The emperor fell into a coma, and rumors even circulated that he might never wake up. At first, everyone remained calm, but as time passed, the emperor still showed no signs of waking up.
The government could only be temporarily handed over to the two prime ministers, causing immediate turmoil in the court. Several princes began to make frequent moves, and the army was also subtly mobilized.
The various princes' factions in the court began to frame each other and smear each other.
The weakest prince, the seventh prince, was the first to be sacrificed. This prodigy prince, who had been touted as a child prodigy, was once very powerful but was later suppressed. Now, when it was necessary to test the situation, he was tacitly pushed forward by various forces.
The Seventh Prince's forces were originally a rabble, and they were quickly wiped out by a joint effort. The two prime ministers did nothing to stop it, and there was no news from the Dragon Palace.
It should be noted that the previous emperor hated factionalism and the suppression of dissent. Even though the Seventh Prince was not favored by him, he would still stand up to protect him if the court wanted to completely eradicate the Seventh Prince's faction.
But now things have gone too far, and there's still no movement, proving that the Emperor is truly unconscious.
The court situation immediately became even more chaotic. The Second Prince and the Sixth Prince, who had been hiding in the background, also emerged. The Second Prince himself had a lot of prestige in the army, while the Sixth Prince's mother's family was powerful and he had connections in both the army and the court. The two factions fought a very exciting battle.
From minor squabbles to life-or-death struggles, the entire court was filled with the stench of blood.
In this tense atmosphere, the emperor suddenly woke up. He summoned the sixth prince, and after the father and son talked for a while, he fainted again.
The second prince, however, was not summoned. This was like a drop of water falling into hot oil, instantly causing a commotion throughout the court.
The political situation was tense, martial law was declared in Wangjing, and even the common people could sense that something was amiss.
Inside the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence, Xu Wanying leaned back in her chair, enjoying tea by the stove.
Sitting next to Jiang Chengli, the man was quite relaxed. After the oranges on the stove were smoked, he slowly peeled them, even tearing off the white pith.
"The situation is so tense, yet you're still so relaxed. It seems you're quite confident?" Xu Wanying asked proactively.
The man peeled the orange, cut it in half, and handed her one half.
"You understand me best, my lady. Everything that needed to be arranged has already been arranged. Now I'll just be a leisurely person. Success or failure hinges on this."
Xu Wanying raised an eyebrow, said nothing more, and continued to drink tea and read. The fragrant tea, with its hint of orange, made the cold wind outside seem to lessen.
***
Since the emperor only summoned the sixth prince after waking up, this clearly stirred up many hearts, and the undercurrents in the court became even more turbulent.
In the end, the second prince could not hold back any longer and immediately mobilized the Huainan Army and Shubei Army, who were close to him, to march towards Wangjing, clearly intending to force the emperor to abdicate.
The emperor, who was rumored to have fallen into a coma again, was leaning against the bed, reading through the secret reports submitted from all over the country, and was so angry that he vomited blood again.
"This unfilial son!" He threw the memorial to the ground on the spot.
The imperial concubine, who was about to feed him medicine, immediately took out a silk handkerchief to wipe his mouth and patted his back to help him breathe.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. The Second Prince is only concerned with something urgent and wants to come to the capital to protect you."
"I'm not dead yet, what do I need guards for? Sending two armies to Wangjing is clearly a coup. He's a wolf in sheep's clothing, you don't need to speak up for him. You should go back and take care of Xiao Liu." The Emperor waved her hand away.
"Little Six is an obedient child, and he is now studying with his teacher. I will stay here to take care of you."
"No need. I have imperial physicians here. This is a critical moment. You should keep an eye on Xiao Liu to prevent anyone from instigating him."
After hesitating for a moment, the Imperial Concubine, still worried about the Sixth Prince, immediately nodded in agreement: "Yes, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave."
After saying that, she left.
"Present today's memorials."
Upon hearing this, the eunuch immediately presented a pile of memorials, which had been screened by the two prime ministers; the meaningless greetings and inquiries had been dismissed.
The emperor flipped through more than a dozen books, but his expression grew increasingly grim.
Finally, he gave a cold laugh and pushed all the memorials aside.
"Ha, all of them are memorials requesting the establishment of a new crown prince. Are they afraid that the throne will not be decided before I am gone? The second prince is anxious, and the sixth prince is even more anxious. They are all hoping that I will promote them!"
When the emperor complained about these things, the palace servants all lowered their heads and didn't dare to utter a sound, wishing they could just disappear.
"Knock knock." The Emperor tapped the table twice, and immediately a dark figure landed, clearly a shadow guard.
"Go and secretly bring the Crown Prince into the palace. They want to overturn the table, but they'll see if I'll allow it."
This winter was particularly cold, with heavy snowfall. Before the Second Prince's army even reached the capital, they encountered resistance. The Sixth Prince's two uncles personally led the troops to confront the Sixth Prince's faction. The two armies clashed, resulting in countless deaths and injuries.
Civil officials from both sides also joined the fray, each finding excuses to vindicate themselves, denouncing the other as a traitor and claiming that they were the righteous army.
In the end, both sides suffered heavy losses, but the Sixth Prince's faction was still stronger. One of his two uncles died and the other was injured. The old Duke forced himself to get up and handle the affairs, and went to the palace to express his gratitude.
Unfortunately, what awaited him was not good news, but rather the emperor's trap to wipe out the entire Duke's family, on the grounds that the imperial concubine had poisoned his medicine.
The sixth prince's dream of becoming emperor ultimately failed.
The emperor summoned all his civil and military officials, and in front of them, with his last breath, he passed the throne to the crown prince.
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