Chapter 75 Abdication Edict: "Who is she?!"
at the same time.
Outside the Golden Palace, the sounds of battle filled the air as imperial guards and rebels clashed, their swords clashing, the corpses of soldiers staining the white marble steps a dark red.
The Imperial Guards were guarding the gates of the Golden Palace, locked in a fierce battle with the advancing rebel forces.
Inside the Golden Palace, Xiao Heng, dressed in bright yellow, sat on the dragon throne, his personal guards standing guard beside him with sharp blades in hand.
The Empress Dowager sat on a phoenix chair, wearing a gold-embroidered phoenix robe. To her left stood Consort Xue, whose belly was slightly protruding, and to her right stood Qin Wanyu and a man wearing a black hat, whose face could not be seen.
Right Chancellor Xue Huaiyuan stood bowing below the steps, with nearly half of the civil and military officials standing on the same side as him.
The Empress Dowager glanced at Xiao Heng on the dragon throne and sneered, "You unfilial son, now that things have come to this, why resist any longer!"
Xiao Heng glanced at Xue Huixin's lower abdomen, then turned to look at the Empress Dowager, his eyes unreadable. "I thought you hated me for taking the throne from Ninth Brother, but I didn't expect you to simply hate me," he said sarcastically. "You'd rather have a bastard of unknown origin inherit the throne than let me be dragged down."
Upon hearing this, Xue Huixin's expression changed at first, and then she gave a sarcastic smile.
Granny Chang is right. Nothing is more important than power. As long as her child becomes the emperor, she will be the empress dowager!
As for who the child's father is, it doesn't matter at all!
Xue Huaiyuan quickly straightened up and said, "Your Majesty is mistaken. The Consort is carrying the child of the Emperor, who will one day become the ruler of our Sheng Kingdom."
At this moment, Lu Ting, the Minister of Justice, suddenly stepped forward, stirring up the crowd, and said, "I, Lu, swear to support the new emperor to the death. Think of how the Left Prime Minister has followed the emperor for many years, yet he has ended up like this. We must not let the Left Prime Minister's today become our tomorrow!"
"Lord Lu is right..."
"Left Prime Minister, alas..." Those court officials who were originally neutral began to stir.
Amidst the commotion in the main hall, a man dressed in court robes suddenly emerged from the shadows, speaking with a resounding voice, "Lord Lu, are you planning a rebellion?"
Everyone was shocked; the newcomer was none other than Bai Xingzhi!
"The Left Chancellor isn't dead?"
"What exactly happened?"
The Empress Dowager angrily exclaimed, "You unfilial son, how dare you deceive me!"
Xiao Heng casually glanced at the court officials standing to one side with Xue Huaiyuan, his gaze finally settling on Lu Ting. A smirk played on his lips. "Otherwise, how would I know who is truly loyal to me and who is eager to support the new emperor?"
Lu Ting felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze and swallowed hard.
The Empress Dowager snorted coldly, "Bring the person up!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhao He suddenly brought Consort Shu in. Consort Shu looked at Xiao Heng with a terrified expression, "Your Majesty, save me!"
Zhao Fuquan's sharp eyes swept over him: "Zhao He! You have indeed betrayed the Emperor!"
Zhao He's eyes were filled with resentment, and his voice was filled with ruthlessness: "Master, this is not my fault. If it weren't for this, you would always be the Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Court, while I would only be subordinate to others and would never have a chance to rise up!"
Zhao Fuquan shook his head in anguish. He had already asked the Emperor for permission to retire next year once this matter was settled, but the Emperor was so impatient.
The Empress Dowager sat there, her voice imposing: "You rebellious son! If you abdicate immediately, I may spare her life!"
Xiao Heng didn't even raise his eyes. "Does Mother Empress think I would give up this empire for a woman?"
A woman's soft laughter suddenly came from inside the hall. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and found that it was Qin Wanyu standing next to the Empress Dowager.
Qin Wanyu stepped forward and said to the Empress Dowager and the Right Chancellor, "Your Majesty, Your Excellency, you have both been deceived by him." She turned to Xiao Heng, her eyes filled with a knowing smile, "Your Majesty, do you think we don't know that you are using Consort Shu as a cover?"
Xiao Heng's expression changed upon hearing this, "You have indeed betrayed me!"
He had a vague feeling about it, so he would investigate the information she gave him afterward. However, since the results of each investigation were true, he could only suspect it and not be certain.
However, he had never trusted her much before, and she knew very little, so even if she betrayed him, it didn't matter much.
Qin Wanyu smiled. "My lord found out too late." She learned everything she should and shouldn't have from Lu Yong.
Consort Shu's initial panic vanished instantly, replaced by a look of resentment and malice.
After the banquet that day, Qin Wanyu found her and told her the truth: it turned out that Xiao Heng had been using her as a cover all along.
She used to think that he suddenly disliked her because he discovered she was the Empress Dowager, and she always felt guilty about it. Now she knows it was because of that zither, the zither he made for the woman he loved! She only touched that zither, and he banished her to the cold palace and never saw her again!
No wonder he suddenly sent Zhao Fuquan to see her the day before the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. She thought he wanted to see her, but it turns out he was just using her as a cover!
If that's the case, then on that day at the Qianqing Palace, she would act along with him, wanting to make him love her but not be able to have her!
Qin Wanyu smiled at Xiao Heng and called out towards the outside of the hall, "Let him in!"
Wei Ran suddenly rushed in, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Consort Xi has disappeared!"
Xiao Heng suddenly stood up from the dragon throne. "What did you say!" He then forced himself to sit back down, gripping the armrests tightly, and asked in a deep voice, "Have you sent anyone to look for us?"
“We’ve searched the entire palace!” Wei Ran replied.
Qin Wanyu raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on her lips. "My lord, if you agree to write the abdication edict, I will tell you where she is. Otherwise, you will never find her in your entire life!"
Xiao Heng stared intently at Qin Wanyu for a moment before speaking, "Zhao Fuquan, grind the ink..."
A minister stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Your Majesty, you mustn't..."
"Wait!" Suddenly, a fierce battle raged outside the hall. Xiao Che and Gu Xiao simultaneously led their troops in and surrounded the hall.
"Brother, Xiao Xi is with me, she is safe!"
"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue!" Gu Xiao knelt on one knee and clasped his hands in greeting.
Qin Wanyu looked at Xiao Che and suddenly smiled mysteriously. "I knew the Sixth Prince wouldn't help us seriously," she clapped her hands, "Bring the person up!"
Two armored soldiers escorted Gu Xi, who was dressed in red, into the room. She was unconscious, and a knife was held to her neck.
Xiao Heng's heart clenched as he looked at the knife, but when he saw the red dress she was wearing, he gave Xiao Che a sharp look.
The Empress Dowager, who had been sitting upright on the phoenix throne, suddenly stood up when her gaze fell on Gu Xi's face. The pearls and jade on her phoenix crown swayed and jingled with her movements. She pointed at Gu Xi and asked, "Who is she!" Her voice was filled with disbelief and fear.
Gu Xiao's heart tightened immediately.
The Empress Dowager said sternly, "Guards! Kill this woman immediately!" Her eyes were filled with a mixture of shock and hatred.
Qin Wanyu frowned slightly, wondering why the Empress Dowager was suddenly so agitated. She reassured her, "Aunt, please calm down. She still has a use."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager sat down, but her eyes were fixed on Gu Xi.
Qin Wanyu continued, "My lord, have all these people around you step back!"
Xiao Heng commanded in a deep voice, "Step back!"
In an instant, all of his personal guards withdrew.
Qin Wanyu and the man in black beside her walked to Xiao Heng's side, placed their knives against Xiao Heng's neck, and gave a wink to the armored soldiers below, signaling them to make their move.
"Don't resist, or I'll kill her!" Qin Wanyu raised her chin and pointed at Gu Xi.
In an instant, Bai Xingzhi, Xiao Che, and Gu Xiao were all taken hostage.
Qin Wanyu smiled triumphantly, "I really didn't expect that a woman could throw our Emperor, the Sixth Prince, the Left Prime Minister, and General Gu into such a state of chaos. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have had to go through so much trouble."
Qin Wanyu turned to Xiao Heng and reminded him, "My lord, the ink is ready."
Xiao Heng picked up the brush and wrote the two characters "abdication" stroke by stroke on the bright yellow imperial edict. His knuckles turned white from the force, and the eyes of the Empress Dowager, the Right Chancellor, the Imperial Concubine, and others all fell on him.
Just as Xiao Heng finished writing the last stroke and was about to take out the imperial seal, a figure suddenly rushed up to the throne from the side of the Right Chancellor. Before anyone could react, the figure grabbed Consort Xue by the neck and pressed a dagger against her throat.
Suddenly, chaos erupted inside the hall. Xiao Heng twitched his fingertips slightly, and Lu Xiao, understanding the signal, leaped down from the roof beam and rescued Gu Xi.
At the same time, the man in black who had been standing beside Qin Wanyu saw the situation and placed his knife against Qin Wanyu's neck, saying in a deep voice, "Release your master!"
The man took off his hat, revealing his true face. The man was none other than Lu Yong!
Qin Wanyu looked at him with shock and anger: "Lu Yong, you betrayed me!"
Lu Yong looked at her with a deep gaze: "You betrayed the master first!"
Seeing that Xiao Heng and Gu Xi were rescued, Gu Xiao and his group immediately engaged in a fight with the people around them and grabbed their hostages.
Meanwhile, with the Imperial Concubine being held hostage, neither the Right Chancellor nor the Empress Dowager dared to make any rash moves, and the situation on the scene was immediately reversed.
Only then did everyone realize that the person who had taken the Imperial Concubine hostage was actually Consort Wan's father, Wen Songqing!
Xue Huaiyuan said to Wen Songqing, "Lord Wen, please release the Imperial Concubine!"
Wen Songqing pushed the dagger a little further into Consort Xue's neck, his eyes bloodshot and surging with hatred. "All of you, get out of my way! Today I will avenge my Wan'er!"
The Empress Dowager angrily rebuked, "Wen Songqing! Put him down for me!"
Wen Songqing snorted coldly, "After I deal with her, you'll be next!" Wen Songqing gritted his teeth, a cruel smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, and said to the Empress Dowager, "If it weren't for you, my Wan'er wouldn't have died! She never wanted to enter the palace; you forced her!"
His wife died early, and Wan'er was their only daughter. She was spoiled by him from a young age, and her personality was completely unsuitable for the palace. But the Empress Dowager insisted on forcing him. His Wan'er was forced into the palace for her father's sake, and she had to compete for the Emperor's favor and gather information for the Empress Dowager for his sake as well.
"Now that my Wan'er is dead, none of you will get away with this!"
While everyone's attention was focused on the Imperial Concubine, Gu Xiao and Xiao Che quietly moved towards the Empress Dowager and the Right Chancellor. They exchanged a glance and then placed knives against their necks.
At the same time, Zhao Fuquan quietly approached Wen Songqing and subdued him.
He truly hadn't expected that the Emperor's decision to spare Wen Songqing because of Consort Wan's curse would play such a crucial role at this moment.
Seeing this, Xiao Heng ordered in a deep voice, "Put down your weapons, all of you!"
The rebels gradually laid down their weapons and surrendered.
Lu Ting suddenly crawled to Xiao Heng's feet, begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life!"
Xiao Heng kicked him, sending him sprawling to the ground. Xiao Heng sneered, "You should thank yourself for having such a good daughter!"
He turned his head and looked coldly at the Empress Dowager and Qin Wanyu, saying, "You actually colluded with the State of Qi with Xue Huaiyuan. Do you want the entire Qin family to be buried with you?!"
The Empress Dowager's expression changed drastically upon hearing this: "Colluding with the State of Qi? Wanyu, who is colluding with the State of Qi?"
She merely won over the Qin family's old guard, as well as those military generals loyal to the late emperor and those already dissatisfied with Xiao Heng; she never colluded with the Qi state.
Qin Wanyu did not answer the Empress Dowager's question, but said to Xiao Heng, "The Qin family? I don't care about the Qin family at all. You don't know, do you? I am not Qin Wanyu at all. My name is Xu Nianci. That Qin Wanyu is long dead."
Now that a knife is hanging over her neck, the outcome is already decided, and there's nothing to fear anymore.
She turned to the Empress Dowager and said, "Didn't you all think that after how the Qin family treated him, how could she possibly help you like this again?"
Back then, Qin Wanyu's birth mother's family fell into ruin, and the Qin family wanted to take another wife for power. Her birth mother could not bear the humiliation and committed suicide. Qin Wanyu was also sent to a poor and remote area.
The real Qin Wanyu saved her, as well as the palace maid named Cailian and her mother, so she recognized the one named Cailian. However, Qin Wanyu later died tragically.
Xiao Heng fixed his gaze on her and pondered, "I've never understood which side you're on."
Qin Wanyu met Xiao Heng's gaze directly, her eyes shining brightly, "I belong to no one, I am a person who makes my own decisions!"
Initially, she returned to the capital only to avenge the real Qin Wanyu, so she found Xiao Heng and offered to help him deal with Empress Dowager Qin.
But later, she saw power and struggle in the palace, and she knew that only power could give her everything and free her from the days when she was trampled underfoot.
She originally thought that after helping Xiao Heng, she could become his concubine and then his empress based on her talent and beauty. However, she never expected that he had someone else in his heart, someone who was unshakable.
So she used Lu Yong and the women around Xiao Heng to get rid of that woman. She concealed the fact that she was poisoned, told the Consort the truth about serving the Emperor, and then told the Consort Shu the truth about the so-called substitute. Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager sent her the antidote. The Consort did not deal with Gu Xi, and the Consort Shu was unable to get rid of her either.
Since that's the case, she wasn't fixated on the empress's position. She became Consort Xue's advisor and held leverage over her. As long as she helped Consort Xue's child ascend the throne, she could get whatever she wanted in the future. Consort Xue simply couldn't defeat her!
She never expected that a deceased Consort Wan would cause her to fail at the last moment!
The Empress Dowager looked at her in disbelief at first, then became furious. She had been in charge of the harem for decades and had schemed against countless people, yet she had been completely fooled by such a young girl and had even dragged the Qin family into it!
She trembled with rage, picked up the weapon from the ground, and stabbed it fiercely into Qin Wanyu's chest, causing blood to gush out immediately.
Qin Wanyu's eyes widened as she clutched her sword wound in pain. Suddenly, the face of the real Qin Wanyu, that kind woman, appeared in her mind.
But what good is kindness? She still died.
They chose different paths, so why did they end up with the same result?
They were just unlucky.
Xiao Heng glanced down at her face, then turned and walked towards Lu Xiao.
He took Gu Xi from Lu Xiao's hands. Her bright red dress made her face look as white as paper, but there were faint dark circles under her eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
As he carried Gu Xi past Bai Xingzhi, he instructed, "I'm leaving this to you." Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he paused, "Come to the palace tomorrow; I have something to ask you."
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Author's Note: I made it! I finally filled this huge hole! [laughing and crying emoji] The main story is almost here, hahaha~~~
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