Chapter 127 Opposition 2
Karen's fingers holding the coronation platform finally stopped shaking. Lin Zhixiong's emergency public relations seemed to have given him a shot of adrenaline.
Even his voice rose a few notches, and his previous cowardice was covered by layers of arrogance.
The loudspeaker spread throughout every corner of the council hall: "Great! That's really great!"
He pointed suddenly at the darkened star screen to the west, and the ruby on his dress shone brightly with his movement.
"The Second Prince and Ye Heng! They colluded with each other and used a fake video to disrupt my coronation ceremony? Do they really think the entire empire is stupid?
Five years ago, during the battle to recapture Gamma Star, I was clearly on Central Star, but they were fine;
Ye Heng, conceited by his achievements, turned around and rebelled against the empire; the Second Prince, jealous of my impending succession, actually helped outsiders frame his own brother!
Lin Zhixiong frowned when he heard this. It wasn't that he thought Karen was shameless in confusing right and wrong.
But Lin Zhixiong felt that some things could be said later and he should take the throne first. He originally wanted to stop it,
But Karen became more and more excited as she spoke, her eyes sweeping across the guests like a knife.
"And everyone present, who was just joining in the commotion? Who was questioning me based on a video of unknown origin?
I tell you, I will remember what happened today!
If Ye Heng and Vic's conspiracy succeeds, the empire will fall into civil strife, and the Zerg will take the opportunity to counterattack.
By then, your titles, fiefdoms, and family honor will all be gone!"
He paused deliberately, waiting for the threatening words to sink into everyone's ears, before putting on a magnanimous face again, but the corners of his mouth curled up in a cold and hard arc:
"But it's not too late to turn back now. As long as you believe that these are fabricated evidences by Ye Heng to expose Second Brother's conspiracy, I will forgive you.
But if someone is stubborn and insists on following the traitor——"
Having said this, he raised his hand and placed it on the sword at his waist. The gem on the hilt shone with a cold light.
"The laws of the empire are unforgiving. Now, who still opposes my succession to the throne?"
He practically shouted the last sentence, and the council hall fell silent.
The nobles were talking among themselves, not looking at him; the military generals looked at each other, their hands frozen on the military emblem.
Lin Zhixiong's words just now had already shaken them, and now Karen's threat was like a stone weighing on their hearts. No one wanted to gamble with the fate of their family.
The live broadcast barrage also fell silent for a few seconds, with only a few scattered comments of "Why not just forget it?", and the anger just now was gradually overshadowed by the threats.
Karen looked at the dead silence, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes.
Just as he was about to signal the ceremonial officer to continue the ceremony, a low, yet weighty voice suddenly rang out from the entrance to the council hall:
"I object."
These three words, like being squeezed out from a rusty iron pipe, penetrated all the silence and struck everyone's heart hard.
Everyone turned their heads to look at the door. The heavy carved alloy door was slowly being pushed open.
The afternoon sun poured in through the crack in the door, casting several long shadows on the ground.
The person who appeared at the door was Ye Mang, holding a wheelchair with both hands.
The wheelchair's armrests were intricately carved with double-headed lion patterns, the chair was wrapped in dark purple velvet, and even the edges of the wheels were inlaid with fine silver trim.
The old emperor was sitting in a wheelchair, his face pale from illness, and he was covered with a dark blanket.
Behind Ye Mang, four members of the Chiying team followed them in an orderly manner.
The badges on their black and red combat uniforms were particularly eye-catching in the sunlight. They pressed their hands on the energy guns at their waists, and swept their sharp eyes across the hall, instantly building up an invisible deterrent.
Everyone's movements froze at this moment.
The Imperial Family's Zong Zheng had just bent down to pick up the "Imperial Oath Collection" that had fallen to the ground, but his hand stopped in mid-air, and he forgot to hold his reading glasses when they slipped to the tip of his nose.
At the aristocratic table, a countess was holding a bouquet of celebratory flowers, but she dropped it on the ground out of shock, but she was completely unaware.
Cang Lin's serious expression was replaced by shock;
Even Karen on the coronation platform seemed to be under a spell, with her mouth open for a long time.
The old emperor, who he claimed was dying of natural causes, actually appeared here alive in a wheelchair!
The council hall was so quiet that one could hear one's own heartbeat, and even breathing seemed to freeze.
The guests who were just talking quietly now stared at the door with wide eyes.
No one dared to speak or move, as if they had collectively forgotten what to do next.
The broadcast comment barrage also fell into a brief blank, and after a few seconds, dense "!!!" poured out, but no one made a complete comment.
Everyone was shocked by this sudden scene.
When the dead silence lasted for nearly ten seconds, the old emperor slowly raised his eyes, his gaze passed over the crowd and fell accurately on Karen on the coronation platform.
His voice was still hoarse from his illness, but it was more penetrating than Karen's roar just now. Like a blunt knife, it pierced into everyone's heart.
"I object."
The moment these three words fell, the parliament hall seemed to have pressed the restart button and instantly came alive.
"Your Majesty! It's Your Majesty!" The exclamation of the Imperial Clan Chief was the first to break the silence.
He stumbled to his feet and nearly fell to the ground;
The sound of chairs falling to the ground could be heard from the noble seats. Someone rushed out to get closer to the door, but was stopped by the Red Shadow team members.
General Cang Lin raised his right hand and gave a standard military salute in the direction of the old emperor, saying in a resounding voice: "Greetings, Your Majesty! May Your Majesty be well!"
The generals in the military seats followed suit, and the neat military salutes and greetings made people's eardrums tremble.
Lin Zhixiong's face instantly turned from pale to ghastly, and he subconsciously reached for the microcontroller in his sleeve.
That was the switch used to fully activate the toxin in Karen's brooch, but her fingers were shaking so much that she couldn't press it.
If the old emperor is alive, it means that all his and Karen’s plans have come to nothing, and may even lead to the destruction of the clan!
The one who collapsed the most was Karen. He stumbled back two steps and hit his back hard on the guardrail of the coronation stage.
He gasped in pain, but ignored the pain and muttered to himself:
"Impossible... You've clearly... already..." He wanted to say 'already killed by the increased dose of the drug',
But under the old emperor's gaze, the rest of the words were like broken strings, and he couldn't utter a single word.
The live broadcast barrage was completely blown away, and the comments flooded the screen like a tide:
"Alive! His Majesty is alive! Karen, the regicide!"
"I knew something was wrong! The Third Prince actually forged the news of His Majesty's death and usurped the throne!"
"Lin Zhixiong just helped to cover up the lie. The two of them are accomplices in the rebellion! Arrest them!"
"Don't even think about running away, Karen! Pull him off the coronation stage!"
Ye Mang pushed the wheelchair and walked towards the coronation stage step by step under the escort of the Chiying team members.
The wheelchair wheels rolled over the golden brick floor, making a "gurgle, gurgle" sound.
The old emperor looked at the panicked Karen on the coronation platform. There was no anger in his eyes, only a kind of indifference that saw through everything:
"Karen, do you deserve this position?"
Karen opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
He watched as more and more people saluted the old emperor from the stage, and saw Lin Zhixiong's panic that he couldn't even hide.
Suddenly I realized that no matter how powerful Lin Zhixiong's emergency public relations were, he couldn't stop a living old emperor;
No matter how harsh his threats were, they were nothing more than the clamour of a clown in the face of orthodoxy.
The coronation ceremony he carefully planned ultimately became a joke, a joke that completely ruined his future.
-
Karen leaned her back against the guardrail, her breathing trembling.
The old emperor's gaze was like a dense net, trapping all his sophistry and luck.
The living emperor, the intimidation of the Red Shadow team members, the changing looks of the guests below the stage, each one of them told him:
It’s time to end this farce of succession.
"I... am indeed unworthy." He finally managed to squeeze out a few words, his voice so hoarse that it was almost inaudible.
The originally straight back completely collapsed, as if all the bones had been pulled out.
He didn't even dare to look into the old emperor's eyes, and could only stare at the carpet of the coronation platform.
Looking at the patterns embroidered on it, I felt that the golden patterns hurt my eyes.
But just as these three words fell, a sharp burning pain suddenly came from my left chest.
It was not a gradual pain, but a sharp pain like a scalding needle suddenly piercing the heart and then exploding along the blood vessels.
Karen's pupils suddenly contracted, and she subconsciously wanted to raise her hand to touch her chest.
Just as his fingertips were raised halfway into the air, all his strength seemed to be drained away in an instant, and his arm slammed back to his side.
"Ugh..." He let out a short, muffled groan from his throat, and his face turned from pale to dark blue at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter even a syllable, and his vision began to blur rapidly.
Lin Zhixiong's face near the stage became a double image, and the old emperor's outline in the distance gradually became distorted.
Only the burning pain became more and more intense, as if countless flames were burning and spreading in the blood vessels.
He didn't know what was happening, he just felt his internal organs churning and a fishy, sweet, hot liquid surged in his throat.
The next second, he suddenly fell forward, his body hitting the ground of the coronation platform.
There was a muffled "bang" sound, and the table seemed to tremble.
"puff--"
A mouthful of black blood spurted out from the corner of his mouth and splashed on the ground, like a strange flower that suddenly bloomed.
His limbs twitched unconsciously twice, his fingers scratched the ground, leaving a few messy bloodstains, and then he became completely stiff and motionless.
The eyes were still wide open, the pupils were dilated, and there was a last trace of confusion and pain in the bottom of the eyes.
Until his death, he never understood why he was suddenly hit by this fatal blow.
The whole audience fell into silence.
Everyone's movements stopped where they were. The Imperial Clan Leader was about to step forward to the old emperor when his steps suddenly stopped.
The military personnel cast sharp glances at the coronation platform; the whispers in the noble seats suddenly stopped, and everyone stared with wide eyes.
Looking at the man who built a tall building and then collapsed, he was now lying on the stage like a dead dog.
Black blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth, and he looked lifeless.
Even the old emperor was stunned. After all, it was his own bloodline.
Although Karen usurped the throne, he never thought of executing him in public.
Ye Mang also stopped because of this sudden change. Lin Yao's gaze fell on Karen's body, and a hint of inquiry flashed across his eyes.
The poison took effect too quickly and strangely, it didn't seem like a natural attack.
The dead silence lasted for only three seconds before an overwhelming uproar suddenly erupted in the council hall:
"Why did Karen die?!"
"That blood is black! Clearly poisoned!"
"He was poisoned just as he was about to admit it. Isn't that too much of a coincidence?"
"Who poisoned me?"
Many people subconsciously turned their eyes to Lin Zhixiong, who was closest to them.
Lin Zhixiong stood there, receiving one suspicious look after another, his fingers in his sleeves still pressing hard on the microcontroller.
He looked at Karen who was killed instantly on the coronation stage, his heart pounding, but he forced himself to calm down.
Very good, a quick death without a chance to confront him, this is exactly what he wanted.
Before everyone's suspicions could ferment, Lin Zhixiong's face was instantly filled with shock and sadness, and his voice trembled with a deliberately raised voice:
"Your Majesty! What...what's going on?! How could Her Highness Karen suddenly be poisoned?!"
As he shouted, he quietly put the controller in his sleeve into the hidden pocket inside his dress.
He quickly pressed the controller three times with his fingertips in his pocket, and the operation records in the controller were instantly destroyed, without leaving even a trace.
After doing all this, he staggered a few steps in grief, knelt on one knee in front of the old emperor, lowered his head, and said in a voice full of grievance:
"Your Majesty! The Third Prince is gone like this. What should my daughter do?"
These words were spoken with tears in his eyes, and coupled with his shocked expression, he really looked like a pitiful father.
Many people looked hesitant. After all, Karen died suddenly and did not leave any words. They could not suspect Lin Zhixiong just because he was close to her.
But the old emperor was not one to be perfunctory, and he signaled someone to check the body.
Lin Zhixiong watched helplessly as the Royal Guards, who had received orders, gradually approached the coronation platform.
The light shone on the coronation stage. Karen's body began to cool, but it reflected the cold red light of the brooch.
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