Five days after the emperor was poisoned, he finally died. King Zhao, under the pretext of incompetence, executed all the imperial physicians to cover up the fact that he had never allowed them to treat the emperor.
The emperor died, and the crown prince was critically ill. King Zhao produced an edict announcing that the emperor had passed the throne to his son.
In just a few days, the political landscape of the court underwent a dramatic change. King Zhao had already gathered a large number of people, and with the addition of those he had won over on the spot, most officials immediately submitted to him.
Looking at those who refused to submit, King Zhao's eyes flashed with murderous intent: "Stubborn fools, send them on their way!"
The soldier who drew the card immediately rushed towards the officials. Seeing that they were really going to kill them, the timid ones immediately knelt down: "Your humble servant greets the new emperor, long live the emperor!"
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Some more knelt down, while a few resolute old ministers remained steadfast, questioning the authenticity of the imperial edict.
"While we acknowledge Prince Zhao's abilities, an emperor cannot be a cripple, much less pass the throne down through generations. Even if the crown prince is seriously injured, there are still the princes; it certainly won't be the grandsons' turn. Prince Zhao, are you certain that the edict in your hand was written by His Majesty himself?"
“For the past few days since His Majesty was poisoned, Prince Zhao has been the only one guarding him and has never seen any outsiders. Now that you have killed the imperial physicians and palace servants, it is clear that you are guilty and trying to cover up the truth.”
King Zhao was indeed trying to cover up the truth. What the minister said was almost entirely true, but would he admit it?
History is written by the victors; which emperor who ascends the throne doesn't have some tricks up his sleeve?
"Since Lord Zhou doesn't trust me, then go down and ask His Majesty himself to see if he really wrote this edict."
The soldier's sword was poised, just one step away from beheading the man, when suddenly a commotion broke out outside.
"Report!"
A soldier rushed in: "Your Highness, the Sixth Prince has led his troops in and broken in."
Everyone looked up and saw the Sixth Prince leading the Duke of Han and his men charging in.
However, they only made it to the gate; once inside, they were met with King Zhao's tens of thousands of troops.
The sixth prince was blocked at the door and dared not go any further.
But he would not give in so easily. He fought his way up to the city wall, looked at the entrance of the imperial palace from afar, and shouted angrily.
"King Zhao, you framed me for assassinating the Crown Prince, and now you have poisoned the Emperor and usurped the throne. Your crimes are heinous and unforgivable. With me here today, you will not succeed!"
Although King Zhao was in a wheelchair, it did not stop him from looking down on the sixth prince.
"You?"
The sixth prince's face immediately darkened. At that moment, an arrow shot out from the Zhao King's camp, aiming straight for the sixth prince's throat. Fortunately, the guard next to him reacted quickly and pulled him away, thus saving the sixth prince from dying on the spot.
Having survived the ordeal, the Sixth Prince was filled with rage and, without thinking, waved his hand: "Kill them!"
Arrows rained down from the wall, and the battle began instantly.
King Zhao stared grimly at the spot where the first arrow had appeared: "Who ordered the arrow to be shot just now?"
The fighting had already broken out underground, and no one could answer King Zhao's question.
Swords clashed, blood flowed like a river, and in no time the ground was covered with corpses.
King Zhao did not want to fight the Sixth Prince. It would be a lose-lose situation for both of them. He had someone keeping a close eye on the Sixth Prince. How could he possibly join forces with the Duke of Han to gather troops?
The deafening shouts of battle outside proved that the army was quite large, but even if the Han family had the Yongning Marquis's mansion, it would be impossible for them to assemble such a large army so quickly.
As the battle drew ever closer, the Sixth Prince's forces had already crossed the palace wall and were now face to face with the Prince Zhao's troops.
The sounds of fighting and screams filled the air, and blood flowed in streams.
King Zhao wanted to stop the battle but was powerless to do so. Once the struggle for the throne began, it would never end, not even in death.
"Summon Ximen's men here," King Zhao coldly ordered.
"yes."
In order to obtain the throne, King Zhao made ample preparations. He was older than the others, and from the time he first harbored the ambition to compete for the throne to the present, he had spent more than a decade accumulating resources, which was enough for him to gather a huge force and a large army.
Even if the Sixth Prince has the support of several families such as the Han and Li families, he is definitely no match for him. His main target of defense is not the Sixth Prince, but the person in the Eastern Palace.
The crown prince was not dead, and Qin Zhuo protected him like a watchdog, always feeling that they were brewing something.
But now that Lao Liu is tearing at him like a madman, he doesn't care about anything else.
With Ximen's men joining the fray, the pressure instantly shifted to the Sixth Prince's side, turning the situation one-sided. The Sixth Prince's men were being slaughtered to the point that they were almost forced to leave the palace.
Just as the Sixth Prince was about to lose, a soldier in silver armor suddenly leaped down from the roof of the palace behind Prince Zhao. His spear, like a dragon, pierced through Prince Zhao's back and pinned him to his wheelchair.
"Ahhh! Your Highness!"
The man next to King Zhao was splattered with blood, and the guards were so shocked that they were stunned for a moment before they realized they had to kill the thief.
The thief was agile and leaped onto the roof in the blink of an eye, disappearing quickly.
Those with discerning eyes could tell it was a woman, and some ministers even recognized her.
"Princess Chang Le? Is that Princess Chang Le from the Qi Prince's Mansion?"
Everyone looked at Prime Minister Luo, the head of all officials, especially those who were loyal to King Zhao, who now saw him as their father's killer.
"Minister Luo, shouldn't you give an explanation?"
Why did Princess Chang Le kill Prince Zhao?
How could Prime Minister Luo know why Princess Chang Le suddenly killed Prince Zhao? He didn't even know how Princess Chang Le got in.
However, Princess Chang Le was his daughter-in-law, and no matter how he explained, these people wouldn't believe him.
Prime Minister Luo made a quick decision: "Princess Chang Le is not close to my Luo family. Instead of doubting me, you should consider whether this is the intention of Prince Qi."
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