novelaction Chapter 494: God’s Will (2)
Chapter 494: God’s Will (2)
Seeing that Xiluo didn't say anything, Yu Qingli felt bored and stopped teasing her. However, she already had a plan in her mind. After she got her revenge, she would definitely hold a grand wedding for Xiluo.
Xiluo didn't know what Yu Qingli was thinking, so she just lowered her head to pack up the chessboard. Just when the master and servant fell into silence, Xiao Liuzi hurried in from outside, looked around, and closed the door.
Xiluo stopped what he was doing and asked curiously, "What happened? You barged in like this, aren't you afraid of startling the young lady?"
Xiao Liu didn't care about anything else and just lowered his voice and said, "Master, I just heard something and came to tell you."
"Just say what you want to say. Why are you whining?" Xiluo acted like a stubborn girl.
Xiao Liu didn't care. He stepped forward and said, "I heard that the emperor has woken up!"
Yu Qingli was surprised when she heard this. "What did you say? Sit down and tell me slowly. What exactly is going on? Is this news accurate?"
"Whether it's accurate or not, I don't know, but I heard from the eunuch on duty in the Imperial Dragon Palace that he vaguely heard someone talking in the palace in the middle of the night. At first, he thought it was Concubine Yu calling for help, but later he realized the voice was a man. He thought the emperor might have woken up, so he went in and saw Concubine Yu frantically tucking the emperor's quilt in. She also sternly told them all to leave and not to enter the inner hall without permission."
Yu Qingli frowned, "Could it be that the eunuch heard it wrong? Did anyone else hear it?"
"That's what I thought at first, but the eunuch said he heard it clearly, and it was indeed the Emperor's voice. But the strange thing is that the Imperial Physician and Imperial Concubine Yu refused to admit that the Emperor was awake, and they even specifically told the eunuch not to say anything!"
Yu Qingli suddenly fell into deep thought. Xiluo beside her thought for a moment and said, "Miss, this is a bit far-fetched. Why did so many eunuchs on duty in the palace hear all this? And if the emperor woke up, the imperial doctors should not have concealed it."
"That may not be the case. What if the emperor orders the imperial doctors to keep it secret?" Xiao Liu disagreed.
"But why did the emperor do this?"
Yu Qingli smiled as if she had suddenly realized something and said, "Xiluo, you asked a good question. The emperor certainly had his own reasons for doing this. He probably wanted to see who was the most loyal to him while he was unconscious."
"What the lady means is..."
Yu Qingli smiled inscrutablely, "It seems that we need to change our plan a little bit."
Xiluo was confused, Yu Qingli was playing with the seal in her hand, Murong Shiling woke up, and this game of chess was becoming more and more interesting.
It would not be so easy for Murong Feng to reach a high position, but this was a good opportunity for him to make his debut.
That night, Yu Qingli asked Xiluo to pass the message to Murong Yanhui and stated her position. This was a great opportunity, so this time, she was going to take action.
Murong Yanhui only asked Xiluo to take back one message: even if she wanted the whole world, he would give it to her.
Yu Qingli had expected such a reply, and Murong Yan would take the initiative to find out the truth for her.
Early the next morning, Yu Qingli received accurate news that the emperor had indeed woken up. In order to conceal the news, only Concubine Yu was left to serve in the Imperial Dragon Palace. The area outside the Imperial Dragon Palace was heavily guarded, and it could be said that no one could get in or out.
After receiving the news, Yu Qingli sneered. Sure enough, Murong Shileng was not someone who would allow others to bully him. He had now become suspicious of everyone in the palace, except Concubine Yu, of course.
At the same time, Yu Qingli also realized a problem. Concubine Yu seemed to be planning to break away from her control and turn to Murong Shiling.
Xiluo also realized this. Concubine Yu was an imposter whom she rescued from the dungeon. If one day she gave Yu Qingli away in order to protect herself, Yu Qingli would be in great danger.
Therefore, after learning that Concubine Yu had concealed the fact that Murong Shiling had awakened, Xiluo's first thought was to get rid of this person as soon as possible. In her opinion, only the dead are the most reliable in the world!
However, when she reported her plan to Yu Qingli, she was stopped by Yu Qingli. Yu Qingli believed that Concubine Yu must be eliminated, but definitely not now!
On the other hand, Murong Feng, who had not yet received the news, was rushing to contact the generals in the army to prevent Yu Qingli from not getting the commander-in-chief seal.
However, what Murong Feng obviously did not expect was that Yu Qingli not only had already obtained the seal of command, but was also preparing to secretly give this seal to Murong Cheng!
On this day, the weather was very good, and the rare warm sunshine covered the entire imperial capital, making people feel a little warm from the bottom of their hearts. In the capital's first restaurant, Qionglou, Murong Feng invited many military officers and soldiers, and even Yang Cheng, Yu Lihan and others sat at the table.
Murong Feng looked very high-spirited, and had a more imperial air than his usual humble and courteous demeanor. He personally stood at the door to welcome the generals who came to the banquet, which made many soldiers flattered but also felt that something was wrong.
Plate after plate of delicious food was served. The exquisite taste made many people at the table salivate. Among these generals, half of them had been stationed outside the Great Wall. Needless to say, their lives were hard, and they rarely had the opportunity to eat such delicious food.
Speaking of this trip to Beijing to receive rewards, these soldiers were also very depressed. The emperor's order was to let them return to Beijing to receive the title. As a result, when these people arrived in the imperial capital, they found that the emperor was unconscious. All the affairs of the court were temporarily handled by the prince. Due to the busy affairs, the rewards for these people were put aside.
Therefore, these heroes who defended their country were extremely dissatisfied, and always felt that the prince had treated them unfairly. However, no matter how dissatisfied they were, they did not dare to act recklessly. They could only be patient and wait for the court's arrangements.
As time went by, people's morale gradually became less mobilized, and Murong Feng thought that now was the best time for him to show up, so he arranged a banquet in this Qionglou in order to win over these generals.
After everyone was seated, Murong Feng held a jade cup, filled it with wine, and said loudly to everyone present: "You are all ministers who have made great contributions to this Northern Expedition. Originally, we should have held a state banquet to entertain you. However, you all know the current situation in the court. The crown prince is busy with other things and has no time to take care of you. If there is any inconvenience, I hope you will understand."
Someone at the table took over and said, "It's not a loss that the eldest prince remembers our contribution so well."
"That's right. If it weren't for the Grand Prince supervising the Northern Expedition, I'm afraid we wouldn't have won so easily."
Yu Lihan found it amusing to hear this. This commander was clearly his senior brother. When did all this become the work of a single commander? Yang Cheng, standing by, was also secretly criticizing Murong Feng, clearly looking down on him for taking credit for someone else's achievements.
Murong Feng smiled broadly, put down his wine glass, and continued, "Actually, I invited you all here today, firstly, to welcome you all, and secondly..."
Murong Feng just smiled and said nothing, as if he was considering his words. Someone at the table said impatiently, "Your Highness, please speak frankly. We are all rough people and cannot stand such quibbling."
The others responded one after another, and Yu Lihan also sat up straight and listened quietly to Murong Feng's speech. His intuition told him that this man might do something unexpected.
Murong Feng spoke gently, "Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush. Actually, I invited you all here this time to discuss a major plan!"
The generals looked at each other; some were puzzled, some were panicked, some were calm, and some were surprised.
A general sitting to Yang Cheng's right spoke first, "Your Highness, I don't quite understand what you're saying. Now that the Northern Kingdom has withdrawn its troops, doesn't that mean there are other nations that might invade? Do you want us to go back to the battlefield?"
"That's not the case!" Murong Feng elegantly raised his glass, gently shook it twice, and then asked, "What do you think of the current situation?"
Some of the people at the table who were perceptive had already understood Murong Feng's intentions and were just waiting for him to bring them up directly. However, some of the less perceptive ones asked those around them in a confused manner, "What's going on in the court? What does this have to do with us?"
Yu Lihan frowned. It looked like the eldest prince was planning to usurp the throne? No wonder his father had warned him that if the eldest prince took any action recently, he must fully support him. But in comparison, Yu Lihan felt that the crown prince was more like a wise ruler.
However, there are some things he still needs to think twice before doing. He is just a small general now, so he can only go with the flow for the time being. He just doesn't know how much his senior brother knows about this matter.
Murong Feng wasn't angry at the general's question. He even explained amiably, "Now that our father is unconscious, all matters of state are overseen by the Crown Prince. How long do you think this situation can last?"
The man wanted to say something else, but Yang Cheng beside him took over and said, "Then, in your opinion, how should we deal with this?"
"At this time, someone should naturally come out to take charge of the situation. Leaderless is not a good thing after all. Moreover, if the current situation continues, there is no guarantee that other countries will not take advantage of the opportunity to invade."
"Isn't this simple? Just let that prince ascend the throne as soon as possible!"
The rough man sitting next to Yang Cheng spoke carelessly, but as soon as he said that, Murong Feng's face darkened. Yang Cheng quickly kicked the man secretly, signaling him to be more careful with his words.
The man chuckled, as if he knew he had said something wrong, and quickly poured himself a glass of wine. Then he went to drink and eat meat. The other people paused for a moment and fell silent.
Seeing this, Murong Feng stood up and poured another glass of wine. "Everyone, since I invited you here today, I want to listen to your opinions. You may as well speak out. If you say something wrong, just treat it as drunken talk. Don't be restrained."
After hearing what Murong Feng said, the person who was originally planning to speak became more cautious, fearing that he would make more mistakes if he said too much.
Seeing everyone was silent, Murong Feng took the initiative to say, "Since you are all so polite, why don't I tell you something?"