The Emperor stared at Empress Hu's corpse with a somber expression. He knew that if the news got out, it would cause a huge uproar, but he still decided to break with the Duke of Enguo's mansion—it was either him or her.
General Shi stepped forward at this moment, his voice echoing in the hall: "Her Majesty the Empress has committed such a heinous crime that it is intolerable to Heaven! In order to protect Your Majesty, I had no choice but to kill her."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor nodded slightly, indicating his satisfaction.
He whispered to General Shi, "General Shi has rendered meritorious service in protecting the Emperor this time. After I remove the title of Duke of Enguo, I will certainly bestow a title upon you to recognize your merit."
Upon hearing this, General Shi was deeply moved. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed, shouting, "This humble general is willing to serve Your Majesty to the death!"
The emperor's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile.
His face quickly returned to its gloomy state, and he said coldly, "Kill those two lowly maids as well, and all the servants from the Duke's mansion, leave no one alive!"
General Shi accepted the order, stood up, waved his hand, and shouted, "Men, drag all these people out and kill them!"
The servants, already terrified, were struck dumb upon hearing the emperor's order to kill them. They collapsed to the ground, completely incapable of resistance. The imperial guards rushed forward like wolves and tigers, dragging them out of the hall without mercy.
Outside the hall, swords flashed, and screams echoed. Blood stained the ground, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.
The upheaval that occurred in the palace was like a turbulent storm rising from a calm lake, and was quickly reported out of the palace by spies.
"The Emperor personally killed the Empress and the servants of the Duke's mansion." A man in black flashed into a room like a ghost and reported this shocking news to the people inside.
"Is that so?" The room was dimly lit, and only a figure could be vaguely seen. His voice was hoarse and deep, as if it had been sanded.
Upon hearing the news, the hoarse voice chuckled softly, "Very good, even faster than my plan." His laughter echoed in the darkness, revealing a deep sense of calculation.
His voice was deep, husky, and authoritative as he asked again, "How are the newlyweds doing now?"
The man in black quickly bowed and replied, "Master, the newlyweds are enjoying a sweet and loving time. I just overheard them say that they're going to the courtyard tomorrow."
He nodded slightly in satisfaction and said softly, "Very good."
Immediately afterwards, he issued an order: "Go immediately and convey the news from the palace to the princes."
He then gave his instructions in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, which the man in black standing in front of him could barely hear.
"Go ahead."
The man in black respectfully replied, "Yes, sir."
After receiving the order, the man in black moved with lightning speed, disappearing from the house in the blink of an eye as if he had never been there.
Soon after, all the princes in the capital learned two important pieces of news: first, the emperor had actually killed the empress; second, the Duke's mansion seemed to know nothing about the matter.
When this news reached the Daru Prince's residence, chaos erupted within the palace.
That evening, Princess Lu suddenly discovered that everything in the storeroom had vanished. She screamed in terror, "Oh no! The palace has been robbed!"
At that moment, the Prince of Lu was enjoying himself with his beautiful wife while drinking and making muttered unhappily when he heard the princess's cry. "Has she gone mad? How could the palace be robbed?"
Before he could finish speaking, Chief Guard Huang rushed in to report, "It's terrible, Your Highness! All the valuables in the Prince's mansion have disappeared!"
"What?!" Upon hearing this, King Lu was struck dumb. He abruptly pushed away the beauty in his arms, stood up, and roared angrily, "Who did this?"
The head guard, Huang, ran to Prince Lu in a panic and stammered, "Your...Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The guards at the storeroom just confessed that they saw guards from the Duke's mansion flash past the storeroom. It must be the Duke's mansion that stole our valuables!"
Upon hearing this, the King of Lu was instantly enraged. His eyes widened, and he roared with fury, "What? Has that old scoundrel, Duke En, gone mad? He lost his own possessions and actually sent people to steal from me! Why doesn't he go and steal from the Princess's residence?"
The head guard, Huang, stood trembling to the side and cautiously reminded him, "Your Highness, do you think it's possible that he found out about what you said about the Duke of Enguo? Is that why he sent people to steal the valuables from the Prince of Lu's residence as revenge against you?"
After hearing this, King Lu calmed down a bit. He nodded thoughtfully and muttered to himself, "Hmm, that's certainly possible..."
One day, Prince Lu was extremely busy. He rushed to the outskirts of the capital and found Prince Song, who was recuperating in bed, to tell him about the domineering behavior of Duke En. "Brother, get well soon. We are all looking forward to your decision."
Prince Lu tirelessly traveled around to persuade other princes and dukes to realize the danger of the maternal relatives' power being too strong, and called on everyone to work together to find a way to get rid of these maternal relatives.
"The maternal relatives are too powerful. If we don't find a way out, none of us princes will survive!" Prince Lu said worriedly.
He knew that the threat posed by the power of maternal relatives to the royal family had reached its most dangerous point. The Duke of Enguo dared to bully and beat even the princess and her husband. Wouldn't the princes be next?
Knowing that he had offended the Duke of Enguo, which led to the Duke absconding with the royal family's wealth, the Prince of Lu wished he could immediately go to the palace to complain to the Emperor.
Seeing the impending crisis, he suppressed his anxiety and made a decision: "I will go to the palace early this morning to report this matter to His Majesty and beg His Majesty to do justice for me!"
Just as King Lu made this decision, a eunuch rushed in, looking flustered. He was panting heavily, his face filled with terror, as if he had witnessed something extremely frightening.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! According to news from the palace, the Emperor has actually killed the Empress! Moreover, the Emperor also massacred the Empress's palace and killed all the servants sent to the palace by the Duke of Enguo's mansion!" The eunuch's voice trembled, clearly terrified by the news.
Upon hearing this, Prince Lu stood up abruptly as if struck by lightning, his face filled with astonishment. "What exactly is going on? Why is His Majesty so resolute? Isn't he afraid that the Duke's Mansion will lead its troops into the capital because of this?"
The Prince of Lu was filled with questions and worries; he simply couldn't understand why the Emperor would suddenly take such a step.
King Lu was extremely excited at this moment, his heart was swept by a wave of fervent emotion.
On one hand, he was overjoyed that the Emperor had executed Empress Hu, as it meant that a major rival in his court power struggles had been eliminated. On the other hand, his thoughts involuntarily turned to the ruthless Duke Enguo, knowing that Hu Tongtian would not let the matter rest.
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