As King Lu traveled, his mood grew increasingly heavy.
From afar, he could see that the palace and its surroundings were completely surrounded by a large number of soldiers and imperial guards, layer upon layer, making it impenetrable.
The scene filled him with panic, and a sense of foreboding washed over him.
"What on earth is going on? Why are there so many troops in the palace?" King Lu pondered to himself. "Could something major have happened?" The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, and his steps became somewhat unsteady.
When Prince Lu stepped into the palace, he found that he could pass through without any hindrance or obstruction. This surprised him greatly, but he had no time to worry about such things at the moment; he had only one thought in his mind—to see the Emperor as soon as possible.
Prince Lu hurried through the palace corridors and headed straight for the imperial study. The moment he stepped inside, a strong stench of blood assaulted his nostrils. He looked closely and saw the emperor covered in blood, lying dead on the ground.
"Ah!" Prince Lu cried out in shock, "The Emperor has died? Who did this?" His voice echoed in the empty imperial study, filled with fear and despair.
King Lu stood frozen in place, his expression completely out of control, filled with astonishment and disbelief.
He couldn't accept the reality before him. How could the emperor have suddenly passed away? And in such a tragic way at that.
“Brother Lu, it was the Duke of En who sent men to kill the Emperor,” the Prince of Song said through gritted teeth. “We must avenge the Emperor!”
Upon hearing King Song's words, King Lu seemed to awaken from a dream. His body trembled violently, and he nodded repeatedly in agreement: "Yes, revenge! We must take revenge!"
Seeing this, the King of Song seized the opportunity and suggested, "Brother Lu, why don't you ascend to the throne? That way, you can rightfully avenge the Emperor."
"Ah!" When King Lu heard that the Song Emperor wanted him to ascend the throne as emperor, his eyes widened like two copper bells, and his mouth opened so wide that an egg could fit inside.
A look of ecstatic joy slowly spread across his already obese face, like a blooming chrysanthemum.
Which prince wouldn't want to be emperor? It's the supreme power and glory!
Prince Lu was no exception; he had always coveted the throne, but unfortunately, he was unlucky and never succeeded.
The prime minister and officials watched the two royal brothers with blank expressions, secretly enjoying a wonderful palace intrigue performance.
Before being compared with the Prince of Lu, the Prince of Song was always seen as a low-key and honest prince, and his image gave people a gentle and humble feeling.
Everything changed when the King of Lu stood beside him.
Through this comparison, the King of Song's cunning and shrewdness were fully revealed, while the King of Lu appeared much simpler, even somewhat naive. To put it nicely, the King of Lu was a truly honest prince; but to put it bluntly, he was a foolish prince.
King Lu was clearly unaware of the situation before him; he could not see through King Song's true intentions at all.
The fact that the King of Song brought such a large army clearly indicates he came prepared, and it was no coincidence. Faced with this situation, how could the King of Song easily relinquish the throne that was about to be his? It was obviously an impossible thing to do.
Although the prime minister and the officials already knew the truth, they all kept their mouths shut and chose not to participate in this power struggle.
They knew that in this situation, only by staying out of it could they avoid getting into unnecessary trouble and disaster.
Just as King Lu was so excited that he was about to nod in agreement with King Song's proposal without hesitation, General Huang suddenly stepped forward and quickly stopped King Lu from speaking.
"This humble general believes it is unacceptable. Several of Prince Lu's guards are still being interrogated in the dungeon..." Before General Huang could finish speaking, Prince Lu's face turned deathly pale.
His neck snapped back like a turtle's, and he inwardly groaned in despair.
He suddenly remembered the shady dealings he had previously sent people to do. If these guards confessed everything during the interrogation, even if he ascended the throne, he probably wouldn't last long!
Thinking of this, King Lu felt a pang of panic, but being a shrewd and calculating man, he quickly calmed down and made a decision.
He took a deep breath and said sincerely, "It would be better if Prince Song ascended the throne." He wanted to gain the great merit of supporting the new emperor and become the prince's most trusted person, so that he would surely wield immense power in the court in the future.
Taking this opportunity, Prime Minister Xiao hurriedly crawled a few steps to King Song and earnestly said, "Your Highness, the court is currently in turmoil and urgently needs a wise ruler to take charge. If you do not ascend the throne, I fear the world will descend into chaos! I implore Your Highness to consider the well-being of the people and ascend the throne as soon as possible!"
"No, no! Absolutely not!" King Song shook his head repeatedly, his attitude unusually resolute.
He further argued, "Only by selecting a person with both virtue and talent as the new emperor can one become a wise ruler."
All the officials and imperial guards present had earnest expressions on their faces as they knelt down and pleaded, "Please, new emperor, ascend the throne and take charge of the affairs of the court. The country cannot be without a ruler for even a day!" Their voices rose and fell, echoing in the empty hall, creating an atmosphere of extraordinary solemnity.
Faced with the earnest requests of the crowd, King Song waved his hands repeatedly and firmly refused, saying, "No, no." His attitude was very firm, as if there was no room for negotiation.
Huang Kuan suddenly stepped forward. With a wave of his arm, all the guards and soldiers knelt down in unison, as if they were well-trained, and shouted in unison to the Song King, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" The deafening shouts seemed to break through the roof and reach the sky.
Immediately afterwards, Huang Kuan produced a glittering golden dragon robe as if by magic.
He stepped forward quickly, carefully draped the dragon robe over the Song King's shoulders, and then respectfully said, "Please, Your Majesty, ascend the throne."
Seeing this, the King of Song sighed helplessly, stretched out his hands, and put on the dragon robe. His movements seemed somewhat slow, as if he was not very willing, but in the end he still reluctantly completed the action.
As he put on his dragon robe, King Song sighed, "Alas, I originally wanted to be a carefree king, far from the strife of the court, and enjoy my life in peace. Who would have thought that such a change would occur? The world needs me, the court needs me, and all my beloved ministers need me. Since that is the case, then I can only accept it." His words revealed a hint of helplessness, but at the same time, they were mixed with some undisguised excitement.
Although he spoke with great reluctance, a brilliant light shone in the eyes of the King of Song, revealing a deep desire for power and an expectation for the future.
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