"Third young miss, what's wrong?" Seeing Xiang Rong stand still and not move, the servant asked in confusion: "His Highness is just ahead in Han Hall. Didn't third young miss have an urgent matter?"
Xiang Rong's footsteps faltered, and her expression became even worse. She hesitantly asked: "Han Hall? Is that where guests are being held? The guest is … his Highness the fourth prince? "
The servant nodded, "Third young miss has good hearing. His Highness the fourth prince happened to obtain an ancient sword and came to have his Highness appraise it."
Xiang Rong felt her teeth chatter. She clearly remembered that the fourth prince had once been engaged to the Bu family's daughter. Although that daughter was no longer around, the relationship between the two families had not deteriorated. Instead, it had been maintained at a friendly level. Now, the changes in the capital were clearly related to Bu Cong; however, the fourth prince had come to the Imperial Palace Yu at this time. What did this mean?
Her heart trembled. Could it be that they were colluding?
"Third young miss?" The servant called her once more, his doubts becoming even stronger.
Xiang Rong was a little flustered, but she still forced herself to remain calm. The wind was cold on this night, and she had added a thin cotton outer garment to her dress. She immediately had a flash of inspiration, as she frankly pointed at her outer garment and said to the servant at her side: "You are strong. Quickly, tear off a piece from the bottom of this outer garment for me."
"Huh?" The servant was dazed. He was completely unable to understand what the Feng family's third young miss was thinking. Seeing that Xiang Rong was insistent, it was not convenient for him to ask. He could only do as he was told.
A corner of Xiang Rong's outer garment was successfully torn off. She held the torn piece in her hand and urged: "Bring me to see His Ninth Highness."
When the two entered Han Hall, Xuan Tianming was holding a sword and carefully appraising it. The servant went over to him and whispered a few words into his ear. Following this, the two princes turned their gazes toward Xiang Rong.
Xiang Rong had never been a fearless person like Feng Yu Heng. She had a weak personality and was timid. Often times, she would still have stage fright even after doing a lot of mental preparation.
But today was different. Her mind was filled with the scenes that she had seen in the city. Those heavily armored guards and those different lanterns. Furthermore, her second sister had suddenly left the manor on horseback. It was obvious that she had gone to a faraway place. Why did all of this happen at the same time?
She gritted her teeth and took the initiative to step forward. Kneeling in front of the two princes, she said: "This humble girl, Feng Xiang Rong, greets Your Highness Prince Ping and Your Highness Prince Yu."
Xiang Rong's arrival caused both of them to be a little surprised, but the Fourth Prince was a little more surprised than Xuan Tianming, whose face was covered by the golden mask. He looked at Xiang Rong and curiously asked: "Feng family's third young miss? What are you doing here? "
This girl, Xiang Rong, she was said to be timid, but she also had a bit of a stubborn temper. Otherwise, she would not have helped An shi put on a show for Feng Yu Heng in front of the Feng family so many times in the past. Now that something had happened in the capital, she knew that that faction was definitely at odds with her second sister and the Ninth Prince. She was already afraid and angry. Hearing the Fourth Prince ask this question that was obviously filled with ill intentions, her anger surged. She immediately replied without holding back: "His Ninth Highness is this humble girl's brother-in-law. For this humble girl to come to the Imperial Palace Yu, does Prince Ping find it strange?"
Once she said this, Xuan Tianming let out a "pft" and laughed, "That's right. Your second sister did not teach you in vain." He then looked at Xuan Tian Yi, "Fourth Brother has the mind to ask about I's family matters?"
Xuan Tian Yi waved his hand: "Ninth Brother, what are you saying. Since it's a family matter, I will not ask about it in the slightest."
The corners of Xuan Tian Ming's lips curled up into a sly smile, but he did not say anything else. Walking forward, he personally helped Xiang Rong up then asked her: "Coming to find this prince, is there a reason?"
Xiang Rong glanced at the Fourth Prince from the corner of her eye. Calming herself down, she said: "The family is conducting a funeral. Second Sister is the daughter of the first wife and could not leave; however, she happened to have something to send to Your Highness, so she sent this humble girl to make a trip." As she spoke, she handed over the piece of cloth in her hand.
Xuan Tian Yi watched from behind and could not help but ask: "Third Young Miss came over just to send a piece of cloth?"
Xiang Rong nodded, "Yes, it's just to send a piece of cloth!" When she said cloth, her tone became more serious. She even raised her head to look at Xuan Tianming. Only when she saw the light in his eyes did she relax slightly, saying: "Second Sister said that she likes this sort of cloth very much and wanted to have His Ninth Highness help her buy some."
Xuan Tian Yi snorted coldly, "Is the county princess' manor lacking servants? To use a prince of a country for such a small matter, your county princess really is putting on quite a bit of airs. "
Xiang Rong felt that this Fourth Prince was especially annoying and could not hold back from rebuking him: "Second Sister said that she would like it more if the person she loves went to buy it."
One after another, this caused Xuan Tianming to laugh. Who knew, who knew that his Heng Heng would be able to raise a girl to be so sharp-tongued.
But this piece of cloth … he already understood that Xiang Rong was reminding him of Bu Cong.
Long before old fourth arrived at the manor, he felt that it was strange. He said that he had received an ancient sword and wanted to share it with him, but when had old fourth become so close to him? It turned out that the root of it all was here.
He received the cloth and held it in his hand. Nodding slightly to Xiang Rong, he then loudly said: "Since third sister has come, just sit in the palace for a while. I also prepared some gifts for the Feng family. You can bring them back as well."
Xiang Rong bowed and replied: "Yes."
Xuan Tianming turned to look at the Fourth Prince: "Fourth brother, please sit for a while. I will go prepare the gifts for the Feng manor."
The Fourth Prince quickly stood up and took the initiative to bid farewell: "It's already late. I will not remain any longer."
"Hah!" Xuan Tianming waved his hand and said in a tone that left no room for doubt: "The Imperial Palace Yu still has some good wine. Fourth brother, you cannot leave like this! Servants "He raised his voice," Bring out the palace's aged wine. Have his Highness Prince Ping taste it. "
Just like this, he had Xuan Tian Yi remain. Xuan Tian Yi was not in a rush and returned to his seat. With a calm expression, he waited for the servants to bring out the wine.
Xuan Tianming smirked and brought Xiang Rong to the front yard. Only after they left the vicinity of Han Hall did Xiang Rong anxiously say: "Your Highness, something is off in the capital. It seems that the soldiers on night patrol have been replaced …" She quickly recounted everything that she had seen to Xuan Tianming. She spoke too quickly, and after she finished speaking, she could not help but begin to pant heavily. But while she was panting, she continued: "Second sister left the palace on a horse. I don't know where she went."
Xuan Tianming furrowed his brow, and the purple lotus flower on his forehead became even darker.
At this time, some movement came from the entrance of the palace. He walked over with large strides, and Xiang Rong quickly followed behind him. Very quickly, a person was brought in by the guards. Xiang Rong recognized that person. It was the military governor of the capital, Wang Zhuo.
Wang Zhuo seemed to have been injured. When he walked, his left leg was a little limp, but he still walked very quickly. He rushed over to Xuan Tianming and was about to kneel when he was stopped by Xuan Tianming: "Don't waste time. Speak, what happened?"
"Your Highness." Wang Zhuo panted a couple times then said: "At some unknown time, Bu Cong brought a foreign army into the capital. Tonight, they suddenly began to walk all over the city, swapping out all of the patrolling soldiers. Even the guards at the city gates …" As he spoke, he ignored Xuan Tianming's attempts to stop him and dropped to his knees: "This subordinate has failed in his duty. Even ten thousand deaths would not be enough to absolve the blame!"
"Foreign army?" Xuan Tianming frowned deeply. To be able to swap out all of the soldiers in the capital, they still needed to leave enough people behind to deal with the subsequent plans. After taking over the capital, the next step would be the imperial palace. With such a large group of soldiers, when exactly did they enter the capital? During the flood? That's not right. At that time, the four gates were tightly shut. It was impossible for so many people to enter. Moreover, Xuan Tianhua was present. How could he not have noticed Bu Cong's actions.
Thinking about it now, the only possibility was that it was done step by step. The people were brought in bit by bit. Over the years, batch after batch, they even entered the capital one by one. They were mixed in all over the place, training soldiers for a thousand days, waiting to be used at a time.
His heart was filled with endless annoyance, but his lips curled into a cold smile. This appearance was very frightening. Even though half of his face was hidden under the golden mask, waves of cold could still be felt through the mask.
Duanmu Qing had left the capital, Bu Cong was in chaos, and old fourth had come to his palace to not go anywhere but to admire the sword. What did this series of actions mean? He, he, he, he shrugged his shoulders and smiled. Those two had chosen to work together at this time. It seemed like they had already made preparations. In that case, let's see who's more prepared in terms of preparation.
"Very good." He said, "Very good." Then he waved his hand and four hidden guards appeared in the darkness. Xuan Tianming pointed at one of them and said, "Go to the Xiang Palace and investigate their movements."
That person immediately disappeared in a flash.
He then pointed at another person and said, "Go to the Bu Family and take a look."
The hidden guard also disappeared in a flash.
As for the other two, he ordered, "You two take three people and leave through the northern gate to meet up with county princess Ji An."
The three immediately began to move.
He was not afraid of anything. Over the years, he had led soldiers into battle and planned out strategies. Even if there were flaws in the capital's hidden forces, the majority of them were under control. Although Bu Cong had suddenly appeared, he was not an absolute threat to him. The only thing he was worried about was Feng Yu Heng. He did not know why Feng Yu Heng had left the palace on a bicycle, but it was clear that she had left the city. Duanmu Qing had also left the city. If he had not guessed incorrectly, Feng Yu Heng had definitely gone to chase after Duanmu Qing, but why would she chase after him?
Wang Zhuo was still kneeling on the ground. Xuan Tianming picked him up and turned his head slightly to say to Xiang Rong: "Stay in the palace and wait for I to return. Don't go anywhere, and don't return to Han Hall." He thought a little then ordered a servant: "Bring the third young miss to the guest courtyard to rest." After saying this, he did not stay any longer and quickly left the palace with Wang Zhuo.
Xiang Rong knew that the current situation in the capital was very dangerous. If she went out, she would only cause trouble for others, thus she forced herself to calm down and remain in the Imperial Palace Yu; however, she still remembered something and hurriedly added: "His Highness the seventh prince is also not in the palace."
Xuan Tianming nodded and did not say anything else. After getting on a horse with Wang Zhuo, he raised his hand, and countless hidden guards appeared from the darkness. They all followed behind him. Looking around, there were at least 40 to 50 people.
Wang Zhuo could not help but click his tongue; however, he heard Xuan Tianming sternly say: "Follow I to the imperial palace."
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