In truth, it wasn't just the common people who were frightened tonight, but also the civil and military officials who had accompanied His Majesty to watch the lanterns.
The more one was valued by Emperor Taihe, the closer they were to him while watching the lanterns. Therefore, when the Ao Shan lantern was set ablaze, they naturally stayed by Emperor Taihe's side to protect him.
Thus, they witnessed the entire process of the rebels assassinating and forcing the palace, and because there were too many people, the guards simply couldn't attend to everyone. As a result, the lords in their official robes abandoned their usual dignity. Their hair buns were disheveled, their official robes were dirtied, and they stumbled and were trampled, yet they still had to run, fearing that they would fall behind and be casually beheaded by those uncouth soldiers who 'didn't recognize who the lords were.'
At the same time, they had to worry about their families. They had fled with Your Highness, but what about their families who were still in the lantern sheds?
The martial generals' fighting and battling was none of the civil officials' concern. After the rebels were suppressed, killed, and captured one by one, the lords, who had been holding on for most of the night, perked up again.
Even when temporarily seeking refuge with Emperor Taihe, they didn't forget to offer him advice.
"You made me so disheveled today, I will confiscate your entire estate until nothing is left!" The instigator, Prince Qin, was untouchable, but none of the accomplices below would escape.
Of course, they didn't forget to praise the Crown Prince for his timely rescue. If it weren't for the Crown Prince today, they would all have been in grave danger!
Therefore, as soon as the rebels were suppressed, the lords began to take action.
Before dawn, the entire capital was filled with an atmosphere of grimness. The outer city was one thing, but especially the Imperial City, the entire Imperial City was under martial law.
Prime Minister Wu was the most unlucky one tonight. He accidentally became separated from Emperor Taihe, which nearly cost him his life.
How disheveled was he at the time?
While holding onto his official hat, he loudly proclaimed that he was the dignified Prime Minister, but no one paid him any attention. In the end, he was rescued by a team of Black Armor Army soldiers.
But the Black Armor Army had to clear out the rebels and couldn't possibly protect him, so he followed this team of Black Armor Army soldiers all the way, shuttling back and forth in the Imperial Palace, killing the rebels.
Naturally, it wasn't that they were forcing him. They even said, "Prime Minister, please do as you wish." But at that time, the palace was in chaos, how could he do as he wished? He would probably be killed as soon as he left. It was he who shamelessly insisted on following them, and then suffered a night of fright.
Several times he thought his old life was over, and several times he didn't die. Therefore, when he was sent to Emperor Taihe, he was completely limp and powerless, like a stray dog. The key was that he was seen by several deadly rivals, and the key was that he couldn't even retort to their mockery, he simply didn't have the strength.
"Prime Minister Wu was fortunate to escape with his life today, thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince."
"If it weren't for the Black Armor Army, the Prime Minister's life would have been over."
At dawn, Prime Minister Wu changed into a clean official robe and stood outside the main hall, listening to the group of ministers around him mocking him like this, and looking at the palace road and palace walls in the distance that had been cleaned once but still couldn't hide the bloodstains, a chill suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart.
Fortunately, he saw that the situation was unfavorable and prevented Prince Zhao from returning under the charge of filial impiety.
Had he returned, Prince Zhao would likely have been among them last night.
The Black Armor Army was stationed far in the Northwest, yet those who appeared last night numbered far more than a thousand. The Crown Prince could possess a certain number of private guards, but no more than a thousand.
Does that mean mobilizing the Black Armor Army from the Northwest required His Majesty's consent? Does that mean His Majesty had long foreseen Prince Qin's potential rebellion?
Prime Minister Wu dared not dwell on it further. He planned to send another letter to Prince Zhao upon his return, advising him not to rush back and to observe the unfolding situation.
***
In the latter half of the night, a messenger returned with news.
He reported that His Highness the Crown Prince had quelled the rebellious faction, assuring the Crown Princess not to worry.
Only then did Mei Wushuang fall into a deep slumber, not forgetting to send a message to Wan Chun'er.
In the afternoon, the messenger returned.
Wushuang stood on the stone bridge, and from afar, she saw someone riding a horse towards her, and she quickly walked down the stone bridge.
She had just steadied herself when he arrived before her on horseback.
One night apart felt like a lifetime.
He was clad in black armor, his entire being still permeated with a chilling aura. Traces of blood, yet unwiped, stained his armor. Her heart pounded like a drum as he reached out, scooped her up, and spurred his horse onward.
The guards dared not disobey, trailing far behind, emboldened only by following His Highness's reckless gallop through the West Garden.
One must know, this was the West Garden!
A forbidden imperial garden!
Only His Highness would dare to ride a horse within it.
***
"Aren't you tired after being up all night?!"
"Tired? What's that? I feel exhilarated!"
His chest vibrated slightly, as if he were laughing.
"If it weren't for Father Emperor's constant prohibitions, I would certainly be much more carefree."
He was complaining about Emperor Taihe not allowing him to kill people. In fact, not only Emperor Taihe, but Prince Wei had also lectured him at length last night, listing the reasons why some people couldn't be killed and how they were still useful, which was truly disappointing.
"Was that matter handled well?"
"It's not that easy. I'll leave the rest to Father Emperor. Even if they still need me, I should at least come back and rest for a night. I'm not made of iron."
Ji Yang didn't want to say that their grand principles had annoyed him, so he planned to come back and slack off. If it were before, what was the big deal about not sleeping for one night? There were even times when he hadn't slept for several days.
As he spoke, he had already spurred his horse to gallop back.
Although she had draped a cloak over herself, it was thin and offered little protection from the cold on horseback. Although Ji Yang really wanted to gallop at full speed, he could only restrain himself, thinking about finding another opportunity to take her out riding.
After returning, once he had taken off his armor, Wushuang first checked to see if he was injured.
Fortunately, although there were some bruises, there was no bleeding.
After bathing and eating, the two went to the couch. Ji Yang didn't say a few words to her before falling into a deep sleep. Although Wushuang wasn't sleepy, she didn't get up either, and just stayed with him for the entire afternoon.
In the following days, Wushuang and Ji Yang stayed in the West Garden for three days.
She repeatedly asked him if staying here was alright. Without even thinking, she knew how many matters were outside. He was the Crown Prince, and it wasn't good for him to keep avoiding them. Ji Yang, however, said it was fine, and that if he didn't take the opportunity to rest for a few days, he probably wouldn't be able to rest for a long time afterward.
During this time, Prince Duan came and took Wan Chun'er away.
Wushuang told him about the palace servant beside Wan Chun'er attempting to assassinate her that night. Ji Yang said that her guess was correct, and that this spy should have been planted by someone in the palace, and if he wasn't mistaken, it should be Prince Qin.
Although Prince Qin didn't know that Wushuang would be hiding in the West Garden with the child, Wan Chun'er was close to her, and the two often met. Planting a nail beside Wan Chun'er would always provide an opportunity to attack Wushuang, so he gave the palace maid the order to act as soon as she found an opportunity.
Who knew that the palace maid would be brought to the West Garden? This person wasn't stupid and naturally saw the clues, so she wanted to take the opportunity to strike, but this side had already taken precautions, resulting in failure.
This statement was also approved by Prince Wei.
In these two days, Prince Wei only appeared for less than half a day, and that was only when there were matters to discuss. After this incident, Wushuang discovered some clues about the way Prince Wei and Ji Yang interacted. Every time there was a mission or danger that required Ji Yang to step forward, Prince Wei would always tolerate him more afterward.
Three days later, Wushuang and the others packed up and returned to the Crown Prince's mansion. As expected, just like Ji Yang had said, he was plunged into busyness again.
To be precise, it should be Prince Wei who was plunged into busyness.
It's worth mentioning that Emperor Taihe and Prince Wei were able to foresee Prince Qin's intention to rebel this time not only because they had already sent people to monitor him from various sides, but also because Consort Qin's father, Lord Fang Xu, Minister Fang, had contributed significantly.
Logically speaking, the Fang family was Prince Qin's in-laws, and they should have stood with their son-in-law. After all, if Prince Qin succeeded, Minister Fang would be the future Emperor's father-in-law.
Yet, Fang Xu, for some unknown reason, not only changed his previous enthusiastic support for Prince Qin's bid for the throne, but also became a spy. Everything he knew about Prince Qin's plans, including who he had allied with, he preemptively reported to Emperor Taihe.
This is why Prince Qin was calculated so thoroughly this time.