newborn
Outside the Purple Palace, a sea of people filled the palace square.
The flickering torches illuminated countless expectant and breath-holding faces. Their eyes were all cast towards the tightly closed palace door, and even more towards the figure standing on horseback in front of the palace.
Ning Lingyi sat upright on her horse, behind her were her confidants such as Nong Zishi, Xue Cheng, Su Qingfan, and further away were thousands of common people.
She raised her head and looked at the familiar palace door. She had walked through this door countless times to see her father, but at this moment, behind the door was her blood-related enemy, the source of all the suffering and disputes in the past three years.
Inside the hall, it was so quiet that one could hear breathing.
Emperor Guangqi Ning Yanli held a long sword, the tip of the sword trembling slightly, he had no way to retreat.
The heavy palace door creaked loudly, and the figure of Emperor Guangqi appeared inside the door. His face was as pale as paper, and only his terrifying eyes were staring at Ning Lingyi who was riding on a horse outside the door.
"Ning Lingyi!" His voice was like the roar of a trapped beast. "You, a traitor who rebelled against human ethics and plotted to usurp the throne, how dare you lead these untouchables to break through the palace and covet my throne! You deserve to be cut into pieces!"
Ning Lingyi met his gaze calmly, her voice clearly carried across the square and into the hall: "Ning Yanli, even to this day, do you still think that this world is your private property and that the people are pariahs you can slaughter at will?"
She raised her hand slightly and pointed at the endless crowd behind her.
"See clearly! This is the world! This is the will of the people! The palace guards you rely on, the political schemes and tricks you believe in, are vulnerable in the face of the true will of the people! The city gates were not breached for me, but for the way to survival they sought. The palace barriers were not breached for me, but for the justice they longed for!"
"Nonsense!" Emperor Guangqi interrupted harshly, pointing his sword. "This has been the way of the emperor since ancient times! I control my subjects with political tactics and rule the world with military might. I may have used some unsavory means to gain the throne, but which emperor throughout history has ever ascended the throne with a clean path? It's just a matter of success and failure! I lost, not to you, but to these ignorant and blind ants, to fate!"
"You are wrong!" Ning Lingyi sneered.
"You didn't lose to fate, you lost to the human heart."
"What is an emperor? He has never been a ruler who rides on the heads of the people and wields power over them. To ascend the throne, you privately promised Hebei and invited wolves into your house, causing millions of people to be displaced and slaughtered! To consolidate your power, you sat back and watched the people outside the capital being slaughtered, shut yourself in to protect yourself, and treated the people like grass! To cover up your crimes, you fabricated charges, slaughtered loyal and honest people, and made everyone in the court feel insecure!"
Her words resonated like a drop of iron and stone. "You treat the people like your enemies, trampling on the country and its people. Are you worthy enough to talk about the art of ruling? Are you worthy enough to sit on this throne? This throne is not a tool for you to use to satisfy your own selfish desires. It is a responsibility, a heavy burden that requires you to consider the lives of the people of the world. You cannot bear it!"
Emperor Guangqi stumbled at her barrage of questions, his face contorted as he burst into laughter. "Responsibility? Burden? Hahahaha, Ning Lingyi, you speak so eloquently! If you truly have no interest in the throne, why are you standing here now? You simply wish to take my place. You and I are no different! Why bother to paint yourself as so noble?"
"I'm standing here," Ning Lingyi looked at the people with a calm gaze, then replied to him.
"I'm not trying to replace you and become the next dictator. I'm working for the well-being of the people and the revival of our nation. As for who will rule from now on, that's a matter for public discussion and legal action! This world doesn't belong to one family or one surname, but to everyone in the world! The emperor is merely the shepherd of the people on behalf of Heaven. If his virtue doesn't match his position, he will naturally be abandoned by the people!"
"A world for all people?" Emperor Guangqi laughed shrilly, as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke. "It's ridiculous, absurd, I don't believe it! I don't believe these fools understand what the world is! They can support you today, and they can support others tomorrow. A ruthless emperor is the right way!"
"So you will never understand." The last trace of emotion in Ning Lingyi's eyes returned to silence.
"You were defeated, Ning Yanli. You were not defeated by weapons, nor by political schemes, but because you never truly understood what it means to be a ruler, and what it means to be a human being. History's pen is as hard as iron. Your name will forever be linked to the cession of territory, the murder of your parents, and the oppression of your people, leaving a lasting infamy."
"A thousand years of infamy..." Emperor Guangqi muttered these four words, as if all his strength had been drained away. He looked around the magnificent yet bone-chilling palace, at the trembling so-called loyal ministers, at the relatives he had held hostage...
He didn't understand, he really didn't understand.
Hasn't the path of an emperor been like this since ancient times? Why did he end up being so deserted and condemned by everyone?
But he didn't need to understand.
Suddenly, a trace of resentment flashed in his eyes.
"Okay, okay, it all started with me, so I'll end it!" Without any warning, he swung his sword and rushed towards the paralyzed emperor!
The sword flashed, blood splattered, dyeing his hideous face red.
"Father!" the Queen screamed.
The retired emperor's head drooped weakly, and his empty eyes finally lost the last bit of spirit. After all, he died at the hands of his son.
"All these sins started from the fight for the throne! Let us put an end to them once and for all!" Emperor Guangqi drew his sword and swept his blood-stained eyes towards the empress dowager.
The Queen Mother looked at him, with no fear in her eyes, only overwhelming hatred and a strange sense of relief.
She took a step forward and spat, "Ning Yanli, you beast who murdered your father and brother! I've watched you usurp the throne for three years, and today is your end. How satisfying! Even if I die, it won't be your turn to kill me with your filthy hands!"
Before she finished her words, she crashed headfirst into the hard golden dragon pillar beside her!
With a dull thud and splattering blood, the Queen Mother fell to the ground, her breath gone. Just like her own son, the former Crown Prince, she died by hitting her head against a pillar.
Emperor Guangqi was shocked again by the Empress Dowager's spitting before her death, and his face became even more gloomy. He thought he had won and these people should be afraid of him, but why?
Why did this woman look down on him so much?
No, some people are afraid of him and dread him.
His eyes were fixed on Crown Prince Ning Chengze, who was cowering in fear behind the Queen.
"Ze'er, come here! You are my son, the blood of the royal family! You must die with dignity! Go with father!" He pressed forward with a sword.
"No!"
The queen protected her son tightly behind her. She stepped forward to face the sword tip and said, "You can't kill him!"
"How dare you! I am the emperor, his father! The father is the leader of the son! If I want him to die, he must die! You are my queen, and the wife is the leader of the husband! The country is destroyed and the family is ruined, but you don't want to die for your loyalty, and you dare to stop me?" Emperor Guangqi was furious, and the tip of his sword almost stabbed the queen's chest.
The queen suddenly raised her hand, ripped off the heavy dragon and phoenix pearl and jade crown on her head, and threw it hard to the ground! The pearls and jade splattered and rolled all over the ground.
"I don't want the position of queen! I never wanted to be this queen. I am not your subordinate! I have a name, my name is Mu Yuqing!" Her voice was trembling, but extremely clear, and her eyes were staring at the crazy emperor.
"Today you killed my father and mother, and now you want to kill my son and wife? Even if you kill everyone, will the people of the world give you even a little face? No, you will only be the most despicable loser in the history books! I will never allow you to kill my son!"
Emperor Guangqi looked at his wife, who seemed to be meeting him for the first time. In his rage, he wanted to chop her down, but seeing the unflinching determination in her eyes, and the shattered phoenix crown she had smashed...
He raised the sword, but the sword seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and was difficult to stab.
Fury and despair intertwined, two lines of tears rolled down from his eyes, mixed with the blood on his face, looking extremely pathetic, he actually became a lonely man.
"Hahaha..." He laughed miserably, his voice hoarse.
"My son is lucky to have a mother like you..."
But he retracted his sword and his gaze suddenly turned to the pale-faced Concubine Yu standing beside him.
"Then let her be buried with you!" He swung his sword again and was about to pounce on Concubine Yu.
"Stop him!" the Queen immediately shouted sternly to the kneeling and trembling ministers in the palace. "Listen up, Concubine Yu is the biological mother of Princess Mingzhu! If anything happens to her, none of you here, not even your nine clans, will escape the wrath of the thunderbolt. Protecting the Concubine now might give your family a glimmer of hope!"
These words were like thunder, waking up the frightened officials.
Zhao Deben and the others looked at each other, and suddenly got up. Some of them rushed forward without hesitation and hugged Emperor Guangqi's waist and arms tightly, while the others pulled and dragged, protecting Concubine Yu, Concubine Jing and others, and quickly retreated out of the hall.
"Rebellion! Everyone has rebelled! You traitors! Traitors!" Emperor Guangqi was held tightly, struggling and roaring. His sword scratched several people, but he could not break free.
The queen didn't even look at him again. She held her son's hand tightly and walked out of the palace resolutely.
"Mu Yuqing, you bitch! Even if I become a ghost, I will not let you go!" Emperor Guangqi uttered the most vicious curse behind her, extremely furious.
Mu Yuqing paused, turned around, and looked at his final madness with cold eyes: "If you want to die, then die quickly. My son and I must live."
After saying that, she took the prince's hand and walked out of the Purple Palace quickly. As she walked, she pulled off the prince's crown on her son's head and threw it hard. She wiped the tears from her son's face and walked out of the Purple Palace in the dim morning light.
Several ministers also quickly let go and ran out of the hall.
Inside the palace, only the completely isolated and helpless Emperor Guangqi, as well as the bodies of the retired emperor and the empress dowager were left.
Ning Lingyi was anxiously looking at the palace door when she suddenly saw her mother stumbling out, escorted by officials, and then the queen ran out, holding the prince's hand.
She looked at her mother's pale figure, feeling distressed and clear-headed. She just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go forward.
Just then.
"boom!!!"
A deafening roar erupted from the Zichen Palace!
The fierce flames instantly broke through the doors and windows of the palace and engulfed the magnificent palace. A huge air wave rushed out with broken wood, bricks and stones!
Ning Yanli, the emperor who reigned for only three years and was posthumously named "Guangqi", finally chose to use the most decisive way to burn himself and his short imperial career full of conspiracy and blood, along with this palace that symbolized power.
He died without leaving even a body.
The flames shooting up into the sky illuminated the astonished faces of everyone outside the hall, as well as Ning Lingyi's extremely complicated eyes. The old era came to an abrupt end with the explosion.
A new era is about to begin, but undercurrents are also surging.
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