Chapter 753 Convergence - Mutation

As soon as the Crown Prince finished speaking, the ministers who had been whispering together immediately fell silent.

The people stood in rows, and the eldest prince walked step by step onto the high platform under the watchful eyes of everyone.

"I'm sure you all know that Father has been unwell lately. This morning, Father summoned me to the palace, saying that he has an imperial decree to issue. Now, please listen to Father's decree!"

Normally, the eldest prince would have asked everyone to submit their memorials.

Today, however, the eldest prince is eager to handle state affairs as the new emperor, so naturally the old eunuch must read the emperor's edict first.

The old eunuch, having received a hint, stepped forward with the edict in his hand and slowly unfurled it.

By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:

"Now, due to my poor health, I feel deeply powerless to serve the country. In order to ensure the stability of the empire, I hereby abdicate. Crown Prince Bai Moqin shall choose an auspicious day to enthrone me. This is my decree!"

The old eunuch read the edict aloud, while the eldest prince stood five steps away, chest out and head held high, waiting for the ministers' congratulations after the edict was read.

However, at the moment when the eldest prince was most excited, the old eunuch actually changed his name to Bai Moqin without authorization.

The eldest prince was startled and shot a venomous glare at the old eunuch.

No wonder, no wonder he offered to read the imperial edict with me; no wonder the emperor agreed to abdicate—it turns out all of this was part of their plan.

Do they think they can force themselves to comply in this way? They are seriously underestimating themselves.

The eldest prince turned around and gave a wink to a guard not far away. The guard nodded and stepped forward to snatch the imperial edict.

Just then, the old eunuch suddenly produced a dagger, and before anyone could react, he lightly slit his own neck, causing a spurt of blood to gush out and splatter it all over the imperial edict in front of him.

"Your Majesty, this old servant has finally finished reading your decree."

After the old eunuch finished speaking, he smiled and collapsed into a pool of blood-red amber, while the edict, now altered from its original form, remained tightly clutched in his hand.

"Quickly, get the imperial edict."

The eldest prince shouted.

The guards rushed forward, snatched the imperial edict from the old eunuch's hands, and handed it to the eldest prince.

The eldest prince, disregarding the bloodstains on the edict, hurriedly unfolded it and took a look. Instantly, his heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar.

The sudden turn of events left everyone present dumbfounded. They stared blankly at the old eunuch with his eyes closed, their minds replaying the contents of the edict he had just read.

"Your Highness? May this old minister take a look at this imperial edict?"

An old minister walked over and looked at the imperial edict held in the hands of the eldest prince.

The eldest prince had no interest in this matter and simply handed it to the old minister. The old minister slowly took it, and when he saw the name covered by blood, he was completely dumbfounded.

"How could this be?"

The eldest prince did not answer him. Now, everything he had been looking forward to had vanished in an instant. The old eunuch had committed suicide by slitting his throat in the main hall. All of this gave the eldest prince a bad feeling.

"Walk!"

The eldest prince was eager to see the emperor and ask him why he had done this.

Without giving any explanation to the ministers, the eldest prince led his men quickly to the outside of the emperor's bedchamber.

Without any announcement or inquiry, the eldest prince simply kicked open the door to the emperor's bedroom.

The ministers who had followed him, sensing something was amiss, were all startled and hesitated for a moment whether to go forward and see what was going on.

Those ministers who had already realized what was happening quietly took a few steps back.

"Are you satisfied now? You made that old man announce in public that he would abdicate in favor of Bai Moqin. Do you think that will save Bai Moqin's life?"

As soon as the eldest prince entered, he sneered at the "emperor" on the bed. The person inside remained motionless in the face of his questioning, as if he had not heard it at all.

Upon seeing this, the eldest prince was truly enraged. He had been enduring the emperor all along for this day, but after all that forbearance, this was the result.

"Are you still pretending to be asleep?"

The eldest prince quickly lifted the bed curtains and reached out to grab the person on the bed, but when he grabbed, he realized that there was no one on the bed at all.

As for the movable hand, it was simply tucked into the sleeve of a garment and hung on the bed by a string. By slightly tugging on the string at the head of the bed, it could make the hand move.

"Good, very good, absolutely wonderful."

As the eldest prince spoke, he let out a fierce roar.

"Go and find him, or don't come back."

The group was terrified by the Crown Prince's outburst and hurriedly ran out of the room. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, they searched everywhere for the Emperor.

The eldest prince walked out of the emperor's bedchamber with a gloomy face. Looking at the ministers who were exchanging bewildered glances, he had lost all pretense.

For some time now, the eldest prince has been trying to rightfully take that position.

Unfortunately, after all that trouble, he was ultimately outmaneuvered by the emperor. Now that things have come to this, even if it means bearing eternal infamy, he is determined to take that throne.

"Since Your Highness has matters to attend to, we shall take our leave."

Several ministers with the quickest minds, upon seeing the Crown Prince's gloomy face, had already guessed how things would unfold.

Unfortunately, even with their quick reaction, it was already too late.

The eldest prince looked at everyone and suddenly smiled, "The morning court session has been disrupted like this before it even started. Ministers, please come back to the main hall with me!"

The eldest prince gave his subordinates a look, and immediately a eunuch stepped forward to lead everyone away.

"Go and take control of all the officials' family members."

The eldest prince gave a signal to the guard beside him, and after seeing him nod and leave, the eldest prince followed the others back to the main hall.

"Your Highness, we have all heard His Majesty's decree. Since His Majesty wants His Highness the Crown Prince to ascend the throne, I think we should first find His Highness the Typing Prince."

The speaker was a veteran of three reigns, and was around seventy years old.

As someone who had dedicated his life to the Bai family, the old man felt it was his duty to speak up at this time.

But after hearing his words, the eldest prince did not get angry but laughed and said, "Find him back? Does Your Excellency mean that I will let him move into the palace and help him ascend the throne?"

The eldest prince's words carried a hint of danger, and the old minister flinched, but still nodded firmly.

"The imperial decree cannot be disobeyed. Since His Majesty's order has been issued, I urge the Crown Prince to think carefully before acting, lest he regret it later."

The old minister wasn't completely clueless; on the contrary, having witnessed so many emperors, he understood perfectly what the eldest prince was thinking.