Transmigrated Genius: Fragile Heiress Reigns Supreme-Chapter 708 - 709: So That’s How It Is (Part 4)
"And what about the palace?" Xiqiu quickly recounted the Third Madam’s false edict: "The palace is ablaze, is it that Prince Rong has led people to storm the palace? Is the Emperor safe and sound?"
Fourth Master Xiao didn’t stop his hands, and replied: "Hmm, the Emperor was injured by the Empress Dowager, but it’s not serious. Prince Rong... escaped."
Xiqiu listened, furrowing her brows tightly: "Prince Rong escaped?" Fourth Master Xiao nodded and slowly explained to Xiqiu what had transpired tonight.
Only then did she know how much preparation Fourth Master Xiao had done beforehand. Since Prince Rong went missing, he had Elder General Chen lead three thousand soldiers from the West Mountain Camp to hide outside the city, ready to act at any moment. He also had Shi Shengjie meticulously set up the Imperial Guard throughout the Imperial City, forming a giant trap to capture Prince Rong.
Just yesterday, many displaced people who originally lingered outside the city disappeared, and numerous strangers flooded into the city gates. He, the Emperor, and Shen Ji anticipated that Prince Rong would certainly make a move within these two days; therefore, he and Shen Ji deliberately left the palace to return home yesterday...
Sure enough, when the palace gates of the Imperial City were locked at nightfall, Prince Rong appeared once more in the Empress Dowager’s palace. Along appeared nearly two thousand soldiers from the Min Family Army. Fearing they had been planning for a long time, surely there was a secret passage in the Empress Dowager’s palace leading directly outside the city.
Those men dispersed from the Empress Dowager’s palace, quickly seizing control of Taihe Palace and Fengwu Palace, "capturing" the Emperor and Empress. Prince Rong strode in, appearing before the Emperor. The Emperor feigned surprise, engaging in a verbal battle of denouncement.
At the same time, Third Master and Third Madam forged an edict, summoning the madams of several associated mansions into the palace. They also ambushed troops along the necessary route, intending to capture all the madams halfway to use as leverage. Unfortunately for them, they only managed to wait for Madam Han—other madams either closed their doors or did not venture out.
The group caught Madam Han off guard, not anticipating Madam Han’s origins from a Military General Family. Although her lineage was not noble, her martial arts skills were no less than a man’s. During a fight, she killed the bandits blocking her. When Third Madam arrived with reinforcements, Madam Han and Third Madam fought to a draw, and in rage, Third Madam unleashed a Gu Worm.
Madam Han, however...
Inside the Imperial City, Shi Shengjie surrounded the perimeter, while the "disaster victims" waiting in the Capital to execute a surprise attack on the city, and the "rogue bandits" infiltrating from Shandong, were all swiftly annihilated by Elder General Chen. A night order was issued to arrest Xu Wei, the Shandong Governor, in Dengzhou.
Inside the Imperial City, by the time Fourth Master Xiao and Shen Ji appeared, Prince Rong realized things were going wrong. When he looked back, there was already a din of slaughter outside the palace, and the entire Imperial City was filled with the stench of blood.
In shock, he hurriedly retreated with the guards around him. The Emperor certainly wouldn’t let him escape again, ordering his capture. Just then, the Empress Dowager entered the room, a long sword to her throat, sneering at the Emperor: "...If you wish to remain as the Holy Monarch, the crime of matricide is not something you can bear!"
This was a threat against the Emperor. Though she was not his birth mother, she was his legal mother. In Great Zhou, if a child kills a surrogate mother, the penalty might be just a flogging or reprimand. But if it’s the legal mother, it involves a punishment as severe as life itself. The Emperor might not have to pay with his life, but the stain on his name would be unbearable. Even with evidence of Prince Rong’s rebellion, the future generations who don’t understand the circumstances at the time would surely criticize the Holy Master who forced his legal mother to death.
Whether he faced condemnation or not, the title of Holy Monarch would likely not be his.
Others might not care, but the Emperor certainly did.
The Empress Dowager had calculated his thoughts and thus made this comment.
Sure enough, the Emperor waved his hand, ordering everyone to stop. The Empress Dowager sneered, protecting Prince Rong behind her as they stepped back out of Taihe Palace, while Fourth Master Xiao and Shen Ji stood outside the door, watching as the Empress Dowager and Prince Rong slowly retreated.
The Emperor, guarded by Fourth Master Xiao and Shen Ji, forced them to retreat all the way to Cian Palace. The Empress Dowager stood at the palace gate, waiting for Prince Rong and his followers to enter. She moved toward the Emperor step by step, while the supposedly deceased Princess Rong and Little Young Master appeared at the doorway. Fourth Master Xiao was not surprised; however, Shen Ji, the Emperor, and everyone else were rendered speechless in shock.
Princess Rong, overwhelmed with fear, held her child to protect the Empress Dowager, grandmother and granddaughter-in-law tearfully bidding farewell, creating chaos. The guards, including Fourth Master Xiao who was watching on the side, dared not move without the Emperor’s consent, watching the two cry and plead as the Empress Dowager denounced the Emperor’s misdeeds, even attributing the late Emperor’s death to him. She viciously said, "Back then, the late Emperor had already established a Testament. Even if you are clad in the Dragon Robe, it lacks rightful legitimacy!"
These words struck the Emperor’s sore spot; his gaze turned cold as he spewed out orders, and the guards rushed in a clamor to capture the Empress Dowager.
The crowd only pressed closer, not daring to make an actual move, as the opponent’s status was not that of a common folk.
The Empress Dowager retreated continuously to the hall entrance, where Nanny Fang beside her held an oil lamp. The Empress Dowager took the lamp with a shrill laugh, "Holy Monarch? Bah! I won’t let you succeed even if I die."
She then threw the oil lamp, and the burning oil landed on the windows and the drapes at the entrance, already soaked in tung oil, igniting a raging fire...
The Empress Dowager was supported by Princess Rong holding the child on one side and by Nanny Fang on the other. The four of them blocked the entrance, and the blazing fire raged up.
The crowd was shocked. Fourth Master Xiao stood behind the Emperor with hands behind his back, his gaze falling on the inside of the hall behind the Empress Dowager. There he saw a man, dressed in a grey tunic with a veil over his face, quickly running amid the thick smoke, and the empty sleeve fluttering behind him was conspicuously striking.
He squinted slightly but made no move.
The Emperor ordered everyone to put out the fire, but the flames spread swiftly. The Empress Dowager died with a sarcastic smile on her lips, casting a mocking glance at the Emperor before turning around with Princess Rong and Nanny Fang to retreat deeper into the hall.
When the fire was finally extinguished, only the corpses of the Empress Dowager, Princess Rong, and the Little Young Master remained in the hall, but Prince Rong’s body was nowhere to be found!
The Emperor was furious, ordering a search, and behind the palace, two secret passages were found—one had long been blocked by the Imperial Guard, and the other had never been discovered.
At this point, the spectacle had finally come to a rough closure, but it was only the beginning, as Prince Rong once again escaped right under everyone’s noses... 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Xiqiu understood that Fourth Master Xiao had done nothing more because Third Master was correct: "In the eyes of everyone, he still bears the surname Xiao!"
However, in Jiangnan Wei Hui Prefecture, Han Cheng had already brought men, and Yingtian’s troops had arrived in Changzhou. It was thought that with the general not yet arrived, the Min Family still had hope, but unexpectedly, the originally dispatched to Liaodong, Huang Da, descended seemingly out of nowhere at the front lines. Huang Da’s abilities were witnessed by all Great Zhou; he had engaged Mongolia in battles unceasingly for years, numbering over a hundred times. Despite some shortcomings, his capability in commanding troops could not be dismissed.
