Liver into a martial arts legend: starting with Embroidered Spring Blade

Chapter 100: No choice but to succeed! [39]

Imperial Palace, Qianqing Palace.

All the major officials of the East Factory gathered together again.

This time, even the Jinyiwei commander Xu Xianchun, the pacification envoy Cui Yingyuan and other Five Tigers and Five Biao were among them.

Wei Zhongxian stood at the door with his hands behind his back, his face serious: "Is everything arranged?"

"Go back to the factory, everything has been arranged!"

Everyone saluted solemnly.

Wei Zhongxian nodded and said, "Remember, these few days are the most critical time. We absolutely cannot afford to make any mistakes."

"If anyone dares to cause any trouble, you will deal with them on your own. Arrest those who deserve arrest, kill those who deserve death, and show no mercy!"

"Also, if any princes or ministers wish to see the emperor, they must go as far as the Qianqing Gate and will not be allowed in."

"Tell them that the emperor was frightened after being assassinated and is recuperating. It is not convenient to meet with them."

"Anyone who refuses to obey will be arrested and thrown into jail, and we will deal with them later!"

"Yes!"

Everyone drank together.

stomping on...

At this moment, a young eunuch hurried over, leaned close to Wei Zhongxian's ear and whispered a few words.

"So fast?!"

After hearing this, Wei Zhongxian's expression changed slightly. He then quickly looked at Xu Xianchun and the others, waving his hand and saying, "Go."

After saying this, he picked up his clothes and hurried towards the inner palace.

Soon, he arrived at the door of a small attic in the middle of the East Six Palaces.

The eunuch on duty at the door hurried forward and bowed, "Greetings, Eunuch Wei."

At this time, Han Yao also came out and saluted quickly: "Godfather."

Wei Zhongxian asked in a deep voice, "What's the situation?"

Han Yao nodded. "Doctor Hong prescribed a drug to induce labor, and it worked quickly. The eunuch and midwife in charge of the delivery said that the baby can be delivered tonight, but..."

"But what?" Wei Zhongxian frowned.

Han Yao quickly said, "Doctor Hong said that if we induce labor so early, the child might be malnourished and weak and sickly..."

Wei Zhongxian took a long breath and said, "I don't care about that anymore. As long as they're alive, that's all that matters!"

"By the way...is it reliable?"

Wei Zhongxian's eyes were sharp: "Are you sure it's a boy?"

Han Yao nodded. "There shouldn't be any problem. During the confinement period, the imperial physician checked my pulse and tongue every day. He also checked my bones throughout my body. There's nothing wrong."

At this time, the eunuch beside him also hurriedly said: "Don't worry, Eunuch Wei, Master Han is right. Two imperial doctors have tasted her urine themselves, and they all unanimously concluded that it is definitely a boy!"

Wei Zhongxian said with a serious expression, "Find me a reliable midwife to deliver her baby. This is a matter of great importance. If anything goes wrong, none of you will survive!"

"Yes!" Everyone lowered their heads quickly.

Wei Zhongxian nodded and walked into the attic: "Let's go in and take a look."

……

The moon rises above the branches, outside Dong'an Gate.

The densely packed Jinyiwei, wearing armor and holding embroidered spring swords, with cold and serious expressions, lined up in order and took over the gate of the East Palace.

Next to the door, Jiang Xuan, also wearing a Feiyu suit and an embroidered spring sword on his waist, listened to Xu Longqing's whispered report.

moment.

Jiang Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Is the information reliable?"

Xu Longqing's face was serious as he nodded and said, "This is the news sent back by our own people, so it shouldn't be wrong."

"After the messenger left, Wang Chengen, the steward of Prince Xin's mansion, rushed around, visiting Hulong Villa, the homes of Hong Chengchou, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Yang Sichang of the Cabinet, Zhou Yanru, and other ministers. I think he was planning to force his way into the palace and start a coup!"

Jiang Xuan nodded slightly, a little surprised.

I have to say that Prince Xin is quite capable. He has unknowingly won over so many court ministers.

Xu Longqing's face was solemn. "Sir, most of these ministers are in Dongcheng District. If they break into the palace, they will definitely enter through Dong'an Gate. What should we do then? Stop them or not?"

Jiang Xuan was lost in thought.

He was not worried about what Xu Longqing said.

If Prince Xin really brings people to break into the palace, just let him in.

After all, with so many ministers coming together, it was understandable that he, a mere fifth-rank captain, did not dare to stop them.

At most you'll get a scolding afterwards, it's no big deal.

Moreover, in addition to the four palace gates in the east, south, west and north, there are other people from the East Factory guarding the palace. Even if Prince Xin passes this hurdle, it will not be so easy for him to successfully reach the Qianqing Palace.

What he was concerned about was what preparations Wei Zhongxian had made and whether his plan to replace the prince with a cat could succeed.

He must control the progress and outcome of the matter in order to make a choice and clearly stand on the side.

Otherwise, if Zhu Youjian directly forces him to take sides, it will be a troublesome thing.

But the Jinyiwei has no manpower in the palace. If he wants to find out about this matter, he can only rely on Xiyu's secret agents.

But there was no news from Xiyu yet.

He didn't know what to choose.

stomping on...

At this moment, a Jinyiwei came running from a distance and saluted Jiang Xuan: "This humble official greets the captain."

"What's the matter?" Jiang Xuan asked.

"This..." The Jinyiwei glanced at Xu Longqing next to him.

Jiang Xuan waved his hand, and Xu Longqing tactfully stepped aside.

The Jinyiwei then respectfully handed over a note.

Jiang Xuan took it and unfolded it. He was slightly surprised and looked back towards the palace: "So soon?"

A solemn look flashed across Jiang Xuan's eyes.

The fake prince will be born tonight, so the moment of deciding the outcome is about to come!
Jiang Xuan turned around to look at the Jinyiwei and asked, "Who do you serve under?"

"I am a subordinate of Captain Zhao and I happened to be patrolling nearby." The Jinyiwei said respectfully.

Jiang Xuan was a little surprised.

Has Xiyu's hidden plot developed to his own hands?

……

Xinwangfu.

Wang Chengen hurried back to the palace.

Zhu Youjian had been waiting. When he heard the noise, he quickly stood up and asked, "How is it?"

Wang Chengen hurriedly said, "Your Highness, Lord Hong, Lord Yang, and Lord Zhou have all agreed to accompany you to the palace to see the Emperor."

"They asked me to report back to the prince. They will gather more people and discuss how to act. Then they will notify the prince and we will act together."

"That's good, that's good!"

Chief Prosecutor Zhu You breathed a sigh of relief and said, "They have a point. The more people, the better. The more people, the greater the success rate!"

"By the way, what about Hulong Villa? What did Uncle Wang say?"

Zhu Youjian asked hurriedly. He had not heard Wang Chengen mention the name of Tiedan Shenhou just now.

Hearing this, Wang Chengen's face turned grim. He said, "Your Highness, the Iron-hearted Marquis did not agree. He doesn't believe Wei Zhongxian imprisoned the emperor. He said that as long as he is around, nothing will happen."

"what?!"

Zhu Youjian's face changed slightly, and he said angrily, "How could Uncle Wang be so confused? It's so obvious, but he still can't see Wei Zhongxian's conspiracy?!"

Wang Chengen hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Your Highness, I suspect that the Iron-hearted Divine Marquis does not want to help Your Highness. Otherwise, with his prestige and wisdom, how could he not see such an obvious conspiracy?"

Zhu Youjian was slightly stunned, then his face darkened and he snorted coldly, "I am the only heir to the Ming Dynasty and the future ruler of the Ming Dynasty. His behavior clearly shows that he looks down on me. Is he planning a rebellion?!"

Wang Chengen's face changed slightly and he didn't dare to answer.

"That's it!"

Zhu Youjian took a deep breath and waved his sleeves, saying, "If he doesn't want to help, forget it. I have so many people helping me, and I don't necessarily need his help!"

"Once Lord Hong and the others are ready, we will immediately move and break into the palace to see the emperor!"

"Yes."

Wang Chengen nodded and then reminded him, "Your Highness, the East Factory's spies are everywhere right now. The capital is under martial law, and the streets are full of Jinyiwei. If you want to successfully break into the palace, you have to find a way to deal with the East Factory and Jinyiwei."

"Although Lord Hong is the Minister of War, the seal of the Ministry of War is not in his hands. The troops of the Five Cities Military Commission have been ordered to stop being transferred. Even Lord Hong has no authority to transfer them."

"They have at most a few hundred retainers and servants under their command."

"We only have so many people. If the people from the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard are determined to stop us, I'm afraid we won't be able to get in..."

Zhu Youjian nodded: "Don't we have people in the Jinyiwei?"

"Send someone to inform Xu Panxing and Jiang Xuan that it's time for them to make a choice!"

Zhu Youjian took a deep breath and his eyes were determined.

"Tell them that success or failure depends on this one move!"

"As long as they help me, I will grant them wealth and glory after the success!"

……

"Foster father, spies in the palace have reported that the fake prince will be born tonight!"

At Hulong Villa, Shangguan Haitang came hurriedly to report, looking anxious.

"what?"

Zhu Wusi was suddenly shocked: "How could it be so fast?!"

Shangguan Haitang said anxiously, "It is said that Wei Zhongxian ordered the imperial physician to give a palace maid medicine to induce labor. The maid was originally due to give birth in half a month."

Zhu Wusi frowned, a murderous look flashed in his eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "It seems that the emperor's condition is more serious than I thought, otherwise the old thief Wei Yan would not be so anxious to give birth to a fake prince!"

Shangguan Haitang nodded and asked, "Foster father, what should we do now? Should we go to the palace immediately and expose Wei Zhongxian's conspiracy?"

Zhu Wusi asked, "How is the situation at Prince Xin's Mansion?"

Shangguan Haitang shook her head. "I don't know. Since you said not to worry about it, I withdrew my men."

"But I heard that Wang Chengen, the steward of Prince Xin's palace, has been visiting the residences of civil and military ministers everywhere. He must be planning to join forces with the civil and military ministers to break into the palace and see the emperor!"

Damn it! Why hasn't that old thief Wei Yan taken action yet?!
Zhu Wusi frowned and thought deeply.

According to his plan, he was going to wait for Prince Xin to leave Beijing, and then Wei Zhongxian would eliminate the hidden danger of Prince Xin, and then he would go into the palace to expose Wei Zhongxian's conspiracy and clean up the mess, and then he would raise his arms and ascend the throne to become emperor.

But no one expected that the old villain Wei Yan would act so quickly and let the fake prince be born tonight, while Prince Xin's Mansion had not yet left the capital.

How can this be good?

"Never mind, let's suppress the old thief Wei Yan first!"

After a moment's contemplation, Zhu Wusi suddenly stood up and waved his hand, saying, "Haitang, summon Tianya and Yidao back immediately. Bring them with me into the palace to expose Wei Zhongxian's conspiracy!"

As for Prince Xin, we will send someone to deal with him after we have dealt with the palace.

At that time, Wei Zhongxian will bear all the consequences!
"Yes, godfather!" Shangguan Haitang turned and left.

……

Chou time, four o'clock.

Moon stars are rare.

There was silence in the East Six Palaces Tower.

Only the faint cries of a woman could be heard from the attic.

The eunuchs and guards were so densely packed that the entire attic was completely blocked.

At the door of the attic, Wei Zhongxian stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the bright moon in the sky, waiting quietly.

At this moment, he couldn't help but recall this brilliant life in his mind.

When he was young, his family was poor, so he castrated himself and entered the palace;
In the first year of the Tianqi reign, he flattered the emperor's wet nurse, Keshi, and was highly valued by the emperor, rising rapidly to prominence.

Afterwards, he relied on the emperor's favor to win over the ministers in the court who were suppressed by the Donglin Party and established his own party power. In just three years, he was promoted to the governor of the East Factory.
In the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, after he killed the Donglin Party members headed by Yang Lian, Yang Yuxuan and others, he became powerful in the court and the country. No one in the court could match him, and people in the court called him "Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Years Old"!
Now, it has been seven years since the Apocalypse!
As long as his plan of replacing the prince with a cat succeeds, he will be the undisputed uncrowned king of the entire Ming Dynasty!

In fact, he didn't want to do that.

However, he was reluctant to give up his current position of power.

Moreover, he was well aware that he had offended too many people during the years he was in power.

Once the new emperor comes to the throne and he loses power, many people will want him dead.

He doesn't want to die!

If he wants to stay in power, there are only two ways.

Either the emperor is alive, or I create an emperor myself!
However, the emperor has been in poor health since childhood, and over the years, he has almost always been taking medicine with him.

Now, the deadline is almost here...

What can he do?

To survive.

He has no choice but to succeed!

The deaths of the emperor's three sons and two daughters were actually related to him and Ke Shi.

Those princes and princesses were all born to other concubines, and the forces behind these concubines were so complicated that he could not control them.

Therefore, he could only find a way to create a prince that he could control!

The identities of these palace maids in the attic are very suitable.

As long as they successfully give birth to children, they will be killed and announced to the public that an accident occurred during childbirth. Then they will be posthumously awarded a posthumous title and the emperor will decree the establishment of the crown prince.

Even after the emperor passed away, he could continue to govern the country on the grounds that the prince was young.

Now, he has people everywhere in the court, the cabinet, the six ministries, the Censorate, and even local governments.

As long as he has the prince in his hands, who can compete with him?
By then, Wei Zhongxian will still have the final say in the Ming Dynasty!
Even if he cannot become emperor, he wants to be the first person under the imperial power.

He wants everyone to remember his name, Wei Zhongxian, for hundreds or thousands of years to come!

Take a deep breath.

Wei Zhongxian suppressed his excitement and passion, turned around and looked into the brightly candlelit attic, frowned and asked, "Why hasn't the baby been born in such a long time?"

"Don't worry, foster father. With so many doctors here, nothing will happen."

Han Yao quickly spoke to comfort him.

Wei Zhongxian nodded and continued to wait.

The woman inside was screaming in agony, becoming increasingly louder and more disturbing.

But the people guarding outside didn't dare to breathe and were all waiting.

……

Outside Dong'anmen, at the corner of a remote street.

In the shadows, two people stood.

"What's going on now?"

"I don't know. Wei Zhongxian ordered all the palace gates closed, so the secret agents couldn't pass on the news. All we know is that the fake prince was born tonight."

Hearing this, Jiang Xuan frowned.

"What should we do now?" asked the figure opposite.

The man dressed in black and holding a long sword was Xiyu.

Jiang Xuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "We can't move for now. Let's wait."

As he spoke, he looked up at Xiyu and ordered, "Send someone to keep an eye on Prince Xin's Mansion and wait for my orders."

"Remember, Prince Xin cannot die before the results come out."

"I understand." Xiyu nodded.

"Ok?"

At this time, Jiang Xuan frowned and looked at the street in the distance.

At the end of the street, a group of armored figures with sharp weapons were striding towards us with great momentum.

The leader was wearing a red dragon robe, a crown on his head, and a black cloak, looking extremely majestic.

"It's the Iron-Hearted Divine Marquis!" Xiyu's face changed slightly.

"Trouble!"

Jiang Xuan frowned and asked, "Why is this guy here first?"

……

At the gate of Dong'an, Xu Longqing and others also noticed the figure walking in the distance and immediately became alert.

"Stop whoever comes!"

Only when the group of people approached did Xu Longqing walk forward and stretch out his hand to stop them.

"presumptuous!"

With a roar, Shangguan Haitang walked out, staring coldly at Xu Longqing and the others, and said, "The prince wants to enter the palace to arrest the traitor, and you dare to stop him?!"

"Your Majesty?"

Only then did everyone notice Zhu Wusi, who was wearing a python robe, and their faces changed slightly.

Zhu Wusi strode forward and said in a deep voice, "I am Zhu Wusi, the 'Iron-hearted Divine Marquis.' I have the imperial seal and iron certificate bestowed upon me by the late emperor, as well as the imperial sword. I also have the power to protect the palace, apprehend traitors, and execute them first and report them later."

"Now that there's been a disturbance in the palace, I need to enter to see the emperor and apprehend the traitor. Why aren't you making way?"

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

Xu Longqing, Lu Jianxing, and An Jianqing looked at each other, then gritted their teeth and clasped their fists, "Please forgive me, Your Highness. As members of the Imperial Guard, we only follow the Emperor's orders. Without His Majesty's order, we dare not abandon our duties and let Your Highness in without permission."

Lu Jianxing also bowed and said, "We are following orders, Your Majesty, please don't make things difficult for us."

"Be bold!"

Zhu Wusi shouted angrily: "Are you really going to be so stubborn as to stop me from entering the palace?!"

Wow~
Behind Zhu Wusi, Shangguan Haitang and others drew their swords and stepped forward.

Lu Jianxing and others' expressions changed slightly, and they immediately looked alert.

Just when the atmosphere was tense, a voice suddenly came from the side.

"They are just following orders. Why should Your Highness make things difficult for them?"

Lu Jianxing and the others looked back and breathed a sigh of relief. They all bowed and saluted: "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

Jiang Xuan nodded, walked forward slowly, and bowed slightly to Zhu Wusi: "I greet you, Your Highness."

Duan Tianya's expression changed slightly when he saw Jiang Xuan. He immediately approached Zhu Wusi and whispered, "Foster father, he is Jiang Xuan from the Right Thousand Households Division."

Zhu Wushi narrowed his eyes slightly, turned around and looked at the man who had dared to reject him, and said in a deep voice: "Are you going to stop me from entering the palace?"

"I don't dare to do this in a humble position."

Jiang Xuan's face remained calm. "I have been ordered to guard the palace gates to prevent any coup. This is my duty. I hope Your Highness will understand."

"If Your Majesty insists on going in, I naturally wouldn't dare to stop him."

"But Your Highness, you brought so many people into the palace, and they all carried weapons. If this gets out, it will inevitably lead to misunderstandings."

"Your Highness wouldn't want rumors to spread throughout the capital tomorrow, saying you led troops to storm the palace and plot a rebellion, right?"

Shangguan Haitang's expression changed slightly, and she shouted, "How dare you! The prince entered the palace to rescue the emperor and apprehend the traitor, and you dare to frame the prince for treason?!"

"I didn't say that." Jiang Xuan's expression remained unchanged.

Zhu Wusi raised his hand to stop Shangguan Haitang from arguing. He looked at Jiang Xuan deeply and said, "You are truly eloquent and articulate. No wonder you rose from a mere captain to a captain in just over a year."

This statement was obviously a mockery of Jiang Xuan, saying that he was able to be promoted to the rank of Qian Hu only by flattering the eunuch party with his mouth, rather than relying on his actual strength.

Jiang Xuan's face remained calm, as if he couldn't hear Zhu Wusi's sarcasm. He said calmly, "Your Highness is too kind."

Zhu Wusi narrowed his eyes and said, "Okay, I will do as you wish. Tianya, Yidao, and Haitang will follow me in, and the others will stay outside."

"Yes!" Duan Tianya and others bowed in unison.

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty."

Jiang Xuan stepped aside and waved to Xu Longqing and the others. Then he gestured for them to come in and said, "Your Highness, please come in."

Zhu Wusi snorted coldly and entered the palace with Duan Tianya and the other two.

But the moment he stepped into the palace.

It seemed like I sensed something.

Zhu Wusi's face changed and he instantly looked up and looked into the depths of the palace.

There was a hint of fear, even terror, in his eyes...

(End of this chapter)