Chapter 1668: 809 The True and False Monarch (2nd Watch)_2
Zhang Dequan glanced into the courtyard and said, “Your Majesty, it’s the Duke.”
“Coming to pay respects this early in the morning, fine, let him in.” Although the Sovereign had always been at odds with the Duke, considering the Duke’s loyalty this ti, he decided to give him a chance to make rit.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Dequan opened the door with a smile, but the Duke’s wheelchair went right past the entrance.
Sovereign: “…”
Zhang Dequan: “…”
The Duke was here to accompany Gu Jiao for breakfast, but found that Gu Jiao wasn’t awake. So he had the attendant push his wheelchair back, saying he would co again later.
Seeing the Duke’s wheelchair returning, Zhang Dequan quickly said to the Sovereign, “Here he cos! The Duke must have found the wrong room earlier!”
The Sovereign adjusted his expression, trying his best not to let the straw hat affect his imperial aura.
Then he watched as the Duke’s wheelchair went past his door again…
The Sovereign angrily looked at Zhang Dequan.
Zhang Dequan gave an embarrassed smile.
If only the Duke acted like this, that would be fine. But soon, people in the courtyard woke up one after another, and none ca to pay respects to the Sovereign!
The Sovereign’s face beca very ugly.
Zhang Dequan laughed awkwardly, saying, “You are traveling incognito, and they don’t know you moved in here, so they don’t recognize you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Empress Dowager Zhuang, who was sitting under the begonia tree eating seeds, glanced at the Sovereign inside the house and asked the little maid beside her, “Hey, does your Dayan Sovereign have no hair? Why is he wearing a straw hat indoors?”
The Sovereign clenched his fists.
Zhang Dequan, I want to kill you!
–
Gu Jiao’s aunt and the others learned about last night’s events from Gu Chengfeng while having breakfast in the main hall this morning.
Everyone was quite calm.
Empress Dowager Zhuang: n are all big pig trotters.
Old Sacrificial Wine: Of similar age, but less hair than .
South Mistress: Just invented a new poison, want to find soone to test it.
Master Lu: No emperor is a good thing.
…
Gu Jiao didn’t need to go to the military camp today, so she could have slept until late morning, but unexpectedly she was awakened shortly after the hour of Si (9-11 AM) by noises in the courtyard.
It wasn’t Long Yi or Xiaojingkong, nor was it Gu Yan or Gu Xiaoshun, but Steward Zheng rushed in shouting, “Duke, it’s bad! Sothing big happened!”
It turned out that after the Sovereign was kidnapped last night, the Han family feared an imdiate retaliation, so they stayed up all night devising counterasures and, at great risk, announced the restoration of Shangguan Qi’s Crown Prince status during the early court session today.
Not only that, they also issued an order to arrest the Third Princess Shangguan Yun and commanded the Duwei Prefecture and Imperial Forest Army to seal off the National Master Hall.
The reason being that the Third Princess Shangguan Yun was bewitched by the National Master Hall and committed disloyal and unfilial acts against the Sovereign, framing the forr Crown Prince—the forr Crown Prince was innocent and the assassin in the secret room of the National Master Hall on that day was a conspiracy between Shangguan Yun and the National Master Hall.
The accomplices of the assassin had been captured, confessed to their cris, and also revealed that the National Master Hall had used treating Shangguan Qing’s illness as a pretext to secretly collude with Shangguan Yun over the years.
The reason Shangguan Yun could return to Shengdu was a step in their plan.
The assassins at the Crown Prince’s residence were disguised loyalists of the National Master Hall, and it was also mbers of the National Master Hall who vandalized the Imperial Mausoleum.
All the injuries Shangguan Yun suffered after returning to Shengdu were rely acts of self-injury to win the Sovereign’s sympathy and compassion.
If the Sovereign hadn’t been too busy with official duties to et Shangguan Yun yesterday, causing her to beco suspicious and order her subordinates to secretly investigate the Sovereign’s actions, the Sovereign might not have discovered this secret.
Most importantly, according to the assassins, Shangguan Yun still held an unknown trump card.
This trump card was Shangguan Yun’s biggest secret, even those closest to her did not know.
But it was certain that Shangguan Yun ca prepared this ti, determined to reclaim everything she had lost at any cost.
Upon hearing this, Gu Jiao could hardly refrain from clapping for Consort Han.
The story was so logically crafted that she almost believed it.
This woman truly possessed ambition and courage.
Instead of waiting for the true Sovereign to enter the palace to expose her, she preemptively took action.
Thus, even if the true Sovereign returned to the palace, she could say—”Shangguan Yun, is this your trump card? You’ve found soone to impersonate the Sovereign for the sake of the throne?”
The smartest part of the entire plan was not rely exposing Shangguan Yun’s ambitions but making the National Master Hall no longer clean.
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