Chapter 583 The Sixth Prince has fallen off the cliff and is decapitated!
The Chu Emperor entered the palace gates without incident.
The very next morning, at the very moment the palace gates opened.
He entered the palace gates with the help of the Imperial Guards, Duan Rongshi, Yang Qilang, Zhang Tingjiu, and Eunuch Ji, who was waiting inside.
With the Imperial Guards intimidating him, the Crown Prince dared not resist at all.
Moreover, he only managed to send a thousand of his elite troops out of the city, and their fate remains unknown.
Where would they dare to make any more big moves?
The fact that Father Emperor returned safely proves that Father Emperor has won, doesn't it?
Does Father Emperor know that he himself sent those assassins?
Upon hearing the news, the crown prince was terrified.
Especially after hearing about the fierce fighting among the Imperial Guards last night.
With Chen Yi's entire head hanging on the flagpole, no one in the Imperial Guard dared to stop Li Wu anymore.
The crown prince was so frightened that he didn't dare to sleep all night.
Even with the Empress and Crown Princess's reassurances, he still trembled all over and hid on the dragon bed, not daring to close his eyes at all.
The empress even said, "You are now the emperor, and your ascension to the throne is legitimate. What are you afraid of?"
"It wasn't you who murdered your father and seized the throne. It was the ministers in the court who pushed you onto the throne together. Could your father really have killed all the civil and military officials?"
"Even if you are really afraid, your grandfather has already prepared his troops. As long as you give the order, stopping your father will not be difficult."
Are you really too scared to give it a try?
The crown prince was so frightened that he cried out, "Mother!"
"No, we must not act rashly again!"
"Your Majesty, I have already tried, but you cannot kill me. When he returns, how am I supposed to face him?"
"That day, when my second brother was taken hostage by Marquis Wu of Wei, wasn't he also shot to death on Father's orders?"
"Are we sons really that important in Father's eyes?"
"Besides, I know perfectly well whether or not we have seriously searched for Father this time..."
"If Father really wants to settle accounts with me, I am terrified... I'm afraid I'll die and not be able to get through this."
"If we mobilize troops now, will Mother Empress drag the entire Yang family into this?"
The Empress advised him, "You're being foolish, my son."
"We are all in this together, sharing both honor and disgrace. Do you really think that if you fall from power and suffer misfortune, our Yang family can escape unscathed?"
But the crown prince ultimately did not agree to the empress's request.
The eldest daughter of Marquis Wu of Wei married Zongzheng Wuxie.
Look at what happened to the entire Marquis of Wei because of Zongzheng Wuxie's mysterious witchcraft.
The Crown Princess dared not involve her own family, so she did not agree with the Empress's plan.
The Empress was so angry that she slapped the Crown Princess across the face.
"The emperor married such a cowardly woman as you, which is why he has become increasingly timid and fearful, hesitant and afraid to even protect his own throne!"
The Crown Princess could only sob.
The crown prince remained silent.
But only he himself knew that he had witnessed too much of the cruelty of the Chu Emperor since childhood, so he had long harbored a deep fear of his father.
He was terrified when he heard that the Chu Emperor had returned.
Finally, the crown prince couldn't take it anymore, so he jumped up and chased everyone away, then sat on the floor with his eyes open for half the night.
Upon hearing that the Chu Emperor had entered the palace gates, he immediately rushed to the long street to personally greet the Chu Emperor.
"Father Emperor—"
"Father, you're finally back."
"If you don't come back soon, I won't be able to hold on any longer, Father!"
Seeing him in his dragon robe, Emperor Chu narrowed his eyes coldly.
"Your Highness, you have ascended the throne."
The crown prince covered his red eyes and cried twice.
"Father, I had no choice but to leave you missing all these days."
"Your Majesty, I try my best to maintain stability in the court, but without your guidance, I can't do it well no matter what I do."
"The death of Uncle Qin these past two days has thrown everyone into chaos. This morning, I was forced to ascend the throne out of desperation."
"Now that Father Emperor is back, if you are unwilling to be the retired emperor, your son will take off these clothes."
"Father, please don't misunderstand. Your son has no intention of disloyalty."
As he spoke, the crown prince pretended to take off his dragon robe.
The Chu emperor remained silent.
Just staring at him silently was like a venomous snake eyeing its prey, sending a chill uncontrollably down the prince's spine.
In the past, the Emperor would have been furious long ago.
In a few more moments, the ministers should be passing through the palace gates on their way to the imperial court.
In this way, they can see how their father treats them, the new emperor who has already ascended the throne.
If even the emperor himself is being targeted with this anger, how will those ministers fare in the future?
Everyone naturally worries about being blamed.
They might then oppose their father's return to court.
But Father Emperor was unusually calm and composed today!
This made even the crown prince feel that something was amiss, and he was filled with unease.
Little did the Crown Prince know that all of this was because Duan Rongshi was still standing behind the Chu Emperor today.
With Duan Rong around, the Chu Emperor would not easily reveal his cruel side again.
He himself had been taking the medicine for several days, and his temperament had indeed changed somewhat.
Therefore, even though he desperately wanted to strangle the crown prince with his own hands, Emperor Chu still held back.
He stared at the Crown Prince's hand, which was pretending to take off his dragon robe but then stopped, and smiled coldly: "Alright."
"You were forced to ascend the throne for the sake of the stability of the court, so I will naturally not blame you."
"However, now that I have returned, and although you have ascended the throne, the coronation ceremony has not yet been held."
"This matter will naturally be dropped for now; you will remain the Crown Prince from now on."
"I will pretend this never happened."
"What do you say, Your Highness?"
The crown prince immediately lowered his head, his face filled with disappointment.
"Yes, yes... Thank you for your great kindness, Father Emperor."
The Chu emperor flicked his sleeves and shouted, "Attend court!"
The Chu emperor had not held a proper court session for many years.
Upon returning today, he was immediately ordered to attend court.
This unprecedented move greatly startled the civil and military officials waiting outside the palace gates.
Strangely, when the Chu Emperor returned, he did not hold anyone accountable.
It was as if his abduction from the palace was something that had never happened.
The crown prince had only worn the dragon robe for one day before he had to take it off again and stand below the throne once more, reverting to his position as crown prince.
The ministers all looked at him with a hint of pity.
What emperor in the world could be so unlucky?
He was dismissed after only one day in office.
He truly is a unique figure, unprecedented and unparalleled.
It's not only pitiful, but also quite humiliating.
But facing the exceptionally dignified Emperor of Chu today, none of the ministers dared to bring up the matter.
After all, most of the officials were involved in putting the crown prince on the throne.
Those who weren't involved didn't dare to risk trouble.
Who would dare to go looking for death?
The Yang family could only swallow their anger, fearing that their impulsiveness might cause the Crown Prince to lose his position.
The Chu Emperor listened quietly to these court affairs, showing no sign of dozing off at all.
It wasn't until the court session was about to end that he suddenly mentioned the King of Qin.
"I am deeply gratified to know that you, my beloved ministers, have worked so hard to stabilize the court during my kidnapping. I am also very happy that Great Chu still has such good ministers as you."
"Otherwise, given my past folly, the Great Chu Dynasty would have ceased to exist long ago."
Upon hearing the Emperor of Chu's words, the ministers all wore strange expressions, as if they had seen a ghost.
The Chu emperor pretended not to see it.
The conversation then shifted to the King of Qin.
"I have treated him well, yet he personally orchestrated this plot to kidnap me!"
“Over the years, if he hadn’t tried to harm me at every turn, I wouldn’t have been able to keep disappointing my beloved ministers’ expectations of me.”
"It also confused the royal bloodline."
"This is all my own fault for not being aware of it. I know I was wrong."
The ministers could no longer help but gasp sharply.
Is the Emperor possessed by an evil spirit?
Otherwise, how could he possibly say something so outrageous?
Or perhaps they were all still half asleep when they went to court today?
One of the older ministers couldn't help but secretly pinch himself hard.
Only when the pain became clear did I dare to believe that I had actually waited for this day!
Your Majesty was only kidnapped once, and you've actually come to your senses?
The old minister's eyes instantly welled up with tears, and he looked at the Chu Emperor with great emotion.
He thought to himself: If only I had known, I should have kidnapped His Majesty sooner!
The ministers in the hall had different expressions.
Some still looked suspicious.
Some people had already begun to whisper among themselves.
Others wore icy expressions, believing that the Chu Emperor was deliberately putting on an act, waiting for him to suddenly go mad and punish all the officials.
However, the Chu Emperor acted as if he hadn't seen any of them and continued speaking slowly: "I am willing to correct all the mistakes of the past in a timely manner."
"Before tomorrow, I will issue an edict of self-reproach. My ministers are free to supervise me and remind me not to repeat those absurd mistakes of the past."
"As for the sins I have committed in the past, I am willing to spend the rest of my life as a vegetarian and a Taoist practitioner to make amends."
"Speaking of this, I must mention one person."
"General Li Wu, come forward."
Duan Rongshi, who had been standing in the crowd with his hands clasped together, heard the Chu Emperor suddenly mention him. He looked up and reluctantly met his gaze.
The Chu Emperor, however, had a smile in his eyes.
He couldn't wait to announce to the entire Great Chu that this was his own nephew.
They are the flesh and blood of the moon.
However, the Chu emperor, who had been warned by Duan Rongshi beforehand, did not dare to act in this way.
So he could only suppress his excitement and say dryly, "I have encountered a great calamity this time. If it weren't for General Li Wu rescuing me from the hands of the King of Qin, I would have been dead long ago."
"On the way back to the palace, they were ambushed and assassinated by remnants of the Prince of Qin who were colluding with the Sixth Prince—"
At this point, the Chu Emperor glanced at the Crown Prince, seemingly unintentionally.
The prince was so frightened that his face turned as white as a sheet, and his whole body trembled like a leaf.
The Chu Emperor let out a heavy snort in his heart.
Although it wasn't shown on his face, his voice suddenly became much colder.
"Now, the Sixth Prince Zongzheng Wuheng has fallen off a cliff and been beheaded in his attempt to assassinate me."
"If General Li Wu had not saved me again, I would not have been able to return to the capital unharmed."
"My life was saved by General Li Wu."
"This Great Chu Dynasty was also saved by General Li Wu."
At this point, Emperor Chu couldn't help but show a look of satisfaction on his face.
However, the ministers all looked shocked and bewildered.
The sixth prince is dead too!?
With the Second Prince, Fourth Prince, and Sixth Prince all dying one after another, won't the Crown Prince's position as heir apparent become even more secure?
The ministers were left with mixed feelings.
At this moment, what I felt even more hatred and shock was that Li Wu had actually saved this tyrant!
Damn Li Wu!
Wouldn't it be better to let this tyrant die out there?
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