The Red Mansions

Chapter 1637: It will not be too late to discuss loyalty and treachery when Prince Wei returns to th

Chapter 1637: It will not be too late to discuss loyalty and treachery when Prince Wei returns to the capital!

Former Prince's Palace of Nan'an

Ever since Yan Ye led a group of servants and joined the officers of the Beijing camp to occupy the Wucheng Bingmasi Yamen early in the morning, the Nan'an Concubine had been waiting anxiously on the pearwood chair in the hall, her kind and gentle face full of anticipation and joy.

"Yi Liu, when your father helps Lord Li to accomplish great merit this time, the title of Prince will be returned to him. By that time, our family will be revived and will be crowded with visitors." The Nan'an Concubine said in a low voice with a flourishing smile on her fair and delicate face.

Yan Yiliu was wearing a green dress at the moment, and a solemn look appeared on her beautiful, fair face.

She had a vague feeling that things might not be that simple.

Concubine Nan'an snorted coldly and scolded: "When the time comes, I will definitely see how arrogant the Jia family will be!"

Yan Yiliu pursed her lips and said, "Madam, it seems that the Jia family has not done anything to harm our family, right?"

Nan'an Concubine's old, fair face was filled with anger, and she said in a harsh voice: "Ever since that kid from the Jia family gained power, the Jia family's noses have grown on top of their heads. The reason why our family is in such a state of decline now is not because of that kid Jia Heng?"

Yan Yiliu pursed her pink lips and didn't want to argue.

In her opinion, their family's loss of power was due to their failure in military affairs, so it was not their fault.

The Concubine Nan'an cursed angrily, but still felt unsatisfied.

At this moment, a young servant came from outside and entered the hall, saying, "My Lady Princess, the Master is back."

When Concubine Nan'an heard this, her face was filled with joy, and she said to Yan Yiliu beside her: "Your father is back."

As they were talking, Nan'an County Prince Yan Ye came in from outside, with a big smile on his face, and said, "Mother, the big thing is done."

Nan'an Concubine's old face also showed eagerness, and she asked, "What exactly is being said in the palace?"

Yan Ye said: "The Empress Dowager Zeng, who lives in Changle Palace, stepped in and deposed the young emperor born to Zhen and replaced him with the eighth prince Chen Ze. Now the cabinet ministers in the palace are busy preparing for the coronation ceremony."

Concubine Nan'an couldn't hide her joy and said, "That's really good news. Did the palace tell you that your title will be restored, Ye'er?"

Yan Ye's smile remained unchanged as he said, "Mother, please be patient. The restoration of my title will have to wait until the new emperor ascends the throne and issues an imperial decree."

Concubine Nan'an smiled and nodded, saying, "Then these two days won't be too much of a problem."

Yan Ye couldn't hide his joy in his voice, and said, "Mother, I won't talk to you for now. I'll take someone to Ningguo Mansion."

At the end of his speech, Yan Ye's face was filled with anger.

He had been holding this grudge for several years, and this time he could finally hold his head high.

The Nan'an Concubine stood up and said, "Ye'er, I'll go with you. I'm going to Rongguo Mansion."

As the saying goes, a gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years; a villain's revenge begins from morning till night.

The Concubine Nan'an would take this opportunity to vent the anger that she had been suppressing for several years in front of Lady Jia.

When Yan Yiliu saw this scene, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

What's up with this?

But after all, he is my elder, so it’s not easy to persuade him too much.

……

……

Kunning Palace, in the hall——

Zhen Qing came into the palace with a dejected look on her face, escorted by the eunuchs and female officials sent by Concubine Duanrong. Her face was as pale as paper, and her beautiful eyes were dazed.

At this moment, a young man with a tall figure, like Zhilan, and a heroic face, came up to her and said softly, "Mother."

Zhen Qing raised her beautiful head with long black hair and looked at her son. She felt a sudden pain in her nose and said in a trembling voice, "Jie'er."

Her good son doesn't even know that his throne has been abolished.

Thinking of this, the beauty felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. Her hands and feet felt cold and she could hardly control herself.

Chen Jie said softly, "Mother, there are many guards standing outside, and they have blocked the palace in front of the corridor."

Chen Jie was six or seven years old, and finally reached the age to be a governor.

Zhen Qing hugged Chen Jie's petite body, and tears were rolling down her narrow, clear eyes. She said, "Don't be afraid, Jie'er. Just wait for your godfather to come back."

When the King of Chu was alive, he asked Chen Jie to recognize Jia Heng as his godfather.

"Didn't godfather go to Taiyuan?" Chen Jie's crisp and clear voice carried a hint of cuteness and coquettishness.

Zhen Qing raised her emerald eyebrows, her eyes were bright and she whispered, "He will come back eventually."

That bastard, he clearly said at the beginning that the Beijing camp was absolutely safe and would never rebel. What's going on now?

Zhen Qing hated Jia Heng so much at this moment that her teeth were almost itching.

Because, with Zhen Qing's intelligence, she has already realized that she has been deceived.

Since Jia Heng had long anticipated that Li and Xu would launch a coup, but had no plan to deal with it, this in itself was suspicious.

Then there is only one reason for doing this, to kill with a borrowed knife!

That bastard was clearly using Li and Xu to depose Jie'er from the throne.

"Mother." Chen Jie saw Zhen Qing's face changing constantly, and was extremely worried. He said loudly, "Mother, what's wrong with you?"

Zhen Qing stared at the young man with a heroic look in his brows and said, "It's okay, Jie'er. With your mother here, no one can bully you."

When Chen Jie heard this, he vaguely guessed some reasons in his mind.

……

……

In the palace garden, in the Wuying Palace——

The officers and soldiers of the Beijing Camp took over the guard of the entire palace, while Cao Bianjiao stood in front of the palace.

Cabinet Grand Secretary Li Zan was giving instructions to the Eighth Prince Chen Ze, while the entire cabinet was also busy preparing for the upcoming coronation ceremony.

This coronation ceremony must be held in a grand and dignified manner, highlighting the royal majesty and solemnity.

Li Zan calmed down and said, "The enthronement ceremony will be held the day after tomorrow, and the eighth prince will ascend the throne to avoid any more trouble."

The so-called fait accompli was created, and when Jia Heng returned to Beijing, he had no choice but to accept it.

Xu Lu nodded and asked, "Prince, how do you deal with the followers of Prince Wei in the Beijing Camp, Jinyifu, and Wucheng Bingmasi?"

When this matter was mentioned, Li Zan found it a bit tricky.

Li Zan thought for a moment and said, "First, let someone take over the Wucheng Bingmasi and Jinyifu. For the former subordinates of Prince Wei, they should be detained for the time being. It is not appropriate to anger Prince Wei. Prince Wei's followers are spread all over the prefectures. The border troops and Bashu and other places are all in the charge of Prince Wei's confidants."

To put it bluntly, we still can't fall out.

Xu Lu nodded, with approval in his eyes.

In the final analysis, we still have to negotiate with Jia Heng, and these people are the bargaining chips in the negotiation with Jia Heng.

Li Zan thought for a moment and said, "Have someone guard the Ning and Rong mansions first, and do not disturb the female relatives."

Xu Lu said: "The Prince of Nan'an has already gone there."

Li Zan frowned when he heard this and said, "Tell Yan Ye not to disturb the Ning and Rong mansions."

Xu Lu said: "I will go there myself."

Li Zan nodded and said nothing more.

……

……

Ningguo Mansion

When riot was about to break out in the city, Qin Keqing and the three sisters of the You family were chatting in the hall of the back house. When they heard about the noisy commotion in the city of Shenjing from the servants, they became extremely worried.

Qin Keqing's beautiful eyes, sparkling with sparkling green eyebrows, were filled with worry. She asked in a low voice, "Has the rebellion outside subsided?"

Third Sister You's eyes showed a thoughtful look, and she said, "The Beijing Camp is the prince's confidant, so it shouldn't rebel."

A worried look appeared on Youshi's gentle and soft face, and she said, "It just so happens that the prince is not here."

Qin Keqing's beautiful eyes were as bright as water under her emerald eyebrows. She asked, "Where is Princess Le'an?"

At this moment, a maid quickly entered the hall, stared at Qin Keqing, and said, "Princess, the princess just said that there is no need to worry in the mansion, and the incident will not affect the mansion."

After hearing this, Qin Keqing's eyebrows were as dark as spring mountains, and she couldn't help but feel a little relieved. She said, "Since Princess Le'an said that there is nothing wrong, everyone should just rest in peace."

Yu Shi nodded her delicate head with long black hair and said softly, "Yes."

Qin Keqing's jade-like face was covered with a beautiful blush, and she said, "Okay, talk to the families in the backyard and don't let them worry too much."

At this moment, Baozhu and Ruizhu responded softly.

Grand View Garden, Hengwu Garden——

At this moment, Xue Baochai was lying on a soft couch covered with a mattress, gently stroking her bulging belly, holding the script written by Jia Heng in her hand and beginning to read it.

Not far away, the maid Ying'er and Aunt Xue were serving on the side, and tea and snacks were constantly being passed around.

Aunt Xue smiled and comforted her, "My dear, lying down and reading will make you sleepy. You should rest more."

Baochai put down the book and said softly, "Mom, I'm lying alone, nothing's wrong."

Just then, Baochai's maid Ying'er entered the room and said, "Miss, Miss Lin is here."

As they were talking, Daiyu, surrounded by several maids, entered the warm room of the wing room and called out softly, "Sister Bao."

Baochai's watery almond eyes flickered with light, and she whispered, "Sister, you're here too."

Daiyu's eyes were filled with worry as she said, "There's such a big commotion outside. I heard it at Xiaoxiang Pavilion. The prince is not at home now. What's going on?"

Baochai gently stroked her bulging belly, feeling the rhythm of life, and asked, "What's the matter?"

Xiren, who was standing beside Daiyu, said, "It is said that the soldiers of the Beijing camp are planning to rebel, so they are besieging the palace."

Aunt Xue was surprised when she heard this, and asked in surprise, "Didn't Hengge'er manage the Beijing camp before?"

Baochai frowned at Cuiyu and said, "This matter is indeed a little strange."

Daiyu said, "It would be better if Third Sister were here. She would certainly know the reason."

At this moment, a young maid came from outside and said, "Miss, the princess sent someone over."

The crowd, who were originally talking at once, looked in the direction of the voice and stared at Nan Ling with surprise in their eyes.

But Nan Ling said, "The princess said that the chaos outside will not affect the mansion, so I hope the girls don't have to worry."

Daiyu asked, "Did Sister Xiao tell me why there was a commotion in the Beijing camp?"

Nan Ling saw that it was Daiyu and knew that she was the concubine of Prince Wei, so she did not dare to neglect her. She walked closer and said, "Miss Lin, Cao Bianjiao from the Beijing Camp and the former Prince of Nan'an led their troops to force the palace."

Daiyu's eyebrows were as black as ink, and a hint of surprise flashed in her starry eyes. She asked, "Prince of Nan'an?"

As he spoke, he looked at Baochai beside him with a look of surprise and doubt.

She remembered that the Nan'an family had been stripped of the title of Prince, so how come they were active again?

For Daiyu, the appearance of Prince Yan Ye of Nan'an undoubtedly gave her the feeling of "coming back to life" again.

Nan Ling nodded and said, "It's Nan'an County Prince Yan Ye."

Baochai frowned slightly and said, "From Nan'an?"

At this moment, a series of laughter as clear as silver bells rang out from the eaves, and a low voice said, "Sister Bao, are you in the house now?"

Then, two chubby girls, Xiangyun and Baoqin, came in from the outer room arm in arm. One had a heroic and naive look, and the other was cute and adorable. They entered the room together. For a moment, the whole room was filled with a rich aroma.

Xiangyun and Baoqin came closer, sat down on the embroidered cushion, and asked with concern, "Sister Bao, how have you been these days?"

Baochai's plump, lovely face seemed to show a flourishing smile, and she said, "It's fine, nothing happened."

Xiangyun said with her innocent and bright face, "Sister Bao, there was quite a commotion outside just now. They said there was a war."

Baochai said, "The chaos in the capital should not affect your house."

Xiangyun asked in a sweet and innocent voice, "Sister Bao, Brother Heng should be back by now."

Baochai said, "Such a big thing happened in the capital, it's time to come back."

Just as they were talking, a maid came in from outside and said, "The third lady is here with Miss Lan and Miss Xi."

"Our female Privy Councilor is here." Daiyu said jokingly with a smile.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Tanchun and Zhenlan, who were walking slowly from outside and calling out, "Sister Bao, Sister Lin."

While talking, she sat down on the embroidered cushion.

Daiyu asked, "Third sister and Sister Lan, you have arrived at the right time. I was just about to ask Third sister and Sister Lan, why did the Beijing camp outside send troops to besiege the palace?"

Tanchun's eyes were full of heroic charm as she said, "Sister Lan and I just discussed it and roughly guessed that this should be Brother Heng's plan."

Daiyu was surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhen Lan's eyes, which resembled Zhen Qing's features, seemed to be glittering with shrewdness. She said, "In the court, there are often civil officials who oppose Brother Heng. I think this conspiracy was probably done by those civil officials. It's just that Brother Heng controls the Beijing camp and is holding back."

"But this time, it seems that the soldiers in the Beijing camp are causing trouble." Baochai said softly.

Zhen Lan said: "This is the strategy. We will use this incident to transfer out the civil officials who oppose it."

Baochai was silent for a while, then said, "Why do those civil officials have to cause so much trouble when they are doing fine?"

Zhen Lan snorted coldly and said, "Why else? It's all because of fame and fortune."

Of course, it may also be related to Brother Heng's ulterior motives, but there is no need to tell this to the girl from the Xue family.

Tanchun sighed and said, "Let's wait until Brother Heng comes back before dealing with it."

Baochai asked, "How is the old lady? I hope she is not frightened."

However, at this moment, a maid entered the room of Hengwu Garden and said, "Miss Bao, Miss Lin, there are soldiers outside and they have surrounded Ningrong Street."

Although there had been a mutiny in the Beijing camp before, no soldier dared to attack Ningrong Street.

This is the awe and worship of Jia Heng, the great military god of the Han Dynasty.

Baochai's face, as white as a pear blossom, changed slightly, and she asked softly, "How did it come to this?"

Tanchun looked thoughtful and said, "Send someone to the front to check the situation first."

Baochai then gave Ying'er a wink.

In front of the Ningguo Mansion, Prince Yan Ye of Nan'an led a large number of servants and soldiers, armed with swords and guns, surrounded the Ningguo Mansion, and was confronting the Jinyi Guards who were guarding Prince Jia Heng's Mansion.

Yan Ye stared at the gate tower of Ningguo Mansion and whispered, "Someone, take down the plaque of Ningguo Mansion for me."

However, in the direction of the two red gates with shining golden copper nails, Princess Le'an Chen Xiao and Qu Lang led the Jinyifu guards to the eaves of the corridor, looked at the arrogant Yan Ye, and shouted: "Yan Ye, who gave you the courage to lead troops to attack the Prince Wei's Mansion?"

The Prince of Nan'an looked at Chen Xiao fiercely at this moment and said in a cold voice: "Now that the new emperor is about to ascend the throne, Jia Heng's luck has come to an end."

Chen Xiao asked: "The new emperor ascended the throne?"

Yan Ye said in a deep voice: "The young emperor has lost his moral integrity. The Empress Dowager Zeng and the cabinet have already appointed a new emperor, with the eighth prince as the new emperor."

Chen Xiao said coldly: "Yan Ye, have you forgotten that Prince Wei is the brother-in-law of the Eighth Prince?"

On the surface, her relationship is even closer than that with Zhen.

Yan Ye: “…”

Chen Xiao shouted, "Yan Ye, why don't you take your men and retreat immediately!"

Even now, Li Zan and Xu Lu don't dare to come to Ningguo Mansion to cause trouble. How dare these people?

Yan Ye felt a little embarrassed and was about to lose his temper.

At this moment, several riders came quickly from Ningrong Street. Sitting on the saddle was a middle-aged official in a red official robe. He was Xu Lu, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

The crowd quickly made way.

"Lord Li has ordered that we should not act rashly in Ningrong Street." Xu Lu said.

When Yan Ye saw Xu Lu and heard these words, he felt indignant and said, "Xu Zongxian, if Ningguo Mansion is not under surveillance, the followers of Prince Wei will definitely inform the king. What should we do?"

"Yan Ye, just send someone to protect Ningrong Street. It's not advisable to go into the mansion and disturb the female members." Xu Lu reminded and said.

Yan Ye was unhappy when he heard this, but he could only clasp his fists and said stiffly: "Mr. Xu is right."

At this moment, Xu Lu turned his head to look at Princess Le'an who was not far away, and said with some fear in his heart, "Princess Le'an, I'm sorry to disturb you."

Chen Xiao questioned, "Xu Deqing, you and Li Gelao are doing the dethroning and enthroning thing, aren't you afraid that history will write you down like a knife and leave you with a bad name for eternity?"

Xu Lu said solemnly, "We have received the emperor's grace for many years, and we are all fair in this matter. Moreover, this matter has been confirmed by the Empress Dowager Zeng of Changle Palace. The matter of dethronement has been decided, and the eighth prince Chen Ze will take over the throne."

Chen Xiao said coldly: "You all looked at others with suspicion, but now you are doing something like deposing a traitor. How ironic!"

Xu Lu said in a deep voice: "Princess Le'an, wait until Prince Wei returns to the capital, and then we can discuss loyalty and treachery!"

Chen Xiao's face was as cold as ice, and he snorted in his heart.

I’m afraid that by then we will be discussing life and death!

……

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