She quickly searched elsewhere, but no matter how much she looked, she couldn't find him. This sent Wu Caiwei's heart plummeting. She wanted to grab someone to ask, but feared alarming them.
She hid in a secluded spot and waited for a long time until patrol soldiers finally arrived. While others weren't paying attention, she grabbed the last soldier by the neck and dragged him into a small grove of trees.
"Just tell me where the Fifth Prince is, and I'll let you go." Upon hearing this, the man quickly nodded.
Wu Caiwei loosened her grip, and he immediately yelled, "Help..."
Wu Caiwei directly slit his throat. Although she had been mentally prepared, the commotion still attracted some attention. After all, it was a special time, and everyone was on high alert. Knowing she couldn't linger, she quickly left.
The fighting on the streets intensified. Wu Caiwei thought for a moment and then turned back towards the direction of the palace. The closer she got to the palace, the more people there were. Bodies were piled up like mountains, and the ground was already stained red with blood.
Wu Caiwei walked through with a calm expression and, under the cover of the chaos, entered the palace.
The situation inside the palace was no better than outside. It had already been taken over by the Crown Prince's men. She saw Xuan Yuanxin standing in front of the Empress.
The Crown Prince's face was twisted with jealousy. He couldn't believe that even at this point, the Fifth Prince was still putting on such a grand act, prioritizing the Empress's safety. He scoffed, "It's just us two left. There's no need to play along anymore. Save it. I'm taking that position."
"Putting aside everything else, everyone knows you can't be Crown Prince without the Empress. Regardless, the Empress raised you for so many years. There's a maternal bond. What are you doing now? Aren't you afraid that the world will point fingers at you and call you ungrateful?" the Fifth Prince asked calmly. He knew these words were useless to the Crown Prince, but he wanted to buy time.
He didn't believe that the Emperor, with his shrewdness, would allow the Crown Prince to succeed in his rebellion. This incident was an opportunity for him to solidify his image in the Empress's heart, making her more confident in supporting him.
"History is written by the victors. As long as I ascend to that position, my image in history will be positive. As for my feelings for her, honestly, I admired her at first. But in her heart, the Xu family was more important than me. Besides, it's different when you're not biological. I only tested her a little, and she gave up on me. If she hadn't pushed me, I wouldn't have come to this point." The Crown Prince looked at the Empress with hateful eyes. To say he had no feelings for the Empress would be a lie. After all, he could feel the Empress's care for him since he was a child. But his heart was extremely conflicted, filled with anxiety and a desire to know his place in her heart. They grew distrustful of each other and drifted further apart.
Seeing his fierce gaze, the Empress's heart turned completely cold. Before this, although she was disappointed in the Crown Prince, she still held onto a sliver of hope. She never expected him to hate her too. Without her, how could he, a mere child, have survived in the harem? He would have been reduced to ashes long ago. Not only did he not know how to be grateful, but he also resented her for not doing enough for him. He was a born ingrate, one who could never be truly tamed.
"If you want to rebel, just say so openly. Don't act like everyone has wronged you. Don't throw mud at others." Xuan Yuanxin let out a cold snort, looking at him with contempt. He continued to stand in front of the Empress, his posture of protection remarkably evident.
"You don't think that by getting closer to the Empress recently, you can become Crown Prince and Emperor, do you? Don't be naive. I can see your ambition. I don't believe our intelligent mother hasn't noticed it. Actually, we are the same kind of people. If you were in my position, you would do even crazier things than I am." The Crown Prince was not provoked by him. The reason he was wasting his breath here was that he was waiting for a signal.
The Emperor quietly entered from behind. Seeing him glance outside from time to time, he said calmly, "Stop looking. The men you brought have already been eliminated by me."
"Impossible. They were meticulously trained by me, and their martial arts are so formidable, they couldn't have failed so easily. Besides, if all the men were eliminated, why is the fighting outside still so loud?" Although the Crown Prince found it hard to accept the news, he still made excuses. In reality, his heart had sunk to the bottom. Having dealt with the Emperor for so many years, he knew the Emperor wouldn't lie to him.
Moreover, how could such a thing be a lie? He had long agreed with his men that once the palace was completely under control, a signal would be given, and they would cooperate from the inside and outside. He had waited and waited for the signal but it never came, which meant his men truly lacked the ability to control the palace. He unconsciously turned his gaze to the Emperor sitting on the throne. Had all his meticulous preparations still failed to defeat him?
Things were developing in the worst possible direction. Shortly after, the Emperor's men brought a group of disheveled people to the main hall. Seeing those familiar faces, the Crown Prince felt his heart bleed and involuntarily collapsed to the ground. He knew he was finished.
As he felt life was meaningless, fighting sounds erupted from outside again. This time, even the Emperor couldn't help but frown and immediately ordered someone beside him to investigate.
"Your Majesty, it's bad! It's bad! The Second Prince and the Third Prince have also rebelled!" A Forbidden Guard, covered in blood, stumbled in and knelt before the Emperor, reporting the situation in terror.
At this, the Emperor, whose face was already pale, became even paler. Although the First Prince's rebellion had been carried out very secretly, his informants had gotten wind of it, and he had prepared to trap him. He never expected that, in the end, due to his age, he would be manipulated to this extent, falling into a trap within a trap, with the mantis stalking the cicada, and the oriole behind.
"Good, good, all of you are very good. While I am still alive, you dare to force your way into the palace. If I die, will you do as you please?" The Emperor coughed incessantly in anger. The Empress quickly walked to his side and kept patting his back to comfort him.
Although the imperial physicians had warned him not to get angry, thinking of his current predicament, the Emperor felt a metallic taste in his throat and, the next moment, spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Your Majesty, don't scare me." Seeing the blood, the Empress's mind went blank. The thought of the Emperor leaving her made her feel an emptiness in her heart, an unbearable reluctance.
The Emperor patted her hand reassuringly, his eyes filled with determination. Weakly, he said, "I will not die so easily. Don't worry."
Before he could make further arrangements, the door was forcefully knocked open. The Second and Third Princes led the way, followed by the commander of the Imperial Guards and the Forbidden Guards guarding the imperial city. The Emperor could hardly believe his eyes. He never imagined that the people he had trusted all along were like this.