Chapter 258 His Majesty has passed away!

Emperor Yongming subconsciously looked down, and before he could even see what it was, a chilling, piercing pain exploded in his chest and instantly spread throughout his body.

His breath hitched, his body stiffened like a wooden sculpture, and then his gaze slowly focused on the dagger that had been plunged into his chest.

Emperor Yongming was stunned; in his intense pain, his mind went completely blank.

He didn't even call the imperial physician immediately. Instead, with a completely bewildered and incredulous look in his eyes, he slowly raised his head and looked at Shen Qingci.

Shen Qingci remained kneeling, but a cold smile now bloomed on her face, which had been full of obsequiousness.

She smiled at him, her voice soft, yet every word pierced his heart:

"His Majesty just issued a decree, authorizing me to personally kill my enemy and offer his head as a sacrifice at my father's grave."

Emperor Yongming was slightly taken aback, and his chaotic thoughts finally grasped a sliver of clarity.

He...did agree, but...what does that have to do with him?

Shen Qingci seemed to see through all his doubts, and the smile on her face became more and more radiant, and also more and more cruel.

Has Your Majesty forgotten?

"Isn't it you, Your Majesty, who issued the decree to kill my father and brothers and slaughter my entire Shen family?"

“You,” her voice suddenly turned fierce, filled with deep-seated hatred, “are the real culprit behind the tragedy of my Shen family!”

These words struck Emperor Yongming's mind like a thunderbolt!

He opened his mouth wide, trying to call for help or explain, but only a hissing sound came from his throat. Blood kept gushing from the corner of his mouth, staining his bright yellow dragon robe a glaring dark red!

Shen Qingci laughed, the laughter standing out clearly and eerily in the deathly silent hall: "Is Your Majesty trying to say that you were deceived by Liu Wenyuan and Huo Yunzhan?"

She slowly stood up, meeting his gaze in his wide, fear-filled eyes. "Are you really being deceived?"

"Why did you issue the decree to eliminate my father and brothers? Why did you slaughter my entire Shen family? Wasn't it because you feared my father's high achievements and military power? Wasn't it because you listened to slander and thought that my Shen family was hiding a private army capable of overthrowing your throne, so you would rather kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free?"

"You know your own filthy thoughts better than anyone else!"

“Those words,” Shen Qingci’s eyes were filled with utter coldness and disdain, “cannot fool anyone.”

As she spoke, she stretched out her other hand, overlapped it with the hand holding the dagger, and with all her might, twisted the hilt of the knife violently over the already bloody and mangled wound!

"Pfft—"

That was the sound of flesh and blood being shredded.

Emperor Yongming let out a shrill groan. All the light in his wide eyes was instantly drained away, leaving only endless fear and deathly silence!

His tall frame trembled violently, and then...

With a loud bang, it crashed to the ground!

"His Majesty!"

The eunuchs following behind Emperor Yongming finally came to their senses from this earth-shattering turn of events!

They stared in terror at the lifeless corpse of the emperor on the ground, and at the woman holding a blood-dripping dagger, who resembled a demon from hell.

A series of piercing screams shattered the deathly silence in the hall. They scrambled backward, desperately trying to get away from that bloody place!

In this chaotic moment, several dark figures suddenly darted out like ghosts, carrying a chilling killing intent, and rushed straight towards Shen Qingci!

That was the last trump card the late emperor left for Emperor Yongming—the secret guards!

However, Chu Jichen was already prepared.

Before the guards could get close, more shadowy figures emerged from the shadows of the hall, forming a human wall. They were as fast as lightning, and in the blink of an eye, they had stopped all the guards who were trying to assassinate them!

The crisp sound of swords clashing was particularly jarring in the deathly silent hall!

Chu Jichen's gaze swept indifferently over the emperor's corpse on the ground, whose eyes were still wide open and whose face was full of disbelief, and finally landed on the woman holding a blood-dripping dagger with cold eyes.

His voice was cool and clear, yet decisive.

"His Majesty has passed away."

The commander of the Imperial Guards was held back outside the palace by Chu Jichen's men, forced to watch helplessly as blood splattered on his dragon robe inside.

Hearing Chu Jichen's cold pronouncement, he felt a surge of blood rush to his head, and he could no longer contain himself, roaring like a madman:

"His Majesty has died?" His voice was distorted with extreme anger. "His Majesty was clearly assassinated in the palace by the Regent's Consort! We witnessed it with our own eyes!"

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the composed figure in the wheelchair inside the hall. His voice was shrill and filled with anguish: "Liu Wenyuan's rebel army is at the city gates and could break through the palace at any moment, intending to force the emperor to abdicate!"

"As the regent, instead of thinking about repelling the enemy, you have condoned the queen's act of regicide at such a critical time for the nation!"

"Are you going to hand over the vast land of my Great Zhou Dynasty to that traitorous minister?!"

His questioning echoed throughout the deathly silent palace.

Chu Jichen seemed not to hear him at all. He even slowly raised his hand and dusted off non-existent dust from his sleeve.

Then, he slowly raised his eyes. In his deep phoenix eyes, there was not a ripple of emotion, only a chilling sneer.

"Rebels?" he asked calmly. "Where are the rebels?"

Upon hearing this, not only the commander of the Imperial Guards, but also the remaining guards in the hall were instantly stunned!

The commander of the Imperial Guards stared intently at Chu Jichen, his voice trembling: "Your Highness... what does this mean?"

A terrible thought was growing uncontrollably and wildly in his mind!

"Those troops besieging the palace..." He looked at Chu Jichen in disbelief, his voice hoarse, "Could it be... that they weren't Liu Wenyuan's men at all?"

Suddenly he realized something, his pupils constricted sharply, and he cried out, "It's you! It's your private soldiers! Chu Jichen, you really did have rebellious intentions all along!"

Shen Qingci, who was standing to the side, slowly stepped forward at this moment.

"wrong."

Her voice was cool and clear, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

"They are not the Regent's men."

She looked at the Imperial Guard commander, whose face had turned ashen, and slowly curled the corners of her lips into a smile.

“That’s someone from my Shen family.”

The commander of the Imperial Guard and the few remaining secret guards were all struck dumb, as if by lightning!

The Shen family...people?

Wasn't the entire Shen family executed long ago, leaving only her as an orphan? Where did these soldiers come from?

Seeing their horrified expressions, Shen Qingci's smile deepened.

"You're saying they're rebels?"

"That's true..."

She slowly turned around and pointed with her blood-stained hand at the already cold corpse of the emperor on the ground.

"If Emperor Yongming had not died, they would naturally have been considered rebels by him."

“But now,” her voice suddenly turned sharp, “he’s dead.”