Wang Tiezhu's voice rang out, harsh and devoid of any emotion:
"His Majesty is surrounded by treacherous officials who plot to collude with foreign ministers, wreak havoc in the palace, and overthrow the state. I, the commander, have come to purge these traitors and protect the peace of the Western Capital!"
He waved his hand sharply: "First, take down those traitors like Liu Yong and Wang Yun! Leave Cao Chunfeng alive!"
The fierce guards immediately rushed forward, ignoring Liu Yong and the others' struggles and screams, tightly binding them with ropes and dragging them out.
Soon, only Yin Zhao, the limp Cao Chunfeng, Qu Zhuang, and Wang Tiezhu remained in the hall.
Yin Zhao finally came to his senses and roared madly, "You dogs of Zhao Muyun! How dare you rebel against me? I am the Emperor!"
He lunged at the desk, trying to grab the paperweight to fight back, but Qu Zhuang, who was prepared, pressed him firmly to the ground, his cheek pressed against the cold floor tiles, the folds of his dragon robe filled with dust.
Qu Zhuang looked down at him, his eyes devoid of any pity:
“Your Majesty, now that things have come to this, why bother with any more futile struggles? Your cronies have been under our watch since the moment you began drafting the edict.”
Wang Tiezhu swung his wheelchair forward, his eyes fierce: "The Grand Commander has long issued an order that such a scourge to the country and its people must not be allowed to live, as they will surely become a great threat."
He paused, then lowered his voice even further, "Tonight's events were all part of a scheme—to lure you out of your hole so we could wipe out your entire gang."
Yin Zhao froze, then struggled frantically: "Zhao Muyun! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
Wang Tiezhu ignored Yin Zhao's roars and turned to look at Cao Chunfeng, who was lying on the ground, his voice as cold as a knife:
"Eunuch Cao, do you want to do it yourself, or do you want me to send your whole family on their way?"
Cao Chunfeng suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with fear: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, this servant... this servant does not understand what you mean..."
"It's very simple."
Wang Tiezhu pointed at Yin Zhao, who was being held down on the ground, and said, "If you kill him with your own hands, you can at least have a complete corpse. Otherwise, your family in Hedong will be buried with you."
He drew a short knife from his waist and threw it in front of Cao Chunfeng, saying, "I'll give you three breaths to think it over."
Although Cao Chunfeng became a eunuch, he built a luxurious mansion in Hedong and adopted several godsons, which was his weakness.
"one--"
Cao Chunfeng looked at the dagger on the ground, then at the fierce-looking Wang Tiezhu, and then at his family outside the palace. His teeth chattered, and tears mixed with cold sweat rolled down his face.
"two--"
"I...I'll do it!" Cao Chunfeng finally broke down, crawled over to pick up the dagger, his hands trembling so much he could barely hold it.
He staggered to Yin Zhao, looked at the emperor who had once been so kind to him, a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes, but he was forced back by Wang Tiezhu's cold gaze.
"Your Majesty... I'm so sorry!"
With his eyes closed, Cao Chunfeng suddenly plunged the dagger into Yin Zhao's heart.
Yin Zhao's roar abruptly ceased, the madness and anger in his eyes instantly replaced by deathly silence, and blood gushed out, splattering onto the white palace bricks, a shocking sight.
“Very well.” Wang Tiezhu said coldly, “But do you think someone who murders a king has any chance of survival?”
Cao Chunfeng froze, about to turn around and beg for mercy, when a flash of cold light appeared, and Qu Zhuang's long knife had already slashed through his neck.
He clutched his neck, blood seeping from between his fingers, collapsed to the ground, convulsed a few times, and then fell silent.
Seeing that Yin Zhao and Cao Chunfeng were dead, Wang Tiezhu gestured to Qu Zhuang to arrange their bodies in a fighting posture, then opened the palace gates and loudly announced to the outside world:
"Cao Chunfeng colluded with court officials and rebels, and took advantage of the absence of the Prince of Jin and the Grand Commander in Xijing to assassinate the emperor and seize power. He has now been executed!"
"Arrest the accomplices immediately, and do not let any of them escape."
The reasons and excuses are absurd and full of loopholes.
But what can we do?
The entire capital was filled with Prince Jin's and Zhao Muyun's men; only a few still fantasized that Yin Zhao could retain power.
Everyone secretly believed that Yinzhao should not be in this position; they just lacked a reason to step down.
The problem is that he won't voluntarily step down, so tonight is the best solution.
"Here you go!"
A unified response came from outside the hall, followed by the sounds of footsteps and the rustling of armor plates. The shadowy figures of the night scouts darted into the night like ghosts, heading towards the rebel residences in various parts of Xijing.
Looking at the palace city in the night, Wang Tiezhu said to Qu Zhuang, "Immediately notify Lords Zhou, Pei, and Fan to come to the Prince of Jin's residence to take charge of the overall situation."
"My lord, I've already sent someone." Qu Zhuang said in a deep voice.
"You stay here and guard this place closely!" Wang Tiezhu nodded and said to the guard beside him, "Come, push me to the Prince of Jin's residence and wait for the arrival of the esteemed officials."
......
At this moment, Pei Lun was not asleep at all in his residence; he kept looking towards the palace.
The high-ranking officials of the Prince of Jin's mansion were aware of the operation to lure out Yin Zhao's henchmen.
But he and Wang Tiezhu knew that they had used this opportunity to kill the emperor.
Pei Lun was worried that if the emperor was not dead, he and Wang Tiezhu would be in trouble.
After all, Yin Zhao was the nominal emperor of the Great Yin Dynasty and also the uncle of the Prince of Jin. The title of regicide was not a good thing.
When he received the message from Wang Tiezhu, who told him that the emperor had been killed by Cao Chunfeng, Pei Lun breathed a long sigh of relief: "Finally, it's done!"
He hurriedly summoned his guards, rushed out the door, and headed straight for the Prince of Jin's residence.
However, the situation was quite different in Fan Nan's residence and Zhou Hong's residence.
Fan Nan had just fallen asleep when he was woken up. Upon hearing the news that "His Majesty has been assassinated by traitors," he was so shocked that he stood up abruptly, his face turning deathly pale.
"What? His Majesty was assassinated and has died? This... how could this be?"
Zhou Hong even knocked over the teacup beside him, oblivious to the tea soaking his robes, his voice trembling:
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