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

Chapter 4 Harem
Kunning Palace.

The palace maid Lu Yan wandered in front of the palace gate, looking into the distance from time to time, her expression full of anxiety and nervousness.

Under normal circumstances, her behavior would have been scolded by the old palace maid, and the eunuchs would not allow her to look around at the palace gate.

But at this moment, with 200,000 soldiers of Prince Qian surrounding the city, although the palace was not in chaos, people were worried. The strict palace rules of the past had been loosened, and everyone was worried about what would happen to them, the palace maids and eunuchs of the previous dynasty, if the enemy army entered the city.

"Eunuch Xia is back!"

Someone shouted, and Lu Yan quickly turned around to see Xia Shouzhong, the chief eunuch of the six palaces, running towards her in a hurry, followed by seven or eight young eunuchs and palace maids, all of whom looked panicked.

Luyan was frightened.

These palace maids and eunuchs walked hurriedly, revealing a strong sense of uneasiness, as if a disaster was about to happen. It was even more terrifying than the scene of the emperor's death that the old palace maid described!
When Xia Shouzhong and the others arrived in front of Kunning Palace, Lu Yan finally came back to her senses and hurried forward to ask, "Eunuch Xia, how is the discussion between the Emperor and the ministers going?!"

Feeling that this was inappropriate, he quickly added, "The Queen is waiting for Eunuch Xia's reply!"

The Empress told her to wait outside, and when Xia Shouzhong came back she would immediately bring him in to answer her questions.

"This matter... is hard to say!"

Xia Shouzhong spoke vaguely. He originally wanted to go in and report to the Empress, but unexpectedly, the palace maids and eunuchs around Kunning Palace, and even the eunuchs on duty, all swarmed over him.

"Eunuch Xia, please tell me a little more about what's going on outside?!"

"Eunuch Xia, has Prince Qian entered the city?!"

"Eunuch Xia, we are stuck in the palace and can't leave. We are like birds trapped in a cage. Only you can help us survive this disaster!"

"Yes, yes, Eunuch Xia, please say a few more words. I don't care about anything else right now!"

Seeing he couldn't avoid it, Xia Shouzhong cleared his throat and said in a shrill voice, "Don't stop me! Are there any rules for making such a fuss?!"

Everyone shut up, but still refused to move away.

Xia Shouzhong said coldly, "Prince Qian has spread the word that we must surrender, and even said something like conferring the title of Duke of Anle on the Emperor, which is extremely treasonous."

The palace maids and eunuchs looked panicked, but there was also a sense of relief that it was just as expected.

In the past, if someone said this, even if they heard it, it would be considered as treasonous nonsense and they would get slapped in the face!
But nowadays, there is no such thing as dietary restrictions. Even if the emperor was hanged in the back mountain, some people would still talk about it in private!
Lu Yan saw Eunuch Xia looking around at everyone and continued, "Prince Qian also said that if we don't surrender, for every soldier he dies, he will bury three princes from the Dashun Dynasty with him. He'll start with the princes and work his way through all the officials in the court."

"what!"

Everyone exclaimed.

"Including us?!"

A eunuch touched his neck and felt a chill, with a chill rising from his heels.

He has been in the palace for many years and is now an eighth-rank attendant, also a high-ranking official.

"We should be fine, right?" a eunuch whispered. "Who cares if he's the emperor? Does he need us to serve him?"

The latter sentence was spoken very quietly, but some people still heard it.

This is enough to kill!
But everyone pretended not to hear.

"It's all gone."

Xia Shouzhong pushed aside the eunuchs and walked towards Kunning Palace. Lu Yan then remembered that she had not yet reported to the Empress Dowager, and hurried into the Empress Dowager's bedroom.

She entered Kunning Palace and walked into the Winter Warmth Pavilion in the west, where she saw a dignified and graceful woman lying on a rosewood carved phoenix couch covered with bright yellow brocade. She was none other than the Empress of the Dashun Dynasty, the daughter of the former Minister of Rites Zhang, who had been in charge of the six palaces for ten years.

In the past, the Empress Dowager paid her respects to her father every morning and evening, offering him beans and water to show her filial piety. She was in charge of the affairs of the six palaces and governed the palace maids and eunuchs through the Shanggong Bureau. The Empress Dowager was dignified, gentle and virtuous. Although it was a pity that she had no children, everyone inside and outside the palace admired her.

But now Lu Yan saw that the Queen was leaning on the couch with her hand supporting her forehead, closing her eyes to rest, and she looked like she had been physically and mentally exhausted for a long time, and people could not bear to disturb her any further.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Luyan is here." The maid in the East Warm Pavilion saw her come in and gently woke the resting Empress. The beautiful Empress Zhang slowly opened her eyes, her phoenix eyes fell on her, she sat up suddenly and called her, "Luyan!"

"Miss!"

Luyan stepped forward and bowed her head.

"Has the court come to any conclusion? Where is the thief king of Chu now?!"

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Xia is just outside the door."

"Call him!"

"Yes."

Lu Yan took her leave, went outside and led Xia Shouzhong into the warm room, and then listened from the side.

"Your servant greets the Empress."

After paying his respects to the Empress, Xia Shouzhong reported everything in detail.

Empress Zhang sat stunned for a long time after hearing this, then murmured, "This thief King of Chu has a good plan. He killed three of my Dashun princes for every soldier he killed. He's pointing his sword directly at the people who hold the most power in the court. Starting with them, he'll gradually force the civil and military officials to surrender."

No one spoke in the warm room. Lu Yan glanced at the empress secretly, then lowered her head, her heart full of anxiety.

"Do you know how the emperor will respond?!" Queen Zhang asked again.

Xia Shouzhong quickly replied, "The Emperor was furious after hearing this and cursed the thief king Chu Yan, saying that if they were going to kill anyone, they should start with him. Even if he died, he would rather die than be the Duke of Anle!"

Empress Zhang was silent for a moment before she asked, "Have the other ministers expressed their views? Will they surrender, or fight to the death with the bandits?"

"Well, I dare not speculate. There were more than a dozen ministers in Linjing Hall at the time. The Minister of War and the Minister of Personnel did not say much. Only Song Zhen, the Grand Secretary of Wuying Hall, and Luo Gu, the Grand Marshal, were loyal and stood by the emperor."

Lu Yan was puzzled. Why did Eunuch Xia say "advance and retreat together"? The emperor and his ministers advance and retreat together? What kind of talk was that?

After careful consideration, she vaguely understood the meaning of Eunuch Xia's words and felt that the phrase "advance and retreat together" was used very cleverly.

A thoughtful look crossed Empress Zhang's dignified and bright face. After a long pause, she spoke, "The Emperor has already angrily rebuked the bandit king. Even if they wish to surrender, they dare not speak out. The bandit king of Chu is being too aggressive, killing princes and ministers without mercy. I predict that at tomorrow's morning court session, those who advocate surrender will surely make their case... If that proves unsuccessful, many of them will excuse themselves from court under the pretext of illness, hoping to surrender when the enemy army enters the city and save their lives."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right!" Xia Shouzhong smiled and said, "The Emperor sent a decree to summon Prince Wu, but Prince Wu said he was ill and couldn't come to court. This infuriated the Emperor and he cursed him for being disloyal and unfilial!"

After hearing this, Luyan sneered in her heart. He was clearly as timid as a mouse, and he still talked about Prince Wu!

That's right, this Prince Wu was originally the King of Qin. It was after Chu Yan captured Yingtian Prefecture in Nanjing that the emperor issued an edict to change his title in order to boost the court's military preparedness. However, it turned out to be of no use, as hundreds of thousands of troops were defeated.

"Miss?"

After not understanding the voice for a long time, Xia Shouzhong raised his head slightly and glanced at the empress sitting on the carved phoenix couch. He saw that the empress's beautiful face was now full of worry, with a frown on her face, looking very pitiful. Unfortunately, no one could relieve the empress's sorrow.

The enemy army is just outside the city!

"You can go down." A sigh came from Empress Zhang's pale cherry lips. She waved her hand, signaling Xia Shouzhong to leave. She once again leaned her hands on the table, no longer having the image of a mother of the country in front of others.

Xia Shouzhong hesitated for a moment and could only say, "Your Majesty, if there is any news, I will come back to report to you!"

Empress Zhang then forced a smile and praised him, "You have served in Kunning Palace for many years, always diligently and hardworking. Now that the nation is facing this crisis, your loyalty is even more evident! After this calamity is over, I will definitely recommend you to the Emperor as the Chief Eunuch."

Xia Shouzhong was beaming with joy, but he was also worried that he might not be able to overcome this hurdle, so he knelt down to express his gratitude and left.

"Eunuch Xia!"

Lu Yan caught up with him and was about to speak when she saw a woman with a face as beautiful as a lotus and a dignified demeanor walking towards her from a distance. Several palace maids followed behind her and they were walking hurriedly towards Kunning Palace.

Lu Yan hurriedly stood with Eunuch Xia. When the elegant woman approached, they both bowed and said, "Greetings, Consort Xiande."

(End of this chapter)