Chapter 120 Chapter 120 "Protecting the emperor, killing without mercy." ...
In the summer of the twelfth year of Ming Zhen, just after the Great Heat, the air was extremely hot and dry.
On the Queen's birthday, all the officials entered the palace with their families, and the scene finally became lively.
Hanyuan Hall is brightly lit.
The saint sitting on the throne was out of tune with the hustle and bustle. Although he forced himself to stay awake and accept the ministers' kneeling congratulations with the queen, the dull cough that came from time to time always reminded him that his body was already in decline.
His swollen cheeks revealed a sickly and frivolous look. Even though he hadn't drunk a drop of the wine in the glass, his cheeks were still flushed with two extremely abnormal blushes, like the last faint light of a dying candle.
"Your Majesty, may I help you go down and rest?" The Queen couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she spoke in a low voice, somewhat concerned.
"I'm afraid this is the last time I'll spend your birthday with you."
"No hurry, I won't die anytime soon."
The Saint coughed several times, then looked at the Queen calmly and said.
"You blame me, right? I didn't protect the prince well, but I never think I was wrong."
"Empress, in this vast world, who do you want to succeed me?"
The queen smiled, took out her handkerchief and gently wiped the not-so-obvious bloodstain from the corner of the mouth of the man in front of her, with whom she had walked through more than twenty years.
"I hope that Dayan can only be my child."
The saint was startled, then raised his eyes and looked at the queen seriously: "The prince is dead, and the princess's belly is not good."
The Queen smiled in an unfathomable way. She slowly leaned over and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear clearly, "I also have He Yin."
The court officials below had no idea what the sage and the queen were whispering about. They only saw that the two had a close relationship and were not as seemingly harmonious but actually distant as the rumors said.
The queen smiled gently, and even when the saint was coughing and gasping for breath, she gracefully raised her hand and gently patted his back, her eyes full of concern.
The court officials exchanged glances with each other, and the forced joy on their faces became increasingly stiff.
The music of stringed instruments, the delicious wine and the delicious food could not dispel the extremely oppressive atmosphere that permeated the Hanyuan Hall.
By the time the birthday party was halfway through, I was already feeling tipsy.
Prince An stood up from his seat, walked to the front of the imperial steps, lifted his robe and knelt solemnly:
"Royal brother!"
His voice was hoarse, instantly attracting everyone's attention to him.
The saint frowned and said nothing.
Prince An said loudly: "The country cannot be without a king for a day, nor can it be without a crown prince for a long time."
"Establishing a crown prince to consolidate the foundation of the nation is a matter of great importance to the country and its people. I, your humble servant, humbly ask Your Majesty to make a decision soon."
"When is early? Should we decide on it tonight?" The saint looked down at them with a mocking look in his eyes.
"His Majesty."
"I believe that what Prince An said is not unreasonable."
Before he finished speaking, dozens of ministers at the banquet stood up, led by Xie Juyuan, and knelt down behind Prince An. Looking down from above, it was a sea of black.
They were respectful and silently but firmly agreed to King An's request, which was obviously something they had discussed from the beginning.
The sage laughed heartily, threw the wine glass in his hand, and asked coldly, "Are you trying to threaten me?"
In an instant, the Hall of Injustice became dead silent.
"I dare not."
"We, your servants, only put the country and the people first."
Upon hearing this, the anger in the saint's eyes gradually dissipated, and instead he raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a faint sneer: "Since the country is the most important, then let Prince An choose for himself."
"Give me a cup of poisoned wine, and I will immediately proclaim Xu'an the crown prince."
He calmly looked at Prince An lying on the steps, his eyes old but still sharp.
The silence in the hall lasted for a long time, so long that some people thought Prince An would grit his teeth and agree.
Prince An suddenly raised his head, his face showing a desperate determination: "Your Majesty, I want to live, I want to see Xu An inherit the throne with my own eyes."
"I beg for forgiveness, my brother."
"Forgive?" The saint laughed out loud.
I don't know whether they were laughing at King An for openly expressing his covetous thoughts, or at him for dreaming.
"Xuan, what about you? Do you think so too?" The saint withdrew his gaze and nodded, with an expression of almost joyful madness on his face. He slightly tilted his head and looked at Xiao Xuan.
Xiao Xuan lowered his eyes and knelt silently: "Your Majesty, my father loves me deeply, but even if I die, I will never dare to go against human ethics and kill my father to seek the position of crown prince."
Prince An was pleased with this answer, but Princess An's face turned pale for no apparent reason.
"What a loving father and filial son."
The saint clapped his hands and chuckled, looking around at the courtiers below who had different expressions.
Some officials who were confused turned pale and were at a loss, while those who were well prepared naturally moved quietly behind Xie Juyuan. The huge Hanyuan Hall was vaguely divided into two camps, both of which were hostile to each other.
Sheng Baiya, who was originally the prince's teacher, seemed even more powerless due to the prince's sudden death.
"Lord Sheng, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty..." Sheng Baiya knelt down, took a deep breath, and said fearlessly, "Your Majesty, I have already made my thoughts known to you ten years ago."
Ten years ago, that proposal was absurd and against ancestral rules.
"Queen, good trick." The saint gasped and felt a fishy and sweet taste rising up in his throat, which he swallowed with difficulty.
The queen smiled and said in a low voice, "I don't want to die either. Since I can't have your love in this life, I must enjoy your kingdom seriously."
"Just as you advised me, Jiulang is gone, and someone must inherit the world. You are optimistic about Zhiyan, but I am different. I am optimistic about Heyin."
"Stop talking, I don't want to listen." The saint interrupted the queen expressionlessly, his eyes slowly sweeping across the crowd, his dark eyes filled with pressure.
He slowly leaned forward, looked down, and asked word by word, "My dear ministers, do you all agree to make Xiao Xuan the crown prince?"
No one dared to respond, and no one wanted to be the first to speak out, but Wang An's party's actions spoke louder than words.
The man on the throne chuckled and reached out to pick up the glass of wine on the dragon table, which was already full but untouched.
The amber liquid swayed slightly in the jade cup, reflecting the dark currents surging in his eyes.
"What if I don't want to?"
The saint raised his head, as if he had made some decision, and drank the wine in the cup in one gulp. He put down the cup, and the sound was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone, with a mockery.
Prince An touched his forehead to the ground and kowtowed deeply: "Your Majesty, we ask you to reconsider."
"Think twice?" The saint seemed to have heard a huge joke. He stood up suddenly by holding the edge of the table, his eyes filled with long-suppressed anger and unwillingness.
"You want me to think twice?"
"My prince is dead, how can I think twice?"
His voice was filled with heart-wrenching pain. He pointed at the tall and straight figure standing in the shadow of the temple pillar. His expression was frantic, with a persistent desire that could not be obtained. "But it doesn't matter. I still have a son."
"Xie Zhiyan's blood flows from me, the healthy and noble bloodline of the royal family."
"Even if I appoint a crown prince, this world will only belong to the child I have raised."
His eyes were red as he fiercely stabbed at the kneeling courtiers: "Tell me, why do you want me to pass this vast kingdom to outsiders?"
"I have Zhiyan, who the hell is Xiao Xuan?"
The man sitting high up had a bloated and frail figure, his eyes no longer bright, hollowed out by the torture of illness. He was no longer the saint who never showed his emotions, but just a madman with extreme emotions.
In an instant, the entire Hanyuan Hall seemed to be in an uproar.
Although rumors about Xie Zhiyan's life experience had been circulating in Chang'an City for several months, the saint's personal admission at this moment was like a bolt from the blue, shocking everyone into a trance.
Sheng Puzhu sat next to Princess Shoukang and took a breath.
"Mother." She called softly and held Princess Shoukang's hand tightly.
"It's okay. I don't care." Princess Shoukang patted Sheng Puju's hand, but her eyes fell nervously on Xie Zhiyan.
Facing the scrutiny of the crowd, Xie Zhiyan raised his eyes, his face expressionless.
Since he was a child, he had to endure the secret rumors in the palace. He could remain calm at the age of ten, let alone now.
He watched coldly as the expressions of the court officials in Hanyuan Hall changed. Even the man on the throne who seemed to be in control of everything was nothing more than a chess piece on the chessboard in his eyes.
The sage seemed to be crazy and spoke without thinking, but it was more like he did it on purpose. He just wanted to use the dispute over the crown prince to force Prince An to take desperate measures and eliminate those entrenched forces in one fell swoop. Of course, he also forced him to make countless enemies and have no way to retreat.
Regardless of whether his identity is true or false, he has probably become a thorn in the eyes of Prince An's faction.
Over the years, Prince An, with the Saint's indulgence, has been secretly colluding with foreign tribes and selling military intelligence. He has long been a cancer of Dayan and must not be allowed to stay.
Hanyuan Hall was eerily quiet.
There was clearly no sound of fighting, but the air seemed to be filled with a strong smell of blood.
Princess Shoukang had an icy smile on her lips. She neither refuted nor admitted the statement. Her unfathomable attitude only added to the speculation. As for the empress who was sitting beside the saint, her face turned pale for a moment when she heard this, but she soon regained her composure.
"Royal brother!" Prince An could no longer contain himself and abruptly stood up. At this moment, he didn't even care about the hierarchy between the emperor and his subjects. His voice was excited and sharp, "How can you confuse the royal bloodline because of a moment of grief?"
"I...confuse the bloodline of the Heavenly Family?"
The saint did not get angry but laughed instead. He relaxed his body and slowly leaned back on the dragon throne, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Let's talk about bloodline."
"My dear ministers, take a closer look. Sanlang's eyes are carved from the same mold as mine. On the other hand, I can't see how Xu'an looks like a member of the Xiao family."
He spoke each word slowly, looking at the ashen-faced Prince An with a dim gaze, his hoarse voice filled with an almost cruel and mocking tone.
Prince An didn't know what he was thinking about. His body shook violently and his face became extremely ugly.
After a while, he seemed to have been struck in the most fatal sore spot, and he quickly retorted: "It's ridiculous. The princess and I have a deep bond. I saw Xu'an being born after ten months of pregnancy with my own eyes. How could he not be my biological son?"
Prince An was uneasy, and in a hurry he turned to look at Princess An, as if he was eager to seek evidence from her.
Shocking news, one after another.
At the beginning, there was a tense atmosphere in Hanyuan Hall, but now, some people widened their eyes and secretly looked at Xiao Xuan's appearance.
In the dead silence of the hall, Princess An, who had been standing silently among the crowd, pursed her lips.
She ignored Prince An's anxious gaze, slowly walked to the royal steps, knelt down, and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I have something important to report."
"Okay."
Princess An raised her head and even smiled gently at Prince An: "Your Majesty, Crown Prince Xiao Xuan is indeed not of the Xiao family's bloodline."
She paused, and amidst the sound of gasps, she continued in that heart-pounding calm tone, "Xu'an is the child of an affair between me and a groom in the mansion."
Everyone: “!!!”
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Prince An felt as if he was struck by lightning. He staggered violently and almost fell to the ground.
His face turned pale, and he pointed at Princess An and said in a distorted voice, "You...don't you know how good I have been to you over the years?"
"adultery?"
"Horse...Horseman."
With every word he spoke, Prince An's face turned paler.
Princess An acted as if she hadn't heard anything and said calmly, "Every word I said is true. Xu'an is indeed not Prince An's son."
"Back then, the Lu family of Wuzhanghou Mansion was framed by Prince An for collaborating with the enemy and nearly died during exile. Everything I did was to avenge Prince An."
At this point, she sneered, "With his frail body, if I hadn't taken revenge, I wouldn't have been able to have children. Actually, Prince An should thank me for letting him enjoy the joy of father and son for a few years."
"I know my sins are grave, and I dare not beg for forgiveness. I only ask Your Majesty to spare Xu'an's life in consideration of my honest confession today."
"I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and allow him to be removed from the clan register and live out the rest of his life as a wealthy and idle man."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible." The truth came too suddenly, like the sharpest arrow, piercing through King An's last breath.
Xiao Xuan listened in a daze. His pupils suddenly shrank and his ears buzzed. When he finally reacted, he let out a low, almost beast-like growl: "Mother!"
"Why! Why did you say that! Why did you do this to me!"
"Why am I not good enough to deserve such slander from you?"
Princess An looked at her son, whom she had raised single-handedly, and said, "Don't be stubborn anymore. That position is not something you can hold."
"Shut up." Prince An rudely interrupted Princess An. He raised his head, with only madness on his face.
He stared intently at Xiao Xuan, whose face was pale and still in great shock, and shouted sternly: "Xu'an, what are you still standing there for? Do you want to wait for a knife to be put to your neck?"
Xiao Xuan suddenly came back to his senses, and the confusion in his eyes was replaced by fierceness. He raised his hand and waved it fiercely at the Jinwu Guards who were already ready to go around the hall, and gave orders in a stern voice.
"Go ahead, to protect His Majesty, take down all the rebels."
Amidst the harsh sounds of metal, the Jinwu Guards who had been standing solemnly around the palace suddenly unsheathed their sharp snow-white blades and rushed towards the civil and military officials in the palace like a tide.
At the same time, Xie Zhiyan drew the long sword from his waist and gave orders in a cold voice.
"Protect the emperor."
"Kill without mercy."
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