Chapter 71 Ascension

In short, after another nap, Zhou Huaiyan couldn't lie down again.

The next day, the beautiful little bird finally flew out of the cage and planned to build a nest for his cat to lay its eggs.

If you want to get something done, you need the right people. So, the first person Zhou Huaiyan met when he went out was Hongdou, whom he hadn't seen for several months.

"Your Highness."

The chief maid leaned forward slightly, her attitude as respectful as before, but one could still hear the excitement in her slightly trembling last tone.

Zhou Huaiyan looked at her carefully and found that the scar on Hongdou's face had actually healed back to its original state.

It was easy to guess who wrote it. Zhou Huaiyan didn't ask any more questions, but just raised his hand slightly.

"Get up and follow me."

"yes."

Since he was going to be the emperor, the first thing he did after leaving the cage was to see the old emperor. The old emperor's condition worsened, and now only his eyeballs could move.

Before, Zhou Huaiyan had specifically instructed that it was enough to just keep the old emperor alive. So no one had to worry about whether he took a bath, what he ate or drank, or even if he had incontinence.

For someone who was once supreme over all people to fall to such a state where he could hardly maintain even the most basic dignity was probably a punishment more terrible than death.

More than four months had passed, and Zhou Hongjin had obviously aged a lot. He originally had only a few white hairs, but now, they were all white, like a piece of rotten wood in the mud. His entire face showed the gloom and depression of a dying man.

Before Zhou Huaiyan came, he had someone clean up the place specially, but there was still a faint, lingering stench in the magnificent Xuanzheng Hall.

Perhaps, this man has already begun to rot in his bones.

Seeing the other party's appearance, the handsome Ninth Prince felt disgusted, but also felt a kind of cruel and bloody pleasure in his heart.

"Zhou Hongjin, you have been scheming all your life, but you probably haven't planned for this day, right?"

“Huh…huh…”

The old emperor could no longer speak. He could only stare at his cloudy eyes and utter hoarse, rough, and meaningless screams.

"Oh, you must be wondering why I came out again when I was imprisoned and used as a toy by the King of Zhenbei for revenge?"

Zhou Huaiyan played with the jade pendant on his waist, his tone tinged with a hint of joy.

"You gave that alien so many slaves, but he still won't work for you. Even if you make him king, he's not interested at all. You must be very surprised, right?"

"Huh..."

The old emperor stared at him intently.

"Because, he's pregnant with my child."

Zhou Huaiyan laughed.

"Yes, he is the legendary man with perfect yin and yang. Although he looks like a man, he can give birth to children just like a woman."

“.......”

At this moment, the old emperor was so shocked that he couldn't utter a single syllable.

"Zhou Hongjin, what if I told you that the two you like, the second and the eighth, were convicted of treason, one was beheaded by the King of Zhenbei himself, and the other committed suicide in prison out of fear of punishment."

Zhou Huaiyan smiled.

"Will you die of anger on the spot?"

"......"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhou's eyes were bloodshot, and because of the excessive force, a sound like a wild beast came out of his throat.

It's very harsh and unpleasant.

But Zhou Huaiyan was not prepared to cover his ears. He looked down from above, lowered his eyes and slowly admired the other party's miserable condition. However, after waiting for a while, he did not see the expected red face, and the handsome prince was a little disappointed.

"What? I thought you were going to vomit blood."

"......"

Emperor Zhou breathed heavily, like a fish that had been stranded and was about to die.

Zhou Huaiyan liked his miserable appearance so much that he thought about it and continued.

"Now, your most hated Ninth Prince not only wants to sit on the throne, but also wants to appoint a foreign slave as his queen."

"And in the future, the child he gives birth to will also become an emperor, an heir to the royal family, and each one will be mixed with the lowest blood in your eyes..."

"You... eh..."

In such anger, Emperor Zhou finally spat out a mouthful of blood, but he did not immediately collapse. Instead, he raised his head abruptly, like a turtle that died with its eyes open.

Zhou Huaiyan stood a little further away to avoid being splashed by the blood stars.

"You think I want to piss you off to death?"

The beautiful little prince shook his head and slowly raised the corners of his lips.

"Zhou Hongjin, that's too easy for you. My uncle died in so much pain, how could I let you die so easily?"

"......"

The old emperor stared at him with angry and crazy eyes, and his mouth was full of blood and saliva that stained the quilt.

"You have set up a huge coffin in the Xuanzheng Hall, and even prepared a cremation ceremony."

Zhou Huaiyan was smiling, but that beautiful face made people feel the coldest chill.

"I am a lazy person by nature."

He didn't finish, because when he mentioned Xuanzheng Hall, coffin, and cremation, Emperor Zhou already knew what he wanted to do. But he didn't understand why Zhou Huaiyan knew that.

But if the other party knew, then since the palace coup that year, Yun Fei was the sharpest knife that Zhou Huaiyan had lurking beside him.

ridiculous!

ridiculous!!!

Zhou Hongjin had been planning for so many years, but he had always been in Zhou Huaiyan's hands. He even sharpened a sword for the other party that could point to the world and was unstoppable.

But in the midst of immense shock and resentment, Emperor Zhou still couldn't figure out -

Obviously, he kept the secret under Xuanzheng Hall so secretive that even the empress didn't know about it.

Wait, Queen...

The old emperor was shocked.

However, at this time, Zhou Huaiyan no longer cared what the other person was thinking, he just turned around and left.

At night, the Xuan Zheng Hall collapsed and fell into a huge pit, and underneath was three meters of oil stored. In the coldest wind and snow of winter, a raging fire broke out in the most heartbreaking place of the palace.

The emperor's bedroom was on fire, but no one dared to put it out. At this moment, people in the entire capital could see the flames bursting out from the center of the palace.

Zhou Huaiyan was dressed in red, standing on a pavilion not far away. The place where he was standing was the same place where Emperor Zhou watched the opera during the palace coup.

That night, if Zhou Huaiyan had not anticipated Emperor Zhou's murderous intention, or if Ah Fei had arrived a little later, it would have been his uncle who would have stepped into the sea of ​​fire.

The cold and beautiful little prince looked up at the sky. This was probably the heaviest snowfall this winter. The dense and heavy snow was almost blinding.

The snow was getting heavier, and the strong wind blew his blood-red robe, making a rustling sound, like a ball of fire growing wildly in the blizzard.

However, at this moment, the bright flames in the distance shot straight into the sky, even breaking through the heavy snow, burning all the way up to the sky, burning the dark night sky into a boiling blood red.

Zhou Huaiyan watched all this quietly. In his dark eyes, the snow and wind finally melted away, leaving only the bright fireworks, shining brightly——

On the second day, the news of Emperor Zhou's death spread.

The once magnificent Xuanzheng Hall was not only razed to the ground, but also sank into the ground, like an unfilled grave.

For a time, the court was shaken and the officials were in a panic.

"...I, the great Emperor of the Great Zhou, ended up like this!!!"

"Someone must have done this on purpose!"

"Oh, in the current situation, who can be so arrogant?!"

"Sure enough, he is not of my kind, his heart must be different!!!"

"Of the five princes of my Zhou Dynasty, two were killed by him, one was imprisoned by him... Even His Majesty..."

"......"

Finally, two or three foolishly loyal old ministers angrily denounced the matter in the court and insisted on a thorough investigation and an explanation.

Among them, Prime Minister Wang Zhen led the way. He was almost sixty years old now and should have retired to his hometown a few years ago. However, he encountered the palace coup of the third prince and the invasion of foreign tribes, so he stayed.

It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a loyal minister who works diligently and conscientiously. However, his mind is too old-fashioned.

Among all the civil and military officials standing in the court, only the King of Zhenbei sat on Yu Ci's chair and even took a sip of tea leisurely.

"Then check it out. You can choose the people and check it in any way you want."

“…?!”

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

No one expected the King of Zhenbei to react like this, but the emperor's death was so strange that it naturally had to be investigated.

But Prime Minister Wang Zhen led people to investigate in person. They thought that the other party was just talking, but in fact they were either secretly obstructing or destroying the evidence long ago.

However, in reality, they had no problems investigating the case, and the King of Zhenbei really did not hinder them at all. Even the various evidences, witnesses and material evidences were not damaged.

A month later, Wang Zhen uncovered the truth. He discovered the secret of the assassination plot built by Emperor Zhou under the Xuanzheng Hall. He also found the last words that the empress gave to Zhou Huaiyan before her death, which revealed every conspiracy of Emperor Zhou, and every word was filled with naked hatred for Emperor Zhou.

It even mentioned that Emperor Zhou was dissatisfied with Wang Zhen's excessive harshness and meddling in his affairs, and wanted to get rid of him altogether.

The old emperor was suspicious by nature. When he was still a prince, he was an ordinary person. When he was trying to seize the throne, not many people stood in his camp.

Therefore, Duke Wei was not the only minister that Zhou Hongjin was suspicious of.

Wang Zhen personally checked all the evidence. He was full of enthusiasm at the time, but now he was completely disappointed and disheartened.

The emperor himself planned this deadly situation, but in the end, he was the one who died in it.

Afterwards, no one cared about who killed the Zhou Emperor. No one mentioned the imperial mausoleum. The King of Zhenbei even ordered the lowest-ranking slaves to dig out the remains from the deep pit and throw them on the mass grave.

The reign of an emperor came to a tragic end.

But Zhou Hongjin was dead, and the Great Zhou Dynasty had to change, and naturally, a new person had to sit on the throne.

Thus, several important ministers, the King of Zhenbei, and the remaining princes all gathered in the hall.

After all, the old emperor died in a clean manner. Not only was there no edict of succession, but even his ashes were scattered.

Originally, in this situation, the remaining princes should have fought to the death, and even staged several palace coups to seize the throne.

But early this morning, several old ministers were called into the palace.

"Well, let's discuss it, vote, and choose an emperor."

The ministers were stunned with shock: "......??!!!"

Vote, elect...elect the emperor???

At this moment, the ninth prince Zhou Huaiyan was bored and had some snacks.

The fourth prince sat upright, not looking around.

Xiao Shisan has now completely learned Zhou Huaiyan's way of doing things, and also follows him in eating snacks and drinking tea, acting as if it has nothing to do with me.

As for the King of Zhenbei...he is embroidering.

Embroidery.......Embroidery??????

The ministers were torn.

This is electing an emperor!!!

So in the end, the ministers had no choice but to bite the bullet, but after looking around,

The fourth prince is bright and capable.

The sickly, impotent, and dissolute Ninth Prince.

The thirteenth prince, who was born in a humble family and was not yet an adult.

It was obvious that the court officials directly excluded the Ninth Prince. After all, everyone in the capital knew about his relationship with the King of Zhenbei. The ambition of that king with a different surname was obvious, and he would definitely find a puppet to support him to the throne.

So everyone thought that the King of Zhenbei would support the 13th prince who was already 15 years old to take the throne. But in order for the Great Zhou to continue and support the royal family, the ministers naturally hoped that the fourth prince would inherit the throne.

But no one expected that at this moment Zhou Huailing suddenly stood up, with a serious expression and gnashing teeth.

"Your Highness believes that my ninth brother... the ninth prince Zhou Huaiyan, is gifted, intelligent, capable, and dedicated to serving the people, and is worthy of the great responsibility."

Ministers: “…….???”

Fourth Prince, if you are kidnapped, just blink.

Half a month ago, the Fourth Prince went to find Zhou Huaiyan after learning of the Emperor's death.

"What? You're going to be the emperor again???"

Zhou Huailing's usually cold and handsome face was about to be shattered by him. At that time, the lazy brother sighed,

"I have no choice. I have to support my family."

The fourth prince: “.........”

I fucking believed your lies!!!

You became an emperor to support your family???

So that day, no one knew what happened after several important officials in the court were summoned into the palace. All they knew was that when they came back, they looked dazed and were about to fall.

Half a month later, the ninth prince Zhou Huaiyan ascended the throne and all officials submitted to him.

More than ten days later, the new emperor issued an edict to marry the King of Zhenbei and hold a ceremony to confer the title of empress on him.

The author has something to say:

Ah, I'm finally almost done ~ there should be about five or six chapters left.

There will be a modern chapter in the extra story, and the uncle will appear~