"But Mother doesn't know that people's hearts are fickle, especially those who suddenly gain power; their ambitions swell extremely quickly. After all, it's easy to imagine that you were originally just a substitute, with no real power except for a face that somewhat resembles my father's. But sitting on the dragon throne, with all the civil and military officials obeying your orders, and three thousand beauties in the harem waiting for your favor at any time... How could someone from a remote mountain village resist such temptations?"
The Crown Prince's voice echoed within the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
"You were originally from the Imperial Guard, so you found some familiar Imperial Guards and bribed them to kill my father. At the same time, fearing that my mother, who knew the truth, would leak the information, you secretly poisoned her. No one in the entire court or the harem expected that my father, who originally loved my mother so much, would turn against her. You succeeded, and then you transferred the servants of Kunning Palace away, and those who served you closely were all silenced by you. Anyone in the Imperial Guard who might know your identity was also killed by you."
"After being poisoned, the Empress Dowager realized your wolfish ambitions. To eliminate any future troubles, she devised a plan before her death to cut off your path to having children. However, what the Empress Dowager did not expect was that Lady Shu had already been having an affair with you and was pregnant with your illegitimate child."
"In order to help the Eighth Prince ascend the throne, you secretly administered a drug to me and the Crown Princess that would kill us, plotted to break the First Prince's leg, and used the Sixth Prince's body to test the poison, almost killing him. Such evil deeds are intolerable to Heaven!"
"For the past ten years or so, you have attempted to control the court, but alas, a lie is a lie. How can you compare to my father, the Emperor? Today is your death day!"
…………
The crowd was in an uproar, discussing the matter endlessly. Most of them were shocked, angry, and confused, but few doubted the truthfulness of the crown prince's words.
Actually, if you think about it carefully, there are many clues.
After all, they are two people with completely different personalities and preferences. They can pretend for a while, but how could they pretend for more than ten years?
Grand Secretary Zhou suddenly sighed.
As soon as he spoke, the officials immediately stopped whispering and stood at attention to listen.
"I recall that twelve years ago, when His Majesty returned from his southern tour, he said he had injured his hand, and the memorials were all reviewed and approved by the late Empress. After the Empress fell seriously ill, there was a period when the imperial comments on the memorials seemed somewhat unusual. However, I didn't think much of it at the time, never expecting this..."
More than a decade ago, when Grand Secretary Zhou had just joined the cabinet, even if he discovered something, he dared not speak up.
The fake emperor is still stubbornly clinging to his words.
"My hand is injured, so my handwriting is naturally different from before. What's so strange about that?!"
The crown prince chuckled and pointed to the pile of medical records.
"What, still dare to argue? There's no record of an old injury on your right hand in the medical records of the Imperial Hospital."
The fake emperor clenched his fist tightly, his eyes flashing with resentment and regret.
When he first ascended the throne, the Empress helped cover it up, and no one noticed anything amiss. Later, he poisoned the Empress, and things suddenly became much more complicated. He was unfamiliar with many procedures and did not know that the cabinet's memorials would be kept, nor that the medical records of the Imperial Medical Academy would be written in such detail.
When he finally regained control, a series of events occurred... He discovered that he had lost his fertility.
Then they forced Consort Shu to kill her own son in self-defense...
After that, I kept trying to find a way to cure my chronic illness.
He knew it was poison, but he couldn't identify what it contained. He tried countless antidotes, which only made his body weaker.
Left with no other choice, he turned to the study of Gu poison.
Unfortunately, just when things were starting to look promising, this happened.
The fake emperor looked down at the ministers and knew they had believed the crown prince's words.
If we continue to argue, we will only fall into the prince's trap.
The fake emperor's eyes darkened, and he turned the emerald green thumb ring on his thumb.
Sudden!
He raised his hand and hurled a handful of powder forward, while letting out a loud roar.
"Wei Yi!"
No sooner had he spoken than dozens of men suddenly rushed out from the roof of the palace, nocked longbows, and began indiscriminately shooting at the crowd.
Everyone's expression changed, and they hurriedly dodged and fled for their lives. The originally orderly crowd instantly turned into chaos.
The crown prince was the first to be targeted, and was aimed at by four or five archers.
Whoosh!
"Your Highness!"
"Quickly, save His Highness!"
Censor Zhou and his men were shocked and tried to come to their aid, but they were unable to move freely due to the crowd.
The prince dodged the first arrow.
Whoosh!
Two more arrows came flying.
Just when the crown prince had nowhere to hide, an unexpected figure suddenly pounced on him.
puff!
One arrow grazed his arm, while the other struck him squarely in the thigh.
The crown prince was startled when he saw the person in front of him clearly.
"Eunuch Chen?"
Chen Dafu grimaced in pain, but still managed a fawning smile at the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, run, run!"
Before he could finish speaking, several more arrows flew in succession.
The prince grabbed his arm and rolled to the side, dodging the most deadly arrows.
At this moment, the furious roar of Deputy Commander Chen Si finally alerted the Imperial Guards outside.
The Imperial Guards also included archers, and there were even more of them. They immediately fired a volley of arrows, shooting down all the guards on the roof.
Chaos erupted inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
No one noticed that four men in black rushed out from the shadows and rescued the fake emperor from the stage.
The prince got up, looked at the steps, and saw that his enemy had disappeared. His expression changed immediately.
"Commander Chen, split the troops into two groups. One group will pursue them, and the other will escort the lords back to the palace!"
"yes!"
After Chen Si finished bowing, he rushed outside as fast as he could, lined up his men, and personally led his most capable subordinates to chase after the people.
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