In Ci'an Palace, Zhen Si's agonizing screams continued endlessly. The palace servants carried out basin after basin of bloody water, causing the Empress Dowager to feel extremely anxious.

It had already been two hours, and if Zhen Si didn't give birth soon, she would run out of strength. The Empress Dowager ordered someone to send in the prepared congee. Granny Sun supported the Empress Dowager and consoled, "Empress Dowager, set your mind at ease. The midwife said the Consort's spirit is still good and she can hold on for another hour."

The Empress Dowager dabbed her temples with a handkerchief and sighed, "After all, it's still some time until my situation back when I gave birth to the Emperor. The amniotic fluid broke half a month early, nearly taking both my life and the Emperor's."

Granny Sun comforted with a smile, "That's because the Empress Dowager has great fortune. Empress Dowager, you should eat something too. Keeping watch for half a day, you must be hungry."

The Empress Dowager shook her head and went to sit on the couch in the east room, closing her eyes to rest. Granny Sun persuaded in a low voice, "The Consort's appetite has been poor recently. Should we have the imperial physician prescribe some medicine? It can't go on like this, can it?"

The Empress Dowager opened her eyes and was about to speak when Chu Shaoling entered from outside. Granny Sun quickly said, "Your Highness, please persuade the Consort to at least eat something."

Chu Shaoling chuckled, "The Empress Dowager must dislike the food prepared by the grannies. I just went to get the Empress Dowager a bowl of five-colored rice congee, paired with pickled duck gizzards, it's just right."

Chu Shaoling personally opened the food box, took out the congee and side dishes, and arranged them properly. He smiled, "I'll accompany the Empress Dowager to eat some." Saying that, he took a small blue-edged porcelain bowl, filled it with congee for the Empress Dowager, and personally presented it to her.

The Empress Dowager originally didn't want to eat anything, but seeing Chu Shaoling like this, it was hard to refuse. She smiled, "Forget it, I can't resist you."

The Empress Dowager ate half a bowl of congee with the duck gizzards. Chu Shaoling also had some himself. After the Empress Dowager finished, she appeared even more tired. At first, she still chatted with Chu Shaoling intermittently, but after a while, she fell asleep leaning on the couch. Granny Sun quickly fetched a blanket to cover the Empress Dowager. Chu Shaoling softly instructed, "The Empress Dowager is tired. Granny, please watch over her well."

Granny Sun nodded and said softly, "Your Highness, why don't you also rest for a bit?"

Chu Shaoling shook his head and turned to order someone to clean up the bowls and plates that the two of them had just used in the outer room and take them out. He took his people and went outside.

Chu Shaoling turned his head and glanced at the carved jade water clock in the hall. It was the hour of the rat.

Everything that needed to be arranged had been arranged, and everything that needed to be prepared had been prepared. Chu Shaoling walked down the stone steps and softly instructed his attendant, "Consort Zhen is having a difficult birth and is uneasy. Order all the palace servants from Yongfu Palace to come here, and also transfer the guards around Yongfu Palace here to set Consort Zhen's mind at ease."

The attendant bowed and left. Chu Shaoling rubbed his temples. Yongfu Palace was close to the Emperor's Chengqian Palace. The fewer guards there, the better. Chu Shaoling looked at the water clock again. The Emperor had just returned to Chengqian Palace half an hour ago and probably hadn't gone to bed yet. There might be some trouble in a while.

Chu Shaoling was still unsure from which direction Chu Shaomo would attack. In Chu Shaoling's opinion, Xuanwu Gate would be easy to break through and was also close to Chengqian Palace. But if attacking from Mulan Hunting Grounds all the way, it would be more convenient to enter through Shunzhen Gate.

Chu Shaoling lightly fiddled with the jade pendant at his waist. No matter which direction he attacked from, when the time came, he would just say the Empress Dowager was unwell and directly transfer the guards here.

Chu Shaoling quietly gazed at the ink-colored night sky outside the palace, hoping that the reckless Chu Shaomo could break through the city gates and charge in. If he couldn't even break through the palace gates, then Chu Shaoling wouldn't need to bother anymore.

Although Chu Shaomo wasn't very smart, he knew that this time he had reached a point of no return. Before taking action, he made many comprehensive plans and listened to the strategy offered by his advisor Tingyu. When entering the city gate, Chu Shaomo had his personal guards ram the gate, shouting that the Third Prince was injured while hunting at Mulan Hunting Grounds and urgently needed to return to the palace to summon the imperial physician to save his life.

The young officers guarding the north city gate that night didn't question why the prince's injury wasn't treated immediately or where exactly the prince was injured. Seeing that it was indeed the Third Prince's entourage, they directly opened the city gate. The two thousand plus soldiers lying in ambush outside the city swarmed in and captured the north city gate. The group seized the command tokens and headed straight for the inner city!

To avoid alarming the imperial guards, Chu Shaomo's personal army moved with extreme speed. In no time, they charged into the inner city. This time, Chu Shaomo used the same method as before. He ordered the crowd to hide a hundred paces away, leaving only a dozen people supporting him. Using the command tokens, he claimed he was injured while hunting and needed to enter the palace to summon the imperial physician for a secret medicine. The people in the inner city didn't think much and quickly opened the city gate. Using the same method, the inner city was also conquered.

Chu Shaomo's journey had been smooth sailing. Out of the two thousand plus men, less than a hundred were lost. The morale of his personal soldiers soared. Chu Shaomo was overjoyed. He first rewarded the subordinates who had made great contributions during the attack on the city. Reorganizing the troops, he prepared to attack the imperial palace.

However, Chu Shaomo didn't choose the lightly guarded Xuanwu Gate or the Shunzhen Gate that was close to him. Instead, he changed course, bypassed to Meridian Gate, laughing loudly, crossed the Golden Water Bridge, and headed straight for Fengxian Gate. Chu Shaomo shouted along with the battle cries. He was not a treacherous minister or rebel. He was going to attack the Forbidden Palace through the main gate!

Fengxian Gate was the grand and majestic main gate of the imperial palace. It directly faced Fengtian Hall, where the court officials attended the morning court sessions every day. Compared to other places, there were three times as many imperial guards patrolling and guarding here. Even Chu Shaoling, who could foresee things like a god, never imagined that Chu Shaomo would attack from Fengxian Gate.

When the commotion started outside Fengxian Gate, Chu Shaoling was still making arrangements. When to start the fire, how to lure the rebel troops towards Chengqian Palace - every detail had been planned by everyone. They were just waiting for Chu Shaomo to break in. At the third quarter of the hour of the rat, a palace servant rushed in and reported in a panic, "Third Prince, Third Prince is leading people to force his way into the palace outside Fengxian Gate! He has already crossed the Golden Water Bridge. Eldest Prince..."

Chu Shaoling's mind buzzed. He inwardly cursed Chu Shaomo for being an idiot that couldn't be put to great use. After days of planning, it had all been in vain! Hearing this, Chu Shaoling's personal guards also knew that today's task was probably ruined.

Let alone the fact that Chu Shaomo only had two thousand troops, even if he had twice as many, it would be impossible for him to break into Fengxian Gate. Even if he did break in, the front court was so far from the rear palace, separated by so many walls and so many squads of imperial guards.

There was no way he could attack all the way to the rear palace, let alone the Emperor's Chengqian Palace. Chu Shaoling was filled with anger. He cursed fiercely, "The Third Prince is a great traitor to the country. I will go capture him!"

Chu Shaoling now wished he could personally kill Chu Shaomo. Just as he was about to go out, Consort Fei staggered out from inside, supported by a palace servant. She said anxiously, "Where is the Empress Dowager? Zhen Si is hemorrhaging heavily. What should we do? The midwife inside asked me whether to save the adult or the child. How can I make that decision?"

Consort Fei saw that Chu Shaoling wasn't saying anything and wanted to go in to find the Empress Dowager. Chu Shaoling stopped her and said coldly, "The Empress Dowager has just gone to rest."

Consort Fei had always been afraid of Chu Shaoling. Hearing this, she didn't dare to go further inside, but she also didn't want to bear such a big matter. She said anxiously, "Then what did the Crown Prince say to do? The servant who went to Chengqian Palace hasn't returned yet, I..."

Chu Shaoling glanced in the direction of the side hall and said, "Ask Consort Zhen for her own opinion." After saying that, he took his people and went to the front.

Consort Fei was so anxious that her face turned yellow. Having no choice, she had to be supported by the palace servants and returned to the side hall.

Now, Chu Shaomo could no longer make this move. As Chu Shaoling walked out, he ordered, "Send a message to the Emperor, and then order all the imperial guards in Taihe Hall, Baohe Hall, Zhonghe Hall, and Qianqing Palace to join forces to suppress the rebels."

A guard hesitated for a moment and asked, "Prince, do you want to remind them not to hurt the Third Prince?"

Chu Shaoling lowered his eyes and glanced at the guard, saying lightly, "If we spare him now, will the Emperor let him go?"

The guard said no more. Several guards quickly went to pass on the message, and the rest, after leaving Ci'an Palace, mounted their broadswords and closely followed Chu Shaoling to the front.

Chu Shaoling sent a guard to Bitao Palace to pass a message to Wang Muhan. When Wang Muhan learned about the detailed situation, he also sighed with a few coughs, saying, "Forget it, there wasn't much chance of winning anyway. It's just that I didn't expect it to be ruined from this step, oh!"

In the inner chamber, Wei Ji's eyebrows moved slightly. In a half-asleep state, he actually heard all of Wang Muhan's words. Wei Ji wanted to wake up, but he only felt dizzy in his head, and his eyelids were as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"Alas, you said it, there wasn't much chance of winning anyway. The prince also said before that he was afraid he couldn't fight his way to Chengqian Palace, so we can't make a move either. But who would have thought that the Third Prince would actually break in from the main gate! Is he crazy?! This isn't our prince's lack of careful consideration, you have to persuade the prince when you come back, I'm holding a belly full of anger!"

"The prince has a deep scheming heart, what's the big deal with the Emperor? What did he say?"

"The Emperor? I heard that he was frightened by the Third Prince's break-in and his heart disease acted up, so he can't get out of bed. He sent the prince to go to the front to suppress the rebellion."

"Oh, the prince is now leading people to Fengtian Gate?"

"Yes, the rebels and imperial guards are still in chaos over there, so the prince has to go to take command."

Wei Ji heard these few sentences in a daze, worried about Chu Shaoling's safety, and was very anxious. Chu Shaoling was afraid of hurting his body, so the drug he used was very light. At this time, most of the drug's effect had passed, and it actually allowed him to struggle to open his eyes.

Wei Ji looked outside, turned his head to take the cup placed beside the couch, and directly splashed it on his face. After a moment of relief, he woke up, turned over and got off the couch. Wei Ji looked outside, and saw that most of Chu Shaoling's guards and Wang Muhan were guarding outside. Wei Ji was afraid of alarming these people, so he didn't dare to go out from the main door. He quietly opened the window and climbed out, bypassing the corridor and went straight to Fengtian Gate from the back door!

Wei Ji guessed that Chu Shaoling probably went to Fengtian Gate from Ci'an Palace. After leaving Bitao Palace, he ran towards Qianqing Gate, bypassing the Imperial Garden. Fortunately, the palace was already in chaos at this time, and no one paid attention to Wei Ji. When Wei Ji ran to Qianqing Gate, the guards here had already been completely transferred away by Chu Shaoling. There was no one outside the empty Qianqing Palace. Wei Ji's heart suddenly panicked. Where was Chu Shaoling? Where were these people?

At this time, Wei Ji was already completely awake. He shook his head hard to make himself not panic, and think carefully about where Chu Shaoling might be now. However, he was too concerned and confused. Wei Ji was getting more and more anxious outside the empty Qianqing Gate.

"Wei Ji? Is that Wei Ji?!"

Wei Ji quickly turned around. Chu Shaoling was walking over with a group of people in quick steps. Chu Shaoling had originally wanted to bypass Qianqing Palace and go through the corridor. When he turned his head unintentionally, he saw Wei Ji standing under the palace lantern with a panicked expression. Chu Shaoling's heart had gone through ups and downs several times this night. Now, seeing Wei Ji here, his heart suddenly calmed down.

Chu Shaoling walked to Wei Ji's side in a few steps and grabbed Wei Ji's hand, asking urgently, "Why did you come out?!"

Wei Ji didn't know what to say. It was clearly Chu Shaoling who drugged him and left him unconscious in Bitao Palace, but now it seemed like he was the one at fault. Wei Ji lowered his head and said, "I... I was worried about Your Highness."

More than a dozen of Chu Shaoling's guards stopped a few zhang away from the two, holding their breath and not saying a word. Wei Ji's hair was blown messy by the wind, and his clothes were also torn in several places when he jumped out of the window. His face was full of panic, and his eyes were avoiding Chu Shaoling's, with both worry and fear. Chu Shaoling's heart, cast in iron and tempered in steel, suddenly softened. Wei Ji had never been so flustered in front of others.

The plan to use Chu Shaomo had failed. It would be a lie to say that Chu Shaoling wasn't angry in his heart. But now, seeing Wei Ji standing beside him safe and sound, anxiously worrying about him, Chu Shaoling suddenly felt that those troublesome matters were nothing. Chu Shaoling's heart, which encompassed the four seas, now became small, only able to hold Wei Ji alone.

Chu Shaoling himself felt it was unbelievable. At this moment, he actually felt happy from the bottom of his heart. Chu Shaoling smiled, rubbed Wei Ji's head with both doting and helplessness, and said in a low voice, "Forget it, come with me."

The two went up to Taihe Hall together. The imperial guards had now surrounded Chu Shaomo and his men. After half an hour of suppression, only less than a hundred men were left out of the two thousand rebels. The remaining men surrounded Chu Shaomo in the middle to resist. Chu Shaoling leaned on the vermilion railing and silently watched Chu Shaomo's dying struggle not far away. Chu Shaoling turned his head and asked Wei Ji, "From this far, can you hit them if you use a bow and arrow?"

Wei Ji took a look and nodded, "I can hit them."

"Won't hurt anyone else?"

Wei Ji measured the distance again with his eyes and shook his head, "No."

Chu Shaoling chuckled and ordered someone to bring a six-jun bow and handed it to Wei Ji, saying, "Today can't be in vain. However many you shoot is how many you get. Remember the head count and they will all be counted as your military merits."

Wei Ji nodded, drew out an arrow, nocked it on the bow, exerted force with his arm to fully draw the bow, slightly narrowed his left eye, and suddenly released the bowstring. The arrow whistled and rushed towards the rebels, taking a life in an instant!

"Good! No wonder you are my capable close guard!" Chu Shaoling smiled, "Keep going."

Wei Ji lowered his head, "Yes." As he spoke, he drew out arrows and continued shooting. Every arrow hit its mark. Before long, he had taken the lives of more than thirty people. The rebels were slaughtered one by one by the imperial guards and Wei Ji, leaving only Chu Shaomo surrounded.

At this moment, Chu Shaomo was like a madman, waving his broadsword to resist. The imperial guards were wary of his identity as a prince and didn't dare to make a move for a while.

Chu Shaoling sneered, "The struggle of a trapped beast."

Wei Ji snapped off the arrowhead with one hand, drew the bowstring fully, and shot the arrow, hitting Chu Shaomo's wrist. Chu Shaomo had no choice but to let go, dropping the saber to the ground. The imperial guards surrounded Chu Shaomo and tied him up.

Chu Shaoling declared in a loud voice, "Third Prince Chu Shaomo, for privately hoarding troops and horses, breaking into the Forbidden Palace at night, and harboring treacherous intentions, shall be temporarily detained in the Court of the Imperial Clan, awaiting His Majesty's personal judgment."

Chu Shaomo was still shouting incessantly as the imperial guards twisted his arms and escorted him away to the Court of the Imperial Clan.

A group of eunuchs hurriedly ran up to Taihe Hall and bowed, saying, "Eldest Prince, Consort Zhen gave birth to a little prince. Both mother and child are safe."