Chapter 1580 - 1573: War Ignites on Four Fronts in the Great Wei Dynasty
Chapter 1580: Chapter 1573: War Ignites on Four Fronts in the Great Wei Dynasty
Mother Yan commanded the servants, organizing the packing efficiently. Except for the valuable personal belongings, other cumbersome items should not be taken, just lock them all up in boxes and place them properly.
Upon hearing that they were entering the imperial palace, Rong Yun immediately asked Mother Yan to take out the large box from the wardrobe, "Auntie, this must also be taken, take it to the palace."𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"Princess!"
Mother Yan shook her head, instructing Hong Xiu and Xiao Xiang to put down the box, "Although the emperor has not explicitly ordered, we are entering the palace for refuge. This box is too cumbersome to bring. Just place it in an inconspicuous location in the mansion. Even if something happens, the rebels won’t touch it."
"No, it must be brought along!"
In this matter, Rong Yun was firm, and no one dared to disobey!
"Sigh... Yes, as the maid commands!"
Mother Yan had no choice but to instruct Hong Xiu and Xiao Xiang to bind the box onto the carriage again.
The Scarlet Flame King’s mansion entered the palace in the same procession; naturally, Rong Yun would encounter Li Yunshu.
After packing up the courtyard, she walked out to board the carriage, only to find her carriage already occupied by Li Yunshu.
All the items packed from their courtyard were being directed by Chun Xing, Li Yunshu’s subordinate, and carried onto several carriages in the middle.
Xiao Xiang couldn’t help muttering under her breath immediately, "Having managed the inner courtyard of the prince’s mansion for so long, does she really think she’s the princess herself? Daring to take the princess’s carriage, isn’t she afraid of being too presumptuous?"
"Xiao Xiang, keep your voice down!" Hong Xiu pulled on her sleeve as a reminder.
If it were in the past, Mother Yan would have scolded them loudly, telling them to be careful with their words, but now, Mother Yan remained silent, her eyes full of indignation too.
But she was clearer than these two young girls that presently their status was low, their power weak, it wasn’t suitable to compete with Li Yunshu over these statuses and titles.
Li Yunshu’s brothers are currently on the battlefield, and her grandfather, Old Duke Li, is a key figure in communication with the King of Zhao; the emperor is currently heavily reliant on the Li family.
And Beiling City... currently, it is unable to send troops to aid the Great Wei Dynasty.
Therefore, Rong Yun dared not compete, nor could she afford to do so.
Mother Yan supported Rong Yun, "Princess, let’s just board this carriage in the middle and enter the palace first."
Rong Yun, having no desire to contend further, followed Mother Yan’s advice and boarded the carriage directly.
She shared the carriage with her own maidservants, with Wei Mingze and his men guarding by her side.
Seeing Rong Yun’s group looking frustrated, Chun Xing was very pleased and smugly approached Wei Mingze, "Guard Wei, our secondary consort still has some items that haven’t been moved, there are also other concubines in the mansion needing help moving their things, please, Guard Wei, lead your team to lend a hand."
Her commanding demeanor, as though Li Yunshu was the true mistress of the Scarlet Flame King’s mansion.
Wei Mingze’s saber hung at his waist, his handsome face cold, he completely ignored her.
Despite Chun Xing repeating herself several times, Wei Mingze and his guards, like statues, utterly ignored her, infuriating her so much that she ran to Li Yunshu to complain, "Secondary consort, look at that Guard Wei, they dare to disobey your orders, not helping us move!"
Li Yunshu sat in the carriage, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked back. The team dressed in white robes and black robes had an aura of military toughness, like warriors, staunchly protecting Rong Yun, loyal to her.
This kind of imposing presence, she hadn’t received even after half a year of managing the prince’s mansion.
Li Yunshu felt envious inside, but she would not fuss over this trivial matter, she coldly waved her hand, "Let’s set off! Don’t bother with them."
"Yes." Chun Xing snorted coldly.
She originally thought that her family’s secondary consort had taken charge of the household for a while and had become more magnanimous.
However, their journey to the imperial palace was anything but calm; halfway there, they were attacked by rebels who charged straight for Rong Yun’s carriage. Though they were several carriages apart, they could still hear the heart-wrenching screams from behind.
Chun Xing was startled, "Secondary consort... there are rebels coming, those Princesses..."
"Sit tight, don’t worry about them, tell the coachman to speed up, let’s quickly ’escape’ into the palace!" Li Yunshu’s lips curled up, and even with her eyes closed to rest, her pleased expression could not be concealed.
Rong Yun, hmph!
Li Yunshu originally thought that after she entered the palace, thanks to her grandfather’s arrangements, it would be Rong Yun’s party that would be brought in as corpses.
But to her utmost surprise, an hour after she entered the palace, Wei Mingze, along with Rong Yun and her companions, came to pay respect to the Empress Dowager. They were all unharmed, and Rong Yun’s hair was not even slightly disheveled!
"How could this be..."
Li Yunshu secretly gritted her teeth—how could her grandfather’s methods go wrong?
The Empress Dowager, upon learning that the Scarlet Flame King’s convoy was attacked, could not catch her breath and didn’t even drink her medicine. Now that Rong Yun had come to see her, her heart finally calmed down a bit.
She beckoned to Rong Yun, "Child, come closer to grandmother, let grandmother have a look at you!"
Rong Yun lifted her skirt and walked over to the Empress Dowager’s side, kneeling by her couch, "Paying respects to Imperial Grandmother, don’t worry, I am fine."
As she spoke, she tilted her head and buried it in the Empress Dowager’s palm.
The Empress Dowager pinched her soft cheek, finally breathing a sigh of relief, "Grandmother was so worried, I’m glad you’re okay."
If something had happened to this granddaughter-in-law, her grandson would have gone mad!
"What happened exactly, how could you be attacked out of nowhere? Why did the rebels target you specifically?" Qin Ge also hurried over, accompanying the empress.
She was concerned for Rong Yun, but she also wanted to blame her.
Because of the attack, many from the Scarlet Flame King’s household died, including one concubine that she had chosen for Qin Muyan, initially intended to bear his children.
But she was killed by the thieves.
She was originally following Rong Yun, but Rong Yun was unharmed, while she died.
Qin Ge genuinely found it regrettable.
Kneeling beside the Empress Dowager, facing Qin Ge’s accusations, Rong Yun helplessly responded, "I don’t know what happened; I was protected by Wei Mingze all the way."
If it were not for Qin Muyan assigning Wei Mingze to stay by her side at all times, she definitely would have met with disaster today.
Qin Ge’s gaze fell on Wei Mingze, "You? Aren’t you one of Mu Yan’s competent men? Instead of following him on the campaign, you shrunk back in the prince’s mansion, serving as a guard for the Princess?"
No matter how she looked at Rong Yun, she was not satisfied. After several instigations by Li Yunshu, her opinion of Rong Yun worsened, and seeing Wei Mingze here further displeased her.
Wei Mingze knelt down, clasping his hands, "Replying to the Eldest Princess, I was ordered by His Highness to protect the Princess without leaving her side, and during this assassination attempt, I noticed some anomalies."
As he spoke, his cold gaze turned towards Li Yunshu.
Li Yunshu’s whole body’s hair stood on end, and involuntarily, her hands clenched into fists within her sleeves.
"What anomalies?" The empress, although visibly exhausted, still maintained her dignified composure and steady demeanor.