Chapter 260 Long Live Your Majesty

Everyone in the hall gasped at the sight before them, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets!

"Your Highness...your leg?"

Finally, someone, in a trembling voice, asked the question that filled everyone present with shock and confusion.

Chu Jichen seemed not to hear him. He simply lowered his eyes and glanced at his long legs, which had been diagnosed as permanently disabled. Then, a meaningful smile slowly appeared on his lips.

He lifted his foot and took two steps forward, unhurriedly.

Those two steps, taken with extreme steadiness and slowness, were like two heavy hammer blows, striking the hearts of everyone present!

The entire golden hall was deathly silent, save for the faint yet incredibly clear sound of his black boots stepping on the cold gold bricks.

"Moreover," his voice, calm and even, resounded like thunder in the deathly silent hall, "my legs, after these years of careful treatment, are now...able to stand like a normal person, and can even... take a few steps."

He turned around, and in his deep phoenix eyes, there was no longer any trace of his former languor, only the domineering and majestic aura of a ruler.

"Although I am not yet able to walk a long distance steadily like a normal person, the old doctor also said that as long as I continue to persist in treatment and rehabilitation training, I will be able to fully recover in time."

His gaze, sharp as a hawk's, swept across the faces of every courtier below, faces already etched with shock and horror.

“So,” he looked at them and asked, enunciating each word clearly, “do you have any further comments?”

The people in the hall had different expressions, but they were all silent and trembling, and no one dared to say another word.

Those old ministers who had just been so certain that he was "unable to continue his bloodline" were now ashen-faced and trembling like leaves!

For a long, long time...

Finally, a minister dressed in military uniform was the first to recover from his shock!

He suddenly lifted his robe and knelt down heavily in front of the man standing beside the dragon throne!

"Welcome to His Majesty's ascension to the throne! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty!"

His kneeling finally jolted the still-shocked crowd awake!

Then came the second, the third...

One official after another knelt down on the ground!

"Welcome to His Majesty's ascension to the throne! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty!"

The roaring shouts, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, converged into a torrent powerful enough to shake the heavens and the earth within the vast golden palace!

Only a few of the Liu faction remnants, who had been shouting the loudest just moments before, remained standing stiffly in place, their faces a mixture of pale and ashen, a truly fascinating sight.

But seeing that the situation was hopeless, they finally dared not resist in the slightest and could only reluctantly bend their already stiff knees.

Chu Jichen's gaze swept indifferently over the sea of ​​kneeling officials in the hall.

Then, he slowly turned around and walked steadily up the steps that symbolized supreme power.

Finally, he slowly sat down on the empty dragon throne.

"Rise."

His voice was not loud, but it was full of undeniable authority.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Hearing the unified shouts from inside the hall, Shen Qingci, who had been standing quietly to the side of the hall, finally relaxed her hands, which had been clenched into fists in her sleeves.

Her gaze never left Chu Jichen from beginning to end.

Others may not know, but she... knows it all perfectly well.

Chu Jichen's leg was not healed at all.

He can indeed stand for a while without support, and he can indeed take two steps forward.

But that's all...

If you let him take a few more steps, he will definitely be exposed.

Moreover, even these two steps were never as smooth as Chu Jichen had ever taken before.

She knew perfectly well that with every step he took, his legs must have endured unimaginable pain!

The reattachment of broken bones was far from as easy as he made it out to be.

Fortunately...

Fortunately, these two steps were enough to intimidate everyone.

In the end, he managed to fool all the officials in the court.

Chu Jichen lifted his eyelids, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger: "The late emperor has just passed away, so everything... should be handled according to ancestral customs."

"The Minister of Rites shall preside over the funeral, with the Imperial Observatory assisting, and an auspicious day shall be chosen for the grand funeral ceremony."

"As for the matter after the late emperor's death," a cold glint flashed in his eyes, "I have heard that the late emperor... was deeply in love with Consort Liu."

“Since that’s the case,” his voice was filled with endless sarcasm, “then…let her be buried with the late emperor.”

"As for the other concubines in the harem," he paused, a hint of barely perceptible disgust in his voice, "they shall all be sent to the royal temple to pray for the late emperor's well-being."

After he finished doing all this, he slowly waved his hand, his voice filled with exhaustion: "You may all leave."

After everyone had left, Shen Qingci quickly stepped forward and took Chu Jichen's hand. Upon taking his hand, Shen Qingci couldn't help but shudder; Chu Jichen's palm was already covered in sweat.

There were still eunuchs in the hall, but Shen Qingci didn't ask any questions. She simply used a little force to help Chu Jichen lean on her, and then, with the help of her hand, she stood up and sat back in her wheelchair.

Once Chu Jichen was seated back in his wheelchair, Shen Qingci immediately pushed it towards the Taiji Hall.

Upon returning to the Taiji Hall, Chu Jichen immediately addressed all the palace servants standing in the hall, and solemnly ordered, "All of you, step back."

"yes."

In the blink of an eye, only the two of them remained in the vast palace.

Shen Qingci could no longer contain herself. She quickly walked to the wheelchair and slowly squatted down.

She reached out and gently placed her hand on his still tense legs, her voice filled with barely concealed worry: "How are you? Does it... hurt a lot?"

"Should we," she looked up, her clear phoenix eyes filled with heartache, "have Yuanbao secretly summon the apothecary to the palace to examine you?"

Chu Jichen looked at her, and the coldness in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by an unyielding tenderness.

He shook his head, his voice slightly hoarse: "It's nothing."

"It's just... that I made Qingqing worry."

"It's alright."

Shen Qingci didn't believe his story at all. She frowned slightly, reached out and put her hand inside his loose clothes, pressing it against his back.

Sure enough, the spot my fingertips touched was cool and sticky, probably from being soaked in sweat.

Chu Jichen's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Then he laughed, a low, hoarse laugh filled with ambiguity.

"Qingqing..." He leaned closer to her, his warm breath brushing against her earlobe, "So eager?"

Shen Qingci's cheeks instantly flushed a light red!

She abruptly pulled her hand back, glaring at him with a mixture of shame and anger, but didn't argue with him. Instead, she turned her head to the empty corner and called out in a low voice, "Yuanbao!"

Yuanbao's figure immediately appeared in front of her.

"Go immediately," her voice was filled with unquestionable authority, "and summon the apothecary!"

Yuanbao didn't dare look at his real master, and quickly bowed in agreement. In a flash, he disappeared.

Only after Yuanbao left did Shen Qingci finally let out a slow sigh of relief.

She looked at Chu Jichen, and slowly, a trace of solemnity and worry appeared in her clear phoenix eyes.

"Regarding what happened today," she frowned deeply, her voice filled with uncertainty, "did I...actually act too impulsively?"

"To personally kill Emperor Yongming in front of so many people... this matter... will probably be hard to keep secret."

"How will this be recorded in history books in the future?"

"Won't this... leave you with some kind of stain on your reputation?"