When Xie Yanfang arrived at the imperial city, he saw even more troops than before, with tighter security. But due to the constant stream of officials rushing in, the atmosphere was tense yet not frightening.
Xie Yanfang immediately spotted Xie Yanlai standing at the city gate in armor with weapons, as if watching these officials yet also seeming to see no one. But every official who passed by him couldn’t help but quicken their steps.
“Why are you guarding here?” Seventh Master Xie walked over and stopped, speaking in a low voice.
This time entering the palace, Xie Yanfang hadn’t come alone. In the capital, Seventh Master Xie was an elder after all.
Xie Yanlai’s long eyes glanced sideways: “Then where should I be?”
At the Emperor’s side, of course! At a time like this, how could the Xie clan be absent from His Majesty’s presence? Seventh Master Xie gritted his teeth. Xie Yanfang patted his arm: “Seventh Uncle, let’s go in quickly. Don’t delay. Yanlai has official duties—don’t disturb him.”
Seventh Master Xie withdrew his gaze, flicked his sleeve, and walked past Xie Yanlai toward the interior.
Xie Yanfang nodded at Xie Yanlai and walked past.
“What an attitude! What’s he so proud of!” Seventh Master Xie muttered angrily in a low voice, looking back at Xie Yanlai. “So what if he guards the imperial city? So what if he has merit? Does he think he can overturn heaven?”
Xie Yanfang said, “Seventh Uncle, since he can’t overturn heaven, why fear sending him to heaven? I know everyone’s dissatisfied with his good fortune, but he truly has such good fortune. This is heaven’s gift. We’re one family. What we should do is share this fortune together, not drive him away.”
Seventh Master Xie was stunned, then smiled bitterly: “Yes, I was wrong. I lost my composure.”
Xie Yanfang said, “Those with good fortune can be arrogant and presumptuous. In the future, Seventh Uncle can be too.”
Seventh Master Xie laughed: “Hearing you put it that way, I suddenly find the boy more pleasing to the eye.” He looked back again.
The officials bustling behind blocked his view.
Xie Yanfang hushed him, indicating this wasn’t the time to smile. Though the summoning eunuch hadn’t stated the reason for entering the palace, before the summoning eunuch arrived, Xie Yanfang had already received word that the Emperor was dying.
Even without the Crown Prince, the Xie clan wasn’t blind or deaf in the imperial city.
Seventh Master Xie stopped smiling and assumed a solemn expression. The two followed the crowd toward the deep palace.
The inner palace was also lined with soldiers and guards, and not all officials could enter. A eunuch held a roster and called names one by one, but this summoning didn’t follow official rank.
Several important ministers and high officials were stopped outside, each with extremely ugly expressions.
“We cannot have an audience with His Majesty?”
“Who made this roster?”
“In the past, even without a summons, we could see His Majesty!”
Though they said this, on this side, the soldiers and guards standing in rows immediately half-drew the blades they held, revealing flashing cold light.
Now was not like the past.
The Third Prince had committed treason, the Crown Prince had died violently. A new Grand Tutor had emerged from who knows where, hunting down remaining rebels and criminals everywhere. The Zhao clan had been exterminated to the ninth degree of kinship, and still he didn’t stop. Every day he was arresting people here and there. Many officials had their homes raided in the middle of the night while sleeping.
“I think he’s not hunting down the Third Prince’s remnants—he’s acting with impunity, settling personal scores, framing people at will.”
Someone muttered quietly, but only dared to mutter quietly. What could they do? The new Grand Tutor held the imperial seal in one hand and the tiger tally in the other. With the Emperor clearly dying and the Young Highness only six years old, in this Great Xia, he truly had complete control.
So even if angry and dissatisfied, they could only temporarily restrain their tempers.
Fortunately, the eunuchs called the Xie clan’s name. Otherwise, Seventh Master Xie truly didn’t know what he would do, though only one person was allowed to enter.
Under the many dark, ambiguous, and complex gazes at the palace gate, Xie Yanfang strode inside.
Inside the rear palace, there were even more soldiers and guards, and the atmosphere was even more chilling.
Xie Yanfang arrived at the Emperor’s sleeping quarters. The officials who had been summoned inside still only stood outside the hall, their expressions anxious and sorrowful.
Xie Yanfang was about to stand there when a eunuch hurried over.
“Third Young Master,” he said. “His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the Crown Princess said that when you arrived, they ask you to enter immediately.”
Xie Yanfang nodded to the eunuch and went inside.
Inside the hall, there were quite a few people—imperial physicians, Deng Yi—all gathered around the Emperor’s dragon bed. The girl and the child were actually at the back. Hearing the sound, they turned their heads.
“Third Young Master,” Chu Zhao said, leading Xiao Yu by the hand to greet him.
Xie Yanfang saluted them: “Greetings to Your Highness.”
Chu Zhao said, “No need for formalities—we’re family.” She shook the child’s hand.
The child standing beside her looked at Xie Yanfang and said, “Third Uncle.”
Xie Yanfang knelt down on one knee and nodded to him: “I’m here.”
The child, whose expression was dazed and wooden, lowered his gaze and made a sound of acknowledgment.
Xie Yanfang reached out and gently patted the child’s shoulder, then stood up. Looking at Chu Zhao, he asked quietly, “His Majesty—”
Chu Zhao shook her head and said softly, “The Noble Consort poisoned His Majesty for many years.”
Xie Yanfang lowered his eyes: “The Zhao clan deserves extermination to the ninth degree.”
Chu Zhao sighed softly.
The two spoke quietly in the back. Deng Yi at the dragon bed turned around.
“Let everyone come in,” he said.
The eunuchs acknowledged and immediately went outside to relay the message. Chu Zhao and Xie Yanfang also stopped talking and stood near the dragon bed. The officials outside swarmed in, each with sorrowful expressions. Many already had tears streaming down their faces.
“Your Majesty—” Their voices choked. “We subjects are incompetent—”