Wang Mang said coldly, "If you all wish to see the Emperor, please wait a moment. Once the order to open the door comes from inside, we will be allowed in."
When everyone saw Wang Mang's attitude, they all understood that he was most likely bribed by Gu Fanzhi and his mother.
Someone turned around and told his followers, who quietly left, heading straight to the outskirts of Chang'an City, where the Dragon and Tiger Army was located.
The Imperial Guards rebelled, and they could only rely on the Dragon and Tiger Army, otherwise the throne would really fall into Gu Fanzhi's hands.
A group of people were waiting helplessly at the palace gate. While they were there, the people below started to take action.
Every change in the imperial city is a major purge, affecting the fate of many people.
As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, there was finally a reaction at the palace gate.
"My lords and lords, you may enter."
After hearing this, everyone who had been waiting all night ignored their tiredness and hurried in.
When the group entered the Golden Palace, they saw Gu Fanzhi and several ministers standing in the hall. One of the ministers saw them coming and cried out to everyone, "The emperor has passed away."
Everyone knelt down according to etiquette and cried loudly towards the empty throne.
At this moment, the chief eunuch appeared in front of everyone holding the imperial edict. Everyone stopped crying and looked at him.
"This is the late emperor's will."
The chief eunuch began to read the imperial edict. The content of the edict was very simple, which was to pass the throne to the fourth prince Gu Fanzhi.
When the princes and ministers heard this, they were not surprised at all by the result.
Although it was expected, no one would feel comfortable or look good about it.
The fifth prince was the first to raise doubts, "I don't believe Father will pass the throne to Fourth Brother. Father has clearly favored Second Brother."
Gu Fanzhi's face turned slightly cold. "Fifth brother, what do you mean? The will has the imperial seal personally affixed to it by our father. The Prime Minister and the others saw it with their own eyes and heard it with their own ears. How could it be false?"
The Prime Minister did not move. Instead, Lord Liu, a cabinet scholar, spoke up, "Every word the Fourth Prince said is true. This edict was indeed written by the late emperor himself. It is authentic."
The words of the cabinet scholar made everyone look unhappy, and they couldn't help but look at Prime Minister Zhou.
"Prime Minister Zhou, is this really the case?"
"Now that we are all here, I guess some people wouldn't dare to do anything." The fifth prince had already hinted.
Everyone looked at Zhou Gongjin to see what he would say.
If even Zhou Gongjin stands on Gu Fanzhi's side, things will become even more troublesome.
Gu Fanzhi was secretly anxious when he saw that Zhou Gongjin was reluctant to speak.
If this old man dares to say no, his entire family will be wiped out.
Yesterday, he summoned several ministers to the palace in advance in order to threaten them and make them stand on his side. With their support and their testimony, he could legitimately take that position.
After a long silence, Zhou Gongjin finally spoke, "I did not witness the late emperor's issuance of this edict, nor did I hear him say it. Whether the edict is true or false, I do not know."
As soon as these words were spoken, several princes and the ministers they supported showed joy, but Gu Fanzhi's expression suddenly changed.
"Prime Minister Zhou." Gu Fanzhi shouted through gritted teeth.
The Fifth Prince immediately laughed and said, "Hahaha, this prince knew it was a fake. Father's health had always been good, why did he pass away so suddenly? Gu Fanzhi, what on earth did you do to Father?"
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