Chapter 298 Forged Imperial Edict
When the news came that Emperor Jiaping was suddenly seriously ill, it was followed by the news that Prince Ding had led his troops back to the capital without any imperial edict.
The court officials were in an uproar.
The Crown Prince's regent role was interrupted by Li Chengmu's blood splattering in the Golden Palace, but he never expected that in the blink of an eye, the Crown Prince would be needed to take charge of the situation.
The news that Prince Ding had surrounded the city with a large army and was planning a rebellion quickly spread in the capital. Then, General Xie Fengting led four battalions to guard the city gates.
The once bustling and bustling capital city became dead silent in just one day. No matter whether they were powerful or common people, they all closed their doors and hid in their homes.
Hearing the clattering sounds of soldiers and horses passing by on the long street outside, everyone was terrified...
The world is going to be in chaos! The world is going to be in chaos!
In the Imperial Study, Crown Prince Xiao Nanyu's face turned pale: "Lord, is there really no other way?"
When Xiao Nanyu and the Queen learned that Prince Ding was leading the Fengning Cavalry back to the capital, they became anxious... Precisely because they were once Xiao Nanchen's relatives, they knew even better how tyrannical and resourceful this son and brother was.
Xiao Nanchen is a man who values friendship, but once he turns against someone, he will not leave any chance for his opponent.
Xiao Nanyu hated and feared his younger brother. He hated that even though he was often compared with the seventh brother and was ridiculed, he had never thought of harming his younger brother. However, this younger brother kept chasing him and was determined to seize his throne.
While hating him, he was also afraid of this young war god who had never been defeated under his command...
In the past, his mother always told him that the seventh brother was ambitious and asked him to be on guard, but he never had any bad intentions and felt that his younger brother was not that kind of person.
But now, reality slapped him hard in the face.
Xiao Nanchen had clearly made preparations, otherwise... why would he have hidden the imperial seal before leaving Beijing.
Xiao Nanyu also hardened his heart and decided to follow his mother's wishes. When he forged the imperial edict and forcibly ascended the throne, he discovered that the jade seal in the imperial study was fake.
The real imperial seal has disappeared...
The Queen Mother said that the Emperor's illness came on suddenly, and there was no chance to make any arrangements. There was only one possibility for everything: it was the Seventh Prince!
The Seventh Brother seemed to be sent out of the capital against his will, but he had already made a plan. He hid the imperial seal and returned to the capital with his troops...
He did it on purpose!
He deliberately pretended to be forced to leave the capital, so that he and his mother would let down their guard and he would take the opportunity to seize power... but he replaced the imperial seal in advance and led his troops back to the capital at the right time.
Now, he, the confined prince, has left the Eastern Palace without any imperial order, and intends to seize power as regent. Once his father wakes up, he will have no way out.
He doesn't want to be the deposed crown prince... absolutely not!
Over the years, Xiao Nanyu has been deeply obsessed with everything that the imperial power has given him. Those brothers, no matter how talented they are in literary and military strategy, have to bow down to him.
At the same time, this period of house arrest also made him deeply aware of where he would be if he fell into poverty.
During the days of house arrest, not only did his Crown Princess Xu Wanqing mock him openly and secretly, but even the eunuchs and palace maids were visibly neglectful of him... because he had been deprived of power, and because there were rumors that his father was about to depose the crown prince.
It's easy to imagine how those who once looked up to him would sneer at him and trample him underfoot once he lost power...
He just doesn't want to be abandoned!
He also wanted to be a good emperor... at least not be idle like his father, but why, why did those people just not agree?
Looking at the fake jade seal in front of him, Xiao Nanyu's forehead veins throbbed: "How far is it from Prince Ding?"
Elder Xu said in a deep voice: "It's fifty miles away from the capital..."
There is no time!
Xiao Nanyu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The next moment, he picked up the forged jade seal with trembling hands and stamped it on the also forged edict of succession.
"My father is in a coma, having passed away. I have been entrusted with the task of inheriting the throne... Lord Xu, please go and prepare..."
Elder Xu slowly raised his eyes to look at the prince, whose face was pale and his expression was sinister. He sighed silently and replied solemnly, "Yes."
Outside the Imperial Study, the Imperial City was also in a dead silence...
As Lord Xu walked out with heavy steps, someone stepped forward and whispered, "Lord, the Second Prince has been taken to the Palace of Heavenly Purity."
Lord Xu raised his finger and the man suddenly disappeared.
In fact, it is very simple. Even though the crown prince's ascension to the throne now depends entirely on the support of this elder, the queen is so suspicious that she naturally dare not trust him completely. After all, his surname is Xu, and there is a concubine named Xu in the palace, and concubine Xu also has a prince.
Even though the Second Prince Xiao Nanrong was speechless, at this critical moment, the Queen naturally wanted to make sure everything was foolproof.
Soon, all civil and military officials were summoned to hold an emergency court meeting. Everyone knew that the prince was about to ascend the throne... and this was the most critical moment.
The crown prince controls the palace, but outside the capital there is an invincible Prince Ding... Many officials are wavering.
Should I be a loyal subject to the Crown Prince, or bet on the King's success...
But in the current situation, no matter how you look at it, the prince has already won: after all, the current emperor has not abolished the crown prince. Once the prince seizes power and becomes emperor with lightning speed, Prince Ding, who is blocked outside the capital, can only be regarded as a traitor.
Besides, the prince has Lord Xu by his side, who is in charge of everything.
That's why most officials chose to be obedient... After all, Emperor Jiaping wasn't a very good emperor, and it wouldn't make much difference if someone else took over. After all, Xu Ge Lao was in charge of the government, so even if someone else took over, it wouldn't make much difference.
So, rather than choosing the crown prince, it would be more accurate to say that these officials chose Lord Xu...
The court officials entered the Mingxin Hall one after another. At the same time, Wei Jinxiu, wearing the queen's court dress, brought a group of people to the Qianqing Palace.
Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Wei Fuhai, the personal eunuch of Emperor Jiaping, was terrified. He trembled and shouted in a shrill voice, asking his disciples and young eunuchs to block the way outside the palace together with the imperial guards. But then he saw that behind the deposed Empress Wei, rows of imperial guards began to emerge.
The imperial guards covered their faces with black scarves and charged towards the Palace of Heavenly Purity with murderous intent... The Imperial Guards immediately went to meet them.
However, the entire palace had been controlled, and the number of guards at the Qianqing Palace was limited. The commander of the guards led the way, shouting "Kill the traitors" and rushing forward, but was quickly pushed back by the imperial guards led by the deposed Queen Wei.
The Imperial Guards were under the command of General Xie Fengting. Now that Xie Fengting had defected to the Queen, the Imperial Guards obeyed the Queen's orders.
The imperial guards fell one after another, and the imperial guards approached the Palace of Heavenly Purity step by step...
At this moment, several black shadows suddenly emerged from the Qianqing Palace. Those shadows were the secret guards around Emperor Jiaping: the Yulong Guards.
The Yulong Guards were as powerful as the Changning Guards around Prince Ding. In an instant, those black-clad Yulong Guards blocked the approaching footsteps of the Royal Guards.
Just as the deposed Queen Wei led her men to surround the Qianqing Palace, elsewhere, Xu Wanqing, with a sneer on her face, led another team of imperial guards and headed straight for the Cining Palace.
The Cining Palace was also guarded by imperial guards. Xu Wanqing absolutely did not dare to bear the crime of offending the empress dowager. After surrounding the Cining Palace, she ordered people to shout loudly, "King Chen Ning of Beihai colluded with the traitor Xiao Nanchen to poison Your Majesty, we have come to arrest them." However, the gates of the Cining Palace were closed and no one paid any attention.
Xu Wanqing was determined to seize this opportunity to capture Shen Ning and cut her into pieces. Seeing that the Queen Mother was unmoved and clearly determined to protect Shen Ning, she gritted her teeth and said directly, "King Shen Ning of the North Sea is committing treason and holding the Queen Mother hostage. Everyone, listen to my order! Break down the palace gates, rescue the Queen Mother, and capture the traitor!"
"yes!"
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