Chapter 300: Changes at Suzaku Gate

The former Crown Prince Qin Yunchen was a man of stunning beauty under the bright moon.

The eldest princess died young, and the second prince was born with congenital deficiencies and did not live past the age of six.

Qin Yunchen was born to the Queen, and was both the legitimate son and the eldest son. It was everyone's wish for him to be the ruler of the Eastern Palace.

He was a man of both literary and military talents, and enjoyed a high reputation both among the literati and among the military heroes.

Those were the best years for the Lunar New Year.

The late emperor worked hard to govern the country, and Qin Yunchen assisted him with all his might.

But as time went by, everything changed.

Seeing that the crown prince was gaining power in the court, the late emperor supported two outstanding princes and instigated factional strife.

However, given Qin Yunchen's foundation, even if the two of them were constrained, they would not pose much of a threat.

The turning point of the matter was that the late emperor fell seriously ill and was bedridden, unable to govern the country, and the crown prince took over the government.

After being ill for more than a month, when he took over government affairs again, he found that the court was very peaceful.

Government affairs were handled in an orderly manner, and all officials, civil and military, praised the prince highly, as if there was no difference whether he was there or not.

This time, due to an acute illness, the emperor's health deteriorated and his mind changed completely.

He began to become suspicious, thinking that the prince was challenging his imperial power.

Especially since even the military heroes are not on his side, this means that as long as the prince wants, he can replace him!

Since the restoration of power, the late emperor has spared no effort to crack down on the power of the prince.

He cut off his subordinates' influence in the army, and then scolded them in front of all officials in the court.

Confinement in the Eastern Palace was a common punishment at that time.

All policies implemented by the crown prince were rejected or half-completed before other princes took over and reaped the benefits.

After a year, the supporters around the crown prince were not as strong as before, but the two princes were in their prime and were fighting on equal terms.

Everyone knows that there is no benefit in following the prince at this time.

Anyone who dares to express his position will not have a good end. Even if the late emperor does not get angry on the spot, he will transfer him away later.

Even the Imperial Censor, a veteran of two dynasties, who petitioned the court with the righteous argument that "the crown prince is the foundation of the country", ended up having to retire and return home.

The incomparable Qin Yunchen seemed to have become a rat crossing the street, and no one wanted to get involved with him.

In just two or three years, he became a decoration in the court.

Apart from holding the title of crown prince, Qin Yunchen did nothing else.

People in such a beautiful and cheerful environment become more and more silent and taciturn, with no smile on their faces anymore.

Originally, the Eastern Palace was frequented by great scholars, but now it has become so quiet that no one cares about it.

Not only that, the biological mothers of the two princes in the harem were successively promoted to imperial concubines, and the queen's power was greatly weakened.

The Queen's in-laws' family is not having a good time either, with none of the younger generation rising to prominence.

The old guys were suppressed and the rest were transferred out of Fengjing.

There were already whispers in the court about abolishing the crown prince.

It was thought that the late emperor would choose one of the two princes to replace him, but the rumors were just rumors and there was no progress for several years.

The late emperor learned from his mistakes and would never repeat them.

He just wanted Qin Yunchen to have a name but do nothing, while the two princes fought openly and secretly to consume each other so that he could sit firmly on the throne.

Although Qin Minghuang was very unhappy at the time, what could a princess do? She couldn't even interfere in the affairs of state.

She was busy changing her husband, having children, and preparing to form a Cuju team, which was already taking shape.

But Qin Minghuang didn't do nothing.

Ever since the Crown Prince lost power, the entire Eastern Palace clan has been ruthlessly suppressed, including his sister Qin Mingyue.

The late emperor didn't even like the crown prince, let alone the thirteenth princess who was also born to the empress.

They are a bunch of opportunists who even dare to bully a small county lady and embarrass the princess in front of her.

Qin Minghuang couldn't bear it anymore, so he took Thirteenth Sister to his own house.

She is very famous in Fengjing.

Anyone who dares to complain in front of her, no matter if he is a prince, a relative or an official of a certain rank, will be killed by her.

No one is willing to offend this madman easily for the sake of a useless prince's biological sister. It's not worth it.

And so the days went on.

Qin Minghuang has changed her sixth son-in-law and gave birth to a girl, which brings her one step closer to her dream of forming a children's Cuju team.

In the late autumn of that year, the late emperor fell ill again.

This time the illness was more severe. He vomited blood in front of civil and military officials during the morning court session. He fell into a coma without even having time to tell who would take over the government.

Logically speaking, the crown prince should be the regent at this time.

But Qin Yunchen's wings have withered and he has long been away from the core of power, so no one dares to mention this.

There is no way. The people who supported the prince in the past had a miserable end. Dismissal from office and retirement were considered a good ending.

The two princes who were at the peak of their power did not take him seriously at all, and they quarreled over who would be the regent.

The late emperor had been in a coma for three days. The director of the Imperial Hospital diagnosed that he had not much time left and it was unknown whether he could wake up.

The dispute between the two parties has reached a fever pitch. No one is pretending anymore and all the cards are being used.

Because of the late emperor's balance, it was impossible to determine the winner between the two in the court, and neither could gain the upper hand.

No one dared to gamble whether His Majesty had left an imperial edict, after all, he fell ill too suddenly.

As a result, the party struggle instantly reached its most brutal stage.

The gates of Fengjing City were closed, the streets were blocked, and the city was under curfew.

The imperial guards led by the Meng family maintained peace in the capital, but resolutely avoided getting involved in the struggles between the princes.

No matter how much profit the princes promised, the old man of the Meng family remained unmoved and always abided by his duties.

Because the Meng family has been rooted in the capital for too long, no matter who ascends the throne, they cannot do without the imperial guards, so why bother getting involved in party struggles?

Two days later, the northern and southern borders received the news and successively pressed forward, and the situation in Dagan was already precarious.

Everyone knew that a decision had to be made immediately, and the prime minister initiated the proposal to abolish the crown prince.

Soon they discovered that Qin Yunchen was missing from the East Palace. After interrogating the palace servants, they only said that the emperor disappeared after falling into a coma.

What’s funny is that the crown prince of a country disappeared for five days and no one noticed.

The two parties have reached the point of fighting to the death. They cannot mobilize the army, and the imperial guards are guarding the capital tightly, so they can only resort to assassination.

This action broke the previous balance, and not only the two princes but also other princes sent people out.

It was on that night that almost all of His Majesty's descendants were assassinated.

When Qin Yunchen led five hundred assassins through the Suzaku Gate, he threw down the heads of his brothers and sisters, his face as sinister as a demon.

The civil officials abandoned him, his military power was wiped out, and his maternal relatives were suppressed...

For so many years, he has been a lonely man.

Qin Yunchen seemed depressed, but he did not give up completely.

He spent all his energy on training death squads, and emptied the Donggong family's assets to train 800 death squads.

When the outcome was about to be decided, three hundred assassins killed all the emperor's brothers and sisters.

Oh, not all of them were killed, leaving Qin Minghuang and Qin Mingyue behind.

He led the last five hundred assassins into the palace, killing gods and Buddhas if he met any!