nucmednet Chapter 144: Not Following the Rules
Chapter 144: Not Following the Rules
The emperor glanced at the unconscious empress dowager, and then said to Concubine De, "Well, that's enough. You've been busy for a long time and you're tired. You're not feeling well. Go back and rest first."
"Then I'll take my leave." Concubine De did not refuse, nor did she say anything to show concern for the Empress Dowager. In the Emperor's opinion, she might have some resentment towards the Empress Dowager because of this incident.
After Concubine De left, the Emperor ordered his servants to carry the Empress Dowager back to the bed before letting everyone leave.
Then he took out the paper and read it carefully. The handwriting on it was neat and there was nothing special about it. There was a seal of Xuanyue Sect at the end.
The emperor frowned when he saw this. "I heard that Xuan Yue Men is a new assassin organization that has never failed and is well-known in the martial arts world. They will take any mission as long as the money is enough. But how did the queen mother get in touch with the people from Xuan Yue Men?"
"Besides, that person can enter and leave the palace so freely, so he must be very familiar with the routes in the palace. Thinking of this, the emperor felt a little uneasy. What kind of power is behind this Xuanyue Sect?"
Just as he was lost in thought, Zhang Fu quickly walked in and saluted the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I just checked and found that Concubine Zhao has been acting the same as usual recently and has not had any contact with anyone else."
"Well, it seems that I was overthinking it."
At this time, the imperial physician also arrived and walked in under the guidance of the servants. He first saluted the emperor and then went to check the empress dowager's pulse.
After a moment, he stood up, walked to the emperor and leaned over to say, "Your Majesty, it seems that the Queen Mother was just frightened. She just needs to recuperate for a while. But the Queen Mother has been frightened twice in a row, which is really too much for her body. So she still needs to be well taken care of these days. Don't let her be frightened again."
"Well, in that case, you can prescribe some prescriptions for the Queen Mother to nourish her body."
"Yes, I obey your command." After the imperial physician agreed, he went to write a prescription and told someone to get the medicine.
Seeing that the Queen Mother was still in a coma with no signs of waking up, the Emperor stood up and walked out. At this time, the chief of the imperial guards had already arrived and was waiting for him.
Seeing the emperor coming out, he bowed respectfully and said, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I failed in my duty."
"When this matter is over, you will go and receive your punishment. Can we send someone to search the palace now?"
"Your Majesty, I have already started searching after learning that something happened in the Queen Mother's palace. I will not miss a single spot."
"Well, all the palaces of all concubines must not be spared. If anyone is unwilling to cooperate, let them come to find me! And starting today, patrols will be doubled. If an assassin breaks in again, you will no longer have to be the commander of the Imperial Guards. Come here with your head to apologize." The emperor's tone became heavier, and it was obvious that the assassin did not take him seriously.
He challenged his authority again and again. Although he knew that the last incident with the Queen was probably done by the Regent, he could not accuse him without evidence. He just didn't know if he was also related to him this time. If not, he could only ask the Situ clan leader for help.
The guard commander shuddered with fear after hearing this, and quickly replied: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will not fail you."
"Go down."
"Yes."
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother has awakened." Nanny Ning walked in and said after bowing.
"So fast?" The emperor was a little surprised.
"Maybe he was frightened. He wasn't sleeping soundly when he was unconscious just now, so he was awakened now."
"Well, I'll go take a look." The emperor stood up and walked towards the Queen Mother's bedroom.
As soon as they reached the door, they heard the Queen Mother's loud voice from inside: "Help me up quickly, I don't want to stay in this bedroom anymore."
"Mother." After the emperor entered, he saw that the empress dowager looked a little crazy and it seemed that she was really frightened.
The emperor walked up quickly and comforted her, "Mother, I have already sent people to guard it strictly. What happened in the past two days will definitely not happen again in the future."
The Queen Mother's chest was heaving and she was gasping for breath. She struggled to get off the bed despite Nanny Ning's dissuasion. When she saw the Emperor coming, she paused for a moment.
Then he said with a hint of anger: "What do these guards do for a living? Assassins come to me one after another and come and go freely, but they didn't notice anything at all?"
"Mother, I have already punished them. But the two people who entered the palace these two times were obviously not ordinary assassins. I think they must be very familiar with the terrain inside the palace, otherwise it would be impossible for the guards to not notice it." The emperor felt a headache at this time. He raised his hand and pinched his eyebrows, saying helplessly.
This morning, I secretly reminded Chu Jun to give up his military power and hand over the military token, but he seemed not to understand and talked about other things. The fourth elder said that it has been confirmed that the Situ clan leader has been poisoned, but it will take some time for the poison to take effect. The palace has been in turmoil one after another.
Moreover, the Regent was going to get married in a few days, and seeing that nothing had been done, he felt a little frustrated.
"Your Majesty, something happened." said a guard outside.
"Come in and answer!"
The guard came in, knelt on one knee and saluted, then said, "Your Majesty, I just heard the news that the fifth elder of the Situ clan violated the clan rules and was dealt with by the Situ clan leader. And for some reason, something that happened in the Queen Mother's palace has been spread widely outside."
When the Queen Mother heard that the Fifth Elder had been dealt with, she stood up with an excited expression. Before she could say anything, she heard the Emperor's surprised voice: "Breaking clan rules? Have you found out which clan rules were violated? It's so serious!"
The guard glanced at the Queen Mother and lowered his head and said, "It was because he learned that the Fifth Elder was secretly colluding with the royal family, and Patriarch Situ was furious. And it seemed to be related to the death of the previous patriarch. Patriarch Situ abolished the man on the spot. He didn't give him any chance at all."
"Colluding with the royal family?" The emperor pretended to be ignorant, with a puzzled expression, and turned to look at the queen mother and asked, "Who of the royal family is related to the Fifth Elder?"
When the Queen Mother heard that the Fifth Elder had been deposed, she was so angry that she could not vent it. The veins on her forehead were clearly visible. She glanced at the Emperor and said nothing. Instead, she asked Nanny Ning to help her walk to the couch and sit down.
His face became a little ferocious, and he said angrily: "The fifth elder is my family's. I never thought that although the Situ clan leader looks young and is still a woman, she can be so ruthless and decisive in doing things. I underestimated her. She killed the second elder a few days ago, and now she killed the fifth elder. How could no one in the Situ clan oppose her actions?"
The emperor also sat down and sighed, "In the Situ family, the one who can become the head of the clan is not simple. Although she is a woman, she is both wise and brave. She is not comparable to ordinary women."
After he finished speaking, he said to the people in the bedroom: "All of you go out and guard outside. No one is allowed to approach here."
"Yes."
After everyone left, the emperor looked at the queen mother with a look of displeasure and said, "Mother, have you secretly hired an assassin from Xuanyue Sect to kill Chu Qianyu?"
The Queen Mother was a little surprised when she heard this. She turned to look at the Emperor and said, "How did you know this? I wanted to ask the Fifth Elder to deal with Chu Qianyu, but the Fifth Elder said he was busy. Now I think that the Situ Clan Leader knew about this and set a trap. I had no choice but to look for someone from Xuanyue Sect."
The Queen Mother became more and more angry as she spoke, and her voice gradually became louder: "But who would have thought that the Xuan Yue Sect would do things so unruly!"