Everyone was horrified, and then they saw Feng Bao lean close to Xu Wanhe's nose to check his breath: "The Left Prime Minister, the Left Prime Minister is also gone..."
An eerie silence fell over the imperial court.
What exactly happened just now?
Xu Wanhe lunged forward and attempted to assassinate Xiao Shiyan, but Xiao Shiyan strangled Xu Wanhe to death before he died!
What kind of bizarre mutual killing is this?
Just then, a eunuch suddenly announced in a shrill voice, "The Empress has arrived!"
Before anyone could hide the fascinating expressions on their faces, they saw a beautifully dressed woman enter the Golden Palace, surrounded by a large group of palace maids.
Xu Wanjing deliberately delayed for half an hour so that the officials would be amazed by her new appearance.
But when she stepped into the Golden Palace, she saw that the crowd inside was chaotic and crowded at the front, with strange expressions on everyone's faces.
Someone couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Who are you?"
Xu Wanjing was smug, preparing to tell everyone that she had used the rejuvenating cream when she sat down next to Xiao Shiyan.
Therefore, the more strange attention he received from the people around him, the happier he became.
We'll have to teach them a lesson they won't forget later!
But the further she walked, the more she realized something was wrong.
Suddenly someone shouted: "Where did this audacious woman come from, daring to impersonate the Empress!"
"Guards, seize her!"
Before anyone could hear whose voice gave the order, they saw the guards rush forward, seize Xu Wanjing, and pin her to the ground.
Xu Wanjing was furious and cursed, "Are you all blind? I am the Empress!"
Xiao Yuan walked over with a sneer: "You woman spouting nonsense, don't you even look at yourself? How dare you brazenly impersonate the Empress!"
"How could the Empress be so ugly as to be?"
Xu Wanjing was furious at his words about her "ugly appearance". She glared at Xiao Yuan and shouted, "Where did you come from, you dog? How dare you disrespect me? I am the most beautiful woman in the world!"
The entire hall fell into an eerie silence for a moment, then someone couldn't help but let out a low laugh.
Looking at Xu Wanjing in front of him, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but say to Feng Bao beside him, "Please trouble you to send someone to fetch a mirror, preferably a peep show."
Feng Bao immediately sent someone to fetch it, and soon a crystal-clear peephole was brought back.
The Western-style mirror was many times clearer than the traditional bronze mirror; it could even clearly see a mole on a face.
Without any hesitation, Feng Bao shoved the peephole in front of Xu Wanjing's face and said with disgust, "You lying woman, take a good look at yourself!"
Xu Wanjing looked ahead and clearly saw a strange, deformed, and ugly face reflected in the mirror!
"Ah—!" she couldn't help but scream, "No! Impossible! This isn't me! This isn't me!"
Just now in Cining Palace, she saw that she had a face that was beautiful enough to topple kingdoms, but now she saw such a terrible appearance.
At this moment, the image reflected in the peephole was at least ten times uglier than her previous appearance!
His complexion was dark, his eyes were crossed, his large, fat face sagged, and his lips were as thick as fish bubbles...
This isn't her! This isn't her!
Xu Wanjing immediately let out a frenzied roar: "Jin Yin, you damned bastard, I will tear you to pieces..."
"Guards, seize this audacious woman impersonating the Empress and throw her into the imperial prison!" Xiao Yuan shouted sternly.
The guards immediately gagged Xu Wanjing and dragged her away.
Just then, Fang Su, who had been standing quietly in the crowd, suddenly shouted, "Now that the new emperor has passed away, the court cannot be without a ruler for even a day. Your humble servant humbly requests that the Prince of Fenyang ascend the throne and succeed the new emperor!"
As soon as he shouted that, others immediately joined in.
Chen Song, who had been appointed Right Chancellor by Xiao Shiyan before his death, immediately knelt before Xiao Yuan: "Your Highness, the court is in great turmoil. Xu Wanhe has plotted to murder the late emperor and still holds a large amount of military power. You must not abandon us at this critical moment!"
"Yes, Your Highness, with the new emperor murdered, the court will surely be in chaos. Only if you immediately ascend the throne can the power of the Xu family be suppressed. Otherwise, the Great Zhou dynasty will fall into the hands of those with ulterior motives!"
"We earnestly request that the Prince of Fenyang succeed to the throne!"
...
More and more officials in the court echoed this sentiment.
Ling Qingxue immediately knelt down before Xiao Yuan: "On behalf of the King of Chu, I humbly request the Prince of Fenyang to ascend the throne!"
Seeing the change in the wind, Xiao Yiren immediately knelt down as well: "On behalf of my father, I humbly request that Yang Wan ascend the throne!"
All the officials knelt down.
Upon seeing that Xu Wanhe was dead, the Xu family faction immediately changed their tune and knelt down to beg Xiao Yuan to ascend the throne.
After declining several times, Xiao Yuan said in a mournful voice, "I never expected that the late emperor would misjudge people and end up being assassinated. If I do not take on this great responsibility, I am not worthy of being a member of the Xiao family!"
"Congratulations on Your Majesty's ascension to the throne!"
"Congratulations on Your Majesty's ascension to the throne!"
...
Cheers immediately erupted from the Golden Palace.
Many people finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared to Xiao Cheng and his son, Xiao Yuan was more than capable of being a good emperor in this chaotic world.
Moreover, the prosperous land of Jiangnan was originally his territory, so there was no need for everyone to bother trying to take back Jiangnan.
Su Xuerong was chanting sutras and praying for blessings in the main hall with Consort He when suddenly a loud, rumbling bell rang out abruptly.
She was suddenly startled.
This is a death knell!
Who died?
Consort He's face was also filled with shock. After a long while, she said in a trembling voice, "The Emperor... has passed away?"
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