Just then, a bulky and somewhat clumsy figure slowly emerged from the shadows—it was Prime Minister Xiao!

His round body trembled slightly with each step, as if each step required tremendous effort.

In fact, Prime Minister Xiao had been hiding in this corner for a long time.

He had been secretly observing the movements inside the hall, especially Liu Shen's attitude towards Zhao Canchen. After some confirmation, he finally realized that Liu Shen was indeed protecting Zhao Canchen, so he decided to reveal himself.

When Prime Minister Xiao was hiding in the corner, he was discovered by the guards several times. Whenever a guard came to take him away, he would use his spatial teleportation technique without hesitation to instantly return to the modern world.

After a brief stay in the modern world, he would use space travel to return to ancient times again to continue secretly observing the situation inside the palace.

Finally, Prime Minister Xiao felt the time was ripe, so he stepped out of his hiding place and stood in the center of the hall.

He composed himself for a moment, then announced in his booming voice, "Gentlemen, I have the late Emperor's edict in my hands!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Although everyone was looking at him, no one spoke, and the entire hall fell into a suffocating silence.

Prime Minister Xiao seemed unaffected by the silence. He calmly pulled a yellow imperial edict from his robes. The edict looked somewhat old, but the writing on it was still clearly legible.

Prime Minister Xiao carefully unfolded the imperial edict, then read it aloud in a solemn and serious tone: "If I were to suddenly meet with misfortune, the late Crown Prince's son, Zhao Canchen, shall rightfully ascend the throne!"

Everyone listened solemnly to the decree. After the decree was read, they all turned their gazes to Prince Lu and Liu Shen.

Everyone knows in their hearts that at this moment, the people who can truly influence the situation and make key decisions are none other than these two.

Prime Minister Xiao and many other officials were well aware that Prince Lu and Liu Shen had always harbored resentment, even extreme disgust, towards Zhao Canchen, the son of the former crown prince.

Over the years, Prince Lu has made no attempt to conceal his frequent assassination attempts against Zhao Canchen, and his arrogance is astonishing.

The King of Lu showed no remorse for his actions, and even openly declared: "My actions were to rid the royal family of a scourge!"

As for Liu Shen, he never gave Zhao Canchen a kind look. The reason for this was almost common knowledge—Zhao Canchen's biological mother was once Liu Shen's fiancée!

Given this, how could these two possibly agree to let Zhao Canchen ascend the throne?

Liu Shen seemed to have read everyone's mind. He calmly pointed to the dead princess and then stated his position first: "I have little interest in other things. As long as she is dead, that is enough. As for the complicated affairs of the royal family, I have no intention of getting involved."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to King Lu.

The Prince of Lu appeared somewhat uneasy at this moment. His obese body kept twisting and turning, and he muttered, "Since there is His Majesty's decree here, I must naturally obey the imperial command. Otherwise, I will have no face to meet my ancestors in the afterlife."

King Lu's words brought a sigh of relief to many people present.

Upon hearing their statements, the Prime Minister, who had been tense and uneasy, was overjoyed. He excitedly shouted, "Your Highness is truly wise! Not only do we have the Emperor's decree, but that prince also possesses the Imperial Seal! Isn't this a decree from Heaven?"

With a look of surprise, Prince Lu said loudly, "So the Imperial Seal is in his hands. What else is there to say? The throne should have belonged to the Crown Prince. Now it is just being returned."

"Your Highness, why don't you lead all the officials and the army to welcome the new emperor?" Prime Minister Xiao asked, then whispered, "In that case, the new emperor will forgive and forget, and will even reward you."

King Lu glanced at Liu Shen, and Liu Shen nodded to him.

Prince Lu waved his hand and shouted, "Then let's go welcome the new emperor!" He strode ahead, with the prime minister following closely behind, and the imperial son-in-law and Ren Chuanhu also following.

"Let's go welcome the new emperor!" the officials shouted in unison, their faces solemn as they followed closely behind the officials in front of them as they walked out of the palace.

These officials were all exceptionally intelligent, and as they walked, they secretly pondered the events that had transpired.

At this moment, they suddenly realized a shocking truth: everyone had been guessing who was secretly protecting Zhao Canchen, but now they knew the truth: it turned out that Prince Lu and his son-in-law Liu Shen were the ones secretly protecting Zhao Canchen!

Among these officials, such as those from important government offices like the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, they all knew one thing: anyone who insulted Zhao Canchen to his face would suffer a terrible death!

Among them was Hu Shizi, the brother of Empress Hu and the heir of the Duke of Enguo's mansion, who died a tragic death for publicly cursing Zhao Canchen.

These actions all demonstrate that the people protecting Zhao Canchen are extremely powerful and ruthless.

But no one suspected Liu Shen and Prince Lu.

Because Prince Lu's previous actions were truly outrageous; he recklessly attempted to assassinate Zhao Canchen and even cultivated a secret relationship with the princess. While these actions appeared to be acts of revenge, they actually concealed a deeper purpose.

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the purpose of Prince Lu's actions was actually to reduce the chances of the princess and Prince Song secretly sending people to assassinate Zhao Canchen.

After all, if the princess and the Prince of Song knew that Prince Lu wanted to get rid of Zhao Canchen, they would naturally wait for Prince Lu to succeed and would not take action against Zhao Canchen, thus avoiding the blame for killing the late crown prince's son and being condemned by the world.

Liu Shen's hatred for Zhao Canchen was so obvious and openly displayed that it gave the princess and everyone else the wrong impression, making them mistakenly believe that Liu Shen harbored resentment towards Zhao Canchen because he hated the former crown prince.

But who could have imagined that all of this was just a facade?

In reality, Liu Shen had already secretly arranged for people to protect Zhao Canchen. Otherwise, given Zhao Canchen's current situation, he would probably have died countless times over if he were facing Ren Chuanhu, who was extremely skilled in martial arts.

The officials looked at Ren Chuanhu with complicated expressions.

This young man didn't offer any help even when his entire family was slaughtered, which shows his loyalty to the prince consort.

Ren Chuanhu's gaze slowly swept over the officials, noticing the varied expressions on their faces—surprise, doubt, and even a hint of awe. He didn't linger on these gazes, but quickly turned his head, casting his gaze towards the distant horizon.

At the horizon, the clouds were as black as ink, resembling an endless scroll painting.

Ren Chuanhu gazed at the deep sky, a feeling he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him. He let out a long sigh, as if to release all the pressure and unease in his heart.

"I'm finally safe..." he murmured softly, his voice so low that only he could hear it.

This statement was both a consolation to himself and a release from the various experiences of the past. Now, he had finally ascended the throne and become the ruler of this world; no one dared to look down on him or threaten his life anymore.