Chapter 197

Suddenly hearing the words “Succession Edict”, the emperor’s cloudy eyes instantly widened, and after a short period of skepticism and shock, he overturned all the cups, plates, and dishes on the ground.

“Rebellious son! Duan Fei! Escort him to the Heavenly Prison, and all of the Yul Wang Mansion will be sent to the Heavenly Prison!”

“Your Majesty, don’t be angry!” Duan Fei kneels on the ground and refuses to act, “His Highness is the Crown Prince, and his succession to the throne will happen sooner or later. He just wants to clear the Yu family and Empress Yu’s name today, he is not trying to commit treason!”

“Good, you also want to conspire?” His own trust and reliance for many years of forbidden army leader, actually in this kind of time and mud, the emperor immediately angry: “Liu Yue! I order you to be the leader of the forbidden army, replace Duan Fei, and immediately lead the feather forest guards to take down this group of rebels and traitors!”

Liu Yue, the deputy commander of the forbidden army, was guarding outside the gate of the Daming Palace, when he heard this, he immediately sheathed his long sword and led his own cronies to rush into the palace.

Sun Mingyue hugged Xiangmian tightly, afraid that she would be captured.

“Father Emperor! Don’t!” Zhou Xianyao couldn’t sit still any longer, running into the center of the hall, her big sleeves spread out, stopping in front of the feather guards, “Don’t hurt my fourth brother!”

“Does the princess want to disobey the imperial decree?” Liu Yue’s sword tip just pointed at the center of the princess’s eyebrows, at the same time, En Ji already flew up from the side, sheathed the dagger at his waist and pulled Liu Yue’s throat directly from the back, spraying blood as far as ten paces away.

This sudden, no one expected and the country dynasty has no grudges of the Lord of the North True State will be the first to attack, and does not give people any opportunity to catch their breath. Everyone was in a state of stasis, either due to fear or shock.

“Eun Gi! What are you doing?!” The Emperor yelled.

Enji admired the struggles of the dying man on the ground, licked a mouthful of the warm blood on the dagger, looked up and smiled, “I promised His Majesty that I would protect the Princess with my life in this life, and would never allow anyone to humiliate her. This person actually dared to threaten the princess with a sword, I have already taken care of the court etiquette of the country by leaving him with a whole body.”

The emperor’s anger knotted and he shouted, “Feather Forest Guards, take down all of these rebellious ministers! The one who gets the first credit, I will promote him to be the leader of the forbidden army!”

Immediately, a few of the feather guards pounced on Zhou Xian Yang from the side, he lightly avoided them, turned back and climbed onto the back of one’s neck, his hands exerted force, and with a click, that person fell onto the Emperor like mud. Another person was stabbed through the throat with a candlestick.

It is said that King Yu is brave and good at fighting, but since he returned to the capital, he has never gotten into a forceful confrontation with anyone, and the so-called prima donna is nothing more than a polo field and superior skills in archery.

This was the first time he had shown his ability to kill in front of the royal clansmen.

Some of the royal clansmen were already so scared that they wanted to run away, but their legs were so weak that they couldn’t even move. Zhou Xian Yang said in a loud voice, “You don’t have to be afraid, I won’t hurt you. Today, I just want His Majesty to apologize for his mistake. What’s wrong? Can’t you do it?”

The Emperor roared almost hysterically, “I am the Son of Heaven!”

Zhou Xian Yang laughed coldly, “Doesn’t the Son of Heaven make mistakes? Besides, what kind of son of heaven are you?”

These words caused the entire room to break out in a cold sweat, everyone thought that His Highness had gone crazy.

Zhou Xian Yang took out a yellow piece of cloth and silk from his sleeve, and when the emperor saw it, his face suddenly turned pale and he muttered in a low voice, “Why do you have it here?”

Zhou Xian Yang ignored him and only unfolded it and read in a loud voice: “King Jing Shixun, with his generous nature and noble character, is here to succeed me on the throne as Emperor. Xuanwu thirty-six years July 10.”

A few short words, like a stone breaking the sky.

The people present looked at the seventh royal uncle Zhou Shixun. He sat there, motionless.

Zhou Xian Yang slowly walked over to him and handed the Succession Edict to King Jin: “Seventh Imperial Uncle, the throne that belongs to you, is returned to you.”

After saying that, he provocatively turned back and looked at the disheveled Emperor, “King Li, King Qing, and King Qi, these people have been fighting for so many years, but what they are fighting for is actually a stolen throne. As for this crown prince position, it’s even more of a joke. I was wondering earlier why you were driving the Yu family to extinction. Turns out to be looking for my grandfather’s hand held the handle ah. Grandfather had been planning for many years, and probably didn’t realize that his ambition had caused a pair of his sons and daughters, to meet a tragic end.”

“Xian Yang!” The Seventh Imperial Uncle did not take the edict, he had never spoken to anyone so harshly, but at this moment, he changed his usual smiling appearance and criticized, “You cannot speak of your maternal grandfather in this manner!”

“Why?”

“Because this posthumous edict, Elder Elder Master Yu showed it to me a long time ago.”

“……”

The Seventh Imperial Uncle realized that his tone was too heavy, and warmed down his voice again, patting the young man’s shoulder, “You’re a good boy, Yang Xian, you don’t want the throne and the world that is within your reach, but only want to return a fairness to me and seek innocence for the Yu family. Elder Master Yu, with a grandson like you, he can rest in peace. And I can also feel less guilty.”

“Guilt?”

“Back then, father did draft two identical posthumous edicts of succession, intending to pass on to me. One was placed in the Chongzheng Hall, and the other was secretly placed in the palace. However, my father’s illness lingered for too long in his later years, and the military forces around the country had already split up, each championing a new lord, and several of my brothers had risen up to fight in a chaotic battle.

My father knows my character well, I can only be the monarch of the peaceful world, but not the lord of the chaotic world. If I were to be declared the successor, the result would only be that my brothers would kill me, and the capital would be reduced to a scorched earth, and even the country that had not long been established would be torn apart.

So at that time, my father ordered to appoint Yu Taishi as an auxiliary minister, Yu Taishi is the mainstay of the civilian faction, no matter who seized the throne, no succession edict must be inseparable from the emperor’s oracles transmitted by Yu Taishi. Father ordered people to Chongzheng Hall of that posthumous edict to be destroyed, asked Yu Taishi selected a most promising winner, to its Oracle as a bargaining chip to help it do a good emperor, more to supervise him at all times to take into account the love of brotherhood, protect my peace of mind for the rest of my life.

It is also for this reason that Yu Taishi agreed to betroth his daughter to his brother, only hoping that she can follow the example of the virtuous queens of the previous dynasty and admonish the emperor at all times. Over the years, the territory is unified, the war has calmed down, I am also considered to be free and happy all my life, Yu Elder Elder Elder Elder Master indeed did not live up to the will of the late emperor, worthy of the throne of the Imperial Temple. Just Yu Taishi did not expect, he preserved the late emperor’s children, his own children but for this to pay too painful price …… for the king, no one suffered the ministers constraints, not to mention the palace at that time also rumored that Chongzheng Hall had once had a succession imperial edict and was burned, the imperial brother naturally suspected the head of Yu Taishi. ”

Zhou Xian Yang pinched the posthumous edict, his heart mixed feelings.

It was his fault. These days, he had been thinking that his grandfather, who had lived a life of purity and integrity, would collude with his father for the sake of the Yu family’s power, and pretend to seize the throne.

It is he who has no conscience …… to think like this. If it is really for the sake of power, uncle would not just serve as an envoy in the dynasty, not the slightest bit of the six ministries of power.

Seeing him so sad, Rong Xiangmian asked Sun Mingyue to help her stand up, slowly walked to the center of the hall, walked beside him, and gently hugged him, bearing almost all of his weight: ”Xian Yang, he will forgive you. You are still working hard for the Yu family, he will be pleased.”

“Yes? Not comfort me?” Zhou Xian Yang lowered his head against her forehead, like a child who had made a mistake, showing weakness to seek understanding.

“Yes. You’ve done well.” She gently patted his face and replied with a smile.

King Jin cleared up the past and also felt relieved like never before, the caution he had always shown disappeared as he walked to the steps in front of the emperor, “Imperial brother, you may be an emperor who is still scraping by, but you are indeed unworthy of being a human being.”

The emperor’s shadowy gaze stared him dead in the face, his voice cool, “Good, you’ve been obedient and oily all your life, now you finally stop pretending? My son, who would rather give up the throne to stand up for you, you’re really complacent!”

“Delighted? What do I have to be proud of? Rather, it is you who should be complacent, those three sons in front of you, taught by your words and example to be worse than livestock, bent on nothing but self-interest and lust for power, but it is these children in the back, whom you didn’t control much, who didn’t grow crooked, who can be regarded as role models for the youths in the country.”

The corners of the Emperor’s mouth twitched, seemingly aggrieved, and bellowed, “Xian Yang! What exactly are you trying to do?”

“He just wants you to admit your mistake!” Rong Xiangmian turned around and took a step towards the emperor, “Please handwrite a sinful edict to Your Majesty, confessing to the world the sins you have committed and the wrongs you have done. Apologize to those you have failed and return their innocence. What, you can’t do it?”

“Dream on! I am the Son of Heaven, how could the Son of Heaven be wrong?” The emperor stood up and trembled, “Men, take down this cadre of traitors who forged the late emperor’s holy decree and plotted to usurp the throne! I will heavily reward them! Go summon the Feather Forest Guards, Feather Forest Guards!”

The Emperor shouted for half a day, but no new Feather Forest Guards came in to carry out the order.

Today’s big banquet, there was only Duan Fei and a few high-ranking generals in the hall, half of which were the only ones who looked up to Duan Fei. The other half who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a mark had already been pretty much killed by Zhou Xian Yang and En Ji.

But there were over a thousand Featherwood Guards on daily duty in the palace, and at this moment, not a single one of them had noticed anything strange in Daming Palace?

The crowd was just wondering when they heard a series of killing sounds. This sound has been up for a period of time, but just now in the temple situation is urgent, the people did not care, did not listen to what is.

At this moment understand over, each worried about their own today into the palace a meal to eat a small life.

Good thing, the sound of killing did not last long, it seems that it will not affect them. Then, a clear sound of horse hooves, from far and near.

Along with the sound, the crowd stared at the entrance of the Daming Palace, only to see Rong Xiangwang riding a large date red horse, along the long steps of the Daming Palace directly rode up to the front of the palace, stopping under the corridor, and sharply rolled over and dismounted to enter the palace to salute, and the beads of blood on the armor pattered on the carpet of the weaving of the gold and dragon pattern.

“Everything is going well, the northern palace gate guards are cooperating, and most of the palace’s feather guards have submitted.”

Zhou Xian Yang did not say anything, but only made a gesture of leveling his shoulders.

The emperor felt a chill in his teeth and cursed, “Rong Xiangyang! Your father was so loyal to me, and you even conspired with this traitor to attack the Imperial City? You unfilial son!”

Rong Xiangwang touched the sweat on his face, “Your Majesty is joking. What I am doing now is any different from what my father did back then? If there is a difference, it is also because my choice was more correct. After all, Your Highness is a proper crown prince, you were nothing back then.”

With a single speech, he almost made the emperor spit out blood in anger. He angrily said, “Don’t be complacent, just those people under you are enough? The forbidden army has 50,000 people, when the people from the forbidden army camp surround the palace city, you won’t be able to escape!”

“Ow, that’s a lot of people!” Rong Xiangwang said with a smile, “It’s just a pity that …… the people in the forbidden army camp still don’t know what’s happening in the palace!”

Rong Xiangwang was saying, Xiao Nan and Xiao Bei threw two people in from outside the palace, one was the inner official who had just been instructed to go and ask the eunuch, and the other was the feather guards on duty outside the Daming Palace.

“The people in front of the imperial court are really resourceful and improvise, sensing that things are not right, they went out of the palace one by one to report. It’s just that even if they went out of the palace, it’s useless. Nine gate patrol battalion has already closed all nine gates of the capital, even a pigeon can not fly out, the forbidden army battalion stationed three miles outside the Dongsheng Gate, is how it will not notice. Your Majesty, don’t stall for time. Get it over with early, I’ll open the city gates early and not delay everyone coming in and out ah!”

“Hahahahahahaha ……” On the side, Empress Zhang didn’t even care about the injuries on her hands at the moment, pointing at the Emperor and laughing wantonly, “Zhou Shiping, what does it mean to catch a turtle in a jar now I’ve kind of seen it. Zhou Xian Yang, you know how to torture him better than I do!”

When the Emperor heard this, he was so angry that he vigorously slapped Empress Zhang, and viciously said, “Xian Yang! I’ve treated you well over the years, why are you doing this to me!”

“No?” Zhou Xianyang laughed, “You made me lose my mother when I was a child, you call that not bad? Cut the crap, give the order to write a sinful edict, I won’t kill you.”

The Eldest Princess was on the side, witnessing the chaotic scene, knowing that the Emperor had lost his power, she persuaded him with kind words, “Shiping, the child just wants justice, just grant him that.”

As he spoke, Shen Duzhi had already ordered people to bring in the pen, ink, paper and inkstone and the jade seal. The emperor glanced at him in disgust, “You are well-behaved.”

Shen Duzhi lowered his head, not daring to say a word.

The emperor lifted his pen and dipped it into the ink, unintentionally glanced at Zhou Xianyao, and suddenly threw away the pen, “I’m not going to write, what can you do to me? Is it hard to believe that you really want to kill the king? Xian Yao is here, she for you still dare to conflict with the feather guards face to face, if you regicide, she will not sit back and watch. His husband is the lord of the Northern True Kingdom, the Northern True Iron Cavalry ……”

“Hmph ……” Zhou Xian Yang couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

When Zhou Xian Yao saw her father, the king of a country, in such a sorry state at the moment, her heart was indeed intolerant. She walked to the emperor’s side and squatted down, pulling her father’s hand, “Please, father, make an edict of offense.”

“You ……”

“And at the end of the sinful edict, announce the abdication.”

“Xian Yao!” The emperor was almost about to cry out, with a face of aggrieved indignation, “How come you are just as unfilial as him! Disobedient! ……”

Zhou Xianyao was unmoved and said softly, “Father, don’t forget to add a clause in your sinful edict, openly making a friendship of Qin and Jin with the Northern Truth Kingdom, but secretly sending someone to assassinate the Northern Truth’s Lord, nearly destroying the peace between the two countries for a hundred years.”

“…… “The emperor fought to shake his head, “This is something that didn’t happen, who did you hear that from?”

“Song Ye Xing.”

“He’s talking nonsense, a dead man’s words, death is no proof! I am good friends with the old Northern True Lord, how could I ……”

“Father, just admit it!” Qi King Zhou Xianzhao, who had been watching all of this from the corner, could no longer sit still at this moment.

The eighteen year old, got up and walked to the Emperor and Princess Zhaoren, bowed and said, “Today, after Father Emperor met with the Lord of Enji Kingdom, he specially explained to me that I will send Sixth Sister back to Northern Zhen in a few days, and take the opportunity to settle Sixth Sister’s husband.

Father Emperor, I don’t understand, Mr. Wang Coronation taught me that a great man should protect his family and defend his country, be loyal to the king and love the people, but why did you kill Sixth Sister’s husband? If things don’t go as well as you think, and war starts in the north, and sons and daughters die in battle, is that considered loving the people again? Why is what you have asked me to do two different things from what Mr. Teach?”

“Xianzhao …… do you want to rebel too!” The Emperor had broken down as he watched his children corner him one by one.

“I don’t want to rebel! I only want to become what mister said, I don’t want to hurt sixth sister and sixth sister’s husband!” The young man roared with a strained neck, “Sixth sister’s husband came all the way here and brought me a whip made of fine cowhide, how can I accept his gifts, drink with him, and murder him at the same time. As long as you are on the throne for one day, I will have to do what I don’t like, and I hope that you will abdicate and give the throne to someone who is worthy of him.”

“Shut up! You one and all ungrateful sons!” The Emperor went into another impotent rage, throwing things to vent his anger.

“Who’s to blame?” Rong Xiangshi looked at the almost rogue-like emperor and said, “Those who once cared about you and loved you have been hurt by you one by one. Kinds of cause and effect, Emperor …… all of this is your own fault.”

Blame yourself?

The emperor looked at the palace full of royal clansmen, these are the people in the world who are closest to him, at this moment there is no one who is willing to stand out and speak for him.

He recalled the day he ascended the throne, the Daming Palace Banquet, how lively and scenic. Now, his scenery is over.

He is not willing ……

Zhou Xianyao re-dipped his father in ink and shoved the pen into his hand: ”Song Yexing didn’t die, he’s been in the Northern Army. Father, I know that you still have a lot of cards you want to play, and a lot of king’s armies you can assign, as you did when you seized the throne. However, under the combined siege of the Western Qin Army, the Northern Realm Army, and the iron cavalry of the Northern True Kingdom, you have no chance of winning. You must abdicate so that I can safely return to Northern Truth with Enji.”

The emperor finally understood at this moment why Enji had come to greet the princess. They were trying to force him to abdicate!

Looking at the youthful faces, and then looking at the back of his wrinkled, unreadable hands, he was instantly disheartened.

“It’s just that, after calculating for my entire life, I ended up being calculated by my own child, it’s my retribution.”

The emperor finally gave up struggling, a pen wrote down those wrong things he had done, the faces that were blurred in his memories, the people who had once given him support and love, came back to life one by one as the words came back to life.

As he wrote, tears dripped onto the paper.

The belated apology was cheap. Zhou Xian Yang watched in disgust as he put on a show.

This sinful imperial edict was written with fifty-six articles, and it was written until nightfall.

When it was time to put the lights on in the Daming Palace, and when it was finally nearing the end, the emperor looked up and asked for Jin Wang’s opinion, “Pass the throne to the ……”

“Pass the throne to Crown Prince Zhou Xian Yang.” Jin Wang calmly said.

The emperor’s tired eyes were filled with surprise: “You actually don’t want to fight for it, nor do you fight for your child?”

“This position can only be filled by those with both virtue and talent. I’m already old, and it would be strange if my two untalented sons don’t make a mess of the world. Xian Yang ……,” the Seventh Imperial Uncle turned back to him and patted his shoulder, “I have high hopes for you, you must do a good job!”

This result, Zhou Xian Yang had already predicted, if he didn’t nod his head, he was only afraid that the Seventh Imperial Uncle and his aunt would go back and have a hard time sleeping.

“Seventh Imperial Uncle, don’t worry.”

The Seventh Imperial Uncle then smiled, and when the Emperor finished writing, he took over the pen, and under the Emperor’s astonished gaze, he erased the big crime of pretending to usurp the throne, then handed the Imperial Edict of Sinfulness back to the Emperor, covered it with the Jade Seal, and handed it to Zhou Xian Yang.

At the same time, he took the posthumous edict from Zhou Xian Yang’s hands, after twenty years, re-read a glance, things are different, tears filled his eyes, “Father has high hopes for me, and even more so, he wants me to be safe and joyful …… Xian Yang, I am more blessed than you.”

After saying this, the Seventh Imperial Uncle put the posthumous edict on top of the candlestick. A posthumous edict that could have shaken the kingdom quickly burned to ashes.