Chapter 1099: Palace Coup (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Wu Xian, this old man, has a fate that is somewhat unlucky in terms of having children.
Before the war broke out between the two countries, both of their eldest sons died in a palace coup.
The initial outcome was decided, but two more sons died in the palace coup.
The second son was Wu Xian's youngest son and fifth son.
At first, the Fifth Prince's death could be delayed by two days.
As a traitor who led troops to raid the palace at night, even if he bore the blood of Wu Xian, he couldn't escape the fate of having his entire family wiped out. Killing him wouldn't leave any stain on his reputation. The Fourth Prince was wary of this younger brother from the very beginning! And the other side really took the bait!
A fierce battle ensued, and the Fifth Prince had not anticipated the hidden talents within the Fourth Prince's inner circle. As casualties mounted, his elite forces were slaughtered, their corpses piling up haphazardly along the long palace corridor. He, as the mastermind behind the palace coup, was also captured alive and taken to the Fourth Prince.
"Fourth brother? It's you! It's you! Traitor!" The fifth brother barked the first word as soon as the two brothers met, his eyes as sinister as a wolf's. If no one restrained him, he would pounce on his prey and bite off its neck in one bite. "You always seem so quiet and unassuming, but I never expected you to be so cunning, just like your mother who used her beauty to please men. Now you can't keep up the act anymore and have revealed your true nature, huh? You dare to kill me today, but one day I'll make sure you, you little wench, are utterly disgraced!"
After being thoroughly humiliated, the fourth brother's fair and innocent face instantly turned ashen. He and the fifth brother were the worst of the brothers, and this hatred had been brewing since childhood.
The two were close in age and both were born out of wedlock. The fifth son had a maternal clan, while the fourth son, because of his mother's status, became Wu Xian's most valued son besides his legitimate son, and Wu Xian remembered his birthday every year.
When his other siblings celebrated their birthdays, Wu Xian, as their father, either forgot the date or simply picked a random gift from the storeroom. But for the children born to Mi Shi, Wu Xian personally selected and prepared gifts. Besides the basic rewards, he would go hunting beforehand. Whatever he caught, he would prepare for the children: rabbit skins, fox skins, even tiger skin boots, cloaks, and fur coats. Though not particularly valuable, these gifts still made his brothers envious.
The fifth brother's birthday was close to his, so he received this treatment twice.
One of those times was thanks to the fourth brother.
The brothers' feud was now completely over.
The fifth prince's birth mother was not as favored as Lady Mi, and the fifth prince himself was not as well-liked by Wu Xian as the fourth prince. Compared to the fourth prince, he was inferior in every way. In order to regain his position, he attacked the fourth prince by bringing up Lady Mi's background as a dancer. The fourth prince's obsession with "collapse" was partly related to the fifth prince. The two brothers had long since lost all sense of shame. The fifth prince had just finished cursing when the fourth prince kicked him hard in the chest.
The fifth young master was kicked and sent flying backward.
Its body rolled three or four times before stopping.
Still reeling from the dizziness, a boot reeking of mud and blood slammed into his temple. The Fourth Young Master, glaring at his nemesis beneath his feet, felt his pent-up malice erupt even more fiercely: "If you keep spouting nonsense and offend my mother, I'll cut your tongue out! Calling me a concubine? Ha, that's laughable! I was a concubine, but weren't you one too? Wasn't your mother a concubine? Was she some lawfully wedded principal wife? So what if she was a lady of high birth? So what if she was a noblewoman? She was still a concubine, bearing only illegitimate children! What are you calling a concubine? You, a mere concubine, are trying to act all high and mighty with me?"
All the hatred that had accumulated over the years was stored under my feet.
Stripped of his harmless exterior and gentle demeanor, he ground his boot into the fifth son's head, relishing the latter's pathetic state and the resentment in his eyes. As he uttered these words, the fourth young master forcibly pulled back from the brink of losing control.
He kicked the fifth brother's head open.
He held back, at most making the fifth brother dizzy and nauseous to the point of vomiting.
"...I'll spare your life today, so you can watch your head become my stepping stone!" The Fourth Prince knew that his coup would not win him the support of the people, and the sudden death of his youngest son would also become a hidden danger, making it difficult to explain to the outside world. However, he did not expect the Fifth Prince to be so impatient, offering his head to him that very night! Not only did he offer his head, but he also took the blame for the death of his youngest son! At the court meeting tomorrow, he could easily push the blame for the death of his youngest son onto the Fifth Prince, saying that the Fifth Prince had committed treason, led troops to storm the inner palace in the middle of the night, and persecuted his youngest son and his mother.
The youngest son, who was supposed to abdicate, died.
The fifth brother was once again blamed for the death of the youngest brother.
I am the most suitable candidate.
His mother was the head of the harem, and he was the most favored of Wu Xian's adult children. Even if he couldn't ascend to the throne immediately, he could rightfully take over! The other women in the harem and their children were also controlled by his mother, so the situation was already settled!
The fourth young master tried his best to calm his excited and feverish mind.
"Have you contacted all the officials from the previous dynasty that you could?"
"It's all been arranged."
"That's good."
The fourth prince also has his own influence in the court.
Especially after the eldest and second sons died in succession during the palace coup, he secretly reaped considerable benefits. These connections could rally around him tomorrow to secure his victory! At this moment, the fifth son, who had nearly suffered a concussion, let out a wanton laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Considering that Lao Wu was about to be sacrificed and made a scapegoat, she didn't argue with him. "Tell me about it."
"You think your father really values you?" The Fifth Prince said, the blood flowing from his wound on his forehead unable to conceal the mockery in his eyes and brows. "Wake up, a dancer's son is never good enough. He's nice to you all the time, but he only treats you like a lowly thing, like your mother. When he's in a good mood, he'll pamper you; when he's not, he'll kick you aside. He doesn't care if you live or die."
When it comes to his father's doting affection, the fourth son is absolutely certain.
"No fever? Why are you talking nonsense? Did I step on you too hard and hurt you?" The fourth brother muttered, not minding the bloodstains, and pressed the back of his hand against the fifth brother's forehead. "He spoils me, but what about you?"
A bastard who keeps chasing after someone only to be kicked away?
The last sentence was left unsaid, but his eyes said it all.
The fifth brother not only didn't break down, but laughed even more wildly. As the fourth brother approached suspiciously, he spat out the blood and saliva that had been accumulating in his mouth into his face. The fourth young master had been at odds with him for many years, and knowing the other man well, he knew even better where his own ass was, and had long been on guard.
He spat out the bloody saliva.
The fourth young master clicked his tongue and said, "Disgusting behavior."
The fifth brother knew he couldn't save himself; begging for mercy would only invite ridicule and mockery. But even in death, he couldn't bear to see that bastard fourth brother so smug. He opened his blood-stained mouth and chuckled eerily, "Heh heh, the youngest brother's abdication edict is fake!"
The trusted messenger risked his life to deliver the truth.
The abdication edict written by Wu Xian was addressed to his fifth son.
Shen Tang, still harboring treacherous intentions, was unwilling to see the new ruler of Gao Kingdom be Wu Xian's already adult son. Regardless of the son's abilities, adulthood meant he could rule in his own right, which was clearly detrimental to the interests of Kang Kingdom. Therefore, Shen Youli switched the real imperial edict.
The abdication edict was written for the infant son who was only six months old.
Even while imprisoned, Wu Xian did not give up his resistance.
He sent the real abdication edict to his trusted confidant.
It must be delivered before the youngest son takes over.
Upon seeing the imperial edict, the Fifth Prince trembled with excitement. It meant that he was the only person his father truly acknowledged. Regardless of how much his father favored the Fourth Prince, he still placed his hopes on him in this crucial moment. The Fifth Prince had originally planned to wait until the court assembly the next day to present the edict to his retainers, but after discussing it with them, he realized that this was inappropriate.
His brothers are all restless.
The edict given to the youngest son clearly better served the interests of the majority.
With both edicts side by side, his chances of winning were slim, and he might even incur the wrath of Kang State, becoming a scapegoat. It would be better to go all the way, kill the youngest prince, and destroy the edict in the process. Then, holding the edict, he would become the only option for the court officials. The fifth prince, more like his mother, was less hesitant than Wu Xian, acting decisively! At this moment, he was grateful that he had already placed his own people in the outer court. This impromptu palace coup initially progressed smoothly until it hit a brick wall.
It only took five or six hours for the Fifth Prince to go from being a young master to a prisoner.
After he said the youngest son's edict was fake, the fourth son's face contorted in anger. He grabbed the youngest son by the collar and growled, "What's going on?"
The fifth prince, with his neck stiff, declared: "My father abdicated the throne to me!"
Finally, the fourth prince found another abdication edict.
Wu Xian personally wrote the imperial edict and affixed his private seal!
The fourth young master stared intently at the name on the imperial edict, veins bulging on his forehead, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets from the effort. He murmured in disbelief, "How could it be you? How could it be you?"
The Fifth Prince's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"If it wasn't me, then it could be you? Father values the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children so much. The eldest and second sons have gone through ups and downs these past few years, but he has never given up on them. How could you think he doesn't care about social status? Your mother and my mother are not even worthy of comparison!"
The fourth prince gripped the abdication edict tightly.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at the Fifth Young Master already held murderous intent.
"Someone come here—"
The Fifth Prince knew this would be the outcome.
"Pooh!"
He spat a mouthful of blood towards the fourth brother.
With a strength that seemed to come from nowhere, he twisted his shoulders, breaking free from the guards escorting him, and raised his hand to adjust his hat: "The emperor has his way of dying, and commoners have theirs. You and I were born into royalty, so naturally we cannot be equated with commoners. Take your sword!"
No one listened to the Fifth Prince's words.
He suppressed the waves of dizziness and nausea in his head and forced himself to provoke the other party: "Or do you want to kill me with your own hands?"
Killing him with my own hands isn't out of the question.
However, it won't do them any good.
The children raised by the Mi family were all hypocritical; they probably wouldn't dare to do that.
As the Fifth Prince had predicted, after a difficult struggle, the Fourth Prince gave up the thrill of killing with his own hands and signaled to the soldiers to throw him a sword. The Fifth Prince, using this unadorned sword, also committed suicide by cutting his own throat. However, he was somewhat afraid of the pain, and the wound wasn't deep enough. He struggled in agony for a while before reluctantly breathing his last.
The fifth brother was forced to his death, and Mei Jinghe only came in after dealing with the aftermath.
The fourth young master saw her as if she were his pillar of support.
He breathed a long sigh of relief: "Sir, you've finally arrived."
Mei Meng looked at the Fifth Prince lying on the ground, his body contorted in agony.
He asked, "Why?"
Didn't we agree to discuss this at the court assembly?
The fourth prince silently handed over the abdication edict; the answer lies here.
Mei Meng opened the imperial edict and read it quickly, skimming through it.
Then a long silence ensued.
The fourth brother, somewhat guilty, said, "Sir, I can't keep him alive. He can't live, and besides, he asked for death himself..."
Mei Meng didn't say anything more, but silently rolled up the imperial edict and burned it clean over the candle flame: "It's alright."
Only after seeing the imperial edict burned did the fourth prince finally feel at ease.
But resentment and jealousy still tormented him.
The fifth prince was dead, but his words still echoed in his mind. He had no doubt that the edict was genuine; what chilled him was that his father hadn't even considered him. The fifth prince was neither famous nor particularly capable, yet he was able to have his name recorded in the abdication edict.
This made the fourth brother have an idea—
His father was very concerned about his mother's background.
His emotions didn't last long; he was quickly preoccupied with the impending court drama: "Sir, where is the youngest son?"
Mei Meng lowered her eyes, concealing her thoughts: "Outside."
The trembling wet nurse knelt outside the hall, clutching the blood-stained swaddling clothes.
Where is the youngest son's mother?
Mei Meng said, "He hanged himself."
Seeing her predicament, the woman knew she was doomed and preemptively hanged herself. She ordered the wet nurse to run with the child, but they were caught after only a few steps. Mei Meng didn't even glance at the child who was crying silently: "The other places aren't settled yet. I'll go keep an eye on things. There's another tough battle to fight today—"
"I feel at ease with you here, sir."
The fourth brother looked at Mei Meng with eyes full of trust for his family.
Mei Meng responded with a gentle yet firm smile.
But as soon as he turned his head, his smile vanished instantly.
The corpses still lay scattered haphazardly along the palace path. Mei Meng stepped directly over them, her pace quickening with each step, her eyes growing colder. Qi Cang, watching from the shadows, wondered, "Why don't you seem happy?"
Could it be that human calculations are truly no match for fate?
Mei Mengdao said, "There are two copies of the imperial edict!"
Qi Cang saw it too, and he clicked his tongue: "It's strange that there are two copies of the abdication edict. Which one is real and which one is fake?"
Mei Meng said with a stern face, "It's all true."
Qi Cang exclaimed, "Is Wu Xian sick?"
Why would someone who has been captured want Gao Guo to die even faster?
Mei Meng shook her head and said, "It definitely means that the surname is Chen."
Qi Cang thought of his brief encounter with Shen Tang—even a pervert like Zheng Qiao was verbally abused by her to the point of breaking down and jumping up, which was enough to prove that she was even more insane than Zheng Qiao! This person was capable of tormenting people with two abdication edicts: "Oh, Shen Youli, it's not surprising."
This wasn't enough to make Mei Meng change her expression.
No matter how much Shen Youli tries to cause trouble for Gao Guo, it won't affect Mei Meng.
"I still don't understand why you're angry..."
Mei Meng asked, "How can you guarantee there won't be a third letter?"
One sentence was enough to stump Qi Cang.
"The...the third letter?"
“Yes, not just the third letter, but even the fourth, fifth, sixth…maybe one for each of Wu Xian’s sons.” Mei Meng’s tone grew increasingly serious as she spoke, the more she tried to restrain herself, the more she couldn’t help but think in this direction. “We need to hurry!”
She dared not gamble!
Qi Cang, on the other hand, had a look that said, "You can do this kind of thing?"
"One for everyone... are you crazy?"
She was quite ill; compared to her, Zheng Qiao was a gentleman.
This day's court assembly was destined to be etched in the memories of the Gao Kingdom's officials for the rest of their lives.
The journey was more dramatic and unconventional than any unofficial history!
As the court officials gathered, the ever-punctual Fifth Prince failed to appear to preside over the court meeting. The well-informed officials exchanged meaningful glances with each other—the palace coup last night was real!
The fourth young master arranged for a passerby to break the deadlock.
Seemingly speaking up for the Fifth Prince, but actually stirring up trouble: "The Fifth Prince is always punctual, why not send someone to his residence to urge him?"
At this moment, the fourth prince's voice came from outside the hall: "Wang Wuzi committed a grave mistake last night and has already committed suicide to atone for his sins."
|ω`)
Ugh, something's not right. My cough, which has lasted for over half a month, still hasn't gotten better. When I swallow, my throat still hurts like it's being scraped by a knife, and the medicine isn't helping.
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