Chapter 469 You are indeed unworthy

"You...you dare to make me abdicate? Do you really want to rebel?"

Emperor Longqing sat on the dragon throne, his eyes bulging with rage, his expression ferocious.

Mr. Mei shook his head.

"They don't want to rebel; only an old minister like me, half-buried in the yellow earth, would dare to say that."

Your Majesty has lost your virtue, the relationship between the ruler and his ministers has soured, and the people are resentful. If this continues, it will inevitably lead to chaos in the court. Today, the people are in turmoil, and the stability of the Great Wei dynasty is threatened.

For the sake of the long-term stability of the empire, we humbly request Your Majesty to abdicate and yield the throne to a worthy successor.

Emperor Longqing's eyes bulged out, and the veins on his neck stood out.

"A wise man? Who is a wise man?"

He let out a shrill laugh and pointed angrily at Pei Yuan.

"Are you talking about him? Do you mean Lu Zhan should inherit the throne of my Pei family?"

"I'm telling you, not a chance."

He glared at Pei Yuan fiercely, "This was all part of your plan, all within your calculations, wasn't it?"

"You have shown all the ministers how despicable I am, and they have no choice but to side with you."

Because they were afraid, afraid that as long as I remained in power, I would take their lives.

So they can only unite to force me to abdicate, and then try to make you succeed me, is that it?

The last sentence, wasn't it, full of fierceness and resentment?

"Yes, I have dealt with your Lu family. Your father, while in Liangzhou, often used the excuse that a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders to act on his own."

Ignoring my objections, they privately expanded the size of the Lu family army, saying that the Northern Rong people are still treacherous and will commit crimes sooner or later.

"Hmph, this is just an excuse for him to take the opportunity to expand his power."

He tilted his head back and waved his arms unwillingly.

“I am the master of Great Wei, the ruler of the world. He disobeys my orders, which means he has rebellious intentions. Am I wrong to punish him?”

"Let me tell you, I am not wrong, I will never be wrong. Lu Zhan, look at your actions today, how is it any different from rebellion?"

"If I had known this day would come, I should have had you strangled after Consort Yu died."

The Longqing Emperor let out a strange laugh, a loud "hoohoohoo" that sounded like phlegm stuck in his throat.

He then turned and glared at Shen Chu.

"And you, I believe I have treated you well, yet you disguised yourself as a man to serve in the court and deceived me many times."

Not only did they spare your life, but they also restored your title of Marquis of Ning'an. Yet you show no gratitude whatsoever, and instead, you join forces with them to coerce me.

I truly regret it. I should have cut off your head the day I found out you were disguised as a man.

That way, I wouldn't be being schemed against like this today.

"How are you two any different from traitors and rebels who have tried to harm me like this?"

Shen Chu and Pei Yuan exchanged a glance and said loudly, "No matter what His Majesty's reason for pardoning Shen Chu, Shen Chu is deeply grateful."

But one thing is one thing; His Majesty murdered the Duke of Protectorate and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, as well as 50,000 Lu family soldiers. These debts cannot be ignored.

Pei Yuan stepped forward, looking coldly at Emperor Longqing, his expression complex and indifferent.

"You're used to treating everyone as pawns, pawns you can manipulate at will. Once a pawn disobeys, you want to get rid of it."

But we are all living, breathing human beings. My father was the commander-in-chief of Liangzhou, and outside Liangzhou City were the Northern Rong people who were eyeing us covetously.

He recruited soldiers to protect the people of Wei, and had absolutely no intention of rebellion.

"And you, you merely wrote a self-reproach edict, and then asked me if it was enough."

The lives of 50,000 Lu family soldiers were ultimately exchanged for only an apology and a place in history. Do you think that's acceptable?

A flicker of fear crossed the eyes of the Longqing Emperor.

"What else do you want?"

Pei Yuan lowered his eyes, and after a long while, a sneer appeared on his lips.

"Don't worry, I won't rebel. What my father didn't do back then, I won't do today."

Now that things are settled, I will take my wife and children back to Liangzhou to rebuild the Lu family army.

As for asking you to abdicate and yield the throne, it was His Majesty's actions that disheartened them; it was their own spontaneous action, simply because….”

He paused, looked intently at the Longqing Emperor, and slowly uttered a sentence.

"You are not worthy."

After saying that, he took Chen Chu's hand and turned to walk out of the hall.

Silence also withdrew.

Behind him, only the angry shouts of the Longqing Emperor could be heard.

"Traitorous scoundrels! Traitorous scoundrels!"

The loud and unified voices of the ministers rang out inside the hall.

"Your Majesty, please abdicate and yield the throne to a worthy successor!"

"Traitorous scoundrel, ah... ahhh!"

There was a sound of something heavy falling inside, as if someone had fallen.

Immediately afterwards, a commotion arose from inside the hall, "Your Majesty!"

"Quickly, summon the imperial physician."

Shen Chu and Pei Yuan exchanged a glance, gripped each other's hands tightly, and strode out of the palace.

The noise inside seemed irrelevant to them.

Shen Chu's palms were covered in a layer of cold sweat, and were damp.

Pei Yuan raised an eyebrow and wiped the sweat from her face. "Nervous?"

Shen Chu glared at him.

"How can you not be nervous? This is such a big matter. Even though you have been secretly planning for a long time, no one can say for sure what will happen when we get to the main hall."

Today's events cannot afford the slightest mistake. If the Grand Princess of Chengyang does not believe me, or if she is unwilling to break ties with His Majesty...

If His Majesty and Marquis Anding protect each other and insist that the Lu family army has rebelled,

If Prince Heng had laid an ambush beforehand, or if Elder Mei had failed to rebuke His Majesty, or if the ministers had not been swayed by the emotions of the Censorate members...

Even if the Imperial Guards disregarded everything and actually obeyed His Majesty's orders to slaughter everyone..."

Pei Yuan gently pressed his long, slender fingers against Shen Chu's pale pink lips, and shook his head with a faint smile.

"There won't be so many 'what ifs.' When she was young, the Grand Princess of Chengyang was a person who clearly distinguished between love and hate, and was upright and honest. Moreover, it concerns her husband, son, and grandson. She wouldn't disbelieve it."

Yes, for a woman, how could she not hate when her most important family members are murdered?

"As for Marquis Anding, he has been acting arrogantly in recent years, and Consort Zhou has been increasingly abusing her power in the harem. The emperor has been dissatisfied with him for a long time. Once the situation gets out of control, he will definitely push him out to take the blame."

“Prince Heng, huh…” Pei Yuan sneered, “We instigated Zhou Weizong to cause trouble in the Flying Eagle Guard, and you and Xiao Ge publicly recognized each other.”

Prince Heng was convinced he had a weakness against me and was confident he could bring me down today, so he wouldn't be on guard.

"As for the Imperial Guards, their commander, Gao Jie, has received favors from me. As long as he doesn't give the order, the Imperial Guards will hesitate and won't dare to act rashly."

Once you've done these things, the rest is under control.

Shen Chu chuckled softly.

She was well aware of all this, but in such a grand spectacle, any mishap at any stage could lead to a problem.

All of these factors could lead to deviations in the final result.

The two walked out of the palace gate side by side.

The students outside the palace gates had not yet dispersed. Upon seeing them emerge, they all rose to pay their respects and addressed them as Prince Lu.

The edict of self-reproach written by the Longqing Emperor has been posted on the palace wall.

Pei Yuan, Shen Chu, and Shen Mo composed themselves and solemnly bowed to the students.

Meanwhile, the palace was in complete chaos.

Emperor Longqing suffered a stroke and coughed up blood. He lay on the bed with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes, but he still tried his best to give orders to his guards.

"Kill Pei Yuan for me, no, kill Lu Zhan."

He angrily gripped the sheets beneath him and roared.

"Kill Lu Zhan!"