readsfreenovel Chapter 622 Shocking Change
Chapter 622 Shocking Change
The second prince and the seventh prince took the order and left, especially the seventh prince. He knew very well that the third prince hated his mother and was unwilling to give up on his brothers. If the third prince really had any unusual behavior, there would probably be a sudden change in the imperial city.
Late at night, Lan Qingwu, feeling somewhat exhausted, finally fell asleep, only to be awakened by a hazy dream. The dream was filled with blood and fire, which was not a good omen. Lan Qingwu broke out in a cold sweat. She sat up, gently wiped the sweat from her forehead, and called out, "Ruping, where is the Seventh Prince?"
The Seventh and Second Princes were summoned to Fengqi Palace in the middle of the night. Lan Qingwu's eyes had gradually become firm. She slowly said, "I'm feeling unwell. Go and convey my order to all the princes, princesses, and princesses to come to the palace to tend to my sickness. Bring their children with you! Prince Ding, Prince An, Prince Kang, and other royal relatives, bring their families with you! Xiaoqi, go and bring your grandmother to Fengqi Palace and tell them that Princess Yuhua is here. Ruhan, the Crown Princess, the children, and the concubines, go and arrange for them to move to the side halls of Fengqi Palace. All the concubines in the harem should also be placed in Fengqi Palace. If it's too crowded, use the surrounding palaces! Second Prince, you and Xiaoqi will inspect the palace's defenses!"
The second prince and the seventh prince quickly responded, bowed and left.
This late night was destined to make it difficult for everyone to sleep. Prince Ding, who was in charge of the government, hurried into the palace with Princess Ding and several children. The fifth prince, Princess Yuhua, the second princess, the fourth princess, the sixth princess and others entered the palace one after another.
In the end, even Prince Kang, Prince An, and several princes-in-law came to the palace. Even several ministers who stayed in the imperial city and Uncle Lan San brought their families into the palace, but they were all arranged to rest in the outer hall. Lan Qingwu did not summon all of them.
In Fengqi Palace, Prince Ding, Third Uncle Lan, and the Second, Seventh, and Fifth Princes all stood before the Highness. Lan Qingwu asked, "There must be quite a stir in the Imperial City. Is there anyone else who hasn't responded to the summons?"
The Second Prince frowned and said, "My Queen Mother, the eldest princess did not respond to the summons!"
Lan Qingwu paused for a moment. "She has to go to the palace every now and then, so why isn't she in a hurry to come now? Where's the Grand Consort?"
The second prince replied: "Neither came!"
Lan Qingwu rubbed his brows lightly: "Send someone to invite her again! Make sure the eldest princess enters the palace!"
If the imperial city really gets into chaos, she doesn't want any of Emperor Shenwu's descendants to get into trouble at her hands. This eldest princess really does the opposite of her in everything!
Prince Ding's expression was somewhat solemn, but he still had some hope. "Empress, what should we do next? I have been inspecting the Imperial City today, and I still feel that it is no different from usual."
Lan Qingwu asked, "Second Prince, Xiaoqi, have you discovered anything today?"
The Second Prince's eyes narrowed. "My Lord, I sent someone to the Third Prince's residence and met his wife. I also searched the residence but couldn't find him. Your Majesty, what you foresaw may be about to happen!"
"Where is the Third Prince's wife?"
"I had him brought into the palace and assigned guards."
Lan Qingwu sighed softly, "Alright, send someone to take good care of him! Prince Ding, you've heard it too. The Third Prince doesn't know what to do. This is the military token His Majesty gave me. You take the Second and Seventh Princes with you to guard the palace!"
The Seventh Prince's face darkened slightly. "Mother, not only is the Third Brother not in the Fourth Prince's residence either! I brought people there, and saw the Fourth Prince's wife, holding her child, crying in the room. I brought her into the palace too!"
Prince Ding said with a dark face, "What bastards! They abandon their wives and children for their own ambitions!"
Lan Qingwu felt sad: "Take good care of them and their child!"
She had never considered threatening the Third and Fourth Princes with the lives of women and children. If they truly cared about their wives and children, they wouldn't have abandoned them. "I just don't know who they've contacted. The Imperial City will soon be facing a mutiny. Prince Ding, before His Majesty left for the border, he entrusted the former court and the harem to us. We must protect the people we are supposed to protect, so as not to let His Majesty down!"
Prince Ding quickly bowed and saluted, "Don't worry, Empress! The Imperial Palace's Black Feather Guards number over ten thousand men, and with the military tokens in your possession, we can mobilize over sixty thousand men! I will immediately take the two princes with me to mobilize the troops!"
Lan Qingwu nodded: "Fifth Prince, you stay in the inner palace!"
Prince Ding, along with the Second and Seventh Princes, began to seal off the palace. The palace gates slowly closed, and the Xuanyu Guards, Jinlin Guards, patrol battalions, and suburban troops surrounded the palace in layers in the early morning.
The heavy gates of the imperial city were also closed. The third and fourth princes must be hiding somewhere in the imperial city, waiting for a counterattack. It was unknown which force would support them, and Lan Qingwu was also unsure whether the forces she knew of had any internal support from the third prince and his men. Therefore, except for the Xuanyu Guard and Jinlin Guard who were arranged into the palace, the rest of the forces were dispersed by Prince Ding, the second prince, and the seventh prince, and were under their control. If there was any special situation, the other two forces would arrive in a moment.
The first day passed safely, but no one relaxed because they knew that the darkness could conceal many things, and midnight was the time when people were most likely to relax and feel sleepy.
Lan Qingwu was guarding Fengqi Palace. Empress Dowager Li was old and had been helped to sleep. Concubine Jiang, Concubine Wan, Concubine Liang, Concubine Han and others were sitting in the palace with solemn expressions, while the others were in their own palaces.
It was Concubine Liang who broke the silence first: "Empress, will anyone attack the palace tonight?"
Lan Qingwu's expression was gentle and dignified. "Your Majesty has been victorious so many times. I'm afraid it won't be long before he returns to the court. We long for your return, but some people are afraid of it and want to take advantage of your absence to do something! How could they be willing to waste time? If I'm right, there will be movement inside and outside the palace soon."
Imperial Concubine Jiang nodded and said, "But Your Majesty, I heard that Princess Mingzhu didn't come into the palace with you. The eldest princess might be in danger outside the palace!"
Lan Qingwu frowned slightly. "In this day, all the people I sent to the Grand Princess's residence returned empty-handed. I can only look for another opportunity."
Imperial Concubine Jiang nodded. There was nothing that could be done about it. The eldest princess had always been very pampered. She hoped that nothing happened to her. Otherwise, when His Majesty returned one day, he would be missing a daughter, and no one would be able to explain it!
Prince Ding stood on the high city wall, gazing at the entire imperial city. The people seemed to know that something big was about to happen in the imperial city, so they blew out the lights and extinguished the fires early, leaving no light inside or outside the houses.
Finally, changes began to appear in the distance of the imperial city. Flames came in a winding manner and the sounds became louder.