Chapter 557 Only a Forced Resignation Can Be Reached
The Emperor sighed again, as if for the Imperial Concubine, or perhaps for the Third Prince.
Although Consort Liu was not his favorite, she was the woman who stayed with him the longest and spent the most time with him, so the emperor still had some reservations about her.
Unfortunately, Consort Liu did not appreciate his efforts.
"Your Majesty keeps saying you love my son and me, but you won't even give my son a throne."
Empress Dowager?
Only when my son becomes emperor will I be the rightful Empress Dowager.
"Your Majesty, I just want to know who you truly love?"
The emperor glanced at the void with his cloudy eyes.
"I.........................
Consort, none of that matters anymore.
I'm a dying man, there's no point in talking about these things.
You are the one who will be with me until the very end, and the one who will be with me the longest... I will never forget you...
Consort Liu glared angrily at the Emperor.
"So, the person you love isn't me?"
"Mother, love is meaningless, it's more important to get down to business."
The Third Prince saw that his mother was actually having an affair with the Emperor at this crucial moment.
He instantly felt impatient. What love could an emperor possibly have?
He's been out for quite a while now, and that lustful feeling inside him is about to resurface.
He didn't know what was wrong with him. Ever since the first time he did that thing with Liu Xiulan in the palace, he would feel hot all over every few hours, as if he had been drugged with aphrodisiac.
He had long sensed something was wrong with his body.
He consulted many doctors, but they all said he was perfectly healthy.
Even the Bai family members didn't realize that he was now pinning his hopes on Bai Ming, the young master of the Bai family.
Bai Ming is known as a miracle doctor. If he also says he's fine, then he probably really is.
But Bai Ming isn't in the capital recently......................
The Third Prince calmed himself down and forced himself to stay clear-headed.
Today's matter was too important for him to abandon it now and go find a woman. He suppressed the anger welling up inside him.
"Mother, that's about enough. There are still many things to do."
Get the imperial seal quickly. So what if there's no edict of succession? We can just say we have the imperial seal. As long as the real edict doesn't appear, that's fine.
Our main task now is to find the imperial seal and the person who kept the imperial edict. Kill that person and destroy the edict.
"Can.................."
Consort Liu still wanted her son's ascension to the throne to be legitimate.
She also wanted to prove herself and show that her child held a higher place in the Emperor's heart than the Empress's child.
So she wanted the emperor to say it himself, that he would pass the throne to her son, but the emperor ignored her.
The emperor was unmoved by reason, and Consort Liu had no choice but to give in.
They could only try to find the Imperial Seal by following the Third Prince's method, but unfortunately, the mother and son searched the entire palace and still couldn't find the Imperial Seal.
The Third Prince's anger grew increasingly intense. He strode forward and grabbed the Emperor by the neck in frustration.
"Old man, hand over the imperial seal now, or don't blame your son for killing his father."
The weakened emperor was nearly choked to death by the third prince's forceful grip on his neck.
"Father!"
"Father!"
.....................
Just as the emperor was about to breathe his last, the second prince, the fourth prince, and the fifth prince walked in from outside.
The fourth prince pulled the third prince away.
"Third Brother, what are you doing?"
"Are you crazy? Didn't you see Father can't even breathe?"
The third prince felt he couldn't hold on any longer and didn't want to waste any more time. He went straight to the door and called out.
"Someone come here!"
At the Third Prince's command, all the hidden soldiers leaped out, brandishing their swords, and surrounded the Second Prince and his men.
When Consort Liu saw that the Third Prince had not arrived at the appointed time, she summoned her hidden men, which she felt was very risky.
But now that the people hiding in the shadows have been exposed, we have no choice but to grit our teeth and continue. Since we've already taken ninety-nine steps, one more won't make a difference.
Seeing this, Consort Liu gave a wink to one of her maids, who quietly slipped away.
The palace maid arrived at the open courtyard, took out a signal flare, and threw it into the air. The signal flare instantly soared into the sky.
This was part of their plan. If the soft approach didn't work, they would have to resort to the hard approach and force him to resign.
This signal flare was meant to summon the 50,000-strong army waiting outside the city...................
The atmosphere in the imperial bedchamber was tense, with the second, fourth, and fifth princes surrounding the emperor and protecting him from behind.
The third prince sneered upon seeing this.
"Ha! Now everyone's putting on a show of filial piety, all of you hypocrites. Don't tell me you don't want the throne?"
The Fifth Prince stared directly at the Third Prince.
"Third brother, the throne belongs to Father, and it's entirely up to Father to decide who gets it..."
Seeing that the other princes were all under his control, the third prince felt much better.
"Does Father Emperor's word count?"
"Alright then. My father just said I am his most beloved son, so the throne will naturally pass to me."
The fourth prince curled his lip, his face full of doubt.
"Third brother, you said that Father Emperor passed the throne to you?"
Then why did you still force him to abdicate?
Isn't this a contradiction?
The third prince clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging all over his body. A wave of heat surged through him, making him feel like he was about to explode. His agitation intensified, and his patience vanished instantly.
"I'm taking this throne today..."
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