The Gilded Cage

Rebellion – Come On, Grab Him! (1)

In Ganlu Hall, after seeing off the mother and daughter of the Wei family, Chu Ning drank the newly brewed tonic, sweated a little, and wiped her body with a wet towel.

The maid who sent people out of the palace earlier returned to the palace, stood outside the screen and said, “Your Highness, Madam Lu and Young Lady Wei met the Crown Prince’s Consort outside the Jiafu Gate just now and said that the Crown Prince’s Consort was going out today dressed abnormally. They felt it was strange so bid this servant to come back and let you know.”

Chu Ning was stunned for a moment, not knowing what the “abnormal” she was talking about, but she suddenly became nervous.

She knew very well in her heart that there would be changes in the East Palace in the past few days, and Zhao Yue’s trip at this time was probably related to this. If Madam Xu and Guoer ran into something at this time, they might be affected.

She quickly weighed it for a moment, and at the same time, she sent someone to pass the message to the Imperial court. Then, she personally selected more than ten strong and strong servants, and sent them out of the palace to check on the situation.

…

In the narrow alley near Chunming Gate, Zhao Yue, who was dressed in a cloth skirt, looked at the mother and daughter who were shivering nervously in front of her. Her face was stern, and there was no smile that she usually pretended.

“What is Your Highness doing?” Mrs. Xu pulled Guoer behind her, turned her eyes around the seven or eight people around her, and asked vigilantly, “I am also Madam Lu, after all, my maids just… just saw me off, and will definitely bring people over soon…”

“Okay, don’t worry.” Zhao Yue frowned and interrupted impatiently, “I just want to ask you something. Tell the truth, I won’t do anything.”

Mrs. Xu didn’t speak but stared at her.

“The Emperor… Does he know everything?” Zhao Yue narrowed her eyes and approached step by step. Her eyes were full of oppressive attitudes, as if she wanted them to be unable to resist and show their flaws.

Madam Xu was born as an ordinary peasant woman, so naturally, she couldn’t bear her gaze, she subconsciously shook her head, “No, no, I don’t know what you are talking about…”

She really didn’t know what Zhao Yue was referring to, except what Guoer heard of the collusion between the Zhao family and the East Palace that Guoer had heard at that time. In Zhao Y’e’s eyes, the meaning of this appearance was very obvious.

“When did it happen?” Zhao Yu’e grabbed Madam Xu’s wrist with such force that she staggered, “Is it—the day of the New Year?”

Madam Xu was flustered. She really didn’t know how to react, she just kept shaking her head, faltering and unable to speak, but she did not forget to hold Guoer firmly in her hand.

Guoer’s eyes were reddened. She pinched the corner of her clothes, and when she saw this, she suddenly mustered up her courage, “It’s me, I heard it…Your Highness is going to do something bad. His Majesty already knows it!”

“Guoer!” Madam Xu was startled, and quickly covered her daughter’s mouth with her hand to prevent her from continuing.

Zhao Yue turned pale with shock and stared at her with her head down, her face turning blue and white.

Sure enough, they already knew. Counting the time, it had been several months. The emperor must have made preparations, and what she and Xiao Yu were doing was throwing themselves into a trap?

While she was in a trance, the sound of fast footsteps suddenly came from outside the originally empty narrow alley, and immediately after that, more than a dozen strong servants surrounded them.

“Your Highness, please release Madam Lu and Lady Wei quickly!” Seeing this, the leader among them shouted sharply, without showing any mercy.

Seeing someone coming, Guoer seemed to have found support, stood up straight, held her mother with one hand, pointed at Zhao Yue with the other, raised her head, and said, “Your Highness should confess your crimes to His Majesty!”

Zhao Yu’ stared at her without speaking, but suddenly let go of Madam Xu’s hand and instead leaned on the carriage, barely stabilizing her body.

The servants hurriedly protected the mother and daughter and then stared at Zhao Yue with a strange expression.

During the confrontation, Zhao Yue seemed to have made up her mind suddenly, sneered, straightened her back, lifted her skirt and boarded the carriage, and said indifferently, “Okay, let’s go back, go to Taiji Palace.”

“My Lady?” Chun Yan was startled and quickly tugged on her sleeve.

Zhao Yue ignored her, but her eyes suddenly turned red.

“It’s too late, I can only bet this is the last time…”

The matter came to light, and she hadn’t heard from her brother in a month, probably not to prevent the leak of secrets, but something happened a long time ago.

Xiao Yu was unreliable no matter what. At this time, if she wanted to protect herself, she could only choose to defect…

…

In the Taiji Palace, Xiao Kezhi summoned many courtiers from Zhongshu and Menxia Province to sit down and discuss the war with Beirong.

A few days ago, the court received the news from Liu Jiping sent back from Ganzhou, saying that under the provocation of the Beirong cavalry, the Ganzhou army had mercilessly sent troops to meet the emperor’s previous order.

The 80,000 Ganzhou troops who stayed behind came out in full force, and now the battle was fierce, and they couldn’t get away at all.

As a result, the pressure on the troops stationed near the capital increased sharply, and the vast land in the south could not tolerate any disturbances and mistakes.

Everyone was concerned about this, and secretly prayed that there would be no major incidents in the court, but someone outside rushed to report, “Your Majesty, just now there is news from outside the Yongan Gate, saying that Her Royal Highness is going to the Taiji Hall to ask to see the Holy Majesty, and to report on the Crown Prince… treason!”

As soon as the voice fell, there was an uproar in the hall.

This newlywed couple, who had only been married for a few days, suddenly brought the matter of treason to the imperial court!

Liu Kang quickly asked about what happened today and then muttered in Xiao Kezhi’s ear.

“Since the complaint has come to me, and all the ministers are here, let her come in.”

Xiao Kezhi put down the teacup in his hand and ordered it lightly as if he was not surprised by it.

Outside the hall, Zhao Yue in the rough cloth skirt responded, stepped into the door under the guidance of the servants, knelt down in front of everyone, and said loudly, “Your Majesty, Lady Yu came here today to report on the prince, who intends to rebel against you. He forced my Zhao family to conspire with him and wanted to take advantage of the relaxation of vigilance in the court to send troops in one fell swoop to capture the capital and seize the throne!”

“What? The Zhao family?! Is it the Bozhou Army?”

“The Prince was determined to marry Zhao’s daughter…”

…