Chapter 397 Then Kill Me
Chen Jie sat on the throne, imagining the courtiers bowing to him, and that from now on, only he himself could be the master of his own life.
"Now that you have accomplished your great task, then kill me."
Xiao Yu slowly closed his eyes.
Chen Jie's lips curled slightly. "No rush, I'll send you on your way once we catch Pei Yanchuan."
“I know you’re still waiting for Pei Yanchuan to come and rescue you. It would take at least ten days for the border troops to be mobilized. Besides, with Tuoba Wenjing around, the border troops are simply unable to move.”
“As soon as the army withdraws, Tuoba Wenjing will lead his troops to attack.”
“Now Pei Yanchuan has very few soldiers in the capital. Xiao Yu, your mistake is that you are too suspicious.”
"You still yearn for immortality, otherwise I have to admit you would have been a good emperor."
Xiao Yu's face was full of pain. "It has come to this. I was wrong. I only beg you to spare the Empress and the child in her womb."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, the Empress and the Crown Prince will not die for the time being." Chen Jie poured himself a cup of hot tea. "I will raise him to be a puppet emperor."
"However, this matter still requires His Majesty's decree."
"Hmph, is this why you haven't killed me yet?"
Chen Jie tacitly agreed, "Someone, go and bring the Princess of Langya here."
"If the Empress hasn't finished giving birth yet, bring her here. I want to personally witness the birth of the Crown Prince," Chen Jie said.
With Jiang Wan Ning here, Pei Yan Chuan will always come.
He had already laid a trap for the palace, waiting only for Pei Yanchuan to die so that Xiao Yu could announce to the world that the crown prince would ascend the throne and he would act as regent.
The court officials would not dare to say anything either.
Whether he sits on the dragon throne or not is not important; what is important is that he holds the power of the emperor, and that the world will belong to him in the future.
soon,
The soldier who had gone to the inner palace rushed in to report, "Sir, the Empress and the Princess of Langya are not seen in the inner palace."
Chen Jie exclaimed in surprise, "What?"
"I went to Mingyue Palace. There were guards inside and outside the palace, but I couldn't find the Empress, the Princess of Langya, or Consort Zhao."
Bright Moon Palace, Bright Moon Palace.
Chen Jie's pupils suddenly widened, as if he had just remembered something, "Mingyue Palace."
"Song Zhuran has kept people captive in Mingyue Palace?"
Doesn't she know? This is the secret passage of the Bright Moon Palace.
"Quickly, send someone to my residence." Just as Chen Jie finished speaking, another soldier came to report, "Sir, a message has come from outside."
"Our people have been taken into custody at the Prince Consort's residence."
"What did you say? You're being controlled? By whom?"
"It was Princess Nanli who defected at the last minute, rescuing all the officials trapped in the mansion, as well as the Empress and the Princess of Langya, among others."
"Now the military officers no longer return to their own residences to gather their men."
Chen Jie narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly. "Nanli Kingdom... Well done."
"My lord, what should we do now?"
"It's alright, we outnumber them, a few generals can't cause any trouble."
"Send a large number of troops out of the palace to control them, and tell them that any who resist will be killed on the spot, and if they lay down their weapons now, they should wait obediently."
They'll remain officials regardless of their future rank.
He believed that the new emperor would not exterminate them, as he thought many of them were pragmatic.
"Yes." The soldier responded and withdrew.
Chen Jie then asked, "Where is Pei Yanchuan?"
"Your Excellency, our scouts report that the Prince of Langya is heading north towards the border."
"That's good then," Chen Jie said.
By the time he returned, the situation in Dongling Kingdom had already changed drastically.
After Chen Jie finished speaking, he looked at Xiao Yu and said, "I hope Your Majesty will live a few more days. You can recuperate in the Hall of Mental Cultivation during this time. I will share the burden of important matters of the court with you."
Xiao Yu leaned back in his armchair, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Chen Jie, you've been lying low for so many years, all for this day?"
"Yes," Chen Jie said without hesitation.
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," Xiao Yu said calmly.
As soon as he finished speaking,
A soldier came to report, "Sir, something terrible has happened! He...he's here!"
"who?"
Chen Jie had a vague sense of unease, but the soldier still uttered the name he least wanted to hear.
"The Prince of Langya has led his army to break through the city gates and storm the palace."
"Seeing this, the military officers in the city have all turned against our people, and a large portion of our men have already surrendered."
"Most of these people were former subordinates of the Duke of England."
Chen Jie's eyes were icy, his teeth clenched, "Pei Yanchuan..."
"Didn't he go to the frontier? And where did he get his soldiers from?"
The soldier who had just delivered the message immediately knelt down, "My lord, spare my life! I truly had no idea!"
"It seems that the Prince of Langya is cunning and has used a trick to escape."
Chen Jie looked at Xiao Yu, who was slumped in his seat, and asked, "You knew all along?"
"You and Pei Yanchuan teamed up to put on a show?"
"It's not that you're stupid that you only just realized this, Minister Chen," Emperor Xiao Yu said calmly.
"No wonder you didn't utter a single word of begging for mercy, only questioning me after you were taken into custody." Chen Jie finally realized.
“But so what?” Chen Jie said, “You’re in my hands. What do you think Pei Yanchuan will do? If you want to live, you’ll still have to listen to me.”
No sooner had Chen Jie finished speaking than Marquis Ningyuan led his men in.
Suddenly, rows of ropes descended from the beams of the main hall, and soldiers slid down, each holding a long sword, and surrounded Chen Jie's men.
Chen Jie narrowed his eyes slightly, "Marquis of Ningyuan..."
"Lord Chen seems to have long forgotten that I was also born a military officer. Although I haven't been on the battlefield in recent years, it doesn't mean that I can't lead troops into battle."
Chen Jie had indeed forgotten about Marquis Ningyuan.
"You were already in the palace?"
Chen Jie then remembered that since his wife gave birth, Marquis Ningyuan had avoided attending the morning court sessions whenever possible, and Xiao Yu had never said anything about it.
Everyone laughed at Marquis Ningyuan for having a son late in life.
I never expected this...
“During this time, I have been secretly training soldiers in a place in the suburbs. I will return to court every few days. Chen Jie, Chen Jie, it’s all your fault.”
Marquis Ningyuan said, "Why do you insist on rebelling for no reason?"
"It kept me so busy, and I even secretly sneaked into the palace and hid in the palace's secret passages for several days."
Marquis Ningyuan looked on with a face full of complaints.
In every dynasty, there were secret passages in the imperial palace, but these passages were usually known only to the emperor, and were used for escaping.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Yu revealed the location of the secret passage to Marquis Ningyuan.
"You've never believed me?"
Xiao Yu responded to Chen Jie's question, "Do you think you should believe it?"
"I am suspicious. I promoted you only to prevent the Prince of Langya from becoming too powerful. This is something that an emperor must do."
"But that doesn't mean I'll believe you."
What Xiao Yu didn't admit was that at first he did intend to suppress Pei Yanchuan as much as possible, but later his health deteriorated, and Pei Yanchuan entered the palace late at night to tell him all this.
Fortunately, he believed Pei Yanchuan's words that day and agreed to act in a play with Pei Yanchuan.
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