After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 38 Locking the Dragon
After finishing the arrangements, Chu Yan stood up and walked out. When he passed by the slender Empress Zhang, he said to her, "Come with me to see your husband and see if he is sober."

Empress Zhang lowered her head and said nothing. She waited until he took a few steps before following him.

Qinghe took a few quick steps and came to the side of the emperor's sister-in-law. The two looked at each other in silence.

When they went outside, Prince Qian's personal guards had already moved away from the door, avoiding looking at their faces, but Qinghe didn't care about these etiquette precautions at the moment. He looked past the tall Chu Yan in front of him and looked at his royal brother in the courtyard.

Without Prince Qian's order, two personal guards held the emperor and brought him here.

"Brother Emperor..."

Qinghe's mind went blank. How could the brother in front of him look like an emperor at all?
His hair was disheveled, his face was bruised and swollen, and the bright yellow robe with dragon pattern he was wearing had been stripped off, revealing the white lining underneath. He looked dejected and angry, but dared not speak.

How can he still be the emperor?

"His Majesty--"

Empress Zhang took two steps towards Emperor Yongning, then stopped because of many concerns. Her expression was complicated, sad and resentful.

Even though Emperor Yongning had wanted to drag her down with him before, she and the emperor had been married for ten years after all. Now, seeing his miserable appearance as a prisoner of Prince Qian, she couldn't help but feel the same way and felt sad.

"Are you awake?"

Chu Yan asked him calmly.

Emperor Yongning could not utter a word and remained silent.

Chu Yan said: "I don't care whether you live or die, but if you die, rebels will appear everywhere under your banner, so you can't die. You must live and prove to the world that the Shun Dynasty has perished."

"If you die, I will kill all of your Shun Dynasty royal family, including your sons."

When Princess Qinghe and Empress Zhang heard his words, they were terrified.

Emperor Yongning finally raised his head and glared at him.

Chu Yan ignored him and asked the people around him, "Is there a place for him in the palace?"

A moment later, Xia Shouzhong hurriedly replied, "Your Highness Prince Qian, in front of the Cining Palace where the Empress Dowager and the concubines live, near the palace wall, there's a building overlooking the river outside the city. It's called Wangjiang Tower. It's not connected to the inner court, so it's perfect for living!"

"it is good."

Chu Yan nodded and said to him, "Go and select a few palace maids and eunuchs to serve the emperor. She -" pointing to Concubine Wu Shu, "also select a few of the emperor's concubines and send them in to accompany him."

Emperor Yongning seemed to have thought of something and suddenly looked at the queen.

There are concubines, but no queen? !
Facing her husband's fixed gaze, Empress Zhang remained expressionless and said nothing.

"Your Majesty!" Concubine Wu knelt hurriedly: "I am also willing to serve Your Majesty!"

"late."

Chu Yan, wearing armor, walked out of Changchun Palace, ignoring Concubine Wu Shu who was kneeling and begging.

Behind him, the guards retreated in an orderly manner. Two of them lifted up Emperor Yongning and carried him out, while the other two came behind Concubine Wu Shu, pointed outside the door, and motioned her to follow them out.

“Your Majesty!!”

Concubine Wu burst into tears. She had wanted to wait and see. The new emperor had many concubines around him, and she might not be favored. If she could stay with Emperor Yongning, the Empress, Concubine Wu, and Concubine Zhou would no longer be around, and she would be able to enjoy Emperor Yongning's favor alone.

Who would have thought that Prince Qian actually imprisoned the emperor in Wangjiang Tower instead of making him a duke and letting him live outside the palace!
"Come with us."

As soon as she hesitated, two guards immediately took action, lifted her shoulders and dragged her out. In a short moment, Changchun Palace returned to its former tranquility.

Concubine Wu and Concubine Zhou who were left behind were silent as a mouse. If they had hesitated for a moment, they would have been dragged away by Prince Qian's soldiers and sent to Wangjiang Tower. It was unknown how many years it would take for them to get out again.

They looked at the Queen and saw that she had her lips tightly shut and said nothing.

Concubine Zhou looked disdainful, thinking to herself, "Why are you still pretending to be a chaste and virtuous woman? It's your blessing to be favored by the new emperor. From being empress to imperial concubine, aren't you satisfied? Your life is too good... No wonder, she was born so beautiful, the empress dowager chose her to be empress, and now Prince Qian has chosen her and forced her to be his concubine... Humph, when you go to serve the new emperor, let's see if you can still act like the mother of the country?"

She was muttering to herself, but she finally breathed a sigh of relief because her future was settled. A smile appeared on her charming face, and she said to the palace maids, "What are you still standing there for? Aren't you going to do anything?!"

Several old eunuchs and palace maids ignored her, knowing that she had always been domineering and bossy, relying on the emperor's favor and even looking down on the imperial concubine.

Now she is no longer a noble lady, but just a talented person.

Wang Chengen, the eunuch in charge of the Cining Palace, stepped forward, bowed to the taciturn Consort Jia Yuanchun, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, just give us your orders. We've done this before. Just follow the old palace rules and there won't be any chaos!"

Jia Yuanchun looked at them and saw that many eunuchs who used to hold high positions and power in the palace and had the concubines to curry favor with them were now waiting for her orders.

She didn't dare to make the decision on her own.

"Your Majesty." Jia Yuanchun hurried a few steps and came before Empress Zhang, bowing. She asked in the same respectful voice as before, "Prince Qian has ordered us to move the concubines to the Eastern Palace. I dare not make the decision on my own. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."

Years of cautious life in the palace have made her accustomed to obeying the orders of the Empress Dowager, the Queen, the Emperor and others.

Qinghe looked at the emperor's sister-in-law quietly and saw that her wooden expression finally moved.

"Why do you ask me again?" Empress Zhang said, "You are now the master of the six palaces. Even I, the Queen Mother, the old concubine, and others must obey you." She gave Concubine Xian De a deep look and said, "Later, you will have to move the old concubine to the East Palace."

Jia Yuanchun couldn't help but be stunned.

She had served the old concubine in the palace for a full ten years, and now they were forcing her to move elsewhere?!

On one side is the will of King Qian, and on the other side is filial piety.

"My Queen Mother is already sixty-five this year. How can this be possible?!"

Qinghe also woke up from his dream at this moment. The Eastern Palace was small, with nearly two hundred concubines living in it. How could his mother endure it?
When Prince Qian was here, she was extremely afraid of him and had not thought of this. Now it was too late to regret!
"Miss."

Wang Chengen said, "If you can't bear it, you can let our servants do it."

Prince Qian is just outside the palace, and their life and death are not up to them!
Jia Yuanchun's eyes were filled with tears as she said to him, "Send someone to go, but remember not to frighten the old concubine or the queen mother."

"Yes, ma'am."

Wang Chengen paid his respects to her, Empress Zhang, and Princess Qinghe before going to discuss with several eunuchs in charge of the palace and female historians how to move so many concubines to the Eastern Palace in one day and what to do after they entered the Eastern Palace.

Someone suddenly said, "Dai Quan from the East Palace hasn't arrived yet."

"Hmph, no matter if he comes or not, we'll lead people into the East Palace later. Does he dare to stop us? If he dares, I'll take care of everyone in the East Palace as well, and then report back to Prince Qian!"

"There are several Taoist priests in the Eastern Palace. If the concubines live with them, will it be..."

"No matter if they are Taoist priests or not, remember, those people are no longer concubines, they are just prisoners of King Qian!"

"Ah, I just can't wrap my head around it. I thought the Empress was still the Empress, but I didn't expect them to not be Prince Qian's concubines anymore!"

Wang Chengen and others discussed and drew up a set of rules, and then passed them back and forth to Jia Yuanchun and Empress Zhang. After getting their permission, they immediately gave orders to mobilize half of the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace, and arranged people to supervise each palace, and searched the residences of each concubine one by one!
For a moment, the crying in the palace shook the mountains and hills.

(End of this chapter)