The fifth watch drum broke the silence of dawn, and the vermilion palace doors creaked open one after another.
The gilded door nails gleamed coldly in the morning sun, like a celestial eye peering into the human world. A pale blue morning mist drifted over the Han Dynasty jade steps, and the golden brick pavement reflected the frost marks on the imperial guards' armor.
Lu Zheng held Jiang Jiang's hand and walked slowly into the main hall.
When the chief eunuch saw the two of them, he sighed in his heart but did not stop them.
Sitting on the dragon throne in the center of the main hall is the current emperor.
The emperor on the dragon throne looked like a faded clay statue, his bright yellow robe hanging loosely on his hunched body, his once-strong back now bent as if under the weight.
Jiang Jiang was shocked. It had only been three months since she last saw the emperor, and he had aged from a middle-aged emperor in his prime to this state.
The moment he saw Lu Zheng, it was as if he had regained his consciousness, and his cloudy eyes were filled with brilliance.
"Old Nine is here?" A hoarse voice squeezed out from his cracked lips. He looked very happy, clapping his hands and smiling, "Well, you are worthy of being my son."
Lu Zheng didn't want to waste any more time on him, so he bowed and said, "I, your son, have been entrusted by the ministers to come and ask your father to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible."
Jiang Jiang looked at the emperor's current appearance and felt that there was not much difference between appointing a crown prince and passing on the throne.
I thought the emperor would be angry, but he smiled instead: "Lu Zheng, I can make you the crown prince, you just have to agree to one condition."
Lu Zheng looked up at him.
But he said, "When you ascend the throne, posthumously confer the title of empress on your mother and bury her with me."
Lu Zheng sneered, "My mother has been resting in peace for many years. If my father truly misses her, please don't disturb her peace in death."
The emperor said quietly, "She will want to be with me."
He looked at Lu Zheng again and suddenly said, "You look a lot like your mother."
Seeing that Lu Zheng was disgusted by him, the emperor suddenly laughed and said, "There is another way. Kill me. If you have the courage to bear the reputation of a patricide, the throne will be yours."
Patricide takes over.
No matter which dynasty it is, it has a bad reputation.
The emperor watched Lu Zheng raise his sword and gave him a meaningful smile. "I am your last relative in this world. Lu Zheng, do you want to kill your father yourself and live a lonely life?"
"If you only agree to my request for joint burial, the throne will be yours. Does she have even a modicum of maternal love for you? Why are you protecting her like this?"
Every word he spoke stabbed Lu Zheng's wound.
Hearing this, Jiang Jiang couldn't help but hold Lu Zheng's hand tightly.
Lu Zheng could not kill his father.
Jiang Jiang lowered his eyes and looked at a sword on the ground. Perhaps it was left behind by the guard when he escaped.
"Zheng——"
A flash of silver light passed. Jiang Jiang had unknowingly picked up the sword, its tip already buried in the emperor's heart. Blood trickled down the bright yellow dragon robe.
"His Majesty has passed away." She calmly drew her sword, turned and smiled at Lu Zheng, who stood there stunned. "I killed him."
The emperor looked at the sword on his chest, then slowly raised his head to look at the two of them, as well as Jiang Jiang's slightly bulging belly, with some reminiscence in his eyes.
He suddenly burst into laughter, his strength finding no trace. He grabbed the hilt of the sword and thrust it an inch deeper. He then addressed the intruding eunuch, saying, "I will...commit suicide and pass the throne to the Ninth Prince..."
Jiang Jiang was stunned and was held tightly in Lu Zheng's arms.
She heard the sound of the Imperial Guards rushing into the palace, mixed with crying and screaming, the sound of chaos being suppressed, and the Sixth Prince's voice of disbelief.
...But in such a chaotic situation, she could clearly hear the man behind her sobbing softly.
He called her: "Jiang Jiang."
He shed a tear: "You are all I have."
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