At midnight, in the Divine Capital, at the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion.
Bang, bang, bang-
Someone outside was pounding hard on the bronze door rings.
The doorkeeper opened the door.
A palace maid, her face frantic with anxiety, darted into the Prince's Mansion like a madwoman.
The commotion woke the Prince's Mansion Chief Secretary.
In the corridor, the palace maid said in a trembling voice:
"The Retired Emperor has passed away."
Rumble!
The Prince's Mansion Chief Secretary felt as though lightning had struck him. He nearly collapsed, his face deathly pale.
He staggered into the bedchamber and saw the Prince of Zhennan tumble from his alcove bed, his eyes vacant and lifeless, as wooden as a puppet.
The prince had heard the palace maid.
Moments later, advisers and resident martial experts streamed into the main hall, all of them deeply uneasy.
The Prince of Zhennan remained motionless, then suddenly bent over coughing. He began retching uncontrollably, blood dripping from his mouth in strings as his whole body convulsed.
Grief at its utmost left no room for tears.
"I want to see Father." The Prince of Zhennan suddenly ran outside like a walking corpse.
The advisers and martial experts immediately seized him.
An adviser choked out:
"Your Highness, leave the capital tonight!"
The Prince of Zhennan continued to convulse and struggle.
"Your Highness!" the chief secretary roared, gripping the Prince of Zhennan's shoulders and rasping:
"The Retired Emperor has passed away, and Jia Commanding Commissioner is still in Goryeo. We must flee back to our stronghold in the Southern Borderlands. His last wish would surely have been for you to return there as quickly as possible, then contact Jia Commanding Commissioner."
With that, he ordered the martial experts to drag the prince away by force and race toward the rear courtyard.