Within half an hour, Lin Zhan entered the palace and, upon seeing the Golden Feather Arrow, immediately knew something was wrong. However, even at this point, there was still no sign of Zhao Yu.
“Your Majesty! Those two messengers left Yingzhou two days ago. We still don’t know the current military situation in Yingzhou. Your Majesty, perhaps I should go to Yingzhou immediately!”
Lin Zhan saluted and volunteered without hesitation. However, Yan Han frowned deeply, “Even if someone must go, it shouldn’t be you. Let’s wait for the Duke of Weiguo to arrive at the palace.”
The Duke of Weiguo had originally been a military commander and had only retired in recent years. Now that the Northern Army was truly rebelling and advancing south, it made sense to call the Duke out of retirement.
Hearing this, Lin Zhan’s expression grew heavy, “Your Majesty, I hear Zhao Yu hasn’t returned to the palace?”
Yan Han nodded. Zhao Yu’s continued silence particularly troubled him, though the Northern Army remained his primary concern.
“Your Majesty… Minister Zheng has arrived at the palace…”
Upon Yuan Qing’s announcement, Yan Han immediately approved Zheng Baishi’s entry for an audience. However, after completing his ceremonial greetings, Zheng Baishi said, “Your Majesty summoned me to the palace—have you already learned about the fire in the southern city?”
Yan Han hadn’t yet mentioned the Northern Army and couldn’t have imagined Zheng Baishi would open with these words.
“Fire in the southern city?!”
Yan Han frowned. If it were just a fire, why would Zheng Baishi bring it up at this hour?
Zheng Baishi bowed deeply, “Yes, Your Majesty. Tonight after dark, a civilian residence in the southern city caught fire, killing two people. Initially, the patrol garrison handled it, but when a coroner was needed, they contacted the Prefect’s office. I happened to be staying overnight at the office. At first, we thought it was just an ordinary fire, but then the messenger reported… reported that both victims were women. Although their faces were burned beyond recognition and no autopsy had been performed yet, items from the Eastern Palace were found at the scene, suggesting they were people from the Crown Prince’s residence.”
Yan Han’s pupils trembled. Zheng Baishi continued, “As I was entering the palace, I received new information. The patrol garrison had invited people from the Loyal and Brave Marquis’s household to the scene. Upon seeing the items there, they fainted from crying, saying… saying the person who burned to death was the Crown Princess.”
Yan Han’s fist clenched on the desk, while Lin Zhan quickly glanced at him.
“Has the coroner begun the autopsy?”
Yan Han maintained his composure. Zheng Baishi hurriedly replied, “They’ve gone to begin, but I came to the palace when Your Majesty summoned me, so I don’t know the examination results yet. The Marquis’s wife wanted to request the Princess to identify the body, but learning that Empress Dowager had fallen ill tonight, she abandoned the idea. Whether it’s truly the Crown Princess will only be known after the autopsy.”
Even if the bodies were burned beyond recognition, characteristics like age and height could still be determined, which would help identify them when compared to known details.
Yan Han remained silent for a moment. This night was unusual—it was Yan Chi’s wedding night, and also the night he had planned to move against Yan Chi. He hadn’t expected so many complications to arise from what should have been a meticulous and straightforward plan. And now, Zhao Yu was nowhere to be found!
“Have you seen Zhao Yu?”
Zheng Baishi shook his head, “I haven’t, but the person who came to the office with the message was one of Deputy Commander Zhao’s men. He said Deputy Commander Zhao and Prince Rui had visited the fire scene, and afterward, Deputy Commander Zhao said he had urgent business and left with Prince Rui.”
Yan Han narrowed his eyes. Had the unexpected fire delayed their timing?
“I understand.”
Yan Han responded briefly. Hearing this, Zheng Baishi suddenly realized, “Your Majesty… didn’t know about this matter? Then why did Your Majesty summon me to the palace…”
Zheng Baishi’s heart filled with doubt. If not for this incident, what major event could require his presence at the palace so late?
Yan Han glanced at Lin Zhan, who then said, “Minister Zheng, we just received an urgent military report from Yingzhou. An army of twenty thousand has launched a surprise attack from west of Yingzhou. If we’re not mistaken, the Northern Army has bypassed the usual route to advance south to Yingzhou. They appear to be making an unorthodox move to strike directly at the capital. As you oversee civil administration in the capital region, you must know this immediately. You’ll need to fully coordinate all arrangements and deployments over the next two days.”
Zheng Baishi stood shocked, “The… Northern Army has advanced south to Yingzhou?”
Lin Zhan said gravely, “Yes, it may seem unbelievable, but the Golden Feather Arrow is here. Minister Zheng needs to prepare himself mentally.”
For every official in the capital like Zheng Baishi, war had seemed an extremely distant matter, something that only happened in the northwest and northern borders. The capital was Great Zhou’s political and power center fortress. Zheng Baishi never imagined the flames of war would reach Yingzhou so quickly.
Yan Han didn’t say much more, only instructing Lin Zhan, “Immediately recall all Imperial Guards to the palace, and summon all patrol garrison commanders to the palace for orders. Temporarily suspend the search efforts. From now on, focus all efforts on preparing city defenses and implementing martial law.”
To search for the Crown Prince and Empress, roughly a thousand Imperial Guards had been deployed outside the palace daily. Now with the crisis approaching, everyone needed to return to their original posts. Only then could they better respond to the situation.
Lin Zhan understood the Emperor’s meaning and immediately went to relay the orders.
Snow continued to fall heavily. The long night of the tenth day of the twelfth month became especially prolonged. With two and a half hours remaining until dawn, the entire capital awakened from its slumber. Besides the military commanders and civil officials who had been summoned, other well-connected official households had also received the news.
The left and right side gates of the Wumen Gate were all opened, with the right side for officials and commanders to enter and exit, and the left side for the city’s Imperial Guards to return to the palace. Among the crowds at the Wumen Gate, a squad of disguised Imperial Guards silently slipped through the palace gates, blending into the throng.