Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 624: The Crowd Goes Wild

Chapter 624: Chapter 624: The Crowd Goes Wild

The entire Capital City erupted in chaos.

The last time the Capital was this bustling was during the re-examination incident at the Imperial Academy’s Shanxue Square, and this time it was even more unprecedented.

The commoners went out of their way to pass by the Zhao Mansion and the Xue Residence, spitting disdainfully, those with a little money pulled eggs from their pockets and hurled them swiftly; after throwing, they would quickly leave. Those without money threw rotten turnips, and even the beggars contributed by throwing their dried feces.

The folks in the Capital did what they could, frequently offering incense and praying for blessings, praying to heaven to protect our Emperor, and the temples in the Suburbs of the Capital saw a significant increase in visitors.

The public sentiment was boiling, all demanding that Zhao Zhong, Xue Ping, and others be dealt with.

Xue Ping and Zhao Zhong, like rats crossing the street, were miserable, moving in and out of their residences as if they were thieves.

Xue Ping, overwhelmed with anger and frustration, wanted to find Xu Hu to control these military generals, but Xu Hu had reported sick and was resting at home. He couldn’t be found at court, and when attempting to visit the General’s Mansion after court, he was stopped, and inquiries at the Xu Mansion only yielded the response that the Great General was ill and could not receive visitors as it would worsen his condition, resulting in being turned away.

Those with sharp eyes recognized them as the notorious traitors well-known throughout the Capital. Someone shouted, accusing the traitor of coming to the General’s Mansion to oppress the Great General, intending him to die with his eyes open.

Now, Xu Hu didn’t dare to seek them out, and Xue Ping, furious, spat blood and fled in disarray.

That was the story to come.

But at this moment, Zhang Qing saw with his own eyes that group of military generals boldly looking to cause trouble, and the surrounding commoners were also buzzing with discussion. He was shocked at first, then suddenly he realized something.

This was indeed His Majesty’s plan, to have Xu Hu confined to his bed, unable to manage, and these military generals, sticking to Xue Ping and Zhao Zhong like plasters, messed with them to the point where they couldn’t settle down or focus on anything else.

It was an open conspiracy, a naked plot. Even if Xue Ping and Zhao Zhong realized that Xu Hu was feigning illness, and even if they knew something was not right, they couldn’t do anything. These military generals weren’t harming anyone with their curses, nor obstructing Xue Ping and others from moving freely, they merely followed them and cursed, they could even seek heaven’s help and still not be able to hold these military generals to any wrongdoing.

More importantly, the situation had stirred up so much noise, the pressure from the military and the public was immense, and Xue Ping had to make a quick decision to calm the situation. To think of slowly strategizing as before was a pipedream; any slower, and the people would consume him.

Moreover, any slight movement in Xue Mansion was openly monitored by a bunch of people, making it incredibly tough to act, forcing them to reconsider their actions repeatedly.

Understanding this, Zhang Qing slightly smiled, bid farewell to Chu Yuanzheng at the entrance of Xu Mansion, arranged for someone to escort Chu Yuanzheng home, and he too went back to report to the palace.

There was yet another crucial point, unknown to Zhang Qing; the Emperor had engineered this event to mire Xue Ping in a quagmire, fixating him on this matter, forcing him to invest his energy and attention entirely, exhausting and distracting him, naturally preventing him from noticing the occurrences in Northern Liaoning.

Almost everyone in the Capital knew by then, and naturally, Xue Ping had known long before.

At this moment, his face was sullen, his chest heaving wildly, evidently extremely incensed.

Xue Changgui, a family-born son, was a confidant of Xue Ping’s, loyally committed, bearing Xue Ping’s household surname, solely responsible for Xue Ping’s information and contacts.

He stood before Xue Ping now, respectfully saying, "Master, the news has spread outside, even the exact dates and Shichen Chinese Time Xia Lei visited the Consort’s palace are known, including how the assassination of the Imperial Heir was planned. Much of this aligns with our strategies, some details known only to Xia Lei, suggesting that Xia Lei has indeed betrayed us."

These details, if not for Xia Lei’s betrayal, would not be so clearly known, and it’s impossible that the Noble Consort’s people would reveal them themselves.

Xue Ping’s gaze was fiercely fixed on the desk, and he said nothing. Upon hearing this, his breathing became even more rapid, clearly struggling to restrain himself.

Xue Changgui knew that Xue Ping did not believe it; he himself also found it hard to believe that Xia Lei would betray them, but various signs indicated that Xia Lei had indeed revolted.

Fearing that any delay would put them at a disadvantage, he continued, "Xia Lei initially said voluntarily that the palace was strictly managed and that no contact with him was allowed. It seemed to be to lull us, and now that we cannot contact him and such a big incident has occurred, does it not prove that he had betrayed His Lordship long ago?

Xue Ping slammed the table, angrily said, "I already know all this, but I just can’t understand why he would betray His Lordship. Does he not care about his wife and children anymore?"

Indeed, Xia Lei did have a wife and a son outside the palace. In those chaotic times, he committed a capital crime, and to avoid disaster, Xue Ping gave him a way out by having him become a eunuch in the palace.

Those who became eunuchs often desired most to continue their family lineage; they were even willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure their legacy continued.

Now that Xia Lei’s family was in Xue Ping’s hands, so Xue Ping was puzzled as to why Xia Lei would rebel.

Xue Changgui said, "Outsiders do not know that only the punishments and various methods of the Punishment Bureau could match those of the Internal Guard Bureau. Perhaps he was not careful enough and gave himself away, got captured, feared the Punishment Bureau, and sold out His Lordship to save his life."

He earnestly advised, "My Lord, do not forget, this man agreed to sever his lineage and enter the palace to save his life. It’s time to make a decision. The news that has come out, every sentence hints at something. If nothing is done, His Majesty might soon convict the Noble Consort..."

"Why panic when nothing is settled yet?" Xue Ping retorted angrily.

This was the second thing he could not understand. If Xia Lei had betrayed him, then why did every sentence in the news covertly point to his daughter rather than himself?

He was becoming increasingly unable to see through the situation. Whose handiwork was it that shifted the focus from Consort De to his daughter?

Was it Xu Hu, or perhaps Consort Xu De, or maybe... the Emperor?

Thinking of the last possibility, he felt a rush of panic and quickly tried to control himself, not to scare himself and lose his composure.

Xue Ping voiced all his confusion and analyzed it together with Xue Changgui.

Xue Changgui had a sudden realization, some unclear matters became clear to him through Xue Ping’s narration.

He quickly shared his view with Xue Ping:

The current news precisely pointed only to Xia Lei and did not claim that the Noble Consort was the mastermind behind the scenes.

Given the current Emperor’s temperament, with his swift and decisive methods, he would never bother with redundancy or alerting the targets beforehand by allowing such ambiguous news to spread. He would have arrested the culprits directly after obtaining conclusive evidence, without leaving any leeway.

Could it be possible that Xia Lei indeed betrayed the Xue Family for some reason, but still concerned about His Lordship, he did not reveal the truth, and the person manipulating all this behind the scenes actually intended to target the Noble Consort, thus directing the accusations towards her?

Moreover, deliberately releasing the news, this technique seemed very familiar. Was it not the method His Lordship used to have people impeach Consort De in the Golden Throne Hall? It’s just that Xu Hu’s people were locked up, and no one in the court could impeach, thus resorting to this crude method to force the Noble Consort into a deadly situation.