Jiuxi

Chapter 852 [For Whom the Bell Tolls]

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

In the inner hall of Yong'an Palace, the trembling voices of two female officials shattered the silence before dawn.

"Why are you so alarmed?"

After a moment, Queen Ning's unhappy voice came from behind the screen.

The two female officials knelt on the ground and said with pale faces: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

Empress Ning was wearing a middle-length dress, with her hair slightly disheveled, and she walked around the screen.

The female official said in a panic, "Just now, an urgent report came from Jingren Palace that your Majesty has been murdered by thieves. Your Majesty, please leave immediately!"

"What did you say?!"

The blood color on Queen Ning's face disappeared completely in an instant, her pupils suddenly became blank, and her body collapsed uncontrollably.

"Miss!"

The two loyal female officials didn't care about the hierarchy at this time. They climbed up at the same time and supported the shaking body of Queen Ning. One of them cried and said, "Your Majesty, there is no time to hesitate. You must take His Royal Highness the Prince over there now!"

Hearing the word "Prince", Empress Ning, who was terrified by the sudden bad news, finally came to her senses. She said in panic, "Yes, go and bring the Prince here!"

A female official immediately ran to the side hall, and a moment later ran over carrying the sleepy Prince Yanning Li Daoming.

Looking at her five-year-old son, Empress Ning, who had put on her clothes with difficulty, was overwhelmed with grief, but she forced herself to hold it back. Her eyes were filled with misery and determination, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Call all the palace maids and follow me to Jingren Palace!"

"Mother--"

Li Daoming, who was suddenly awakened, seemed very dissatisfied.

"Shut up!"

Queen Ning's face was filled with frost, and the fierce aura that suddenly emanated from her frightened the young prince so much that he dared not speak again.

She held Li Daoming's hand tightly, walked a few steps and then stopped, saying to the female official she trusted the most: "You go to Yuanfu Gate and wait. As soon as the palace ban is lifted, immediately go to find Prime Minister Xue and Prime Minister Xu and ask them to enter the palace to take charge of the situation. Also, please ask the two prime ministers to take into account the trust of the emperor."

The female official knew the importance of these words, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "Please rest assured, your Majesty, I will definitely live up to your trust!"

Queen Ning took a deep breath, then took Li Daoming's hand, and surrounded by a group of palace maids, she headed straight for Jingren Palace in the rain that was gradually subsiding but still sporadic.

When we got outside the palace, we found that the place was surrounded by three layers of guards.

A captain appeared in front of the Queen and her group.

"You want to stop me?"

Queen Ning raised her voice, instantly attracting the attention of most of the guards.

The captain named Qi Luochuan felt nervous and quickly bowed respectfully, saying, "How dare I? Please, Your Majesty, enter the palace."

Queen Ning said no more and took Li Daoming into the emperor's bedroom.

Before entering, she looked up at the pitch-black night. It was the darkest moment of the day.

When the mother and son walked into the outer hall, they saw many corpses of palace maids against the wall. Li Daoming was frightened, but Queen Ning did not cover his eyes and continued to move forward into the inner hall.

Before entering, I heard the sound of sorrowful crying.

Empress Ning felt as if her heart was cut by a knife. She saw the emperor lying on the dragon bed, as if he was just sleeping soundly. However, the emperor's biological mother, Empress Dowager Liu, was lying beside the bed, crying her heart out.

Queen Ning looked at the motionless emperor, tears rolling down her cheeks like broken strings. The distance of just a few steps seemed like an insurmountable chasm to her.

"His Majesty……"

The sound is mournful and like a cuckoo crying blood.

Although Li Daoming was only five years old, he was gradually becoming more sensible. How could he not know what had happened?
"Father..."

He couldn't help but burst into tears.

Queen Ning held his hand and knelt beside the bed, never separating from beginning to end.

"Sister, don't cry too much or you'll lose your energy. The most important thing right now is to stabilize the situation."

A slightly sad voice sounded beside Queen Ning. She looked up and saw Queen Dowager Xu comforting Queen Dowager Liu.

"Who on earth is so cruel and mad? I will make sure he dies without a burial place!"

It was not known whether Empress Dowager Liu heard what Empress Dowager Xu said, but her tone was extremely mournful.

Empress Dowager Xu said, "According to the report of that servant, he led people to patrol as usual and found that more than ten palace maids in the outer hall of the emperor's bedroom were murdered. Then he entered the inner hall and found that the emperor was murdered. There were also four palace maids in the inner hall. I have ordered people to seal the palace and asked Shen Yulai, the commander of the imperial army, to deploy defenses everywhere. No one is allowed to move without permission. He should report back soon. In addition, after preliminary investigation, only a female official named Jin Qiaolan disappeared from the emperor's side. She should be the murderer who murdered the emperor."

Hearing these words, Empress Ning's heart tightened and she couldn't help but tighten her grip on Li Daoming's hand, causing the five-year-old prince to cry even harder.

"Queen."

Queen Mother Xu turned and looked at the young queen.

Queen Ning stopped crying, stood up and saluted, saying, "Mother."

Empress Dowager Xu glanced at the crying Li Daoming, and after he calmed down a little, she said solemnly: "The emperor was murdered in his bedroom. This is an unprecedented evil. I hope you don't grieve too much. After all, you are the mother of Prince Yanning, and you will be relied on to support the new emperor in the future."

"Everything is up to the Queen Mother to arrange."

Queen Ning lowered her head and said with great sorrow.

The moment she stood up, she found that the people standing in the inner hall were somewhat unfamiliar. Not to mention Yuan Yuji who was ordered to go out of Beijing on official business, even the emperor's confidants such as Chen Hong, Xu Feng, and Cao Yan were nowhere to be seen. You must know that these people are in charge of all powers in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and they usually try their best to get close to the emperor. At this moment when such a big thing happened, none of them came. On the contrary, some faces who were not usually valued appeared in the inner hall.

But she didn't ask anything.

Empress Dowager Xu seemed to have sensed something and said calmly, "Not only was the emperor assassinated tonight, but the palace was also in turmoil. Some people were also killed by the assassin. In order to protect the palace, I temporarily promoted some trustworthy eunuchs. I wonder if the queen has any objection?"

Empress Ning said, "Mother, your arrangement is very appropriate." A hint of contempt flashed across Empress Dowager Xu's eyes. She glanced at Empress Dowager Liu, who was greatly stimulated, and sighed, "Sister, I will have someone send you back to the palace to rest for a while."

Empress Dowager Liu shook her head and said, "No, I will stay here until we find out who is responsible for the rebellion."

"That's fine."

Empress Dowager Xu did not force it, but gave a wink to a female official not far away, who quickly and quietly left.

Just then, a solemn voice was heard outside.

"Your servant Shen Yu is here to ask for an audience!"

"Come in."

Empress Dowager Xu gave the order without hesitation.

Then, the commander of the imperial guards, Shen Yulai, entered in armor, saluted the nobles beside the dragon bed, and then bowed his head and said, "Report to the Queen Mother, the palace ban has been implemented, and the imperial guards are temporarily controlling all places in the palace, but I don't know where Jin Qiaolan is hiding, and she has not been caught yet. I dare to ask the Queen Mother if she wants to search the palace immediately?"

Queen Mother Xu hesitated for a moment and said calmly, "Wei Zhen and Feng Jue."

"The servant is here."

Two eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs responded.

Empress Dowager Xu said, "I want you two to lead the people to search the harem and make sure to catch the traitor who killed the king. Also, do not disturb the Funing Palace and Yong'an Palace."

Funing Palace was the residence of Empress Dowager Liu, and Yong'an Palace was the residence of Empress Ning.

The two eunuchs responded respectfully: "We obey your orders."

Shen Yulai frowned slightly, but when he saw Empress Dowager Liu, who was still unable to extricate herself from grief, and Empress Ning, who lowered her head and just held the hand of Prince Li Daoming, he didn't say much.

In any case, Empress Dowager Xu was the late emperor's empress, and she was the most powerful concubine in terms of seniority. Even when Li Zongben was alive, he could not disobey her in person. What's more, the emperor was strangled to death by several palace maids today. Who in this palace could have a more influential voice than Empress Dowager Xu?

You have to know that when the late emperor was alive, Empress Dowager Xu was in charge of the harem for fifteen years. No matter how aloof she was, there were many confidants in this palace who were loyal to her.

Li Zongben had purged the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the past two years, but he always had to take public opinion into consideration and it was impossible for him to completely eliminate the power of Empress Dowager Xu.

Empress Dowager Xu looked at Shen Yulai and said with emotion: "Shen Qing, the late emperor trusted you when he was alive, and the emperor also entrusted you with important tasks when he was alive. Now the imperial guards are in your hands, and the palace and even the capital are in your hands. In other words, Aijia, Empress Dowager Liu, the Queen, and Prince Yanning all rely on you, and the safety of the country rests on your shoulders. I hope you can be as loyal as before and protect the country of Daqi."

Shen Yulai knelt on his knees and kowtowed, saying: "I have received the emperor's grace many times. I will do my best to find out the assassin and the traitor. I will do everything I can to protect the country of Daqi, even if it means sacrificing my life!"

"You are indeed a loyal minister. Stand up quickly."

Queen Mother Xu showed approval, and then said: "From the traces left afterwards, this is obviously a case of treason with collusion between insiders and outsiders. Jin Qiaolan and the four palace maids who died in the inner hall must have been instructed by someone to kill more than ten palace maids in the outer hall during the thunderstorm, and then enter the inner hall to assassinate the emperor. After that, Jin Qiaolan killed four accomplices and fled in the rainy night. The emperor has always been kind and generous, and he has not treated the palace maids harshly. If these five palace maids were not instructed by outsiders, they would never dare to commit such a crime that would implicate all nine generations of their family."

Shen Yulai heard the hidden meaning in her words, but did not take over the conversation.

Queen Mother Xu did not mind and continued, "Now that the mountain mausoleum has collapsed, there are three extremely urgent matters. I hope that the Shen family will handle them immediately."

"Please tell me, Queen Mother."

"First, I order you to dispatch the imperial guards to seal the nine gates of the capital before dawn. From now on, the entire city will be under martial law and no one is allowed to enter or leave."

"The minister obeys the order."

"Second, you must send someone to quickly report the bad news to the Left Prime Minister, Right Prime Minister, Duke Rong, Duke Qin, the military ministers, the six ministers, and the officials of the various ministries, and ask them to come to the palace immediately to discuss important matters."

"The minister obeys the order."

"Third, when the emperor passes away, the bell will be rung to announce it to the world. After you complete the first two tasks, the bell will be rung in the palace."

Shen Yulai bowed his head and said, "Yes, Queen Mother."

Queen Mother Xu then turned to Queen Mother Liu and asked, "Does my sister have any other plans?"

Empress Dowager Liu gradually came back to her senses at this moment. Although she was Li Zongben's biological mother, she had always been cautious and quiet when the late emperor was alive, and had never been involved in palace affairs. Therefore, she was named Shufei by the late emperor.

She herself was not a person who was good at or liked to wield power, and Empress Dowager Xu's position was more noble than hers. Although she knew that she had been sidelined in just half an hour, when she looked at the eunuchs and palace servants around her, they all followed Empress Dowager Xu's orders.

She could only shake her head bitterly.

Empress Dowager Xu looked at Empress Ning again and asked in a friendly tone, "Where is the Empress?"

Empress Ning replied as before: "Everything is up to my mother's orders."

Empress Dowager Xu nodded slightly, and then said to Shen Yu: "Shen Qing's family, please leave it to you."

Shen Yulai cupped his hands and said, "I don't deserve it."

The moment he lowered his head, a deep sorrow welled up in the depths of his eyes.

The young emperor on the dragon bed would never wake up again.

At this moment, he was confused again. How could a few palace maids accomplish the assassination? Why did the eunuchs in the palace who were trusted by the emperor die so strangely?

But he knew that the situation was extremely tense and he must not act rashly, so he never refuted Empress Dowager Xu's decree from beginning to end.

The moment he walked out of Jingren Palace, he looked up at the still dark night outside and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

……

At the end of the Yin hour, the thunderstorm that had lasted all night finally stopped, and the sky was already faintly bright.

The deep and majestic bell sounded from the imperial palace, breaking the quiet tranquility before dawn and awakening the entire capital city.

Countless officials and dignitaries were pulled out of their beds by their terrified servants, and countless lights were lit up in the mansions of each family.

The whole city was shocked.

……

……

(Dear book friends, you can save this plot for a week before reading it. I bow my head in admiration.)
(End of this chapter)