Song Xingzhi a vécu sous le règne de l'empereur Huizong

Chapitre 149

"This servant has no idea what happened inside. His Majesty dismissed all the palace servants. This servant only heard that things seemed very unsettled inside the palace, and dared not rush in. That's why I hurriedly came to discuss countermeasures with Your Highness. Just now, this servant was merely conveying a false imperial edict. I really don't know what to do. Please forgive this servant's disrespect, Your Highness."

Zhao Dezhao was both shocked and furious. How dare Eunuch Wang be so audacious?! Even more terrifying was that Lan'er really knew something was going to happen in the Wansui Palace tonight. What exactly was going on?

That woman… that woman who looks exactly like Lan’er, is she really Lan’er herself? How could she have become so unfamiliar?

After watching the two hurriedly depart until they disappeared, Zhao Dezhao finally stepped out of the shadows and walked straight to the bedside.

His sudden appearance startled the palace maid who had been left by Wanlan to take care of Zhao Defang. She looked at Zhao Dezhao, who had a cold face, with some caution but also great fear.

"Your Highness, Prince Yan—"

"Get down!"

"But--"

Zhao Dezhao's sharp eyes swept over them, and he frowned. "I told you to leave, didn't you understand?"

The palace maid turned pale with fright, but because the princess had ordered her not to come looking for the Prince of Qin, she dared not leave her post and could only kneel down with a trembling body.

"What? Are you worried that I will harm your prince?"

"...It was the Princess who instructed me not to leave under any circumstances."

Zhao Dezhao tightened his grip, flicked his sleeve, and continued forward. "Your princess only said that Defang is not allowed to leave Qinlan Palace. You go and guard the door, and see if I can grow wings and fly away."

"Swallow—"

"Get out!" How dare the servants in Qinlan Palace be so audacious!

Zhao Dezhao strode to the bedside, looking at Zhao Defang, who was still unconscious, his brows furrowed. He reached out and pressed his hand against Zhao Defang's philtrum, clearly displeased. After a moment, seeing that the other man reacted, he slowly withdrew his hand, met the bewildered eyes of the person on the bed, and said coldly:

"What kind of King of Qin are you? How dare a mere servant lay a hand on you!"

"Big...brother?"

Zhao Defang stared in astonishment. The next second, he suddenly remembered what had happened and sat up abruptly, anxiously scanning the empty inner hall. "Where's Wanlan? She's outside?"

"She went to the Wansui Palace with Eunuch Wang."

Zhao Defang stared in shock, her eyes wide. She threw off the covers and tried to get out of bed. "How could she be so willful! I have to go find her!"

"Wait!" Zhao Dezhao stretched out his long arm to stop him. "Before you go to see her, I have a few questions to ask you."

"You can ask me anything later—"

“No, I need to know now.” Pressing the person who had stood up before him back down, Zhao Dezhao stood before the bed, blocking his path. “First, what is it that frightens you so much? Second, what was her purpose in going to the Wansui Palace? Third—” He paused, then asked in a deep voice, “Is she truly suffering from amnesia or faking it? What exactly does she know?”

"Brother, I'll tell you all this after I bring Wanlan back. Can you please move aside for now?"

"No, I will not let you go until you explain clearly."

"Big brother..."

Zhao Dezhao pursed his lips and snorted, "I heard your conversation just now. Why did she say she knew everything about what was going to happen tonight? Why did she ask you to help her go to Wansui Palace instead of Qingshou Palace? You know, we clearly came from Qingshou Palace, so how did she know that Father and the others would move to Wansui Palace?"

Zhao Defang gripped the quilt tightly beneath him, anxious yet unable to leave. He didn't want more people to know about Wanlan, especially his elder brother—what despair would he feel if he knew Wanlan's true identity, if he knew that the woman he had been clinging to wasn't the one he initially knew?

Zhao Dezhao stared intently at him and said calmly, "If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it. I'll stay here with you in Qinlan Palace today and wait for her to return. I'll just ask her directly."

Zhao Defang turned her eyes away, loosening her grip on the soft blanket one by one. "Alright, you go ask her yourself." Whether or not to let her elder brother know about that matter, let Wanlan decide.

However, the two brothers, who were completely silent, never expected that what awaited them was Wanlan, who was covered in blood and had already fainted!

When Zhao Guangyi rushed into the palace carrying a pale woman covered in blood and barely breathing, urgently calling for the imperial physician, Zhao Defang only wished that everything before him was just a nightmare. He lay frozen on the bed, staring blankly at Zhao Guangyi who was approaching, without moving.

"Defang! Get out of the way!"

With a livid face, Zhao Dezhao pulled him off the bed and stepped back, making Zhao Guangyi lay the woman in his arms face down on the bed. Then, disregarding the consequences, he grabbed Zhao Guangyi and demanded, "What on earth is going on?!"

Zhao Guangyi grasped his wrist and slowly pulled him away, his voice flat and even, "It's none of your business." The person he was explaining to wasn't him.

Turning his gaze to his nephew, who had been pulled to the ground by Zhao Dezhao, Zhao Guangyi tightened his blood-red hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Defang, Deqing... she was accidentally injured by me..."

Zhao Dezhao glared at him abruptly, "You accidentally injured her? Why would you 'accidentally' hurt her? Then who did you originally intend to hurt? Was the incident in the Wansui Palace? Did you intend to hurt Father Emperor?"

His words startled Zhao Defang, who was in a daze, and he vaguely understood what Wanlan had been worried about for a long time, as well as... her purpose in going to Wansui Palace tonight, and the reason why she wouldn't allow him to leave Qinlan Palace.

"So you really wanted to assassinate Father Emperor, didn't you?" Zhao Dezhao suddenly understood after hearing his own words, and he sneered, "What you want is that woman, or that position? You certainly didn't expect Wanlan to suddenly appear and ruin your plans, did you? Are you sure you only 'accidentally' injured her, Imperial Uncle?"

Zhao Guangyi merely snorted in response to his reaction.

The imperial physician was quickly brought into Qinlan Palace. Zhao Defang remained eerily quiet throughout. As the physician began treating Wanlan's wounds, he rose from the ground and embraced the weak woman on the bed. Only after the physician finished bandaging her wounds and left did he utter his first words since Wanlan's arrival:

"Please leave."

"Defang..."

"Defang!"

Carefully tucking the person in bed under the covers, Zhao Defang said in a low voice without turning her head, "Uncle, please leave. I don't want to see you right now. And elder brother, we can talk about what you want to know later. You all need to leave."

Zhao Guangyi's gaze darkened, and he turned and walked out.

Zhao Dezhao clenched his fists and gritted his teeth before leaving.

Outside Qinlan Palace, Zhao Guangyi encountered Wang Jisi who hurriedly approached. The two exchanged a few words and then left in a hurry. Zhao Dezhao, without giving it any thought, called Xiao Luzi over and left the palace.

At that time, he naturally did not know that Zhao Guangyi was rushing to the Wansui Palace, nor could he imagine what earth-shattering changes were taking place there!