Chapter 195 Crisis
Yihuan said she was used to Yinzhen being summoned by the emperor again in the middle of the night. After all, this was not the first time.

Yinzhen washed his face to keep himself awake. He had already walked out and then turned back: "The whole house is under martial law. No matter what happens outside, do not open the door. Wait for me to come back."

Yihuan was awakened by his words. She looked at Yinzhen's eyes, which were shining slightly, and understood something. She slowed down her heartbeat and gave him a big smile: "I... and the children are waiting for you at home."

"By the way, take good care of Honghui!" Yihuan suddenly remembered that Honghui was still in the palace, and she got up and started practicing calligraphy to calm down.

Yinzhen nodded and quickly disappeared into the night.

Speaking of Honghui, he also spent a thrilling night.

Since entering the palace, Honghui has been living in Yonghe Palace. That night, he reviewed his lessons as usual, then turned off the lights and went to sleep. However, he was awakened by Nanny Lu not long after. He saw Nanny Lu covering her mouth in panic.

"Big brother, don't make any noise, there are soldiers outside."

Honghui turned over and got out of bed, looking out the window. The moonlight was spreading like water, and he could clearly see a figure swaying on the corridor.

"You are not allowed to bring weapons into the palace. Take this for self-defense." Nanny Lu stuffed a dagger into Honghui's hand and said, "Don't use it unless it is absolutely necessary. Remember this."

As soon as the two of them finished their whisper, the door was pushed open with great force, and a soldier in armor strode in: "The Crown Prince has ordered that you all go to Changchun Palace for tea."

"Changchun Palace was the residence of the late queen. The emperor had long ago sealed the palace and forbade anyone to enter, so as not to disturb the late queen's soul. Who are you and how dare you falsely convey the prince's oral instructions!" Honghui asked with a frown.

The soldiers didn't want to say more and drew their swords immediately.

"Honghui, come here, let's go with him." Defei's voice came from the door. She was already dressed and wrapped in a cloak, and waved to Honghui.

Upon seeing this, Honghui looked at the fierce soldier seriously again and helped Defei out of Yonghe Palace.

When they were near Changchun Palace, they could hear a noisy sound. Honghui listened carefully and it seemed that someone was escorting all the ladies in the harem here under the banner of the crown prince.

The front hall of Changchun Palace was now crowded with people. Defei arrived relatively late, and a young noblewoman silently made room for her.

From time to time, the suppressed crying of a woman could be heard in the room.

"Cry, cry, cry. All you do is cry. The emperor is still fine. Who are you crying for?" Concubine Yi had a bad temper to begin with. She was forced to come here and took out all her anger on the young noble lady.

Concubine Hui didn't say anything, she closed her eyes and seemed to have fallen asleep.

Rong Fei, on the contrary, did not seem panicked and was in a mood to comfort her younger sisters.

After Concubine De sat down, Concubine Hui suddenly spoke: "It doesn't matter if all of us die here, but you are unlucky. You have Honghui with you. He is the eldest son of Prince Yong, smart and well-loved."

"Sister Defei, if anything happens to this child today..." Concubine Hui said meaningfully as she looked at Honghui, who was keeping his head down and not looking around.

"Don't worry about that, Sister Huifei. My son has a cold face but an even colder heart. I guarantee that someone will have to apologize for every hair that Honghui loses today." Concubine De, contrary to her usual humility, refused to give in.

"Oh, why are you so excited? It's meaningless." Concubine Hui stared at the closed door. "Tell me later what we should do if the prince comes in?" Concubine De did not speak. She looked around, trying to find a good hiding place for Honghui.

Judging from the situation, it was obvious that the prince was going to rebel. If the prince lost, everyone would be happy. If the prince won, she would have to find a way to protect Honghui. The soldiers had been following her too closely all the way, and there was no way for her to escape.

Everyone in the room was woken up in the middle of the night and had a cold. Now it was impossible for them to sleep, and their stomachs began to growl.

There was no water or food in the room, only fresh fruits and vegetables were offered in front of the seat of the late queen. Honghui found that many people were secretly staring at the food.

He thought for a moment, then stood up and knocked on the door. The guard at the door impatiently opened the door and showed a knife: "What's the matter? Stay quiet. If you dare to cause trouble, I will kill you without mercy!"

Honghui took out a silver note from his bosom and put it into the guard's palm: "It's even more dewy. Please give us some drinks, generals. I wonder if you can give us some snacks and water, anything is fine."

"Boy, do you think I invited you here? And you still want me to provide you with good food and drink?" The guard rolled his eyes, but honestly stuffed the banknote into his arms.

Honghui smiled and took out another stack of banknotes from his arms. He took a quick look and saw that there were ten banknotes. "Generals, you have worked hard. I think His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can't take care of us now. Besides, since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants us to be guarded instead of killed, then we are still useful. We can't really starve to death here, and you won't be able to explain it to yourself."

The guard was tempted. This nearly one thousand taels of silver was enough for him to gamble for a long time.

"Wait." After saying that, he turned around and talked to the soldier beside him. Not long after, he came back with a food box.

The food box was filled with unknown snacks that even the maidservants around the master looked down upon. Many of them were not complete, and the box was full of residue. As for the water, it was just cold water.

Honghui used local materials to make a simple gauze net and filtered the clean water again. He couldn't find charcoal and the guards would not give it to him. If a fire broke out, it would be their fault.

Honghui used his cloak to warm the teacup, which was all he could do to make the water not too cold. He picked out a few that were in decent condition and put them in front of Concubine De: "Madam, these are all we can use. Oh, and here's one. Fill your stomach first."

Honghui untied his purse, which contained half a bag of dried beef cubes.

"This is made by my mother. It's delicious."

Defei reached out and touched Honghui's shoulder: "Don't be afraid, let's eat together. I believe your Royal Mafa, okay."

"Yeah." Honghui resisted the urge to rush out and go home to protect his mother.

For a moment, the room became quiet. After having some snacks, someone couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep while sitting on the ground leaning against a pillar.

Honghui silently recalled the guards he saw after opening the door just now. There were two at the door, at least four at the main gate, and three or five patrolling from time to time. This place was guarded tightly, and there was basically no chance of escaping under their noses.

Just as everyone was waiting anxiously, there were sounds of footsteps, the clanging of swords, and people's roars outside Changchun Palace.

Honghui stood up and lay on the crack of the door. The people outside no longer cared about the "prisoners" inside. It turned out that another group of people had directly engaged them in hand-to-hand combat, catching them off guard.

Some cold arrows were stuck on the windows. The concubines in the room huddled together for warmth, and slowly, the outside became quiet.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Honghui's eyes lit up when he saw the man in the lead: "Fourteenth Uncle!"