gu Tingye chimed in, "Indeed! Even a private edict entrusting the young emperor to you has attracted so many assassins. Now that the Prince of Yan is certain His Majesty intends to pass the throne to you, he will eliminate any threat, no matter where it may be! The Prince of Yan is so ruthless; he's even capable of forcing the emperor to abdicate. Does he think he won't kill your entire family?"

"This..." Zhao Zongquan's breathing became rapid.

He was more afraid of death than anyone else, so naturally he wanted to live more than anyone else!

"My lord, if you cannot even save your own life, then all the civil and military officials of Yuzhou will be doomed! Please make a decision quickly!" Gu Tingye continued to urge.

Three years of hard work, I'll put you on the throne no matter what!

Seeing that Gu Tingye was pressing him, Zhao Ceying pleaded, "Father, we can disregard our own lives, but there are still wives, children, and elderly relatives in our family in Yuzhou—dozens of lives in total. My daughter is not even two years old yet. If you refuse to accept this imperial edict, our entire family will perish. Father, please save your son, save our family, and save your granddaughter who has just learned to call you grandfather!"

"My lord, while the Prince of Yan is currently preoccupied, we can still fight him! If we delay too long, he might force His Majesty to amend the edict, making it legitimate for him to turn around and order our execution. We would be utterly powerless to resist!" Gu Tingye pressed on while the iron was hot.

"Aren't we already calling him Your Highness? Why are we still calling him 'Sir'?" Zhao Zongquan made up his mind.

If they don't let his family live, then he'll fight the Prince of Yan to the death!

In the short time it took to hesitate, he declined three times and then offered to comply!

"Please give your orders, Your Highness!" Gu Tingye said excitedly.

"Change your clothes, take the blood edict and military tally to the western suburban camp to muster the troops, and enter the city to quell the rebellion!" Zhao Zongquan looked at the sun, put his hands behind his back, and struck a pose.

"Your Highness is wise!" the crowd shouted!

While they were changing, Zhou Ning pulled Gu Tingye aside and said, "I won't accompany you to the western suburban camp. I'll stay here to protect the women. There's something I need to tell you: the Prince of Yan has taken control of a group of high-ranking officials and the families of all the military officers in the capital. Anyone who dares to force their way in to rescue the Prince will be beheaded immediately, including Sheng Hong and Changbai!"

Gu Tingye was dumbfounded. Why was he only being told something this important now?

"Changbai is in the palace too? What do we do then?" Gu Tingye was also at a loss!

Zhou Ning said, "Good question. Just surround the palace. Don't even think about fighting to the death tonight! If you insist on doing things your own way, this matter is too heavy for me to bear, so you'd better carry it well! If anything happens to Changbai, then our friendship ends here!"

"Holy crap! We absolutely have to save Changbai! Is there a Duchess of Yingguo among the female relatives of those military officers?" Gu Tingye asked.

Zhou Ning nodded!

"Then why do you still want me to carry it? I can't carry even a little bit! I'm going with the Crown Prince to the western suburban camp first, and you can come up with a solution when I get back!"

......