Huang Guifei suddenly came to her senses.
Xiao Minzi was right, the palace gate really shouldn't be opened.
Regardless of what the Eldest Princess said, she did indeed intend to kill the Emperor today.
She had hated the Emperor for more than a day.
She had hated him for as many years as she had been in the palace.
But after he deposed the former Crown Prince and enfeoffed her son as the Crown Prince, she thought that one day she would become the Empress Dowager.
This hatred had slightly subsided.
But the hatred had never disappeared.
Until he actually recalled the deposed Crown Prince to the capital and gave him important responsibilities.
After that, he reprimanded her son multiple times and even repeatedly spoke of deposing the Crown Prince.
This caused the hatred for Emperor Xingzhao, which she had hidden deep within her heart, to slowly resurface and grow.
Especially after the incident of hiding the imperial dragon robe was exposed.
When the Crown Prince was reprimanded by Emperor Xingzhao in front of all the officials and placed under house arrest, her hatred for him reached an unprecedented level.
She realized that the old Emperor should die.
It was time for him to make way for her son to ascend the throne.
Otherwise, if this continued, the throne would eventually fall to that bastard born to the Empress.
If that happened, wouldn't her more than twenty years of planning and enduring all the humiliation be in vain?
Hatred made her bolder, and the Emperor's deteriorating health gave her an opportunity.
Now, she was still the most favored imperial concubine in the eyes of many eunuchs and palace maids.
Whether it was for the sake of the Crown Prince or the Emperor, they dared not disobey her.
As long as she could hold on, until the Emperor's death, she would be the most distinguished woman in the entire imperial palace.
Huang Guifei braced herself. Her well-maintained face, still possessing its charm, was suddenly filled with an infinite resolve.
After scolding for a while, the Eldest Princess thought Huang Guifei would, as usual, be unable to resist coming out to confront her.
However, this time she did not.
She anxiously looked at the closed palace gate.
From time to time, she glanced back at Su Xiaoqi. Her mind was in chaos, and she had no idea what to do.
Shen Yun, standing beside her, reminded her, "Princess, why don't you ask Commander Ji to have the great gate opened?"
The Eldest Princess suddenly came to her senses. Without questioning why he said that, she turned and whispered something to the maidservant beside her. The maidservant immediately trotted away.
Soon, Ji Chenggang strode over.
He had just arrived from outside the palace and hadn't had time to hear his锦衣卫's reports on the day's events.
Upon arriving, he saw everyone gathered at the entrance of Yangxin Hall and was completely bewildered.
When he saw the Eldest Princess, he stepped forward to pay his respects, "Your Highness the Eldest Princess."
"You're here, quickly, quickly send your men to open the great hall door. Huang Guifei is plotting rebellion."
At these words, everyone was stunned.
Su Xiaoqi lowered her head, thinking that the Eldest Princess truly dared to say anything.
However, she wasn't wrong.
Even a political novice like Su Xiaoqi could see the current situation.
Huang Guifei intended to stop pretending, to lay her cards on the table, and go all in.
This time, she had gambled everything she had.
For her, this matter could only succeed, not fail.
If it succeeded, there would be countless benefits.
If it failed, she would face utter ruin, becoming nothing but a pile of dry bones.
Su Xiaoqi understood, and the Eldest Princess also understood.
Seeing Ji Chenggang standing silently at the foot of the steps, she became anxious and urged loudly,
"Go, hurry and save my father. If it's too late, Huang Guifei will commit regicide."
Ji Chenggang clenched his fists. After a moment of hesitation, he finally nodded.
Su Xiaoqi was still curious about how Ji Chenggang would open the great hall door.
She saw him whistle, and a whistle sounded from within.
Ji Chenggang heard the response and whistled again, and another whistle came from inside.
Ji Chenggang gritted his teeth and suddenly whistled three times in succession.
No more sounds came from within.
But soon, the sounds of punches and kicks could be heard.
After a while, the great hall door creaked open.
The heavy door turning sounded like a giant machine crushing the hearts of everyone present.
Huang Guifei stood at the doorway with a livid face. She seemed to have been bumped, and the phoenix hairpin on her head fell to her feet. The pearl held by the golden phoenix had shattered.
Her eyes were bloodshot, looking extremely terrifying.
"Audacious, audacious! You dare to trespass into the palace!
Guards! Guards! Where are the Imperial Guards? Where are the protectors? Quickly come and protect the Emperor!"
Huang Guifei shouted.
But it was clear that her shouting now was too late.
Because the Eldest Princess had already said everything that needed to be said earlier.
Others, having heard the Eldest Princess first, already believed that Huang Guifei intended to rebel.
After all, compared to Huang Guifei, the Eldest Princess held a more important position in the Emperor's heart.
Moreover, she was a woman, a princess, whose honor and wealth were all tied to the Emperor.
Could she succeed in rebelling?
But it was different for Huang Guifei.
She had a son who was the Crown Prince. If the Emperor died, the throne would naturally fall to the Crown Prince.
She would gain great advantages.
Therefore, the palace staff had also seen through this sudden drama.
Someone here was indeed plotting rebellion, and it was the favored Huang Guifei.
However, if she truly succeeded in her rebellion, with the Crown Prince ascending the throne, the imperial palace would change hands.
So, at this moment, who to support seemed rather delicate.
The Eldest Princess looked at the gazes of the crowd, hating their wavering. She said sternly,
"I have invited the divine physician from last time for my father. My father will regain consciousness immediately after taking the medicine.
Why aren't you all apprehending this treacherous vixen who brings disaster to the nation and earning merit?"
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoqi also stepped forward, took Emperor Xingzhao's pulse, and after carefully examining him, her heart chilled.
Alas, this Emperor was truly capable of causing trouble.
He could have easily made it to spring.
But he insisted on consuming so much that even the spiritual medicine was exhausted.
If not for immediate intervention, he would have died within a quarter of an hour.
If possible, Su Xiaoqi truly didn't want to save him.
He deserved to die!
But thinking that after Emperor Xingzhao's death, the un-deposed Crown Prince could directly ascend the throne.
And Huang Guifei would rise to power. With what they had just done, they would likely perish without a burial place.
Su Xiaoqi thought, and cold sweat soaked her back.
Now she had truly experienced the awkwardness of an arrow already on the string and unable to be un-shot.
With a helpless sigh, and however unwilling she was, she fed Emperor Xingzhao a quarter of a spiritual medicine pill.
All she could do now was to extend his life.
At least until he deposed the Crown Prince and re-established Prince Duan.
As for
Su Xiaoqi was unwilling to give him any more vitality.
Moreover, she didn't know if Emperor Xingzhao's life clashed with her spatial ability.
The power of the spiritual medicine had a tenfold effect on others.
But when used on him, it was not so effective.
It was only slightly better than ordinary medicinal soup.
After swallowing the spiritual medicine, Emperor Xingzhao's apoplexy gradually subsided, and he coughed and woke up.
He slightly opened his eyes and saw the young and beautiful face before him.
"Yu Jing... Yu Jing... You are so cruel. I... I was heartbroken for you, yet you, you abandoned me, abandoned me..."
The Eldest Princess heard her father wake up, but instead of talking about important matters, he was thinking about these trivial things. To avoid embarrassing Su Xiaoqi, she quickly stepped forward to interrupt, "Father, I am Man'er. How are you? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
Emperor Xingzhao finally gradually regained consciousness. He glanced at Su Xiaoqi, who was quietly retreating, and his eyes darkened. He knew she was not Yu Jing, just a young girl who looked somewhat like her.
His Yu Jing had already departed.
He looked back at his daughter, his voice hoarse,
"Man, Man'er. Why are you in the palace? I, I feel better. Cough cough..."
"Father, Huang Guifei, taking advantage of your ill health, actually confined you in the palace and prevented doctors from treating you, intending to rebel. Her crime is unforgivable."
Since Su Xiaoqi and her party entered, Huang Guifei had quietly slipped away to a corner.
The imperial physician had already told her.
The Emperor's bodily functions had been completely depleted.
He would remain in a coma, and any medicine would be futile; no one could save him.
Even if Liang Man and the others were allowed in, they could do nothing.
That was why she hadn't been so nervous.
After all, her son's position as Crown Prince was still secure, so what could they do to her?
But she never expected that the female physician the Eldest Princess brought in was truly capable of resurrecting the dead, as the legends said.
With one pill, the Emperor not only opened his eyes but also woke up.
Only then did she panic. Her legs involuntarily weakened, and she cried out, begging,
"Your Majesty, spare me, spare me! Your concubine did not! The Eldest Princess is slandering me!"