Ye Tinglan took it and glanced at it, his dark eyes instantly falling silent.
Seeing the gravity of the situation, Li Chengyan immediately asked, "Cousin, what's wrong?"
Ye Tinglan looked at him, his expression slightly somber.
"The Empress Dowager suddenly had a stroke today, and Ye Tingyan has already led his private soldiers into the palace. Yunshu is also in the palace."
"She's actually in the palace too?"
Upon hearing this, Li Chengyan's eyes narrowed sharply. "No wonder I searched everywhere outside with my men and couldn't find any trace of her. So she had hidden there all along."
They had long anticipated what was happening in the palace, but they didn't know when Yunshu had gotten involved with Ye Tingyan.
His expression hardened, and he continued, "Cousin, the Prince of Dingnan has suddenly cut off communication. I fear he already knows about this, and they might have already joined forces."
Logically speaking, the Prince of Dingnan had always looked down upon Ye Tingyan, who was born to a palace maid. Furthermore, after three years of marriage, his relationship with Ye Tinglan was already extraordinary.
In the eyes of outsiders, the two were as close as lips and teeth; if one had an accident, the other would absolutely not escape. Seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, no matter from which aspect, he shouldn't have defected so suddenly, unless…
"Cousin, perhaps he was coerced, it's hard to say."
It was not impossible that Ye Tingyan had gained control of Yunshu early on to force the Prince of Dingnan to stand down.
However, regardless of the situation, the outcome would be very unfavorable to them.
Ye Tinglan lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, his thin lips lifting coldly.
"Go and bring those deputy generals we captured today."
When they fought against the rebels, they had intentionally adjusted their deployment, drawing the scattered outlying army camps back into the defense line.
The enemy had not expected this, so when Li Chengyan led his men, he caught them completely off guard.
Several leading generals who disobeyed orders and refused to advance were directly executed in public, while all the deputy generals were brought back to be dealt with personally by Ye Tinglan.
Li Chengyan responded with a sound and immediately went outside to call for people.
Ye Tinglan's gaze fell, lingering on the defense map for a few moments, then silently withdrew.
The men were soon brought in.
After all, they were deputy generals. Since their capture, they had lost their arrogant demeanor. Now, seeing Ye Tinglan, they were even more afraid of meeting the same fate as the leading generals. As if by prior arrangement, they all knelt down.
"Prince Mo, please forgive us. We, your humble servants, are insignificant. In the army, we have always been controlled by others. The previous matters were absolutely not intentional disobedience; we were simply powerless!"
Li Chengyan leaned to the side and scoffed. "If you were powerless then, are you now in control of yourselves by kneeling here? There's a limit to making excuses and denying responsibility. Your thick skin is enough to build a city wall."
"This... General Li, we are wrongly accused..."
Anyone with eyes could see they were making excuses. Ye Tinglan glanced at them and said faintly.
"Since that is the case, this King will give you an opportunity to redeem yourselves. What do you say?"
Naturally, they were eager not to die.
Upon hearing that there was a chance, they immediately kowtowed, "We are willing to be at Your Highness's command, to go through fire and water, and spare no effort!"
"Good."
Ye Tinglan lowered his eyes, his chiseled, stern jaw lifting slightly without a sound.
"Tomorrow morning, you will change into the army's uniforms and lead your former subordinates to resist the rebels alongside General Li. If anyone dares to desert, they will face the same fate as the leading generals in the camp."
The crowd dared not object and immediately responded, "Yes."
After arranging these matters, Ye Tinglan dismissed them. Li Chengyan understood and immediately stepped forward.
…
The next morning, there was another commotion in the palace.
Ye Tingyan, using the Empress Dowager's severe illness as an excuse, coerced the First Prince into the palace and immediately placed him under house arrest.
When he went to Changle Palace, the Empress had just gotten up. Qin Rulian, who had been sent over last night, was still lying listlessly on the small couch. Ye Tingyan entered, looked at her twice, and smiled with pleasure.
"Greetings to Imperial Mother."
He was born to a palace maid, with humble origins. When his birth mother died, he was still young, and by succession, the Empress should have adopted him first.
But the Empress already had the First Prince at the time, so she naturally did not want him. Not only that, but she also secretly manipulated power in the harem. To prevent him from becoming an obstacle to the First Prince, she had strangled all opportunities for him to be recognized under other concubines.
As a result, he grew up alone in the harem like a lonely ghost, enduring the scorn of others from childhood to adulthood.
Before today, he had never called the Empress "Imperial Mother." Now that he was willing to do so, his words sounded rather sarcastic.
The Empress naturally knew this. Upon hearing his words, she calmly raised her eyes to look at him, her expression unreadable.
"Second Prince, why do you have time to visit me today?"
He had just entered the palace and was busy consolidating power while stabbing Ye Tinglan in the back. For him to still have the time and energy to focus on her, a fallen Empress, showed how deeply he held his grudge.
Ye Tingyan chuckled lightly at her words.
Seeing that although she had no attendants, her clothes were still meticulously arranged, his eyes flashed, and he directly leaned over and sat on the other side of the couch.
"I came to visit Imperial Mother, of course. Does Imperial Mother think I shouldn't have come?"
"Second Prince!"
The Empress's eyes fixed on him, and her face was already showing displeasure.
"I am the Empress, and I can only sit with the Son of Heaven. The seat you are currently occupying is the Emperor's seat."
Such disrespect! He clearly did not put the Emperor or herself, the Empress, in his eyes!
Ye Tingyan did not move upon hearing this, even provocatively raising his gaze to meet hers.
"It's just a seat, Imperial Mother. There's no need to be so concerned. Whether I get up or you get up, the rules will not be broken."
"However, I have one more matter to report to Imperial Mother today."
The Empress had long suspected that he had ill intentions. Upon hearing this, she silently tightened her grip on her handkerchief, her expression growing even more somber.
Ye Tingyan was quite pleased with her reaction.
He sat more firmly and then said casually, "The Emperor and the Empress Dowager's health have both taken a turn for the worse. The First Prince, with filial piety in his heart, was deeply moved. This morning, he voluntarily requested to enter the palace to attend to them. I thought Imperial Mother, who has not left the palace, might not be aware of this matter, so I came specially to inform you."
Almost the moment his words fell, the Empress's complexion changed drastically.
Ye Tingzhu was already confined to his mansion, and now Ye Tingyan had brought him into the palace. This was clearly coercion!
Her clenched hand tightened, and she quickly suppressed the abnormality on her face. However, this brief moment had already been precisely captured by Ye Tingyan, whose lips curled into a smug smile as he slowly rose.
"Imperial Mother, please rest assured. I know Elder Brother has been away from the palace for a long time and has many inconveniences. I will take good care of him for you."
"I believe that when the Emperor wakes up and learns of this, he will surely realize that he wrongly accused Elder Brother before and will forgive Elder Brother's punishment."
"Until then, Imperial Mother, please stay at ease in Changle Palace. I will find time to visit you again."