The Forbidden City in the night resembled a dark and bottomless abyss with a ferocious mouth trying to swallow all the light.
The rain that afternoon was rare and unusual, continuing until it gradually subsided after dark. For a long while, it kept pattering incessantly.
But there was a moon in the sky as if it wanted to witness all the ugliness of the world.
On the dark palace road, it was hard to tell if it was covered in blood or rainwater. The fight had already begun, and two people with their eyes fixed on each other, after a while of probing, seemed to have run out of patience. They never expected to coincidentally choose the same day to act.
“Those who stand in my way, kill!”
At a time like this, all those who were lurking outside were undoubtedly enemies. Even if there were some accidental injuries, it didn’t matter.
The thumping footsteps kept running back and forth, with occasional fighting and screams. The eunuchs and palace maids knew that something big was happening. They could only move furniture to block the doors, cover their heads with blankets, and hope that everything would be back to normal and safe after dawn. There was nothing else they could do.
Qianqing Palace was brightly lit and it seemed like a foreign entity independent of this world in this dark night.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe bright yellow curtains hung low, and the faint scent of ambergris filled the entire space, making it peaceful and serene. However, the peaceful scene was interrupted by a dead person on the ground. If anyone else were present, they would surely recognize this person as Yong Wang.
Yong Wang’s eyes were wide open as if he still had many questions. He couldn’t figure out why, despite putting the hallucinating incense in the incense burner, it was not Dai Wang who was affected, but he himself who went to see King Yama
What he didn’t know was that while he had only wanted people to not interfere, others had already plotted to kill him. There was no such thing as being lucky or unlucky, it was simply a matter of being outsmarted by others.
Therefore, he couldn’t blame anyone for his death.
Dai Wang pulled a handkerchief out of his sleeve and wiped the blood stains off his hands. He did not pull the dagger out of Yong Wang’s chest, since pulling it out would only cause a lot of blood to gush out, and it would be inconvenient to clean up later.
The hall was quiet, with eunuchs lying on the ground like lifeless objects in the corner.
The surroundings were so quiet that one could hear their heart race. Faint sounds could be heard from far away, but they were not distinct.
Someone hurriedly walked in and knelt down in front of Dai Wang, “Your Highness, all of Yong Wang’s men have been executed. Other places are currently being guarded, and no one is attempting to resist for the time being.”
Dai Wang nodded and was about to say something, when suddenly a series of hurried footsteps sounded. Empress Wei had arrived.
Empress Wei was dressed in her best attire. It was evident that she had not rested yet and had just gotten up upon hearing the commotion.
In fact, at this time, how could Empress Wei fall asleep? She had been waiting quietly in the Kunning Palace until the news of the incident was over and she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
This night was undoubtedly a long night for Empress Wei.
When it was found that someone was causing trouble in the palace at night, timid concubines or people sent by them came to Kunning Palace to inquire and seek refuge. But without exception, they were all shut out by the closed gates of Kunning Palace. During this time, many new souls joined the dead and it was unknown how many.
Empress Wei’s face was a little pale, and she was out of breath. It was evident that everything happening outside was having a strong impact on her.
Dai Wang waved his hand, and the person in shining armour retreated, leaving only mother and son in the hall.
Technically, there were three people, with one person currently lying on the most luxurious dragon couch in the world, not dead but seemingly dead.
But he was not dead!
As the folk saying went, “When the tiger is not at home, the monkey becomes the king.”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAs it turned out, these sayings were not without reason. If Emperor Hongjing had been well, none of this would have happened tonight.
Empress Wei clearly had many words to say, but faced with this scene and her somewhat unfamiliar second son, she didn’t know what to say.
“Is Mother Empress here to see Father Emperor for the last time?” Dai Wang was the first to speak.
Empress Wei was stunned for a moment, and it was difficult for her to turn her head to look at the person on the dragon couch.
The rear bedroom of the Qianqing Palace had always been a place where the emperor’s women could not easily set foot. Even Empress Wei, Emperor Hongjing’s wife, could only stay briefly and was not even qualified to spend a night there. With so many concubines in the harem, the only one to ever stay here overnight was that woman who had long since died.
It was also after knowing this that Empress Wei made up her mind to let the deposed consort die.
For a while, Empress Wei’s mind was in chaos, as if she had thought of many things, and as if she had thought of nothing.
Obviously, Dai Wang had lost his patience and did not want to indulge the other woman’s soft-heartedness. He repeated his words again.
It was both to urge her and to remind her.
“Can’t we…”
“No, Mother Empress!” Dai Wang said decisively, shedding the disguise of his usual demeanour and finally revealing the arrogance of his bones. “Don’t forget, once the bow is drawn, the arrow can’t be taken back. Our great-grandfather, grandfather, and uncles, all took a gamble. This is not only for the sake of achieving this son’s great cause but also for the Wei Family and for you, Mother Empress.
“Don’t forget, Father Emperor did not intend to pass on the throne to this son. He favoured Jin Wang as his successor. If Jin Wang is to ascend the throne, how will he treat Mother Empress? How will he treat the Wei Family? Do you honestly think he has no suspicion about the death of Consort De that year? Even if he did not suspect it in the past, he should have started to doubt by now…”