Chapter 94: Will and Edict I think you are planning to use the will of the late emperor as an excuse to plot against the government...

Wei Zilin's face suddenly turned extremely ugly, his brows were furrowed, and he stared at Yan Jinghuan.

He took a step forward, his tone was cold, as if every word was wrapped in ice thorns.

"What does the Regent want to say?"

"Where did the will you mentioned come from?"

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became stagnant, and all the ministers held their breath and kept quiet, not daring to speak out rashly to persuade the emperor.

Yan Jinghuan remained unmoved, and said, "What I said is in accordance with the will of the late emperor."

"Before the emperor passed away, he had already issued a secret imperial decree, written in his own handwriting and sealed with his own imperial seal, passing the throne to the fourteenth prince, Wei Zihui."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Hall of Supreme Harmony suddenly exploded.

The ministers were all shocked and astonished, discussions surged everywhere.

"Pass the throne to the fourteenth prince?"

"This... is actually passing the throne to Prince Wei Zihui?"

"But hasn't the Fourteenth Prince already..."

Suspicion, hesitation, suspicion, shock, all kinds of emotions quickly spread among the court officials.

There were calm and steady ministers with solemn expressions, exchanging glances in low voices with their colleagues around them, and there were also young officials who lost their composure and were so shocked that they almost fell to the ground.

Even the Empress Dowager and Concubine Zhang's expressions suddenly changed and they could hardly control themselves.

Amid the chaos, many senior officials who still had some sense gradually began to look thoughtful and lucid.

"The Fourteenth Prince is intelligent and kind-hearted."

"Moreover, he was born to Concubine Chen. The late emperor had deep feelings for Concubine Chen."

"The late emperor never appointed a queen, leaving the palace vacant. Was it to leave a place of honor for Concubine Shu?"

Each whisper is like an undercurrent of water, flowing through the softest corner of the human heart.

But at this moment, Wei Zilin, who was standing on the imperial steps, had a gloomy face.

He clenched his teeth tightly, and his clenched fists almost crushed the flesh in his palms.

How could he not hear that Yan Jinghuan had been planning this game for a long time!

He forced himself to remain calm, sneered, and retorted loudly: "Prince Regent is so ridiculous. You keep saying the late emperor's will, but I don't see what kind of imperial edict you have in your hand."

"Let alone that you are forging an imperial decree, even if what you said is true, if the emperor really has a will to pass the throne to my fourteenth brother, then my fourteenth brother must still be alive!"

As he spoke, he took a step forward, his eyes like knives, sweeping in all directions, his sarcasm becoming more and more intense.

"The Fourteenth Prince has been missing for many days, and his life or death is unknown."

"There are many rumors in the world. Some say he died of illness in the palace, and some say he was assassinated on the way. Now that his body has not been found, you are so shameless that you want to make a missing prince the successor. Yan Jinghuan, what are you up to?"

His eyes were cold and grim. "I think you are planning to usurp the throne by pretending to be the late emperor's will!"

The whole hall was in uproar, and heated discussions broke out again.

"If the Fourteenth Prince is really gone..."

"Then isn't the Regent's move just nonsense?"

"Will there be any twists and turns in this?"

Yan Jinghuan still looked calm, as if everything was under his control.

He was neither angry nor arguing, but just smiled faintly, opened his thin lips slightly, and said slowly: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince seems to be very sure about the death of the Fourteenth Prince."

As he spoke, his voice was as sharp as a blade and his eyes were as sharp as hooks. He suddenly looked straight at Wei Zilin and said sarcastically, "Could it be that you personally sent him to hell?"

"presumptuous!"

Wei Zilin was furious, his eyes were red, and General Zhang beside him immediately pressed down his sword with his hand, his chest heaving.

The murderous intent in the Hall of Supreme Harmony is almost about to break out!

Yan Jinghuan seemed not to notice, he just raised his eyes and smiled, "It was just a joke, why are you angry, Your Highness?"

His tone was calm, but there was a frightening edge in his eyes.

Then, he flicked his robe and moved his wide sleeves slightly. He turned to the ministers in the hall, glanced at everyone sharply, and his voice was as clear as a rock striking a bell.

"My Lords, the Fourteenth Prince, Wei Zihui, is still alive!"

With a loud bang.

It was like thunder roaring in the ears, shaking the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony.

There was an uproar in the hall again, with voices of surprise and gasps of shock rising one after another.

Wei Zilin's expression suddenly froze, his face turned ashen, and a trace of unconcealable astonishment and panic flashed across his eyes.

Yan Jinghuan's eyes were cold and he took a slow step down the imperial steps.

His figure was as tall and straight as a pine or cypress, and his tone was neither hurried nor slow, but it was like a landslide or tsunami, shocking the entire court:

"If the Fourteenth Prince is still alive, are you willing to support the new emperor together?"

No one in the entire Hall of Supreme Harmony dared to answer.

Everyone was thrown into confusion for a moment.

Yan Jinghuan's words "The Fourteenth Prince is still alive" were like a thunderclap, splitting everyone's psychological defenses.

Wei Zilin stood on the imperial steps, in confusion, with the corners of his lips trembling slightly. For a moment he didn't know whether he should continue to scold or turn around and interrogate.

He looked up unconsciously at the Queen Mother and General Zhang, as if begging for support or waiting for the next instruction.

The Queen Mother sat on a high seat, her brows furrowed, her face sullen, her fingertips tightly clasped on the carvings on the armrest, as if she was trying her best to suppress the shock and anger surging in her heart.

She never expected that Yan Jinghuan would dare to throw out the trump card of "the fourteenth prince is still alive" in public.

What was even more unexpected was that Wei Zilin, who was supposed to ascend the throne and become emperor, would lose the opportunity at this step.

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind for a moment, but her expression suddenly changed color. Then she heard a clear "pop" sound, which was the crisp sound of a jade bracelet of excellent quality hitting the armrest. Immediately afterwards, the empress dowager stood up suddenly.

She swept her cold eyes across the faces of the ministers one by one, and cried in a deep voice, extremely sad.

"My dear ministers, the emperor's body is still warm and everything is still undecided. All officials should mourn and remember the late emperor's loyalty and virtue!"

"But you are fighting for power and profit here, and making irresponsible remarks about the throne... This is truly a misfortune for our Great Wei, and it is also the reason why the spirit of the late emperor cannot rest in peace!"

She beat her chest in grief, asked sternly, with tears in the corners of her eyes. She seemed heartbroken, but in fact she was cautious in every step, and forced the whole situation from the sword and shadow back to the track of tragic mourning.

"As the Queen Mother, I should stay in the harem and not take care of government affairs."

"But now the court is in such a mess, and the ministers are making so much noise, I have no choice but to speak up and say something fair."

"In my opinion, it is better to put aside the dispute for the time being and focus on the emperor's funeral. The funeral should be the first priority. Other matters can be discussed after the national mourning period is over!"

Before the Queen Mother finished speaking, General Zhang immediately bowed and saluted, cupping his hands and echoing respectfully:

"What the Queen Mother said is absolutely right. There is no consensus in the court, and there are many dissenting voices. If we rashly establish a king, it may cause criticism from the world and shake the foundation of the country. This old minister asks all the adults... to put the national mourning first!"

This Hongmen Banquet was originally set up by the Queen Mother in order to force the ministers to support the prince to become emperor.

But the situation is off track at the moment. The bombshell news thrown out by Yan Jinghuan is enough to cause an uproar in the court. If she continues to push Wei Zilin, she will appear to be unscrupulous and eager to usurp the throne, which will easily lead to criticism.

She knew that it would take time to accomplish anything, so it would be better for her to take a step back now, stabilize the situation, and then make plans later.

Sure enough, when the court officials saw the Queen Mother speak, they immediately had a way out, and many experienced people hurriedly bowed and agreed:

"What the Queen Mother said makes sense. The late emperor passed away and the country is in mourning. The most important thing should be to hold a funeral!"

"Your Majesty is a benevolent and virtuous man. How can we forget the rules of etiquette and rush to fight for the throne? This old minister... this old minister deserves death!"

Some of the smarter ones reacted very quickly, and immediately fell to their knees, looking up to the sky and crying, with tears streaming down their faces, expressing their deepest sorrow:

"Your Majesty! You have been so wise all your life, why did you pass away and leave me and your servants alone in this world?"

As soon as he shouted this, it was as if the floodgates of mourning were opened. The ministers who were originally watching on the sidelines immediately fell to the ground one after another. Some of them prostrated themselves and wept bitterly, some muttered to themselves, and some even pounded the floor tiles while crying, as if they really wanted to cry until the sky was dark and their hearts were broken with grief.

Suddenly, cries of grief were heard everywhere in the hall, with wailing, sobbing, and kowtows coming one after another. If one did not know the reason behind this, one would have thought that the late emperor's body was resting in the hall.

Amid the crying, the situation was temporarily stable, but murderous intent was hidden in the noise.

Wei Zilin was still furious, his knuckles turning white as he twisted his sleeves tightly, but after the empress dowager sighed as if in warning, he slowly lowered his head and stopped arguing.

Yan Jinghuan remained silent and motionless, just standing there, watching coldly the unanimous wailing of grief.

His eyes were deep and unfathomable, as if he had already anticipated all this and that it was just the beginning of chaos.

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the ministers’ wailing did not stop for a long time.

The Queen Mother lowered her eyes from her high seat, her gaze quietly sweeping across the crowd, moving inch by inch to General Zhang.

Her eyes were as calm as water, but ripples appeared in an instant. She just raised her fingers slightly, and the pale and thin hand in her sleeve slowly moved half an inch in front of her body, with her slender fingers bent into a very obscure gesture.

General Zhang, wearing silver armor, stood at the bottom of the steps. He raised his eyes slightly and felt the signal from above.

There was a slight flash of cold light in his eyes, as if something was ignited. The corners of his lips raised a slightly cold arc. He nodded imperceptibly to the empress dowager, and in the next moment, he quietly retreated among the grieving ministers. His movements were as light as a feather falling to the ground, without making the slightest sound.

Everyone was wailing, their minds immersed in sorrow, and no one noticed the slightest ripple.

At the same time that General Zhang disappeared, the empress dowager slowly stood up, her gorgeous robe dragging on the ground with a rustling sound. Her steps seemed slow, but she walked down the imperial steps in an orderly manner, and walked straight towards the most lonely person standing in the hall.

"The Regent."

The Queen Mother's voice was extremely gentle, like a breeze after the rain, blowing in your face, tinged with a hint of sorrow.

She walked up to Yan Jinghuan, stretched out her hand, and patted his sleeve with a sincere expression.

"Now that the emperor has passed away, the prince was impulsive and spoke rashly. I have already reprimanded him severely."

"You must not take him seriously. The Wei Kingdom is in turmoil right now, and the government needs a wise and capable person like you, the Regent, to stabilize it... I know you are angry, but the prince is still young, and he still needs your support to grow..."

As she spoke, her tone became softer, and even tears welled up in her eyes, with an attitude of being the mother of the country but helpless.

Yan Jinghuan remained expressionless, his eyes lightly swept over the empress dowager's hand, and then gently moved towards the direction of the palace door.

The door there was ajar, the lights were dim, and General Zhang had long disappeared.

His heart was shocked.

The Queen Mother held him back just to contain him.

General Zhang is not a person who acts without purpose. How could he leave quietly at this time?

There is only one possibility, he has other important things to do!

But what could be more important than national mourning?

Yan Jinghuan sneered in his heart, but remained calm on the surface, allowing the Queen Mother to cry, and even nodded slightly, whispering: "Your Majesty, what you said is very true. I will serve the country and be loyal to the prince."

The words were watertight.

At this moment, General Zhang had already left the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The night was dark and the palace walls towered like mountains pressing down on one's head.

General Zhang was wearing silver armor and riding a mighty warhorse. Behind him followed a team of elite Yulin soldiers. Their armor gleamed coldly and they formed a silent battle array, as fierce as wolves and tigers.

"Go straight to the Regent's Palace, don't make any mistakes!" General Zhang ordered in a deep voice, with murderous intent on his lips.

"yes!"

Hundreds of elite soldiers responded in unison. Although the voices were low, they shook the whole area.

The sound of hooves was like thunder, the clatter of armor was like waves, and a whole team of horses galloped out, breaking through the night and heading straight for the Regent's Palace on the west side of the Imperial City!