Chapter 689: Old Minister, I pay my respects to Your Majesty...
Feng Lai's words were like pouring a basin of cold water into an already boiling oil pan, and the whole hall suddenly became noisy.
Everyone looked at Emperor An in disbelief.
"No wonder the late emperor died so suddenly. Even the imperial physicians and eunuchs who served him closely were executed by the new emperor for failing to provide adequate care. Only Feng Lai survived."
"Yes, it's no wonder Feng Lai enjoyed his favor for so many years, but he actually helped him kill the late emperor..."
Feng Lai knelt on the ground, listening to the indignant discussions around him. He lowered his head and said, "I have no excuse for murdering the late emperor to save my own life, but the late crown prince was indeed framed by the late emperor and Xie Tianyong."
"Back then, the He family wholeheartedly assisted the Crown Prince and followed Taizu's wishes in helping him ascend the throne. They never harbored the slightest intention of rebellion. When the Eastern Palace burned, the Crown Prince's former followers besieged the palace because they knew the late Emperor intended to harm the Crown Prince. Xie Tianyong then ordered Liu Tongen to secretly instigate them."
"The late emperor had long been wary of the Crown Prince's talents and resented his support among the court officials and common people. He resented even more the Emperor Taizu's regard for him and had long intended to eliminate him. Xie Tianyong sensed his intentions and colluded with the Lu family to repeatedly frame him. The Crown Prince was murdered."
Feng Lai kowtowed heavily to the ground, making a loud sound.
"I, Feng Zi, know I am guilty and am willing to sacrifice my life to clear the name of the late Crown Prince!"
Emperor An looked at Feng Lai in disbelief, staggered a few steps, and muttered hoarsely: "Crazy, you are crazy..."
He plotted to murder the late emperor, isn't he afraid of death?!
Emperor An raised his head and roared like a trapped beast: "What he said is a lie. He was bribed by Xiao Yan. Everything he said is a lie!!"
"I did not murder the late emperor. It was Xie Tianzhao who rebelled. He was the one who did it..."
When Emperor An was emotionally excited, his usually dignified face was distorted, and his already prominent cheekbones became ferocious, making him look like a madman. The next moment, his hands and feet suddenly began to tremble. He quickly reached out and took out a porcelain bottle from his arms. With trembling hands, he wanted to pour out the contents, but he lost his balance for a moment and the meatballs inside fell to the ground and rolled everywhere.
Golden elixir!
All the pills in the porcelain bottle fell out, and the bottle was empty. Emperor An chased after the fallen golden pill with red eyes.
The crowd was frightened by his sudden action, and in a panic someone stepped on the meatball.
"My golden elixir!"
Emperor And suddenly stretched out his hand and pushed the man, causing him to stagger back. In his panic, the man almost fell down and was helped to stand firm. But when he looked up, he was in disbelief to see Emperor And kneeling on the ground, reaching out to pick up the crushed pills on the ground.
The pills were not big to begin with, and after being crushed, many of them were carried away by the soles of the shoes, leaving only a few on the ground. Emperor An dug a few times and then turned around to crawl towards the other pills. He picked them up and was about to put them in his mouth when an old Prince Ying waved his hand and knocked them away.
Prince Ying grabbed Emperor An and angrily said, "What are you doing? This is the main hall, and there are so many people watching..."
Emperor An wanted to break free, but when he was held down by the old Prince Ying, his whole body began to twitch. The itchiness and the endless pain that surged through his body caused water to flow from his mouth and nose.
"Get out of here!"
He pushed King Ying away, knelt on the ground and quickly crawled towards the golden elixir not far away.
Just as he was about to reach out his hand, someone took it up first. It turned out that Xiao Yan had been standing there for some time.
Emperor An's eyes turned red: "Golden Pill, give me the Golden Pill, this is mine..."
Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows: "This world has never been yours, why don't you take it away?"
Emperor An was trembling all over, his rationality almost collapsing in his head. He pounced forward and tried to snatch it, but Xiao Yan turned around and took a step back to avoid him. Emperor An missed his shot and fell to the ground, looking even more embarrassed.
The drug addiction in his body became more and more severe, and the constant discomfort that seemed to be about to overwhelm him made him twitch more and more, and even his hands and feet were difficult to control.
"Xiao Yan... give me the golden elixir... give it to me..."
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes and looked at the disheveled people on the ground, just like his father's sudden madness back then. He held the meatball in his hand with an indifferent expression and said nothing.
Emperor An stared at the thing he was playing with as his mind gradually became blurred. He didn't remember that he was an emperor, didn't remember that all the ministers were there, and didn't remember the throne he had been demanding. He just wanted that thing to stop the discomfort in his body, and just wanted Xiao Yan to give him the golden elixir.
Emperor An crawled to Xiao Yan's feet with trembling hands and feet, grabbing the hem of his clothes.
"I... I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have framed the Crown Prince. I shouldn't have drugged him... But it was my father who harmed him first..."
"Father...Father has long been unable to tolerate him. He wanted to eradicate the aristocratic family, but was retaliated against by them. It was the Lu family who instigated me...Yes, it was Lu Chongyuan who instigated me to harm my brother. But I didn't want the life of my brother, the Crown Prince. He is my brother, how could I want him to die..."
Emperor An's voice was trembling and intermittent, and the words he uttered were somewhat incoherent.
Sometimes he talked about his respect and love for the late crown prince, saying that he never wanted his life. Sometimes he talked about how the late emperor persecuted the late crown prince, and how the late crown prince's attempt to eliminate the aristocratic families was retaliated against and incurred public anger.
He mentioned the Lu family and many other people, even Taifu Rong appeared in his words.
"I don't want to kill him, I just don't want to live in his shadow forever..."
"I didn't start the fire. It was Father! It was Father who wanted to kill him... And those people from the aristocratic families, they couldn't tolerate the Crown Prince, they were the ones who killed him..."
“That’s enough!”
Liang Guangyi had been standing aside, watching Emperor An fumbling and chaotically clinging to others, and even showing a tendency to spread from the Lu family to other families. He suddenly stepped forward and interrupted Emperor An.
"Certainly……"
He wanted to call him Duke Dingguo, but when he saw the Empress Dowager beside Xiao Yan, he swallowed his words with an ugly expression and said in a deep voice:
"Now that the truth of the matter has been thoroughly investigated, and His Majesty has admitted his fault, he was once the monarch of the Great Wei. Why embarrass him like this?"
"Embarrassing?"
Xiao Yan stared at Liang Guangyi for a moment, and when he felt that Liang Guangyi's face was a little bit exhausted, he sneered and threw the meatball in his hand to the ground.
Emperor An, who had been watching his movements, was instantly delighted. He rushed over without a moment's delay, not caring about the dirt on the ground, picked up the meatballs and stuffed them into his mouth. After wolfing them down, he collapsed to the ground. After a while, a groan of extreme comfort came from his throat, and a strange and relaxed smile appeared on his face.
Xiao Yan raised his lips: "Do you all still want Xie Tianyong to continue sitting on the throne?"
The court officials in the palace: "..."
It would be better to destroy the Wei Dynasty than to let such a disgusting, despicable and vicious person sit on the throne. They have no face to be loyal to such a monarch!
Xiao Yan continued: "Then give me the throne. Who has any objection?"
The silence continued to spread and no one spoke.
After a moment, Cao Dejiang stepped forward and knelt. "The throne of the Son of Heaven belongs to the capable. The eldest grandson of the Emperor is of outstanding talent and virtue, and was personally appointed by Emperor Taizu as the heir to the throne. He is the most legitimate and legitimate heir. I, this old minister, am willing to assist the eldest grandson of the Emperor in ascending the throne to comfort the spirit of Emperor Taizu in heaven."
Qian Baokun also stepped out from the crowd and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"
The civil officials who had previously been on good terms with Xiao Yan came out and knelt on the ground.
Immediately afterwards, the generals followed suit and knelt down one after another.
After the voices of "Your Majesty" were heard one after another, in the blink of an eye, most of the people in the hall knelt down, leaving only Liang Guangyi and other court officials from aristocratic families still standing.
Liang Guangyi stood in the crowd, and when he met Xiao Yan's gaze, he felt cold all over. He didn't expect that all his previous outrageous speculations were true, and the uneasiness before entering the palace became a reality.
Now the trend is irrelevant and he has no time to struggle.
Liang Guangyi clenched his fists tightly, and it took a long time before he slowly relaxed them, then he bent his body and knelt on the ground.
"Old minister, I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
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