Near noon, outside the Duan Gate, servants were already crowded. This was the inner ring, while the outer ring was sparsely surrounded by many bold onlookers from the populace. Together, the numbers likely approached thirty to forty thousand.
Yan Shifan shed his robe, revealing a white shirt. His hair was disheveled, and in his hand, he held a long saber. He stood upon the platform. The crowd, initially a motley assembly, now viewed the "Young Grand Secretary" as a hero, and everyone felt awe, with no clamor filling the air.
Before long, the crowd parted, and Yan Song alighted from his sedan chair. Zhao Wenhua, Yan Maoqing, and others surrounded him as they arrived at the base of the gate tower. Though ancient and frail, his eyes shone with keen intelligence, and his face was stern and solemn, radiating decades of imposing authority. Everyone involuntarily took a few steps back.
"Where is Lu Bing? Why isn't he here?"
He had scanned the assembly earlier. Several ministers were present, as were most officials from the six ministries. Among the important figures, only Lu Bing was absent. Without this man, the matter was not entirely settled. After all, Sixth Master had been the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for thirty years. His presence would signify complete popular and official sentiment.
Yan Shifan had not slept since last night. He had exerted all his efforts, barely managing to control the situation, and even by this morning, the Directorate of Ceremonial's servants had been at a disadvantage. However, he was, after all, a man of fifty, and his energy was waning. He had failed to notice earlier that Lu Bing had already slipped away quietly!
"Father, never mind him! That fellow is wishy-washy, a true weakling!"
Yan Song nodded, intending to say a few words, but his strength was insufficient. He said,
"Yan Shifan, speak to everyone... Today's affair is for the ministers and the people of the capital to support the imperial procession... cough cough..."
"Father, you rest first. Your son understands!"
Yan Shifan faced the thousands, nearly ten thousand, in the square. He spread his hands wide. When not a whisper of noise remained, he declared loudly,
"The Great Ming is unfortunate..."
"First, there was a rebellious Prince Yu... now comes the tyrannical and unprincipled Prince Jing!"
"They are both Crown Prince, and therefore, the Great Ming is unfortunate to this extent..."
"Early this morning, the court received an urgent report that this Prince Jing has indeed returned to rebel! This man is a tyrannical individual! Everyone might not know, but reports from the frontier say he shot tens of thousands of cattle and sheep at Zhuo Mountain and personally drowned twenty to thirty thousand innocent civilians alive!"
"What kind of person is this? He is a tyrannical and foolish monarch!"
"Now, Prince Jing has returned with his troops! What does he intend to do? He seized command of the Capital Garrisons and captured Lord Li Tingzhu! Who is Li Tingzhu? He is a descendant of Li Wenzhong! A loyal minister and brave general! And he was so easily deposed by him!"
"His Majesty is advanced in years... he cannot manage these matters... and Prince Jing is using this to incite the ruffians in the capital, causing murder and arson everywhere! Why? He is deliberately creating chaos so he can lead his troops in and slaughter everyone..."
"I, Yan, cannot bear to see such a tyrannical figure, which is why I have called everyone out to protect themselves... But now, that Prince Jing is already approaching the capital! The Grand Secretary and the ministers have discussed it, and they all say we must protect the emperor... Only when His Majesty is stable will the overall situation be stable!"
"Do you all understand?"
Hooray!
Hooray!
The servants below were all their own people, and naturally, they erupted in cheers.
"March to the palace to protect the emperor!"
"Do not let Prince Jing enter the capital!"
"His Majesty resumes the throne!"
"..."
These slogans had been prepared in advance. Now, shouted one after another, they carried a considerable momentum. The onlookers in the outer ring had no idea what was happening. At this moment, they vaguely heard something, perhaps that Prince Jing had suddenly turned against the Yan family, and the two sides had become mortal enemies. The Yan family had first supported the wrong Prince Yu, and then the wrong Prince Jing, thus causing chaos throughout the land...
But now, filling their vision were the servants of official families from all over the capital. The common folk naturally dared not speak, but the fact that the innocent civilians were being used as pawns by both sides this time was truly disheartening.
Idle people?
Oh...
So that's how it is.
His Majesty is completely washing his hands of it?
Let anyone come? Do anything?
He knows nothing at all...
He suddenly understood—
His Majesty had no more options!
If it were only the Yan family, it would be manageable. But Prince Jing had already returned with his troops, so it was completely hopeless... Since there was no solution, he might as well ignore it all...
After all,
This is the dwelling place of the Son of Heaven. If others wish to cause trouble, let them do so...