Chapter 517 Begging for Mercy
"You...you colluded with the Shang family..." Emperor An's lips trembled.
Xiao Yan raised his eyelids slightly and said, "Since I've been to the northwest, I've naturally met people from the Shang family. However, the Shang family is the head of the Dragon Court Guard appointed by Taizu. They have protected the royal family for generations and only obey the orders of the royal family's orthodox members. Your Majesty, you are too serious to say that they are colluding with others."
Emperor An's face turned even paler, and he bent his fingers tightly around the dragon throne.
orthodox…
The Dragon Court Guard was established to protect the royal orthodoxy and was also founded by Taizu himself. If he had truly obtained the throne through legitimate means, he would naturally not be afraid. However, it was he who forced the previous emperor to death and ascended the throne in the chaos.
Before his death, the late emperor never mentioned a word about the Dragon Court Guards, and he never told anyone that a token was needed to command the Dragon Court Guards and the Zhen'an Army. Now that the Shang family has brought the Dragon Court Guards into the palace, if they really ask for the Dragon Jade Order in public, how can the death of the late emperor and how he got the throne be covered up?
Emperor An was afraid: "Xiao Yan, you are just a member of the He family. If the Dragon Court Guards attack the Imperial City, you will not have an easy time."
"So what?"
Outside, the rumbling sound of war drums almost drowned out all the fighting.
The capital was already in a state of panic due to the chaos in front of the palace gate. The Dragon Court Guards besieged the city gate, and the sound of war drums made all the people even more panic-stricken.
Xiao Yan reached out to wipe the blood splattered on Tang Ning's face, and spoke in an extremely cold tone.
"The He family died in vain. I never intended to sacrifice the world for my deceased friend. All I seek is justice. However, Your Majesty is truly an eye-opener. Since Your Majesty does not want me to rest in peace, then no one else can. Let the world be buried with Your Majesty's willfulness."
When he raised his lips to smile, it made people feel cold for no reason.
"But why is Your Majesty so afraid of the Dragon Court Guards?"
Emperor An's lips trembled slightly and his palms tightened tightly.
Marquis Wenxin raised his head with a cold gaze. "I remember that the Dragon Court Guard was the retreat left by Emperor Taizu for the Imperial Family. The Dragon Court Guard's leaders only obeyed the Imperial Family and were not subject to anyone else's jurisdiction. Over the years, the Shang Family has never set foot in the capital, yet they have always been respectful to Your Majesty. How did you convince them to serve you?"
Xiao Yan sneered: "Then I'll have to ask His Majesty."
Emperor An met the gazes of everyone in the hall and began to tremble. He couldn't let anyone know how the previous emperor died, and he couldn't let anyone know that his throne was not obtained in a legitimate way.
Emperor An surrendered in an instant: "Xiao Yan, all you ask for is justice for the He family. I can give it to you."
"The Dragon Court Guards have been entrenched in the northwest for many years. They are no longer what they were when Taizu was here. They dared to disobey the Holy Order and lead troops into the capital without authorization. The Shang family may have harbored rebellious intentions. You are trying to get the skin of a tiger, and you may not be able to suppress them afterwards. It is better for you and I to each take a step back."
"I swear I will clear the name of the He family..."
These words sounded extremely familiar, and not only Xiao Yan, but even the other court officials in the hall were at a loss for words.
Fu Laiqing stood beside Qian Qiyue, with blood on his body. He spoke with great sarcasm.
"Your Majesty previously swore an oath by the ancestors of the Imperial Temple and even issued an imperial decree. Yet, you have now ordered the death of Xiao Yan and have even labeled all the ministers as traitors, intending to execute them. Your Majesty should forget about swearing an oath, lest the coffins of the royal ancestors in the Imperial Temple be overwhelmed."
Qian Qiyue rarely found Fu Laiqing's words pleasing to the ear, and she also followed suit with a sneer: "Even a girl like me knows what it means that a gentleman's promise is as heavy as a thousand pounds, but Your Majesty treats promises as shit. I think it would be better for Governor Xiao to rebel and overthrow the court, so as to avoid an unclear death one day..."
"Ayue!"
Qian Qingran shouted softly.
Qian Qiyue sneered: "Am I wrong? A dignified emperor is behaving like a villain. Going back on his word is totally shameless."
"Father and Cao Gong tried to dissuade him, but he labeled everyone a traitor, even those generals who had made great contributions to the Wei Dynasty. When he was about to kill them just now, did he remember the friendship between the ruler and his subjects, or the contributions these people had made to the Wei Dynasty?"
"No one would believe his oath!"
Qian Qingran's face was a little bad, but he also hated Emperor An. Tang Ning, on the other hand, reached out and grabbed Qian Qiyue: "Sister Ayue."
Qian Qiyue snorted coldly, and everyone could see the disdain on her face.
Tang Ning stood beside Xiao Yan, looking up at Emperor An. "Your Majesty, in order to kill my brother, you didn't hesitate to slaughter the whole court. You didn't even care about the lives of Lord Cao and General Yin. The lives of all the courtiers and royal family members in the hall are not as important as your selfishness. If that's the case, why are you still pretending to be so hypocritical now?"
Emperor An's fingers trembled: "I... I was confused for a moment..."
"Confused?"
Cao Dejiang said coldly, "Are you so foolish as to forget what it means to be a king and not to joke? Are you so foolish as to want to massacre the court to settle today's incident?"
"You killed the Imperial Censor, captured the censors, and slaughtered court officials, intending to keep all the civil and military officials of the Great Wei in this palace. I don't think Your Majesty is confused, but rather simply has no intention of thoroughly investigating the events of the past twenty years. What are you afraid of? And why is it so important to kill Xiao Yan?"
After what happened before, General Yin was extremely disappointed with Emperor An. His robe was stained with blood, and most of the generals around him were also injured.
Emperor An really wanted to keep all of them in the Zichen Palace.
General Yin's face was filled with frost. "I have lived through three dynasties and was present when Taizu founded the Dragon Court Guard. The Dragon Court Guard was not built by one person. All the generals were loyal to the royal family in the palace. Even if the Shang family was the leader, they would never betray the royal family."
"If Your Majesty has no guilt, why fear Shang Qin's arrival in the capital? Where did the confidence that just ordered the massacre go?"
Emperor An's face grew paler, and the increasingly loud drumbeats outside also made him panic.
"Oh no! The Dragon Court Guards have reached the palace gate!"
The shrill screams outside made Emperor An unable to remain calm any longer.
"Xiao Yan!" His expression trembled. "I know I was wrong. It was wrong of me to break my promise. Don't let the Dragon Court Guards enter the palace..."
Seeing that Xiao Yan was unmoved, he turned to look at General Yin.
"General Yin, the Dragon Court Guards are not the same people they once were. I cannot command them. Xiao Yan is trying to get the skin of a tiger, and he cannot control the people left behind by Taizu. They did not enter the palace for the old incident of twenty years ago. Shang Qin has long disobeyed the emperor's orders."
"I shouldn't go back on my word, but the Dragon Court Guards must not enter the palace, otherwise there will be chaos!"
General Yin looked at Emperor An, who was at a loss and in a panic, and his face became more and more gloomy.
The Dragon Court Guard was founded by Taizu himself. He selected the most loyal people to the royal family. Even if the people of the Shang family disobeyed the imperial orders, it was impossible for all other generals to follow suit and disobey the imperial decree. However, Emperor An was so afraid of them that he bluntly said that he could not command them, and even said that the people of the Dragon Court Guard would cause chaos in the world.
General Yin's heart tightened. Why was Emperor An so sure? Unless...
He did not obtain the throne legitimately!
What General Yin could think of, others could naturally think of as well. All the civil and military officials were shocked.
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