Chapter 486: Raise an army! Clear out the imperial court!

Chapter 486: Raise an army! Clear out the imperial court!

Chapter 486: Raise an army! Clear out the imperial court! (5k)

The sky was completely dark, and lanterns were lit, illuminating the pavilions and tiled houses of the Zhao Mansion.

Zhao Pan, who was sitting on the steps with her knees hugged, turned her head. The girl's beautiful eyebrows and eyes were as warm and white as jade under the light, and the sadness between her eyebrows made her look even more pitiful.

"Can't sleep again?" Eugene Hua put the lotus lantern in her hand on the ground and squatted beside her daughter. Because of this action, her plump buttocks were stretched into a round curve.

"Yeah, I miss my brother." Zhao Pan nodded and said softly.

The bright eyes like autumn water reflect the starry sky in the south.

"I don't know if my brother is okay at this moment? Is he safe? Where has he gone?" Zhao Pan was in a low mood, and the Pekingese lying at her feet also whimpered in cooperation.

Eugene was silent.

Given the mother and daughter's current status in the circle of noble ladies in the capital, a lot of news can be quickly learned.

Naturally, this includes secrets such as the empress failed in her Fengshan journey and fled, and Zhao Duan accompanied her as escort.

As female relatives, it goes without saying that they were worried and uneasy.

During this period, although the Zhao family seemed peaceful, in fact, the people were in a panic. The servants in the mansion often talked privately, discussing that if His Majesty was gone, the Zhao family, which depended on the empress for its existence, would be destroyed soon.

"No," Eugenia said suddenly and forcefully:
"Your eldest brother will be fine. He has been through so many dangerous situations in the past year, but he was always safe and sound. There will definitely be no accidents this time. Maybe he is not far from the capital, and he will come back after a while."

Zhao Pan stared at his mother's profile in a daze, and suddenly said:

"Mom, you are not the same as before."

Eugene, who was of a gentle character, smiled and blinked:
"Mom is growing up too. Women are vines and men are trees. The bigger the tree grows, the stronger the vine will be. Even if the tree is gone one day, the old vine will never be the same as it was before."

From managing a small Zhao family to now being in charge of the huge Zhao Mansion, entertaining and greeting noble ladies from the capital all day long, how could Eugene Hua have made no progress?
Zhao Pan hugged his mother and buried his head in her magnificent chest:

"Mom, you are not old."

Eugene smiled and patted her daughter's arm gently, just like when she was little and coaxed her to sleep, looking up at the dull stars:

"Go to sleep. Our family has come this far and it's not that easy to fall. Even if the rebels really break into the city one day, we will run to the south in advance to find your eldest brother. We have gone through so many difficulties, so this little bit is not a big deal."

"Yeah." Zhao Pan said softly and closed his eyes.

The Pekingese at her feet also snuggled up to the girl and closed his eyes.

……

The night is getting darker.

Inside the inn, the lights were dim. Zhao Duan was looking through the information sent by the inner palace guards, his expression becoming more and more serious:

"Your Majesty, something is indeed wrong. From the clues, it seems that the Li Party has been restless since you left the capital."

The information sent by the Imperial Secret Guards was extremely detailed and could not be obtained in a short period of time.

After a quick thought, Zhao Du'an realized that the empress might have specially arranged a group of secret guards to hide in the city and keep an eye on the group of potentially unstable elements headed by the officials of the Li Party before she went south to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth.

Xu Zhenguan stood by the window, looking at the sparse stars peeking through the gaps in the clouds above the capital:
"Shouldn't you have guessed this long ago?"

Her expression was very calm, without too many unexpected emotions:
"If I were in Li Yanfu's position, I would not miss such a good God-given opportunity."

Zhao Duan's heart moved, and he said:
"According to the intelligence sent by the secret guards, I'm afraid that this group of people may cause trouble in the next few days."

Xu Zhenguan understood what he wanted to say and said calmly:

"Everything remains the same. Go to the palace tomorrow morning. When the court meeting is held, I will publicly return."

Even if waiting a few more days would allow these thieves to jump out, she would not wait any longer.

"Besides, with the intelligence we have now, we can eliminate a lot of parasites." Xu Zhenguan's voice was as cold as ice.

Zhao Duan nodded, but felt his right eyelid twitching slightly, and felt a little uneasy.

……

The imperial yamen, the governor's hall.

Ma Yan sat in the hall, working by candlelight.

He frowned, read the documents on the table again and again, and said without raising his head:
"Why didn't you report this news to the higher-ups earlier?"

With a ponytail and teardrop moles at the corners of her eyes, the heroic Haitang sat in the hall and yawned softly:

"Master Governor, the various halls have been busy lately, working in shifts. The city has been very unstable recently. You should know that it is not easy to deliver this news."

Her face was full of fatigue, and Zhang Han and other detectives in the hall were no less exhausted.

These days, the entire imperial court is extremely busy. There are too many things to do, and late-night reports drag on until after the early morning every day. If they were not warriors, ordinary people would have collapsed long ago.

Ma Yan raised his head and knocked on the table solemnly: "When it comes to the Li Party, there is no small matter. Let's forget about it this time. If there is a next time, you will be punished."

Haitang sighed and didn't dare to refute.

Haitang just got the information today about groups of people suspected to be warriors sneaking into the city from outside the city, and suspected to be related to the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Not daring to delay, he immediately presented it to Ma Yan.

In the past, the imperial court should not have discovered this action so late, but due to the special circumstances recently, it was ignored.

"We need to continue investigating and collecting evidence on this matter. This is a sensitive period and His Majesty is not in the capital, so we should not make a big fuss. I will ask Li Yanfu in person at the court meeting tomorrow." Ma Yan thought for a moment and made a decision.

Zhang Han, the king of paralyzed face, said: "Will it alert the enemy?"

Ma Yan glanced at him, his cold and thin face serious:
"Now is not the time to investigate the case and make merit. Maintaining stability in the city is the top priority. I did this to warn the enemy."

The Ji Si at the lobby entrances in the hall were shocked:
"My subordinate understands!"

"Well, go back and rest." Ma Yan waved his hand.

Everyone left one after another, with Haitang staying at the end: "Dugong, is there any latest news about His Majesty and Zhao Duan?"

Ma Yan glanced at her, as if he saw through his thoughts, and shook his head:
"The last time Eunuch Hai sent a message was seven days ago. The next message should be not far away. Good things come to those who are lucky. Your Majesty and Zhao Duan will be fine."

"Yeah." Haitang nodded and left worriedly.

In a time of storm, how could the people in the Imperial Court, who are the "slaughter knife" in the hands of the empress, not be in turmoil?

Nothing will happen? Ma Yan said it straightforwardly, but he couldn't even tell how much confidence he had in his words.

……

……

The next morning.

The rising sun was blocked by dark clouds overhead, and the sky over the capital was pale.

For some reason, the whole city felt more depressing than usual.

In the inner courtyard of the Xiangguo Mansion, the "Third Lady", who was a concubine, walked out of the room and lectured the maids in the back house. One of the maids said:

"Madam, the eldest master brought a lot of people to the front yard. They are murderous and I don't know what they are going to do."

The third lady glared at her:
"You are the maids in the backyard, so you only need to take care of the backyard affairs and don't say anything about the front yard."

With the scale of the Prime Minister's Mansion, each courtyard is an independent world with independent servants and clear responsibilities and powers.

The maid was so scared that she knelt on the ground and said yes repeatedly.

The third lady sighed, waved her hand to disperse the crowd, picked up the tray containing a clay pot of ginseng soup, and walked towards the study.

Last night, Li Yanfu secretly left the house through the secret passage and came back in the late night. He did not fall asleep and stayed in the study until dawn.

The third wife knocked on the door and said, "Master, it's time to drink soup."

"Enter."

She pushed open the door with a creaking sound, and the pale light of the sky shone into the messy study.

Inside the house, Li Yanfu had not slept all night, but he was in high spirits. He was wearing a blood-red robe and a white jade pendant on his waist.

At this moment, he was standing quietly in the study, in front of a small altar table.

There was only an incense burner and a tablet for Li's ancestors on the table, and behind it was an ancient painting hanging on the whitewashed wall.

There are mountains and water in the painting. An old elk with majestic horns is walking in the mountains. He turns his head and looks back. There are shadowy figures in the jungle, as if there is a group of deer following him.

Li Yanfu lit the yellow incense in his hand, held the three yellow incense sticks with green smoke curling up in both hands, and placed them into the incense burner.

"Master..." Third Madam Xiaoyue called softly.

Li Yanfu turned around. Today he did not look as old as before. Although he was old, his face was ruddy and there was a fierceness in his eyes, as if he had become ten years younger overnight.

Xiao Yue's heart moved, and her brows knitted tightly: "Master, are you taking medicine again?"

Li Yanfu is not a cultivator, he is just an ordinary person. At his age now, even if he does not pretend to be sick, he is still not as good as he was in the past.

But if you take the elixir, it can temporarily revive a person and make him full of energy.

Li Yanfu glanced at her indifferently without answering. He walked to the table, sat down, picked up the spoon, and drank the soup mouthful by mouthful.

Xiao Yue did not move. She held her skirt tightly with both hands. Suddenly, she knelt on the ground, raising her charming face, but with a worried look on her face:
"Master, think twice. If you leave the house today, there will be no turning back."

Li Yanfu paused, ignored her, and continued to drink the soup. The concubine, who was known for her gentleness and understanding, and was deeply favored by the prime minister, said sadly: "Master, you..."

"Snapped!"

Li Yanfu suddenly threw the white porcelain soup bowl to the ground and it shattered immediately. The porcelain fragments mixed with the soup and splashed all over Xiaoyue who was kneeling on the ground.

The latter looked terrified and trembling.

"Get out!" Li Yanfu lowered his head, his beard was stained with ginseng soup and was a little dirty, but he didn't care.

Xiao Yue sighed, stood up tremblingly, and walked out. Before she stepped out of the door, she only said:

"I have prepared three feet of white silk in my room. If you... I will follow you."

After saying this, this low-key woman who was not well-known in the capital walked away with firm steps.

Li Yanfu sat quietly in the chair. After a long time, he slowly stood up and grasped the gorgeous, jewel-inlaid dagger on the table with his wrinkled right hand.

He straightened his back inch by inch, as if he had returned to the glorious days of the past.

This legendary old man, who came from an ordinary family in the Huai River and rose step by step to the position of Prime Minister, who was second only to the emperor and above all others, walked out of the study, the backyard and came to the front yard.

In the huge front yard, there was complete silence, with hundreds of warriors wearing red clothes, white ribbons tied around their heads, and swords on their backs standing silently.

They are both killers and retainers.

They are a group of killers that the Xiangguo Mansion has spent a lot of effort to train outside the city over the past ten years and they only obey Li Yanfu's orders.

In the past, they would do some dirty work for Li Yanfu that would not be seen in public.

And now, this group of people disguised themselves as farmers and sneaked into the city in batches. They gathered here today for an event that will go down in history.

"Father! Everything is ready, announce it!"

Li Yinglong stood in front of the crowd. He was wearing a set of soft armor, looking excited and with fiery eyes.

Li Yanfu stood on the steps, his eyes sweeping across the pale sky, the square patio, and the resolute faces of the hundreds of people in red in the courtyard.

The dagger in his right hand was suddenly raised above his head.

Li Yanfu's neck was bulging with veins, his face was red, and his voice was like a wolf's howl:
“Raise the army!!!”

Hundreds of followers drew their swords and raised them high at the same time, swords and spears stood in a forest, stabbing towards the sky:

"Raise troops!"

"Raise troops!"

"Raise troops!"

After a while, the main gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion opened wide. Li Yanfu put on soft armor, rode a horse, and led hundreds of retainers out, charging towards the south gate of the imperial palace.

The Prime Minister's Mansion was not far from the Imperial Palace. Hundreds of people were rushing along the streets like a tide of blood, running towards the Imperial Palace in the morning light under the horrified gazes of the people on both sides of the streets!
The people hid behind closed doors in fear, memories of the Xuanmen coup three years ago flooding back to their minds.

……

The south gate of the palace.

On the top of the city wall, Wang Ye, wearing distinctive armor, was patrolling.

As an inconspicuous infantryman in the Yulin Guard, there was nothing worth writing about in his twenty years of life.

If there is only one thing that can be said, it is probably that he and Zhao Duan were once in the same squad, and they were comrades-in-arms. They had a few drinks and played cards together a few times.

At that time, Zhao Duan was just a taciturn, good-looking soldier, and that was all Wang Ye's impression of him was.

It was not until the winter three years ago, on the day of the Xuanmen coup, that Wang Ye and Zhao Duan, soldiers of the Yulin Guard, fought against the rebels of the second prince Jianwen under the command of their leader, and witnessed the heroic feat of the empress defeating thousands of enemies with just a sword.

It was also during that time that Zhao Duan was unexpectedly favored by the empress. Two months later, he was promoted to the Baima Prison, and rumors of an affair between him and the empress spread.

Wang Ye once tried to build a relationship with the prisoner, but he was kicked out by the guards in Baima Prison before he could even get in the door.

"Damn Zhao Duan! He doesn't recognize anyone when he's in power! What ability does he have? It's just his face. Pah!"

At that time, Wang Ye only dared to curse in his heart but didn't dare to show his teeth.

But since last year, Zhao Duan has made many great achievements and his status has risen steadily. Not only did he defeat Monk Tianhai with his military force, his literary talent made Han Banshan admire him more than he did, and he even became the Young Guardian, which is truly a dream.

Wang Ye's impression of Zhao Duan also changed from "lucky as hell" to "Your Majesty has a keen eye."

I often wonder why that taciturn and mediocre comrade was actually a pearl covered in dust, and I didn't realize it at the time.

only……

He also recalled the news that was spreading like wildfire in the Imperial Guards: His Majesty was missing, Young Master Zhao was missing, and five rebel armies were attacking the capital... Wang Ye suddenly no longer envied Zhao Duan.

"It's better to live a miserable life than to die. What's the point of being so famous and powerful?"

"If he had not been chosen by His Majesty three years ago, he would at least be alive and well now, standing guard with me."

Wang Ye shook his head with a sigh, very satisfied with his condition.

However, when he turned his head to look at the patrolling soldiers of Qianniu Guard and Jinwu Guard on the city wall, he couldn't help but frown, feeling that something was not right.

The brothers on the other two guards who were on duty with him today were replaced at the same time, and they were all replaced by faces he was not familiar with.

He had just started a conversation with the other person, but the other person had a cold face and looked at him with a hint of hostility, which made him very puzzled.

"Maybe it's because of my bad temper."

Wang Ye didn't think much about it, fumbled with the hilt of the knife, and looked out of the city.

Not long ago, the ministers who were going to enter the palace had all entered one after another, and now the long street outside the palace gate was empty.

Suddenly, Wang Ye was surprised to notice that a large number of people in red clothes suddenly appeared on both sides of the street in the distance, which was very eye-catching.

Heading straight towards the palace.

He frowned, not knowing the situation, and subconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of his knife. The group of people came very quickly, led by a man on horseback who looked familiar. But before he could see clearly, he caught a glimpse of the shining swords on the group of people in red.

Wang Ye's face suddenly changed!

Bringing weapons to attack the palace? This is a crime of treason!
Who are these people and what are they going to do?
Thinking of the recent news of the rebellion, Wang Ye's hair stood on end and he shouted:

"Enemy attack!!!"

Immediately, he subconsciously grabbed the copper whistle on his chest, ready to blow it to sound the alarm. However, the next moment, the expected scene of the defenders on the city wall using bows and crossbows to kill the bandits did not happen.

Instead, screams suddenly sounded around him.

That was the cry of pain from his comrade in the Imperial Guards before his death.

"What's going on?" As soon as this thought came to mind, Wang Ye felt a chill in his throat! His body lost strength!

The copper whistle in his hand fell, and he turned his head in shock, and found in disbelief that the unfamiliar Qianniu Guard had cold eyes, attacked him from behind, and thrust the dagger into his throat!
A sneak attack came from the side, leaving no time to react!

"Rebellion... Rebellion..."

Wang Ye's body went limp and he fell from the top of the city wall, hitting the ground with a thud.

Just before his eyes became completely dark, the little man whose life was coming to an end finally saw clearly the old man riding on a horse and rushing into the palace.

"The Prime Minister... plotted a rebellion..."

The imperial guards in the city opened the city gate, and the heavy vermilion door inlaid with rivets slammed open to both sides!

A long doorway appears.

Li Yanfu was on horseback, wearing soft armor and a helmet, with his gray hair sticking out in a messy pattern.

He raised his dagger:

"Purge the imperial court! Purge the imperial court! Anyone who obstructs us will be regarded as treason and will be killed without mercy!"

The retainers behind him drew their swords one after another and poured into the imperial palace like a torrent, along both sides of his horse, passing through the Meridian Gate and heading straight for the side hall where the court meeting was held!

Everything went as smoothly as expected.

As long as Li Yanfu uses swift action to control the ministers in the palace before the rest of the imperial guards can react, he can exercise the authority of the cabinet and control this city with millions of people where the throne is vacant!
……

……

Inside the inn.

Zhao Duan took off his disguise mask, opened the door and looked at the Queen of Yu who was now dressed neatly and had also washed off her disguise to restore her true appearance.

Xu Zhenguan no longer wore the low-key plain skirt, but instead put on the golden dragon robe that had the blood stains long since washed away.

As majestic as ever.

"Your Majesty, it's time to go to court." Zhao Duan said after a moment of daze.

Xu Zhenguan looked at Zhao Duan, who had also taken off his blue shirt and changed back into the official robes of the third-rank crown prince's guardian, and smiled:

"Qing Zhao, follow me into the palace."

(End of this chapter)