maidservant

Yunshan woke up from a nightmare, and a terrifying scream came out of her mouth, suddenly ringing out in the silent bedroom.

She was breathing heavily, her chest heaving violently. After a while, her heartbeat like a drum gradually calmed down.

The moonlight shines through the carved window lattices, casting a cool silver glow and vaguely outlining the contours of objects inside.

Yunshan walked down from the bed barefoot, her steps unsteady, as if she had not yet completely escaped from the aftermath of that horrible dream.

She walked to the table, poured a glass of water, tilted her head back and drank it. The cool liquid slid down her throat, slightly soothing her tense nerves.

Then she moved to the window, sat down slowly, and looked at the full moon hanging high in the sky.

The weather was perfect tonight. The clear night sky was cloudless, the stars twinkling, and the air was peaceful and tranquil. The moonlight, like water, gently poured over her, covering her with a dreamy veil.

This should have been a wonderful night, but Yunshan's heart could not calm down.

According to palace rules, the emperor and his concubines would go to the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors and would not return until three days later. At this moment, the harem was no longer as bustling as before, but instead was eerily quiet.

The harem seemed to be shrouded in a layer of frost. It was so quiet that only the occasional sound of the wind and one's own breathing could be heard.

Yunshan sat quietly, looking into the distance with empty eyes, her thoughts drifting away, emptying herself.

After a long time, she yawned, raised her hand and was about to lower the bed curtains, ready to go to sleep.

But in an instant, the originally quiet palace seemed to be disturbed by an invisible big hand, and a burst of chaotic footsteps suddenly broke the silence.

She paused, put on her coat, opened the door and went to the courtyard, pricked up her ears and listened carefully, only to hear bursts of commotion outside Liuhua Palace, as if a group of people were running in a hurry.

There were many shadows swaying in the air, and some shadows were long and thin and squeezed into the courtyard through the palace gate.

In the middle of the night, eunuchs gathered together and walked in groups of three or five outside the palaces, their steps hurried and chaotic.

Aunt Zhuang also noticed something was wrong. She came out of her room, her brow furrowed, and quickly walked to the palace gate. With a stern look on her face, she shouted, "Everyone, return to your posts! This is disgraceful!"

However, her order fell on deaf ears, and the eunuchs acted as if they had not heard it and continued to do as they pleased.

Seeing that her persuasion was fruitless, Aunt Zhuang glanced at Lin Yu who had already fallen asleep, and quickly turned around and said a few words to Yunshan anxiously:
"You must be careful here and don't run around. As for the Queen, you go and stay with Yunjin. I'll go to the Ministry of Ceremonies to find the female official." After saying that, he hurried away.

Aunt Zhuang hurried to the Sili Bureau and explained the situation to the female official on duty. The female official did not dare to delay and quickly sent a group of guards to drive them away, intending to punish the eunuchs.

But no one expected that when the guards arrived and asked the eunuchs to disperse, the eunuchs suddenly drew out the broken blades hidden on their bodies, and a cold light flashed.

For a moment, the atmosphere was tense, and the already chaotic situation became increasingly uncontrollable. The air was filled with tension and danger. No one knew what terrible thing would happen next, and this night was destined to be no longer peaceful.

Suddenly, the sharp sound of swords clashing and the rapid ringing of alarm bells pierced the silent night sky like sharp arrows.

Yunshan regained consciousness instantly. "Oh no, Madam, something's happened!" She whispered beside Lin Yu's bed and hurried to the little prince's bedroom.

The people in Liuhua Palace were also awakened by the sudden noise. They stood up in a panic, their faces full of fear and confusion.

Yunshan didn't even bother to straighten her clothes. She rushed to the bedside and held the two little princes tightly behind her. The wet nurses also hurriedly tucked in the little princes' blankets and stood in front of them.

At this time, Lin Yu also hurried out of the inner room with a panicked look on his face.

There was a commotion outside the palace, mixed with shouts and screams, and the atmosphere was so tense that it was suffocating.

Aunt Zhuang slipped in from the side door and hurriedly reported to Lin Yu:

"Your Majesty, something big has happened! There is a group of eunuchs outside with ferocious expressions. It seems that they have planned it long ago. They responded to the call and rushed to various palaces." As she spoke, blazing torches were lit outside, reflecting the red of the palace walls, illuminating the dark night like the setting sun.

The orange-red flames jumped and flickered, illuminating the frightened faces.

The Right Winged Guards who remained in the palace quickly assembled and engaged the rebellious eunuchs in close combat. Swords flashed, and the cries of killing were deafening.

The soldiers were dressed in armor, wielding long swords and fighting hard; although the eunuchs were thin, they held sharp blades and fought back frantically.

Blood splattered on the cold stone road, staining dark red flowers.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood and saltpeter. This sudden incident plunged the entire palace into an abyss of chaos and fear.

Lin Yu knew that the situation was urgent and that he had to send an order outside the palace to call for reinforcements immediately. He made a prompt decision and ordered two guards to leave the palace quickly with a handwritten letter.

The guards took the order and hurried away. Time passed by little by little, and each moment was unbearable.

After a long time, one of the guards came back in a panic, his voice trembling with fear:
"It's bad! The palace is completely surrounded, and all four gates are heavily guarded. Most of the guards inside the palace have followed the emperor out to pay homage to his ancestors. The remaining troops can still hold out for the time being, but the enemy's offensive is fierce and we could be defeated at any time. The lives of the mistress and her servants are in danger!"

This news was like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone's heart, and the cloud of danger became thicker and thicker.

At this moment, the situation was chaotic and unclear. Lin Yu and the eldest princess were unable to communicate with each other or coordinate countermeasures due to the chaos and were isolated in their own predicaments.

The gates of Liuhua Palace were tightly shut, and the side doors were bolted. Yunshan carefully climbed up a large tree leaning against the outer wall of Liuhua Palace.

Fortunately, this tree likes autumn and still has dense branches and leaves, which can provide her with some cover.

She peeked out through the layers of branches and leaves, only to see the Imperial Guards standing on full alert, guarding outside the gate of Liuhua Palace. So far, no incident had occurred.

At this moment, a deputy general of the Yulin Guard came running over with a sword in his hand, reporting in a hurried voice:

"General, you've discovered a key clue! Among the eunuchs we killed who were leading the riot, one was actually from the young prince's palace!"

This shocking clue instantly escalated the dangerous atmosphere.

Everyone felt a chill running down their spine, and the blood in their bodies seemed to freeze in an instant.

Yun Jin's eyes widened, her face filled with fear and disbelief, and her lips trembled slightly uncontrollably.

Yunshan's face was as pale as paper. She climbed down the tree little by little and stood in front of Lin Yu. A terrible guess flashed through her mind.

"Could it be...Could it be that the young prince is going to rebel?"

With a trembling voice, she struggled to express the common doubts in the minds of several people.

"If that's really the case, then besides the Imperial Guards, there are only these powerless women in the palace."

"And the princes and masters."

"It's known in the palace that Concubine Gao is pregnant with a princess. Maybe it's okay."

"It's just the two princes in our palace."

Everyone whispered tremblingly about their panic.

Yunshan looked out the window at the night sky, dyed red by the blood-red moonlight. Fear spread like a vine in her heart. Every gust of night wind seemed to carry the breath of death. (End of this chapter)