In an era lacking entertainment, people go to bed early and get up early.
On normal days, the streets of Beijing would be full of pedestrians at dawn.
But on this day, the sun rose even higher than the sun. There was almost no common people seen on the streets of the capital, only the imperial guards holding weapons occasionally ran past in a hurry.
The city gates of the capital were sealed yesterday, and the news that the Eastern Barbarians were coming had spread throughout the capital, making the people uneasy.
There was another fight in the palace that night, which made the people even more worried.
The huge capital city was shrouded in an extremely depressing atmosphere.
This atmosphere lasted until about nine o'clock in the morning.
The palace door, which had been closed all night, suddenly opened, and the little eunuchs ran out one after another, carrying the emperor's instructions and rushing to various parts of the capital.
The powerful officials who had been prepared did not dare to hesitate and rushed to the palace as soon as possible.
There are more and more carriages on the square in front of the palace.
The officials gathered together in twos and threes and discussed in low voices.
"The smell of blood is so strong. How many people died in the palace last night?"
"It is said that there were at least more than 2,000 men in black led by the prince last night, and not one of them has come out now."
"Weren't they all killed?"
"It's hard to say. Qin Peng was assassinated yesterday, and Qin Zhong was also hanged by the prince. Qin Zhen is probably going crazy. The first thing he did when he regained control of the imperial army was to surround the palace and fight all night. It is estimated that many people died."
"Yesterday I heard that Qin Zhen was locked outside the city gate. How did he get into the city?"
"The Qin family has been running the Forbidden Army for decades. Qin Town must have its own henchmen. They probably put the hanging basket into the city."
"You think your Majesty will be fine, right?"
"Who knows? When the prince was a prince, he brought people into the palace, and when Qin Zhenyin took control of the imperial army, there were only a few hundred red-armored battalions in the palace at that time, and there were thousands of men in black under the prince's leadership. I wonder if your majesty can hold on until the imperial army is reinforced.
"
"I must have persisted, otherwise who was the one announcing our entry into the palace?"
"How do I know? Stop talking, someone is coming."
…
The ministers waited at the entrance of the palace for half an hour until everyone arrived before entering the palace together.
The corpses in the palace have been taken away by the Forbidden Army, but the blood stains on the ground have not had time to be cleaned up.
The stone road from the first palace gate to the second palace gate was almost entirely dyed red!
After entering the second palace gate and walking more than a hundred steps, you will reach Hongde Hall.
There were more blood stains on this section of the road, and the blood in some low-lying areas had not dried up yet, exuding a strong smell of blood.
The Hongde Palace was usually guarded by the Red Armor Army, but the dignitaries discovered that at this time they were replaced by bodyguards from the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau.
"Why are the people from Zhenyuan Escort Bureau here?"
Many powerful people are confused.
But the dignitaries who have survived to this day are all human beings. No one asked, and they all entered the hall with their heads lowered.
After entering the Hongde Hall, the dignitaries subconsciously looked at the position of the dragon chair.
To their disappointment, there was no one on the dragon throne.
At this time, the emperor was talking to Qin Zhen in the imperial study.
The Ninth Princess sat aside and said a few words from time to time.
Jin Feng was not interested in what they were talking about. He lazily leaned on his chair and looked at the carvings on the beams.
I ran around all day yesterday and only slept for a while at night before being woken up by Qin Zhen. At this time, the turmoil in the palace had been calmed down. Jin Feng's eyelids started to tremble after looking at the carvings for a while.
Just as she was about to close her eyes, Concubine Qing came in with a plate of pastries.
After the harem was settled, the Ninth Princess was worried about Concubine Qing's safety, so she sent someone to take her to her.
Seeing the emperor and Qin Zhen and the ninth princess talking, Concubine Qing put the plate on the table next to Jin Feng: "This is the pastry from Lingshanzhai. It tastes very good. Brother Feng, try it."
Concubine Qing was the biological mother of the Ninth Princess, and she once helped Jin Feng promote soap. Jin Feng had always had a good influence on her. She quickly sat up straight and said, "Thank you, empress. I won't be polite."
He had only drank a few cups of tea since he was busy last night. He didn't notice it before, but now that he saw the cakes, he was indeed a little hungry.
No need to be polite, just pick up the cake and eat it.
The pastries must also be a tribute. They taste crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, fragrant and delicious. Jin Feng ate several pieces in a row before stopping.
Concubine Qing sat aside and looked at him with a smile.
Unlike the emperor, Concubine Qing had originally set her sights on Jin Feng as her son-in-law. After what happened last night, she became even more determined about this idea.
At this time, the old saying goes, the more a mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the more she likes him.
No matter how thick-skinned Jin Feng was, he felt a little embarrassed to be stared at by Concubine Qing for so long. He was about to find a topic to chat with Concubine Qing when he saw the Ninth Princess standing up.
"Father, you know better than me how capable Chen Zeyou is. Besides bullying men and dominating women and visiting brothels, what else does he do?
How could he dare to usurp the throne with no one behind him to advise him? What ability does he have to cultivate so many elite dead soldiers in the capital?
If my father doesn’t believe it, just order the Secret Service to investigate, I dare say that the dead soldiers led by Chen Zeyou must have been trained by a wealthy family!"
The voice of the Ninth Princess was a little excited: "They all instigated Chen Zeyou to kill the king and usurp the throne. What else does my father have to hesitate about? If my father had listened to me earlier, how could he have taken this step today?"
"Wuyang, I understand what you are saying, and I also know the dangers of wealthy families, but they are all deeply rooted. Even if we want to rectify them, we must take a long-term approach, otherwise it will shake the foundation of the country!"
Chen Ji looked confused: "Just wait."
His character is still too weak. When he faced the prince last night, he once regretted it, but now that the turmoil has been calmed down, he is muddle along and does not want to go to war with the powerful.
"Father, the wealthy family is inciting the prince to rebel and usurp the throne. This is your best opportunity to take action. What are you waiting for?"
The Ninth Princess was so angry that she slapped the table: "If you let them go even though they are plotting to rebel and usurp the throne, what dignity will the royal family have in the future? They will get worse!"
"Wen'er, talk to your father properly!"
Concubine Qing was afraid that the ninth princess would offend the emperor, so she quickly spoke out to smooth things over.
"Concubine, don't speak!"
The Ninth Princess waved her hand to stop Concubine Qing: "This matter is related to the survival of the royal family, and to countless people in Dakang. Even if the father kills his daughter, the daughter must tell her father clearly!"
"Say it." Chen Ji said helplessly.
"Sir has long said that the powerful and wealthy families are the biggest cancer in DaKang. If left unchecked, DaKang will surely perish at the hands of these people. What happened last night proves that you are right!"
The Ninth Princess said: "Father, now it's time to cut out the flesh and cut out the sores, so don't worry about it anymore!"
"But the Eastern Barbarians have already arrived at the city. Why don't we wait until we defeat the Eastern Barbarians first?" Chen Ji asked.
"Father, the harm caused by the wealthy clan is far worse than that of the Eastern Barbarians!"
The Ninth Princess was really disappointed with Chen Ji. She sighed and said, "If my father still has concerns, my husband and I will do the next thing!"
"What to do?" Chen Ji asked.
"Dongman, sir, go and fight! Rich clan, I'll kill them!"
