Chapter 114

 

Lu Wenjun and Ashina had been secretly involved for some time. However, due to the Grand Princess’s strong opposition and her increasingly strict supervision, they had been finding it difficult to meet. This time, upon being invited to stay briefly at the Forbidden Garden, Lu Wenjun seized the opportunity to see Ashina.

Yesterday, after asking her older brother to decline Prince Kang’s invitation, she quietly slipped out alone through the northern Yinma Gate of the Forbidden Garden, which was guarded by the Ashina clansmen. Ashina was waiting for her there. The two then secretly met and later went to Qingyue Tower, where they lost themselves in the night and did not return until they were eventually found.

The night wind rushed into the vast and cold Qixing Hall.

Han Kerang had just done with his report when Yuan Zhi followed him in with the sound of hurried footsteps, reporting another piece of news he had received.

Recently, some of the crown prince’s men have been frequently contacting Taoist priest Chen Xuhe.

This Chen Xuhe was the chief Taoist official who used to lead other Taoists in refining elixirs for the emperor. He held a high status in the palace. But ever since the princess returned to the court and the emperor gave up elixirs and took imperial medicine instead, he had no choice but to return to his Baihe Temple in the mountains outside the city.

Afterwards, Yuan Zhi, who was ordered to monitor the East Palace, noticed that some of the Crown Prince’s guests were secretly coming and going to the Baihe Temple, their movements suspicious. Sensing something amiss, he sent people to infiltrate the temple and, with a hefty bribe, managed to turn one of Chen Xuhe’s trusted disciples. Through this informant, he learned that Chen Xuhe was highly skilled in fire-based alchemy. In the past, while refining medicine using the “submerged fire alum method,” he had accidentally discovered that when saltpeter, sulfur, and other medicinal substances were mixed and burned together, they produced a black powder that was highly flammable and explosive. If this black medicine was filled into a sealed container and ignited by a fuse, the resulting explosion was said to be devastating—within a radius of three feet, any living being would suffer grievous injuries.

Just now, the disciple delivered an urgent report: with the assistance of craftsmen, Chen Xuhe had been working tirelessly, day and night, in a hidden cave behind the mountain, secretly forging iron spheres called jili thunder. These were fist-sized balls packed with iron shards, spiked caltrops, and those black powder. So far, ten or so had been completed, and they would detonate upon exposure to fire.

Just today during the day, the batch of iron balls were taken away.

“The person who took the iron ball came from the East Palace.”

“Your Majesty, do you want this servant to summon the Crown Prince immediately?”

Yuan Zhi held his breath and waited for orders.

The emperor moved slightly.

He got down from his couch. Zhao Zhongfang came to help him, but the emperor pushed him away.

He stepped forward, heading toward the northwest corner of the hall, where a hanging curtain was billowing in the wind. The two eunuchs standing guard outside hurriedly lifted the curtain for him.

The emperor walked to the bedside, where a dim spirit-calling lamp flickered weakly in the corner. In its faint glow, he lowered his head and gazed sorrowfully at Prince Kang, who lay there, utterly devoid of life.

Slowly, he removed his outer robe and gently draped it over Prince Kang’s face.

Outside the Qixing Hall, the officials who had been waiting exhaustedly for a whole day finally saw the emperor appear and walk out of the hall.

The emperor’s figure was steady and his steps were neat. If it weren’t for the lingering layer of frost covering his face, he would have looked almost the same as usual.

However, at this moment, everyone present clearly felt a cold and murderous aura that was pressing down on them as the emperor appeared.

After a chaotic and slight commotion, all the officials quickly returned to their positions, trembling with fear and trepidation, and knelt on both sides of the palace road, bowed their heads, and held their breath, not daring to make any unnecessary noise.

The emperor looked ahead without pausing as he walked along the palace road lined with people kneeling on both sides and exited the Qixing Hall.

As he turned the corner and left the prying eyes behind, the emperor’s once-straight back seemed to suddenly lose its strength, collapsing into a hunched posture. His steps, once firm, grew heavy, then unsteady, as if he were walking on air.

Finally, when he reached a stone lantern with a burning candle beside the palace road, the sole of his boot seemed to trip on the carved square bricks. He stumbled slightly, his hand reaching out aimlessly, grasping at empty air. In a hoarse, trembling voice, he called softly: “Hao’er, Hao’er, are you there…”

Xuyu, who was behind him, stepped forward quickly and grasped the emperor’s hand, only to feel that his palm was damp and cold.

The emperor closed his eyes and stopped. Slowly, he clenched his fingers. The force was so strong, as if he was afraid that she would instantly disappear once he let go.

Xuyu felt a pain, but she moved closer so that the emperor could rely on her strength.

“I’m here! Father, I’m here!” she kept responding.

In the night, the emperor stood on the palace road, holding his daughter’s warm and soft hand with his five fingers, and finally, he slowly let out a breath.

“Stay with Father, don’t leave…”

He muttered something to himself, and his grip finally softened, but he still didn’t let go of his daughter’s hand.

“Alright, I’ll accompany you, Father.”

Xuyu held back the tears that were about to burst out and responded.

…

In a villa outside the western suburbs of the city, carrier pigeon was released.

Liu Ceye watched it flap its wings and fly out of the courtyard wall before its shadow disappeared into the dark night sky. Then, he paced back and forth in the courtyard.

He looked anxious, having completely lost his usual calmness and confidence, and kept looking towards the entrance of the courtyard.

After a while, Wei Juren finally arrived in a hurry. Liu Ceye immediately led him into a secret room. Wei Juren reported to him that he had successfully retrieved the things made by Chen Xuhe, and everything was set for imperial ancestral worship ceremony. The night before, the ceremonial officer would secretly bury the things in the incense burner closest to the emperor.

“At the crucial moment, with our ambushed forces in position, we will strike first and catch them completely off guard.”

Naturally, a thorough plan to deal with Han Kerang, Pei Xiaoyuan and other trusted generals of the emperor had already been formulated. The objective was clear—to ensure that the throne could be seized successfully and the crown prince could be enthroned.

The reason why Liu Ceye changed his usual seeking-stability style and took such a risk was that he had no choice.

The princess successfully married Pei Xiaoyuan, but Pei Xiaoyuan was assassinated before the marriage. Rumors attacked the crown prince, but the emperor turned a deaf ear and ignored them. All sorts of things happened one after another.

Liu Ceye keenly sensed a very ominous and dangerous atmosphere that was different from before. He had a hunch that after Pei Xiaoyuan became the son-in-law of the emperor and completely obeyed him, the emperor would finally act without restraint, launching his long-planned move against them.

He even suspected that the so-called “prince consort’s assassination” was most likely a self-torture trick jointly devised by the emperor and Pei Xiaoyuan, the purpose of which was to deal with him.

If he did nothing and just wait according to the emperor’s plan, in this passive situation, the chances of turning things around would be slim.

It was under this strong sense of crisis that, after repeated considerations, he gave up his long-held safe plan of keeping a close eye on Feng Zhenping and waiting until the emperor died, and decided to take the initiative to counterattack.

At the last court meeting, the emperor humiliated Xue Mian. His original intention was to kill the chicken to scare the monkey by warning Xue Mian. However, he would not have anticipated that the once-hesitant Xue Mian would instead bear a deep grudge and fully defect to Liu Ceye’s side. Though officially leaving the capital, but in fact he quietly turned back halfway. Liangzhou was not far from Chang’an, only a few days’ journey. He had already begun covertly deploying troops in batches, integrating them into the city’s garrison units loyal to Liu Ceye, ready to respond at a moment’s notice.

With three factions now united, their odds of success had significantly increased. This was one of the key reasons Liu Ceye dared to gamble everything on this final strike.

“No, we cannot wait! We must act in advance! Tonight!”

They did not kill Prince Kang. Although they had thought of this before, the emperor was still firmly seated in Ziyun Palace, so they did not dare to do this to the only other prince.

When Liu Ceye and Wei Juren first learned the news, they were shocked. Their first reaction was that Pei Xiaoyuan must have done this. Just like the last time he was assassinated, he wanted to frame them. Therefore, Wei Juren tried his best to pin Ashina as a suspect, hoping to prove that Ashina had killed people, so as to buy time for themselves. They never expected that in the end, it was confirmed that Ashina was with Lu Wenjun yesterday, so the suspicion was naturally cleared.

When Wei Juren heard this, he gasped at first, and then he looked hesitant.

“I understand the reasoning. This mater must be Pei Xiaoyuan’s hand! He killed Prince Kang and put the blame of our heads. But tonight… isn’t it too hasty?”

“We must act immediately! The sooner the better!” Liu Ceye frowned, but his tone was without hesitation.

“It has come to this point. If we delay for a moment, it will be even more disadvantageous to us! Ever since Pei Er married the Princess, we have been at a disadvantage! Not to mention, something like this happened again today! The emperor may make trouble at any time and detain the Crown Prince. Once the Crown Prince falls into the emperor’s hands, what can we do? We can’t wait any longer! Force him to abdicate tonight!”

It was a cold night in late autumn, but Wei Juren’s forehead was sweating. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and said bitterly, “Pei Er killed Prince Kang and put the blame on us. The Crown Prince really has no way to defend himself. He can only fight to the death. We can’t wait any longer!

“What is Minister Liu’s plan?” He calmed himself down and asked.

Liu Ceye opened the door and called in all his trusted aides. He pointed to a Chang’an defense map spread out on the table and ordered Wei Juren to rush back to Chang’an and, together with the crown prince, summon the East Palace’s Luben Guard to prepare to launch an attack from the Zuo Yintai Gate.

“At that time, our people under the command of Left Yulin, Left Shenwu, Left Xiaowei and other guards will rise up together, eliminate the night watch officers, control the gates and cut off traffic. I have already released a carrier pigeon to send word to Xue Mian. We should receive his reply within an hour. Once we coordinate with him, he will lead his troops together with the people under Right Yulin, Right Shenwu and other subordinates to attack from the northern inner walls and Xuanwu Gate. We will converge from north and south…”

Liu Ceye made a killing gesture.

“You keep a look at the Xuanwu Gate in the north of the Imperial Palace. When you see a fire in that direction, that’s the signal. Then, go to Ziyun Palace together and respectfully ask His Majesty to pass on the throne to the Crown Prince.

“The Crown Prince is a benevolent monarch, and his character is obvious to all. Once he ascends the throne, every one of you here will bask in boundless wealth and honor!”

Although they were forced to act early tonight, which was a bit hasty, the plan to seize the palace had long been in place. The attack routes had been meticulously devised, and the various forces had secretly rehearsed their coordination both on paper and through repeated drills. The commanders knew their roles by heart.

A brief silence settled over the secret room. Then, as if moved by Liu Ceye’s final words, everyone’s eyes gleamed with renewed determination. In unison, they voiced their assent. After a few more hushed discussions to ensure no detail had been overlooked, they swiftly dispersed into the night.

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