Completely unaware
Rong Yuexian was so shocked that she was speechless.
She served two generations of emperors in the palace, but she was unaware of it because she never imagined that the crown prince would poison her weak and kind father.
Shangguan Jin held his hand and took another step closer, saying, "You immediately abdicated because you knew that Sima Yan had the intention to kill your father and seize the throne, so you wanted to fulfill his wish. You were also afraid that after you were poisoned, your voice would become hoarse, your hair would fall out, and your teeth would weaken, which would allow me to discover it. Therefore, you used the pretext of Yan Xiu entering the palace and being made empress to make Sima Yan ascend the throne immediately, so as to cover up the truth about your poisoning. Is that right?"
He was both furious and in great pain. He flung Sima Jinyuan's hand away, leaned on his sword, looked up at the sky, and laughed bitterly, "Sima Jinyuan, you've probably used up all the cleverness you had in your life on me."
Mo Yi Bi Shuang's cold voice rang out from behind: "Your Excellency, please allow me to explain. Given the circumstances at the time, the Emperor Emeritus had no choice but to do so."
Yes. Sima Jinyuan, who had lived a life of constant anxiety, finally developed a little bit of political wisdom in his old age.
Sima Yan poisoned him simply because he thought Sima Yan had lived too long and prevented him from ascending the throne. If this were discovered, could he depose Sima Yan? No, because Sima Yan was his only son. Since the throne would inevitably have to be passed to him sooner or later, it was better to grant him the throne quickly and prevent him from committing the grave crime of patricide.
He needed a reason to pass the throne to Sima Yan early. So he found the most respectable reason: if he immediately passed the throne to Sima Yan, then Yan Xiu of the Shangguan family would enter the palace as empress, instead of having to start as the crown princess. This would be considered to give the Shangguan family the highest honor.
Shangguan Jin would not discover the truth about his poisoning, and thus would not be caught in the dilemma of whether to be loyal to him or to Sima Yan.
After all, Sima Yan was destined to be the future emperor, and Shangguan Jin would be his most important advisor.
Sima Jinyuan thought of everyone else, but he never thought of himself.
After abdicating, Sima Yan got what he wanted and naturally no longer needed to poison his father to end his life. However, due to the accumulated toxins in his body, Sima Jinyuan aged prematurely and became as frail as he is now, but he still managed to save his life.
Shangguan Jin's eyes reddened again, and he trembled with rage. He said, "Now that things have come to this, you would rather bestow the Nine Bestowments upon me than let me execute that unfilial son, Sima Jinyuan. How foolish you are! How can the dynasty last long with such a wicked person sitting on the throne?"
Mo Yi Bi Shuang replied in a neither humble nor arrogant voice, "Therefore, the Emperor Emeritus has already pointed out the only solution at present, which is for you, the Grand Chancellor, to receive the Nine Bestowments and obtain the throne."
Shangguan Jin suddenly turned his head, his eyes blazing with anger, and shouted, "Who gave you permission, woman, to spout such nonsense here? Don't you think the world is chaotic enough already?"
Mo Yi Bi Shuang, however, did not back down and said, "May I ask, Grand Chancellor, if you were to execute His Majesty now, what way would you have to clean up the mess? If you do not ascend the throne yourself, what other options do you have?"
Shangguan Jin, who was already furious, was speechless upon hearing this.
He could not usurp the throne not only because he had never intended to, but also because the political situation was inherently complex. The Sima family had, after all, ruled for a century, and regardless of the emperor's competence, the imperial bloodline was ultimately recognized by all the powerful clans. However, if he were to usurp the throne as a subject, all the powerful clans would inevitably harbor resentment, including the local governors, who would all believe that anyone who became a political strongman could become emperor, and the previous system of loyalty would no longer exist.
Destroying a system of authority is easy, but establishing one is incredibly difficult. What remains is endless infighting, with the outcome decided by force, until a single strongman emerges, or perhaps decades or even centuries of division. That would only provide an opportunity for the nomadic barbarians now eyeing the north.
Shangguan Jin naturally did not want to see that situation.
But if he really kills Sima Yan, as Mo Yi Bi Shuang said, the situation will probably only improve if he personally ascends the throne—after all, he is currently the most prestigious person in the Southern Dynasty, and even if other aristocratic families are not convinced, he has the ability to deal with them one by one, thus maintaining the system from collapsing.
But if it were someone else, their reputation, prestige, and ability would be even less convincing and less able to stabilize the situation. After sitting on the throne and waiting to be killed, what would inevitably follow would be division and years of civil war.
Mo Yi Bi Shuang said firmly, "No matter what the Grand Chancellor decides, the Emperor Emeritus will not interfere. But if the Grand Chancellor insists on avenging Empress Wen, then he should be prepared to bear the consequences of receiving the Nine Bestowments."
If Shangguan Jin were to commit regicide today, the consequence would be that he would be granted the Nine Bestowments and ascend to the throne. This is a punishment that would make countless powerful ministers throughout history dream of, something they could only dream of.
Due to the poisoning, Sima Jinyuan was unable to utter a clear and complete sentence at this moment. But even if these words came from Mo Yi Bishuang, they must have been the result of Sima Jinyuan's repeated consideration.
There was truly no other way.
If Shangguan Jin were to kill Sima Yan today, with his martial arts skills, no one could stop him; the only option would be to try to clean up the mess.
At this moment, the space of several dozen feet was shrouded in a suffocating silence, and everyone was waiting for Shangguan Jin to make a decision that could overturn the Southern Dynasty.
In stark contrast, the Yunlong Palace not far away was still filled with singing and dancing, the music intoxicating and out of tune.
Shangguan Jin's reaction was something no one had expected.
The four-foot-long "Ice Bamboo" sword was drawn out with a swift motion, its light as white as snow, illuminating the sky as brightly as day.
He suddenly let out a sharp whistle, which shook all the palaces and gardens near and far. Even in the Yunlong Palace, where people were living in a drunken stupor, some rushed out in a panic to see what was going on.
This mournful howl seemed to release all the pent-up anger and resentment that had been building up in his heart because of Yanxiu's death.
It's more like a helpless questioning and inquiry into fate.
As the piercing whistle echoed, all the nearby palaces and gardens, even those that had already extinguished their lights, quickly lit up, and the patrolling imperial guards were urgently mobilized to this area.
At this moment, even the most foolish and slow-witted person in Jianzhang Palace knew that something was amiss.
This sword-wielding roar finally alerted Sima Yan inside the Cloud Dragon Palace. Surrounded and supported by a group of eunuchs and attendants, he stumbled over, completely unaware of what had happened.
He didn't recognize the other members of the Four Constellations of Heavenly Secrets, because they usually didn't appear in the palace in their true forms. He only recognized Chu Yuanyi, who was lying on the ground with blood all over her face. At this moment, he was half sobered up and immediately shouted, "Aunt Chu!"
At the same time, he immediately sent someone to fetch the imperial physician.
He turned back and saw Shangguan Jin, his hair disheveled, sword in hand, standing alone in the night, his face filled with hatred. He sobered up instantly. Under the blinding glint of the sword, he stammered, "Lord Chancellor... what are you doing..."
If there was one person the tyrannical Sima Yan feared in the court, it would undoubtedly be Shangguan Jin. This was not only because Shangguan Jin was upright and self-disciplined, but also because the latter held military and political power that allowed him to depose Sima Yan at any time.
Sima Yan looked on with a puzzled expression, which made Zhongli Wuyan realize something.
That is, Sima Yan probably has not yet received news of Shangguan Yanxiu's death.
Even though they were both inside the palace, Shangguan Jin, who was outside, had already received news of the Empress's death and rushed over with his sword. However, Emperor Sima Yan seemed unaware of Yanxiu's passing that night and was still indulging in a drunken stupor in the Yunlong Palace. This shows how little Sima Yan cared about Shangguan Yanxiu and how well his entourage kept the news a secret.
It's certainly possible that Sima Yan issued an order forbidding anyone from disturbing his drinking and merrymaking in the inner palace. The eunuchs and attendants, fearing for their lives, dared not disturb his enjoyment late at night with this sudden bad news.
Even though the Four Stars of Heavenly Secrets and Shangguan Jin had just fought a tremendous battle here, Sima Yan inside the Cloud Dragon Palace was completely unaware.
Sima Jinyuan exerted all his strength, his lips trembling, and finally managed to utter his first complete rebuke of the night:
"brute!"
Sima Yan then noticed that behind Mo Yi Bi Shuang, standing hunched over, was the white-haired Sima Jin Yuan.
Suddenly, he snapped to attention, and the effects of the night's drinking completely wore him off.
Mo Yi Bi Shuang, kneeling on the ground, held a nine-dragon tin staff in her hands, which came into his view.
Looking at the tense situation again, even someone as slow-witted as him realized that something terrible was about to happen.
The emperor, who should have been living a peaceful and quiet retirement in the Western Hills, suddenly appeared here, carrying a nine-dragon staff that symbolized imperial power, as if he were about to give it to someone.
The Grand Secretary, who holds a pivotal position in the court, actually came to our door with the Shangguan sword "Binghuang".
To avoid provoking discontent among court officials over the breaking of the rule that "civil officials should not engage in military affairs," Shangguan Jin never brought a sword into the palace.
Not only did he not bring a sword into the palace, but he never wore a sword in any place where he was conducting official business, and always appeared as a scholar-official.
The gentleman's sword was drawn; it had been many years since anyone had witnessed such an event.
He didn't know Rong Yuexian, An Shihe, and Zhongli Wuyan, but even a blind man could tell that these three were no ordinary people, but rather rare top experts, and at this moment, they were all looking at him with extremely unfriendly eyes.
But Aunt Chu, who loved and cared for him the most, was now lying on the ground, her eyes half-closed and covered in blood.
The current situation clearly indicates that most of the people involved are enemies, not friends, and they are all people he cannot afford to offend.
Sima Yan suddenly knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly, saying, "I don't know what I have done wrong. Why has the Emperor Emeritus come so suddenly? Is he here to depose me?"
Zhongli Wuyan sighed inwardly. Sima Yan might be tyrannical and cruel, but he was by no means stupid.
The sudden gathering of these powerful figures here immediately revealed their ill intentions, and that neither their strength nor their reputation was something he could handle at his current level.
Sima Jinyuan watched as he crawled on his knees to his side, tugging at his clothes, and knew that he was begging for his protection.
After all, everyone knows that if you really offend "Gentleman Sword" Shangguan Jin, the consequences will be unimaginable.
He strained to open his mouth, and said in a hoarse voice, "My son... Yanxiu..."
Sima Yan was both frightened and panicked, and asked tremblingly, "Yanxiu? What happened to Yanxiu?"
Mo Yi Bishuang spoke up in time, speaking on behalf of Sima Jinyuan: "Your Majesty, is Yanxiu's death truly unrelated to you?"
Upon hearing this, a look of panic immediately crossed Sima Yan's face, and this expression was naturally noticed by everyone present.
Sima Yan quickly composed himself, and while gathering his thoughts, said, "Of course not! Although I may have frightened her, I never really intended to harm her... Wait," he suddenly shouted as if waking from a deep dream, "What? What did you just say? Yanxiu is dead?"
Mo Yi Bi Shuang said without any emotion, "Half an hour ago, the Emperor Emeritus received news of the Empress's death in Qi Wu Palace at Xishan and rushed here immediately. How could Your Majesty be completely unaware while in the palace?"
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