Then, Zhou Dagan recounted the whole story of how they had served the late emperor, and how the late emperor was fine but suddenly fell ill with a stroke, and how Zhu Ling and Han Lie secretly controlled the late emperor.
They also told the story of how after the death of the previous emperor, they were knocked unconscious and taken away, and then sent to the witch to be witch slaves.
Finally, Zhou Dagan said, "My master, on his deathbed, gave me the late emperor's jade ring. He told me that the late emperor had secretly given him the ring before his death, and asked me to find a way to deliver it to the great prince."
"Let the prince come to the palace with the jade ring to inherit the throne."
After hearing this, everyone was shocked beyond words.
Prince Shen said, "In other words, the late emperor actually wanted to pass the throne to Haoyun. It was Zhu and Han Lie who murdered the late emperor and seized the throne."
The white-bearded Minister of Personnel said, "Thinking back now, when the late emperor suddenly fell ill with a stroke, many in the court found it strange. I, too, suspected something strange about the illness, but I had no concrete evidence. I never imagined he was murdered by this vicious woman and Prime Minister Han!"
Everyone started talking excitedly.
At the same time, Han Lie, who was originally standing next to Lin Xiang, covered his head and face with his sleeves, bent down, and was about to slip away quietly.
Xia Miaoyuan was sitting on the second prince's shoulder and happened to capture this scene.
She immediately opened her voice and shouted: "Master Han is running away! Master Han is fleeing for fear of punishment!"
Yue Haoyun was quick-witted and quick-handed. He rushed forward and grabbed Han Lie's collar, "Master Han, don't leave!"
Everyone's eyes were on Han Lie.
Minister Lin's eyes were red, and he beat his chest and stamped his feet, saying, "Lord Han, you and I have served in the same court for decades. I knew you were not entirely honest, but you were a loyal and patriotic official. How could you do such a heinous act!"
Prince Shen was also indignant and said, "Back then, it was my royal brother who recognized your talent and promoted you, which is why you became the Prime Minister and a powerful official of Dai Viet. How could you have the heart to do such a cruel thing to him!?"
The ministers also rushed to point at him and cursed, "Han Lie, you ungrateful villain!"
"Han Lie, you traitor!"
Han Lie defended himself, "I had no choice but to do this! When the late emperor was alive, the prince and I always had different political views."
"If he succeeds to the throne, he will never tolerate me sitting on the prime minister's throne!"
"I, Han Lie, have risen from humble beginnings to become a high-ranking official in a country after working hard for half my life. How can I be driven out like this?"
Lin Xiang pointed at Han Lie and stamped his feet, saying, "Han Lie, you are confused!"
"Just because of your own selfish interests, you can ally with the Zhu clan and murder the late emperor. Where do you place the laws of the country and the moral principles? You have read the sages' books and nothing else! You are truly foolish!"
Yue Haoyun stared at Han Lie intently and spoke word by word, "Master Han, I, Yue Haoyun, disagreed with you politically back then, but I'm not that kind of villain!"
"You have been prime minister for many years, and your contributions to Dai Viet are obvious to all. Although I don't agree with some of your political views, I also admire you."
"If you really chose to murder the late emperor because you were afraid of me, then I really misjudged you!"
Han Lie turned his head away, avoiding Yue Haoyun's gaze, and said nothing.
At this time, knowing the truth of that year, Lin Tong and several other old ministers were very angry. The young officials hurried forward and patted their backs to help them calm down.
Meng Yong supported Lin Xiang and patted his back for a long time before he recovered a little.
Lin Xiang suppressed his anger and said in a calm tone, "Everyone, now that we know the truth of what happened, it's time to set things right!"
"Allowing the Third Prince Yue Haoming to succeed to the throne was not the late emperor's last wish."
"Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Lin shouted to the little emperor.
Yue Haoming, who was held by the palace maid, looked at him despairly without saying a word.
Minister Lin continued, "Your Majesty, please abdicate and return the throne to the Grand Prince!"
All the princes and ministers also spoke up in unison: "Your Majesty, please abdicate and return the throne to the great prince!"
Hundreds of people shouted in unison, the shouts were deafening and extremely intimidating.
The little emperor was frightened by this scene and began to tremble slightly all over.
"You are all traitors. You are forcing the emperor to abdicate. This is a rebellion!" Zhu Ling's face was ferocious.
Then, she turned to her son and said, "Ming'er, don't agree to them! Don't abdicate! If they dare to kill you, it would be treason!"
Meng Yong gnashed his teeth and grabbed Zhu Ling by the collar, saying viciously, "You vicious woman! I will avenge the late emperor and kill you with my own hands!"
As he spoke, he pulled out a sharp blade from his boot.
The little emperor cried out, "No! Please, Lord Meng, don't kill her! If you promise to spare her life, I will agree to sign the abdication edict."
Yue Haoyun looked at the young emperor with righteous indignation and spoke word by word, "This woman killed our father. If she hadn't killed him, our father could have lived for at least another twenty years and ruled Dai Viet for another twenty years."
"It was she who caused our father's untimely death. As our father's most beloved little prince, how dare you plead for her?!"
The little emperor was already in tears, crying uncontrollably, "No matter what, she is my biological mother!"
Yue Haoyun was extremely angry. He snorted coldly and turned around.
Prime Minister Lin said in a deep voice, "Zhu's crime of plotting to murder the late emperor is unforgivable and she must die. Your Majesty, you must sign this abdication decree, and Zhu must die. No room for negotiation!"
After saying this, Prime Minister Lin ordered a young scholar to immediately draft an abdication edict.
Yue Haoyun's men had already brought the blank edict and imperial seal. The scholar took a moment to think and quickly wrote the abdication edict.
Yue Haoyun ordered the palace maid to release the little emperor and handed him the abdication edict. He said coldly, "Sign it! Because of your youth and ignorance, I can spare your life."
Zhu Ling's hair was draped over her face, and her dress had long been wrinkled. She looked extremely embarrassed at this moment. She shouted like a mad woman, "Don't sign!"
"Ming'er, don't sign it! If you do, you'll be their prey!"
The little emperor wiped his tears, looked at his mother, then looked at the imperial edict, and took the brush from the side with trembling hands.
Everyone stared at the pen intently, watching the tip of the pen getting closer and closer to the imperial edict.
At this moment, a high-pitched female voice was heard from mid-air.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am here to save you!"
Everyone was startled by the sudden sound and looked up.
In mid-air, a woman in red tight-sleeved clothes was leading eight young women flying towards this side using lightness skills.
Looking more closely, they found that the palace maid named Mei'er who was beside Zhu Ling had been secretly rescued by them at some point, and Mei'er was also among them at this time.
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