"Does Your Majesty really believe that His Majesty has not issued an imperial edict to succeed the throne?"
"What did you say?"
Concubine Xue frowned and stared at Chen Dachang.
At this time, the emperor had already fallen on the bed, having difficulty breathing and even struggling to speak.
Chen Dachang sneered.
Concubine Xue stepped forward and kicked Chen Dachang over. "Old dog, what are you laughing at?"
Chen Dachang continued to laugh out loud, "We are laughing at the Queen's stupidity."
"presumptuous!"
The soldier punched Chen Dachang again.
Chen Dachang spat out a mouthful of blood foam, his eyes widening as he stared at Concubine Xue. "Your Majesty is seriously ill, and the princes haven't returned to the capital yet. For the sake of the country, how could we not issue an imperial edict to pass on the throne as soon as possible?"
Concubine Xue stepped forward and stepped directly on Chen Dachang's finger. "Tell me, who has Your Majesty appointed as the crown prince? Where is the imperial edict?"
Chen Dachang laughed heartily, "Have you ever considered, Your Majesty, that the crown prince appointed by His Majesty might be Prince Zhao?"
"What did you say?" Concubine Xue's face was filled with uncertainty, shock, ecstasy, panic and confusion.
Suddenly, she shouted angrily, "You are lying."
Chen Dachang laughed. "Is your Majesty worried? If the name of Prince Zhao is written on the decree of succession, all you are doing now is handing over the throne you have already obtained. Haha... You and your son are truly a disappointment to His Majesty."
Concubine Xue suddenly turned around and looked at the emperor.
The emperor's eyes widened and his throat made a wheezing sound.
Concubine Xue rushed to the bedside and demanded sharply, "Your Majesty, is what Chen Dachang said true? Did you really issue the imperial edict to pass on the throne? Is the crown prince you appointed really the Prince of Zhao?"
The emperor's eyes were cold and he could only make a whirring sound, unable to utter complete words.
"Your Majesty, please say something!" Concubine Xue shook the emperor's body.
Chen Dachang shouted loudly: "My Lady, you have injured His Majesty's throat. His Majesty can no longer speak."
Concubine Xue paused, turned around and looked at Chen Dachang with a fierce look, "Tell me, where is the imperial edict of succession?"
Chen Dachang laughed heartily, "The Queen and Prince Zhao forced the emperor to abdicate and rebelled. The imperial edict of succession has been annulled."
Concubine Xue was furious. "Ridiculous! Your Majesty personally appointed the crown prince. Now is a time when people are in a state of panic. It is time for him to step in and stabilize people's hearts and control the situation. Chen Dachang, do you really want to be a traitor who brings disaster to the country and the people?"
If you are truly loyal and unwilling to see the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty suffer, then hand over the imperial edict of succession, and I will spare your life."
Chen Dachang shook his head, "Prince Zhao is not worthy of being the crown prince."
Bang!
A slap hit Chen Dachang hard in the face.
"Whether Prince Zhao is worthy of being the crown prince is not your turn to question. Since His Majesty has appointed Prince Zhao as the crown prince, then he is the crown prince." Concubine Xue was imposing and seemed to want to kill Chen Dachang to vent her anger.
Chen Dachang chuckled, "Have you ever considered, Your Majesty, that our family might have deceived you? If Your Majesty has appointed a crown prince, why didn't the court officials get any news?"
Concubine Xue stared at him in disbelief. "What do you mean by that? You were the one who said His Majesty had appointed a crown prince, and now you're the one who says His Majesty hasn't. You two-faced eunuch, are you kidding me? Do you believe I have orders to chop you into pieces and feed them to the dogs?"
"I dare not tease Her Majesty. This is a matter of great importance, and even I know very little. Your Majesty makes the final decision. Whether a crown prince has been appointed, who has been appointed, and where the imperial edict of succession is kept are all known to Your Majesty alone."
"Do you think I will believe you?" Concubine Xue sneered, "If you dare to play tricks on me, I will make you live a life worse than death."
"Mother, why bother talking to him?"
As armor creaked, a group of soldiers, filled with murderous intent and stained with blood, walked into the bedroom.
The leader was none other than King Zhao.
Behind the King of Zhao was the King of Yan.
The Prince of Yan was dressed in armor, blood still dripping from his body. It was obvious that he had fought a bloody battle before reaching Xingqing Palace.
"You're here!" Concubine Xue was surprised. "What's the blood on you?"
"Don't worry, mother. This is all other people's blood." Prince Zhao walked into the bedroom and kicked Chen Dachang to the ground. "This old fellow is clearly trying to trick us. We might as well just kill him."
Concubine Xue hurriedly tried to stop him, "We can't kill him yet. The imperial seal hasn't been obtained yet, and the imperial edict doesn't have it on it. It's against the law."
King Zhao had a gloomy face and said, "So what if there is no imperial seal? Anyone who dares to disobey will be killed."
Concubine Xue said: "Killing people can only solve a temporary problem. We don't need to rely on killing people to solve every problem."
Governing a country cannot rely solely on killing people.
If King Zhao wants to secure his throne, he still needs the support of his court officials. If he kills everyone, who will take charge?
Prince Zhao smiled and said, "It's simple. If he refuses to speak, then torture him until he speaks. Come, torture Chen Dachang today in front of my father."
Chen Dachang laughed heartily, "King Zhao, you are a traitor and a traitor, you will surely be punished by heaven."
Bang!
Prince Zhao's hand strength was far superior to Concubine Xue's. With one slap, Chen Dachang's cheek was swollen.
"Pull out his nails. I don't believe he can bear it."
The soldiers pinned Chen Dachang to the ground. An eunuch took out a tool and said with a smile, "Eunuch Chen, I'm sorry. If you can't bear it, just tell us where the imperial seal is, and we will stop. What do you say?"
Chen Dachang struggled, but to no avail. The soldiers holding him down were so strong that he couldn't move at all.
The eunuchs began to torture him. Chen Dachang wanted to rely on his willpower to endure it. He would rather bite off his tongue than make a sound.
"Stop his mouth and stop him from biting his tongue."
At the King's command, someone took a rag and stuffed it into Chen Dachang's mouth, blocking it all the way to his throat, ensuring that he had no chance to bite his tongue.
"Eunuch Chen, if you can't bear it anymore, just nod and we will stop immediately."
Chen Dachang's eyes were red and he shook his head repeatedly, refusing to hand over the imperial seal even at his death.
The eunuch who was torturing him just laughed and didn't care.
Chen Dachang can withstand having one nail pulled out, but can he withstand two or three?
The fingers are connected to the heart, and this is not just talk.
Three nails had been pulled out, but Chen Dachang still refused to let go.
Concubine Xue stepped forward and signaled the people around her to take the rag out of Chen Dachang's mouth.
"Eunuch Chen, are you willing to speak?"
"Bah! You can kill me or chop me up as you please."
Concubine Xue smiled coldly, "I didn't expect Eunuch Chen to be so courageous."
Chen Dachang was covered in cold sweat, and his hair was wet with sweat, strands of it.
He chuckled, "We are His Majesty's servants and only obey His Majesty's orders. You traitors, you dare to dream of getting the imperial seal."
Concubine Xue laughed heartily. "Do you really think that no one else knows where the Imperial Seal is except you? Bring the person up here."
Minister Shen was dragged in with a pale face. His legs were broken and he could only lie on the ground.
When Chen Dachang saw him, he looked surprised and confused.
"You, why are you here?"
Minister Shen supported his upper body with his hands and finally sat up.
He smiled at Chen Dachang and said, "The victors are the kings and the losers are the bandits. That's how it is."
"Eunuch Shen, you said you knew where the imperial seal was. Are you serious?" Concubine Xue asked with a smile.
Attendant Shen nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I do know where the Imperial Seal is kept."
"Impossible!" Chen Dachang denied flatly, "You can't possibly know where the Imperial Seal is."
Attendant Shen raised his eyebrows and said, "Eunuch Chen, you have always looked down on our family and even sent people to keep an eye on us. Do you think that if our family surrendered to Concubine Li De, our lives would be over? Haha... Do you think that Concubine Li De is the only path for our family? You are wrong! The last time you secretly inspected the Imperial Seal, you certainly didn't expect that we were hiding in the dark and peeking."
"You, how dare you!" Chen Dachang couldn't believe it.
Shen Changshi touched his broken leg and felt a sharp pain, which made him extremely painful.
Just because he reacted a little slowly, his legs were broken by these soldiers.
Damn it, if it weren’t for the fact that one has to bow his head under someone else’s eaves, he wouldn’t want to cooperate with Concubine Xue.
However, Concubine Li De was already finished, and he had no choice but to turn to Concubine Xue.
He grinned at Chen Dachang, "Why wouldn't I dare? I was supposed to be promoted to eunuch last year, but you stopped me and it was Old Hu who got promoted instead.
What kind of person is Old Hu? Besides being older than me, he is no match for me. I have served as a Changshi for so many years, with countless contributions and hardships. It is time for me to be promoted to a Nei Shi.
It's because of you, because you're jealous of our family, that I haven't been promoted. You sent someone to keep an eye on me, so why wouldn't I send someone to keep an eye on you?"
Attendant Shen smiled, his eyes mocking, "I didn't expect that this stare would lead me to discover something truly extraordinary. Imperial Concubine, the Imperial Seal is in this room."
Concubine Xue was very excited. "Where is it?"
Even King Zhao's breathing became rapid.
Attendant Shen raised his hand and pointed at the empty wall. "There's a secret compartment behind that wall. The Imperial Seal is inside it."
"Shut up!" Chen Dachang broke out in a cold sweat. "How dare you betray His Majesty? You deserve to be cut into pieces."
Attendant Shen laughed heartily. "I simply knew the situation and acted accordingly. Eunuch Chen, when you blocked my promotion last year, you should have anticipated the consequences today."
"You will die a miserable death."
"Even if I don't die a good death, I'm still better than you who are about to die."
"Stop talking nonsense. How do I open the secret compartment?" King Zhao asked sternly.
Shen Changshi said, "The mechanism to open the secret compartment is behind those three paintings. There are three raised dots. Press them at the same time to open the secret compartment behind the wall."
King Zhao couldn't wait to rush to the empty wall.
Several eunuchs took down the painting and saw three raised dots on the wall.
They put their hands on the dots and with just one command, they would press the mechanism.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
After twelve o'clock tonight, that is, in two hours, the explosion will begin
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