Su Xiaoqi did not dwell on Bai Yuzhu's matter.
Regardless of what people spread outside, Shen Yun would not believe it.
As for the opinions of others, she didn't care at all.
However, thinking of the reputation of those official wives, Su Xiaoqi was gracious enough to have Zhang Yu block their channels of dissemination.
"She spread it one by one, starting with the wife of the Right Shaoqing, Song Fan, Madam Xiao Wu.
It was the one who glared at you earlier." Zhang Yu, afraid Su Xiaoqi would forget, specifically reminded her which one it was.
How could Su Xiaoqi forget the hostile gaze from that person just now?
"Let them do as they please. I don't have the time to worry about their affairs right now."
The most important thing now was the matter in the palace.
Currently, she only knew that the Western Xinjiang army had been controlled last night.
But whether the Crown Prince's faction was implicated remained unknown.
All of this could only be known after Shen Yun returned.
Moreover, although Shen Yun had sent someone back to report his safety, saying he was fine.
But until he returned, Su Xiaoqi could not put her heart at ease.
She didn't even dare to inquire further.
The Old Madam had a point; it was best not to show her face for the time being.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered. At this juncture, being too active in the capital could easily lead to being singled out as an example.
After all, the Emperor's mood was likely not good at this time.
It had to be said that Su Xiaoqi guessed correctly.
Emperor Xingzhao had been in an extremely bad mood from last night until now.
He was about to ascend the Star-Gazing Tower, which symbolized good fortune, when the tower collapsed.
He could consider himself lucky that Du Wenqian had persuaded him not to ascend at that moment, thus avoiding being crushed.
However, the subsequent countermeasures for him not being crushed had already been put in place.
And this time, it was a major undertaking.
The Western Xinjiang army, over ten thousand strong, had been mobilized.
Without his knowledge, someone had dared to deploy the Western Xinjiang army he used to guard the border.
If the Tubo, Northern Di, and Persian kingdoms, who bordered Western Xinjiang, knew of this and joined forces to attack, how would his Western Xinjiang be defended?
These people were acting recklessly for power and profit.
After a night of fear and anxiety, and several people expressing suspicion towards Shen Yun and Liang Jingchen, whom he had dispatched.
He finally, at the third watch of the night, received the arrival of the Three Thousand Battalion troops brought by Shen Yun and Liang Jingchen.
This resolved the crisis of his confinement.
Escorted by the soldiers of the Three Thousand Battalion, Emperor Xingzhao and his entourage returned to the palace grandly.
Soon, Jin Yiwei Ji Chenggang presented the information recently investigated by the Jin Yiwei to Emperor Xingzhao.
The Western Xinjiang army's unauthorized entry into the capital was at the Crown Prince's instigation.
They even used the pretext of "cleansing the emperor's surroundings" and "coming to the emperor's aid."
Emperor Xingzhao was furious. He decisively took out the edict deposing the Crown Prince.
At the first court session of the new year, he ordered Feng Bao to read it aloud.
The edict's decree was to depose the Crown Prince and make him Prince Ping, and to establish Prince Duan as the new Crown Prince.
Thus, the deposition of the Crown Prince was no longer a rumor but a universally known fact.
"Your Majesty..."
Upon hearing the edict, the court descended into chaos.
Ministers who had previously heard of the Emperor's intention to depose the Crown Prince but had not yet made it public, intending to wait and see.
Now they could no longer sit still, and they spoke out one after another to defend themselves.
Shen Yun, who had made a great contribution, remained extraordinarily composed and calm.
Despite having been awake all night, there was no trace of fatigue on his face.
He was full of energy, his gaze occasionally glancing at Prince Duan standing at the forefront opposite him.
Having experienced so much these past few days, some matters needed to be settled.
After a night of chaos in the capital, as the sun rose in the morning, the city was once again restored to its usual vibrant self.
The people went out to the streets, and the vendors opened their shops to do business as usual.
It seemed as if the events of last night had not affected them in the slightest.
Su Xiaoqi had been closely monitoring the information from the streets and the palace.
Even after returning to bathe, she refused to go back to her room to catch up on sleep. After comforting Zhao Shi and Mingzhu, the siblings, she went to the outer courtyard hall to sit.
In the hall, she drank three large pots of flower tea by herself and also finished four plates of Tiramisu cake.
As lunch was being served, there was movement at the entrance.
Shen Yun had returned.
"Husband..." Su Xiaoqi leaped up and rushed out.
Shen Yun looked at Su Xiaoqi, who ran over appearing frail, and his thin lips curled up. He quickly stepped forward and carefully embraced her.
"Wife, I'm glad you're alright!"
Yesterday, when he arrived at the vicinity of Chun Ya Lou, he saw corpses lying scattered everywhere.
He thought Su Xiaoqi had met with misfortune.
He was so worried that he almost went mad.
Fortunately, he gathered his wits and clearly saw the clothing of those lying on the ground, realizing they were not Su Xiaoqi's people.
Instead, they were enemies wearing black clothes and masks.
Combined with seeing Su Ze.
His worried heart was somewhat appeased.
Although he was not familiar with Su Ze, he understood him.
He harbored feelings for Xiaoqi; no matter what, he would protect her.
Then he saw Su Xiaoqi running towards him, and his heart finally settled back into place; she was fine!
But later, he led his troops to rescue the confined Emperor.
He hadn't been able to find time to see his little wife.
Only through Zhang Lei, who ran errands between them, did he receive news.
Chun Ya Lou was fine, dawn had broken, his wife had returned to the mansion, and the family was well taken care of by his wife.
All the news was good news.
But not having seen his wife for a long time, his heart could not help but hang precariously.
He tightly clasped Su Xiaoqi's waist and pressed her head into his chest.
Su Xiaoqi also felt a surge of emotion. "Husband, I'm glad you're alright."
In such a situation last night, she didn't think of anything else, only of safety.
Shen Yun kissed her forehead and said he was fine.
"Then, were all the Western Xinjiang troops captured? Are there any hidden? And the Crown Prince, and His Majesty..."
Shen Yun heard Su Xiaoqi ask a string of questions, knowing she was worried, and explained:
"Wife, rest assured, everything was within expectations. It was just that the timing was brought forward, causing some commotion, but overall, there were no major issues."
"Is His Majesty's dragon body severely damaged? Why would he suddenly think of going out to watch the lantern festival?"
Su Xiaoqi was puzzled.
Initially, Shen Yun had told her when he returned that the Emperor did not plan to go out and watch the lantern festival as usual to share the joy with the people.
How did he suddenly change his mind and go out?
Shen Yun sighed and hesitated before saying, "His Majesty intended to use himself as bait to lure the snakes out of their holes."
Su Xiaoqi's eyes widened, and she couldn't quite believe it.
"Even in such a state, he still has the mind to scheme like this."
Shen Yun was helpless. Fortunately, he was accustomed to Su Xiaoqi's occasional exaggerated remarks.
After all, she only said them when they were alone, so no one would hear, and the information would not spread.
"His Majesty is worried that his prolonged illness has caused unrest among the officials in the court. He wishes to deal with matters while his health is still somewhat stable."
Su Xiaoqi twitched the corner of her mouth and whispered, "His Majesty would have been able to cause more trouble if he hadn't caused trouble.
By causing this much trouble, he might even cause his own demise."
Shen Yun concentrated, tightened his grip on Su Xiaoqi's slender waist, and whispered into her ear, "Wife, you are indeed right."
"Yes, His Majesty's illness was already severe. Previously, I was only able to sustain him with medicine.
However, the most critical thing to avoid with medicine is extreme emotional fluctuations.
If he torments himself like this, I'm afraid he won't be able to bear it."
Su Xiaoqi also told Shen Yun that the Emperor only had a couple of days left.
She suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "Has His Majesty announced the edict to depose the Crown Prince?"
Shen Yun nodded and said it had already been announced.
Now, it was difficult for anyone in the court to disbelieve it.
"Does His Majesty also believe that the Crown Prince is trying to harm him?" Su Xiaoqi was not very sensitive to these political matters, but relying on Shen Yun's favor, she asked if she didn't understand.
Shen Yun said, "No evidence has been presented yet, but although His Majesty doesn't say it aloud, he understands it in his heart."
Among His Majesty's several sons, one had already been deposed.
Now, only the Crown Prince and Prince Duan remained.
His edict was to depose the Crown Prince and establish Prince Duan.
Before the edict was made public, anyone who wanted to destroy him could figure it out with their toes.
Therefore, Shen Yun had to go to work again.