"What's the name of the opera troupe that Concubine Yu was from? Who's the troupe master? Do they have an opera house in the capital? Also, who recommended them to perform in the palace?"
Li Xinyue looked at the scorching sun overhead, frowned unhappily, and quickened her steps out of the palace.
Eunuch Wu, who was in charge of the banquet and was called to answer questions, on one hand forced a smile, and on the other hand replied carefully, "Yes, it's this servant who heard of the fame of that opera troupe and that they happened to be performing in the capital. So I invited them." Who would have known that, by such a coincidence, Concubine Yu would emerge.
He didn't know, and he didn't want this to happen either. Please don't blame him.
However, Concubine Yu should be grateful to him. Would it be too late to curry favor with her now?
Eunuch Wu thought so, but quickly stopped himself. He replied respectfully, "The name of the opera troupe is 'Cold Lovesickness'. The troupe master, Flower Lady, is a widow. She made a living by performing opera all over the country and gradually gathered an opera troupe. Because of Concubine Yu, their troupe became a bit famous in the capital.
That Flower Lady is planning to buy an opera house in the capital and stay here for a long time."
Hearing this, Li Xinyue paused. Her unhappy expression made her eyebrows slant downwards sharply, and she laughed out of anger.
She still wants to stay in the capital?
What? One Concubine Yu isn't enough? Do they want to produce a whole row of Concubine Yus?
However, this sudden ennoblement of the concubine really shattered her yearning for the fairy - like love between her father and mother in her heart. She felt that that relationship had been defiled by this woman.
She was angry but had nowhere to vent it.
Perhaps, when her mother entered the palace back then, the previous imperial concubines and the elder brothers and sisters felt the same way about them.
Truly, fortune changes.
"What's the identity and background of Concubine Yu?"
"Concubine Yu is an orphan. She was picked up by Flower Lady when she was performing outside. Oh, right, the troupe master said that Concubine Yu might be a survivor from the South Sea."
Li Xinyue was slightly surprised. Then she turned to look at Eunuch Wu and asked, "You know all this? You asked beforehand?"
Eunuch Wu smiled sheepishly. "How could this servant think so carefully? It was the queen who interrogated this servant last night. This servant specially sent someone to find Flower Lady and only then learned about Concubine Yu's identity."
"Are you sure there are no mistakes? By such a coincidence, there's a Concubine Yu in the opera troupe? And by such a coincidence, the emperor saw her. Isn't there something wrong with this opera troupe?"
Eunuch Wu didn't dare to answer this question.
However, Li Xinyue thought of an answer and only needed to verify it. "Where did this opera troupe go before coming to the capital?"
"This servant didn't ask."
Li Xinyue quickened her steps and finally ran out of the palace directly.
The answer was Nanxun!
If the person was really arranged by the eldest princess, then it must be related to the King of Nanxun.
After the death of the Prince of An, the eldest princess wanted revenge. Apart from wooing court officials, only the King of Nanxun was willing to risk his life for her.
Moreover, the King of Nanxun was the only one who almost became the emperor after her father. She didn't believe that he would be content to be a king without real power.
...
"During that struggle for the throne, many princes died. In the end, there was no one to inherit the throne. So some ministers proposed to make the King of Nanxun, a descendant of Emperor Taizong, the new emperor.
However, at that time, Lady Lin remembered that there was still a prince in the cold palace, the legitimate bloodline of the previous emperor.
So Lady Lin overruled all objections and supported that prince to become the emperor, who is the current emperor." The clerk of the capital prefecture was sweating profusely when talking about that year's events, as if there was a knife on his neck, ready to take his life at any time.
Helplessly, Lord Chu wanted to hear it, so he had to tell.
"My lord, if there's nothing else, this humble one will take his leave first."
Chu Junyi came back to his senses, nodded slightly, and then gently tapped his fingertips on the few pieces of evidence on the table.
These were the evidence related to the eldest princess that Lady Wei had given to Yuanyang before.
One stack of them detailed the various official positions that the eldest princess had planned for Lady Wei.
He guessed that besides using family connections to get court officials into positions, the eldest princess should have done the same for the King of Nanxun.
Just from the fact that a large number of the Wei family had once served in Nanxun, it was enough to prove that the eldest princess had a close relationship with the King of Nanxun. Therefore, there should also be something about the King of Nanxun in these.
If the King of Nanxun wanted to rebel, how would he get a large number of troops into the capital?
Disguise them as candidates for the imperial examination and sneak them in?
If so, so much time had passed. They should have gathered a lot of troops and should have taken action long ago.
Why was he delaying?
Was it related to the existence of Concubine Yu?
Was Concubine Yu used to fill the loophole that prevented him from taking action?
What was Concubine Yu's role? To seduce the emperor? To slander others? Or to steal something?
The imperial edict? The imperial jade seal?
For something like the imperial jade seal, once the troops entered the palace, they could just seize it directly. Why would they need to steal it?
So could it be the imperial edict?
The imperial will?
Was he asking Concubine Yu to steal the previous emperor's will?
Could this King of Nanxun be -
The crown prince during the previous emperor's time?
When Chu Junyi reasoned this far, his pupils dilated, and he didn't dare to continue reasoning.
This idea was too bold. Even he was sweating profusely. He raised his hand and gently wiped his sweat with a silk handkerchief.
This matter needed to be verified. He had to think of a way.
"Damn it, Yuanyang!" Chu Junyi got up and went out.
Li Xinyue's carriage left the palace and passed by the bustling street. Hearing the distant opera sounds, she subconsciously lifted the curtain to look.
In the distance, there was a three - story - high opera house. People were performing and listening to opera from top to bottom.
If her previous speculation was correct, the King of Nanxun might be hiding in the opera house. She wanted to verify it, but the situation of the enemy being in the dark and her in the open was not suitable for being impulsive.
So she had to suppress her curiosity and ordered the carriage to return to the mansion first.
At this time, a large wave of refugees came this way. The passing commoners, afraid of being bumped into, all moved to the side.
The children playing on the street were also picked up by their parents.
Li Xinyue's carriage stopped in the middle of the road and was surrounded by the approaching refugees, unable to move.
"How could there be refugees under the feet of the Son of Heaven?" Could they be rebels in disguise?
Li Xinyue's pupils dilated, and she tightened the dagger in the carriage.
Those refugees also secretly took out their weapons and walked towards Li Xinyue.
Li Xinyue's heart tightened.
She understood that the King of Nanxun was preparing to rebel. These rebels were going to rush into the palace.
She was unlucky enough to block their way, so they wanted to kill her first and then rush through.
There were still many commoners on the street. Exposing their identities at this time would only cause more killings. So Li Xinyue had to endure and quickly thought of a way in her mind.
"Princess!" Chu Junyi's heart was in his throat. When he saw this scene, his guess was right.
Even if the King of Nanxun couldn't find the imperial will, he still had to rebel because he was already on the verge of no return.
"Chu Junyi!" Li Xinyue screamed in fright. The words "Don't come over" almost slipped out of her mouth, but she was afraid of alerting them.
But Chu Junyi had already jumped off his horse and rushed over. He picked up Li Xinyue and flew out of the crowd.
At the same time, a large crowd came from another direction, laughing and chatting, and scattered the refugees.
Behind the crowd, a huge float slowly drove over, and there was a dancing songstress on it.
Someone said, "The new Master Chu spent a fortune to make his beauty smile. Everyone, go and have a look!"