CH 132.1

Chapter 132.1 – Chaos and Turmoil

The Crown Prince’s death turned the atmosphere in the palace even more gloomy. Even King Wei, who was secretly happy, lowered his eyes at this moment, afraid of giving away any clues. On the contrary, he occasionally looked at the hall where the Emperor was with a worried gaze, and looked filial.

Maybe someone else noticed King Wei’s attitude, but right now Qi Yang and Lu Qipei didn’t have time to care about him. The former couldn’t help letting out a mournful sound due to the Crown Prince’s death and cried uncontrollably, while the latter’s thoughts were naturally focused on her beloved, not the insignificant King Wei. Under this chaotic situation, she just couldn’t care anymore.

Qi Yang cried the whole night, and when dawn came, her eyes were red and swollen.

Lu Qipei’s heart felt broken when she saw this, but she could not console her. She just hugged Qi Yang and let her vent as much as she wanted in her arms. When the latter was finally too tired from crying and fell asleep in her arms, her heart was still filled with pity.

The night passed. The Emperor had still not woken up yet, but the major events that happened last night could not be ignored, especially since the explosion in Chaoyang Tower and the fire that happened afterwards were seen by everyone in the city. Back then, everyone was afraid and fled in chaos, causing nearly a hundred people to be injured or trampled to death. After things fermented for one night, who knew how much panic there was amidst the people in the capital.

When dawn almost broke, the Prime Minister could not wait anymore and quickly left the palace to gather the officials. He briefly explained what happened last night, then closed the gates and had the city governor come forward to appease the people.

There was a mess inside and outside the palace, one that she couldn’t handle, and didn’t want to. But the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review came at noon – Qi Yang summoned her after the palace gates were closed last night to investigate the Chaoyang Tower case and help the commander of the royal guards investigate the palace.

As for trust? He was a member of the royal faction and someone trusted by the Emperor, so there was no need to doubt his loyalty at this time.

Only then did Lu Qipei woke Qi Yang and let her listen to the Chief Minister’s report together with everyone in the hall.

The night watch wait made everyone feel a bit tired. It was understandable that Qi Yang cried and passed out, but the others did not dare to sleep while watching over the Emperor. Right now, when they heard that the Chief Minister’s investigation had yielded results, everyone braced themselves up and listened.

The Crown Prince passed away, and King Wei felt that the mountain that had been pressing on his head was finally gone. It was time for his ambition to come true. As if he was doing his duty, he stepped forward and asked, “Someone tried to assassinate Royal Father. What’s the result of the Court of Judicial Review’s investigation? Tell us quickly!”

The Head Minister glanced at him, but didn’t care about King Wei’s attitude. He reported to everyone, “Last night, His Majesty and the Crown Prince climbed the tower to light the lantern. Ten minutes before they went up, the royal guards went up to do the last inspection, but no gunpowder was found at that time. After that, heavily armed soldiers guarded Chaoyang Tower, so no one could do anything under the public’s watchful eyes…”

Hearing this, King Wei interrupted in dissatisfaction, “Based on Head Minister’s words, is the gunpowder conjured from thin air? Are you telling This King that there was no gunpowder in Chaoyang Tower, and the explosion and fire were the results of heavenly punishment!?”

When he said this, the hall became temporarily silent, and the atmosphere turned strange.

Qi Yang once again witnessed King Wei’s foolishness and opened her mouth to say something, but found that she had cried too much and her throat was dry and sore. Lu Qipei saw it and took the opportunity to give her some warm water and helped speak on her behalf, “Your Highness King Wei is worrying too much. I think what Sir Head Minister meant was that there were spies among the royal guards who went up to do the inspection. There was also the assassin that appeared afterwards, and someone must’ve helped him hide enter the palace and hide.”

The Head Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was Lu Qipei’s direct superior. The two were colleagues and knew each other very well. Plus, anyone with brains could tell that the Head Minister must still have had something to say, and only King Wei would interrupt him and talk about heaven’s punishment.

Sure enough, the Head Minister nodded in agreement. King Wei felt a bit embarrassed for a while and gave Lu Qipei a cold stare.

Lu Qipei ignored him and only listened to the Head Minister’s recount of his findings – it had only been one night, but what he found was beyond everyone’s imagination. From the royal guards to the palace servants, from the Ministry of Engineering to the Royal Harem, no one knew how he did his investigation, but he found almost one hundred people in one night. Not everyone participated in the assassination attempt, but there was no doubt that he had dug up a hidden power by following the clues.

This time, King Wei didn’t speak anymore, turning quiet as a quail once again. Of course, the reason was because he was scared. Not just because there was such a hidden power in the palace, but also because there were palace attendants from his Mother Consort’s palace involved.

At this sensitive moment, no matter how brainless he was, King Wei knew that he shouldn’t get involved in this case. Even just a little involvement was enough to get him killed!

After the Head Minister finished talking about the case, the palace that was already in an oppressive mood was filled with deathly silence. After a long time, Qi Yang spoke up, her voice slightly hoarse, “There must be a mastermind behind such a force, please continue investigating, Head Minister.”

She spoke calmly, and the Head Minister complied, but Qi Yang could feel Lu Qipei’s hand grasping hers slightly tighter.