He knew that to outsiders, it was truly a shame that he, the newly appointed Imperial Preceptor, was marrying a widowed princess who already had a son and a daughter.

This is one of the reasons why Prince Rong dared to cause a scene at his wedding banquet and force the emperor to abdicate.

After all, no matter who becomes emperor, there always needs to be someone to serve as the Grand Preceptor. Prince Rong simply doesn't believe that if the Great Zhou changes emperors, the Grand Preceptor will relinquish his position, which is second only to the emperor.

Over there, Emperor Shunqing slowly put down his brush. "Imperial Uncle, Chu Li, even if this edict is written, you have no imperial seal to affix."

Prince Rong laughed heartily, picked up the imperial edict, and said, "You don't need to worry about the matter of using the seal!"

Emperor Shunqing's pupils suddenly contracted as he looked at Chief Minister Lin and his group.

Chief Minister Lin closed his eyes briefly and slowly turned his gaze toward Grand Secretary Li and Grand Secretary Zhang.

Grand Secretary Li hummed, slowly stood up, walked to a seat to the side, and picked up a pen to begin copying.

"Grand Secretary, you are over seventy years old. It's time for you to step down and pass the torch to a more capable person." As he wrote, Grand Secretary Li said casually, "Grand Secretary Lin, your children and grandchildren are all successful. Don't you plan to put everything down and enjoy your retirement?"

Imperial edicts had to be copied and signed by the Grand Secretariat, then stamped with the Grand Secretariat seal and the Imperial Seal, and only after being archived in the Grand Secretariat could they take effect.

Prince Rong had prepared this move long ago, and Grand Secretary Li must have already agreed on the terms with Prince Rong beforehand.

Lin, the chief minister, had a sharp look in his eyes. Grand Secretary Li was using the future of his own children and grandchildren as leverage.

He looked again at Grand Secretary Zhang, who remained silent, and felt a deep sadness. Grand Secretary Zhang had clearly acquiesced to everything.

He swallowed hard and spat in the direction of Prince Rong and his son, "Traitorous officials, I disdain to associate with them!"

After saying this, he kowtowed in the direction of Emperor Shunqing, "Your Majesty, it is my incompetence that is the problem..."

Emperor Shunqing naturally understood that with two of the three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet having defected, their fate was sealed, and he shook his head.

The eldest princess watched all this with sorrow, and softly asked Wuwang beside her, "Wuwang, tell me, what exactly did he use to blackmail my brother?"

Wu Wang whispered, "Don't worry, no matter what it is, he can't succeed."

While saying this aloud, she cursed Chu Heng in her heart.

To feign unconsciousness so convincingly? If not now, when?

Seeing that Grand Secretary Li was about to finish transcribing the edict, and once the Grand Secretariat finished transcribing it and affixed the Grand Secretariat seal, the imperial decree would be halfway to taking effect. Moreover, judging from Prince Rong's confident demeanor, the imperial seal might already be in his hands.

Princess Chang's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Wu Wang had some other trick up his sleeve?

Afraid that she might blurt out the secret, she could only clench her teeth tightly.

Thinking of Chu Heng, Wu Wang spoke up again, "Has Prince Rong forgotten that even if the Emperor were to abdicate, the Crown Prince would still be the rightful heir apparent?"

Prince Rong was taken aback, then realized what he meant. "Hahaha, the Grand Preceptor is right! Chu Lu, I'll have to trouble you to write an edict to depose the Crown Prince! The reason is... that while he was in the Southern Border, he instigated a conflict between two countries, resulting in widespread suffering and making him unfit to be the heir!"

Emperor Shunqing's eyes were practically spitting fire.

Seeing that there was still no movement from Chu Heng's side, Wu Wang became secretly anxious.

Could it be that, like me, he dodged the drug in the drink but not the muscle relaxant in the air? Or... is he truly unconscious from the poison?

Just as anxious as him was Nan Zhuo, who was hiding in the shadows.

He wore a mask and waited for His Highness to give the signal to attack, but His Highness pretended to be unconscious, so he dared not make any rash moves.

This is so frustrating!

At this moment, Su Youran and Yueyue had arrived at the tea room on the side of the hall.

They had come through a series of close calls without incident, and they didn't know how many of Prince Rong's men they had drugged. They just hoped that Wang Wu and his men could quickly find a way to break in.

It's normal that she took down the scattered rebel patrols inside one after another.

But if that group of rebels outside came in to besiege her, even if she had ten hands, she wouldn't have time to distribute the sleeping potion.

She peeked through the crack in the window and, just as she had guessed, a group of ministers, along with the bride and groom, were drugged and lying in their seats.

Emperor Shunqing, supported by Consort Zhou, sat back in the central armchair, panting.

Yueyue sniffed lightly by the window crack. "It's a muscle-weakening powder. The higher a person's martial arts skills, the weaker they will feel when they smell it."

Su Youran nodded, "I'm afraid they also drugged the drinks; some people are already unconscious."

Over there, she saw Prince Rong and his son Chu Li looking smugly at an old man who was taking something out of his pocket.

She squinted at it; it looked like a seal.

So the old man was going to stamp the imperial edict?

She secretly took out another firecracker wrapped with a sleeping pill, preparing to shoot it inside, when suddenly a deafening suona horn sounded outside the door.

Her hand trembled, and the firecracker fell to the ground.

With a "thud," Grand Secretary Li's hand trembled, and the Grand Secretariat seal in his hand was so startled that it fell onto the edict he had just copied.

It left a trace.

Apart from Prince Rong and his son, and Grand Secretary Li himself, no one noticed this small detail; all eyes were on the group of people who were bustling in through the main gate.

Su Youran blinked.

Seven Calabash Brothers?

What's going on?

It was quite a coincidence that when they came in, the rebels patrolling this route had already been taken down, allowing the seven senior brothers to enter without any hindrance.

Yueyue also covered her mouth and widened her eyes.

The eldest brother led the gourd troupe, swaggering into the hall while playing the suona and dancing exaggeratedly. He pretended not to see Prince Rong and his entourage, and started dancing around Wu Wang and the eldest princess.

Upon hearing the noise, Prince Rong's rebel troops, who were a little further away from the door, quickly surrounded them. After stepping over the threshold, they all drew their swords and held them horizontally in front of them. "How dare you!"

The eldest disciple's hand trembled, and he quickly threw down the suona he was holding. He knelt down in front of Wuwang with a thud, stammering, "We nephews were just congratulating our uncle on his wedding and offered a song, 'The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate,' to wish our uncle and mistress a long and happy marriage! What... what's going on here?!"

Upon hearing this, Su Youran and Yueyue both twitched at the corners of their mouths.

Is this "The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate"? Or is this a deadly melody?

The eldest princess couldn't help but roll her eyes. The suona horn had just been played so loudly that it almost sent her to her death!

A hint of surprise flashed in Wu Wang's eyes, and then he said to Prince Rong, "Your Highness, since it is the heartfelt wish of my nephews, why don't we let them finish playing this tune?"

The Imperial Advisor was indeed incredibly powerful; even if Prince Rong wanted to usurp the throne, he wouldn't dare to offend him easily.

Using his wedding to force him to resign today has already offended him, so it's best to give him some face for now.

Thinking this, Prince Rong raised his hand, signaling the rebels to leave, before saying, "You may all continue."

After saying that, he looked at Grand Secretary Li, his gaze quite clear.