good season

Seeing that the Emperor, Empress, and Consort Meng had all given gifts, the other members of the imperial family present also gave their own gifts. Consort Qiao, the three eldest princesses, Prince Lu, along with the third and fourth princes, as well as several concubines of high status, and even the young princes were given lanterns and toys.

This reward signifies that Xiao Bao's identity has been recognized. Although there is no imperial edict yet and the Imperial Clan Court has not yet registered his name, everyone knows that this second son of the Prince of Fu's family has not only been recognized as a member of the imperial clan, but also, like his older brother, has caught the emperor's eye.

Prince Fu and his heir were on pins and needles. A new acrobatic performance was taking place outside. The person at the bottom had a person standing on each of their shoulders, and the two of them also had a person standing on each of their shoulders. Surprisingly, the person at the bottom was thin and small, seemingly unable to lift a chicken.

The Empress exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, this man can carry six people all by himself, could he be a superhuman?"

The fourth prince was secretly resentful that the two children had stolen his thunder tonight, but upon hearing the empress's words, he quickly said, "Your Majesty flatters me. He is not a strongman; he only used skillful force."

The Empress suddenly realized, but was still amazed. She smiled and said to Emperor Yongjia, "I don't know where the Fourth Prince found these extraordinary people. They are really quite interesting."

Acrobatics has always been considered a folk art that is not worthy of being considered highbrow. The Empress, who came from a wealthy family, had never seen acrobatics when she was a young girl. Although the songs and dances in the palace were exquisite, acrobatics were never performed. This was true not only for the Empress and her concubines, but also for Emperor Yongjia.

Therefore, these acrobatic performances, which were common among the common people, opened the eyes of these nobles in the palace.

Upon hearing the Empress praise the Fourth Prince, the concubines, led by Consort Qiao, regardless of whether they were sincere or not, all showered the Fourth Prince with praise.

Consort You looked smug; this cripple had finally brought her honor, and her ten months of pregnancy and childbirth had not been in vain.

At this time of year, the emperor and empress would ascend the Wangxian Tower, listen to auspicious words from everyone, bestow gifts upon a few pleasing juniors, and then return to the palace.

This so-called sharing of joy with the people is just a formality.

But today was different from previous years. Both the emperor and empress were attracted by the acrobatics outside and became interested, so they sat for another half an hour.

The fourth prince was secretly delighted. His father was happy and would surely reward him. What he cared about was not what his father would reward him with, but rather that his father and mother's favor towards him had increased.

The Empress Dowager, in particular, was so engrossed in watching the acrobatics that she was reluctant to leave.

At this moment, the eunuch quietly walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "I just heard that the eldest young master and the third young lady of the You family ran into the eleventh young master of the Yan family on the Jade Belt Bridge. They exchanged a few words and ended up losing face."

The Fourth Prince felt a surge of irritation. If he remembered correctly, Yan Shiyi was younger than Zhao Tingluo. Had You Dalang and You Sanniangzi lost their minds? Why did they have to provoke a child? And if they did provoke him, why let him make such a scene?

This isn't just a disgrace to the You family, it's a disgrace to him!
If it weren't for the fact that it was his maternal family, would You Dalang and his sister have dared to provoke the Yan family's children?

The You family and the Yan family are not in the same circle. Without him as a prince, the You family would not be able to squeeze into the Yan family's circle even after three generations!

The Fourth Prince's gaze fell on Consort You's face. He saw that Consort You was talking to the concubine next to her with a smug and proud expression. Without listening, the Fourth Prince knew that Consort You must be showing off her son.

Why does he have a birth mother who only knows how to show off but doesn't even care about the most basic things, and a smug and ignorant maternal family?

why?
He doesn't expect them to be his helpers, he just wants them not to hold him back.

The Fourth Prince thought of the Seventh Prince from earlier. He was not as good as the Seventh Prince, who had no mother. The Seventh Prince did not have a biological mother, but he had Consort Shu as his adoptive mother.

When he was recuperating in the palace, Consort You and the You family ignored him. Now that he has gained the Emperor's favor, they are using his name to cause trouble outside.

The fourth prince exhaled a deep breath and said in a low voice to the eunuch, "Go and pick out a few lanterns, and go back to the manor to get a few small items. Send them to the Yan family now, don't wait until tomorrow."

Tomorrow, who knows if the Yan family and their gang will go and tear down the roof of the You family's house.

Demolishing the You family's property is still a slap in the face for him.

The eunuch responded and slipped out. Once outside, he saw the Yan family members eating, drinking, and chatting merrily by the window in the main hall. The eunuch was slightly relieved. Fortunately, Yan Xia was not there, nor were the other older members. Only the younger ones were easy to please.

The eunuch immediately sent those guarding outside back to the palace to prepare gifts, while he himself took several lanterns he had brought from the palace and sent them over.

The people at the table had just learned of Zhao Tingluo's heroic act and were all regretting that they were too small and weak to even have the right to go upstairs and witness this good show. Just then, a servant from the Fourth Prince's residence brought over a bunch of lanterns. Everyone was surprised and wondered what had gotten into the Fourth Prince.

"I know!" Yan Shiyi slapped his forehead. "It's probably because of You Dalang's matter."

He recounted how he and Zhao Shiqing encountered the You siblings on the Jade Belt Bridge. The group all grimaced, and once the eunuch had walked away, they huddled together, saying, "Did the Fourth Prince lose his courage after his injury last time? Why has he become so cautious? I remember he wasn't like this before. He even tried to steal a horse from my eldest brother!"

Zhao Shiqing, however, knew what was going on.

He's grown up. If he were still like before, he'd probably still be practicing walking in the prince's residence.

However, Zhao Shiqing couldn't say that the people sitting there were all teenagers, and she didn't want to lead them astray.

A group of children were huddled together, chirping about the Fourth Prince. Zhao Shiqing could only look around, but when she looked up, she was stunned.

Don't eunuchs always walk with their chests hunched and shoulders shrunk?
Although this person had his head down, his posture from the shoulders down was perfectly upright.

Zhao Shiqing had grown up in the Prince's mansion, and from childhood to adulthood, she had seen eunuchs the most. She had never seen any eunuch like this before.

There's something wrong with this person.

The emperor was above, and every few steps in the hall stood a eunuch, ready to receive orders from above. This particular eunuch, dressed in a stern robe, stood near the stairs.

Zhao Shiqing stood up and walked towards the eunuch. Behind her came Yan Shiyi's voice: "Sister Bao, where are you going?"

Zhao Shiqing turned around and shushed him. Although Yan Shiyi didn't understand why, he immediately fell silent.

Zhao Shiqing walked up to the eunuch and asked, "Young eunuch, may we stay here until dawn?"

The eunuch slightly raised his head and said, "Yes, of course."

Zhao Shiqing thanked him and returned to her seat. She asked Yan Shiyi in a low voice, "When do they start kicking people out of here?"

Yan Shiyi didn't know why she asked this question, and said, "Last year I heard that Zhu Yu drank here until dawn, and he probably wouldn't kick people out before dawn."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Jiu said, "It's because Zhu Yu caused trouble here last year that His Majesty was furious. He said last year that this year's lantern festival would end no later than the fourth watch. After the fourth watch, both the Wangxian Tower and the lantern festival outside would have to be cleared. At that time, the people from the Five Cities Division would come to clear the area."

It turned out to be the case.

The emperor's words are golden; whether they were spoken last year or yesterday, they are all valid.

There's no reason why the palace eunuchs wouldn't know something that Yan Jiu already knew.

Moreover, she had been close enough to see him clearly, and the eunuch looked somewhat familiar.

I didn't remember who it was at the time, but now that I've calmed down, I do. The reason I didn't recognize it at first glance is because the person's face was heavily made up the previous two times I saw them, obscuring their true appearance.

Fortunately, Zhao Shiqing had learned some disguise skills from Xiuxiu. Although she only had a superficial understanding, she had learned some basics and could at least see the similarities between the two faces.

This is the same person.

Lan Caihe!
Zhao Shiqing thought of Si Xiaopang, whom she had briefly seen at the lantern festival, and her heart tightened for no reason.

Xiao Zhen?

Could Lan Caihe be Xiao Zhen's man?

But then he thought again, Xiao Zhen shouldn't be so impatient. Now that he's killed Emperor Yongjia, who should succeed him? No matter who it is, it won't be Xiao Yue, because Xiao Zhen doesn't yet have the power to put Xiao Yue on the throne.

Why bother doing the work for someone else?
Zhao Shiqing's mind was racing. When she looked up again, she found that the eunuch who had been standing there had been replaced by someone else.

This was a real eunuch, hunched over, lifeless.

What about Lan Caihe?

Where did he go?
Zhao Shiqing sensed something was wrong and was about to speak when she saw several young masters who had been sitting on the other side run to their table. Everyone scrambled to lean out of the window. Yan Shiyi, who hadn't managed to get a good spot, was jumping around anxiously. Zhao Shiqing was slightly surprised, but she knew what was going on.

The stilt walking has begun!

Yan Shiyi tried to push a chubby boy, but the boy twisted his fat buttocks and refused to move aside: "My dad keeps me at home and I can't go out on the street. You've all seen stilts on the street, but I haven't. I don't even know what stilts look like. I won't let you. I'm staying here tonight!"

Yan Shiyi was about to cry. When Yan Ba ​​saw this, he pulled him over, pushed aside one of the boys next to him, and shoved Yan Shiyi in. The boy was furious and was about to start cursing when Yan Ba ​​punched him. He then rushed to another window to grab the plate. Yan Shiyi didn't forget to turn back and call to Zhao Shiqing, "Sister Bao, come quickly, there's room here."

Zhao Shiqing laughed and said, "I've seen several performances on the street. You guys take a look."

The words had barely left his mouth when a scream rang out: "Ah—"

Zhao Shiqing was startled. Her first thought was that Lan Caihe had killed the emperor. But the next moment, she realized that the scream came from the stairs. She turned her head and saw a woman tumbling down the stairs!
The eunuchs below had already rushed towards the stairs, and Zhao Shiqing ran after them as well. But as soon as she got close to the stairs, she heard the sound of swords and knives coming from upstairs.

Meanwhile, everyone in the hall was crowding around a window to watch the stilt walkers. Only a few people, including Zhao Shiqing, didn't go over. They were all a few years older and embarrassed to compete with a group of teenagers for the window.

Hurried footsteps sounded behind her, and a squad of Imperial Guards rushed in, stepping over the woman and rushing up the stairs.

The Imperial Guards were stationed outside; apparently, someone upstairs gave them a signal, and they rushed in upon seeing it.

At this moment, Zhao Shiqing also saw clearly that the woman lying on the ground was You San Niangzi!
Those watching the stilt walkers finally realized something was wrong. Some people ran outside, but the Yan family members, along with the brothers who broke the big stone, tried to rush upstairs, as their parents were still up there.

The eunuchs blocked them from going up, and while the situation was at a standstill, a member of the Imperial Guard shouted down, "The traitor has been brought to justice! The traitor has been brought to justice!"

Before he could shout a third time, the Broken Stone Brothers rushed forward, shouting as they went, "Grandpa, the guards are here!"

The Yan brothers followed closely behind, and the children from other families also rushed forward. Zhao Shiqing took advantage of the chaos to catch up.

Upon reaching the upper floor, Zhao Shiqing was shocked to find two corpses lying side by side on the floor. Eunuchs were frantically covering the bodies with tablecloths, and a noblewoman was wailing and crying so hard that she had fainted.

The Broken Stone Brothers and the Yan family members soon saw their family members. Seeing that they were safe and sound, they were relieved and started gossiping.

Zhao Shiqing asked, "Which one is the emperor?"

Yan Jiu said, "Neither the Emperor nor the Empress is here. They must have been frightened and are hiding inside. There are several rooms inside for the Emperor to rest in."

Zhao Shiqing pointed at the noblewoman who was weeping over the corpse: "Who is that?"

Yan Jiu said, "That is the wife of Chief Minister Feng."

Zhao Shiqing was shocked: "Chief Minister Feng is dead?"

Yan Jiu raised his chin to the side, and Zhao Shiqing followed his gaze. She saw a person being supported by two eunuchs, swaying precariously.

"Is this Chief Minister Feng? He's still alive, so who died?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

Yan Jiu whispered, "It's probably one of the elders from the Feng family."

Yan Jiu's guess was soon confirmed: the one who died was Feng Ke's eldest son, Feng Da, who was now serving as the Prefectural Assistant in the capital!

Master Feng didn't have to die; he died protecting his father from a knife!

As for the Third Lady You who fell down the stairs, it was pure bad luck. She picked a plate of fruit and wanted to present it to Consort You, but after taking only a few steps, she bumped into the assassin and was kicked down by him.

He didn't die, but he was badly hurt in the fall.

The other body had its upper body covered by a tablecloth by a eunuch, but it was still possible to tell that the person was wearing the clothes of a eunuch.

Lan Caihe!
Zhao Shiqing miscalculated.

She thought Lan Caihe had come to assassinate Emperor Yongjia, but she never expected that he was actually going to assassinate Feng Ke.

But something seems off?

Zhao Shiqing suddenly remembered Deng Qian, who was already dead.

If she wasn't mistaken, the person who killed Deng Qian was also Lan Caihe.

Lan Caihe killed Deng Qian in a private room at Zhuangyuanlou. At that time, Deng Qian only had a few attendants with him, so Lan Caihe killed him as if he were in an empty place.

But why choose the heavily guarded Wangxian Tower to kill Feng Ke?
Moreover, it was chosen while the emperor was still alive. If the emperor had left, the Jinwuwei, Jinyiwei, and Yulinjun would have returned to the palace with the emperor, making it easier to assassinate Feng Ke at that time.
At this time, the risk of assassination was only as high as assassinating someone entering the palace.

Lan Caihe is an assassin. Given his experience, is it necessary for him to choose such a difficult assassination?
Feng Ke didn't die; instead, he lost his life in vain.

Now, Zhao Shiqing has completely dispelled her suspicions about Xiao Zhen, something Xiao Zhen would never do.

The two bodies were carried away, and Zhao Shiqing and the group of teenagers were also driven downstairs.

They had just descended the stairs when they heard the head eunuch announce loudly, "His Majesty is departing!" (End of Chapter)