Half a month later, bad news came from the north: Prince Cheng was attacked by refugees while providing disaster relief and his whereabouts are still unknown. Upon hearing this, the emperor was so angry that he fell seriously ill.

How dare the Crown Prince!

Although the emperor was naturally suspicious, he was also soft-hearted and would never be so cruel as to indiscriminately kill innocent people.

The thing I hate most in this life is killing my own siblings. Chu Luo Xun is so ruthless. If he were to ascend the throne, wouldn't all the imperial descendants be slaughtered by him?

In recent days, the capital city has been shrouded in a biting cold wind, and snow has fallen for several nights, with large snowflakes intertwining and swirling with sharp howling sounds.

Chu Luoxun arrived through the snow, bringing a chill to the warm palace. The emperor lay weakly on the bed, coughing violently.

Chu Luoxun raised his hand to dismiss the palace servants, and came to the emperor's bedside with a bowl in his hand: "Father, get up and take your medicine."

On the bed, the emperor exhaled a few breaths, pressed his chest to suppress a cough, and slowly said, "Xun'er, I don't want to drink medicine!"

Chu Luoxun's heart tightened for some reason, and he gently advised, "How can Father get better if he doesn't take his medicine?"

"I won't drink it!"

"Father, there are still many matters in the court that await your attention. Please listen to me and drink your medicine quickly. Only when you are well can I breathe a sigh of relief. Come, let me feed you myself."

Chu Luoxun patiently persuaded the emperor, then stepped forward to help him up, offering the bowl to his lips with her other hand. Unexpectedly, the emperor suddenly knocked the bowl over.

"You!" The emperor's chest heaved violently, his eyes filled with anger and disappointment.

Chu Luoxun calmly met the emperor's gaze, and saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes. Chu Luoxun suddenly smiled: "Why is Father looking at me like that?"

"Why? You are already the Crown Prince, what more could you possibly want?"

At that moment, Chu Luoxun understood everything. He sneered, "Father is wise. My little tricks did not escape your eyes. However, what face does Father have to say that I should be content? From childhood to adulthood, you have always favored Prince Cheng. I have either lived in the cold palace with Mother or wandered outside the palace. Oh, and there are the rumors in the capital. Father probably believed them, right? Otherwise, why would you pretend to be sick to test me?"

The emperor's expression hardened: "You knew I was testing you?"

“Yes, Father, since you insist on feigning illness to test me, then I have no choice but to make you truly ill.” Chu Luoxun slowly pulled out a musket from his robes and aimed it at the emperor, his expression suddenly turning ferocious: “Therefore, Father, you must die suddenly from illness today.”

Chu Luoxun waved his hand, and the eunuchs who had been hiding outside the palace rushed in with the same muskets.

These young eunuchs were about twelve or thirteen years old. They were beggars adopted by Chu Luoxun in Luoshui County and, after training, were sent to the palace to act as spies.

The musket was something that fell off Gu Nanjiao that day and was picked up by Chu Luoxun and developed.

The emperor's eyes were filled with grief, and his index finger trembled as he pointed at Chu Luoxun: "How dare you kill your father and the emperor? You even planted well-trained eunuchs in the palace."

He had truly underestimated his son. Regardless of whether the crown prince was his own flesh and blood, he had intended to spare his life. But now it seemed the crown prince clearly intended to kill him.

“Yes, Father, you have sat on this throne for too long. It’s time for me to take it.” Chu Luoxun’s expression was ferocious as he raised the musket in his hand and pulled the trigger.

The next instant, a fireball was fired, piercing Chu Luoxun's wrist. Chu Luoxun cried out in pain, jerked violently, and the musket in his hand fell to the ground.

"who!"

Gu Nanjiao walked out of the hall, holding a modified musket, her eyes icy cold.

Upon seeing it was her, Chu Luoxun flew into a rage: "You wretch, how could it be you?"

"Who are you calling a bitch? How dare you insult your father! You've really gone too far!"

emperor"……"

Chu Luoxun clutched his injured arm and took two steps back, looking at Gu Nanjiao with a sinister gaze. A mere woman, strangling her was as easy as crushing an ant. Since Gu Nanjiao was courting death, he would grant her wish.

Chu Luoxun's face was gloomy. He waved his hand at the eunuchs and gave the order: "Beat this slut to a pulp."

"yes!"

The eunuchs, disguised as beggars, were well-trained. Upon receiving Chu Luoxun's order, they all knelt down on one knee, raised their muskets, and aimed them at Gu Nanjiao.

"Bang bang bang—"

The eunuch fired his musket in the opposite direction, not at Gu Nanjiao, but from the rear of the gun, piercing their shoulder blades.

The hall was filled with painful wails, and the eunuchs threw down their muskets, clutching their injured shoulders and rolling on the ground.

Gu Nanjiao shrugged helplessly at Chu Luoxun: "Those who do many evil deeds will surely perish!"

Chu Luoxun stared wide-eyed in disbelief. He clearly remembered that the firepower of the muskets he made was the same as that of the ones Gu Nanjiao made, so why were they firing from the rear today?

Thinking of the musket diagram that Gu Nanjiao had lost not long ago, Chu Luoxun's face turned ashen, and his chest heaved violently with anger: "You wretch, you've been plotting against me all along!"

"What makes you say that?" Gu Nanjiao said innocently, "It was clearly you who secretly made my musket blueprints. Your own people didn't understand the intricacies, so you used them to harm others, ultimately harming both yourself and others."

Chu Luoxun suddenly sneered, his expression turning extremely sinister: "Do you think I, the Crown Prince, am finished? Let me tell you, the entire palace is surrounded by my men, all of them highly trained assassins. Do you think you can escape?"

The emperor watched all this coldly, his disappointment gradually turning into anger: "Xun'er, you have disappointed me greatly."

After the emperor finished speaking, he clapped his hands, and Lu Yanzhao led the Imperial Guards, who were holding down Chu Luoxun's men, to push open the palace doors. The hidden guards, all armed with improved versions of muskets, appeared from the shadows.

The Imperial Guards rushed in in unison, kneeling on one knee and aiming ten-shot crossbows at Chu Luoxun.

King Cheng entered, sword in hand, his silver armor stained with blood. He knelt before the emperor and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your aid. Please forgive me!"

"King Cheng!"

"My son!"

Chu Luoxun and the Chu Emperor spoke in unison, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Chu Luoxun stared at King Cheng in disbelief, his body trembling slightly: "You...you're not dead!"

King Cheng sneered: "Your Majesty, I have escaped death and disappointed you!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Chu Luoxun came to his senses and collapsed to the ground. The plan was flawless, and King Cheng's body was nowhere to be found.

He came to his senses, knelt on the ground, crawled to the emperor, and grabbed his trouser leg tightly: "Father, I know I was wrong. I was just confused for a moment. Please forgive me this time."

With Prince Cheng's help, the emperor rose to his feet and kicked him away with all his might, his eyes filled with disappointment and rage: "You beast! Not only did you kill your emperor and father, but you also harmed your own brothers! Guards! The Crown Prince is disloyal and unfilial, an act against the principles of Heaven! From this day forward, he is hereby deposed as Crown Prince and demoted to a commoner. He is to be imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court and never to be released again."