Shang Mozheng, who was thousands of miles away in the capital, knew all the happenings in Yangxian like the back of his hand, for most of these events were masterminded by him.
After sitting in the position of the Assistant - Regent for over a decade, he was no longer content with just controlling the capital. He had long cast his greedy eyes on the fertile lands in the south of the Yangtze River. That was why he could now easily lay out his schemes in Yangxian, Pingqiang, and Guangling.
First, he instigated unrest in Yangxian to force Shang Luoshu to lead his troops on an expedition. Then, the people in Pingqiang were incited to spread rumors that the emperor was heartless. Finally, taking advantage of these rumors, the rebels in Guangling launched an uprising and besieged Yangxian, aiming to wipe out Shang Luoshu and Lu Yinxi once and for all.
However, Xia Shouzheng in Yangxian was so stupid that the schemes he set up were full of loopholes. Sooner or later, Lin Zihan would find the evidence. That was why Shang Mozheng sent the Wolf Guards there.
With the Wolf Guards' assassination in the front and the large - scale army besieging in the back, Shang Luoshu couldn't last long!
"Yang Li, keep an eye on Chen Guang, Shang Luoshu's subordinate. Make sure he doesn't spread any unwanted information to the palace."
Some information was not supposed to surface at this moment. "Send more people to watch in the capital. If there's any news about Guangling, suppress it first."
Yang Li quickly took the order and withdrew. Shang Mozheng's expression gradually relaxed. He leaned back in his chair, his lips twitched slightly, and his eyes were filled with the confidence of victory within reach.
How are you going to break this deadlock this time, my dear nephew?
Shang Luoshu probably couldn't answer this question for the time being, for he was still in a coma and constantly on the run within Yangxian City.
Before the army set out, Shang Mozheng sent Yan Wuxin along with the troops. Nominally, it was to supervise Shang Luoshu's movements, which was obvious to anyone with a discerning eye.
But secretly, he was the real commander of this 50,000 - strong army.
Shang Luoshu underestimated his uncle after all. He only knew that his uncle had a secret army, but he didn't know that his uncle also had forces in the open.
The 50,000 troops sent to Yangxian this time were for Shang Mozheng to bury Shang Luoshu. In addition, 30,000 troops came from Guangling.
Ma Jie, the leader of the Guangling rebels, advanced towards Yangxian under the banner of "the emperor disregards the lives of the common people and is unfit to be the emperor". Then, Yan Wuxin led 50,000 troops to defect, and 80,000 troops rushed straight towards Yangxian City.
Subsequently, the city gates were wide open.
"Please rest assured, everyone. Our uprising will not harm the common people, nor will we rob their wealth. We only target the emperor who has achieved nothing after ascending the throne for many years and doesn't care about the lives of the people, as well as his lackeys."
......
"Folks, you've all been deceived by that so - called King Jing. Even Guangling knows that you suffered a disaster this summer and had no harvest, but the court turned a deaf ear."
......
"What you saw of King Jing, his talk of tax exemption and grain distribution, was just a lie. If he really wanted to save you, would he only give you a bowl of rice?"
As soon as the army entered the city, such words spread throughout the streets and alleys.
At first, some people didn't believe it, but once the topic of grain was mentioned, many people's hearts wavered. Later, when General Yan Wuxin took out the military rations, most people's hearts completely turned.
Even though a small number of common people still had doubts, in the face of grain, these doubts became unimportant.
In a civilian house somewhere in the city
Looking at the two masters lying on the bed, Fang Qinhu became more and more impatient. He paced back and forth in the room, his red - rimmed eyes almost bleeding, and his clothes were dotted with red spots.
"If I had known this would happen, I should have killed that surnamed Xia with a single knife when we entered the city!"
It was Xia Shouzheng who ordered the city gates of Yangxian to be opened.
"Complaining now won't help!"
Wiping the sweat off Lu Yinxi's forehead, Hongmei tried her best to stay calm.
She didn't understand why the two masters were fine when they went out together in the morning, but came back in such a state. The king was seriously injured, and the young lady's old illness flared up again.
When she asked Hongrui, the latter just looked blank and said nothing.
"Sister Hongmei is right. The most urgent thing now is to leave here."
Lu Hu took over. Among all the people in the room, he seemed to be the calmest.
After the city was breached and the army entered, they then surrounded the posthouse. If they hadn't left in advance after detecting the danger, they would either be beheaded or thrown into jail by now.
Even so, they still lost many personal guards.
Moreover, they couldn't stay here for long.
Now Xia Shouzheng had ordered a city - wide search. They had been staying here for three days, and it wouldn't be long before they were discovered. They should make a plan as soon as possible.
"It's easy for you to say. Now the whole city is under strict martial law, and the king and Miss Lu are in a coma. How can we leave?"
No one answered Fang Qinhu's question. The room fell into silence.
After a long while, Hongrui finally spoke. It was the first thing she had said in these days.
"Has the news been sent to the capital?"
In this situation, they could only pin their hopes on the capital.
"Don't worry. The news was sent out long ago. By this time, Chen Guang should have seen it."
These days, Chen Guang had been feeling restless. So he specially strengthened the secret guards in the palace and re - examined Shang Mozheng's movements in the past few days, but there were no abnormalities.
So, was I just overthinking?
He scratched his head and thought, but when he saw the letter, he stood there stunned.
The king was assassinated, the Guangling uprising broke out, and Hongmei had written down her speculations about the mastermind and the purpose behind this series of events.
Chen Guang didn't even have time to be shocked. He mounted his horse and rushed to Prime Minister Lu's mansion.
For such a major event, he could only discuss it with Prime Minister Lu.
However, he didn't know that as soon as he left the Assistant - Regent's mansion, several people pretended to be passers - by and followed him.
"Miss Feng, I'm sorry. My mistress and young lady are not feeling well and can't receive guests."
Being turned away again, Feng Wan smiled politely and took her leave.
She had come to the prime minister's mansion a few days ago, and the same reason was given at that time. She didn't expect that it would still be the same after some time. Was there something wrong with Prime Minister Lu's mansion?
After all, it was someone else's family matter, so Feng Wan didn't want to pry too much. She turned around and was about to get into the carriage and go back. Unexpectedly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar figure.
The man seemed to be in a state of weakness. When Feng Wan saw him, he was being carried on someone's shoulder and walking step by step towards the end of the street.
Even though he was lying on someone's back, that figure was extremely familiar.
"Miss?"
The soft call from the maid brought her back to reality. Feng Wan shook her head. Some things were better left alone. Then she composed herself, bent down, and got into the carriage. "Let's go home!"
As the sky was about to turn dark, Hongmei changed Shang Luoshu's dressing with Fang Qinhu's help, and then turned to take care of Lu Yinxi. Fortunately, they had brought a lot of medicine when they left, otherwise, the king's wound might not heal for a long time.
She sighed silently in her heart and then wiped the sweat off Lu Yinxi's forehead.
After tonight, it would be the fourth day. In the past, Miss Lu's old illness had never lasted this long. Hongmei couldn't help but worry.
"Hongrui, if Miss Lu doesn't wake up tomorrow, we may really have to invite a doctor."
Hearing this, there was finally a glimmer of emotion in Hongrui's calm eyes. Her upper lip twitched slightly, and finally she just let out a soft "hmm".
Looking at Hongrui like this, Hongmei felt even more strange. What was wrong with Hongrui? Before she could ask, there was suddenly a sharp shout from outside the door.
"Who?!"