The Pei Mansion.
"Grandfather." Pei Yunlu knelt in front of the bed, her cheeks stained with tears.
Old Master Pei had regained consciousness. His face was pale, and his fingers trembled slightly as he tucked the stray hairs in front of Pei Yunlu's forehead. "My dear."
His voice was somewhat weak, and his eyes were a bit hazy.
Pei Yunlu felt even more heart - broken. She helped him sit up and drink the medicine.
Lu Jin stood behind her, also looking worried. "The imperial physician said that Teacher was overly enraged and needs to rest for a while."
Old Master Pei nodded slightly. He glanced at Yan Zhao at the far end, then looked at Lu Jin. "Take Yunlu out first."
"Yes, Teacher."
"Grandfather?" Pei Yunlu first looked at Old Master Pei. Seeing his solemn brow, she then glanced at Yan Zhao. The latter nodded slightly at her. Finally, she obediently followed Lu Jin out.
When the sound of footsteps faded away, Old Master Pei looked at Yan Zhao. Frowning, he said, "The Emperor is in a coma, and the situation in the palace is critical. Ziyan, perhaps you can..."
He only said half of it, and Yan Zhao understood the rest.
Seize the opportunity in the chaos!
Of course, this "seizing the opportunity in the chaos" was not about usurping the throne. It was just that Emperor Chu was heartless and cruel. Naturally, they needed to support a new emperor.
"The harem is probably already under the control of the Noble Consort."
Yan Zhao lowered his eyes. The Empress Chu no longer had the support of the Wen family. She was clearly just an empty shell.
Behind the Noble Consort was the An family. After Emperor Chu's coma, the deep palace naturally became the world of the An family.
Their goal was also clear: to support a new emperor.
The candidate was naturally the Third Prince, Chu Heye.
But unfortunately, Chu Heye had a bad character. He was as insidious and changeable as Emperor Chu.
The faction of the Second Prince naturally refused to yield. But unfortunately, Grand Tutor An was extremely powerful. So they resorted to a devious plan and tricked Old Master Pei into the palace.
Although Old Master Pei approved of the kind - hearted and benevolent Chu Heyao, he did not approve of the Second Prince's faction and the Empress Chu behind them.
Yan Zhao was Old Master Pei's disciple. Old Master Pei knew how much suffering he had endured.
So when forced to make a choice in the palace, on the one hand, Old Master Pei was sad about the chaos in the court and the Emperor's unchanging heart that made it difficult for his ministers to be at ease; on the other hand, he was so enraged due to his old age that he fainted.
Hearing Old Master Pei's light cough, Yan Zhao felt even more desolate and cold in his heart.
Far away in the imperial palace, the Empress Chu also felt sad and dejected.
The reason why the Second Prince's faction insisted on involving Old Master Pei was actually at her instigation.
In fact, thinking deeper, what she wanted was not only Old Master Pei's approval but also for Yan Zhao, as Old Master Pei's disciple, to take sides.
Because the Empress Chu knew that her father, Wen Zhong, who was also Yan Zhao's grandfather, had already withdrawn from the court, but he was still worried about Yan Zhao.
Although some of the younger members of the Wen family in the court seemed to be on the side of the Empress Chu on the surface.
But the Empress Chu knew best that in fact, these people were reserved for Yan Zhao. If they had to choose between her and Yan Zhao, they would probably immediately choose the new master.
Yan Zhao's "taking sides" was as important as Old Master Pei's "choice".
And Yan Zhao was not fighting alone. He had married into the Yongning Marquis's family.
In the past, the Empress Chu thought that Marquis Yongning, Ning Fengnian, was carefree and careless.
After all, he had even lost his own daughter.
That "wild girl" who grew up in the countryside was the most suitable match for Yan Zhao, the ill - fated star who had lost his parents.
But unexpectedly, this "wild girl" was completely different from what everyone had guessed. She was more intelligent than An Xingzhi, more beautiful than the Noble Consort Chu, and her behavior was even more fierce and domineering.
In the huge palace, except for Qiao Hui, the others had already been dismissed.
Because of the emptiness, there was an inexplicable chill in the air.
The Empress Chu shivered involuntarily. It was as if just thinking of Ning Yuwang made her feel cold from the inside out.
That woman was even more extraordinary than Yan Zhao.
This was the conclusion the Empress Chu had reached after only a few brief meetings with Ning Yuwang.
She remembered that she had once asked He Fulin about the truth of the incident when Emperor Chu fell into the water. The other person hesitated for a long time before finally telling her what had happened that night.
It was also related to Ning Yuwang.
Thinking of that birthday celebration, Ning Yuwang had also "participated".
Although she had been set up both times, she seemed to be blessed with good fortune. She had managed to extricate herself both times, as if nothing had happened.
Was it because she was really lucky or was she just pretending to be weak to catch her opponents off guard? The Empress Chu deliberately suppressed her fear and began to make some calculations. Ning Yuwang must be the latter.
No matter how intelligent and scheming she was, she was still just a teenage girl. It should be easy to control her.
And Yan Zhao's weakness was Ning Yuwang. By controlling the latter, she could also control the former.
She casually beckoned Qiao Hui and whispered a few words in her ear. There was a faint look of confusion in the latter's eyes, but her servility of always obeying her master's orders quickly suppressed it.
"You and He Fulin will handle this matter together."
The Empress Chu added another sentence. Only after seeing Qiao Hui leave with her own eyes did she loosen the hand that had been clutching the phoenix chair.
"Hiss!"
She let out a low cry, as if she had just noticed that the fingernails of her right index finger and middle finger were all broken.
The remaining smoke in the incense burner was caught by the cold wind and blown outside, then disappeared without a trace on the way.
Seemingly confident of success, the Empress Chu narrowed her eyes, and her heart gradually calmed down.
Old Master Pei and Marquis Yongning were the leaders of the neutral faction. Coupled with Yan Zhao's ruthless means, it was a combination of kindness and severity. She was not afraid that no one would stand behind Chu Heyao.
Although she was afraid of Yan Zhao's "crazy" methods, she still thought that Yan Zhao would, out of the affection between aunt and nephew and the brotherhood between cousins, have to take sides.
But the Empress Chu's calculations were too optimistic. She did not know that Yan Zhao already hated her to the bone.
After Emperor Chu had schemed to have Yan Lin die in battle, the Empress Chu had abetted him. She had tricked Wen Sui into the palace, where she was insulted by Emperor Chu, which made Wen Sui go crazy and live a miserable life. Eventually, she could not bear the mental illness and died.
At that time, because Yan Zhao was young and powerless, he could only bide his time.
He pretended not to know about the conspiracy of Emperor Chu and the Empress Chu. Like a sleeping tiger, he allowed his reputation to be ruined and pretended to be a cold - blooded and depraved playboy.
But secretly, he traveled between Xiaoshan and the capital. He learned martial arts and military strategies from Gu Wu, just to gain the recognition of the Yan family's army one day.
In the past, the Yan family's army did not fully recognize Yan Zhao. Coupled with his weak body, they were somewhat skeptical. But recently, his health had improved a lot, and he no longer looked sickly.
Naturally, the soldiers of the Yan family's army had their own thoughts. Loyalty and courage were all about seeking a brave and good general.
Even though Yan Zhao had a bad reputation outside, after five years of getting along, everyone had observed his true character. Recently, they had secretly shown their loyalty and sincerity.
So Yan Zhao had also taken some private actions.
Old Master Pei used to be Yan Zhao's teacher and knew his disciple's character best. Five years ago, Yan Zhao had entrusted Yan Xi to him and then disappeared, shouldering a bad reputation.
He knew that Yan Zhao had his own plans. Although Old Master Pei and Yan Zhao had cut off their contact on the surface in the past five years to avoid gossip, in fact, they still had secret contacts, just like Yan Zhao's meeting with Pei Yunlu.
Old Master Pei gently tapped on the bedside table, bringing Yan Zhao back to his senses. "Even if the Noble Consort has control of the overall situation, the Empress will not sit back and wait for death."
He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "Moreover, when the Emperor made the daughter of the An family the Noble Consort back then, how could he not have anticipated today?"
The An family had risen to power because of the Noble Consort An. It was because Emperor Chu thought they were easy to control.
Although the An family had gradually grown stronger over the years and had accumulated students and connections in the court, Emperor Chu never took them seriously.
Yan Zhao nodded. He and Old Master Pei had the same idea.
The other reason for his hesitation was Chu Heyao.
He had not returned to the capital yet.
Old Master Pei took a sip of the bitter medicine on the table. The bitter taste instantly spread down his throat, but his face remained unchanged, as if he were just drinking tea.
"On the day the Emperor was sent back in a coma, the Empress had already sent someone to urgently summon the Second Prince back to the capital. Calculating the days, he should be arriving soon."
Yan Zhao frowned. "The Second Prince has a simple mind. If he gets the news, he will surely rush back alone. The Noble Consort's side won't be unaware of this news."
He was probably already being chased by the enemy.
"Ziyan, you've always been a man with your own ideas. Do what you want to do." Old Master Pei's gaze slowly turned to the wooden window, where there was a faint shadow. "As for Yunlu, I'll protect her."
Yan Zhao bowed deeply. "Thank you, Teacher."