Chapter 185: Abdication
Not long after Zhao Xuanyi arrived, Cui Yanzhi, the commander of the Eastern Palace guards, immediately rushed in with his men, surrounded the eldest princess with swords drawn.
The eldest princess smiled, a smile that was extremely charming and beautiful.
She stroked the sword gently, "Prince, is this your last trump card?"
This calmness made Zhao Xuanyi uneasy.
"Aunt, I once said that when I ascended the throne, I would marry Yuan Rong as my queen and confer upon you the title of Princess Guardian of the Nation," Zhao Xuanyi said. "Thus far, these words still hold true."
The eldest princess just treated it as a dog barking.
She raised her eyes and said to the emperor beside her, "It's time to return the throne to me."
The emperor seemed not to hear.
He first bent down to pick up the imperial edict that had fallen at his feet and said, "Let's show it to the Queen first. She's seriously injured."
"Isn't there a ready-made imperial physician in Hanyuan Palace?" The eldest princess waved her hand, and two eunuchs immediately dragged Mu Guanqing out.
Mu Guanqing's face was pale and there was blood on his forehead. It was obvious that he had suffered a lot.
"I have another person I want you to treat."
The eunuch clapped his hands, and someone came in carrying a stretcher.
The white cloth covering it was lifted, revealing Song Guangju's horrific body.
"Song Guang committed suicide in his cell yesterday out of fear of punishment," the princess said. "Doctor Mu, take a look. Is there any hope of saving him?"
When Queen Song heard her father's name, she barely raised her head. The moment she saw her father's body, she let out a scream that was not like a human voice and then fainted.
Zhao Xuanyi's face turned pale, and the emperor bent down and vomited.
The eldest princess was in a good mood. "Your Majesty, please go to the Council Hall now and abdicate in front of all the ministers."
The emperor's lips trembled and he couldn't speak.
Zhao Xuanyi's eyes were filled with murderous intent. "I am the crown prince, so it is not your turn to abdicate."
He gave an order, "The princess is forcing the emperor to abdicate and committing treason. She deserves death. Hurry and arrest her."
The guards of the Eastern Palace immediately drew their swords.
At this time, behind the eldest princess, countless feather arrows were fired from the roof of Hanyuan Hall.
Zhao Xuanyi and Cui Yanzhi were both startled, and then hurriedly dodged the arrows.
The situation is changing rapidly.
It all happened so fast.
Zhao Xuanyi was grazed by a feather arrow, and all the guards of the Eastern Palace were wiped out.
His face was extremely ugly, and his neatly-knit hair was messy. "How could you mobilize the imperial guards without authorization!"
The eldest princess ignored him.
"Take the prince away and put him in prison." The eldest princess waved her hand.
Zhao Xuanyi was terrified and unwilling to accept this. He placed his hopes on the emperor, "Father, please say something. Are you just going to watch her confuse right and wrong and do whatever she wants?"
"You are the emperor, the master of the dynasty, you speak!"
The eldest princess thrust her sword into his chest and sneered, "What do you expect him to say?"
"Didn't the Song family just take advantage of him because he's cowardly and easy to control? They can't even control the government, so how can they expect him to control the Imperial Guards?"
Zhao Xuanyi was stabbed with a sword. He covered the wound in pain and gasped in agony.
The emperor burst into tears, "Imperial sister, I agree to abdicate the throne to you."
He begged, "Please let Ayi go, let the Queen go, they are all your blood relatives."
The eldest princess no longer wanted to argue with him about "bloodline".
Waste of breath.
Zhao Xuanyi couldn't accept it, "Father, no..."
By abdicating, the eldest princess would have succeeded to the throne in a legitimate manner, and no party could attack her in the name of clearing the court of corrupt officials.
To raise an army is to rebel.
As the prince, he will never have another chance.
The emperor waved his hand, signaling him to be quiet.
Then he said tremblingly to the eldest princess, "I will go with you to the Council Hall."
"Then you better hurry," the princess said. "If you delay, Zhao Xuanyi's blood will run dry."
The road from Hanyuan Hall to Yizheng Hall was unprecedentedly long.
"Zhao Ji," the princess called him by his name, "abdicate. It will be good for both you and me."
The emperor said nothing.
The princess continued, "You must speak carefully in the Council Hall. If you say something wrong, you will pay a terrible price."
The emperor's shoulders slumped and his face turned pale.
Qu Ling went to look for Zhao Yuanrong early in the morning, but found that she was not in the princess's mansion at all.
"Where is my sister?"
Even the servants in the mansion didn't know.
Pei Jingming also disappeared.
In the huge princess mansion, there are only Princess Kangle and Qu Ling.
The two were not familiar with each other, so they simply decided not to meet and went back to their rooms.
The sun is shining brightly and time is passing by little by little.
Pei Jingming returned first. He handed the imperial edict to Qu Ling and said, "If there is no news from the palace within two hours, you will leave the city immediately and take the imperial edict to the King of Yunnan."
That's what his mother told him.
In two hours, either the dynasty will welcome a new emperor, or the country will change dynasties.
"What about you?" Qu Ling held the imperial edict.
Pei Jingming said calmly, "Whether she lives or dies, I will always be by her side."
He just left this sentence and left.
Qu Ling was a little stunned.
"Princess, what should we do?" Tingqin's mind was blank and he couldn't tell what he was feeling.
Isn’t the princess’ wedding in ten days?
Why did it seem like something terrible happened all of a sudden?
"You go, pack up some valuables, prepare the horses, and keep track of the time. Once the time is up, we will leave." Qu Ling was also nervous.
A timid face peeked out from behind the pillars.
"Princess?"
Qu Ling cried out.
Princess Kang Le slowly moved out and bit her lip, "I'll wait with you."
She was afraid that Qu Ling would misunderstand her. "I don't have to rely on you to take me away. In two hours, if the imperial guards come, I will delay them and you can run away."
Qu Ling smiled, "No, Auntie will win."
These were two very difficult hours.
He was anxious to watch the chess game and ran straight to the gate to wait.
Anxiety filled everyone's heart.
"His Majesty has abdicated. His Majesty has abdicated to the eldest princess."
The sound of people watching chess was so loud that it could be heard from far away.
Princess Kang Le hugged Qu Ling and said, "Aunt is the emperor, Aunt is the emperor!"
If she wasn't the prince, she wouldn't have to die.
Qu Ling looked calm, but in fact, the fingers holding the imperial edict had turned white.
The person who came to deliver the message was a young eunuch.
"I, the eunuch of Huayang Palace, pay my respects to the princess."
Huayang Palace was formerly the residence of the eldest princess, and later it was the residence of Zhao Yuanrong.
Qu Ling asked, "Is everything alright in the palace?"
"Good," the young eunuch beamed, "Your Highness has already donned the yellow robe in the Council Hall. We only need to choose a good time to offer sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors."
Qu Ling's eyes were slightly red.
The day has finally arrived.
My aunt sat on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace and took control of the world.
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