Royal Palace
In a secluded corner of the Cold Palace, the Empress's coffin lay forlornly. Around the coffin, only a few eunuchs stood silently guarding it, their heads bowed in the large, dilapidated courtyard, looking rather forlorn.
The atmosphere in the Imperial Study was unusually heavy. The Emperor sat expressionless on the dragon throne, his gaze cold and distant. Officials from the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs stood below, trembling with fear, awaiting the Emperor's decree.
The Emperor's voice was calm and indifferent as he instructed the officials of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs: "The Empress suddenly fell ill last night and unfortunately passed away. This afternoon, you shall move the Empress's coffin to the Imperial Mausoleum for burial."
The officials inside the room knew perfectly well what had happened the night before—the Emperor had personally stabbed the Empress to death.
However, they never expected that the emperor would be so resolute, not only refusing to hold a funeral or even announce it to the world, but also hastily burying the empress.
The officials exchanged glances, secretly wondering: How could the Duke of Enguo let this go? After all, the Empress was the Duke of Enguo's own daughter!
Prime Minister Xiao blinked and parted his lips slightly, as if he wanted to say something to persuade the Emperor to change his mind.
When his gaze met the emperor's cold eyes, he suddenly felt an invisible pressure bearing down on him.
Prime Minister Xiao felt as if something was blocking his throat, and the words that were about to come out were instantly swallowed back. He involuntarily lowered his head, not daring to meet the Emperor's gaze again, fearing that he would anger the Emperor and bring about his own death.
Furthermore, the Emperor had promised him last night, "Prime Minister, your daughter will be made Empress after the New Year."
Thinking of this, Prime Minister Xiao raised his head and looked at the officials inside the room.
The officials of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs stood there dumbfounded, none daring to respond to the Emperor's words. They looked at each other, their eyes revealing hesitation.
Seeing the officials' obsequious manner, the emperor's anger flared even more.
He slammed his hand on the armrest of the dragon throne, stood up, and roared angrily, "What are you afraid of? This world still belongs to the Zhao family, it still belongs to me! Do you dare to disobey my decree?"
"Your Majesty, we obey!" the officials hurriedly bowed and replied in unison.
The emperor then calmed down and waved his hand impatiently, "Go and do your work. I still have court affairs to attend to."
"Yes, sir." The officials bowed and withdrew, and the prime minister also bowed and took his leave.
Just then, a dignified figure strode in from outside the door. Dressed in general's attire, he walked steadily into the hall, knelt to pay his respects, and loudly reported, "Your Majesty, the Duke of En harbors treacherous intentions and plots a rebellion. We have already assassinated all those he sent to mobilize the troops and taken their heads. Now, we have completely surrounded the Duke's mansion, awaiting Your Majesty's decree, so we can storm in and capture that traitor in one fell swoop!" This man was Huang Kuan, the general guarding the city.
Huang Kuan and Huang, the chief bodyguard of Prince Lu, were brothers. Their father, Huang Weicun, had always been the imperial guard general of the late emperor. Their eldest son, Huang Ding, had been a bodyguard of the former crown prince. When the former crown prince was executed, all the bodyguards were killed together.
Because Huang Weicun was arranged by the late emperor to protect the seventh prince, who is now the emperor, his family was not implicated at all. On the contrary, they were given important positions after the emperor ascended the throne.
Upon hearing General Huang's words, the officials outside the hall were greatly alarmed and slowed their pace, whispering amongst themselves.
After all, Duke Enguo wields considerable power in the court, and if he were to be completely eradicated, it would likely cause a huge uproar.
Inside the room, the Emperor sat on his dragon throne. Upon hearing General Huang's report, he was overjoyed. He stood up, walked to Huang Kuan, patted him on the shoulder, and praised him, "Good! General Huang has made a great contribution this time. I will surely reward him handsomely... Ah..." Before he could finish speaking, the Emperor suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream.
In an instant, the guards in the hall rushed towards the dragon throne like startled birds, eager to protect the emperor.
The officials who had been lingering outside the palace now disregarded everything else and rushed back, crowding into the Imperial Study.
When everyone rushed into the house, the scene before them left them speechless—a gleaming longsword was stuck in the emperor's chest, piercing straight through his back, and blood gushed out like a spring, staining his dragon robe and the ground red.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden scene, their faces filled with horror.
At this moment, General Huang suddenly shouted, "This is Duke Enguo who sent me to avenge him!" With that, he drew his long sword, and the blade flashed through the air. Then, like a bird, he leaped onto the roof beam and disappeared without a trace in a few flashes, leaving the guards and officials standing there in terror.
Upon hearing the shouts of the crowd, Prime Minister Xiao's heart tightened. He stared wide-eyed at the scene before him in disbelief—the Emperor had suddenly passed away!
"Summon the imperial physician immediately!" Prime Minister Xiao shouted, his voice echoing deafeningly throughout the hall. However, before his words could even finish, the emperor's eyes slowly closed, as if he had lost all life.
Everyone who witnessed this sudden turn of events was stunned and speechless, at a loss for what to do.
They looked at each other, muttering, "What do we do? What do we do now?" Fear and panic spread through the crowd like a plague.
With the emperor's death and the absence of an heir, the country was facing a leaderless situation. All eyes turned to Prime Minister Xiao, as if he were the only one capable of saving the nation.
"Prime Minister, think of a solution quickly!" someone shouted anxiously.
“A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day, otherwise the world will surely descend into chaos!” another person echoed.
A fine layer of sweat appeared on Prime Minister Xiao's forehead. His heart was pounding, and his throat was so dry he could barely speak. But he knew that at this moment, he had to step forward, or the consequences would be unimaginable.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his fear, and said, "Everyone, don't panic. We...we need to quickly come up with a solution."
"Prime Minister, tell us quickly what to do?" the crowd asked in unison, their eyes fixed on Prime Minister Xiao, as if they had placed all their hopes on him.
With a solemn expression, Prime Minister Xiao pointed in the direction of the Prince's residence and said softly, "According to the order of seniority, His Highness Prince Song is the most qualified to inherit the throne. However, regrettably, he is not in the capital at the moment, but is recuperating in the royal villa outside the capital."
"How about we choose Prince Lu..." The Prime Minister hesitated.
Before he could finish speaking, the Imperial Clan Court official suddenly interjected, "In my opinion, Prince Song is the most suitable. After all, Prince Lu has yet to have an heir." His implication was clear: even if Prince Lu ascended the throne, the lack of a son to be named as crown prince would likely cause many problems in the future succession to the throne.
Prime Minister Xiao nodded slightly, indicating his agreement with the Imperial Clan Court official's viewpoint.
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