Dongfang Wei hid high above, watching the chaotic imperial palace and couldn't help but click his tongue. The longer he stayed by Xiao Man's side, the more he understood one thing: it was better to offend the Emperor than Xiao Man. If you offended the Emperor, you could at least die quickly; if you offended Xiao Man, you would truly wish you were dead!
"There are experts." Dugu Luo's eyes intently fixed on a certain direction, the aura of a powerful individual emanating from there.
Dongfang Wei followed his gaze and then compared it with the map in his hand. "The Emperor's sleeping quarters, Chengqian Palace. It's not surprising to have experts there."
"There's someone over there too."
"The Empress Dowager's Cining Palace. That wicked old woman is malicious. She has experts in her palace, but she's not helping Xiao Man. Is she planning to seize this opportunity to kill Xiao Man and frame Consort Xian?"
Dongfang Wei saw a figure shoot out from Cining Palace and head straight for another direction. The two immediately concealed their auras and watched the person disappear.
"Which palace is in that direction?" Dongfang Wei took out the map and compared it. "Consort De's Xingqing Palace. The Empress Dowager's expert is heading to Consort De's Xingqing Palace. Interesting. A'luo, you stay here, I'll go take a look."
Dugu Luo nodded. "Remember, you owe me a plate of osmanthus cake."
"Alright, I'll treat you to osmanthus cake later, enough to eat your fill." Dongfang Wei headed towards Xingqing Palace. Logically, the Empress Dowager should have sent people to the Empress's palace or the Ninth Princess's Yongle Palace. Why would she send someone to Consort De's palace?
Also, the Empress Dowager's attitude towards Prince Qi was very strange. Prince Qi was always unruly and fearless, yet he was afraid of the Empress Dowager. Why?
Xingqing Palace was in utter disarray, with maids and eunuchs strewn about. Consort De, her face ashen, stood on a chair, feigning composure as she directed the palace staff to kill the scorpions that crawled in. Occasionally, the screams of palace servants could be heard. Xingqing Palace had suffered heavy losses.
Just then, a figure burst in from outside. With a wave of his sleeve, the scorpions crawling into the hall were flung out. Consort De breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the person appear. "Eunuch Xu, why have you come? With you here, is everything alright with Mother Empress?"
"Your Ladyship, please rest assured. There are people guarding the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager is worried about Your Ladyship's safety, which is why she sent this servant to protect you." Although Eunuch Xu was alone, the venomous scorpions couldn't get close to Consort De.
Imperial guards brought insect repellent powder and kerosene. They used the powder to herd the venomous scorpions into an open area and then used kerosene to burn them. In the darkness of the night, plumes of green smoke rose from the imperial palace.
"What's with all the smoke at this late hour? It looks like fireworks. Is there a fire?" Because Prince Qi was getting married, many people were drinking at Prince Qi's mansion. When someone went out to relieve himself, he saw the green smoke rising outside and became curious.
"What fire? What's wrong, are you burning with jealousy seeing His Highness Prince Qi get married?"
"No, look over there, is it a fire?"
"That's... that's the direction of the Imperial City! The Imperial City is on fire!"
With a cry of alarm, those drinking at the wedding feast rushed out to see. Upon looking, they indeed saw green smoke rising from the direction of the Imperial City.
"Something has happened in the palace!" The Crown Prince and his brothers exchanged glances and immediately mounted their horses, heading straight for the palace. Nangong Yi, unwilling to be left behind, followed, but a vague sense of unease settled in his heart. How could the palace be on fire? Was it an accident or man-made? If man-made, who was the target?
Wen Mohan had just parted ways with Xiao Zhen and was about to return to his mansion when he heard Wei Feng muttering, "What's going on? Were those the Crown Prince and Prince Qin who just passed by? Hmm, why is Prince Qi heading to the palace on his wedding night?"
Wen Mohan lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out. He indeed saw several people galloping on horseback towards the palace and couldn't help but frown as he looked in the direction of the palace. A chill ran down his spine. "Turn around, we're going into the palace."
"Yes, sir." Wei Feng immediately turned the horse around and galloped towards the palace. In a short while, many people were rushing towards the palace. The palace was where the Son of Heaven resided. If anything were to happen to the Emperor, Yushang would surely be in turmoil!
Consort Xian watched the assassins everywhere, her smile growing more manic. "Heaven truly aids me. Even Heaven wants her dead!"
Consort Xian had originally intended to visit her old rivals, the Empress and Consort De, but her deepest hatred was for Xiao Man. After escaping from Changle Palace, she had not left, lingering around Changle Palace, intending to find a breakthrough.
Consort Xian looked at the assassins in Changle Palace and couldn't help but laugh. "Look at you, how unpopular are you? In this palace, besides me, others also want to kill you. The other palaces only send a few assassins symbolically, but your Changle Palace is filled with assassins like bugs, and not a single guard has come. It's clear even the old witch wants you dead."
Consort Xian's gaze turned towards Cining Palace. In this inner palace, although the Empress seemed honored, she was actually restrained by the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was the true master of this inner palace. Even if she were not in the inner palace, every move here was under her control.
"Xiao Man, Xiao Man, if you hadn't killed my son, I would have been willing to let you go, but you..."
"Did Xiao Man really kill your son?" A voice sounded from behind Consort Xian. Consort Xian was startled and turned around, but saw no one.
"Who's there? Come out."
"Consort Xian, you are truly pitiful. You don't even know how your own son died." The voice from the shadows sounded full of mockery.
"Didn't Xiao Man kill my son?"
"Xiao Man is not a prince. What benefit would she gain from killing Prince Han?" the voice said slowly. "You should think carefully, who benefits the most from Prince Han's death?"
"Naturally, the other princes."
"It seems you're not entirely foolish. Yes, it benefits the other princes the most. So, who is the biggest beneficiary?"
"Prince Chu!" Consort Xian blurted out. Prince Chu had grown up in Jiangnan since childhood. After returning to the imperial capital, he had taken his son's place. Moreover, Prince Chu was at the scene of the murder. His guards said Xiao Man was also there, and as a result, Xiao Man was severely injured, almost to the point of death. Why?
"It seems Consort Xian remembers. Who was by Prince Han's side when he died? Even if Prince Chu wasn't the murderer, he chose to stand by and watch, didn't he?"
"No, Prince Chu doesn't have that ability. He just returned to the imperial capital. Besides, killing someone in plain sight would arouse suspicion, wouldn't it? Moreover, the Prefect of Jingzhao said they clearly saw Cheng'er was killed by rioters."
"Yes, Prince Han was killed by rioters. Prince Chu became the scapegoat. Prince Qin was attacked, and Xiao Man was seriously injured. Who is the murderer?"
"The Crown Prince!"
"Heh heh." The mocking laughter sounded somewhat chilling. "No wonder Prince Han died without a clear explanation. Consort Xian, you are truly foolish. As the Crown Prince, as long as he doesn't make a major mistake, who can shake his position? Would he bother to kill Prince Han?"