Chapter 588 The Dynasty, Its Great Cause Has Come to an End
Before long, the morning court session began.
The civil and military officials slowly ascended the Taiji Hall along the walkway and then filed in. Unlike usual, when they entered the main hall, they all turned their heads to look at the side hall.
Although no one said it outright, everyone knew that the Grand Chancellor, who was in charge of the court, was currently in that side hall with its doors and windows tightly closed.
wait.
Standing at the door were not only the eunuch Yu Gonggong who served the Empress Dowager, but also Madam Yuwen, who had previously delivered a passionate speech in the Taiji Hall and directly forced Princess Xinyue to make a promise to abdicate!
Upon seeing her, these officials couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.
However, no one said anything. They simply entered the main hall one by one, then lined up on both sides according to their respective ranks and stood in the hall. After a burst of drum music, the eunuch in the hall announced loudly, "His Majesty has arrived!"
Immediately, all the officials knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
The sound came from the open door, accompanied by a strong gust of wind that suddenly hit Shang Ruyi's face, and even made the tightly closed door of the side hall behind her rattle.
Her heart sank.
In fact, not only the officials in the main hall, and not only her, but even the person standing next to her, whose face was usually plump and always had a smile, showed a rare, solemn expression.
Eunuch Yu seemed to understand that this was probably the last praise the courtiers would give to the Chu dynasty.
He let out a long sigh.
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment, then glanced back at the gradually calming gate, and whispered, "Eunuch Yu, the Empress Dowager—"
He stopped before he could finish speaking, thought for a moment, and then changed his words, saying, "Your Highness, the Eldest Princess—"
He stopped again before he could finish speaking.
She then realized that she didn't actually have anything to ask. She had chosen this path from the beginning, and even if she didn't know the specific future, how could she not know the scenery that should be on this path, the rocks on the mountain and the waves at sea?
Why ask again?
Thinking of this, she smiled awkwardly at Eunuch Yu, who was looking at her, and closed her lips.
On the contrary, Eunuch Yu looked at her quietly for a long time, and then thought for even longer before raising his head to say to her, "For the past half month, I have been at Dayan Temple, following the Empress Dowager. It was only after returning to the palace that I learned that the inner palace was closed."
"..."
"Meanwhile, the eldest princess was in the palace, counting down the days, waiting for the second young master."
"..."
"I waited until yesterday."
"..."
“Yesterday, if the Empress Dowager hadn’t returned and insisted on seeing the Eldest Princess, I’m afraid we would have lost this daughter by now.”
"...!"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback. Only then did she vaguely recall that back in the Taiji Hall, when Yuwen Yuan ordered the closure of Daxing City and the inner palace, and had the young emperor and the princess brought back to the palace to avoid disaster, Chu Ruoyan seemed to have asked Yuwen Ye if he would come to see her.
If she remembered correctly, at that time, Chu Ruoyan said to Yuwen Ye, "It's okay if you don't come."
If you don't come, I won't wait anymore...
Shang Ruyi gasped in shock.
turn out to be--
What she said is true.
Perhaps Yuwen Ye also sensed something, which is why he decided to go to Dayan Temple yesterday to welcome back the Empress Dowager and accompany her back to the palace. If they had returned to the palace together yesterday, perhaps some things would not have happened.
But yesterday, Yuwen Ye brought himself—
Shang Ruyi suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, as if an invisible hand was squeezing her heart, making her heartbeat heavy. What was even heavier was a faint voice coming from inside the Taiji Hall. Although she had heard that voice countless times before, it was childish and willful, and although it always confronted her, she did not find it annoying.
That's why her cautiousness at this moment made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
It is Chu Chengfei.
At this moment, the young emperor slowly walked up to the main hall and sat on the dragon throne.
In the past, he was forced to attend the morning court before dawn every time. He was always annoyed by the people who spoke words he could not understand, and the arguments that sometimes turned red in the face prevented him from immediately returning to the palace to play with his birds, cats, and dogs, or enjoy the delicacies. But today, for the first time, he felt a sense of panic.
Because in recent days, he had come to a vague understanding that he could no longer remain on the throne.
But what else could he do if he wasn't emperor?
What will these people do to him?
Thinking of this, tears welled up in his large eyes, which still held a childlike quality and were filled with fear of the unknown. He looked down at the civil and military officials below with teary eyes. These ministers, who had bowed and kowtowed to him countless times, proclaimed "Long live the Emperor!" and expressed their loyalty to him and the dynasty, were now looking at him with unfamiliar eyes, as if they were looking at a cat or dog hanging on a cliff.
No one will save him...
Hearing the echoes of "Long live the Emperor!" still reverberating in the empty hall, Chu Chengfei trembled uncontrollably. Suddenly, he said to the eunuch beside him, "I...I want to go back..."
"His Majesty."
"My sister hasn't woken up yet. She's in so much pain from being strangled. I need to go back and be with her."
"...Your Majesty, the Princess is out of danger and may attend the morning court session—"
"No, I don't want to stay here, I want to go back..."
As Chu Chengfei spoke, he dared not stay any longer and immediately tried to get up and run to the inner palace, but the eunuch reached out and pressed down on his shoulder, smiling obsequiously, "Your Highness, you cannot leave."
"..."
"Early morning court session—is there something urgent that needs to be done?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Chengfei almost burst into tears. But he seemed to understand that even his personal eunuch was like this, and his closest elder sister was not by his side and could not be his support. He was really like a kitten that had fallen off a cliff, with no way out but to let out desperate whimpers.
At this moment, he could only look at the courtiers below the main hall, at those gazes that were either cold and stern, indifferent, sympathetic, or even—mocking.
He asked in a trembling voice, "What...what do you want to do?"
"..."
At this moment, the main hall fell silent.
The crowd looked at each other.
Although everyone knew that at this moment, it would be a matter of just a word to accomplish the great task, when the time actually came, facing the young emperor who was sitting on the dragon throne with tears in his eyes and trembling, they couldn't bring themselves to say it.
This is not just about bullying the young emperor.
It was also the final and heaviest blow to the Chu Dynasty.
The previous incident may have been just a topic of casual conversation, but when a new era arrives, who will look back on the past and bother with such things?
But the latter one is different.
That will be recorded in history books and passed down through the ages!
Whether it will be a bad reputation or a good story, who knows?
Even someone as resolute as Ji Hong, who had forced the eldest princess to promise to abdicate at the last court assembly, seemed to hesitate at this moment. When he looked up at the young emperor on the dragon throne, tears streaming down his face, he saw tears welling up in his own cloudy, aged eyes.
Seeing him like this, the officials around him were also somewhat at a loss.
Who should say this?
Who dares to say that?!
Such confusion and hesitation spread rapidly throughout the hall like a plague, making everyone hesitate and unable to move, thus bringing the whole situation to a standstill.
No one spoke, so Chu Chengfei remained seated on the dragon throne and did not need to come down.
Even more so, I can't get down.
Seeing them like this, Chu Chengfei trembled and choked out, "What...what are you going to do?"
"..."
"You guys...you won't do anything, will you?"
"..."
"If you don't do your job, then, then I—"
At that moment, his weak voice also reached outside the main hall. At the entrance of the side hall, Shang Ruyi was covered in cold sweat.
Although she knew that the Yuwen family could not back down now that things had come to this point, and the Chu Dynasty was already on its last legs, things often get stuck at such a small juncture. If no one spoke up, how could this situation be resolved?
She panicked slightly and instinctively tried to walk forward.
But just then, the tightly closed door behind them suddenly emitted a long and hoarse roar, and then slowly opened!
"...!"
Shang Ruyi's steps froze, and she immediately stopped in her tracks.
She turned around and saw a familiar, slender yet dignified figure standing at the entrance of the side hall, dressed in a formal gown, looking more elegant and noble than ever before she had seen her.
It's Empress Dowager Jiang!
Upon seeing her, Shang Ruyi's breath caught in her throat. She even forgot to blink, staring wide-eyed at that beautiful yet pale face. For a moment, her vision seemed completely blank, as if her soul had vanished.
But the next moment, her gentle eyes looked at her.
When he looked at her, a faint, seemingly relieved smile appeared on his face.
Only then did Shang Ruyi seem to finally come to her senses. She hurriedly tried to kneel down and kowtow, but the Empress Dowager gently raised her hand towards her.
It was a way of indicating to her that she didn't need to be so polite.
Shang Ruyi stood there, unsure of what to do, while Empress Dowager Jiang stepped out. As soon as she left the side hall, the main door closed behind her once more.
Yuwen Yuan remained inside, motionless.
Empress Dowager Jiang did not turn around. She simply raised her head, took a deep breath, and slowly walked forward. Shang Ruyi and Eunuch Yu exchanged a glance and subconsciously followed.
The Taiji Hall was only a few steps away, and Shang Ruyi didn't even feel the passage of time. She felt as if in the blink of an eye, they were already standing in the center of the hall.
All eyes were focused on the Empress Dowager.
Only a pair of cold, stern eyes glanced deeply at Empress Dowager Jiang, then looked at her again before immediately looking away.
However, at this moment, Shang Ruyi had no time to pay attention, nor even the energy to meet her gaze. A cry rang out in the hall. The instant Chu Chengfei saw the Empress Dowager appear, all the grievances and fear that had been building up inside him erupted, and he stretched out his hands towards Empress Dowager Jiang—
"Mother!"
He started to cry.
At this moment, although she was standing behind the Empress Dowager, Shang Ruyi could sense from her slightly trembling, thin shoulders that the Empress Dowager must have shown a loving and compassionate expression towards her young son. If she could, she would do everything in her power to protect him—just like when Chu Yang was about to abandon Luoyang and head south to Jiangdu, embarking on that road of no return. Even though half her life had been filled with sorrow and loneliness for that man, the Empress Dowager still temporarily abandoned him to protect her two children, leaving Chu Chengfei and Chu Ruoyan in Luoyang.
This lineage has also been preserved.
But now, it seems that the last bloodline of the Chu dynasty has also come to the end of this great undertaking.
Her thin shoulders trembled, but as she stepped towards the front of the main hall, getting closer and closer to the place she had looked up to countless times—the place where that celestial man ruled the world and commanded with such power—her breathing gradually calmed down, and the trembling that had almost shattered her soul gradually subsided.
Until she reached the foot of the steps.
Shang Ruyi also stopped behind her, looking at her thin back, standing still, yet at this moment, she exuded an almost tragic aura.
All the civil and military officials in the hall were overwhelmed by her imposing aura, and even forgot to kowtow and pay their respects.
Chu Chengfei cried even harder.
He stretched out his arms toward his mother, and his feet were kicking and thrashing under the dragon throne. But for some reason, despite his longing to be by her side, he seemed to be held back on the dragon throne by an inexplicable obsession, and he did not leave even a fraction of an inch.
It seemed to be the last struggle of this dynasty.
Just then, a hoarse sound, like the scraping of rough rocks, rang out. It was more like a whisper than a sound, exceptionally low and soft, as if even a casual breath could dissipate it.
However, the sound was like a thunderclap from the sky, deafening and resounding throughout the entire Taiji Hall.
It also rang in everyone's ears—
"Fate has its time, and fortunes come and go in cycles."
"...!"
Shang Ruyi gasped.
That voice belongs to the Empress Dowager!
She had previously committed suicide to follow Chu Yang, leaving behind a hideous wound on her neck and losing her gentle voice that seemed to soothe all the pain in the world. Unexpectedly, at this moment, she struggled to speak!
However, what she spoke was the final sound of the Chu Dynasty's demise!
At this moment, Chu Chengfei also opened his eyes wide, his tearful eyes filled with terror and despair as he looked at his mother.
He murmured, "Mother..."
Empress Dowager Jiang slowly ascended the steps of the Heavenly Terrace, walking until she reached the Dragon Throne. She looked down at him, then reached out and grasped his small hand, which was outstretched towards her as if pleading for help.
She said, "Your Majesty, this great undertaking will be difficult to accomplish."
"..."
"The dynasty's great undertaking has come to an end."
"..."
"Let's go..."
After saying that, she pulled Chu Chengfei off the dragon throne with all her might!
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