Chapter 45: Kyoto is in chaos. Did something happen to Emperor Qing?

"Your Majesty was assassinated?!"

When the eldest princess heard the news, she was very surprised and shocked.

There are many experts in the imperial palace.

Not to mention that there is a figure like Hong Siyang who is suspected to be a grandmaster. If it happened somewhere else, it might be possible, but being assassinated in the palace... Do you really think the grandmaster is made of clay?

However, what if the person who comes is also a grandmaster?
But even so, it is very difficult to kill someone who is protected by a grandmaster.

So it was hard for the princess to believe that Emperor Qing was really assassinated in the palace.

"It is said that at that time, Eunuch Hong and Commander Gong had a large number of imperial guards, and they were not in the palace."

This news is very strange.

Why did His Majesty the Emperor transfer away all the guards around him? Is this really not fishing?
The princess found it even harder to believe that Emperor Qing had been assassinated.

But if Eunuch Hong and his men were not in the palace, where else could they go? What place could be so important?
The eldest princess had a vague answer in her mind, but she was not sure if her guess was correct.

"The Royal Manor outside the city."

When the eldest princess heard these four words, a bitter smile appeared in her eyes.

She didn't expect that Li Chengde would be so wary of her!
But she couldn't understand why His Majesty the Emperor would agree to Li Chengde's absurd proposal.

The withdrawal of martial arts masters like Eunuch Hong means that the defense force around His Majesty the Emperor will be greatly reduced.

If an ordinary imperial guard encountered an eighth or ninth rank assassin, it would basically be like watching the emperor being murdered.

Unless there is another martial arts master in the palace!

The eldest princess easily thought of Eunuch Hou.

As the supervisor of the East Factory, Eunuch Hou is very low-key and basically no different from before.

This makes it easy to overlook a problem.
In charge of a secret agency like the East Factory,
He must be someone whom His Majesty the Emperor trusts extremely and who also has certain abilities.

If that is the case, then as the Supervisor of the East Factory, Eunuch Hou must have some outstanding qualities.

And His Majesty the Emperor boldly transferred Eunuch Hong away.

The most likely reason is that there is a ninth-rank guard waiting by his side, so Eunuch Hong can leave with peace of mind.

A ninth-rank master, this is enough to deal with most situations.

Of course, this does not include assassins at the grandmaster level.

In the eldest princess's opinion, if someone really takes action this time, he must be a grandmaster-level figure.

But it definitely cannot be the four existing grand masters.

"The only way is..."

The princess thought of an answer, and her eyes were suddenly filled with infinite fear, "Old Five is back!"

The young lady of the Ye family was extremely glorious back then, and there was always a blind servant following her.

But only after coming into contact with him did you realize how outrageous that blind servant was!
He may look ordinary, but he has the strength comparable to that of a grandmaster!

However, after that bloody night, the blind servant disappeared completely.

Now he has returned like lightning and entered the palace to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor. What is his purpose?
To avenge Ye Qingmei?

But if he really wanted revenge, why did he choose this time?
The eldest princess really couldn't understand it.

At this time, the palace maid came in and announced, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince wants to see you."

Putting aside her complicated thoughts, the princess calmed herself down.

Regardless of whether it was Lao Wu who did it, it was almost certain that His Majesty the Emperor was assassinated.

But now the palace is sealed off and His Majesty the Emperor has refused all requests for an audience.

There are currently three candidates who have the greatest chance of becoming the next emperor. Among them, Li Chengde is far away in Shangjing City and cannot return in the short term.

There are only two left in Kyoto City.

The crown prince and the second prince.

Therefore, it is not difficult to guess the prince's purpose.

"Aunt, my father's life or death is unknown now, I plan to serve as the crown prince and govern the country!"

As soon as the prince came in, he expressed his thoughts.

But this was just a euphemism. He didn't just want to be the regent, he was planning to take advantage of the chaos and directly ascend the throne!

But the princess' words immediately dispelled his thoughts, "How many people do you have in the army?"

"..."

The prince fell silent for a moment.

The emperor has always held on to military power tightly.

Moreover, neither the Crown Prince nor the Second Prince dared to bribe the non-commissioned officers and generals in a high-profile manner.

After all, as a prince, you intend to get involved in military power. Are you planning to rebel?
His Majesty the Emperor is very suspicious.

As long as His Majesty the Emperor has such an opinion, there will basically be no good days ahead.

Of course, there was one exception.

The eldest prince who guards the border not only has his hands in military power, but also controls extremely powerful border troops.

But the eldest prince had no conditions to inherit the throne.

I have no such thoughts. I was born to be a wise king.

Therefore, whether it is His Majesty the Emperor, the Crown Prince, or the Second Prince, they are all very confident in the eldest prince being in charge of the army.

"I can control the situation first, and then call my brother back to protect me!" The prince quickly thought of a solution.

There was a hint of relief in the eldest princess' eyes, but she shook her head, "Not enough."

"Ah?" The prince was a little surprised, "Isn't the strength of the border troops enough?"

The princess chuckled softly, "The strength of the border troops is certainly enough, but they are too late."

The prince was still a little unconvinced, "My second brother doesn't have any soldiers to use, he can't stop me."

The eldest princess shook her head in disappointment. "You have been blinded by the throne and have lost your mind."

“Think carefully, who is your biggest enemy?”

The prince forced himself to calm down, and then he thought of the answer and said in a deep voice: "It's father."

"If His Majesty really dies, then these people can naturally be used by you."

"But as long as the news of his death has not spread, even Gong Dian will not dare to come forward to help you."

What the princess said was very heartbreaking.

The prince put a lot of effort into winning over Gong Dian.
The intention is to let Gong Dian play a positive role in situations like today.

But unfortunately, as long as the emperor has not confirmed his death, Gong Dian dare not truly side with the prince.

"Aunt, is it possible that I can only wait?" The prince was a little impatient.

Normally he is very patient.

But seeing such a great opportunity in front of him, it was difficult for him to remain calm and composed as before.

"You don't have many cards in the army, and the same goes for the second brother." The eldest princess woke the man up from his dream.

Since neither side is completely sure of controlling the situation, the only thing they can do now is to see who can keep their composure.

As long as you endure to the end, you will be the winner!

The princess added, "Your Majesty's assassination is not that simple."

The prince suddenly had an idea, "Aunt, are you saying that His Majesty might be testing us?"

The princess nodded slightly, confirming his guess, "Your Majesty is very thoughtful. It is very likely that he wants to lure out the unstable factors in Kyoto by faking his death."

The prince suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. This assassination was carefully planned by my father from beginning to end!"

The princess denied this view, "Your Majesty must have been assassinated. It happened too quickly and too suddenly.
There is nothing special about the timing, so it can only be a real assassination."

The prince sighed and said, "Only by having both truth and falsehood can people be convinced. Father made a brilliant move!"

"I actually wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to seize power just now. Fortunately, my aunt stopped me and no disaster happened."

The princess declined to comment.

Before the two of them finished their conversation, a palace maid rushed in in a panic to report.
"It's terrible! Your Majesty has passed away!"

(End of this chapter)