Marrying the Crown Prince

Things are changing rapidly, and ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Zhou Zhou rarely returned to the East Palace and stayed in a side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Of course, the side hall was for sleeping and resting; the study was for reviewing memorials and such.

When it came to actually handling matters of state, Zhou Zhou sincerely admired Emperor Chenze.

Nowadays, there are almost no officials in the court who are just sitting around doing nothing. Although he has not appeared for ten days, the officials are still doing what they are supposed to do every day according to the rules, and the reports they submit are clear at a glance.

In other words, with this sound court mechanism in operation, even without Emperor Chenze as the leader, there were still no problems in the court.

Of course, it's impossible to say there wasn't a single rumor.

Sure enough, when Wei Yi sent someone to collect the memorial today, many court officials gathered around, all inquiring about Emperor Chenze's health.

You should know that Emperor Chenze has never been absent for this long before.

What else could Wei Yi say? He simply used the same excuse as before, saying that the cold had come on fiercely and that although the Emperor had improved, he was not fully recovered and there was nothing that could be done.

After listening to Wei Yi's words, Zhou Zhou reached out and gently stroked the cover of the memorial. "The ministers have been holding back for a long time."

In her opinion, she thought someone would have asked this three days ago.

Unexpectedly, they held back until today, which shows that everyone has a blind trust in Emperor Chenze.

Just then, a loud commotion erupted at the door.

"Let go, all of you let go! I want to see the Emperor!" It was the Consort's sharp voice.

"Your Highness, the Emperor has decreed that no one is allowed to enter. Please do not make things difficult for me."

"Pah!" The imperial concubine spat fiercely at the guard who was blocking her way. "Who do you think you are? How dare you stop me?"

Even after being spat on, the guard remained standing there motionless, like an old bell.

The only difference is that the knife was originally closed, but because of the humiliation inflicted by the imperial concubine, he pulled it out directly.

The knife gleamed with a cold light like ice in the sunlight. Its blade was as fine as silk, sharp as a needle, and could cut through sunlight and the sound of wind, severing any path that blocked its way.

"Your Highness, if you take another step forward, don't blame me for hurting you."

"Ha!" The Imperial Concubine laughed in anger. "Fine, I'd like to see if you dare to actually make a move!"

After saying that, she suddenly took a few steps forward.

Just as the sword was about to pierce her throat, the guard sheathed his weapon.

The imperial concubine smiled even more triumphantly.

She strode forward, then the Left Commander tapped her on the shoulder with the hilt of his sword.

The imperial concubine winced in pain instantly, glaring at him hatefully, "Zuo Jin? It's you!"

Commander Zuo bowed and said, "Your Highness, I apologize for the offense."

If it were anyone else, the Imperial Concubine could have easily gotten away with it by coaxing and deceiving them, but Zuo Jin was a third-rank official with real power and was highly valued by Emperor Chenze.

Therefore, the Imperial Concubine dared not be presumptuous any longer, but how could she be allowed to return empty-handed?

You should know that the Chong'an Prince's Mansion has been surrounded by the Imperial Guards for three days.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty——"

Since people can't go inside, they can at least yell from outside, right?

Maybe if they hear this, they'll soften and let her in?

If Emperor Chenze were awake, and if it were truly just a common cold, he would indeed summon someone upon hearing his beloved concubine's poignant voice.

but……

While he remained unconscious, it was destined that the imperial concubine's screams would only be heard by the dogs.

Soon, her screams attracted Wei Yi.

As Wei Yi drew closer and appeared before her, the Imperial Concubine smugly snorted and glanced disdainfully at Zuo Jin, as if to say: Look, the Emperor has sent someone here.

"By imperial decree."

"Consort Chen, relying on the Emperor's favor, has become arrogant and lacks virtue and manners. She has offended His Majesty and is hereby fined half a year's salary and ordered to copy the palace rules ten times. She should reflect on her mistakes."

When Wei Yi spoke, the Imperial Concubine was dumbfounded. "Impossible! The Emperor would never treat me like this! I don't believe it! I demand to see the Emperor! The Emperor—"

Looking at the hysterical Imperial Concubine, Wei Yi silently replied in her heart: Of course the Emperor would not treat you like this, but the Crown Princess would.

Of course, this could not be said to the Imperial Concubine, so Wei Yi earnestly advised, "Your Highness, please stop making a fuss. It wouldn't be good if the Emperor heard us."

"Your Majesty, let's go back quickly. If we really anger the Emperor, we'll be even less able to save Prince Chong'an." Xingyun, who was standing nearby, reacted quickly and gave the right advice.

The Imperial Concubine quickly calmed down and held Xingyun's hand tightly, as if trying to draw strength from her.

"you're right."

After saying this, the imperial concubine left with her entourage.

At the same time, a palace maid in the distance also quickly left the scene.

"Your Majesty." The palace maid approached her mistress and bowed.

"Hmm, did you see anything?"

The palace maid leaned close to her ear and recounted everything she had seen, that is, what had happened at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"Hahaha," she laughed after hearing this, "Not bad, not bad, it's a good show. It was worth it for me to tell her about Prince Chong'an's imprisonment."

That bitch Chen Shuyun, isn't she always so self-important?

It's such a pity that we didn't get to see her looking so pathetic, like a stray dog.

When their master went mad, the palace maids would quickly lower their heads and droop their eyelids, pretending to be deaf and blind.

After she finished laughing, she regained her previous gentle demeanor, her voice soft and pleasant. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was a very kind mistress. "Have you seen the Emperor?"

"The Emperor did not appear; we only saw Eunuch Wei Yi beside him."

"Yes, good, very good."

The noise at the door quieted down, but Zhou Zhou's expression remained grim.

She knew that the mastermind had already begun to act, and that the Imperial Concubine had been used as a pawn by that person. She feared that in a few days, someone would break into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

At that point, everything will be out in the open.

If it can't be hidden...

What Zhou Zhou didn't expect was that before the harem was destroyed, the border was destroyed first.

In the southwest, Qixi Kingdom was originally a buffer zone between Chen Kingdom and Yunqin Kingdom.

Logically speaking, with Qixi Kingdom blocking the way, Yunqin Kingdom would have very little chance and would not dare to venture this way.

As a result, for some unknown reason, in the middle of the night, in my sleep, an arrow burning with raging flames flew over the city wall with a whooshing sound—the enemy army had broken in!

The Chen family army stationed on the southwestern frontier reacted quickly, especially Chen Mushan, the eldest son of Marquis Zhaoqing. Facing an enemy several times their size, they gritted their teeth and held on for three days until reinforcements finally arrived.

Indeed, after Lincheng sent out a distress signal, Marquis Zhaoqing sent his elite troops to provide support.

Logically speaking, how many troops could have been smuggled in? Attacking a city was already an all-out effort.

but……

What if these soldiers didn't sneak in?

If they come in openly and honestly, wouldn't there be more than just these soldiers?