Chapter 240: Night Stay in the Palace

The door of the sleeping hall was shut again.

This time, the atmosphere inside the hall was completely different from before.

If before it was the tension and panic of the regicide, now it was a strange calm imbued with a sense of control.

"Wang Scholar, you've worked hard." Zhao Guangyi looked at Wang Xu, his tone for the first time carrying equality, even a hint of reliance.

"Sharing the Prince's worries is my duty." Wang Xu bowed in reply, his posture still low.

He knew that the more critical the moment, the more humility was required.

Zhao Guangyi was very pleased with his attitude.

He walked to the dragon bed, gazed at his imperial elder brother laid out and made up to look "peacefully asleep," and fell silent for a moment.

Then he took off his outer robe, wearing only his inner garments, and actually lay down on the other side of the dragon bed.

Wang Xu watched this scene, unable to help admiring Zhao Guangyi's boldness and ruthlessness.

Sleeping beside the brother he had just killed required extraordinary mental fortitude.

"Wang Scholar," Zhao Guangyi said, lying on the bed, turning his head to look at Wang Xu standing below, "now it's up to you."

Wang Xu understood his meaning.

Zhao Guangyi's duty was to stabilize the palace and play out the final act of brotherly affection.

Meanwhile, he needed to leave the palace to undertake something more important and also more dangerous.

"Your Highness, rest assured." Wang Xu said in a low voice, "I know what to do."

"Go." Zhao Guangyi closed his eyes, "Before dawn, I want to hear good news."

"Your servant, I take my leave."

Wang Xu gave a deep bow, then turned, pulled open the hall door without hesitation, and stepped out.

Outside the hall door, only two little eunuchs left behind by Wang Jie'en remained, shivering in the cold wind.

Seeing Wang Xu emerge, they merely bowed, daring not to ask further.

Wang Xu nodded at them, then strode toward the outer palace.

His steps were steady and strong.

On the empty palace road, the snow lay thick; stepping on it produced a "creak‑creak" sound.

The icy wind blew snowflakes onto his face like knives.

But Wang Xu's heart burned hot.

In his mind he calculated the plan he had just conceived, walking and checking for gaps.

"First step, contact Zhao Pu."

Zhao Pu, a founding meritorious minister who twice served as chancellor, although now dismissed and living in retirement, still wields unrivaled influence at court.

More importantly, he is the drafter and witness of the Golden Chest Covenant.

If we can persuade Zhao Pu to stand with the Prince of Jin, then Zhao Guangyi's succession will have the strongest legal backing.

"Second step, control Kaifeng Prefecture."

The governor of Kaifeng Prefecture is Prince of Jin Zhao Guangyi himself. But he needs someone who can absolutely command the situation.

This person must be in place immediately; at the instant the news spreads at dawn, he must seal the city gates, suppress disturbances, and ensure the capital's stability.

"Third step, win over the Imperial Guards commanders."

This is the most crucial and also the most dangerous step.

The commanders of the Palace Front Command and the Imperial Guard Command are mostly former troops of Zhao Kuangyin, and they are more favorably inclined toward Zhao Dezhao.

We must find a breakthrough.

A commander who carries weight, is dissatisfied with the status quo, and is willing to defect to the new monarch.

In Wang Xu's mind, several names surfaced, only to be crossed out one by one.

Finally, he settled on one person.

Palace Front Commander, Shi Shouxin.

No, not Shi Shouxin himself. Shi Shouxin is the emblematic figure of "releasing military power over wine," long since devoid of vigor.

Rather, it is his clansman, Shi Baoji, who serves as Commander in the Palace Front Command. This man is young, ambitious, but has long been suppressed, feeling frustrated and unfulfilled.

We can start with him.

"Fourth step, prepare public opinion."

After dawn, the news of the emperor's sudden death will spread through Kaifeng like a plague.

We must have our own people to broadcast at once the script: "The Prince of Jin is benevolent and filial, brotherly love runs deep, the emperor entrusted the orphan."

Blocking is inferior to guiding.

Use a carefully fabricated story to cover any possible rumors.

……

One after another, the plans formed in Wang Xu's mind a fine, complete net.

This net will, before dawn, silently envelop the whole of Kaifeng.

He walked out of the palace gate.

The gate‑keeping Imperial Guards, seeing his Hanlin official robe and his palace‑exit token, let him pass without further questioning.

Outside the palace gate, Wang Xu's mansion's carriage waited quietly in the wind and snow.

The coachman, seeing him emerge, hurried forward: "Scholar, you've finally come out! I'm almost frozen stiff!"

"Back to the mansion!" Wang Xu said briefly as he climbed into the carriage.

The carriage began to move slowly in the quiet snowy night.

"No, wait." Wang Xu suddenly said, "Not back to the mansion."

The driver halts the horse: "So… where to?"

"Go to Zhao Pu's residence."

The driver blinks: "Scholar, it's already the third watch of the night, Lord Zhao—"

"Execute the order." Wang Xu's voice bears no trace of feeling.

"Yes." The driver dares not ask further, turns the horse around, and heads toward Zhao Pu's residence in the southern city.

Inside the carriage, Wang Xu closes his eyes, his mind continuing to run at high speed.

He knows that every action he takes now is dancing on the tip of a blade.

A single slip in any link would mean an irretrievable disaster.

Now, he and Zhao Guangyi are two audacious gamblers.

They have already wagered their entire fortunes and lives.

……

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace, the Sleeping Hall.

Zhao Guangyi lies on the icy Dragon Bed, without a hint of sleep.

Beside him is his imperial brother's corpse, slowly growing cold.

He can smell, in the air, a faint whiff of blood, which no amount of sandalwood incense can fully mask.

He keeps his eyes open, staring at the pitch‑black ceiling.

He begins to imitate his brother's snore.

It's a heavy snore with a hint of gasp. He copies it well, for over the past decade he has guarded his brother countless times and knows the sound intimately.

"Hoo… ho…"

"Hoo… ho…"

The intermittent snoring drifts out from the tightly shut hall doors, reaching the ears of the junior attendants posted outside.

The junior attendants exchange glances and all sigh in relief.

It seems Your Majesty is truly sound asleep.

Prince Jin, too, has truly labored, keeping Your Majesty company for half the night.

None of them knows what earth‑shaking conspiracy, capable of rewriting history, lurks behind this seemingly calm snoring.

Zhao Guangyi, while producing the "snore," silently calculates the time in his mind.

He does not know whether Wang Xu's plan can proceed smoothly.

He also does not know whether, after dawn, what awaits him is the Dragon Throne worshipped by the masses, or a status as a prisoner beneath the steps.

The only thing he can do now is wait.

On this Dragon Bed, where his brother's corpse lies, he waits for dawn to arrive.