After the replacement marriage, I was forced to fight at home

By the time everything was settled in the Prince Shen's mansion, snowflakes were already flying all over the sky. This winter was colder than previous years, and many places had snowstorms, freezing many people to death. The prince had asked the Ministry of Revenue for money to provide disaster relief, and even got the tiger talisman from the Dongshan Camp to mobilize disaster relief.

During this period, the prince walked with a breeze, with a smile on his face all the time, and he looked in better shape than Prince Rui.

He made no secret of his attitude towards King Rui. No matter if there were many or few people, as long as it was King Rui's suggestion, the crown prince would not nod. As long as King Rui agreed, the crown prince would oppose. As long as King Rui completed it, the crown prince would find fault with it.

Not only that, the prince is also rapidly reducing the power of those who are on good terms with or close to King Rui.

The prince's behavior made everyone in the court seem to smell something, especially at this critical moment when the emperor's health was getting worse and worse, and he slept more than he was awake in a day.

Everyone knows that things are going to change.

Zhou Yu hasn't been back for several days, but he asked Mingfu to come and report that he is safe every day.

Chuan'er's marriage has been arranged. Uncle Qi originally wanted to hold the wedding in two years, but Meng Wan didn't want to delay Chuan'er because of herself, so she scheduled their wedding for June of the following year, which happened to be different from Dongmei's wedding in March.

Caiyun will return to the Huainan Marquis's Mansion after the New Year, so Meng Wan reorganized the maids in his room.

After Chuan'er got married, she would not come back to the mansion again. Meng Wan simply handed over all the shops that Wang's family brought as a dowry to the couple, and handed Wang's farm to Gu He to manage together with his own farm. For the sake of Uncle Qi's dignity, Meng Wan decided to recognize Chuan'er as her sister before she got married. From then on, the two of them would no longer be master and servant but sisters.

After Dongmei gets married, she will come back to be the housekeeper. Together with Mother Kong and Song Zhu's family, and if we bring Gu He's wife and Mother Liu to the Prince's Mansion, there will be enough housekeepers.

Xue Fu was transferred back, and Yuan Qimei also worked in the yard for a few days, but she was not responsible for anything, so she was simply sent to the little girl to play with her.

In this way, Caixia, Shanling, Xuefu and Song Zhu's daughter Xueyan became first-class maids. Wu'er and Xiang'er, who were helped by Liu Mama to enter the courtyard last time, were directly promoted to second-class. The rest were arranged by Kong Mama.

Although there are not too many people, Meng Wan still has to use them. The reason is that the inner house of Prince Shen's Mansion is too quiet now, and there is almost nothing for Meng Wan to worry about.

Since Hu passed away, Xie Fen was divorced, and Zhou Yingning went to the mountains, Li and Yu were like quails hiding in their own courtyards, not coming out easily.

It was Xiaohuan who helped Meng Wan take care of the affairs of concubines like Zhou Yiheng.

After Zhou Yiheng left Hu's family, he moved directly to the cemetery. Zhou Yu found two storytellers for him from somewhere, and they talked about the past and the present with Zhou Yiheng every day. He was safe and sound. But his health did not improve, but it was not bad either. What surprised everyone was that the man who looked like he could live to 70 or 80 years old passed away more than ten years later.

——————

Seeing Zhou Yu, who hadn't shaved for many days and looked a little sloppy and haggard, Meng Wan wanted to massage his shoulders distressedly, but Zhou Yu pulled her hand and sat him down, his eyes shining, and he said anxiously, "The emperor beat the prince."

"Ah? When?"

"Just now, Lord Song also just received the news. He was afraid that the prince would take action in the next few days, so he asked us to come back and prepare for our own affairs."

"Action in the past two days? What's going on?"

Zhou Yu took the tea handed to him by Meng Wan and drank it in one gulp, then he exhaled heavily, "Early this morning, Prince Rui brought Qingning into the palace."

Meng Wan opened his mouth slightly. This was a showdown between Prince Rui and the Emperor.

"I heard that after the Emperor met with Prince Rui, he had the Crown Prince summoned and specifically told him to take the hairpin he usually wore."

"So, King Rui did it?"

Zhou Yu nodded, "The Crown Prince has been too popular recently, and has taken on too many affairs little by little. Prince Rui is worried that if the Emperor suddenly passes away, the Crown Prince will be legitimate, and if that happens, it will be too difficult for him to take any action."

Meng Wan nodded. Yes, that would be a usurpation of power. The success rate at that time would be very low. It was right for Prince Rui to take action at this time.

"Will the emperor punish the prince for this matter?" Meng Wan asked softly.

Zhou Yu nodded, "We guessed it would be like this. The emperor had deep feelings for the late empress dowager, not just love between a man and a woman. If it weren't for the late empress dowager, the emperor would have been killed dozens of times. Now their son has returned and pointed out that it was the prince and the late queen who sent him away. Do you think the emperor will spare the prince? The emperor doesn't have only one son. Plus the secret in the hairpin, who knows if the prince's son is his biological son."

"It seems that Prince Rui is forcing the Crown Prince to take action." Meng Wan said softly.

Zhou Yu hummed, "If the emperor really wants to depose the prince, the prince will definitely fight back. Only when the prince moves will the prince have enough reason to move."

"But, has Prince Rui understood the power of the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince has now obtained the military power of the Dongshan Camp and has money in his hands. There must be people outside who are on his side. Has Prince Rui understood all this?"

Zhou Yu shook his head. "I don't know. I mean I don't know. Lord Song just told me to guard the road back to Beijing from the south in the next few days."

"South? What do you mean?"

Zhou Yu said softly, "Lord Song said that anyone seen holding Lord Qin's hand amulet will be detained."

"What? Could it be that Lord Qin is the prince's man? But, how can you have such ability to stop him?"

Zhou Yu narrowed his eyes. "Master Song didn't say clearly whether Master Qin is the prince's man or not. All he said is that Third Brother Yue will be back tomorrow, and I can just stay with him then."

"Ah? Master Yue San is back, secretly?"

Zhou Yu nodded, "I don't know when Third Brother Yue will come back. It seems that Prince Rui has decided to tell the truth today. He must have been planning for a long time. Third Brother Yue is intercepting the people in the south, Wu Zhengda is intercepting the people in the northwest, and the Lu family is responsible for the situation in the capital. Everything should be under the control of Prince Rui."

"Lu, Lu family?" Meng Wan was confused. What was going on? Wasn't it said that the Lu family was a powerful official? They didn't depend on any party and were only loyal to the emperor?

Zhou Yu gave Meng Wan a meaningful smile, "Even if you are a powerful official, you still have to consider who you are loyal to. The Lu family must have a way out for you."

Meng Wan exhaled, "Although the arrangements are good, we still have to be careful, just in case there are accidents. The prince has been in the palace for so many years, and he has come this far without being favored by the emperor, respected by his younger brother, or noticed by the ministers. His ability is extraordinary."

Zhou Yu stood up and said, "Yes, that's what my brother-in-law said. Don't worry, if nothing unexpected happens, it will only take three or two days. Close the door and don't let anyone in or out unless there is a special situation. If there is anything happening here, only Mingfu and Mingxi can report back. Don't trust the rest of them."

Meng Wan nodded, "You still want to leave?"

"Well, I just came back to change clothes and wash up, and then tell you everything so that you don't worry." After saying that, he turned and went to the ear room.

Meng Wan looked at Zhou Yu, who was wearing a cotton gown and a cotton hat, and walked forward to hug him tightly. "Ayu, if, if anything goes wrong, you must protect yourself. I am not afraid of living a hard life with you. If there really comes a day when we are both alive and can be a pair of wild men in the deep mountains and forests, I am happy with that."

Zhou Yu's nose felt sore when she heard this, and she hugged Meng Wan tightly back, "What are you talking about? We will definitely succeed. I promised you that I would remove the word 'County' on the gate of the mansion and let you be a real princess. And if things really don't go as we thought, you must do as we agreed beforehand. Don't wait for me, just go as far as you can, and let me know that you are fine."

Meng Wan shook his head vigorously, thinking about what Zhou Yu had prepared for him a few days ago, just in case Prince Rui failed, so that he could escape.

Zhou Yu held up Meng Wan's face, kissed her forehead hard, said nothing more, turned around and walked away.

------

In an instant, the situation in the court changed. First, the emperor wanted to depose the prince, and after the prince's plea failed, he actually put the emperor under house arrest. Everyone in Chengtian Palace obeyed the prince's orders.

Then, Lord Qin led his troops to the South City Gate, Prince Zhenbei led his troops to the West City Gate, and the people from the Dongshan Camp marched straight to the East City Gate. For a moment, the prince's dream was about to come true.

Unexpectedly, Yue Zhen appeared at the south city gate. I don't know how he talked to Lord Qin, but Lord Qin actually left with his troops.

At the west gate, Wu Zhengda brought people from the rear to fight with the Zhenbei King's troops. Because the new Zhenbei King had no prestige at all, and Wu Zhengda was very familiar with the Northwest Army, and with the psychological tactics of the people planted inside the Northwest Army, Wu Zhengda's troops soon gained the upper hand, and the new Zhenbei King was captured alive by Wu Zhengda.

At the East City Gate, Lord Lu appeared with a token. After a few rounds, the people in the Dongshan camp also became obedient.

——————

"What happened next?" Meng Wan asked anxiously, looking at Zhou Yu, whose face was covered in mud.

Zhou Yu wiped his face and said, "When the news reached Chengtian Palace, the prince laughed loudly, pointed his sword at King Rui and said, 'Don't bother, the people here alone are enough for me to sit in that position. I will deal with those ungrateful people later.' The emperor has been lying there, with only Lu Chengbao serving him. I heard that he was so angry with the prince that he was breathing more than breathing."

"Then how did you subdue the prince?"

Zhou Yu whispered, "Do you remember the secret path of King Cheng?"

Meng Wan opened his mouth in surprise, "Could it be that... the secret passage has been sealed by the Emperor?"

Zhou Yu nodded, "Prince Rui had already arranged for people to dig it up, and Chu Yong led his men to rush in through the secret passage, catching the guards of the East Palace off guard."

Meng Wan let out a breath and patted his chest. From what Zhou Yu said, it seemed like just a few words, but the process must have been very thrilling. Fortunately, the result was what they expected.

Looking at Meng Wan's happy expression, Zhou Yu frowned and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong? Is there something bad happening? Is anyone injured?" Meng Wan noticed that something was wrong with Zhou Yu, and then started to touch Zhou Yu again.

Zhou Yu stepped forward and held Meng Wan's hand, "It's not me. Qing'er, you have to promise me that no matter what you hear later, don't get excited. You have to hold on, okay?"

Meng Wan suddenly had a bad feeling. Could it be that someone was in trouble? But why should he hold on?

"After Chu Yong's men rushed in, the Crown Prince knew that the situation was hopeless. However, because he was familiar with Chengtian Palace, he was protected by the last few guards of the Eastern Palace and ran to the harem. Until he met Concubine Lian who was held hostage by the Crown Princess's maid."

Meng Wan let out a breath. It turned out to be Concubine Lian. "It seems that the Crown Princess had planned this long ago and put Concubine Lian under custody long ago."

Zhou Yu nodded. "Because Concubine Lian was in their hands, Prince Rui, who arrived later, did not dare to act rashly. The Crown Prince first asked Prince Rui to commit suicide in front of him, but later, perhaps because he felt that this condition was too absurd, he asked Prince Rui to escort them out of the palace and told them a location."

"The prince must have arranged it in advance, just in case something fails so he can escape." Meng Wan said softly.

Zhou Yu nodded again. "I don't know if it was because the maid was ruthless or because Concubine Lian was afraid. The maid trembled and blood started flowing from Concubine Lian's neck."