Mikago

In the 32nd year of Ruihe, on September [-]rd, the time is right.

Emperor Huiming of Daning, Zhao Wei, died in the Penglai Pavilion of the Zichen Palace at the age of fifty.

Lu You and Rui Lang hurried through the dark Zhaojing, went north along the empty Chengtianmen Street, and entered the Jiade Gate of Miyagi.

The sad news of Emperor Huiming's death has not been announced to the outside world, and the Zichen Palace is still quiet and peaceful at this moment.The square in front of the Qianyuan Hall is empty and deserted; but soon, the banners and banners will be floating here, turning it into a sea of ​​plains.

After passing several palaces on the way, Lu You finally saw the brightly lit Penglai Pavilion on the second floor in the dark blue night sky not far away.

Passing through the strict security set up by Feilongwei, the two quickly walked into the inner courtyard.I saw Chang Yunu, Mu Yuan and several other important officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs standing in the courtyard, as well as a few senior officials who stayed in the province tonight on duty.

Among them, the most unobtrusive one, but the one that caught Lu You's attention the most was Jiang Qiguang.

This unattractive groom finally helped his lord, step by step, to the highest place in the world.

"The prince is already in the Penglai Pavilion."

Tang Ruilang gently interrupted Lu You's gazing at Jiang Qiguang: "Have you noticed? There is not a single person from the Xiao family here."

Indeed, among the servants and courtiers present, as well as the imperial army, dozens of people inside and outside the Penglai Pavilion, at a glance, none of them were Shang Shuling Xiao Youqian.

This is obviously not a coincidence, but Zhao Kyung's arrangement.

From the moment Emperor Huiming died, the throne of the Daning Dynasty had already fallen into the hands of Zhao Jing.Now that he has the destiny to add to his body, and he is supported by the servants and relatives of the Tang family, the Xiao family has nothing to fear.

Lu You and Tang Ruilang looked at each other, and they both clearly understood the next development - the big liquidation, probably tonight.

After tidying up their appearance and emotions in the courtyard, they walked quickly into Penglai Pavilion.

As soon as I got to the second floor, I heard the low sobbing of the female relatives.In the side hall on the other side, Tianliang Xing was lowering his head and stroking his forehead with a tired face.

Lu You stepped forward and gently put his shoulder on his shoulder: "It's been a while, thank you for your hard work."

"...the strength is too weak, and there is no way to recover."

Tian Liangxing raised his head and returned a wry smile: "I will return to Tianwu Palace after dawn, and if I meet Qi Qiugong, I will also tell him what happened here."

Lu You nodded, and glanced at the direction of the inner room from the corner of his eye: "The cause of the emperor's death..."

Tian Liangxing shook his head and said: "As I said before, the oil is exhausted. I know what you are suspicious of, but according to my observations these days, Zhao Jing has not done anything suspicious. Or, There is no need for him to do anything about the emperor's illness."

"After all, the emperor still hasn't waited for... the day to see Nan Jun again."

Lu You sighed softly, but did not fall into melancholy.

They bid farewell to Tian Liangxing, turned and entered the inner room.The first thing I saw was the body of Emperor Huiming lying quietly on the unreliable dragon couch.The yellow silk covering the remains is slightly dented, implying the emperor's astonishing thinness before his death.

And the crying they heard just now came from Empress Xiao, whom they hadn't seen for a long time.Surrounded by four court ladies, she slumped in an armchair.

It was only the third time that Lu You saw Zhao Jing—the man who was about to inherit the throne, standing at the end of the dragon couch.He was so quiet and calm that he almost blended into the beautiful and gorgeous curtain.

Lu You and Rui Lang first kowtowed to Emperor Huiming's body, then turned to Zhao Jing and Empress Xiao, and after saluting, they stood quietly aside, waiting for orders.

Empress Xiao was sobbing from beginning to end; while Zhao Jing slowly turned his gaze from the dragon couch to Lu You.

"The reason why this king has not ordered people to mourn is because the father made a will before he died."

He actually got straight to the point, and said the most crucial words as soon as he opened his mouth.

"The last emperor's decree: eradicate Xiao's party members, abolish, Xiao, Empress Dowager, and empress."

"..."

Lu You couldn't help being stunned for a moment - not because of Zhao Jing's words, but because at this moment, Empress Xiao was sitting by the side.

Sure enough, Empress Xiao, who was still crying just now, raised her head in astonishment: "What did you say... what did you say? You lied, you lied!"

"Oh?"

No longer the gentleness and humility of the past, Zhao Jing squinted at the woman he once called the queen mother in front of him.

"When you arrived, the emperor had already passed away. What else can you hear?"

"No, it's impossible!" Empress Xiao became hysterical: "How could the emperor say that kind of thing, how could he make that kind of decision?!"

Zhao Jing looked at her coldly, as if admiring the farce led by him.

"Since a child can call his queen mother to the woman who killed his biological mother, what else is impossible in this world?"

"You..." Empress Xiao's face was completely pale: "I don't know what you are talking about... I don't know..."

She muttered to herself, grabbed the arm of the maid beside her and forced herself to stand up, but walked towards Lu You who was beside her.

"Lu You, as you said, you must protect this palace... Zhao Jing is going to be against me now, why don't you hurry up and help me take him down!"

Lu You didn't make any response.On the contrary, Tang Ruilang took half a step forward, standing between him and Empress Xiao.

Empress Xiao couldn't push Tang Ruilang away, she could only look at Lu You in astonishment.

"You are my child, Zhao Xu's reincarnation... How could you... How could you..."

"Zhao Xu, Dongjun?"

Zhao Jing, who was standing in the distance watching all this, let out a strange sound that seemed to be a smile but not a smile.

"Just before my father died, I told him a hearsay story - back then, you know that Zhao Nanxing, the king of Anle, hid a small boat by the side of the East China Sea pool. He often rowed this boat to the temple on the other side Visiting his mother and concubine. So, you ordered people to put flammable guns in the boat, and ordered people to ignite it with rockets... But who would have known that that night, King Anle got off the boat halfway, and the man who stayed on the boat , it is your beloved Dong Jun!"

Having said this, Zhao Jing's voice turned into a sarcasm completely.

"Why, do you still recognize him as your Dongjun? If he is really Dongjun, then he is also a reincarnated ghost who came back to claim your life!"

"No, nonsense! You are lying!"

Empress Xiao's expression went from astonishment to rigidity, and then completely lost her composure and went mad.While angrily rebuking Zhao Jing's slander, she turned and walked towards the door, as if trying to escape.

Zhao Jing didn't move a single step, but looked coldly at the four maids who were with Empress Xiao just now.

"Take good care of your mother, if you let her walk half a step out of Penglai Pavilion, the four of you will all be delayed."

The four maids were so frightened that their faces turned pale, they quickly chased up and grabbed Empress Xiao tightly, and dragged them to the chair again.

In the originally sad and solemn inner room, screams and angry reprimands echoed in an instant, turning into a farce.

But in this chaos, Zhao Jing seemed more and more calm.

He walked slowly to Lu You and Tang Ruilang, and stood with his hands behind his back.

"Although the security inside and outside the Penglai Pavilion is tight, the news may have spread. At the latest when the sun rises, the Xiao family will be alert. Tell me, should we continue to stay here until we lose the opportunity, or for you and me? Tomorrow, give it a go?"

Now that the matter has come to this point, Lu You knows that there is no second choice.

He cupped his hands and said, "Your servant, please wait for the emperor's order."

In the utter darkness, the light inside the Penglai Pavilion began to spread outside.

In a short while, the sixteen guards in the south of Miyagi and the Forbidden Army Garrison in the north were all lit up.Then the Eastern Palace and the Six Ministries of the Three Provinces, with the Miyagi on the road, became brightly lit for the next time.

----------

In the mansion in Anrenfang in the south of the city, Shangshu ordered Xiao Youqian to sleep lightly.Although there is no need to go to bed early these days, he still wakes up on time every time it is close to the hour to be leaked.

Today's early morning seems to be as quiet and pleasant as the countless mornings in the past.It's just the chill of autumn, which makes people unable to resist yearning for the warmth inside the tent.

Xiao Youqian turned over and suddenly felt restless.

He was about to get up when he suddenly heard a series of hasty knocks on the door at the gate of the courtyard.

An urgent report came from the dark thread in Zichen Palace, the emperor died, and Empress Xiao was placed under house arrest!

Xiao Youqian was terrified, only then did he realize that he was being swayed by Zhao Jing.He gritted his teeth, but he was not willing to fail like this.

According to the laws of Daning, the military power in the world belongs to the emperor.Under the rule of the Son of Heaven, there were also the Forbidden Army of the Northern Yamen, the Sixteen Guards of the Southern Yamen, the Sixth Mansion of the Prince, various Zhechong Mansions, and border guards.

At this moment, Emperor Huiming passed away, and the new emperor has not yet ascended the throne.The Beiya imperial guards all listened to orders from the capital prison of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Prince Liu Sui had already been replaced by Zhao Jing as his confidant.The frontier defense envoys were beyond his reach... Among the remaining sixteen guards in Nanya, there are still a few generals who have always been on good terms with the Xiao family.

The situation is tense and there is no room for loss.Xiao Youqian immediately ordered someone to inform the generals of the three armies, Tianjie, Zhaoyao, and Tianji, who had made friends with him.

Unexpectedly, the front foot of the messenger had just stepped over the threshold, and there were servants from General Tianji's mansion who escorted the mistress and young lady to the Xiao's house, saying that the Beiya imperial army had just approached the door, and they sent the general without any explanation. The general was taken away.

Xiao Youqian was shocked again, and it was only then that he was sure that he had lost the opportunity.Fortunately, General You Weiwei had received great kindness from the Xiao family, and now he is leading hundreds of people to help.Everyone discussed for a while, and they all thought that it was no longer necessary to resist in the corner, and for the current plan, the only way to go is to go.

Taking advantage of the flames from the north, dozens of men, women and children from the Xiao family fled to Mingde Gate in the south of the city at night under the protection of You Weiwei.