The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

Meanwhile, since the Prince Rui's Mansion chose to act as an intermediary to relay messages, their opportunity had arrived.

In fact, the reason why Prince Rui's mansion chose Xue Baochai as the middleman was because they wanted to directly contact the remaining forces of Ping'an Prefecture and the other four princes and eight dukes. However, it would be too conspicuous for the mansion to take direct action. Prince Teng's family, being the maternal family of Prince Rui's concubine, would also be conspicuous.

The Jia family, especially the second branch, seems to be in decline now, as none of its members hold official positions in the court, but they still maintain contact with these families.

Furthermore, communication among family members is less likely to attract attention.

As for Baochai, she would certainly see this as a good opportunity: if she did nothing, she would only be a widow confined to the inner quarters. Even if Jia Lan became successful and a high-ranking official in the future, she would still just be someone else's aunt. Others might be happy to provide some financial support, but they could forget about anything else.

But even if the chances of winning aren't great, it's better than sitting and waiting for death. She's still young and doesn't want to live like this for the rest of her life. She's seen how Li Wan lived her life; back then, there was the Duke's mansion, but now it's all withered and lifeless. Right now, she's not even in Li Wan's situation.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Baochai decided to take on the role of liaison.

Baochai was confident that everything was in the right place: she was now in charge of the household, and she didn't think anyone could find out about this. Almost none of the maids were literate, and as for Li Wan, she usually stayed in her own courtyard and never went out.

So until the autumn hunt, Baochai was still full of hope. Especially when she heard that the emperor was going to go hunting with the crown prince and crown princess, Baochai felt even more delighted: waiting to be caught in the middle, that would be a happy ending for everyone.

But Baochai never expected that the battle in the capital would end before it even began: whether it was the palace or the residences of the ministers, they all seemed to be prepared. Not to mention the Five City Garrison, the Left Garrison, who had clearly gone on the autumn hunt with the emperor, also appeared in the capital.

Not to mention the main camp outside the capital; the small force that Prince Rui had prepared was simply insufficient. Moreover, there were already spies planted by the emperor within Prince Rui's ranks.

The Emperor had learned the time, location, and military strength all at once. The main camp in the suburbs of the capital, together with the military commands of the five cities, lifted the siege of the capital with virtually no effort.

Realizing that her scheme was bound to be exposed, Baochai quickly contacted Wang Xiyun: If there was any chance of escape, they had to hurry.

However, the entire city was under martial law, and no one could leave.

After hearing that the residences of Prince Rui and several related personnel were surrounded by heavy troops, while there was no movement from her own residence, Baochai still held onto a sliver of hope: if Prince Rui's residence was willing to show leniency, she might be able to escape this calamity.

Although Baochai knew that the hope of escaping this calamity was extremely slim, she was truly at a loss for what to do.

With the Emperor's return to the capital, not only Baochai, but everyone involved knew that the time for reckoning had come.

In fact, the purge had already begun even before the emperor's carriage returned to the capital.

The first target was Prince Teng, the Governor-General of Liangjiang. The Emperor had been planning this for a long time, so taking down Prince Teng was effortless—although he was the Governor-General of Liangjiang, none of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's men listened to him, so he had no ability to resist.

With a two-pronged approach, eight officials from Ping'an Prefecture were arrested in one fell swoop, including Jia Lian, the prefect.

Jia Lian couldn't escape, because he had connected Fei Da, the vanguard commander of the Mulan Hunting Grounds, and Sun Changsheng, the deputy commander of the cavalry battalion.

All of these people were escorted back to Beijing to await a thorough reckoning.

Once the purge begins, few can escape unscathed. Although the Four Kings and Eight Dukes have gradually withdrawn from the political center in recent years, even a centipede with a hundred legs will not die easily.

Not to mention how many newly rich officials in the court were also involved.

As a result, everyone in the capital was living in fear, because even if many families were not involved, the responsibilities of their relatives and friends who had been involved in the tragedy were still unknown and could be exposed.

In this atmosphere of widespread fear, the emperor's first sword fell to the ground.

The person he attacked was none other than his own son, Xiao Tingkai.

Chapter 291 Prince Rui's Exile, Confiscation of Property, and Extermination of His Clan

With the Emperor's edict issued, anyone who still harbored even the slightest bit of wishful thinking should now fully understand just how resolute the Emperor was this time.

I, by the mandate of Heaven, rule over all lands, and I am diligent day and night to ensure the stability of the nation. However, the laws of the land are strict, and the imperial family members should especially uphold these principles to uphold the majesty of Heaven. Now, there is a prince, Xiao Tingkai, who, as a prince of the second rank, should cultivate his character and set an example for the imperial family. However, his behavior is perverse, contrary to human ethics, and he has repeatedly violated the laws of the land, thus failing to live up to my high expectations.

Xiao Tingkai, disregarding imperial favor and familial ties, has privately formed cliques and plotted treason. Even more egregiously, during a hunting expedition, he brazenly attempted to assassinate the emperor—a crime deserving of death. While I am reluctant to execute him due to our blood ties, the laws of the land are unforgiving, and members of the imperial family cannot be pardoned. To serve as a warning to others and to cleanse the court, this edict is hereby issued to the entire realm:

Xiao Tingkai was stripped of his title of Prince of the County, removed from the imperial clan, demoted to a commoner, and never allowed to rejoin the imperial clan. His mansion, fiefdom, and salary were all confiscated, his family property was confiscated, and his wives and concubines were also demoted to commoners and exiled to Qianzhou, never to return to the capital.

Qianzhou is located in the southwest, mostly covered by dense forests and rugged mountain roads. This exile might mean losing one's life there. Not to mention, the imperial edict also stated that he would never be allowed to return to the capital.

It is clear that the emperor deeply loathed the second prince.

However, some observant people noticed that the emperor was still soft-hearted towards his granddaughters. Of the two granddaughters, Qiongnan was currently being raised in the Empress's Fengyi Palace, and the younger granddaughter, Qiongfang, had also been brought into the palace and given to the Empress.

With the Second Prince being exiled, the Song family was the next to be purged.

Song Duan, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, has received the Emperor's favor for generations. He should have been dutiful and loyal to the state, but instead dared to flatter the rebels and associate with treacherous officials. After reviewing the joint trial report from the Three Judicial Offices, the evidence is irrefutable. He has deeply failed in his duty to the Emperor and has gone against the principles of loyalty and righteousness upheld by the sages.

He is hereby stripped of his title of Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and reduced to commoner status. He is to be imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice pending execution, to be taken to the Western Market for public execution after the Autumn Equinox. All male members of his clan aged fourteen and above are to be exiled to the malarial and malaria-ridden Lingnan region for perpetual hard labor; those under the age of fourteen are to be confiscated and enslaved by the Imperial Music Bureau. All female relatives, regardless of age, are to be confiscated and permanently assigned to the palace as maids. The Song family is barred from taking the imperial examinations for three generations, and those within five degrees of kinship are to be permanently barred from holding office.

While other things were still frequently seen, the mere mention of three generations being barred from taking the imperial examinations and never being employed within five degrees of kinship seemed to indicate that the Song family would be doomed for the next few decades.

Next up was Wang Ziteng.

Baochai was terrified every time she heard the list of those to be punished. But this time, the Emperor did not rush to investigate; instead, he proceeded with the trial slowly.

But as everyone knows, the more the investigation goes on, the more people and things are uncovered. For example, in Wang Ziteng's case, even the affairs of Xue Pan of the Xue family in his early years and Jia Yucun's sudden death when he was brought to the capital for interrogation were all brought up.

As a result, Wang Ziteng was naturally among those to be beheaded; the Wang family's punishment was practically identical to that of the Song family.

When Baochai heard that her uncle had been beheaded, she knew that everything was truly over—the Jia family had tolerated them all these years, all because of Wang Ziteng. After all, among the Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue families, the Wang family had been the mainstay over the years.

Moreover, given this situation, it seems likely that the Jia family will be next.

However, Baochai was wrong. Although she had learned that Jia Lian and his wife from Ping'an Prefecture had been escorted back to the capital and imprisoned, the emperor had yet to issue any punishment for the Jia family.

Could it be that my role as an intermediary in making contacts hasn't been exposed? Did Jia Lian, Wang Xifeng, or anyone from Prince Rui's mansion decide to keep things under wraps?

No, even if Baochai was willing to deceive herself, the guards outside the mansion and the strict entry and exit procedures told her that even if she hadn't been exposed, the Jia family would definitely not escape this time.

However, what Baochai didn't know was that the reason the Jia family hadn't been punished was because the emperor was ill.

After a series of measures, the emperor fell ill.

Ultimately, this illness is more of a psychological one. He is the emperor, but he is also a father. Although he always thought that his second son would serve as a whetstone after he made his third son the crown prince, he never expected that things would turn out this way.

Sometimes, late at night, the emperor couldn't help but ask himself: Was it really him who drove his second son to the path of rebellion?

No one could answer this question. Although the emperor had conspicuously imprisoned Xiao Tingkai in a prison cart and escorted him back to the capital, and although he had made up his mind to take swift and decisive action, less than a day after returning to the capital, the emperor still went to see Xiao Tingkai in private.

A damp atmosphere filled the cell, with the faint sound of chains dragging coming from a corner. Xiao Tingkai huddled against the wall, his once magnificent robes now tattered and stained. Dim light occasionally shone through the narrow ventilation opening, illuminating his pale, gaunt face, covered in stubble.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps sounded outside. The iron gate slowly opened, and a gust of cold wind rushed into the cell.

Xiao Tingkai glanced up, a flicker of resentment and anger flashing in his eyes, but it quickly faded. Then, he lowered his head, not even looking at the emperor.

The emperor expected to hear complaints, questions, resentment, or perhaps even pleas for mercy. But at that moment, his son didn't even look at him.

"Why rebel?" The emperor had no choice but to speak, but his voice was lower than he had imagined.

As if he had heard a joke, Xiao Tingkai didn't move at first, then burst into laughter. As he laughed, his body swayed, and the iron chains rattled.

The emperor felt mocked and scorned. But he remained silent and waited patiently. After a long while, Xiao Tingkai still hadn't spoken, and just when the emperor thought he wouldn't speak, he heard his hoarse voice again.

"Why rebel? Doesn't Father know perfectly well?"

After saying those words, Xiao Tingkai fell silent again.

The cold wind blowing from the crevice gave the emperor a headache. He stood there looking at his son, waiting for a long time, but Xiao Tingkai didn't say a word.

"Back in Zhili, was it you who sent people to assassinate your third and fifth brothers?" It was a question, but the emperor already knew the answer.

Xiao Tingkai still didn't say a word.

Then the emperor turned and left.

Xiao Tingkai, who had been looking down, suddenly burst into laughter again. His laughter was filled with resentment, despair, and terror, which made the emperor feel very uncomfortable.

The emperor, barely holding on, dealt with the subsequent liquidation matters.

Xiao Tingjun keenly sensed that his father seemed slightly unwell. However, given the delicate situation at the moment, he knew that too much advice might backfire, so he didn't say much to his father's face. Instead, he secretly instructed the imperial physicians to take extra care of him and also implored his mother to help persuade the emperor.

As the weather grew colder, and the final edict to confiscate property was issued, the emperor finally succumbed to his illness.

The emperor issued only one decree before falling into a coma: the crown prince was to oversee the state.

Since it was already the end of the year and the matter of the rebellion had been basically settled, Xiao Tingjun decided to let everyone celebrate the New Year for the time being.

Chapter 292 The Emperor is Seriously Ill and Intends to Abdicate

The emperor's illness seemed to have come on quite suddenly.

However, the people in the palace did not panic. The Empress personally took care of him, and the imperial physicians were also orderly and efficient. Ultimately, besides administering medicine, the most important thing was for the Emperor to maintain his own spirits.

After the Emperor's fever subsided, he vaguely saw the Empress sitting in the room by his bedside and asked, "A-Zhun?" The Empress's heart trembled at the mention of "A-Zhun." In all these years, this was the first time she had ever heard the Emperor call her by her childhood name.

On their wedding day, the young prince insisted on asking his new wife's nickname, which she shyly revealed.

For many years afterward, however, we rarely heard him call out.

Composing herself, the Empress smiled and brought over a glass of warm water: "I knew His Majesty's nose was stuffy and he would be thirsty when he woke up."

The emperor wanted to take the cup, but she wouldn't let him: "Forget it, Your Majesty is very tired right now, just drink it from my hand."

The emperor was indeed completely exhausted. He drank half a cup of water to moisten his throat before asking, "Why are you the one guarding me? I don't even remember how long I slept."

After setting down the cup, the Empress took a towel and wiped the Emperor's mouth, saying, "Your Majesty, what are you saying? If it's not me who should be guarding him, then who is it?"

She then told the emperor that he had slept for about two hours: "How is Your Majesty feeling now? The imperial physician said that Your Majesty had broken out in a lot of cold sweat earlier. I have someone go and ask him. Perhaps you could change your clothes while it's still warm in the room."

Seeing that the emperor nodded, the empress indeed sent a palace maid to ask the imperial physician if His Majesty could change his clothes.

A short while later, Physician He entered. After taking His Majesty's pulse for a while, he respectfully replied, "His Majesty's fever has subsided. We will continue to consolidate the treatment tonight, and a different medicine will be prescribed tomorrow."

He also agreed to the Empress's suggestion to change the Emperor's clothes, and then went out.

After a while, the emperor was dressed in clean clothes. The emperor looked at the empress without speaking; his head was still somewhat dizzy. After a long while, he suddenly asked, "How is that child from Qiongnan?"

"Of course it's good, Your Majesty, please put your mind at ease. When I was ill, the Crown Princess said something to me: 'Everything has two sides, one good and one bad.' She suggested that I think about the good side, and that it would make me feel better." The Empress understood the Emperor's inner turmoil. The fact that the Emperor was asking about Qiongnan instead of others showed that he couldn't let go of his second son.

But whether you can let go or not, it's all the same now.

The emperor listened in silence for a while, then suddenly said, "I am old and ill now, so it would be better to give the throne to the third son and put my mind at ease."

These words startled the Empress. She looked at the Emperor in surprise and shook her head after a while: "Your Majesty is clearly not fully awake yet. You should rest well. Physician He just said that the dressing will be changed tomorrow. Once Your Majesty is fully recovered, you will naturally stop having such wild thoughts."

The emperor fell silent again, staring intently at the empress. After a moment, he asked the empress to read aloud to him.

Just then, Yingying, Yueyue, and Qiongnan came over after school. The Empress called them in, and the Emperor asked Qiongnan to read to him.

But after a short while, the emperor fell into a deep sleep again.

The Empress instructed the wet nurse to take the children back, and then summoned Granny Hu, giving her a few instructions. The Emperor's words had startled the Empress, so she asked Granny Hu to deliver a message to the Crown Princess, so that they would be mentally prepared and not panic if the Emperor suddenly brought it up.

After all, how the crown prince reacts when the emperor announces his intention to abdicate is of great importance.

Daiyu, who was not too busy but certainly not idle these days, paused for a moment after hearing what Hu Mama had told her, and nodded, saying, "I understand. Please go back and tell Mother not to worry."

Despite saying that, Daiyu was still somewhat apprehensive.