Several imperial Daoist abbeys and gardens were located outside the palace walls but within the imperial city. As long as they didn’t leave the imperial city, palace consorts could enter and exit the palace walls during broad daylight without excessively strict supervision.
Besides everyone knowing that the mistress of Changxin Palace enjoyed His Majesty’s favor, the palace attendants and officers on duty at Chongfu Gate also noticed at this moment that the flames at Changyang Courtyard seemed to be growing increasingly fierce. Their hearts anxious, not knowing whether to dispatch people for reinforcement, they merely stepped forward to pay respects to Qing Yang and Crown Prince Yang Bin without even asking where they were going before letting them pass.
Qing Yang lifted a corner of the gauze curtain, peering at the increasingly thick billowing black smoke in the direction of Changyang Courtyard. Her heart pounding wildly, she asked Yun Puzi: “Has Yun Puzi been frequently sending people into the palace to present gifts these past days because the Marquis of Qianyang already detected signs that Lü Qingxia was about to make a move?”
“Lü Qingxia is one venomous snake, but lurking in the shadows of Jinling are definitely not just her alone—while most people in Jinling at this moment wish nothing more than for the Marquis of Qianyang to lead his troops deep into Hehuai to fight the Mongols to mutual destruction, there are also those who hope the Marquis of Qianyang’s attention will be tied down in Jianghuai…” Yun Puzi sat cross-legged leaning against the railing, but at this moment still uneasily watched Chongfu Gate, worried that assassins might pursue from within the palace gate at any moment.
“Does the Daoist Master mean there are Mongol spies in Jinling?” Qing Yang asked.
“More precisely, secret agents arranged by Guanjiang Tower or Xiao Yiqing. This old Daoist has many things unclear at this moment, but only this can explain why Lü Qingxia chose to strike at such a time,” Yun Puzi said. “After the Marquis of Qianyang submitted a memorial requesting to establish his heir and demonstrated to the world his determination to personally lead troops north to fight the Mongols to the death, this wind arose. Ultimately, the Mongols still fear the Marquis of Qianyang joining forces with Emperor Liang…”
“The Marquis of Qianyang’s request to establish his heir also intended to draw the snake from its hole?” Qing Yang asked in shock, hearing the meaning in Yun Puzi’s words.
Yun Puzi nodded, acknowledging Qing Yang’s speculation.
At this moment, Qing Yang’s mind flashed with Han Qian’s resolute yet somewhat shadowed countenance. She asked: “Is the Marquis of Qianyang in Jinling at this time?”
“This old Daoist doesn’t know either,” Yun Puzi said. “The gates of the imperial city aren’t decorative. This old Daoist’s contact with the Administration’s Secret Bureau is through several secret locations passing confidential letters. People don’t make direct contact…”
Qing Yang thought this made sense. Yun Puzi had a special status and close ties with Changxin Palace. Even if he could occasionally leave the imperial city, countless eyes would surely watch him.
To lurk as a hidden agent all these years without her detecting the slightest flaw required being impossibly cautious. And even if Han Qian had secretly returned to Jinling at this time, it would be absolutely classified—he would not easily meet with Yun Puzi.
Unable to confirm whether Han Qian was currently in Jinling, Qing Yang’s heart remained suspended, unable to settle. She looked forlornly at the azure sky above the layered palace eaves, not knowing what chaos the bloody palace coup about to fully erupt would stir up in the capital situation, how many people would die without burial grounds, or whether she and Bin’er could escape this calamity.
“If everything is truly under Lü Qingxia’s control, then when His Majesty summoned Huang Lü and Guo Liang into the palace today, must one of them already have been won over by Lü Qingxia?” Thinking of this, Qing Yang asked with renewed fear.
“Huang Lü is impossible. And even if Huang Lü were won over, Lü Qingxia could not control the military officers and troops in the Imperial Guard Army loyal to the Huang family—Guo Liang’s likelihood is also small. Guo Liang’s aloof personality is one aspect, but if Lü Qingxia truly controlled Guo Liang, her situation these years wouldn’t have been so dire.” Yun Puzi said thoughtfully.
Among the original five military supervisors of the Dragon Sparrow Army, Guo Liang had the longest tenure. Even without backing, after Emperor Yanyou’s ascension, he steadily held the position of Imperial Guard Army Commander. If he truly colluded with Cishou Palace, his power would only be stronger than now.
And if Lü Qingxia truly controlled Guo Liang, when the Five Fang Army Navy and Right Divine Martial Army main forces were annihilated, they would have been fully capable of playing their hand better and more brilliantly. There might not even have been any opportunity for Tangyi’s rise afterward.
Hearing Yun Puzi’s analysis, Qing Yang asked puzzledly: “If neither Huang Lü nor Guo Liang are Lü Qingxia’s people, isn’t she afraid the situation will spiral beyond her control when she watches His Majesty summon them into the palace?”
Yun Puzi smiled: “From my understanding of Lü Qingxia, she deliberately allowed His Majesty to bring Huang Lü, Guo Liang, and others into the palace, even allowed His Majesty to spread word of leaving the palace to escape the heat within a small circle. Her main purpose is still to throw the situation into chaos. As long as she can control what happens within five paces of His Majesty, when or how His Majesty dies suddenly is a matter of her single word. And as long as His Majesty’s sudden death remains mysterious and chaos reigns throughout the imperial city, with the Empress Dowager under their control, they have natural authority to take charge of the overall situation. At that point, never mind Chen De, Li Changfeng, or Li Xiu—even Guo Liang under such tremendous pressure would very likely choose to immediately submit to the Empress Dowager. Thus they would control most of the Imperial Guard Army. At that point, whether Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, and the others become suspicious or not, at least the capital situation would temporarily fall under their control. Lü Qingxia might even spare Empress Huang and the Third Prince, creating an apparent standoff within the imperial city, forcing Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, Zheng Yu, Zhang Chao, and others to choose between the Second Prince and Third Prince before Tangyi and Huaidong send troops to intervene in the capital’s chaos. In Your Ladyship’s view, under such circumstances, even if His Majesty’s sudden death remains mysterious, who would Shen Yang and the others choose?”
Seeing that when Yun Puzi mentioned Shen Yang and Yang Zhitang’s choices, he only mentioned the Second Prince and Third Prince without mentioning Bin’er, Qing Yang asked in alarm: “Will Lü Qingxia truly not easily spare my son and me?”
“If Your Ladyship doesn’t die, Li Zhigao’s plot against Shu lacks justification. Lü Qingxia and her faction have no excuse to directly order Zhang Xiang to advance through Wushan and the Long Gorges to attack eastern Sichuan,” Yun Puzi said. “Moreover, they need to control the Empress Dowager. Once Your Ladyship dies, they can tell the Empress Dowager that it was Your Ladyship who made His Majesty aware of the Second Prince’s secret. This also implicates Tangyi and the Han family, making the Empress Dowager believe Your Ladyship secretly colluded with the Marquis of Qianyang and learned many secrets from him. Only by doing this can Lü Qingxia make the situation irreversible. Then outsiders cannot easily approach the Empress Dowager, while the Empress Dowager can never escape their control…”
“…” Qing Yang remained speechless for a long while. But as someone from the Divine Mausoleum Bureau lineage herself, she clearly understood how the eunuch cliques controlled the court in the late previous dynasty. What Lü Qingxia was doing now merely brought the methods eunuch cliques used to control government in the middle and late previous dynasty to their extreme.
……
……
Qing Yang brought Bin’er and followed Yun Puzi, driving the carriage directly into the rear courtyard of Chongfu Abbey. The eight female officials and nannies were all old retainers she had brought from Shu.
Their shock barely settled, a female official keeping watch at the abbey’s front came running to report that a new contingent of troops had taken position at Chongfu Gate, and the palace gate had quickly been closed from the inside.
This meant that regardless of what was happening within the palace precincts at this moment, had they delayed by half a stick of incense’s time, they likely wouldn’t have been able to leave Changxin Palace.
Though knowing Lü Qingxia would not easily spare her and Bin’er, Qing Yang understood clearly in her heart that once Chongfu Gate closed at this critical moment, it wasn’t something just anyone’s orders could have the gate guards and troops reopen.
No matter how formidable Lü Qingxia was, she could only secretly guide the situation to develop in her favor but could not completely control the overall situation.
At least in the short term, they needn’t worry about assassins pursuing from within the palace.
“Should Daoist Master Yun send someone to see Han Daoming?” Qing Yang asked Yun Puzi, her shock somewhat settled.
Chongfu Abbey was outside the palace walls but within the imperial city, and the Secretariat, Privy Council, and various ministries and bureaus were also outside the palace walls but within the imperial city—whether Han Qian was in Jinling was no longer most critical. Once news of Emperor Yanyou’s assassination or sudden death spread, the Imperial Guard Army would certainly immediately seal the imperial city, cutting off contact between the imperial city and the outside world. Qing Yang believed Han Daoming should currently be within the imperial city.
Qing Yang did not want to die in obscurity, so she should take the Crown Prince into the open.
Meeting with Han Daoming was the only way for her and her son to emerge into the open without immediately facing Lü Qingxia’s deadly hand in the short term.
Qing Yang guessed this should be Yun Puzi’s backup plan for bringing her and her son out of the palace. Otherwise, how long could the small Chongfu Abbey hide them?
Just as Yun Puzi was about to arrange for someone to see Han Daoming and gather intelligence, a young Daoist acolyte came running from the front courtyard to report:
“Secretary Qin of the Secretariat, Secretary Qin Wen, requests an audience with Master…”
“…” Qing Yang looked at Yun Puzi hesitantly.
She knew Qin Wen, along with Xue Ruogu and Li Tang, had served as officials in Xuzhou years ago but had political disagreements with Han Qian. Driven out of Xuzhou by Han Qian, they were forced to go to Yueyang and submit to Shen Yang. Over these years, they had won considerable trust from Shen Yang—initially Yang Yuanpu was quite suspicious of these three, but as years passed he gradually trusted them, successively promoting them to positions of low rank but heavy authority such as Grand Secretary, Investigating Censor, and Secretary.
“What’s he doing here?” Yun Puzi asked with furrowed brows.
“Isn’t he one of Han Qian’s men?” Qing Yang asked in shock.
Yun Puzi shook his head and spread his hands: “How many hidden agents the Marquis of Qianyang has in Jinling, only a few key people know. The agents and the Secret Bureau all maintain single-line contact… I’ll go out to see him.”
Before Yun Puzi could move, he heard a series of hurried footsteps rushing toward the rear courtyard. Yun Puzi pushed open the door to see Qin Wen’s lean figure already striding in alone, giving him no opportunity to refuse or deflect. The two young Daoist acolytes guarding the front courtyard simply didn’t know what was happening and dared not rashly block him.
“You all go out first.” Yun Puzi closed the door behind him and walked into the courtyard, having the three Daoist acolytes all leave first.
Qing Yang hid inside the room, nervously watching everything in the courtyard through the door crack. Behind her, several female officials all gripped concealed short blades in their wide sleeves.
“The Marquis of Qianyang said that should urgent changes occur within the imperial city’s palace precincts and I cannot enter the palace to see Noble Consort Wang, I should come find Daoist Master Yun to discuss comprehensive strategies. Seeing Changxin Palace’s carriage here, it seems Daoist Master Yun has already brought Noble Consort Wang and the Crown Prince out at the first opportunity?” Qin Wen asked.
“What urgent change has occurred in the palace?” Yun Puzi asked warily.
Qin Wen said: “His Majesty and Empress Li were both assassinated. Prime Minister Shen, Prince Shou, Minister of War Du, and Minister Zheng and others have already rushed to Chongwen Hall upon hearing the news. Currently the Imperial Guard Army is sealing the nine gates of the palace and imperial city for entry and exit. Chongfu Abbey is not a hiding place. When the Imperial Guard Army discovers Noble Consort Wang and the Crown Prince are neither seen alive nor found dead in Changxin Palace, they will search the entire city. Lü Qingxia and Yao Xishui may suspect Daoist Master Yun even earlier, but even though Chongfu Gate is already closed and they cannot directly dispatch assassins, this won’t last long—”
Hearing the news of Yang Yuanpu’s assassination, Qing Yang stood dumbfounded.
She had received Yang Yuanpu’s oral edict about leaving the palace to escape the heat less than half an hour ago—had Cishou Palace truly struck so quickly?
“How can you prove you’re acting under the Marquis of Qianyang’s orders?” Qing Yang pushed open the door, walked out, and stared at Qin Wen demanding answers.
“The great river flows east, waves washing away a thousand ages of illustrious figures—Noble Consort Wang already knew this. There’s another line after: West of the old fortress…” Qin Wen recited.
Hearing Qin Wen recite the fragmentary half-verse at this moment, both Yun Puzi and Qing Yang were startled.
Though when Qin Wen had directly barged in they had guessed his identity, actually confirming it still shocked them immensely:
Had Han Qian so crudely planted a hidden agent directly under Shen Yang’s command back then?
Had the expulsion of Xue Ruogu, Qin Wen, and Li Tang been a ruse?
“Where is Minister Han? Has he also entered the palace? Which officer is currently responsible for guarding Chongyang Gate?”
Confirming Qin Wen’s identity was genuine, Yun Puzi asked urgently.
As an imperial abbey director, he usually had to pose as a carefree wanderer and wasn’t very familiar with the guard rotation arrangements for the imperial city and palace.
Currently the Imperial Guard Army Command had fifteen elite units under its jurisdiction. Li Xiu and his brother, along with Li Changfeng who had been reassigned from Liangzhou as Vice Director of the Privy Council and Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard Army Command, were clearly part of the Empress Dowager’s faction and very likely directly involved in plotting the palace coup rebellion. Additionally, Zhong Yanhu, who had served under the former Jiangzhou Administrator and was recruited by Li Zhigao before being assigned as Military Supervisor of the Left Wuxiang Army, was also highly problematic.
Yun Puzi wasn’t worried about Huang Lü, Guo Liang, or Zhang Han—the three Imperial Guard Army Commanders—having issues, but the guards inside and outside Chongwen Hall and Chongyang Gate didn’t require the three great commanders to personally oversee.
If either Li Xiu or Zhong Yanhu fully controlled the guards at Chongwen Hall and Chongyang Gate, then Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Zhang Chao, Chen De, Zhang Han, Guo Liang, Han Daoming, Du Chongtao, Zhou Bingwu, and others entering Chongwen Hall without any precautions would very likely be caught like turtles in a jar.
If it truly came to that, there wouldn’t even be time for tears!
“Minister Han has also entered the palace, but not only Chongyang Gate, Chongwen Hall, the Government Affairs Hall, and Privy Council—the nine gates of the palace and imperial city are all currently guarded by detachments from the Left and Right Wuyi Armies and Left Wuxiang Army mutually monitoring each other. Any mobilization orders without the seals of Prime Minister Shen, Prince Shou, the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Guard Army Command, or four or more Participating Ministers are seditious commands issued first and reported later. Those who obey seditious commands are all traitors,” Qin Wen said.
Seeing that Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, and the others hadn’t panicked and still maintained sufficient vigilance while barely holding the situation, Yun Puzi felt secretly fortunate.
Of course, the Secret Bureau and Han Mansion had been watching every blade of grass in the city these past days. Han Daoming had also been on duty at the Government Affairs Hall from morning to night without easily leaving—precisely because they anticipated today’s palace coup.
When chaos struck, as long as Han Daoming could timely propose the correct response plan, and this plan didn’t favor the Han family, other ministers would naturally accept it immediately.
This link hadn’t gone awry—that was good.
Yun Puzi briefly told Qin Wen what he knew of the situation, then asked: “Is Han Daochang within the imperial city?”
Currently what they could rely on was primarily the forces Tangyi had hidden within Han Mansion.
Even if Han Qian was currently in Jinling, mobilizing the Third Division to cross the river and approach Jinling would take at least three days at the fastest.
Moreover, truly reaching the point of deploying Tangyi’s elite forces would cause tremendous alarm and make the subsequent situation extremely difficult to manage.
The Third Division directly crossing the river to suppress the rebellion was the last resort when all else failed.
Regardless, Han Mansion and other Tangyi Secret Bureau personnel lurking in Jinling had to exert every effort to avoid this situation.
At least when the “memorial requesting to establish an heir” was delivered to Jinling, when Han Qian issued orders to the Secret Bureau, he had clearly and unmistakably expressed this intention.
However, Jinling was now divided by four layers of city walls and over forty thousand elite Imperial Guard Army troops.
No one could rely solely on deduction to completely untangle the chaotic situation that might unfold tonight.
And apart from hidden agents maintaining single-line contact with the Secret Bureau with no direct communication between themselves, contact with Han Mansion and the outside world was also completely severed at this moment. They often had to improvise on their own.
“Minister Daochang is at the Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner’s office, but Your Ladyship cannot go see Minister Daochang at this time. The Marquis of Qianyang said that should a palace coup occur but not reach absolutely desperate circumstances, don’t easily associate with Han Mansion or Tangyi,” Qin Wen said.
Yun Puzi’s status was special—he could not freely enter and exit the imperial city. But Qin Wen worked during the day at various bureaus within the imperial city and as Secretary even had to serve on duty at Chongwen Hall. At night he still had to leave the imperial city to reside in his mansion outside the imperial city but within the main city, making contact with the Secret Bureau much more convenient.
Qing Yang was about to ask something, but before the words left her mouth, she understood.
Currently the situation hadn’t descended into complete chaos. The Imperial Guard Army could still maintain relatively good loyalty to their duties. There was still a thread of opportunity to turn things around.
And even if the truth of Yang Yuanpu and Li Yao’s assassinations remained forever buried beneath the surface, unseen by the world, who would control the new emperor still depended on the opinions of the participating ministers—it wasn’t solely the Empress Dowager’s decision.
The only certainty was that if she and Bin’er became associated with Han Qian and Han Mansion, even if she could explain clearly why she left the palace to avoid calamity, never mind Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, and the Empress Dowager’s faction—Yang En, Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Zhang Han, Zhang Chao, Du Chongtao, Zhou Bingwu, and others would all strongly oppose Bin’er ascending the throne, wouldn’t they?
At least before Bin’er ascended the throne, or before Han Qian led a great army across the river to control Jinling, exposing any relationship with Tangyi or Han Mansion would absolutely do more harm than good.
And hearing the meaning in Qin Wen’s words, Han Qian apparently had no intention of leading a great army across the river?
“Is Empress Huang alive or dead?” Qing Yang asked.
Seeing that at such a moment Princess Qing Yang could still calmly care about the life or death of Huang Hua’s daughter Huang E, Qin Wen secretly marveled that she truly was extraordinary. He reported: “When I hurried over, I only heard that Huang Lü had dispatched people to protect Empress Huang, but I’m not very clear about the situation there…”
Though no Crown Prince had been formally established, Huang E was the legitimate empress who had also borne the Third Prince. Her father Huang Hua and brother Huang Lü were not only great ministers and generals at court but also representatives of Jiangdong clan power. For Huang Lü, as Commander of the Left Wuxiang Army, to dispatch people at the first opportunity to protect his sister Huang E and the Third Prince upon hearing of changes in the palace after His Majesty’s assassination—while he was secretly consulting with ministers at the Government Affairs Hall about the imperial procession leaving the city—was perfectly normal.
If forcing court ministers to vote on whom to install, the Third Prince would absolutely receive the highest number of votes. And even though the Second Prince was son of a deposed empress, with backing from the Empress Dowager and the Li family, his votes would certainly exceed the Crown Prince’s.
However, now was not the time to scrutinize this. First they had to see if the situation could stabilize and whether Lü Qingxia had any follow-up moves.
Regarding Imperial Guard Army forces, even if Chen De, Li Changfeng, Li Xiu, and Zhong Yanhu completely defected—Chen De and Li Changfeng were only nominal supreme and deputy commanders of the Imperial Guard Army—as long as Huang Lü, Guo Liang, and Zhang Han maintained neutrality, the Imperial Guard Army forces Lü Qingxia and her faction could directly control would still be quite limited.
“Chongfu Abbey is not a place for extended stay. We also cannot go see the Han family. We cannot leave the imperial city. Where should we go?” Qing Yang said, unable to help feeling lost.
“You disguise yourselves as imperial city patrol officers and come with me to the Secretariat. Daoist Master Yun should have disguise clothing here? After reaching the Secretariat offices, hide first. I’ll go find Prime Minister Shen to see Your Ladyship…” Qin Wen said.
“Borrow Prime Minister Shen’s hand?” Yun Puzi nearly slapped his thigh involuntarily. Having Qin Wen secretly encourage Shen Yang and Yang En to install the Crown Prince was truly wonderful to the extreme. He asked again: “How do we explain Your Ladyship and the Crown Prince leaving the palace to avoid calamity?”
Qin Wen said: “When I see Prime Minister Shen, I’ll say that when the fire broke out at Changyang Courtyard, Changxin Palace also encountered assassins. After frightening off the assassins, in her panic upon seeing Changyang Courtyard’s great fire, she became even more flustered. Not knowing whom to trust, she could only first escape through Chongfu Gate with Daoist Master Yun to find Prime Minister Shen for protection…”
“Won’t this explanation have flaws?” Qing Yang worried.
Shen Yang and Yang Zhitang—every single one was a cunning old fox. Qing Yang didn’t believe her lies had much chance of deceiving them.
“When His Majesty was assassinated, chaos erupted around Chongwen Hall, then spread to Changyang Courtyard and elsewhere. How many assassins are truly hidden in the palace—the palace has only just begun comprehensive searches. Exactly what happened, no one can say clearly—adding that Lü Qingxia and her faction need to conceal the assassination’s truth, the truth is destined to become even more confusing. As long as Your Ladyship remains mentally composed, even if some things don’t match up, Prime Minister Shen and the others won’t become suspicious. Another thing is certain: with Lü Qingxia behind this, if she has the opportunity, she might even spare Empress Huang but will never spare Your Ladyship and the Crown Prince. Only thus can she sabotage relations between Chu and Shu, and only then will Li Zhigao have a legitimate excuse to plot against Shu afterward. However, on Lü Qingxia’s must-kill list, Your Ladyship ranks after His Majesty and Empress Li, which is why you narrowly escaped,” Qin Wen said. “I estimate that after Your Ladyship left Changxin Palace with Daoist Master Yun, assassins should have broken in, leaving traces. And even if no assassins went to Changxin Palace, the only ones who could truly see through Your Ladyship’s lies are Lü Qingxia and others who secretly know the full situation—would Your Ladyship fear they’ll stand forth to question it?”
Qing Yang had just heard Yun Puzi make similar judgments, but as long as assassins had been to Changxin Palace, and those currently doing everything possible to conceal the truth were Lü Qingxia, the Empress Dowager, and their faction, she truly needn’t worry about too many flaws?
Moreover, under such circumstances, no perfect strategy could exist. More often than not, they could only take one step at a time and improvise as needed.s