Chapter 160 Congratulations, Your Highness!
Chu Yan stepped forward, picked up the imperial edict, and said, "Your Majesty, I now give you two choices. One, either obediently write down the abdication edict, and I can assure you that in the future, you will still be the esteemed Emperor Emeritus, and can enjoy your later years in the Jing'an Pavilion. As for my elder brother, the Crown Prince, as long as he behaves himself, I will allow him to live a life of leisure and wealth as a prince, clinging to life."
"Don't even think about it!" The emperor rejected his proposal without a second thought.
"Even if I die, I will never agree to abdicate!"
“Then we can only choose option two.” Chu Yan straightened up, put his hands behind his back, and instructed his subordinates: “You, send this to the East Palace, and make sure you personally watch the Crown Prince take this medicine.”
"How dare you!" The emperor's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Chu Yan as if he were a madman.
"Do you think that by controlling the Imperial Guards around me and this hunting ground, you can rest easy and rule the world with an iron fist?"
"Don't forget! The 100,000 border cavalry under the command of Marquis Yongning obey only his orders."
The tiger tally was split in two, one half in the hands of Xiao Dingshan and the other half in the hands of the emperor. If the emperor were to meet with misfortune, 100,000 iron cavalry would march south to purge the court of corrupt officials.
Chu Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, but he was already prepared.
"Does Father really think that I could be completely unprepared?"
"Does Father Emperor still remember the 20,000 troops that Uncle Cheng brought?"
Upon hearing this, the emperor suddenly remembered that when Prince Cheng participated in the rebellion, he brought 20,000 private soldiers with him, which represented many years of Prince Cheng's hard work.
On the very day King Cheng rebelled, Chu Yan ordered them all to be buried alive.
Could it be...?
Thinking of this, the emperor's eyes widened, his face filled with a chilling realization.
"You...you...you actually recruited them?"
Chu Yan did not deny it, "It is their honor to serve me. Although they are soldiers of Prince Cheng's uncle, I have promised them great benefits, and with no leader among them, they have no choice but to make a choice."
The emperor's face paled inch by inch, as if he had realized something crucial, and he murmured:
"No wonder...no wonder you were so reckless..."
Chu Yan watched as the last glimmer of light in the emperor's eyes faded, as if watching prey fall completely into a net.
"Please, Father, write the abdication edict sooner rather than later, so you can suffer less."
Minister Du stepped forward and personally spread out the blank imperial edict in front of the emperor, indicating that he should write it down.
"Your Majesty, the situation is settled. Prince Jing is the chosen one, so please proceed!"
The emperor closed his eyes tightly, and in an instant, he seemed to have aged more than ten years.
He was making a final struggle, and then surrendering.
Even the seemingly supreme imperial power is so fragile in the face of meticulously planned conspiracies and ruthless coercion.
Outside the tent, Su Xiaoyu witnessed all of this and was terrified.
Chu Yan's schemes were far more elaborate and his methods more ruthless than she had imagined.
If this abdication edict is actually written, he will become the emperor of the Great Chu and the ultimate winner.
At that time, the Marquis's mansion, which is on good terms with the Crown Prince but has repeatedly opposed Chu Yan, will definitely be ostracized, purged, and even... uprooted.
what to do?
Does the plot have to develop in this direction?
Inside the tent, a deathly silence filled the air.
The emperor slumped on the couch, like a lifeless clay sculpture. His cloudy gaze moved from Chu Yan's smug face to the bottle of arsenic in Wu Tie's hand, and then to the blank imperial edict beside him, which seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely inside the tent, each breath filled with pain and torment.
Finally, the emperor raised his withered hand, trembling, and slowly picked up the wolf-hair brush from the brush holder.
Then, with his wrist raised and the pen falling, he wrote the first word on the imperial edict.
Time seemed to pass extremely slowly.
Finally, when the last character was written, the imperial brush slipped from the emperor's hand with a 'thud,' and he collapsed onto the couch as if his spine had been removed.
Without waiting for Chu Yan's instructions, Minister Du immediately took the imperial seal from the side and handed it to him.
Chu Yan took the imperial seal, reached out, grabbed the emperor's hand, and pressed it onto the seal.
Then, a heavy seal was placed on the imperial edict.
In a short while, a bright red seal was affixed.
Minister Du and Shen Moyan immediately knelt down, shouting in loud voices:
"Congratulations, Your Highness!"
"Your Highness, by the mandate of Heaven and in accordance with the will of the people, has obtained this great treasure. It is truly a blessing for our Great Chu and a fortune for all the people! Long live the Emperor!"
Seeing this, the others also knelt down and shouted three times, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Chu Yan looked at the imperial edict in his hand with satisfaction, and could no longer suppress the smile on his face, laughing wildly and arrogantly.
"Hahahaha..."
"good!"
He thoroughly enjoyed this supreme flattery, raising his hand in a gesture of support: "Rise, my lords. In the future, I will still need your assistance to build a prosperous era together."
"We, your humble servants, will dedicate ourselves to the cause until our dying breath!" they all said in unison.
Chu Yan nodded in satisfaction and carefully put away the imperial edict with a smug look on his face.
Then, glancing at the emperor slumped on the couch, a hint of undisguised disgust flashed in his eyes, and he said to Eunuch Li beside him:
"The Emperor Emeritus needs to recuperate. From today onwards, he will move to the Meditation Pavilion. Arrange for a few capable people to take good care of him so that he can rest and recuperate in peace. Do you understand?"
The eunuch named, Li, was none other than the former chief eunuch of the Imperial Horse Stables. He nodded hastily in agreement, his face beaming with a fawning smile.
"Your Highness, no, Your Majesty, rest assured, I will serve the Emperor Emeritus well and ensure that he is 'peaceful and comfortable' in the Tranquil Pavilion."
Chu Yan said no more and left arrogantly, surrounded by a group of ministers.
The tent quickly fell silent, leaving only the limp emperor, the still-wet bloodstains on the ground, the stiff-smiling eunuch Li, and the two young eunuchs who had come with him.
As soon as Chu Yan left, the fawning smile on Eunuch Li's face vanished instantly, replaced by impatience and disgust.
He waved his hand in front of his nose; a lingering smell of blood still remained in the air.
"Pah! What bad luck!"
He kicked the corpse of the young eunuch on the ground and said to the two young eunuchs behind him:
"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and drag this filthy thing out and clean the floor! You have no sense of propriety!"
The two eunuchs hurriedly began cleaning.
Eunuch Li walked to the bedside and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, you heard it too, Prince Jing... no, our new emperor, asked you to move to a quiet place to 'rest.' Do you think you can move on your own, or would you like us servants to help you?"
The emperor showed no reaction, as if he had already fainted.
Eunuch Li rolled his eyes, too lazy to pretend anymore. He turned to a young eunuch who had just finished cleaning up the bloodstains and was at a loss, and said, "You, go find a few people. They need to be honest, quiet, and quick-witted. They can stay in the Jing Si Pavilion from now on to serve the Emperor Emeritus!"
The young eunuch, named Xiao Dezi, had previously served under Eunuch Li. Upon hearing this, he looked troubled and said in a low voice with a bitter expression:
“Steward Li, the camp is in chaos right now. Everyone is busy trying to impress the new emperor or purging the remnants of Prince Cheng. Those who are a little clever and have some connections are all chasing their future. Who…who would be willing to serve this man?”
Xiao Dezi secretly glanced at the emperor on the couch, his face full of displeasure.
"waste!"
Eunuch Li slapped him on the back of the head and scolded, "Didn't you hear His Majesty the New Emperor's order to serve him well? If you can't find anyone to serve him, you'll stay here yourself!"
Just then, the emperor, who had been silent all along, suddenly moved and grabbed a paperweight from the low table, throwing it at him.
"Get out! All of you, get out of here!"
The emperor's hoarse roar, though weak, still carried a desperate rage.
Eunuch Li was startled, his expression changed, and he suppressed his anger, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This servant will make the arrangements immediately!"
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