Inside the Imperial Preceptor's residence, two groups of people were on the verge of drawing their swords.
The gate was tightly shut, and the ground was already covered with corpses and blood.
Prince Rong's heir, Chu Li, sat in the hall, leisurely wiping his longsword. He glanced sideways at the people in the room and coldly snorted, "Chu Lu, I'll give you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to write your abdication edict. Otherwise, this sword in my hand won't be stained with the blood of others! Especially..."
He pointed the tip of his sword at Consort Zhou, who was standing to the side, her face pale with fright. "I've heard that Your Highness is incredibly brave, but I wonder... if you recognize this sword in my hand?!"
Consort Zhou suppressed her fear and said to Emperor Shunqing, "Your Majesty, I am not afraid to die! Please do not be coerced by him!"
Emperor Shunqing clutched his bleeding left arm, gritted his teeth, and glanced at Crown Prince Chuheng, who lay on the ground with his eyes closed.
Chu Li laughed heartily, "Although His Highness the Crown Prince is highly skilled in martial arts, he just happened to be suffering from a sudden attack of poison. Hahaha! This is truly a stroke of luck!"
Emperor Shunqing then looked to the other side, where the eldest princess, dressed in her wedding attire, and Wuwang were slumped helplessly on the ground.
There were also ministers slumped in their seats, just like everyone else.
He spat at a Ministry of Rites official standing next to Chu Li, saying, "Wang Jian, I trusted you so much! I never imagined you would collude with Chu Li to drug her drink. How can you betray my trust?!"
Wang Jian shrank back, not daring to speak.
Su Youran over there roughly understood: Prince Rong's heir, Chu Li, colluded with officials from the Ministry of Rites to drug the Imperial Preceptor's residence. Her master, adoptive mother, and the guests present were all drugged. Although Chu Heng had brought guards, they were no match for Chu Li's private army. Furthermore, Chu Heng happened to be suffering from the poison, rendering him unable to use his unparalleled martial arts skills.
Emperor Shunqing and Consort Zhou were preoccupied with the marriage of the eldest princess. They disguised themselves and came to the Imperial Preceptor's residence to attend the wedding banquet, but unexpectedly, Chu Li took advantage of the situation and coerced them into writing an abdication edict.
She whispered to Wang Wu, "Deputy Commander Wang, the situation inside is dire. Why aren't you rushing in?!"
Wang Wu looked worried. "We haven't received the signal to take action yet, so we dare not act rashly!"
Su Youran was anxious. It seemed they didn't know the situation inside. How could she tell him that His Highness the Crown Prince was currently suffering from a poisoning attack?
Just then, Su Youran heard the sound of orderly footsteps coming from the street. She and Yueyue exchanged a glance and looked outside in surprise.
Unexpectedly, it was Prince Rong who personally led a large number of troops and quickly surrounded the Imperial Preceptor's residence.
Wang Wu hid the two of them further into the shadows, muttering through gritted teeth, "It's actually that brat Wu Zheng!"
Su Youran suddenly realized that the Crown Prince must have been prepared in advance, just waiting to lure out Prince Rong's people.
She thought for a moment, then quietly opened the window behind her.
Wang Wu was shocked, "Sixth Miss, you..."
Su Youran smiled silently at him and jumped out.
Without saying a word, Yueyue jumped out after her.
Wang Wu reached out to grab it, but grasped only air: ...
Prince Rong had his military commander, Wu Zheng, guard the main gate while he swaggered in, having the gate to the Imperial Preceptor's residence kicked open.
"Hahaha—" Prince Rong walked along, laughing heartily and triumphantly. When he arrived in front of Emperor Shunqing, he took out a bright yellow imperial edict from his sleeve and threw it in front of the emperor. "Chu Lu, it doesn't matter if you don't write an abdication edict! Take a look at this!"
Several officials nearby began to hurl insults, "Prince Rong, you traitorous scoundrel!"
Emperor Shunqing stiffly picked up the imperial edict from the ground, and upon reading it, he was filled with shock and anger. "How dare you!"
Prince Rong laughed heartily, "Chu Lu, if you don't write an abdication edict, I will simply announce it to the world!"
Emperor Shunqing was filled with rage, "You...you all..."
He gritted his teeth and finally nodded, saying, "Fine, I will write the abdication edict for you! Bring me a pen!"
Wang Jian, the Prince of Rong, nodded and immediately stepped forward with the prepared blank imperial edict and writing materials.
Consort Zhou was shocked, "Your Majesty!"
Several ministers who were still conscious nearby weakly cried out, "Your Majesty!"
Emperor Shunqing tossed the imperial edict in his hand to Consort Zhou.
When Consort Zhou took it and looked at it, her face turned ashen.
Su Youran, who had quietly sneaked into the Imperial Preceptor's residence through the back door, listened to the voice coming from the little notebook in her mind and was very curious.
What exactly did Prince Rong give that made Emperor Shunqing agree to write an abdication edict?
She was very familiar with the Imperial Preceptor's residence. Leading Yueyue through a maze of twists and turns, she bumped into two of Prince Rong's men. Before they could dodge, she threw the sleeping potion at their faces, and the men immediately collapsed.
They made their way to a woodshed in the backyard and heard several people breathing heavily. Peeking through the crack in the door, they saw the seven Calabash Brothers, all snoring away in disarray.
Su Youran hurriedly pulled Yueyue, "Quick, is there any antidote?"
Yueyue stepped forward to check their pulses, then took out a bottle of medicine from her bosom. She opened the cap and smelled it under the noses of the seven people, who gradually woke up.
"Shh—" Su Youran told them to be careful and gave them a general overview of the situation inside.
The eldest disciple was shocked: "My uncle was also drugged? That's impossible!"
Su Youran said, "Don't worry, now that we're here, we'll make sure they don't leave alive. You all be careful." With that, she pulled Yueyue along and continued walking outside.
The two of them dodged and moved forward, and whenever they encountered rebel soldiers, Su Youran would throw sleeping pills at their faces like firecrackers, and they would fall down silently.
I quietly approached the hall and found it packed with people, all slumped over.
It must have been that all the guests who came to witness the ceremony drank the drugged wine and collapsed.
Emperor Shunqing was slowly and laboriously writing something with his right hand. Several officials struggled to crawl towards him, cursing Prince Rong while pleading with the emperor, "Your Majesty! No!"
The eldest princess, dressed in her wedding gown, cried out guiltily, "Your Majesty! It's all my fault! If you hadn't come to my wedding banquet today, this traitorous minister wouldn't have had the chance to rebel! Please, Your Majesty, don't do anything foolish!"
Emperor Shunqing looked up at the eldest princess and smiled indulgently, "Imperial sister, we've grown up together since childhood. How could your imperial brother not come to your wedding?"
Emperor Shunqing looked at her bright red wedding dress and smiled. "Royal sister, don't worry. Even if I abdicate today, you will still be my most beloved royal sister! Your marriage to Wuwang will definitely be completed as scheduled!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" The princess's eyes filled with tears, her despair and sorrow mixed with deep emotion.
Upon hearing this, Prince Rong bowed in the direction of Wuwang and said, "Grand Preceptor, I have no choice but to offend you today. Rest assured, as long as you get what I want, your wedding with the Princess will definitely proceed as scheduled."
After saying that, he laughed twice more, "After the matter is accomplished, I will reward you handsomely. Whatever beautiful woman the Grand Preceptor desires, I will offer her to you with both hands!"
Wu Wang curled his lip.
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