Chapter 514 Kill Xiao Yan!
Xiao Yan sneered at Liu Tong'en's words, holding his sword. "Whether I killed the king or not, or forced the emperor to abdicate, you all call me a traitor. If that's the case, then I might as well do as you wish..."
When he raised his hand to strike again, Prince Ji said urgently:
“Wait!!”
He walked forward quickly, his legs feeling a little weak. Although his face turned pale with shock at the sudden change in the palace, he knew that Emperor An could not die.
The palace coup tonight was originally because of something that happened twenty years ago. Xiao Yanyuan has also agreed to retreat, so the other people in the palace can naturally leave safely. But if Emperor An died now, the others would probably die on the spot. Even if Liu Tongen led his men to kill him, he would not be able to protect everyone with so many black-armored guards and the four camps outside the capital.
Once Emperor An dies, the court will be in chaos.
By then, not only will the capital be flooded with blood, but the Xie family will probably have to hand over the throne to someone else, and their relatives will probably be hunted down and killed immediately.
Prince Ji turned and shouted at Liu Tongen, "Why don't you shut up? How has Governor Xiao ever been a traitor?"
Liu Tongen: "He led people to force the palace and hurt His Majesty..."
"Shut up!"
Prince Ji shouted harshly, and when he glared at Liu Tongen, his eyes were full of fierceness:
"Everyone in this palace knows that Governor Xiao was seeking justice for his father and for the innocent people who died in the Southland, and that's why he offended Your Majesty in a moment of desperation. Your Majesty is so magnanimous that he has just issued an order to waive any charges for today's incident. This prince and others have heard it with their own ears and have written it down as a testimony. Who dares to call Governor Xiao a traitor?"
Liu Tong'en's face changed. How could His Majesty issue an edict?
He quickly looked at Emperor An, but saw that he didn't say a word, and no one in the hall spoke to refute Prince Ji. He suddenly felt it was ridiculous.
Is Your Majesty crazy?!
After Prince Ji had silenced Liu Tong'en, he raised his head and addressed Xiao Yan, "Lord Xiao, this incident happened suddenly tonight. Commander Liu was anxious to rescue the emperor and didn't know the details of what happened in the palace, which led to a misunderstanding between you and Lord Xiao. I need to explain it clearly now, and you must not act rashly and do something you will regret."
Seeing that Xiao Yan was unmoved, Prince Ji softened his voice and tried to persuade him:
"Your actions were originally acts of loyalty and righteousness, and your purpose was to clear the name of an old friend. But if you truly kill His Majesty today, then outsiders will only say that you are exploiting the past for personal gain."
"By then, not to mention the Third Master of the He Family, even the people who died unjustly in the Southland will probably have a hard time getting justice. Is this what you want?"
Xiao Yan paused.
General Yin also stepped forward solemnly: "Xiao Yan, since you are a child of the He family, you should know what kind of person Mr. He was. When he was alive, he served the country and the people. He would never want to cause chaos and war in the world because of his own bloodline, and he would never want the He family to be condemned to eternal sin."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan sneered, "The He family has long been notorious. How can someone who plots treason and genocide have a good reputation?"
"But you're not!"
General Yin raised his eyes and said sternly, "You came out today not only for He Wenzhuo, but also for the entire He family. If you really wanted to rebel and overthrow the imperial power of the Great Wei, you would not wait until Cui Lin and others plotted against you before taking action."
Xiao Yan had a blank expression on his face: "I don't know what you are talking about."
"You know."
General Yin looked directly at Xiao Yan, a look of determination on his already aged face.
"You've been by His Majesty's side for many years. If it were just revenge, you would have had the opportunity to finish him off long ago, but you didn't. You simply took advantage of the situation and targeted the Lu family until today. What you wanted when you led your troops to surround the palace was definitely not His Majesty's life, but to clear the name of your father and the He family."
"But if you touch His Majesty, what you ask for will no longer be possible!"
Xiao Yan's expression froze, and he pursed his lips with a gloomy face.
Seeing the solemn atmosphere in the hall, Cao Dejiang walked over to General Yin.
"Lord Xiao, I know you harbor resentment, but Commander Liu's affairs have nothing to do with Your Majesty. Eunuch Feng also said that it was he who took the initiative to bring people in, which led to the incident just now. Commander Liu's words and actions were not instructed by Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty just promised personally not to pursue today's matter, and he also issued an imperial decree in front of so many people. He will definitely not go back on his word and be the villain who breaks his promise."
"If you release His Majesty, Commander Liu will lead his men to retreat, and today's incident will be settled. His Majesty will also, as previously promised, thoroughly investigate the events of twenty years ago, uncover the truth behind the Rongjiang Massacre, and bring justice to all those wrongly accused."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan lowered his eyes and looked at Emperor An.
Emperor An's lips trembled as he looked at the sword tip so close to him and whispered, "I will promise..."
"I want you to thoroughly investigate the He family's past."
"The He family was convicted by the late emperor..."
The tip of the sword extended three inches forward. Emperor An, who was about to argue, immediately changed his tone and said, "Okay, I will order a thorough investigation into the He family's conspiracy to rebel. If there is any injustice, I will restore justice to the He family."
"really?"
"You are not joking."
Xiao Yan stared at Emperor An for a long moment before he said in a cold voice, "General Yin and Lord Cao have spoken for Xiang. I will trust Your Majesty once more. I only hope Your Majesty will remember what I just said..."
When he retracted his sword, Feng Lai rolled and crawled to Emperor An.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Emperor An felt Feng Lai's hand trembling and whispered, "I'm fine..."
"Lord Governor Xiao, it's getting late, these black-armored guards..." someone said in a low voice.
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes: "I will take it away myself."
He walked down the platform and the black-armored guards around him retreated.
Xiao Yan walked up to Tang Ning and extended his hand towards her: "Let's go."
Tang Ning was stunned for a moment, feeling that all the eyes of people in the hall were on her. Those looks, whether of surprise, sudden realization, or contempt and self-enlightenment, were particularly sharp, but Tang Ning did not hesitate at all. She just put her hand on Xiao Yan's hand, and then let him lead the way out of the banquet.
Seeing this, Rong Yue sighed softly and followed him out.
She knew that after today, Tang Ning and Xiao Yan were completely tied together, and even she was associated with the He family.
The three of them were protected by black-armored guards and walked out of the hall.
Emperor An watched their backs moving farther and farther away from him, clutching Eunuch Feng's arm tightly, his heart filled with humiliation, embarrassment, and disbelief.
A dignified emperor was forced to this point, repeatedly giving in and having his crown cut off, his hair disheveled and his body in disarray. If Xiao Yan leaves the palace today, he, the emperor, will also lose face. From now on, who will believe in him, and what dignity will he have?
He remembered how much he valued Xiao Yan before, how he thought Song Tangning was just an ignorant little girl, and the humiliation he felt when he was repeatedly deceived by them.
When Emperor An clenched his teeth, he had a splitting headache. After the fright, the rage and itchy pain that he had suppressed in his body spread throughout his limbs and almost broke his sanity.
When Xiao Yan and Liu Tong'en passed each other and were about to leave the hall.
The dull drumbeat outside the hall began to sound again, occasionally with a sharp and rapid whistle of arrows exploding in the air.
Emperor An was stunned at first, then he was overjoyed, and then he looked down with a gloomy look and shouted.
"Liu Tongen, kill Xiao Yan for me!!"
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