Coup

The cold dishes had already been laid out; only the hot dishes were yet to be served. At this moment, seeing Noble Consort Cen nod in acknowledgment, the maids and eunuchs began to serve the dishes.

Seeing that no news had yet come from the front, Zhao Ruxi didn't want Xiao Lingyan to return now. Just as she was about to tell Noble Consort Cen that she and Xiao Lingyan would go out to speak for a few minutes, a young eunuch rushed in, saying anxiously, "Your Highness, Your Highness, something has happened at the front! His Highness the Crown Prince... killed the Prince and wounded Prince of An!"

With a "clatter," Consort of the Prince of Qian's chopsticks fell to the ground.

"You, you... what did you say?" The Crown Princess and Noble Consort Cen asked in unison.

Xiao Lingyan stepped forward and grabbed the young eunuch's arm. "Who was slashed?"

The young eunuch, however, only looked at Consort of the Prince of Qian. Clearly, he was from the Prince of Qian's Residence's residence. The prince had been murdered, and he had come to deliver the news.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..." Consort of the Prince of Qian asked, trembling all over.

"The Crown Prince stabbed me in the chest, and I bled a lot. The imperial physician said, the imperial physician said..." the little eunuch stammered, not daring to say the rest.

Consort of the Prince of Qian swayed and fainted.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..." the maid cried out.

The Crown Princess rose, lifted her skirt, and rushed outside. Her maids and servants quickly followed.

"Mother..." Cen Peixuan looked at Noble Consort Cen.

Before Noble Consort Cen could say anything, Xiao Lingyan said, "I'll go take a look." With that, he hurried outside.

He wanted to avoid the situation described earlier, but if he didn't step forward now, it would seem too cold-hearted. Besides, now that the imperial physician had arrived, the situation should have been brought under control.

Zhao Ruxi called out, "Your Highness, take a few men with you."

Only after being reminded by her did Noble Consort Cen come to her senses.

She didn't know what had happened to her eldest son, and she couldn't bear to lose her youngest son as well.

"Little Five, wait a moment." Noble Consort Cen said, calling over several of her Imperial Guards and eunuchs, instructing them to go to the front with Prince of Qi, and telling them to protect Prince of Qi well.

Seeing this, Cen Peixuan kept glaring at Zhao Ruxi.

With Prince of An's fate uncertain, Zhao Ruxi was only concerned with Xiao Lingyan's safety.

She was anxious and longed to go see the Crown Princess like she had. But with her large pregnant belly, she dared not move. Besides, there was Noble Consort Cen and Xiao Lingyan; there was no need for her to go.

Zhao Ruxi ignored her. After watching Xiao Lingyan leave with his entourage, she went to the table where the old lady and Lady Zhu were sitting and kept them company, quietly waiting for the commotion outside.

"System, has the chaos subsided? Is Xiao Lingyan in danger?" she asked in her mind.

The system, which had been monitoring the situation, replied, "It's under control. Everything that needed to be brought under control has been brought under control. There is no further danger."

Zhao Ruxi was finally relieved.

She had a very clear understanding of the situation regarding the Crown Prince recently through the system.

The Crown Prince was already suspicious and easily angered, and for the past six months he had been drugged by traitors around him, which made him even more irritable and prone to outbursts when provoked. Some time ago, a big deal involving the Crown Prince was exposed, and the investigation pointed directly to the Fourth Prince as the mastermind.

Those attending the banquet were not allowed to bring swords or knives. But who would dare to search the Crown Prince? If someone encouraged him to bring a dagger and provoked him at the banquet, it wouldn't be surprising if this happened.

At this time, the palace would definitely lock up and investigate, so if they wanted to take their leave and go home, they would have to wait at least an hour.

At this moment, Consort of the Prince of Qian had woken up and was crying as she wanted to go to the front. Noble Consort Cen sent several people to escort her to the front.

After Consort of the Prince of Qian left, the main hall fell completely silent. No one dared to speak or move, fearing it might provoke any extreme behavior from certain individuals. Only Noble Consort Cen, who was in charge of the inner palace, was worried that someone might wander out of the side halls, so she quickly sent people to maintain order.

A quarter of an hour later, Xiao Lingyan sent a eunuch back with a message, saying that the Crown Prince had drunk two cups of wine at the banquet and then got into an argument with Prince of Qian. In a fit of anger, the Prince of An suddenly pulled out a dagger from his pocket and stabbed Prince of Qian in the chest. Prince An went to stop him and accidentally cut off three fingers of his right hand. Prince of Qian could not be saved; Prince of An's hand had stopped bleeding and his life was temporarily out of danger.

Noble Consort Cen and Cen Peixuan nearly fainted upon hearing this news.

Historically, the throne has never been passed down to a prince with a disability, let alone Prince of An, who has lost three fingers on his right hand and can no longer hold a pen to write. Doesn't this mean that his chances of inheriting the throne are completely hopeless?

The Crown Princess and Consort of the Prince of Qian's families were still present, both families looking ashen-faced, and the others remained silent in fear.

The Crown Prince has committed murder and is therefore ineligible to inherit the throne. The Second Prince is disabled, and the Fourth Prince is dead; now only the Third Prince and Fifth Prince remain.

The capital city is about to undergo a major reshuffle.

Many people's attention was focused on Princess Lady Lu of Consort of the Prince of Ming.

This time, Lady Lu remained composed, not showing any joy. However, her sparkling eyes betrayed her inner excitement.

The old lady and Lady Zhu glanced at Zhao Ruxi, their eyes filled with relief.

Fortunately, the Fifth Prince came in just now; otherwise, one of the Fifth Prince might have been involved in that tragedy.

At the same time, a deep sense of unease arose in both of their hearts. The royal family was truly terrifying.

After staying in the hall for an hour, Xiao Lingyan personally came to deliver a message to everyone, saying, "Nothing's wrong anymore. Ladies of the outer court, you may all go home. I will send someone to escort you to the palace gate."

The women, supporting each other, left the main hall with the people from the side hall and headed towards the palace gate. Xiao Lingyan dispatched a ten-man Imperial Guards squad to escort them to the palace gate.

Xiao Lingyan and Zhao Ruxi exchanged a glance before he went to answer Noble Consort Cen and Cen Peixuan's questions and led them to where Xiao Lingpu was recuperating.

When they arrived, Zhao Ruxi, Lady Zhu, and the old lady rode in two separate carriages. Now, at the palace gate, Lady Zhu pulled Zhao Ruxi into their carriage.

Only when the carriage left the palace and traveled a distance, finally seeing the alley where the Earl of Suiping's Residence was located in the distance, did Lady Zhu's nerves relax.

"Mother, you're hurting me." Zhao Ruxi pulled her wrist out of her hand and rubbed the spot where it had been gripped.

Only then did Lady Zhu realize that she had been holding her daughter's wrist the whole time.

She sighed and remained silent.

Only after returning to the hall and sitting down, and drinking a cup of hot tea, Lady Zhu's body, which had been trembling from fear and cold, finally feel somewhat better. She then spoke, "Miss Xi, can your marriage still be called off? I don't ask for wealth and status, I only ask that you be safe and sound."

The old lady nodded vigorously.

Wasn't Zhao Ruxi the same? If Xiao Ke hadn't transmigrated into Xiao Lingyan, she would never have married a member of the royal family, even if you beat her to death.

Although she had read about everything that happened today in the original novel and knew what would happen from the information she gathered through the system, experiencing the cruelty of political struggle firsthand still frightened her.

She disliked this feeling and felt very uneasy.