Chen Qi had anticipated that the Eastern Palace would have guards who might try to stop him, but the dagger hidden in his sleeve represented his resolve to stake his life on this. No matter how the Eastern Palace guards might try to stop him, they wouldn’t dare disregard the life and safety of a heir apparent.
This was within the palace, and many people knew he had come to the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince absolutely wouldn’t dare let anything happen to him in the Eastern Palace.
Yes, that’s it!
He would take You Yuji away from here and head straight to Wanrong Garden! Even if the Crown Prince was furious upon seeing You Yuji, he wouldn’t dare show it in front of all the civil and military officials at Wanrong Garden.
Chen Qi had previously visited Ziyu Garden in the Eastern Palace while looking for Chen Xun and Chen Lian. Though the garden wasn’t very large, his anxiety made it seem endless.
The reason Chen Qi guessed where the Crown Prince had hidden You Yuji was that the small courtyard where You Yuji was hidden had once been the scene of a death. Many years ago, one of the Crown Prince’s concubines, who had a somewhat fiery temper, not only offended the Crown Prince’s other women but also frequently irritated the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince had eventually confined her to a remote courtyard to curb her temper. He hadn’t expected that this concubine, who was as fierce as she was fiery, would hang herself with a piece of white silk.
Since then, the Crown Prince had sealed off the courtyard, forbidding anyone to go there. A place where someone had died was considered inauspicious, and since the Crown Prince had issued a decree, the courtyard had remained uninhabited for nearly twenty years, making it the perfect place to hide someone.
Finally, Chen Qi walked through Ziyu Garden and spotted the secluded small courtyard in the distance.
He had previously seen the courtyard from afar. Today, the courtyard didn’t look as desolate as he remembered, which made Chen Qi even more certain of his guess.
You Yuji must be there!
Chen Qi tightened his grip on the dagger hidden in his sleeve and cautiously approached. To his surprise, as he walked into the courtyard and stood at the door, he didn’t see a single guard.
What he didn’t know was that You Yuji and her maid had been drugged, leaving them too weak to leave the room. Consequently, the Crown Prince had only posted guards for the first two days after You Yuji was brought there. Most of those guards had since been withdrawn, leaving only two to keep watch. As it happened, the two remaining guards were currently asleep somewhere, never to wake again.
Standing outside the door in puzzlement, Chen Qi wondered if he had guessed wrong. He raised his hand to knock. Just as his slightly bent fingers were about to touch the door, he stopped himself. After a moment of hesitation, he directly pushed the door open.
“Who is it?” Zhenxu, leaning against the door to the inner room, looked out and was stunned to see Chen Qi. “Lord Qi?”
Chen Qi immediately recognized Zhenxu as You Yuji’s maid.
She is indeed hidden here!
Chen Qi hurried inside, his footsteps urgent. As he passed by Zhenxu, he accidentally bumped into her. Zhenxu, weak and lacking strength, had to steady herself against the wall to avoid falling.
Chen Qi stepped into the inner room, standing at the doorway and looking at You Yuji.
You Yuji had woken up from a nap and was now sitting at the dressing table. She had just managed to open the rouge box with some effort and was now slowly using her fingertip to apply a bit of rouge to her pale face.
“You…” Chen Qi opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.
You Yuji turned her head to look at him and calmly said, “Lord Qi.”
“Come with me! I’ll get you out of here!” Chen Qi rushed forward, “Today there’s a lively Lantern Festival banquet in the palace. I’ll take you there amidst the chaos. Once you’re there, just say you came to the palace to attend the banquet!”
You Yuji pressed her lips together without saying a word. It wasn’t that she was deliberately ignoring Chen Qi; she simply had no strength, and even speaking felt exhausting. She felt the effects of the poison worsening within her body.
Chen Qi stood in front of You Yuji. He lowered his head and looked at her, his gaze falling on her fingertip stained with a bit of rouge.
White fingers, red rouge.
Unlike the princes and noble heirs who were enjoying the festive atmosphere of the Lantern Festival, Emperor Chen had been busy with state affairs since early morning. After the morning court session, he convened several key ministers for discussions. The army had already set out for the State of Ning. Having personally participated in numerous battles during his campaign to annex ten countries, he understood well the principle that a general in the field may not always obey the emperor’s commands. He was a leader who trusted those he employed and had great confidence in the generals he had dispatched this time.
However, he still worried about the war every day, constantly reviewing military maps and frequently discussing strategies with his ministers.
The unification of the Twelve States had long been his obsession, and he was acutely aware of his deteriorating health. Of the ten countries he had annexed, some were won through battles, while smaller states like the State of Su and the State of Si surrendered voluntarily. The remaining two countries were still powerful, and even with the strength of Chen, which had swallowed up ten nations, they did not have a guaranteed chance of victory against those two. He couldn’t help but worry.
By late morning, a eunuch entered, bowing low to inform him that it was getting late. The emperor finally rose and, along with two ministers, headed to Wanrong Garden.
By the time they arrived at Wanrong Garden, the officials and royal relatives had already gathered. An attendant announced the emperor’s arrival in a high-pitched voice, and everyone stood up and knelt in greeting.
The emperor, preoccupied with the war, wore a somber expression as he walked slowly through the banquet tables to his seat at the head. As he passed by the Crown Prince, he noticed the prince’s face flushed from drinking and frowned.
If only he had a Crown Prince proficient in both civil and military affairs, capable of inheriting his ambitious vision…
The emperor sighed with regret.
He could no longer delay the matter of changing the Crown Prince. There was no more time for hesitation.
The emperor sat down on the dragon throne at the head and raised his hand to signal everyone to rise. The Lantern Festival banquet officially began. Beautiful palace maids filed in, carrying delicacies and placing them on the tables. One after another, performances of music and dance began and ended in an orderly fashion.
Everything seemed normal.
Just as the Emperor was about to rise from his seat, the Crown Prince suddenly stood up and kicked over the banquet table in front of him.
Everyone was stunned.
Even the Emperor, who had been painstakingly seeking a suitable excuse to depose the Crown Prince, was momentarily too shocked to reprimand him.
The previously lively Wanrong Garden fell into a deathly silence in an instant. Everyone was unsure whether to look at the erratic Crown Prince or to gauge the Emperor’s reaction.
No one expected that the Crown Prince’s strange behavior was just beginning.
The Crown Prince, after kicking over the banquet table, staggered to the center of the room. This area was originally meant for the dancers. Seeing the Crown Prince wobbling towards them, the dancers, panic-stricken, retreated hastily.
With vacant eyes, the Crown Prince reached the center and began tearing at his clothes. The golden dragon embroidered on his dark brocade robe was twisted out of shape by his pulling. Soon, he had stripped off his outer robe and casually tossed it to the ground.
Stumbling, he stepped on his discarded robe, trampling the dragon beneath his feet.
The Emperor’s pupils contracted sharply, and he slammed the table with a loud bang, angrily shouting, “Insolence!”
The spellbinding silence was broken, and everyone snapped back to reality. Palace attendants immediately rushed forward to stop the Crown Prince from continuing to undress.
Chen Xun’s face turned pale with fright, and he hurriedly rushed over. He pushed through the palace attendants and reached his father, trying to hold him. The Crown Prince struggled violently, making it difficult for Chen Xun to control him. While desperately trying to restrain the Crown Prince, Chen Xun looked up at the Emperor on the dragon throne and urgently said, “Grandfather, my father is drunk. I’ll take him away right now!”
Several of the Crown Prince’s close aides, all pale with fear, rushed forward to try to stop him from further “drunken antics.”
The Emperor, narrowing his eyes, watched the Crown Prince, who was still struggling despite being held by several people. He could tell that this was no ordinary drunken behavior. He glanced towards Prince Jinnan and Prince Pinghuai, wondering who had orchestrated this scene against the Crown Prince.
Prince Jinnan and Prince Pinghuai exchanged a glance and then looked away, each lost in their own confusion.
Suddenly, the Crown Prince shoved away those around him. Chen Xun was knocked to the ground, thinking to himself how bad things were. When had his father ever had such immense strength? It was almost superhuman!
He had no time to ponder further as he watched his father rush towards a guard and draw the sword from the guard’s waist. The blade gleamed coldly.
“Father!” Chen Xun exclaimed in a cold sweat.
At this point, the Emperor’s imperial guards sprang into action. The sound of swords being drawn filled the air.
Today was a day of cloudless skies, with warm sunlight shining on the resplendent red tiles and green eaves, reflecting a dazzling brilliance.
In the distance, Si Que sat leisurely on a rooftop, watching the farce at Wanrong Garden unfold. He idly flipped a copper coin in his slender fingers, the sunlight glinting off it with a hint of blood-red sheen.
This was just the beginning of the farce.
Even though the Crown Prince had temporarily gained immense strength due to the drug, he was no match for the highly skilled imperial guards. The sword was knocked out of his hand, and he was pinned to the ground, his once haughty face pressed into the dirt and stained with mud.
Si Que watched the farce below with a displeased expression and spoke, “Tingyun.”
“At your service!”
“Why hasn’t it started yet?” Si Que asked leisurely, his usual tone hiding an unknown anger.
“I have followed your instructions and applied the drug to half of the wine goblets at the banquet. The effects should be imminent.”
No sooner had Tingyun finished speaking than one of the ministers at the banquet suddenly stood up and, like the Crown Prince earlier, kicked over the banquet table, spilling the exquisite delicacies all over the floor.
One after another, people began to show symptoms, standing up and smashing things. Those who had not been poisoned screamed in panic. Some of the more timid officials, in their attempt to flee, tripped and fell, sprawling on the ground.
In an instant, Wanrong Garden descended into complete chaos.
The imperial guards quickly surrounded the Emperor, protecting him as they escorted him away.
Si Que coldly observed the scene at Wanrong Garden, showing no sign of satisfaction on his face.
Until the explosion suddenly echoed through Wanrong Garden, accompanied by thick smoke.
In a few moments, the fire had engulfed the entire garden.
No, it wasn’t just fire.
It was gunpowder.
Si Que’s leisurely flipping of the copper coin abruptly stopped. He squinted his eyes, peering through the dense smoke to see the Crown Prince rising from the ground.
“Go,” he ordered, “find an old and sick sow, and raise it with care, as if it were precious.”
Tingyun paused for a moment, suspiciously looking at Si Que. She suppressed her doubts and responded, “Yes.”
Just as Tingyun turned to leave, Si Que added another command—
“I want him alive.”
Si Que did not specify who he meant, but Tingyun knew. She silently leaped off the green-tiled roof to carry out the orders.
Si Que was left alone on the rooftop. He stared expressionlessly in the direction of Wanrong Garden, admiring his handiwork. The cries and explosions of the gunpowder echoed intermittently. The pungent smell gradually spread from Wanrong Garden.
Si Que took a deep breath, catching the scent of blood amidst the smoke.
In the distance, the bodies blown into the sky, shattered into countless pieces, were a dazzling spectacle.
Si Que laughed heartily, his handsome face, usually serene like that of an immortal, now displaying an incredibly radiant smile.
Then, in an instant, the eerie smile vanished, as if it had never existed, leaving behind a cold, expressionless face once more.
The copper coin was tossed high into the air, only to fall silently back onto the back of his hand.
Tails.
Si Que stood up, the cool wind carrying the scent of blood and smoke, lifting his snow-white robes.
