Chapter 241: The Snipe and the Clam Fight The Snipe and the Clam Fight

A gentle breeze blew, carrying a hint of coolness with it. Su Fengzhang looked up at the dense black clouds and said, "It's going to rain."

Prince Cheng also looked up and said with a smile, "It won't come down for a while."

He Jun rode slowly, raised an eyebrow, and said, "The Imperial Astronomical Observatory didn't even help choose a good day. It would be unlucky if it rained heavily when we entered the city."

Su Fengzhang glanced at him, smiled and said, "There won't be a celebration banquet anyway."

He Jun laughed heartily, a hint of satisfaction appearing between his brows. He even said, "Who said there wasn't one? The celebration party will be even grander then. Otherwise, how can we overshadow those troubles?"

After saying this, he added meaningfully, "Isn't this what our Majesty is best at?"

Prince Cheng coughed and warned, "Ah Jun, be careful."

He Jun raised an eyebrow and didn't continue the topic. Instead, he said with some worry, "The prince's health is getting worse. If something happens later, should we keep it from him first?"

Prince Cheng said, "He must have known it earlier than you."

Su Fengzhang glanced back thoughtfully, with some guesses in his mind.

At this moment, several fast horses came at lightning speed and soon arrived in front of them.

The rider dismounted and reported, "Your Highness, news has come from the capital that the eldest prince has made unusual moves. It's time to begin."

Prince Cheng's eyes flickered, and he turned to look at Su Fengzhang and Prince Xi. "Since that's the case, I'll leave first. You don't have to rush back to the capital. The slower the better."

Prince Xi nodded, and Su Fengzhang also said, "Be careful."

Prince Cheng shouted, and quickly rushed to the capital with the entourage.

Seeing Su Fengzhang's worry, He Jun smiled and said, "Don't worry, the capital is under his control now."

Su Fengzhang said, "There is no perfect plan in the world."

He Jun couldn't help but glance at him again, and asked curiously, "When we were in Yunzhou, you dared to try the dangerous method of feigning surrender. At that time, we didn't even have a 30% chance of success. Now that we have a 99% chance of success, why are you worried?"

Su Fengzhang touched his nose to cover it up, then said, "Let's inform Prince Rong and then slowly head towards the capital. I hope everything goes well."

He Jun laughed twice and did not continue to ask, but in his heart he wondered if these two people were really doing something behind his back.

Inside the hall, blood splattered five steps away

The fourth prince, who was full of vigor and ambition just now, has now been beheaded. His head is pressed on the dragon table, and his eyes, still open in death, are staring straight at his father.

The emperor at this moment no longer had any dignity. He looked like an ordinary old man, covering his chest and unable to speak, staring at the eldest prince with angry eyes.

The eldest prince smiled filially, calling him "Father" all the time. "Father, please don't blame me for being late in coming to your rescue. Father, now that the Fourth Prince has been executed, who else can you entrust the Great Zhou with?"

"Father, please issue the imperial edict immediately."

The emperor's voice was hoarse as he pointed at him and said angrily, "Rebellious son, you dared to kill your brother and force the emperor to abdicate? I should never have let you go in the first place."

The eldest prince showed a bloodthirsty smile. He had just killed his own brother with a knife. Now, facing the emperor who had loved him for more than ten years, he had no intention of showing mercy.

Instead, it was the emperor's words that stirred up his resentment: "Yes, Father, you really shouldn't have released me. Over the years, you have supported the Fourth Brother to deal with me, and have been completely bewitched by Concubine Xu and her son. Do you still remember that I am the eldest legitimate son of the Empress Yuan and the rightful heir to the Great Zhou?"

"A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated. Haven't you helped the Fourth Brother to step on my face enough over the years? Since you want to depose the Crown Prince, why don't you just kill me directly? Instead, do it quickly and painfully."

"Father, when you held me and cried bitterly the day I was released, I felt so sick that I couldn't sleep or eat."

The emperor was almost suffocated by anger. Eunuch Li hurriedly patted his back, but he was too timid to look up at the eldest prince.

The emperor roared, "Don't I love you enough? From childhood to adulthood, I personally raised you and taught you the ways of a ruler. This is how you repay me!"

The eldest prince sneered and said, "That's what I deserve!"

"I remember the kindness of my father to me, but I also remember that he allowed the fourth son to harm me all these years."

"Father, if you had been wise enough to write the edict of succession earlier, I would not have made things difficult for you, considering the father-son relationship we have shared over the years. If you refuse, don't blame me for turning my back on you!"

The emperor swept aside the paper and pen in front of him and shouted, "I will never pass the throne to a beast!"

The eldest prince's face turned cold, and he suddenly laughed out loud: "Father, who else can you pass the throne to? The fourth and ninth brothers are dead, and the fifth brother is still alive, but can he inherit the throne?"

The emperor's face changed drastically: "You beast, Lao Jiu is just a babbling child, and you didn't even let him go!"

"How can I rest assured if he's not dead?" the eldest prince snorted coldly. "Father, only after he dies can I safely use the Fifth Brother, He Jun, and Su Fengzhang. There are no fathers and sons in the royal family, let alone brothers. Isn't that what you taught me?"

The emperor was determined not to issue an edict to pass on the throne. The eldest prince could kill the fourth prince without blinking an eye, but now he did not dare to kill the emperor directly. He was helpless for the time being.

His patience was wearing thin. The eldest prince knew very well that if he could not end this coup as soon as possible, things would get dicey when Prince Cheng returned, and his people would not be able to hold on for too long.

Soon, the eldest prince sneered and said, "Grandmaster Chu, since the emperor is too old and frail to write the edict of succession, you will write it. It will be the same as affixing the imperial seal after you write it."

Master Chu came out from behind, his whole body trembling. It was obvious that the development of the matter was far beyond his expectations.

The Emperor looked at Grand Tutor Chu with bloodshot eyes and said angrily, "Well, well, well, when I handed the Crown Prince over to you, you taught him this way. Now you have turned him into a rebellious beast who has no respect for his father and no respect for his ruler!"

Taifu Chu's body trembled slightly, but he still walked step by step to the emperor, apologized, and then reached out to start grinding to prepare to write the edict of succession.

At this point, even though Grand Tutor Chu did not approve of the eldest prince's risky move, he knew that if they were defeated this time, they would have no chance of survival, so he had no choice but to continue.

"Rebellion!" the emperor said angrily, reaching out to grab Tutor Chu.

The eldest prince reached out and grabbed him, throwing him aside. "Father, please sit still and don't embarrass me."

The emperor was forced to sit down, and the first thing he saw was the Fourth Prince's head. This sight scared him to death. He still remembered the Fourth Prince's wailing and begging for mercy before his death. At this moment, the emperor felt for the first time that he had done something wrong.

The eldest prince ignored the emperor's pale face and asked Taifu Chu, "Have you finished writing? Hurry up."

Master Chu's hands were shaking. After he finished writing, he blew on the ink and brush, frowned and said, "Your Highness, if His Majesty does not show up, even if you put the imperial seal on it, I'm afraid the gentlemen will not recognize it!"

The eldest prince sneered and said, "Then go and invite all the gentlemen to the palace to attend the celebration banquet and resolve this matter once and for all."

Grand Tutor Chu frowned, and the leading general also reminded him: "Your Highness, I'm afraid we are short of manpower."

The eldest prince slammed the table and shouted angrily, "With the imperial seal here, don't you know how to call in the imperial guards?"

The generals below said awkwardly, "Your Highness, if we only have the Imperial Seal to summon the Imperial Guards, they may not obey our orders."

The emperor also held his chest and said, "You beast, the Imperial Guard will never help the tyrant to commit atrocities!"

Although he did not know why the Imperial Guards lost control and allowed the eldest prince to bring people into the palace, the emperor believed that they would never obey the eldest prince's orders just for a jade seal, and would even help him force the emperor to abdicate.

The eldest prince's face grew increasingly gloomy, and he sneered, "No matter what I do, within a quarter of an hour, I will see all the civil and military officials entering the palace to face the emperor. Then, my father will publicly announce his abdication!"

"I would rather die than let you succeed!" the emperor shouted angrily.

At this moment, a guard came hurriedly, his face panicked: "Your Highness, Prince Cheng has returned to the capital!"

"What? How could he come back so soon?" the eldest prince asked in surprise.

Then he hurriedly asked, "Has the Ninth Prince been executed?"

The guard said, "We haven't breached Kunning Palace yet!"

"Waste, a bunch of waste!" The eldest prince kicked the man in front of him and roared, "Everyone, get to Kunning Palace. I want to see that bastard's head right now."

But these words made the emperor breathe a sigh of relief. He suddenly jumped up, grabbed the imperial edict, and tore it into pieces: "Evil son, I will never pass the throne to you, so just give up on this idea!"

"Father, you forced me to do this!" The eldest prince shouted madly, stretched out his hand to grab the emperor's neck, and dragged him out directly, all the way to the gate of Kunning Palace.

"Your Highness, Prince Cheng has already entered the palace, and the guards we tricked away have also returned! They are now heading this way!"

The eldest prince's face was gloomy. He grabbed the emperor and pressed him against the gate of Kunning Palace. "Empress, if you don't open the palace gate, I will start a massacre. Don't you care about my father's life?"

It was obviously useless to threaten the queen with the emperor's life. The gate of Kunning Palace was closed tightly and there was no intention of opening it. Only then did someone discover that the gates were made of steel. No wonder they could not be conquered for so long.

The eldest prince waited for a moment, but there was no response from Kunning Palace. He laughed heartily, squatted down, and approached the emperor, whose face was ashen. "Look, father, even the queen hopes you'll die soon."

The emperor was already dying at this time, and after speaking intermittently for a long time, he only uttered the two words "evil son".