Chapter 460

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

Some things, if left unsaid, still leave a glimmer of hope; once spoken, they become a dead end.

Lian Xiang's life and property were all in the Zhou Family, and the master she served in the palace had just left—what could she say? And who could she implicate?

Understanding this took only a moment; Lian Xiang followed her master's footsteps and at least ended up clean.

Li Guiquan:...

Li Guiquan said nothing, only instructing those left behind to bury this loyal slave girl along with her master, "After all, we served together for a while."

Though each served their own master, what could these slaves do? From the very beginning, their lives were not their own.

Turning around, he strode back to Qianqing Palace to report; fearing the Emperor would be displeased, Li Guiquan did not forget to bring up Shen Yao giving birth at Furong Palace.

After all, Shen Yao had given birth to an imperial heir; never mind how to raise the child, at least the Emperor needed to see a living child and cover up the troublesome matter on the surface.

"Take this one to Furong Palace!"

The Emperor could not sit still, clamoring to go to Furong Palace, unable to be dissuaded even by a crowd of Imperial Physicians kneeling on the ground.

Li Guiquan prepared the sedan chair and brought the Imperial Physicians; a large group carried the Emperor over in a grand procession.

When the sedan chair landed and the Emperor lifted his foot to step into the gates of Furong Palace, an unclear crying sound reached his ears.

The Emperor:...?!!!

The Emperor first froze, then raised a hand to pat Li Guiquan's arm, "Did I hear wrong? It's a child's cry!"

Li Guiquan bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, it is the Little Prince's cry."

With tears welling in his eyes, Li Guiquan himself felt somewhat moved; after so many years, the Imperial Harem finally heard an infant's cry, and the Emperor finally had an imperial heir under his knees.

The corners of the Emperor's mouth grew wider and wider, his eyes fixed straight on the side delivery room; even if he stumbled two steps, he didn't care, only walking quickly to see the child.

The person had not arrived, but the voice had already arrived.

"This slave/this servant greets Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!"

Outside the delivery room, a crowd knelt down in a flurry; inside the delivery room, an infant wailed.

At this moment, the Emperor had even less patience for these trivial matters; clutching his chest, he pushed through the crowd, about to push the door open, when he collided head-on with the midwife coming out carrying swaddling clothes.

The midwife first offered greetings, then offered congratulations, handing the swaddling clothes in her arms to the Emperor, emphasizing that this was a genuine imperial prince.

An imperial prince?!

The Emperor's eyes sparkled, and he almost wanted to reach out and take the swaddling clothes into his arms, but the pain in his chest reminded him not to be rash.

Looking again and again at the 'red-skinned monkey' in the swaddling clothes, the Emperor noticed that behind the midwife followed Xiao Ji, also carrying swaddling clothes.

His memory returned, and the Emperor then remembered that Consort Xin was carrying twins.

"This is..." his voice careful, mixed with nervousness.

Xiao Ji stepped forward, bowing as she presented the swaddling clothes to the Emperor, "Replying to Your Majesty, this is the Little Princess born to Consort Xin."

The Little Prince and she were born no more than a quarter of an hour apart; one could only say that coming early was not as good as coming at the right time.

Before the Emperor arrived, the master had suffered premature birth and difficult labor, nearly being given inducing labor soup; but the moment the Emperor's sedan chair landed, the imperial prince and princess in the master's womb all appeared one after another.

Xiao Ji, along with words of flattery, spoke them all at once, both patting the dragon's backside and winning face for the master; if it weren't that the two newborn children could not be exposed to the wind and cold for long, they might have chatted a while longer.

"Take good care of Consort Xin; I will come again later."

Like a leaky body being reinjected with energy, the Emperor's whole person was as if injected with chicken blood; turning around, he ordered Li Guiquan to arrange manpower to guard inside and outside Furong Palace, allowing no one but himself to come visit; then he followed and charged back to Qianqing Palace again to deal with the various dirty matters he had encountered regarding the assassination attempt and Furong Palace these past days.

"I usually always value harmony, consider face, and think of kinship.

Li Guiquan, do you also think in your heart that I have done wrong?"

As the words fell, accompanied by a thud, Li Guiquan knelt on the ground and shouted that this servant did not dare.

"Not dare?" rather than "cannot."

The Emperor also began to play mind games, sitting on the couch with eyes half-closed, his hand pinching the bead string he kept rolling.

Li Guiquan:...

The atmosphere around was oppressive to the extreme; Li Guiquan was so frightened he didn't dare breathe.

What was happening? How could the Emperor suddenly say such things? The Emperor wasn't this type of person.

Li Guiquan thought this and that in his heart, but on the surface he pressed his head to the ground, tightly hiding his expression, not leaking a single bit.

"The decree has been issued; how are my imperial brothers and imperial younger brothers outside the palace? Any movement?"

Before going to Furong Palace, Yu Yu had already sent the Yulin Guard to surround them; now that several hours had passed since he issued the decree, who knew what the situation outside was.

Li Guiquan still did not raise his head, only replying, "The Yong Qin Wang Fu and Jin Qin Wang Fu have not made any moves; the people of the Cheng Qin Wang Fu and Wei Qin Wang Fu are busy using connections, wanting to see the Cheng Prince and Wei Prince locked up in Zongren Fu; the masters of the Dun Qin Wang Fu are sick or injured, the whole mansion filled with the smell of medicine, and they should still not know that something happened in the palace."

Who made the Dun Prince unlucky these past few days; along with it, the mansion gates were tightly closed, not receiving outside guests.

Today the Yulin Guard was ordered to temporarily control the external communication channels of several prince mansions; other prince mansions more or less received some palace rumors, but only the Dun Qin Wang Fu—probably they would have to wait for someone to come out before receiving any news.

After a long while, Yu Yu spoke, "Have people guard for three days, then withdraw openly on the surface."

As for why it was on the surface, it was because surveillance had to continue secretly.

Li Guiquan replied with a "Yes," thinking to himself that the Emperor intended to formally move against these several prominent imperial princes? It seemed the court would soon be stirred by a bloody storm.

"A bloody storm in the imperial family is even more of an opportunity for our Shen Family."

Outside the palace, in the front courtyard study of the Shen Family, Shen Chunbai and Shen Zhanghe, father and son, were looking at each other at this moment, intensely discussing the series of events that had happened in the palace.

Thanks to Shen Chunbai and Shen Zhanghe being valued, these two realized something was wrong the moment something happened in the palace.

Furthermore, Shen Zhanghe and Shen Zhanghe held positions in the Yulin Guard; whether it was the birth at Furong Palace or the Emperor's assassination attempt, Shen Zhanghe keenly sensed some rumors.

"Father speaks extremely correctly; at present, the palace has not yet sent news of Consort Xin's safe delivery, and the Emperor has even canceled today's morning court; with changes in the Zhou Family and several prince mansions, this son dares to speculate that the opportunity our Shen Family has been waiting for is right before our eyes."

The Shen Family are military generals; the prerequisite for rising higher is that the person occupying the position meets with misfortune. And they can only unleash one hundred percent of their usefulness once they are on the battlefield.

The border has been not very peaceful lately; the generals controlling the border defense are either holdovers from the previous reign or the current Emperor's trusted confidants — otherwise how would the Emperor dare hand over military authority? One mishap could backfire on himself, causing turmoil in Yu Guo and affecting the imperial succession.

The Shen Family's identity is special now; as long as Consort Zhaoyi and the Little Prince are still in the palace, they absolutely cannot betray him.

"No news from the palace is good news." Shen Chunbai still understood the Emperor quite well. "The Zhou Family was arrested, several princely mansions were surrounded — this precisely shows the Emperor has the upper hand; they cannot stir up any waves."

Otherwise how could the Yulin Guard be so obedient? Who doesn't know the internal situation of the Yulin Guard?

Shen Changyu: ……

Shen Changyu's eyes showed embarrassment; he scratched his head rather sheepishly. "Father, it is your son who is unable."

Even after several months in the Yulin Guard, his position rising several ranks, there are still thorns who obey summons but not orders.

Everyone who enters the Yulin Guard comes from a respectable background; Shen Changyu relies on the Shen Family and the palace, his force is weak, so he can only suffer losses in secret.

Shen Chunbai patted Shen Changyu's shoulder. "This has nothing to do with you to begin with; the trouble left by the Former Emperor, even the Emperor cannot do anything about it," let alone them, imperial relatives separated by a layer of connection.

Seeing Shen Chunbai speak so naturally, Shen Changyu also gained some understanding of the royal family's helplessness.

Because when the Former Emperor passed away, several princes' ages and identities qualified them to ascend the throne, but considering various reasons (various factions taking sides and power disputes), the current Emperor was finally confirmed.

It can be said the root of the conflict was buried too long; its eruption now is merely a matter of different times, different circumstances.

The Shen Family cannot objectively evaluate this matter; Shen Yao and the children in the palace are not mere decorations.

"Changyu, serve well in the Yulin Guard recently; believe that the Emperor has his own judgment."

The topic stopped there and did not continue. Shen Chunbai raised his hand to stroke his beard, turned his head to glance at the darkened sky outside the window.

…………

"The light is a bit too bright; extinguish a few lamps. Remember to assign more manpower to keep watch at all times over the two Eldest Misses' quarters."

Furong Palace main hall; Shen Yao, having finished childbirth, had already been sent back.

Xiao Fu and Xiao Ji were currently attending the master; seeing the room's light glaring, Xiao Fu hurriedly had the palace attendants extinguish a few lamps, lest it affect the master's rest.

Xiao Ji held the prepared nourishing soup, feeding Shen Yao, who was half-lying on the bed, spoon by spoon.

"Enough, take it down."

Having drunk half, she stretched out her hand to push away the nourishing soup before her; Shen Yao asked about the two children's condition.

After giving birth, she propped up her body to look at them a few times, then fell into a deep sleep from exhaustion.

When she opened her eyes again, she had already returned to the main hall; the two children had also been sent to the room next door that had been arranged.

"Master, the two little masters' condition is very good; there are wet nurses and palace attendants arranged by the Emperor responsible for them," even the Emperor's handpicked trusted aides were personally delivered by Li Guiquan, the purpose clear: to protect the little masters.

"They are young; no matter if they cry or fuss, you must promptly tell this palace. How is the situation on the Emperor's side?"

Speaking, Shen Yao stretched out her hand to rub her forehead. "This palace remembers that day outside Furong Palace, the Emperor's body"

"Master," Xiao Ji hastily interrupted, looking toward Xiao Fu not far away with slight panic.

"Master, the Emperor suffered some external injuries; only at that time you were in childbirth, this servant dared to conceal the truth from the master, please punish this master."

Xiao Fu knelt on the ground; Xiao Ji followed closely behind, both heads bowed.

After a while, Shen Yao spoke. "This time this palace gave birth safely; the entire Furong Palace staff will each be rewarded half a year's monthly allowance. You two, merits and faults offset; can you accept?"

Xiao Fu and Xiao Ji heard this, exchanged a glance, and both expressed that they could accept.

"Rise."

Shen Yao let Xiao Ji help her straighten the bedding on her body, had Xiao Fu step forward. "Tomorrow morning carry the soup and go to Qianqing Palace in this palace's stead; the Emperor is injured, this palace should personally show concern," but she has just finished childbirth, Qi and Blood both deficient, so she can only have her personal maid serve in her place.

Believe the Emperor, upon learning the inside information, certainly will not blame her.