They are all concubines, so of course they choose the future emperor.

Jiang Wanyue returned to Liangyi Palace.

From a distance, I saw my son standing at the door of the temple, leaning his head to look around, rubbing his knees from time to time.

Seeing Jiang Wanyue coming back, Li Chengxu hurried over despite the pain in his knee.

"Mother, how is Father? I just came over, but Aunt Xing'er wouldn't let me in."

Li Chengxu felt a little aggrieved and anxious.

"I just wanted to see if Father was feeling better. I won't cause any trouble."

Jiang Wanyue looked normal.

"The imperial physician said that your father needs to rest and it's best if he doesn't see anyone. If you go in, what if your father gets excited and the wound opens?"

Li Chengxu's head drooped.

"You've fallen behind in your studies during the time you were away. You have time to waste here. Why don't you go back and catch up on your studies?"

Jiang Wanyue said again.

Li Chengxu's face fell, but he didn't dare to refute. He pursed his lips and glanced inside worriedly.

"Then, I'll go back first, mother."

Jiang Wanyue subconsciously wanted to reach out and touch his head, but she held herself back in time.

This child must be taught a good lesson through this opportunity.

Jiang Wanyue put her hands behind her back and nodded lightly.

Li Chengxu felt aggrieved and left dejectedly.

Only after watching his back disappear from her sight did Jiang Wanyue turn around and enter the hall.

It was exceptionally quiet in the Liangyi Hall, but where no one was paying attention, Jiang Wanyue's people were moving frequently and had arranged everything in just a few days.

Li Ce did not show up for several days.

The former court and the harem couldn't help but speculate.

At the beginning, the palace servants in the Liangyi Palace could occasionally enter the palace to sweep and deliver things, but after five days, these people could not enter anymore.

Liang Gaosheng was so anxious that he ran around the room.

He was unable to determine the emperor's true condition now, and didn't know whether he was really seriously injured or was pretending.

If it's the latter, that's fine, but if it's the former...

When Liang Gaosheng thought about the possibility that the emperor might die, he couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

If the emperor dies and the new emperor ascends the throne, he will definitely replace his own people around him.

He has only been the chief eunuch for a few years!

He is only forty years old. Is he going to be forced to leave the palace and live out his days in luxury?

Liang Gaosheng was anxious and had not slept well in the past few days, and blisters appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Finally, on this day, he made a decision.

Liang Gaosheng called his confidant and asked him to go to the East Palace to pass on the message.

He certainly did not want to instigate the prince to abdicate and take the throne, but wanted to use the prince to test the emperor's true situation.

Inside the East Palace.

After hearing the eunuch's message, the prince's brows furrowed into a shape of a "川" (川) character.

"What does Liang Gaosheng mean by this? Is he doubting my father or my mother? He is just a eunuch, not obeying orders, and he dares to instigate me? Does he really think I am a three-year-old child?"

The prince was very angry.

Although he hadn't seen his father in the past few days, he didn't think anything would happen to him.

If there is an accident, my mother will definitely consult with me.

But now, the Queen Mother did not take any other action except keeping a close eye on the Liangyi Palace.

In the prince's opinion, there is no need to worry about this.

The prince scolded the eunuch who delivered the message, drove him away, and returned to Cheng'en Palace.

The prince did not take any action, but that doesn't mean others don't think so.

In a blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve, which was supposed to be the day of a palace banquet, but the queen announced that the palace banquet would be cancelled this year, which aroused everyone's suspicion.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Li Ce still did not show up.

Only Jiang Wanyue spoke up and ordered the prince to offer sacrifices to heaven on his behalf.

However, from this day on, many people began to find ways to enter the Liangyi Palace.

At first, several princes and princesses tried to enter under the pretext of visiting a sick patient.

Later, several ministers in the court insisted on meeting the emperor on the grounds of urgent matters.

These people were all blocked back by Jiang Wanyue.

Not only that, Jiang Wanyue, holding the fish token and the jade seal, began to interfere in border affairs, and disrupted the several generals originally stationed in the northern border and transferred them elsewhere.

This was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

Letters of admonition, impeachment, and obstruction flew into the palace like snowflakes.

Jiang Wanyue ignored them all.

The voices outside the palace were growing louder and louder, and the slander and condemnation were increasing.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the two old princes, together with many ministers in the court, broke into the Liangyi Hall under the leadership of Liang Gaosheng.

But inside it was empty.

There is no emperor and no queen.

Just when everyone was puzzled, Li Ce suddenly appeared in the Taiji Hall.

A few days ago, Jiang Wanyue had someone find the spies on the day of the incident, but she kept doing nothing and used herself to divert everyone's attention. In fact, more than ten days ago, Li Ce's imperial edict was sent to the western and southern borders, allowing the border troops there to quietly enter the capital.

Today, the two border troops have arrived fifty miles outside the capital.

Everything was arranged properly, and Li Ce no longer needed to pretend to be sick. He directly issued an order to search the residence of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and to arrest the spies in the imperial guards and put them in jail.

Immediately afterwards, the border troops entered the capital. Some of them replaced the imperial guards and took on the responsibility of guarding the imperial palace, while the other part went north to arrest people under the order.

Judging from clues from all sides, the mastermind behind the scenes is clearly in the Liaodong army.

At the same time, Li Ce also issued an order to notify the King of Dingbei in the north to go to the Liaodong Army to arrest people together.

Fu Nian received the imperial edict but did not act immediately. After thinking it over again and again, he returned to the palace.

Qixia is teaching children to write.

This child was not hers, but born to Fu Nian's concubine.

She had been married for several years but had never been pregnant. Not only that, even Fu Nian's other women had never given birth to children after she married him.

There were many rumors in the palace, but Fu Nian never blamed Qixia. Instead, he gave her the youngest child to raise.

Qixia was very grateful for this.

Seeing Fu Nian stepping into the main courtyard, Qixia hurriedly brought the children over to greet him.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. Why did Your Majesty come back at this time? What happened?"

Qixia showed concern and took the initiative to help Fu Nian take off his cloak.

Fu Nian glanced at her with inquiry in his eyes, but soon put on a warm smile.

"Yes, but it's not a bad thing. Wasn't the emperor injured before? Now he seems to have recovered. We have also found the mastermind behind the assassinations, and are sending troops to capture him!"

Qixia raised her eyebrows slightly, with a hint of joy in her surprise.

"The Emperor has recovered? That's good, that's good. I was worried!"

"What are you afraid of?"

Fu Nian asked suddenly.

Qixia replied without any hesitation: "I am worried about the prince! The emperor trusts the prince and has handed over the border to the prince, but if the new emperor succeeds to the throne, it may not be certain. The prince and the prince have not met many times."

Fu Nian laughed and patted Qixia on the shoulder.

"What is there to worry about? Yunlan is here, so don't be afraid."

Qixia shook her head.

"Your Highness, Sister Yunlan is only the Crown Prince's concubine. The Crown Prince obviously trusts the Crown Princess more. You know his identity. He is the original wife's legitimate son, so he naturally prefers legitimate sons and daughters. The Crown Princess's father and brother also came from the military!"

She said this and then sighed.

"If Yun Lan can give birth to a firstborn son this time, then it will be easy to deal with. I think the Crown Prince will trust you more for the sake of the child."

Qixia frowned slightly, her face full of worry, and she was thinking about Fu Nian.

Fu Nian suddenly grabbed her arm, narrowed his eyes and stared at her. The smile on his lips disappeared and soon reappeared.

Qixia seemed not to notice the change in his eyes and looked at him with some confusion.

"Your Majesty?"

Fu Nian let go of his hand.

"It's okay, I just suddenly felt that the princess still cares about Yunlan."

Qixia smiled and said, "Of course. If you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, you follow the dog. If I marry you, then I will naturally belong to your family."

When she said this, she pursed her lips a little harder and a slight blush appeared on her face.

"Yunlan is the prince's biological sister, and she lives far away in the capital, so we need to pay more attention to her. By the way, I also found a Tujie cook to send to the capital not long ago!"

Fu Nian was very satisfied.

"You did very well."

After the two finished talking, Fu Nian glanced at the sky and his expression straightened.

"It's already this late. I have to go inspect the army. You stay home and wait for me to come back."

Fu said this, lowering his head and kissing Qixia on the ear.

Qixia saw him off with a smile.

After everyone had left, she asked someone to send the young master back. The door slammed shut, and the smile on Qixia's face instantly disappeared.

She frowned, wiped her face hard with a handkerchief, and there was disgust in her eyes.

"Quick, have someone find out what happened in the army today. His sudden return must have other circumstances."