Hua Chun raised an eyebrow, curiously opening the window to look at her: “Can’t you just come through the door—”

Rui’er shook her head, cutting her off: “The door’s locked.”

Huh? Hua Chun couldn’t quite understand, and hurried over to check the door. The rear hall doors of Zichen Hall were extremely heavy, and once locked, wouldn’t budge no matter how hard you pulled. She tried knocking, and the guards outside respectfully replied: “Please rest easy, Your Highness. This humble one and the others are only protecting you—not imprisoning you.”

…It needed protecting like this? Hua Chun frowned, returning to the window to let Rui’er climb in herself, then asked: “What happened?”

Rui’er had just climbed in; guards now stood outside the window too. Qing Niao frowned, closing the window shut, and pulled the two of them toward the inner hall.

“This servant only heard fragments, but it seems some feudal prince has rebelled, already clashing with Prince He’s men, and quite a few in the palace have turned traitor—Prince Xi nearly got assassinated,” Rui’er said gravely. “The whole harem is on edge now, danger everywhere, and the captain of the guard is out hunting down deserting guards.”

Hua Chun frowned, her heart sinking: “A feudal prince rebelling, clashing with Prince He, and Prince Xi nearly assassinated?”

“Yes,” Rui’er said. “The other feudal princes are already fighting the rebellious one on the outskirts of the capital—apparently it happened last night, and only reached the palace today. Mistress, you needn’t worry too much—that prince’s forces are weak, how could he possibly overpower so many princes’ combined strength?”

If only that were true—Hua Chun’s face had gone somewhat pale: “Do we even know which prince rebelled?”

“This servant didn’t hear that part clearly.”

Taking a deep breath, Hua Chun turned to Qing Niao: “Which fool do you think would throw himself against overwhelming odds on someone else’s home turf?”

Qing Niao frowned: “Since there are guards in the palace willing to turn traitor, it suggests that prince prepared well in advance.”

“No, that’s wrong!” Hua Chun shook her head. “Even if he has people in the palace, even if his people are capable enough to open the palace gates—so what? A feudal prince’s forces number at most five thousand, and he’d be tied down by other princes right at the capital’s outskirts anyway. Where would he even get the confidence to think rebellion could succeed?”

Startled for a moment, Qing Niao looked a little dazed too: “Now that you put it that way… then what could be going on?”

“The moment a feudal prince rebels, Prince Xi gets a perfectly legitimate excuse to bring troops into the capital to ‘protect’ the Emperor.” Hua Chun sneered. “Quite the calculated move—though I wonder which fool is cooperating with him so willingly, sacrificing himself for this.”

She’d guessed correctly. This so-called rebellion by a feudal prince really was just a pretext. Still, the palace’s order was instantly thrown into chaos—the guards all wore palace uniforms, making it impossible to tell who was loyal and who had turned traitor. In the confusion, people got hurt, and several consorts from different palace halls were even abducted.

This was practically a direct provocation against the Emperor. He Chang’an brought two thousand soldiers into the palace to control the situation, while the Empress Dowager, Prince Xi, and the Emperor were all gathered in Huiming Hall, protected by layers of guards.

“This subject feels that Mother would surely be safe here,” Prince Xi said, his expression thoroughly sincere. “This subject is willing to go out with Imperial Brother to help stabilize the situation.”

Yuwen Jie glanced at him and said: “If anyone’s going out, I’ll go myself. Trouble Brother to look after Madam Tang and Mother instead.”

Tang Guning, sitting to the side uneasy, looked up in surprise at the Emperor’s words: “You’re going out yourself? It’s chaos out there—no one can guarantee the guards around them aren’t traitors.”

“Even so, I am still the Emperor,” Yuwen Jie said, standing and smoothing his dragon robe. “Hiding in a place like this wouldn’t do.”

Prince Xi rose along with him, but Yuwen Jie only glanced at him: “The safety of Huiming Hall rests on Brother’s shoulders.”

“…This subject obeys.”

He’d clearly been denied the chance to go out—not entirely unexpected for Yuwen Xi. But the fact that the Emperor had placed Madam Tang here under protection while not bringing Consort De along struck him as quite unexpected.

Once the Emperor had left, he summoned someone nearby and asked: “Where’s the Hua woman?”

The man answered quietly: “In Zichen Hall.”

So he really did keep her close to his heart—not even trusting her within Huiming Hall? Yuwen Xi snorted coldly, glancing at the man, his eyes deep with meaning: “Go.”

The attendant nodded and withdrew silently.

The Empress Dowager sat on the couch, seeming to want to say something, then waved everyone else out before looking seriously at Yuwen Xi: “Why did Prince Chu suddenly rebel?”

“This son doesn’t know,” Yuwen Xi said, his face the picture of innocence. “This son knew he had ambitions, but never expected him to do something so reckless. Mother, rest assured—this son has already sent people to escort the Emperor back to safety; it’ll just take some time.”

Looking deeply at him for a moment, the Empress Dowager said: “This mother dotes on you, but you must never do anything you shouldn’t—otherwise, you may well be condemned by history.”

His eyes darkening, Prince Xi said with displeasure: “What does Mother think this son shouldn’t be doing?”

The Empress Dowager fell silent—she didn’t need to spell it out; he should already know. Rebellion was the one thing that could never be done.

“To think even my own mother would suspect me so.” His tone laced with sorrow, Prince Xi looked at the Empress Dowager: “You’ve always doted on this son the most since childhood. Now this son is clearly here to protect and rescue, yet you think this son is doing something he shouldn’t?”

“This mother is only mentioning it in passing—don’t overthink it,” the Empress Dowager sighed. “Back then, this mother did wish for you to succeed to the throne, but now that your imperial brother already holds that position, it’s not right for you to try to seize it.”

What a joke. Prince Xi sneered inwardly—wasn’t the throne originally seized by Yuwen Jie in the first place? Why couldn’t he seize it now?

But on the surface, he still spoke gently and warmly: “Rest assured, Mother, this son has no interest whatsoever in the throne.”

“Good, then. Take good care of your imperial brother.” The Empress Dowager said: “The palace guards have turned traitor—there’s almost no one left to rely on for defense. Marquis Gongyu’s forces aren’t sufficient, so he’ll surely need to draw from the Yanjing garrison. You should use the troops you brought to guard Yanjing, secure the city gates tightly, and don’t let any rebels in.”

“Understood.” Yuwen Xi smiled and bowed his head.

The Emperor met up with He Chang’an, who carried a long spear, dressed in full battle armor, looking exceedingly dashing. Yet his first words upon meeting were still: “Your Majesty, is Consort De properly settled?”

Yuwen Jie, thoroughly displeased, glanced at him, lowering his eyes: “In Zichen Hall. You and I, sovereign and subject, need only clear out the palace together—she’s perfectly safe, not the slightest danger.”

He Chang’an nodded, then followed behind the Emperor on horseback.

“This subject thinks it’s time Your Majesty reclaimed Great Liang’s military authority,” he said. “Most of it still rests in others’ hands—even the palace guard, supposedly handpicked as your own men, ended up somehow replaced by someone else’s lackeys.”

The palace’s security standards were far too low—not even up to the level of a wealthy household outside the palace walls.