Chapter 759 The imperial edict is Qi Jing digging his own grave!
This veteran who was of the same age as Shen Huai and had served in three dynasties, at this moment, his back was straight, his cloudy eyes sparkling with brilliance.
"What do you think, Mr. Zhao?"
Qi Jing narrowed his eyes and his fingertips unconsciously stroked the edge of the silk book.
Elder Zhao ignored Qi Jing and turned to the court officials and military officers. His voice was as loud as a bell: "I have served the late emperor for thirty years and have been through three succession ceremonies. However, according to the ancestral system of the Northern Qi Dynasty..."
As he said this, he looked at Qi Jing, whose face was as cold as ice.
"Any edict involving the succession of the throne must be presided over by the emperor himself, and witnessed by the five elders of the cabinet, the six ministers, and the Grand Tutor. None of them can be missing!"
Qi Jing's face changed slightly, and Xiang Cheng immediately stepped forward with his sword.
Elder Zhao ignored him and continued, "If the late emperor really wanted to write the edict of succession while he was still alive, how could I not be present? How could Master Taifu not know about it?"
He pointed at the silk book in Qi Jing's hand: "So this so-called edict of succession is clearly a forgery!"
A single stone caused a thousand ripples, and several elderly ministers nodded and whispered to each other.
The Minister of War took the opportunity to move half a step towards the palace gate, but was forced back to his original position by Xiang Cheng's cold gaze.
Qi Jing suddenly burst into laughter, but his laughter was as cold as an ice knife scraping his bones: "Mr. Zhao is old, could it be that he remembered it wrongly?"
He walked down the stairs slowly, his boots stepping on the pool of blood left by Concubine Zhong, splashing a few drops of dark red.
"Before the late emperor passed away, he summoned me alone..."
"That's nonsense!"
The angry shout made the dust on the beam fall down. Lord Zhao raised his hand and pointed it at the tip of Qi Jing's nose, and the veins on the back of his skinny hand bulged.
"On the night when the late emperor was assassinated and passed away, this old minister and the Grand Tutor had been guarding outside the Yangxin Palace! If there really was an imperial edict to pass on the throne, how could we..."
"Enough!" Qi Jing's face suddenly changed and he opened the fingers stretched in front of him.
"Xiangcheng, Elder Zhao is having a seizure. Take him away for proper diagnosis and treatment!"
Xiang Cheng walked forward with a grim smile, and the long sword made a harsh metallic friction sound when it was unsheathed. However, Lord Zhao remained motionless and instead walked forward.
"Qi Jing! You usurped the throne in a certain dynasty, and now you want to kill the ministers who gave advice in court?"
The tip of the sword was against Lord Zhao's throat, and a few drops of blood rolled down his snow-white beard, staining the second-rank crane robe red.
All the civil and military officials in the court held their breath and concentrated. Qi Ren took the opportunity to slide down from the dragon throne and crawled behind the palace pillar like a maggot, but was stepped on by the Black Feather Guards with the corner of his robe.
At this critical moment, a loud shout suddenly came from outside the hall.
"Master Shen, the Grand Tutor, has arrived!"
The sound was like a loud thunder. Qi Jing turned his head to look at the palace door. In the morning light, he saw Shen holding a rosewood box in his arms and stepping steadily into the Golden Throne Hall.
Behind him, followed a group of palace servants with their heads bowed and their eyes lowered.
Elder Zhao's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly walked to Shen Huai, who had not appeared for several months.
"Master Shen, you've arrived just in time! Tell all your colleagues quickly, did the late emperor leave any edict to pass on the throne?"
Shen Huai stood in the center of the hall, his old face as solemn as iron.
He looked around at all the civil and military officials in the court, and finally his eyes fell on the silk book in Qi Jing's hand, with a sneer on his face.
"The late emperor did leave a will..."
Qi Jing felt relieved when he saw that Chen Huai had really done what Balan Lechi said and that he had not made any mistakes. His clenched fingers immediately relaxed.
But then...
"The late emperor did leave a will, but it was not passed on to Qi Jing!"
Shen Huai's voice was not loud, but it was as loud as a huge bell. Qi Jing's expression changed instantly and he suddenly took two steps back.
Behind Shen Huai, a "palace maid" quietly raised her head, and a cold metallic light flashed faintly from her wide cuffs.
Shen Huai came forward with a group of 'palace maids and eunuchs' and stood in front of the court officials.
“This…this is…” Before Lord Zhao could react, he staggered forward two steps, his cloudy old eyes wide open.
After reading the words on the imperial edict clearly, his skinny fingers trembled continuously.
"The Imperial Edict of the Retired Emperor! It turned out to be... the Imperial Edict given to Master Shen by the Retired Emperor before his death!"
The entire court was in uproar, and Lord Wang, the Minister of Rites, exclaimed, "Could this be the legendary 'Decree of Abolition and Enthronement'?"
His voice was trembling: "The late emperor actually granted such great power to Master Shen!"
"When the 'Deposing and Enthroning Edict' was handed over to Grand Tutor Shen, you were not yet the Minister of State, how could you possibly know..."
"I know. I was lucky enough to witness it..."
Because of Shen Huai's arrival and his words, the court officials began to speak boldly.
Qi Jing's face turned pale in an instant, because he recognized the coiled dragon pattern on the edge of the imperial edict. It was the style that the retired emperor loved the most.
“Crash…”
The sound of the bright yellow silk fully unfolding in Shen Huai's hands was like a thunderclap striking the throne room.
It looked as if he was about to read out the imperial edict. All the civil and military officials in the court knelt on the ground reflexively, with their foreheads pressed against the cold gold bricks.
Several old ministers seemed to be sweating profusely. After all, this was the third time in decades that they had heard the sound of silk that represented the supremacy of imperial power.
"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims..."
The deep and old voice echoed in every corner of the hall, and every word hit Qi Jing's heart like a hammer.
The body under the black python robe was trembling slightly, and the carefully trimmed nails had already dug into the palms, oozing traces of blood.
"If the successor is not virtuous, Mr. Shen can choose another capable person, such as me personally..."
When the last four words were spoken, the hands of the Black Feather Guards in the hall were already on the hilts of their swords.
Qi Jing's face turned from green to white, and he suddenly laughed hysterically: "Ridiculous! Chen Huai, do you think you can depose anyone with a fake edict?
Can we establish whoever we want? ”
What made him even more devastated was that half an hour ago, Chen Huai was still under the control of his poisonous insect and was unconscious!
"Impossible... Impossible..."
Qi Jing muttered to himself, his slender fingers unconsciously pinching into his palms, oozing out traces of blood.
"How could the poisonous insects in the Balan Pool..."
At this moment, a tall figure slowly walked out from the queue of palace servants who were lowering their head and looking obedient behind Shen Huai.
The sunlight poured through the palace door, giving the man a golden edge. Every step he took was accompanied by a gasp from the courtiers.
"The... The Emperor?"
Elder Zhao rubbed his eyes violently and stretched out his withered hands tremblingly.
But when he saw the person's face clearly, he felt that he was dazzled.
"No...you are not the emperor, who are you?"
Upon hearing this, several white-haired old ministers looked up and took a closer look, then fell to their knees and said, "This man looks exactly like the late emperor when he was young..."
Qi Jingru was struck by lightning. He stared at the face that was three points similar to Qi Ren but more noble, and a strange "gurgling" sound came from his throat.
"Impossible...How come you are here..."
That was Qi Mingjing. He had people looking for Qi Mingjing for half a year. Qi Mingjing should have died at the hands of an assassin!
But now, that person's eyes were full of majesty, and his every move and gesture showed the bearing of a royal family. How could he still look sick at all?
"Qi Jing." Qi Mingjing narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke in a slow and steady voice, yet it made the whole hall silent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
