"Yes." Wu Shou responded and immediately led the Azure Dragon Guards to investigate.
Wu Shou was quick; he soon found out what had happened and returned to report: "Your Majesty, a small hill in the eastern suburbs of the capital has collapsed."
Helian Rong frowned suddenly: "Were there any civilian casualties?"
Wu Shou shook his head: "The eastern suburbs are secluded, and there were no civilian casualties."
Helian Rong breathed a sigh of relief, glaring resentfully at Helian Zheng and the other two.
At least the three of them had some conscience; they didn't kill anyone.
"Have you found out how the landslide occurred?"
Wu Shou glanced at Helian Zheng and the other two and whispered, "It seems someone used gunpowder to blast the mountain into a landslide."
Helian Rong suddenly narrowed his eyes and shouted, "Speak louder! Tell everyone here how that hill collapsed!"
Wu Shou understood Helian Rong's intention and loudly reported again what he had just said: "Someone used gunpowder to blast the mountain into a landslide."
Wu Shou's words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the officials.
"They actually used gunpowder!"
"This shouldn't be considered a natural disaster, it's a man-made one!"
"It seems there are people who don't want His Highness the Crown Prince to be made the heir apparent!"
Weren't all the officials present shrewd and calculating? At this moment, they all understood what was going on and turned to look at Helian Zheng and his two companions.
Since it wasn't fate but human intervention, it must have been the work of the three princes.
The three princes were too ruthless. In order to prevent the imperial grandson from being made crown prince, they actually caused trouble during the sacrificial ceremony. Fortunately, no one was killed, otherwise, if things had gotten out of hand, the emperor would definitely not have let them off easily.
These officials were well aware of the situation, but the common people below were not so clear-headed.
"It's clearly the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven that's wrong, Heaven is angry, so why are they saying it's gunpowder!"
"His Majesty has just sent people to investigate. It turns out that someone used gunpowder to cause the mountain to collapse, deliberately making it look like a natural disaster."
"I think it's a natural disaster. What kind of gunpowder could cause a mountain to collapse? It must be that Heaven doesn't agree with this grandson of the emperor becoming the crown prince, so it's angry."
“I think so too. How can a grandson of the emperor be made crown prince? The emperor has sons, there are still three princes.”
"Since even Heaven does not agree to let the imperial grandson be the crown prince, why doesn't Your Majesty choose one of the three princes to re-appoint the crown prince?"
"Yes, the three princes are not bad either. They are princes, and their bloodline is closer to the emperor. Why did the emperor choose a grandson of the emperor?"
The people below were talking so enthusiastically that Helian Zheng and his two companions were overjoyed, almost bursting with happiness.
"If you can talk, then talk more, let this old man hear the voice of the people." Helian Qin gritted his teeth and spat out these words.
Helian Zheng and Helian Jun also laughed triumphantly.
Helian Zheng gave a wink to the officials who supported him.
The officials immediately understood and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, a landslide is no trivial matter. The Azure Dragon Guard may not be able to find out exactly what happened. What if there was no gunpowder at all, but rather divine retribution? We cannot defy the will of Heaven. We urge Your Majesty to appoint a new crown prince."
Someone started speaking, and immediately an official stepped forward: "Your Majesty, Heaven is angered. This sacrificial ceremony has failed. Heaven's will cannot be defied. We beg Your Majesty to appoint another heir."
"The will of Heaven cannot be defied. Your Majesty, please establish another heir!"
These people all seemed to have one mouth, using the same rhetoric, which infuriated Helian Rong.
Duanmu Junyu also had a dark expression on her face, feeling very sorry for Su Renzhong.
She knew he was in a bad situation in Northern Wei, but she never imagined it would be this difficult!
Given Duanmu Junyu's temperament at this moment, whoever wants to be the crown prince can be, but they certainly don't want it!
Duanmu Junyu really wanted to go forward and pull Su Renzhong away.
But remembering the promise she had made to the Northern Wei emperor, she ultimately held back.
Su Renzhong has had a tough time, and so has this old man. If they really just leave, then he will truly be at the mercy of those three.
That old man had been really good to Su Renzhong, and even so, in order to repay him, they couldn't go along with the three men's wishes today.
Helian Rong was so angry he almost fainted, but he knew he couldn't fall. If he did, Northern Wei would be thrown into chaos.
Forget about whether Ci'er still has a chance, those three alone can turn the Northern Wei Dynasty upside down!
Helian Rong took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and glared at the officials, saying, "Commander Wu has already found out that someone used gunpowder to blow up the mountain. Are you all deaf?"
An official deliberately said, "How could anyone use gunpowder to blow up a mountain for no reason? In my opinion, could it be that Commander Wu made a mistake in his investigation? This must be divine retribution."
Helian Rong narrowed his eyes coldly and roared, "Since your ears are useless, then I think you don't need them either."
Helian Rong then shouted again, "Guards, cut off his ears and use them as a sacrifice to the heavens!"
Wu Shou really enjoys doing this job, especially since this guy just dared to say he made a mistake!
Wu Shou, holding a large knife, stepped forward and slashed the official's ears twice.
"Ah!" Before the official could react, both of his ears were cut off, and the sharp pain made him scream like a pig being slaughtered.
Wushou grabbed the official by both ears and threw him directly onto the altar.
The Emperor said that if his ear was cut off as a sacrifice to Heaven, it should be placed on the altar, right?
The official, trembling, covered his two bloody holes with his hands and collapsed to the ground.
The officials nearby were all quite frightened when they saw this.
Even the common people below were too frightened to speak when they saw such a scene.
Helian Zheng did not expect Helian Rong to be so ruthless, and once again signaled his trusted official to step forward and speak.
Although the official was afraid, he had no choice but to step forward and say, "Your Majesty, even if someone used gunpowder to blast the mountain, the truth should be investigated. I believe that it is not appropriate to hold the sacrificial ceremony today. I request Your Majesty to choose another day to establish an heir."
Helian Rong was amused by his words: "You're quite the smooth talker, aren't you? I think your tongue is quite suited for sacrificial rites to the heavens!"
Helian Rong then looked at Wu Shou.
Wu Shou understood perfectly and immediately stepped forward with his knife.
The official was terrified and immediately knelt down, shouting, "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life!"
"Shut up!" Helian Rong shouted irritably, not wanting to hear the man's voice at all.
Wu Shou stepped forward and, with considerable effort, cut off the official's tongue. There was no other way; cutting off the tongue was much easier than cutting off the ears, and it took him a lot of effort.
The official, whose tongue had been cut out, like the official whose ears had been cut out before, covered his mouth and slumped to the ground in despair.
乌寿将那块舌头也一并送上了祭台。
众人看着这血淋淋的一幕，全都吓得不轻。
赫连戎浑浊的眸子扫过在场每一个人，大喝道：“朕看这祭台上还缺些鼻子，眼睛做祭品，还有谁想来！”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
