The palace was eerily silent.
The palace servants knelt on the ground with their heads bowed, not daring to move. The only sound in the hall was the heavy breathing of the Ninth Prince.
Lately, his temperament has become increasingly violent and unpredictable, and he is prone to anger and rage. Once he loses his temper, he has to kill several people. In just one month, dozens of people in the palace have died!
Yun Zong angrily dismissed all the palace servants, leaving only his trusted confidants.
The trusted aide asked worriedly, "Your Excellency, His Majesty is not here now, so we can pretend that she is enjoying herself at the imperial palace. But in just over a month, it will be the New Year, and His Majesty will definitely go to offer sacrifices. What should we do?"
"I think it would be better to suspend the sacrificial rites and ceremonies and not let her go, wouldn't that solve the problem?"
"How can we hide this from them? We have to worship our ancestors and heaven during festivals. Now that the Evil-Repelling Tree is sixteen years old, even if it doesn't rule personally, it still has to attend the grand court assembly. How can we keep this a secret?"
"Just say His Majesty is not feeling well—"
"What do you think the Imperial Medical Academy is for! Those old ministers who are occupying their positions and refusing to leave still have hopes for the Empress. If the Empress doesn't show up, they will definitely submit memorials to the palace and request an audience with her!"
The crowd was chattering so loudly that Yun Zong's head was throbbing. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "Shut up. The Empress can't be kept in the dark, but she still has to show up. She has to come out for the Grand Court Assembly and the sacrificial rites so that those old ministers can see her and put their minds at ease."
"But Your Excellency, how can we get His Majesty to come out? His Majesty is clearly not here..."
"His Majesty is not here."
Yunyun sneered, her gaze dark and sinister, but her smile held a hint of malice.
"However, those old ministers don't know! I had someone raise a double long ago, just waiting for her to disobey so I could impersonate her. I didn't expect to use her so soon... Very good, the throne is too high, and the crown is in front of her face, so the old ministers can't tell."
Seeing that he had made a firm decision, his staff and subordinates could only respectfully say, "Your Majesty is wise!"
The Northwest Army returned to the capital around the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Empress disappeared in late September. By the time the assassins sent by the Ninth Prince regretfully saw Xi Chenzhou and others reunite with the Northwest Army and return to the Northwest, it was already early November before they could return to the capital to report.
In less than two months, it would be the New Year. The old ministers in the court mentioned that the Empress had turned sixteen and was about to turn seventeen, so she could rule in her own right, forcing Jiu Yunzong to relinquish power.
Yun Zong pretended to discuss with them, reluctantly agreeing to let the little empress attend the grand court assembly during the New Year, and then let them see a blurry "figure of the empress" from afar through the curtain.
The veteran officials didn't think much of it and were overjoyed at the sight. They urged the court officials to make the best preparations, and people inside and outside the court began to get busy one after another. The capital was filled with a joyous atmosphere.
But this joy did not last long. On the day of the festival, in the main hall of the sacrificial ceremony, a thunderclap suddenly rang out in the clear sky, splitting a large tree next to it, which fell straight down towards the clouds!
Although Yun Zong was agile and quickly dodged the falling tree, and had several subordinates help him block it, this scene was still witnessed by countless civil and military officials who came to participate in the sacrifice.
A very bad omen—
The news quickly spread among the people, and rumors circulated that the "Nine Thousand Years Old" had deceived his superiors and persecuted loyal officials, thus incurring the wrath of Heaven and being punished by lightning!
Yun Zong was furious and sent men to arrest those who were spreading the song and drag them directly to the execution ground to be beheaded.
But the more he arrested, the stronger the people's resistance became, and more and more people sang. Soon, things even developed to a point he could never have imagined—
After fleeing back to the Northwest, Zhenbei Hou Xichenzhou raised the slogan "Execute Yun Zong and cleanse the court of corrupt officials," and openly rebelled with 400,000 Northwest troops!
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