bookcurios Chapter 233 Return to the Palace
Chapter 233 Return to the Palace
In the Imperial City, Zhao Wei was on pins and needles. The inexplicable disappearances of those close to him had left him like a frightened bird. He felt that he was being watched.
But I don’t know who it is specifically.
"Who is behind all this? Could it really be Crown Prince Zhao Kang?"
Zhao Wei muttered to himself, beads of sweat on his forehead. He tried hard to find clues, but found that every clue seemed to point to a darker abyss.
At the same time, in the temporary palace in Huaishugang, Emperor Zhao Hengzhen was making careful plans for returning to the palace.
"Cao Dezhi, you must be extremely cautious when returning to the palace this time. Have Xu Hu's Dark Cavalry scout the route back to the palace in advance to ensure that there are no mistakes."
Zhao Hengzhen's eyes were firm and his tone was serious.
Cao Dezhi bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will make all the arrangements."
Zhao Hengzhen nodded slightly and continued, "Also, notify our people in the palace to make preparations for the reception."
Cao Dezhi took the order and left, while Zhao Hengzhang was alone in the study, lost in thought.
He knew that when he returned to the palace this time, the chaotic situation in the court would urgently need his rectification, and those forces that secretly coveted the throne would never let him go easily.
However, things did not go as smoothly as Zhao Hengzhen had expected.
When Xu Hu's Dark Cavalry was investigating the route, they discovered that there were many unknown sentries on the road back to the palace, and it seemed that there was an ambush of heavy troops.
"Your Majesty, the situation is not good. I'm afraid someone wants to harm you on the road." Xu Hu came hurriedly to report.
Zhao Hengzhen's face darkened: "Find out who this person is!"
After some secret investigation, it was discovered that these ambush troops were actually the private army of a powerful official in the court.
Zhao Hengzhen was furious: "How dare you openly rebel!"
Just as Zhao Hengzhen was preparing to mobilize troops to respond, news came from the palace that the queen was seriously ill and in critical condition.
This news put Zhao Hengzhen in a dilemma. On one hand, there were many obstacles on the way back to the palace, and on the other hand, his beloved queen was dying.
"Your Majesty, as for the Queen..." Cao Dezhi looked worried.
Zhao Hengzhen took a deep breath and suppressed his inner anxiety: "First, send the imperial physicians in the palace to treat the queen with all their strength. I must resolve the crisis before returning to the palace."
The queen had quietly returned to the palace more than ten days in advance and had made plans not to make it public. Why did the queen become ill at this time, and her condition was very serious?
So, Zhao Hengzhen redeployed his troops and prepared to break through the ambush.
Amidst intense preparations, a fierce battle was about to break out. Zhao Heng led the troops, boosting their morale.
"Comrades, follow me to break through these obstacles and return to the palace to restore order!"
The soldiers shouted in unison, their morale greatly boosted.
It was only a few dozen miles from Huaishugang to the imperial city. There were three waves of Deadpools along the way, and the first one appeared just outside the palace.
"Could it be that my whereabouts have been leaked?"
Zhao Hengzhen had no time to think about what was going on here. He needed to enter the palace alive to uncover the conspiracy.
After a bloody battle, Zhao Hengzhen finally broke through the defense line of the first wave of ambush troops and continued to march towards the palace.
The second wave of ambush was even more outrageous. They actually used powerful crossbows. If this guy hit the emperor's carriage, Zhao Hengzhang would be in danger of death.
Fortunately, the right prime minister learned about this and asked Princess Zhao Ying to bring her son, the family guards of the Fan Mansion, and the security personnel on the Beijing Expressway, a total of more than 500 people, to come and protect the emperor.
Logically speaking, this round of assassination is already very clear, and we should strengthen our precautions along the way.
But at this moment, news came that the traitor in the palace had been discovered and taken under control.
Zhao Hengzhen's heart tightened: "Speed up our progress! We must not let the situation get out of control!"
As soon as he finished speaking, arrows flew towards the imperial carriage from both sides of the street as if they were free.
"Protect the master, save the emperor!"
Wu Wei shouted at the top of his lungs, waving the whisk in his hand continuously to shoot down the arrows flying towards him.
It happened almost in an instant, and most of the arrows were stuck in the carriage. After being hit by the arrows, the horses neighed and screamed, and wanted to run away in pain.
The imperial guards were all wearing iron armor, and even without shields, they could withstand flying arrows.
but!
Soon they discovered that these arrows were wrapped in oilcloth, and the pungent smell immediately aroused the vigilance of the Guards and the Imperial Guards.
"Watch out for the rockets!"
As soon as the shout was uttered, another rocket came roaring.
The main target of these rockets was the emperor's carriage, so the flying arrows were very accurate. "Thump, thump, thump..." the rockets made a sound, and along with the previous oilcloth, the carriage soon began to burn.
After all, at the edge of the city, all the assassins were quickly eliminated.
These deadpools looked at the burning carriage and the raging flames, and smiled with satisfaction before closing their eyes.
"This achievement must be recorded by my great companion. Although Eunuch Cao is in the Guarding Division, he lacks the ability to predict the enemy."
In front of the flames, behind the shield wall, a man fully armored spoke.
"Your Majesty, we haven't entered the palace yet. This is not the time to reward us."
Wu Wei whispered to the armored man, then waved his hand and another carriage came.
The armored man was the emperor, and he got into the car when no one was paying attention.
……
Zhao Hengzhen's carriage approached the palace. The palace gates slowly opened, and he took a deep breath and stepped into the palace. He felt no joy in his heart, only heaviness and vigilance.
The atmosphere in the imperial study in the palace was depressing and tense.
Zhao Hengzhen had no time to rest and immediately summoned his trusted ministers to discuss countermeasures.
"My dear ministers, the court is now in chaos and treacherous people are in power. How can I restore order?" Zhao Hengzhen glanced at everyone.
The ministers looked at each other, and no one dared to speak for a while.
At this time, an old minister stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to find out those traitors who want to harm Your Majesty and restore the dignity of the law."
Zhao Hengzhen nodded slightly: "I also have this idea, but this matter needs to be considered carefully. We must not alert the enemy."
However, just as they were discussing, more bad news came.
"Your Majesty, the treasury is empty, and recent tax accounts are in disarray. There is suspicion of corruption and fraud."
Zhao Hengzhang slammed the table and stood up: "This is simply lawless! Investigate this matter immediately!"
Meanwhile, Zhao Wei remained in his own residence, uneasy and apprehensive, not knowing what his fate would be after the emperor returned to the palace.
Crown Prince Zhao Kang was also secretly planning, trying to protect himself in this turmoil and even gain greater benefits.
Zhao Hengzhen was faced with internal and external troubles. On the one hand, he had to deal with various conspiracies and intrigues in the court, and on the other hand, he had to appease the people and restore the normal operation of the country.
The Queen's diagnosis revealed that she was poisoned. At the same time, Xu Hu handed over a note.
Crown Prince Zhao Kang, seeing the situation becoming increasingly unfavorable to him, decided to take a risk. He secretly contacted some of his loyal followers and plotted to poison the emperor's food and drink in an attempt to seize power in one fell swoop.
But he didn't know that the emperor was not in the palace at that time.
Since he had not been exposed after the incident, he followed Wu Wei's clues and found Zhao Hengzhang's location, so he organized the first wave of assassinations.
The note did not specify that the second and third waves of assassinations were the work of the prince.