Chapter 52: Pincer Movement from Both Sides

Two processions slowly came to a halt in front of the grand gates of the Pei Residence, where the members of the Pei clan present were already beginning to feel stretched thin.

Having no other choice, even the estate's retainers and honored guests were mobilized to greet the arriving visitors. Eventually, Pei Judao walked out with a beaming smile, flanked by several attendants, and politely ushered the Crown Prince and his entourage inside.

As for the initial teasing and trials originally intended for the new groom, they had long since been tacitly cast to the back of everyone's minds. Many members of the Pei clan were even privately praying that the fellow surnamed Wu would hurry up and take his wife away.

Yet amidst the bustling and lively Pei Residence, very few people noticed that Wu An, who should have been the protagonist of the day, had been nowhere to be seen.

"Go on in."

Wu An pushed open the study's door to find several figures seated around the desk within, heads bowed as they studied a military map.

The Crown Prince motioned for him to sit by his side and casually introduced the names of the others present, among whom were the two驸马都尉 (imperial sons-in-law) serving in the Left and Right Imperial Guard corps whom the Crown Prince had previously mentioned.

Unlike Li Jingxuan, the princesses married to these two imperial sons-in-law had both been born to Consort Xiao, placing them inherently and unwillingly in direct opposition to the Heavenly Empress.

Yet, ironically, it had been the Empress herself who had originally bestowed those two princesses upon them, effectively manufacturing two enemies out of thin air.

Unlike the others, these two imperial sons-in-law proactively rose to pay their respects to Wu An, their tones carrying a distinct trace of reverence.

"Commander Wu commands the Thousand-Rider Corps and possesses a boundless future. It is thanks to Commander Wu tonight that men like us may even have the chance to repay our loyalty to the imperial court."

Wu An returned the courtesy, feeling a quiet curiosity regarding their phrasing—"repay loyalty to the imperial court"?

The Crown Prince was secretly gathering a faction, plotting to take advantage of the night to storm the palace precincts. Such an act was, in essence, outright rebellion.

"Remember this well, all of you: we are not rebelling, nor are we committing treason."

The Crown Prince swept his gaze around the study and declared in a ringing voice, "His Majesty has vanished without a trace within the palace walls, yet imperial edicts that work against the peace of the realm are repeatedly issued from within. Tonight, I shall lead you into the palace to seek an audience with the Sovereign, and inquire in person after His Majesty's well-being!"

Wu An thought to himself that the Crown Prince was indeed worthy of his station; he certainly knew how to put a fine gloss on things.

He soon noticed that there were very few people inside the study; almost none of the crimson-robed officials waiting outside were seated here. The Crown Prince sat down beside him, followed his gaze around the room, and instantly understood.

"They are merely here to lend momentum to my cause."

If the Crown Prince sought to rally public sentiment and flex his muscles, the majority of court officials would naturally be more than willing to put on a show of support. After all, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the current Crown Prince was entirely positioned to ascend the throne in due course.

"Yet they do not realize that their mere presence by your side has already laid an auspicious foundation for tonight's enterprise."

Whoever won, they would back.

Yet the Crown Prince's maneuver had directly forced them into "supporting" him first, thereby securing the certainty of victory.

When the news broke tomorrow, anyone and everyone would first have to contend with the dozens of scarlet- and purple-robed ministers standing right outside the gates of the Pei Residence.

The Crown Prince laughed, reaching out to pat Wu An on the shoulder.

"Whatever the Empress Mother can give you amounts to little more than wealth and beauties.

Yet I can tell you this: if you attach yourself to her, your official rank within the next three years will stall indefinitely at the station of a mere Zhongchong Commander. If you harbor any dissatisfaction, the Thousand-Rider Corps that you have so painstakingly brought into your grasp will either be effortlessly dismantled by her or handed over to other scions of the Wu clan.

She offers you only the present; I promise you a future!"

Wu An nodded noncommittally, entirely unmoved by the Crown Prince's rhetoric. Fine words were one thing, while practical execution was quite another; his eyes were fixed solely upon tangible interests.

......

The wedding rituals had already concluded. Seeing that this Commander Wu had not merely one woman standing behind him, but the Crown Prince himself and half the imperial court, no one dared to make things difficult for him any further.

Pei Judao felt somewhat numb to the spectacle. After all, the last man to marry his daughter had been the legitimate Crown Prince of the Great Tang, and the pomp and circumstance then had hardly been any less grand. While outsiders could only envy him for securing such immense fortune through his daughter, Pei Judao himself felt nothing but a deep, bone-weary exhaustion.

He asked for nothing more than that all things today proceed smoothly and his daughter's life be preserved; that alone would constitute absolute perfection.

Supported by several maidservants, Pei Yun ascended the ox-cart. Pei Judao immediately instructed the wedding procession outside to depart with the bride. Watching the procession leave amidst the sound of flutes and drums, Pei Judao could not help but feel a sudden surge of sorrow, instinctively wiping his eyes.

"Father-in-law, why are you weeping?"

"A daughter leaves home to marry; who would not weep?"

Pei Judao replied, only to freeze mid-sentence. He slowly turned his head to look at the black-clad young man standing beside him.

"You... why are you still here?"

The wedding party had joyfully carried the bride off to her husband's home, yet they had left the groom behind at the bride's family estate!

"What are you lingering here for?"

Wu An pondered for a moment before answering, "To drink the wedding wine?"

Pei Judao was just about to shout for someone to drag this scoundrel of a son-in-law away when he abruptly noticed that amidst the congratulatory crowd, the Crown Prince and several ministers had mounted their horses and departed directly, sending a sudden chill through his heart.

It was beginning!

"I must ask my father-in-law to remain within the Duke's Mansion tonight and help me look after my wife. As for the matter of wielding troops, this son-in-law of yours can handle it in your stead."

Feeling somewhat distressed and agitated, Pei Judao lowered his voice and rebuked him: "Without me to show my face, those men of the Golden Wu Guard will never listen to you. With just that pitiful handful of men under your command, how do you expect to accomplish anything?"

Seeing Wu An remain silently unmoving, his anxiety mounted all the more. Dragging him off to an isolated spot, Pei Judao lowered his voice and offered a stern injunction:

"Whether it be the Crown Prince or the Empress, tonight's affair is a desperate gamble for them both. Yet this old man has always felt that the schemes the Empress has laid within this enterprise run unfathomably deep. Should the critical juncture arrive, you must do your utmost not to stand on the Crown Prince's side."

Strictly speaking, Pei Judao could also be considered a father-in-law to the late Crown Prince, making him easily pigeonholed as a die-hard loyalist of the House of Li. Yet here he was, actively advising Wu An to turn back from the precipice.

"This son-in-law understands."

Pei Judao fell silent for a moment, then drew an official seal from his bosom and pressed it heavily into Wu An's palm.

"Return alive."

According to the plan, the Crown Prince and the others were first to use various pretexts to smuggle a large force of armored soldiers from the Ten Garrison Bureau into the Eastern Palace. The moment the evening curfew fell, they would immediately storm the palace gates, pressing straight toward the Western Inner Park and the Daming Palace. Regardless of how events unfolded thereafter, they were under strict orders to secure an edict capable of mobilizing the Southern衙 (Northern/Southern衙 military headquarters) before dawn, thereby sealing off Chang'an City.

As a diversion, Wu An and several other military commanders were tasked with leading persuaded units of the Forbidden Army to storm the Northern Gate's Imperial Stables and the palace portals, drawing as much of the Right Imperial Guard stationed in the vicinity as possible.

The greater the commotion, the better. Even if they failed to breach the Xuanwu Gate, so long as they diverted sufficient attention away from the rebel forces on the Crown Prince's side, the strategy would already be a success. Thanks to the assistance of Li Jingxuan and others, the troop strength of the Eastern Palace's Ten Garrisons tonight would be at least three times greater than anticipated!

The moment the Eastern Palace made its move, the overall situation would be sealed.

Historically, the scale of the various Xuanwu Gate incidents had actually been quite small, often boiling down to bloody skirmishes between mere hundreds or thousands of men. Yet tonight, through the conscious and unconscious cooperation of both factions, the military forces mobilized would be exceptionally vast.

Wu An vaulted onto his horse. Among the Hexi cavalry disguised as household retainers, Liang Xin, Zhang Wu, and the others spurred their mounts forward, spontaneously falling in behind Wu An.

"Commander, what are our next orders?"

Wu An reined in his mount, his voice low and resolute:

"Enter the palace."

......

Within the hall.

When Shangguan Wan'er saw him step inside, she was so startled she nearly cried out, barely managing to compose herself before casting him a series of meaningful glances.

The Empress sat behind the desk, raising her gaze slightly. Catching sight of Wu An's entrance, a faint, shallow smile flickered within her eyes.

"You took a wife today; you may truly be said to have established a family and settled into your career."

"This nephew expresses his profound gratitude to Your Auntie for her immense grace."

"There is no need for such formalities of thanks," the Empress said slowly. "Has the Crown Prince set out?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince has already entered the Eastern Palace to muster the troops. The time set for action is shortly after the curfew."

Because it was a mutiny of the Forbidden Army, the Crown Prince's side would possess an overwhelming advantage. The only military forces the palace could rely upon in the short term were the Left and Right Imperial Guards alongside various scattered Forbidden Army units. However, the mastermind behind the rebellion was the Crown Prince, and this was hardly the first time such an event had occurred.

The Empress appeared to be in high spirits. She stated calmly:

"I guarantee you that not a single soldier from the Eastern Palace will be mobilized."

On the surface, the Crown Prince had prepared a two-pronged strategy, deliberately manufacturing the illusion of a primary assault upon the Northern Gate. In response, the Empress appeared to have correspondingly laid heavy ambushes both inside and outside the Northern Gate.

In reality, however, the Empress seemed to be standing countless layers above, looking down with detachment upon her foolish son.

Leave aside the Northern Gate; even within the Eastern Palace—the Crown Prince's primary stronghold—she possessed the means to ensure he was bottled up and suffocated inside.

"Auntie..."

Wu An suddenly spoke up, asking: "With tonight's bloodshed and slaughter, the soldiers under my command possess only blades, lacking any armor to protect their bodies. Might Your Auntie grant her grace, open the imperial armory, and bestow—"

"I told you already, the Eastern Palace will not descend into chaos, and not a single soldier will move."

The Empress scrutinized his expression, finding no trace of anything untoward, and casually replied:

"The mutinies at the Northern Gate, inclusive of your Thousand-Rider Corps, amount to no more than a thousand men; there will be no actual slaughter to speak of.

Besides, with me backing you up from behind, when the time comes you can simply report the matter and absorb all of them into surrender, filling out the ranks of your Thousand-Rider Corps. Doing so will merely prove your own competence."

"Yet, Auntie..."

"Enough."

The Empress frowned slightly, rebuking him: "If the armories were opened and arms distributed at a time like this, it would inevitably startle the Crown Prince, leading him to suspect that you had once again switched your allegiance back to me, thereby ruining the grand strategy of the entire affair!

If I must personally step in to handle every trivial matter for you, when will you ever be capable of bearing heavy responsibilities?"

The Empress looked at him with a hint of disappointment:

"I am merely offering you an opportunity to temper yourself."

"Then, since Auntie just said that she permits this nephew to utilize this opportunity to fill the troop quota of the Thousand-Rider Corps, was that statement genuine?"

"Hmph..."

Pressed repeatedly, a flicker of displeasure crossed the Empress's mind. She replied indifferently:

"Tonight, you need only attend to your duties. Whatever may transpire, I shall bear the responsibility for you!"

Wu An rose to take his leave. As his figure vanished beyond the palace gates, Shangguan Wan'er spoke up from the side:

"Your Majesty, this fellow appears honest, but his mind is ruthless and cunning. There is no guarantee he will not switch sides at the critical moment."

"Leave aside the likes of him; even if the Crown Prince himself were to rebel today, what of it?"

Upon the desk before the Empress lay a single sheet of paper, inscribed with a solitary character.

*Zhao*.

This was the character Wu An had instructed Shangguan Wan'er to write and bring back to the palace the previous night.

"Say what you will, my nephew does possess a rather unique ingenuity; he knows precisely what gifts to offer."

The Empress gazed abstractedly at the character, murmuring to herself:

"Two Sovereigns in the same heaven, sun and moon shining in mutual radiance... So long as His Majesty and I draw breath, he shall remain nothing more than a Crown Prince to his dying day!"