"I'm asking you, what are you doing?" Kangxi's voice wasn't loud, but the atmosphere in the entire palace seemed to freeze. The imperial guards looked at Kangxi, unsure whether to kneel or not, standing there awkwardly with their heads bowed.
Originally, the Crown Prince told them that the Emperor had passed away, which made them feel comfortable following him. But now that Kangxi was standing there alive, their mental preparations crumbled instantly. They even started to resent the Crown Prince for his inconsiderate actions, which had implicated them.
The Crown Prince looked at Kangxi, a thousand emotions surging through his mind. He thought of A Bao, the eunuch whose backside he had beaten so badly. Even he sensed it was a conspiracy, yet he hadn't doubted the veracity of Shi Bingde's side. They shouldn't have turned against him! Thinking this, the Crown Prince came to a terrifying conclusion: everything was under Kangxi's control, from the very beginning of his collusion with the Shi family, it had all been within Kangxi's grasp!
However, he did not expose him immediately. Instead, he sat by the water like a fish with a straight hook, watching the fish bite the hook on their own!
Thinking of this, the crown prince felt like a clown, and he simply didn't know how to describe it.
Kangxi addressed the room full of imperial guards, saying, "What, do you all want to stay here and watch me discipline my son? Or what do you want?"
The meaning of these words couldn't be clearer: they were to get out of the Qianqing Palace immediately. But anyone with a brain could see what their future held once they left; Kangxi would settle accounts with them later.
So they glanced at the Crown Prince, but refused to actually leave. At that moment, if the Crown Prince gave the order to pounce and kill Kangxi, they would probably do it.
At this moment, they felt so close to imperial power, and once they left this room, their heads would roll. No matter how the father and son tried to cover it up, as long as Kangxi was alive, their fate would not be good.
Therefore, at this moment, they hoped that the Crown Prince would stand up and raise his voice, so that they would rather rush forward to kill Kangxi and support the Crown Prince. Only in this way would they have a glimmer of hope, rather than retreating from this room as they are doing now, the outcome of which is predictable.
The Crown Prince was also considering whether he should order everyone in the room to rush forward and kill his father on the spot, then silence all the palace maids and eunuchs in the Qianqing Palace, so that he could still seize the imperial seal, announce his ascension to the throne, and proclaim it to the world.
"Your Highness, you've prepared so much, don't let it all go to waste!" said one of the first men in the Imperial Guard to be bribed by the Crown Prince. He was originally of Han ethnicity, but he bought his way into the Imperial Guard as a bodyguard.
These words stirred up the other Imperial Guards as well. Clearly, they all shared the same thought: they hoped the Crown Prince would see it through to the end.
Kangxi coldly watched as the Crown Prince wavered under the instigation of these people, and he had already made up his mind. He took the hand of Eunuch Huang and stepped back.
When the Crown Prince saw that Kangxi had already left, he knew he could no longer hesitate and immediately said, "Very well, if you can kill those who are blocking my ascension to the throne today, I will appoint you as a first-class duke."
That was exactly what they were waiting for. Several imperial guards immediately drew their swords and approached Kangxi.
"Your Highness, this is patricide and usurpation! You must come and apologize to the Emperor immediately, or you will be a sinner for all time!" Eunuch Huang couldn't help but rebuke.
Kangxi stared at the Crown Prince with a bewildered expression. A hint of hesitation flashed across his face, but he remained silent and did not stop him. The Imperial Guards approached Kangxi with their swords drawn.
Disappointment, heartache, despair, and resolve surged through Kangxi's heart, and he simply said, "Kill!"
Suddenly, a continuous stream of soldiers surged out from behind Kangxi. The two sides immediately drew their swords and began to fight. Eunuch Huang quickly protected Kangxi and retreated outside the main hall.
When the Crown Prince saw a large group of soldiers suddenly appear, he realized that everything he was doing was indeed under Kangxi's surveillance.
The most prestigious Qianqing Palace instantly transformed into a battlefield, with the sounds of sharp instruments piercing flesh echoing everywhere. Red liquid immediately flowed all over the floor. The thick, pungent smell of blood was overwhelming.
Severed limbs flew about like piles of broken trash. Some had lost an arm and howled madly on the ground; others had their stomachs pierced, their intestines spilling out onto the ground with the blunt force, yet they were still alive; some had their necks severed, but the skin and flesh were still connected, and they slumped there, barely clinging to life…
In a matter of moments, all fifty-odd imperial guards in the room were slaughtered. Just moments before, they were alive and well, but in the blink of an eye, they were lifeless corpses. The Crown Prince slumped behind the imperial table, watching as the bodies were carried away before his eyes. Then, palace maids and eunuchs came in to clean and wipe the floor. In a short while, only the father and son remained in the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, just as before, as if nothing had happened.
The crown prince crawled out from under the throne, slowly making his way to Kangxi's feet, tears streaming down his face. Perhaps the horrific scene of the slaughter was too terrifying; he seemed unable to stand, only able to crawl to Kangxi's feet and weep bitterly.
Emperor Kangxi lowered his head and looked at the Crown Prince, then took a few steps back and said, "From this moment on, our father-son relationship is severed. From now on, you need not call me Imperial Father anymore. I no longer have a son like you. Proclaim the imperial decree!"
The eunuch Huang immediately took out a prepared imperial edict from his sleeve and read it aloud to the prince who was prostrate on the ground. After the matter was over, the prince was immediately sent back to the Crown Prince's Palace, but the palace gates were immediately sealed and guarded by soldiers. Everyone inside was placed under house arrest and was not allowed to enter or leave.
It was several days later when the Fourth Prince and his entourage learned what had happened in the Forbidden City.
"Your Majesty, let this servant help you back to rest. This place still needs cleaning!" Eunuch Huang was the most capable eunuch in the Qianqing Palace besides Liang Jiugong.
"No, I'm not tired. Help me to go for a walk near the front gate. No one else is allowed to follow me, only you," Kangxi said.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Eunuch Huang knew that Kangxi must be feeling bad at this moment. After all, this Crown Prince was really disappointing. The Emperor had already given him a chance, but he had repeatedly made the Emperor sad and disappointed.
Within half a day, news of the Crown Prince's coup attempt and subsequent suppression by Kangxi spread throughout the inner palace and the entire court. However, Kangxi specifically ordered all palace servants present at the time to keep the matter a secret and not allow anyone to reveal that he had used a substitute to go hunting while he remained in the Qianqing Palace.
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