Chapter 826 National Mourning

The prince died suddenly, and the whole country mourned.

A coffin made of gold was placed in the largest square of the palace, where countless palace servants knelt in prayer.

The ailing king and the grieving queen appeared together in the public eye, their bodies pressed against the coffin, weeping softly.

After the deep tolling of the bells for a long time, the time came for the prince's coffin to be taken to the royal cemetery.

The coffin was carried out of the palace gate, and outside there were crowds of people, more than the previous tens of thousands, probably two hundred thousand or three hundred thousand.

The people were all weeping, and their cries echoed throughout the entire capital.

Cheng Wanwan sat in a teahouse on the side of the street.

Looking at the dense crowd below, she couldn't help but sigh, "With so many people supporting them, the royal family shouldn't have been suppressed for more than ten years."

During this time, Zhao Sanniu also learned a lot about Asab's internal affairs, and said: "The main problem is that the king doesn't manage affairs, and the queen, being a woman, can't control the court. If the prince hadn't grown up, the royal family wouldn't have had any thoughts of rebellion at all."

Ruan Mingzhu rubbed her hands together and asked, "Aunt Wanwan, how did you come up with the story about the prince having golden light?"

Cheng Wanwan coughed and said, "The prince is a true dragon emperor, and naturally he is surrounded by golden light."

This girl may seem careless, but she's actually quite shrewd. You can guess right away that she did something behind the scenes.

"Auntie Wanwan, please tell me!" Ruan Mingzhu hugged Cheng Wanwan's arm and acted coquettishly. "I can use this trick to fool others in the future."

“Only my mother can use this trick,” Zhao Sanniu said with pride. “It must have been my mother who spoke to my father, and that’s why my father appeared and helped the prince reveal his golden light.”

Ruan Mingzhu had heard these rumors when she was in the capital, but she always thought they were just nonsense. It seems that they are actually true.

Her face showed disbelief, but Zhao Sanniu believed it without a doubt. Cheng Wanwan turned her head away and silently took a sip of tea.

When the prince's coffin reached the center of the city, she quietly slipped her hand into her sleeve and gently pressed it.

The originally gloomy sky suddenly lit up with dazzling golden light, and golden rays fell from the sky, from which several golden dragons flew out.

The golden dragon was as tall as a city tower, with an extremely powerful aura, roaring silently in the sky.

The two or three hundred thousand people were all stunned, and disbelief was on everyone's face. Then, one by one, the crowd knelt down.

"Your Highness is the Son of Heaven!"

“The true dragon is dead, the false dragon is causing trouble, and our Asab is doomed.”

"May the Lord God descend and seek justice for His Highness!"

"..."

Not only the common people, but even Assab's ministers were stunned.

Having served as officials for decades and under several monarchs, this was the first time they had witnessed such an unusual phenomenon.

Was it because of the prince's tragic death that such a shocking scene was created?

The ministers all knelt down as well.

The king and queen couldn't help but cry out, "Victor, do you see? The people don't want you to die... You are the true king of Asab. What will happen to Asab if you die? Please, open your eyes..."

The two of them cried so hard they fainted.

Many ordinary people also fainted from grief, and the scene was chaotic.

Prince Alex's eyes were bloodshot; he wished he could slaughter all the people who had witnessed the strange phenomenon.

Fortunately, the strange phenomenon disappeared quickly.

The prince's coffin was successfully laid to rest.

However, the talk among the common people about whether the dragon was real or fake was even more intense, and this talk spread to the military and the imperial court.

Prince Alexander knew he had to take action, or things would get even more complicated later.

During the morning court session that day, Prince Alexander stepped forward.

He looked up at the still ailing king and said, "With the prince gone, the country is without a crown prince, and the people are in turmoil. I request Your Majesty to immediately appoint a crown prince."

“I only have one son and one daughter.” The king’s voice was extremely weak. “My son is dead, so the princess can only become the crown prince.”

“Is the king delirious from illness?” the prince said bluntly. “My kingdom of Asab has existed for hundreds of years, and there is no precedent for a queen.”

Wang, being very good-natured, asked, "Then what does Your Highness mean?"

"There is a custom among the people of the same clan to adopt sons. Since Your Majesty has no sons, I will give one to Your Majesty." The Prince clapped his hands. "This is my eldest son, whom Your Majesty has watched grow up. He is both literate and martial, kind and benevolent, and fully worthy of the position of Crown Prince. What does Your Majesty think?"

Wang's eyes widened in shock.

Many ministers in the court were also shocked.

The prince's body is barely cold, and the prince is already making this request; this is simply too much.

The king's confidant spoke up directly: "Even if we want to establish a crown prince, we have to wait until the prince's three-year mourning period is over."

The prince said coldly, "What if the king doesn't live past three years?"

The person facing upwards fell silent.

With his heart's blood taken away and the prince dying suddenly, the king's health visibly deteriorated, and he felt he wouldn't live to see the end of the year.

If the king were to die suddenly, and there were no heirs, Assab would truly descend into chaos.

After a long pause, the king finally spoke: "What if I don't agree? What should the Prince do then?"

Prince Ari raised his head and placed his hand on the scimitar at his waist: "I will never allow Asab to fall into turmoil. Therefore, if Your Majesty does not agree to establish a crown prince, then I will have no choice but to force Your Majesty to issue a decree."

He slowly drew the curved sword from his waist.

The entire court was astonished.

This is a coup d'état.

"Good, very good. After all these years, you have finally shown your true colors." The king turned to look at the civil and military officials below. "Those who follow the prince can now step forward. Let me see if there is anyone who is truly loyal to me, the king."

Many ministers stood still.

Only a few people stood beside the prince.

Prince Alexander's eyes narrowed.

There are definitely more than just these few people on his boat. Why are the others standing still?

His sharp eyes swept over the others, but they lowered their eyes and neither stood on his side nor expressed their loyalty to the king.

He suddenly realized: "I really underestimated Your Highness. You pulled my men off the ship without making a sound. You are indeed capable. Unfortunately, these civil officials are not of great use. My trump card is the 200,000 troops outside."

"Is that so?"

A young voice came from outside the main hall.

Everyone turned around in disbelief, only to see the prince, who had been dead for half a month, standing perfectly intact at the entrance of the hall.

He was dressed in a moon-white robe, yet he seemed to radiate golden light, as if a dragon was leaping above his head. As soon as he entered, the courtiers in the hall couldn't help but kneel down.

"God bless Asab, His Highness the Prince is not dead."

"His Highness is the Son of Heaven, I knew he wouldn't die so easily."

"Your Highness!!"

Prince Alex's pupils contracted sharply: "You're still alive!"

“I died, but the chief god said my life was not meant to end and gave me a chance to come back to life,” the prince said slowly. “Originally, I was willing to hand over the throne of Asab to my uncle, but after going to the temple of the chief god, I saw the future of Asab. A year later, the prince ruled Asab, and from then on, Asab suffered natural disasters every year: droughts, floods, snowstorms, earthquakes… The people suffered, and the country was no longer a country… Because of the country’s devastation, the Western Rong took advantage of the situation and invaded. After five years of war, Asab became a city of the Western Rong kingdom…”

Wow!

All the courtiers were incredulous.

Five years later, Asab died, which would have fulfilled the words on the epitaph.

"The ministers who support Prince Alex may continue to support him, but please remember, once Prince Alex successfully seizes the throne, Asab can only hold out for a maximum of five more years." The prince walked to the king's side, his gaze sweeping over everyone below. "I am a man who has died once, and I am not afraid of death, but I fear that my country will become the territory of the Western Rong, I fear that my subjects will be slaughtered by the Western Rong, I fear that decades from now, no one in the world will know that the country of Asab has ever existed..."

His words shocked everyone.