allonlinenovel Chapter 512 Tuogu
Chapter 512 Tuogu
The middle-aged man sat down, and after the waiter served tea, he lowered his voice as he picked up his teacup:
"His Majesty's condition has worsened, and he has not attended court for three days. Prince Ying, under the guise of 'regency,' has seized control of the government, and most of the officials in the six ministries have sided with him. Yesterday... Duke Anguo was flogged in court for opposing Prince Ying's proposal and is now recuperating at his residence."
Upon hearing the words "Duke of Anguo," Yu Wan's expression changed.
Yun Shang gently patted her hand, and Yu Wan took a deep breath.
It should only be some minor injuries; Prince Ying wouldn't kill someone at this time.
The middle-aged man continued, "Since Prince Ying assumed the role of regent and began to govern, he has been constantly making moves. In the past two days, there have been frequent transfers of officials. Yesterday, the Minister of War was also transferred to Lingzhou to suppress bandits. The two remaining vice ministers of the Ministry of War are both Prince Ying's confidants."
Yun Shang tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, his eyes turning slightly cold: "Where are the Imperial Guards?"
"The commander of the Imperial Guards claimed to be ill and stayed at home, while the deputy commander had secretly defected to Prince Ying. Now, all the guards in the palace have been replaced by Xu Huan's confidants."
Yu Wan stood beside Yun Shang and noticed that his aura was slightly tense, so she gently grasped his wrist.
Yun Shang glanced at her sideways, the coldness in her eyes softening slightly, and then asked, "How are the Empress and the Princess?"
"The Empress is under house arrest in Fengyi Palace, while the three princesses are being 'looked after' by Princess Ying, which is tantamount to house arrest. Princess Ying claims that she has temporarily taken over because she is worried that there will be chaos in the harem during His Majesty's illness."
Yun Shang sneered, "What a perfectly respectable excuse."
"Is the manor still safe?"
The man said, "After you left the capital, the Yun residence was kept under close surveillance. However, the silk shop in the south of the city remains unknown."
"Hmm." Yun Shang lowered his eyes and responded softly, then picked up his teacup and took a sip.
Upon seeing this, the middle-aged man drank the tea in his cup in one gulp, placed three copper coins on the table, and then got up and left.
Yun Shangshou calmly took one of the copper coins, rubbed the edge of the coin with his fingertip, and pulled out a paper strip as thin as a cicada's wing.
He quickly swept the paper across his palm, and it turned to dust.
Yu Wan looked on in surprise, leaned close to Yun Shang's ear, and whispered, "What's written on the note?"
"At midnight tonight, Prince Ying will likely make his move," Yun Shang whispered. "Something is bound to happen tonight. I'll take you to a safe place first..."
Before he finished speaking, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar, followed by the sound of armor clashing in unison.
Yun Shang's eyes sharpened, he tightly grasped Yu Wan's hand, stood up, and quickly disappeared into the dark alley.
A troop of black-armored imperial guards rode in, and the leading general shouted, "By order of Prince Ying, search the entire city for traitors! Anyone acting suspiciously shall be arrested!"
Yu Wan held her breath and pressed herself against the wall, remaining motionless.
Yun Shang's hand rested firmly on her waist, his gaze coldly observing the movements outside.
After the imperial guards had gone far away, he whispered, "It seems Prince Ying has already realized we've returned to the capital."
Yu Wan's heart was pounding. "What do we do now?"
Yun Shang pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Where is His Majesty now?"
Yu Wan was stunned for a moment.
Are you asking her?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she heard a low, husky voice in her ear.
"His Majesty is still in the Hall of Longevity, but it is heavily guarded. No one except the head of the Imperial Medical Academy and Prince Ying's confidants can enter the Hall of Longevity."
Yu Wan was startled by the sudden sound and barely managed to refrain from screaming.
Yun Shang noticed that she was frightened, so he raised his hand and patted her back. "Don't be afraid, it's a guard."
He then took out a dark-colored token from his pocket and tossed it toward the source of the voice, saying, "Take this token and go find the commander of the Imperial Guards."
The sound of the guards responding came from the dimly lit alley.
After he left, Yu Wan asked softly, "King Ying knows you've returned, so he's definitely on high alert. The palace gates are heavily guarded now. How are you going to get in?"
Yun Shang's lips curled slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "Take the secret passage."
Yu Wan was taken aback: "A secret passage?"
"To prevent a palace coup, His Majesty has been secretly sending people to build a secret passage for the past two years, all for this very moment."
……
The entrance to the secret passage mentioned by Yun Shang was a silk shop called "Jinge" in the south of the city. On the surface, this silk shop was an ordinary cloth shop, but in reality, it was a secret agent planted by the emperor.
For the past two years, this silk shop had been doing business normally, just like any other ordinary cloth shop, and no one noticed anything amiss.
Yu Wan saw from afar that "Jin Ge" was still open for business and serving customers. Yun Shang only glanced at it a few times before pulling Yu Wan away.
He skillfully made his way to the back alley, knocked lightly three times on the door, paused, and then knocked twice more.
The wooden door creaked open a crack, revealing a wrinkled old face.
The old man recognized Yun Shang and instantly became respectful, saying, "My lord."
Once inside the silk shop, Yun Shang turned to Yu Wan and said, "It's safe here for now. You can stay here for the night."
Yu Wan knew that she couldn't go to the Yun family mansion or the Duke of Anguo's mansion, and she couldn't possibly go to the palace with Yun Shang. She didn't want to be a burden.
So he nodded readily, "Okay, I'll wait for you to come back here. Be careful and don't get hurt."
Yun Shang looked at her with gentle eyes and reached out to touch her hair. "Don't worry, I will definitely protect myself."
The secret passage led directly to the emperor's bedroom. Yun Shang walked along the passage for about half an hour. Holding a candle, he saw a hidden door ahead and reached out to feel for the switch.
Meanwhile, inside the Hall of Longevity.
Prince Ying's abilities are not yet great enough to replace everyone around the emperor, so the guards outside the Hall of Longevity and the palace servants in the Hall of Longevity are all the emperor's confidants.
However, the King of Ying's men guarded the Changsheng Palace, and no one was allowed to enter or leave at will.
The emperor remained unconscious, and Xiao Fuzi paced anxiously inside the palace.
Just then, he heard a soft "click" sound coming from inside the hall.
Xiao Fuzi quickly looked up behind the dragon bed, and when he saw a familiar figure appear, he almost cried out, "Lord Yun! You're finally back!"
Yun Shang emerged from behind the dragon bed, his expression cold. "How is His Majesty?"
Xiao Fuzi shook her head, choking back tears: "The imperial physician said that His Majesty is probably..."
He couldn't continue, he just shook his head.
Yun Shang's heart sank.
The room was filled with the strong aroma of medicine. The emperor on the dragon bed was as pale as paper, his eyes were closed, and his breathing was so weak that it was almost inaudible.
If you don't listen carefully, you'd think he was already dead.
Yun Shang hadn't expected the emperor's condition to be so serious. He took out a porcelain bottle from his robes and poured out three red pills the size of red beans. "Bring some water and feed it to His Majesty."
Without hesitation, Xiao Fuzi took the pill from Yun Shang's hand and fed it to the emperor.
Fortunately, the emperor was still able to swallow, and only after confirming that he had taken the medicine did Yun Shang's tightly furrowed brows relax a little.
During the time it took for the emperor to wake up, Yun Shang had Xiao Fuzi tell him everything that had happened in the palace recently.
About fifteen minutes later, the emperor, who had been lying motionless on the dragon bed, let out a very soft groan of pain.
"He's awake?" Little Fuzi cried, tears streaming down her face, her voice trembling with suppressed excitement. "His Majesty is awake!"
The emperor slowly opened his eyes, and when he saw Yun Shang, a glimmer of light flashed in his dark eyes.
“You’re back…” He smiled weakly. “I thought… I wouldn’t be able to wait for you again.”
Yun Shang knelt before the bed, his voice slightly hoarse: "Your subject is late."
The emperor shook his head, laboriously raised his hand, and Yun Shang quickly grasped it.
The emperor's hands were cold and thin, and one could almost feel the outline of his bones.
“You’re right, Prince Ying is ambitious. It’s all my fault for not trusting you back then,” the emperor said haltingly. “My illness… is beyond saving. But the Great Zhao empire… cannot fall into his hands.”
"Yun Shang, I have another son... I want you to assist him..."