NCCnovel Chapter 264: Palace Coup
Chapter 264: Palace Coup
As night fell, a somber atmosphere hung over the capital, seemingly foreshadowing something ominous.
Chen Futu changed into his night clothes and then summoned Ake.
Ake, along with Chen Futu, left the mansion silently like a ghost. The five hundred personal guards were too weak to detect their movements at all.
Half an hour later, Chen Futu, with the help of Ake, sneaked into the East Palace.
The Crown Prince was indeed not there, and the Crown Princess was under house arrest. Apart from the Imperial Guards patrolling at night, there was almost no one in the Eastern Palace. The Crown Princess sat alone by the dressing table, combing her long hair in front of the mirror, her face full of sorrow and her whole body looking haggard.
At one point, Chen Futu climbed in through the window.
The Crown Princess noticed the commotion and immediately stood up, then hurriedly grabbed a dagger from the table. "Who are you? Don't come any closer!"
Chen Futu immediately pulled down his black mask to reveal his face, and the Crown Princess was suddenly stunned, "Chocolate..."
"Princess Consort, don't be afraid, I'm not here to kill you."
Chen Futu spread his hands, indicating that he had no weapons.
The Crown Princess asked, puzzled, "What are you doing here?"
"Of course, I'm delivering a letter to you. It's a letter written by your younger brother."
"Quickly, let me see it!"
Upon hearing that there was a letter from home, the Crown Princess disregarded her reservations and rushed over to snatch the letter.
She opened the letter and read it for a while, then suddenly covered her mouth and burst into tears, which streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.
The letter was indeed in Liang Huan's handwriting, and it questioned her about why she killed her own brother.
"Sister, if you find my brother an eyesore, you can just execute me openly and honestly. You even had the Crown Prince send someone to kill me. Do you have any conscience at all?!"
"How could this happen? How could this be..."
The Crown Princess shook her head; she didn't understand.
The Crown Prince clearly sent people to rescue them, so how can there be any talk of killing?
In the letter, Liang Huan recounted in detail the assassination attempts he had suffered in recent days. He even mentioned that he had been slashed in the leg and that if it weren't for the intervention of the Western Zhao delegation, he would likely have been chopped into mincemeat.
In addition, the reason why the Crown Prince killed him was very simple: he had ruined the Donghai army and was an incompetent and ignorant man. The Crown Prince felt that keeping him alive would be a disaster, and he might even become a maternal relative who would disrupt the palace in the future. It was better to nip the threat in the bud.
At the end of the letter, Liang Huan wrote his name in blood: "Your younger brother Liang Huan respectfully submits this."
After reading the letter, the Crown Princess felt as if all her strength had been drained away. She collapsed to the ground, holding the letter and sobbing.
Chen Futu watched this and secretly shook his head.
Although he intervened to smooth things over this time, the Crown Prince did indeed send someone to kill Liang Huan.
To be fair, the Crown Prince has the potential to be an emperor, nipping any threat to the Great Qian Dynasty in the bud.
But what will the Crown Princess think?
"No, I want to see the Crown Prince. I need to get to the bottom of this!"
The Crown Princess suddenly wiped away her tears and struggled, running outside as if possessed.
Chen Futu grabbed her arm. "You've forgotten, you're still under house arrest."
"Let me go! I want to ask the Crown Prince why he killed my brother. The Liang family has done everything in his power for him. How have we wronged him?"
The Crown Princess became increasingly frantic, almost shouting.
Suddenly, Shanyao's voice came from outside, "Your Highness, who are you talking to? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, you go and rest, don't worry about me."
The Crown Princess took a deep breath and answered.
The yam outside hesitated for a moment and didn't dare to come in.
After she left, Chen Futu asked the Crown Princess, "Do you really want to see the Crown Prince? I'm afraid you'll see something you shouldn't."
"Please help me. I'll do anything you ask if you can get me to see the Crown Prince."
The Crown Princess got stuck on a rut.
Seeing that Chen Futu remained unmoved, she suddenly began to take off her clothes. She was already wearing a thin gauze dress, and in the blink of an eye, a large expanse of her snow-white skin was exposed under her eyelids.
Chen Futu gave a wry smile and, before her clothes could be fully exposed, grabbed her and pulled her up. "Since that's the case, then I'll take you there. Think carefully about the consequences."
"What difference is there between me and being dead? I heard that the Crown Prince is getting very close to his new father-in-law, and it won't be long before he deposes me. Even if I die, I will ask him why!"
The Crown Princess had made her decision, and Chen Futu had nothing to say.
Ake appeared beside her like a ghost, and the Crown Princess was startled when she saw her.
"Don't be afraid, this is my personal bodyguard. Let's wait a bit. She'll knock out the guards along the way first, and then we'll go out."
Chen Futu gave Ake a look, and Ake obeyed and left.
Not long after she left, Chen Futu pulled the Crown Princess out of the room.
Yam was knocked unconscious and thrown under the tree.
Chen Futu then led the Crown Princess through the dark palace without hindrance, eventually arriving near the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Ake whispered, "You can't go any further. There's a powerful old eunuch inside."
Chen Futu said helplessly to the Crown Princess, "From now on, it's up to you. But I'll say it again, it's not too late for you to turn back now."
The Crown Princess shook her head. "My mind is made up. You instigated me to come to this point, but the Crown Prince doesn't trust me. Otherwise, things wouldn't have come to this."
She broke free from Chen Futu's hand, took a deep breath, and walked towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Ake grabbed Chen Futu and slipped onto the roof of the main hall, silently lifting the tiles to check the situation inside.
"This humble servant requests an audience with Your Majesty and with the Crown Prince!"
The Crown Princess knelt as soon as she entered the room.
Only the Crown Prince, Prince Xin, and an old eunuch dozing off by the wall were in the main hall.
The Crown Prince was stunned when he saw the Crown Princess. "Why are you here? Who sent you?"
The Crown Princess took out a letter and handed it over. The Crown Prince's expression changed repeatedly as he read the contents of the letter.
He did send men to kill Liang Huan, but he didn't expect that the bastard would survive. Especially since the letter mentioned that it was the Western Zhao delegation that arranged for Liang Huan to be saved, which made him even more displeased.
He already suspected the Crown Princess of having an affair with Chocolate, and now he didn't need any evidence; it was a direct confirmation.
If the two have no connection, why would Chocolate bother sending his men to rescue them? Isn't that just asking for trouble?
The Crown Prince slammed the letter onto the Crown Princess's face and shouted, "How dare you mention it! That beast is dead, what use is he!"
"That's my own brother!" The Crown Princess broke down, her voice nearly hoarse with despair.
"Should we keep him around to continue harming the military strength of the Great Qian Dynasty? Or should we let him return and become a cancer in the capital?"
The Crown Prince bluntly said, "I'm not afraid to tell you, the Liang family does have some ability, and they have indeed helped me over the years, but that's the end of it. If you still want to sit in that position, you'd better behave yourself, or don't blame me for not showing any mercy."
The heartless words were like heavy hammer blows to the Crown Princess's already wounded heart.
After hearing this, she lowered her head and remained silent, wiping away her tears as if she had lost her soul.
Chen Futu witnessed all of this and couldn't help but grimace, thinking to himself, "This crown prince is ruthless; there must be a reason, right?"