Three days ago, he bid farewell to the reluctant Jia Bao and followed his father to worship the heavens. This was the first worship ceremony in the sixth year of Yuntai, and it was also the most important one of the year.

In order to pray for good weather and for the country to be peaceful and prosperous, the emperor had to bathe and fast for three days. He had to personally pray for blessings and lead the civil and military officials to pray to the heavens.

Xuanyuan Hancheng maintained a daily correspondence with the Jia Bao. This was the first time he had left the Jia Bao's side for so long since the Jia Bao came to his side.

Xuanyuan Hancheng's lips curled up slightly as he read the letter from the Jia Bao sent by the Shadow Guard.

In the letter, Lin Jiabao described his daily life in detail.

In the morning, he would go to the Empress's place to pay his respects. After lunch, he would take a nap. After that, he would study with Teacher Qiu. After that, he would practice writing and drawing by himself.

In the letter, the Jia Bao honestly told Xuanyuan Hancheng how much he missed him. He said that when Xuanyuan Hancheng came back, it would be the Lantern Festival.

In the letter, the Jia Bao acted coquettishly and said that he wanted to go to the Imperial Dessert Room to make snacks and begged for Xuanyuan Hancheng's permission.

The Jia Bao also said that he wanted to make Lantern Festival dumplings himself and asked Xuanyuan Hancheng what kind of fillings he liked.

Although these were all trivial daily matters, Xuanyuan Hancheng didn't get tired of reading them over and over again …

Xuanyuan Hancheng wrote a reply to the Jia Bao. He also wrote how much he missed the Guai Bao in the letter.

He told the Guai Bao that he could go to the Imperial Dessert Room to make snacks, but he must let Yuan Qing accompany him and bring along bodyguards. He also said that he could only stay at the Imperial Dessert Room for two hours at most. He advised the Guai Bao not to tire himself out.

As for the Lantern Festival fillings, Xuanyuan Hancheng said that he liked everything that the Guai Bao liked.

He also told Guai Bao to wait for his return obediently. In two days, he would be able to return and reunite with Guai Bao.

After he finished writing, he handed the letter to the Shadow Guard and asked him to send it back as soon as possible. He then asked the Shadow Guard, "Is there any progress on Zheng Rong's side?"

"I haven't made any new progress when I set off," the Shadow Guard replied.

"Go back and tell Zheng Rong to give me the answer I want as soon as possible." If time passed, Prince Li would definitely notice.

"Yes."

A few days ago, the Shadow Guard reported that they had caught two people who had come to the Crown Princess' palace.

One of them had taken poison to commit suicide, and the other was captured alive just as he was about to take poison.

Unfortunately, this man was Prince Li's loyalist and had never relented.

Xuanyuan Hancheng was somewhat disappointed that he was unable to obtain concrete evidence of the collusion between Prince Li and the Crown Princess.

Xuanyuan Hancheng got up and left the tent, arriving at his Imperial Father, Akinori Zhaoshen's large tent.

He told his Imperial Father about Prince Li. After Emperor Akinori Zhaoshen heard this, he said, "I will send spies to Li City to investigate Prince Li's whereabouts."

Afterwards, Akinori Zhaoshen discussed with the Crown Prince about tomorrow's sacrificial ceremony.

Akinori Zhaoshen was very satisfied with this son of his. This time, Xuanyuan Hancheng took the initiative to ask the other princes to participate in the sacrificial ceremony.

Xuanyuan Hancheng said that his younger brothers had all grown up, so they could also participate in the important matters of the Xuanyuan Imperial Court.

He also hoped that in the future, his younger brothers would be able to help the Xuanyuan Empire and work together with him to realize the prosperity of the Xuanyuan Empire.

In the early years, during the struggle for the throne, Akinori Zhaoshen and the other princes did not have any brotherly feelings. There was only mutual vigilance, conspiracy, and calculation.

He was very pleased that the Crown Prince was able to get along well with the other princes and was very respectful towards each other.

At this time, a eunuch's voice came from outside the tent. It was Imperial Father's personal chamberlain, Zhao Yong. Behind him, a guard came in. The guard lowered his head and carefully carried a tray.

Zhao Yong first went forward to pay his respects to the Emperor and the Crown Prince. The guard behind him also followed suit.

Zhao Yong placed the bowl of soup on the table.

"Emperor, please have a midnight snack.

Tonight, I have prepared some wild mushroom soup for you. "

When the guard saw that the Crown Prince was also in the Emperor's tent, his eyes jumped.

He quickly lowered his head and withdrew. Xuanyuan Hancheng glanced at him.

He felt that this guard was somewhat familiar, so he called out to him and asked, "What is your name?"

The guard clearly did not expect that the Crown Prince would ask him a question. For a moment, he panicked.

When Zhao Yong saw that he didn't reply to the Crown Prince, he hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, this is Imperial Guard Wu Zhijie. He was transferred from the Imperial Guard because he came to offer sacrifices to the heavens.

He had been working at Xuanwu Gate before. "He naturally knew the details of the Imperial Bodyguards by the Emperor's side.

There were many princes on this trip. In order to ensure the safety of the princes, some of them were transferred from the Imperial Army.

"Wu Zhijie?!

How old are you this year? You look very young. "Xuanyuan Hancheng recalled this person's information in his mind.

"Replying to the Crown Prince, this servant is 23 years old this year." Wu Zhijie did not dare to look at the Crown Prince. He felt very guilty. At this time, he just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Xuanyuan Hancheng finally remembered who Wu Zhijie was.

Looking at Wu Zhijie's erratic eyes, Xuanyuan Hancheng was alarmed.

Xuanyuan Hancheng suddenly picked up the steaming soup on the table and handed it to Wu Zhijie.

"Drink it."

When Wu Zhijie saw the soup in front of him, he suddenly took a step back and knelt down.

"This servant … this servant … does not dare …"

Xuanyuan Hancheng knew that there was something wrong with the soup just by looking at him. He looked at him with a smile that was not a smile, "This is a reward for you. Drink it quickly!"

Wu Zhijie knelt on the ground. His face was already sweating nervously.

"This servant … this servant … deserves to die …"

When the Crown Prince forced Wu Zhijie to drink the soup, Akinori Zhaoshen already knew that there was something wrong with the soup.

He ordered Zhao Yong to find Imperial Physician Chen. Imperial Physician Chen was one of the imperial physicians who came with this trip. He also ordered people to secretly watch over Wu Zhijie.

"Cheng'er, how did you find out?" Akinori Zhaoshen did not find anything wrong with Wu Zhijie from beginning to end.

"This son accidentally found out that Wu Zhijie was born from Xue Gui's mistress.

I just asked casually, but I didn't expect him to be so panicked. "

This was what Xuanyuan Hancheng knew in his previous life. After the Xue family fell from power, Wu Zhijie was reported to be Xue Gui's illegitimate son.

At that time, Wu Zhijie had already served in the Imperial Army for many years. He had relied on his own efforts and had never participated in the Xue family's affairs.

Xuanyuan Hancheng did not punish him. He only demoted him to the army.

He did not expect Wu Zhijie to have such a change in this life …

It turned out that in this life, Xue Gui's legitimate son was gone. Only then did he remember that he had a more promising mistress.

Wu Zhijie's mother was an honest brothel official. She was redeemed by the young Xue Gui and left outside.

Of course, the Xue family would not accept a prostitute's child, especially the Xue Gui's eldest son.

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, the Xue Gui had always kept it a secret.

Wu Zhijie was also a capable person. After his mother passed away, he relied on his own efforts to enter the Imperial Army.

This time, the Xue Gui thought of Wu Zhijie for Prince Li's matter. He was the best candidate.

For this reason, he promised Wu Zhijie that as long as he succeeded, he would let him return to the Xue family.

He also put him under Lady Zhao's name as the legitimate son. In this life, Wu Zhijie could not resist the temptation of being the legitimate son of the Xue family and agreed.

Imperial Physician Chen came in to examine the soup. "Reporting to the emperor and the crown prince, there is a colorless and tasteless knockout drug in this soup. If you drink this entire bowl of soup, you will be unconscious for three days and three nights …"

Akinori Zhaoshen immediately ordered Zhao Yong, "Go and see if this supper is sent elsewhere.

Quickly go and stop it … "

"Yes."

Zhao Yong quickly ran out. His body was covered in cold sweat. He had used a silver needle to examine the soup, but he did not find anything wrong with it.

This Wu Zhijie was really hateful. No wonder he kept pestering him to show his face in front of the emperor. It turned out that he had bad intentions.

Zhao Yong ran out for a while and came back gasping for breath.

"Reporting to the emperor, the crown prince and the other four princes have received their supper.

Except for the second prince, who is still practicing martial arts, the other three princes have already drunk the soup and are now unconscious. "

Akinori Zhaoshen asked Imperial Physician Chen, "Is there an antidote for this knockout drug?"

Imperial Physician Chen replied, "Reporting to the emperor, this knockout drug should be obtained from Jianghu. Please allow me to go back and check how many herbs were used in this knockout drug before I make the prescription."

Akinori Zhaoshen nodded, "Quickly …"

"Yes." Imperial Physician Chen retreated.

At this time, only Akinori Zhaoshen and Xuanyuan Hancheng were left in the tent. Xuanyuan Hancheng and his father looked at each other, "Father, I'm afraid this is the work of Prince Li and the Xue family. Why don't we beat them at their own game …"

In the early morning of the second day, there was smoke coming out of the camp.

At seven o 'clock in the morning, civil and military officials arrived early to wait for the ceremony.

For a long time, the emperor did not come. Even the crown prince and the other princes did not come.

The officials were also muttering in their hearts. It was almost seven o 'clock in the morning …

Xue Gui was very happy in his heart. He had already received the signal from his son.

Last night's operation was foolproof. This time, he also risked his old life to decide to do such a big thing.

Xue Gui looked at the officials standing in front of him and was secretly proud. In the future, he will stand in the front …

Xue Gui's position was in the middle, not as close to the front as Xue Rong's position.

Xue Gui looked at his older brother, Xue Rong, who was at the front of the line. He was envious and jealous of his older brother, Xue Rong. His older brother, Xue Rong, was the leader of the Xue family.

As for Xue Gui, when others talked about him, they would all say that he was Lord Xue Rong's younger brother.

The reason why Xue Gui cooperated with Prince Li was that he wanted to surpass his older brother one day.

In the future, when the Xue family was mentioned, Xue Gui would be the first to think of him.

So this time, he wanted to do something big …

"His Highness Prince Li has arrived …" Prince Li, Akihiro Zhaohong, slowly walked over under the protection of a group of imperial bodyguards.

"His Highness Prince Li …" The courtiers looked at Prince Li in surprise. This Prince Li should be in Li City. Vassals were not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial decree. Now, His Highness Prince Li was …

Some old courtiers saw that Prince Li had arrived, but the Emperor and Crown Prince were nowhere to be seen. They felt that something was wrong.

"The Emperor and Crown Prince are ill. This time, this Prince will preside over the worship ceremony." Prince Li looked at the courtiers below and loudly said.

Prime Minister, Xie Changqing, asked Prince Li, "The worship ceremony is a big event. The Emperor will not be absent for no reason. Prince Li, do you have the Emperor's personal decree?"

Xie Changqing was the head of the civil officials. He was only sixty years old and had already experienced two dynasties. No matter how hard he tried, he refused to believe Prince Li's words.

After the Prime Minister finished speaking, the courtiers below all echoed his words.

"The Emperor is already ill and delirious. He is unable to issue a personal decree.

The auspicious time for the worship ceremony is approaching. We cannot delay it. "Prince Li ignored Xie Changqing's words and insisted on supporting the worship ceremony.

"Aside from the Emperor, only the Crown Prince can preside over the worship ceremony. Prince Li, I'm afraid you do not have this qualification." Xie Changqing was still unwilling to give up.

"This Prince is also the late Emperor's legitimate son. Why can't I perform the worship ceremony?

Enough nonsense. The worship ceremony can begin. "Prince Li rudely said.

Emperor Akinori Zhaoshen and Crown Prince Xuanyuan Hancheng had already been bewitched.

It was only right for him to perform the worship ceremony. He had been waiting for this day for too long.

As early as when the late Emperor was still alive, he had been brought here to perform the worship ceremony. He had vowed in his heart that he would one day stand in his father's position.

What did Akinori Zhaoshen have? He only ascended the throne because of good luck.

The late Emperor clearly wanted him to succeed the throne.

The more Akihiro Zhaohong thought about it, the more unwilling he became. Today, he must perform the worship ceremony.

This was also the reason why he had rushed to the altar instead of first checking on the unconscious Emperor, Crown Prince, and the others.

Once he finished the worship ceremony, he would deal with them.

If it wasn't for the fact that directly poisoning them would be detected, he would have directly poisoned them to death.

But he wasn't in a hurry. He still wanted to enjoy torturing them. Once he forced Akinori Zhaoshen to issue the abdication edict, he would be able to legitimately ascend the throne and kill them.

Akihiro Zhaohong knew that Crown Prince Xuanyuan Hancheng had joined forces with the Crown Princess to harm his son. According to Xuanyuan Hancheng's personality, he already knew what would happen to him.

Thinking about the destroyed barbarian tribe, Akihiro Zhaohong had no choice but to strike first to gain the initiative. He didn't expect to succeed so smoothly … Even God was helping him!

Prince Li raised his eyebrows when he saw that the ministers weren't cooperating. The bodyguards went up and surrounded the ministers.

"Prince Li, you are rebelling!" Xie Changqing shouted loudly.

Xue Rong watched all of this with a frown. He didn't say a word. Prince Li was too reckless this time …

At this time, Xue Gui ran forward. "We invite His Highness Prince Li to perform the worship ceremony."

Xue Gui looked at the silent Xue Rong and said: "Big Brother, why don't you support Prince Li with me …"

Xue Rong looked at his excited brother and sighed in his heart.

At this point, there was no other way. The Xue family could only go down this path.

Prince Li looked at the Xue family and the ministers of the Xue family with satisfaction and was about to step onto the altar.

At this time, an angry shout came from afar. "Prince Li, how dare you!"