Chapter 769 The Death of the Marquis of Yongchang
Everyone watched this scene in shock, especially the officials from the three departments, whose eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Madam Zheng nervously grasped Qiao Qinghe's hand.
Qiao Qinghe squeezed Madam Zheng's hand in return, offering a barely audible reassurance: "Don't be afraid, nothing will happen."
Madam Zheng nodded, but her heart was still pounding.
Unlike Madam Zheng's nervousness, Qiao Qinghe remained almost completely unmoved.
First, there's Emperor Xiaozhao's attitude.
From the sudden change in attitude of the Yongchang Marquis's residence to Wen Jue leading his men in and storming in, Emperor Xiaozhao didn't even flinch.
They clearly didn't take the threat from the Marquis of Yongchang seriously.
Next is Wen Jue.
Marquis Yongchang relied on Wen Jue, but Wen Jue was a very difficult person to talk about.
Based on her understanding of this person, it was far more likely that she would believe he would obey the orders of the Marquis of Yongchang and his mother to force Emperor Xiaozhao to abdicate.
It would be better to make her believe that Wen Jue was acting on Emperor Xiaozhao's orders, cooperating with the Marquis of Yongchang and his mother in a charade.
One last point!
Qiao Qinghe had a strange feeling that the main event of the day was not investigating the cause of the deposed crown prince's death, nor was it dealing with Prince Qi or Marquis Yongchang.
Instead... expose Min Ji!
Among those present, apart from the officials of the Three Departments and the three powerful marquises who held military power, the remaining senior officials were almost all on Emperor Xiaozhao's list of suspects.
Qiao Qinghe already knew that Emperor Xiaozhao suspected these people.
However, her suspicions were narrowed down.
She turned her gaze to Zhong Hao.
At this moment, Zhong Hao's face was calm, his eyelids were lowered, and he showed no emotion whatsoever.
Liu Wenyan, standing next to him, looked astonished, his face filled with disbelief.
After Wen Jue entered, he quickly walked to the side of Marquis Yongchang and respectfully reported: "The entire palace is under control. The Empress and Mother are personally overseeing the inner palace, and the concubines, princes and princesses in all palaces are also under control."
Marquis Yongchang nodded in satisfaction: "Well done."
Wen Jue nodded slightly, took a step back, and stood behind the Marquis of Yongchang, looking respectful and obedient.
Marquis Yongchang turned around, chin slightly raised, and looked directly at Emperor Xiaozhao with arrogance, "Your Majesty, did you hear everything?"
"The palace is now completely under the control of the Wen family."
"You now have only one choice: establish the King of Chu as the crown prince and, on the grounds that the treasonous criminals deserve to die, withdraw the case to depose the crown prince."
"Of course, you can also close the case as the Wu family murdered the deposed crown prince. Anyway, the Wu family members are all dead, so how to close the case is entirely up to you."
Emperor Xiaozhao calmly looked at Marquis Yongchang, "Let the Wu family take the blame, and the Marquis Yongchang's mansion will escape unscathed. Establish the Prince of Chu as Crown Prince, and then should I make way for the Prince of Chu's ascension to the throne?"
"I won't be the crown prince! I won't be the emperor!..."
Before Marquis Yongchang could speak, King Chu couldn't hold back any longer.
He crawled on his knees to Emperor Xiaozhao's side, hugged the emperor's legs, and wailed, "Father! Today's events have nothing to do with me! It was the Yongchang Marquis's mansion that was ambitious and acted on its own! Father, please believe me, I never intended to collude with them!"
Emperor Xiaozhao sighed, rubbing his forehead. He truly couldn't bear to look at such a son.
Marquis Yongchang was so angered by the King of Chu's actions that his face turned extremely ugly.
If Wenjue and the Empress hadn't needed time to make arrangements, he wouldn't have spent so much time acting in the play.
He almost had a heart attack when he heard the King of Chu blaming him and the Queen of Chu for all the crimes, and he barely managed to hold back.
Now, everything is arranged and victory is within reach, but King Chu would rather grovel at Emperor Xiaozhao's feet and beg for mercy than stand up upright, take over the power, and ascend the throne!
They're truly hopeless!
However, the more the King of Chu acted this way, the happier he became.
As long as we support the King of Chu to ascend the throne and have our daughter give birth to a son as soon as possible, the King of Chu will be useless!
The daughter can rule from behind the curtain, and he can assist in governing the country. The entire Dayan Kingdom will be under the control of the Wen family!
Marquis Yongchang stared intently at Emperor Xiaozhao... on the dragon throne beneath him.
"Your Majesty, it's time to make a decision!"
Emperor Xiaozhao placed his hand on the head of the Prince of Chu, looking at the Marquis of Yongchang with a half-smile, "Are you sure you want me to make this good-for-nothing the crown prince?"
A sharp pain shot through him, and the Marquis of Yongchang looked down in astonishment at the blade that had pierced his chest. His expression instantly shifted from confidence, smugness, and smugness to shock, bewilderment, and disbelief.
He slowly turned his head and saw Wen Jue holding the knife, his eyes filled with despair and anger that were almost overflowing.
"Why...?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, blood gushed out.
Because they were standing too close, blood splattered onto Wen Jue.
But he didn't even frown, just stared blankly at the Yongchang Marquis's residence, and then slowly and firmly pulled the knife out of the Yongchang Marquis's body.
The moment he twitched the blade, a large amount of blood gushed out. Almost instantly, the Marquis of Yongchang, his eyes wide with resentment, collapsed limply to the ground, his life extinguished.
He died without understanding why Wen Jue would stab him in the back!
They're family! They're brothers!
They are the family members who should trust and rely on each other the most!
Why...is this the case?
"Your humble servant has successfully carried out his mission and personally slew the traitor. The Yongchang Marquis's family has plotted rebellion, and the evidence is irrefutable. I beseech Your Majesty to decide how to deal with them."
Wen Jue knelt on one knee and respectfully reported his mission.
Emperor Xiaozhao smiled and raised his hand: "Well done, get up."
As for what to do with the Yongchang Marquis's residence, Emperor Xiaozhao did not say.
However, Wen Jue did not get up.
He hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, please make a decision on the matter of establishing a crown prince as soon as possible!"
Emperor Xiaozhao narrowed his eyes, his tone instantly turning icy: "You also want to force me to make the Prince of Chu the Crown Prince?"
Everyone was on tenterhooks by the unexpected turn of events.
The Marquis of Yongchang murdered the deposed crown prince, and not wanting to be punished, he took the risk of forcing the emperor to abdicate and commit treason. This is understandable.
Wen Jue was Emperor Xiaozhao's man, and he secretly cooperated with them. In the end, they could accept the execution of the traitor, Marquis Yongchang.
But... shouldn't things be over now that Marquis Yongchang is dead?
Why did Commander Wen suddenly say the same thing as Marquis Yongchang?
He's forcing Emperor Xiaozhao to appoint a crown prince... What is he trying to do?
Wen Jue raised his head high and shouted in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, I request that you establish Princess Huaiyang as the Crown Princess! After Your Majesty passes away, the Crown Princess shall inherit the throne!"
Upon hearing this, the officials of the three departments were all dumbfounded and frozen on the spot.
The King of Chu, who was still clinging to Emperor Xiaozhao's legs, was so shocked that his jaw dropped.
He glanced at the Marquis of Yongchang, who lay dead in a pool of blood, then at Wen Jue, who was kneeling on one knee, his body ramrod straight and his imposing presence overwhelming, and finally fixed his gaze on Li Sanqi.
In an instant, the King of Chu's not-so-bright mind suddenly clicked!
He...he was actually Li Sanqi's stepping stone?!
No! Not just him! That unlucky King Qi was probably the same!
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