Dressed As a Consort in Ancient Times - Chapter 89.1

The room returned to its initial silence once again. Noble Consort Yuan gazed toward the doorway, her eyes no longer filled with previous despair but instead brimming with deep anticipation and hope. 

She thought, Gu Yun was trustworthy. The person her daughter had chosen could not be someone heartless and scheming. If one doubted a person, they should not use them; if they used someone, they should not doubt them. Now, she need not think of anything else—she only had to wait for good news from outside the palace to arrive…

On the other side, after leaving Changchun Palace, Gu Yun carried the heavy imperial seal in her arms and hurried toward Ganming Hall. She had to seize the time; otherwise, she feared she would not be able to return before dawn. 

The latter half of the night grew even darker, and the patrolling guards were slightly more lax. Without much effort, Gu Yun quietly arrived at Ganming Hall.

Although she did not know exactly which hidden corner Emperor Yu was in, fortunately, her spiritual power remained strong. After a simple scan, she confirmed his location. However, it seemed there were some people secretly watching over him, making it impossible for her to slip in as effortlessly as she had at Changchun Palace. 

Lightly tapping her foot, she noiselessly approached Emperor Yu’s position. In the final moment, she unleashed her powerful spiritual energy, preparing to strike the hidden guards.

But before she could act, an unusual sound echoed around her. The noise was faint, but Gu Yun heard it clearly. Not only did she hear it, but the hidden guards also twitched their ears, then leaped out one after another. 

Seeing this, Gu Yun completely concealed herself in a dark corner, holding her breath as she observed this sudden turn of events.

A group of men in black emerged from the darkness. Without a word, they launched an attack on the guards stationed at Ganming Hall. However, they did not engage in a prolonged battle; they were solely focused on breaking into the hall… Judging by their actions, their target was the emperor inside! 

Gu Yun watched for a while and, when the two groups became engrossed in their fight, she took advantage of their distraction to stealthily slip into the hall.

No candles were lit inside, and Gu Yun had to rely on her spiritual power to explore her surroundings. 

She made her way into the inner chamber and came to a halt. After confirming that only she and Emperor Yu were present, she walked toward the bedside. His breathing was steady but extremely weak—he was likely still in a deep sleep. 

Gu Yun reached out her hand and paused for a moment at the tip of his nose. Fortunately, his breath did not resemble that of someone on the brink of death. As for why it was so faint… Gu Yun was not a physician and lacked the ability to check his pulse. However, she could use her spiritual power to probe into Emperor Yu’s mind and investigate.

Although the results might not be useful, it was still better than nothing—there was always a chance she might uncover something. With this thought, she released a gentle wisp of spiritual power and swiftly delved into Emperor Yu’s mind. A moment later, she withdrew it.

How strange. The search results indicated that his brain was perfectly fine; there were no signs of poisoning or injury-induced weakness. On the contrary, everything appeared completely normal. So why had he remained in a coma for so long?!

This was truly peculiar. Once she returned, she would need to report this matter in detail to the Seventh Princess—not only to ease her concerns but also to let her consider what methods might exist to keep a normal person unconscious for an extended period without causing any harm.

The sounds of fighting outside grew louder and louder. Gu Yun silently crept out again.

Spotting a panting guard lying in a nearby corner, she raised an eyebrow and used her spiritual power to temporarily take control of him. After issuing him a strong directive, the man charged back into the melee, but his steps did not pause. He fought as he moved outward, gradually distancing himself until he vanished from sight. 

Seeing this, Gu Yun glanced at the battle raging behind her, crossed her arms, and continued hiding in her dark corner.

For such a loud and intense fight, not a single person had come to check on it until now—Gu Yun did not believe there was no conspiracy behind this. Since someone wanted to keep this matter hidden, she would ensure it was exposed to the world. 

After all, Jiang Ying still had to maintain a respectable public image. If word got out that the emperor was being assassinated and she did nothing, she would be criticized for her inaction.

—

About two quarters of an hour later, the sound of hurried footsteps rang out from outside. Gu Yun silently smiled. It seemed that, just as she had expected, Jiang Ying would not ignore Emperor Yu before obtaining the imperial edict of succession. 

However, after hearing the commotion outside, the guards suddenly lightened their attacks, allowing some of the black-clad men to rush toward the hall. Gu Yun’s eyes instantly turned cold. She couldn’t understand why those guards were doing this, so she had no choice but to release her spiritual power again, striking at the black-clad men who had already stepped onto the stairs.

After momentarily stopping them, the sound of approaching footsteps grew closer, and a group stormed into Ganming Hall.  

“Who goes there?!”  

A team of imperial guards, clad in armor, swiftly surrounded the combatants. Seeing that none of the black-clad men had managed to enter the hall, the original guards of Ganming Hall gritted their teeth and quickly explained to the imperial guards, “We are the armed guards responsible for the emperor’s safety. These black-clad men are here to assassinate His Majesty!”  

With the imperial guards’ assistance, the guards put on a decent display of capturing the black-clad men. However, it appeared that these attackers were death warriors—several of them bit through their tongues to commit suicide. 

Upon seeing this, the leader of the guards promptly dislocated the jaw of one of the captives, ensuring a few of them remained alive.  

—

Once the crowd had dispersed and Gu Yun confirmed that the emperor was no longer in danger, she took advantage of the approaching dawn to head toward the palace exit.  

Along the way, she silently reflected on the scene she had just witnessed.  

At first, those guards had hidden in the shadows—it didn’t seem like they were genuinely protecting the emperor. Meanwhile, the black-clad men truly intended to take the emperor’s life, which was why their attacks were so ruthless and why they had charged straight for the hall. Yet, the guards also fought the black-clad men with lethal force, only withdrawing their killing intent at the last moment when they heard the imperial guards approaching, allowing a few of the attackers to slip inside… Such contradictory actions seemed increasingly suspicious.  

But one thing Gu Yun was certain of—the black-clad men did not belong to Jiang Ying. If she had truly wanted the emperor dead, given her current control over the palace, she could have easily staged an undetectable “sudden death.”  

Not to mention, she still needed the imperial edict of succession to claim the throne legitimately. So the black-clad men couldn’t have been her people.  

Then who exactly wanted the emperor dead?  

A name surfaced in Gu Yun’s mind—Third Prince Jiang Heng.  

Logically speaking, under such circumstances, he was the best candidate to inherit the throne. However, that day, Jiang Ying had suddenly appeared in court and seized his power as regent.  

So… did he deliberately surrender his authority to lull Jiang Ying into a false sense of security, then bide his time before making his move? Had he orchestrated this assassination attempt to frame Jiang Ying, making it seem as if the emperor had died due to her failure to protect him?  

Could that really be the case?  

Gu Yun wasn’t sure, and the more she thought about it, the stranger it all seemed.  

Forget it—this was something she should discuss with the Seventh Princess after returning. The Seventh Princess was quite familiar with the other royal family members—perhaps she could pinpoint the key to this mystery.