Chapter 37 The new emperor must have been mistaken.
Two days later, at midnight.
The once quiet palace was now brightly lit, and many people were waiting in front of it.
Several princes were gathered around the dragon bed, where the emperor appeared to be on his deathbed and unable to utter a single word.
The emperor only allowed a few princes to enter. He disliked large crowds, and on his deathbed, he only wanted to see his children one last time.
A eunuch standing beside him stepped forward and read out the edict of succession.
"By the mandate of Heaven..." The eunuch's head fell to the ground the next second after he finished reciting those four words.
It was the second prince who drew his sword.
"What are you doing?" the Third Prince asked, quite surprised.
The emperor on the bed stared wide-eyed, trying to say something, but after a long effort he could only utter some meaningless syllables.
"Hmph." The Second Prince sneered, "Can't you see it?"
Suddenly, a large number of people surged into the hall and suppressed the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince.
"Before His Majesty passed away, he passed the throne to the fourth prince. As a result, the third prince was indignant and attempted to assassinate the fourth prince in the palace. It seemed that the throne was about to be seized by someone with treacherous intentions, but the second prince was wise and suppressed the third prince in time."
The second prince spoke with a serious expression, as if he knew the words by heart, and even his tone was somewhat dramatic.
"Rest assured, I have already spread the word. At daybreak, I will be the rightful ruler of the world." His words were filled with undisguised excitement and ambition.
"How dare you?!" The Third Prince looked shocked, as if he couldn't believe that he would do such a thing.
The fourth prince, however, seemed indifferent, looking down at the ground without saying a word.
The emperor on the bed tried to lift his hand, but was powerless to grasp something.
"Why wouldn't I dare?" the second prince laughed.
"Not only do I dare, I can do it." The second prince was beaming with pride, as if the throne was already his for the taking.
"After my good brother was demoted to a commoner, most of his remaining officials, cronies, and influence were put to my use."
"And you," the second prince looked at the third prince with disdain, "a mere warrior, utterly useless."
"He's just an idiot. He was told to guard the frontier, and he did it, acting all grateful. He's really stupid."
"As for you, my dear brother." The second prince walked up to the fourth prince and patted his cheek with a hint of contempt.
"Even when we feed you right to your mouth, you still don't understand what we're eating. That old man gave you the best of everything."
"And what did you do?!" The Second Prince's tone suddenly rose, as if he was extremely angry, his face contorted with jealousy. "What I went to great lengths to obtain, you got so easily, and then you didn't even make good use of it, just left it aside and thought about having fun all day long. I've never seen a prince more useless than you."
"But it's also thanks to you. Those people and forces you once looked down upon have come to my side as soon as I won them over." As he said this, the Second Prince's face revealed undisguised smugness.
"I don't know what Father Emperor was thinking, that he actually wanted to pass the throne to you?! He's so biased."
The second prince stepped onto a flight of stairs and declared, "I am the one who truly deserves to sit in that position!"
The emperor on the dragon bed behind him could only stare helplessly, powerless to do anything.
-
"Miss." Nan Zhi hesitated before telling Jiang Zhiyao what she had heard.
Tonight is a sleepless night for many people in the capital, and Jiang Zhiyao is no exception.
After hearing Nan Zhi's words, Jiang Zhiyao clenched the handkerchief in her hand, her heart filled with anxiety.
Although she rationally knew she shouldn't take it seriously, Jiang Zhiyao still couldn't stop feeling flustered.
"Miss," Nan Zhi looked at Jiang Zhiyao with some heartache, "Why don't you go to sleep first? I'll call you if anything happens."
"It's nothing." Jiang Zhiyao shook her head. "I can't sleep anyway."
"Nanzhi, if you're sleepy, go to sleep first. I'm fine, I'll just read a book in the room for a while, and I'll go to sleep if I get too tired."
"I'm not sleepy," Nan Zhi said, then thought for a moment and asked, "Miss, how about I play chess with you?"
After Jiang Zhiyao first learned to play chess, she taught Nanzhi, and they often played together afterwards.
Jiang Zhiyao agreed: "Okay."
After more than half an hour, Jiang Zhiyao put away the chess pieces and said, "Let's go to sleep, it's too late."
"Okay." Nan Zhi yawned. "Miss, I'm going to sleep."
"Mmm," Jiang Zhiyao replied, her eyes lowered.
-
Inside the palace.
The second prince was still gloating: "Now my people have controlled both inside and outside the palace, so you should just admit defeat."
"Oh?" A calm voice suddenly came from not far away. "The Second Prince is quite impressive, but is the Second Prince sure that they are all your men?"
The second prince stared in shock at the person who had just arrived: "Yan Zhenxi?! You..."
Yan Zhenxi was no longer wearing her blindfold, and her deliberately feigned gentle demeanor was gone.
At the same time, the men who were holding the Third Prince released their grip, stepped back, and stood aside with their heads bowed.
"Third Prince." Yan Zhenxi approached and greeted him.
The Third Prince, no longer displaying his previous surprise and caution, rubbed his shoulders and said casually, "A mere warrior? I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint my good brother."
Then the second prince was subdued and his mouth was gagged.
The Third Prince smiled and said, "I was wondering how to rightfully ascend to that position. I owe it all to you."
"Before His Majesty passed away, he passed the throne to the fourth prince. As a result, the second prince was indignant and attempted to assassinate the fourth prince in the palace. It seemed that the throne was about to be seized by someone with ulterior motives, but the wise third prince suppressed the second prince in time."
"How is it?" The Third Prince raised an eyebrow and looked at the Second Prince.
The second prince was gagged and unable to speak, but his wide eyes and sobbing voice revealed his anger at that moment.
The fourth prince, who hadn't said a word before, spoke up: "Third brother, I've always known about your plans. I have no interest in the throne."
"I know." The Third Prince nodded.
The fourth prince lowered his eyes and continued, "I don't want to be a prince anymore."
“Alright.” The Third Prince waved his hand, and the Fourth Prince was released. “Then after things have calmed down for a while, I’ll arrange a new identity for my brother, okay? Please bear with it for now.”
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The Third Prince didn't say anything more, and then made some arrangements, after which the bedchamber became quiet again.
Only the Third Prince, Yan Zhenxi, and the Emperor remained in the hall.
Unbeknownst to us, the Emperor had already passed away.
He probably never imagined that the death of this once high and mighty emperor would only be discovered later.
The third prince walked to the dragon bed and looked down at him.
"His Majesty has passed away." Not long after, a sorrowful voice came from outside the palace, followed by cries of grief echoing around the hall.
No one knows how much of that crying was genuine and how much was feigned.
The palace was brightly lit that night, and everyone was busy.
After quickly finishing some simple tasks, Yan Zhenxi wanted to return to his residence first.
"Hey." The new emperor stopped Yan Zhenxi. "Why go through all this trouble? I'll have someone prepare a palace for you to stay in, so you won't have to travel back and forth."
"Your Majesty," Yan Zhenxi said, bowing slightly, "I wish to visit the Lady. I will come as soon as possible tomorrow."
"Alright then." The emperor couldn't say anything more, after all, Yan Zhenxi's wife was also Wanqing's sister.
He also missed Wanqing, and thinking of this, the emperor couldn't help but feel a surge of impulse.
"By the way," he called to Yan Zhenxi, who was about to leave, "when are you going to talk to your wife about your eyes?"
Yan Zhenxi paused in his steps, turned to the emperor and said, "I would like to ask Your Majesty for help again after some time has passed."
"Whatever you wish." The emperor waved his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yan Zhenxi left the palace.
He rushed back to the Yan residence, and it was already very late. He didn't disturb anyone and quietly returned to his bedroom.
Looking at Jiang Zhiyao, who was sleeping restlessly beside him, Yan Zhenxi gently kissed her eyebrows and eyes, and then pulled her into his arms.
-
"Miss!" Nan Zhi ran in with a smile, "The Third Prince has ascended the throne, and Miss Ji has been made Empress!"
Jiang Zhiyao had just woken up and was still a little dazed because she hadn't slept for long. She immediately woke up after hearing Nan Zhi's words.
"Really?!" Jiang Zhiyao was overjoyed, and the weight that had been hanging over her heart finally lifted.
"It couldn't be more real!" Nan Zhi exclaimed with a joyful expression.
"That's great." Jiang Zhiyao's face was full of uncontrollable smiles.
“Madam,” a voice came from the doorway, “Lord Yan said he will be busy at the palace for a while during the day, so please don’t worry, he will be back tonight.”
"Okay." Jiang Zhiyao nodded in agreement.
She slept very restlessly for the first half of the night. She vaguely sensed someone coming, and only fell into a deep sleep when she felt the familiar scent. She thought it was Yan Zhenxi returning, but it was probably just her imagination.
He's busy right now; he must have stayed at the palace last night.
After getting out of bed, washing up, and having breakfast, Jiang Zhiyao left the mansion and went to the teahouse.
"Yao Yao Yao Yao!" It was Cheng Mingzhu's excited voice. "I'm here!"
"I've actually become the Empress's best friend, hahaha!" Cheng Mingzhu said before Jiang Zhiyao could even sit down.
Cheng Mingzhu said confidently, "I knew the first time I saw Ji Wanqing that she would definitely have a brilliant future."
Jiang Zhiyao couldn't help but laugh, not knowing who had been constantly criticizing Ji Wanqing in the beginning.
"Ah, no, no." Cheng Mingzhu shook her head. "From now on, we should call her Empress."
"Hahahaha, let's see who dares to mess with me at the banquet later! My best friend is the Empress!"
“Then am I now the Empress’s sister?” Jiang Zhiyao said with a hint of surprise, mimicking Cheng Mingzhu’s tone.
"Of course!" Cheng Mingzhu said, "Let's see who dares to bully you again! If Yan Zhenxi bullies you, I won't even need to help you elope, you can just divorce him!"
At this point, Cheng Mingzhu got a little agitated: "Yan Zhenxi is only a fourth-rank official, how could he be worthy of the Empress's sister?"
She disliked Yan Zhenxi marrying Jiang Zhiyao from the beginning, especially after the marriage, feeling that he took up too much of Yao Yao's time.
"Alright, Mingzhu." Jiang Zhiyao smiled and gently patted her hand.
"Never mind," Cheng Mingzhu thought, "he was indeed quite good to Yao Yao after we got married."
Cheng Mingzhu stopped talking and started talking about other things: "By the way, I only found out today that my father is actually helping the Third Prince, oh no, I should call him His Majesty now. My father has such good judgment, hahaha, the imperial decree for his promotion arrived at our residence this morning..."
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