The culprit collapsed on the bed and floor, while the old eunuch stood expressionless before the dragon bed, watching his master.
The leader of the secret guards stared in disbelief at the situation before him, almost fainting.
Several breaths passed before the leader of the guards reacted, roaring furiously, "Seize them! Don't let these traitors escape!"
The old eunuch turned around and calmly looked at the blood-soaked leader of the imperial guards. For the first time, his hunched back straightened, as straight as an arrow. The leader of the imperial guards suddenly realized that this old man beside the emperor was actually quite tall.
With the emperor dead, the palace was truly leaderless. The head of the secret guards was at a loss for what to do. He could only temporarily detain the old eunuch and the palace maids.
The Hongying Guards were loyal only to the Emperor and would not collude with any civil or military officials at such a critical juncture. Just as he was hesitating about which prince to inform, a subordinate suddenly leaped forward and reported, "The Princess has arrived!"
The secret guard seemed to have found his backbone—who in the court and the country didn't know that the eldest princess was the emperor's most beloved daughter? Although he was a bit stupid and cowardly, it was still better than having a secret guard like him in charge of the overall situation.
When Princess Pingzhao arrived outside the emperor's bedchamber, she was first startled by the corpses lying all over the ground outside the palace. Upon entering the bedchamber, she was so horrified by her father's tragic state that she nearly fainted!
The head of the secret guards had to explain the situation to the princess to calm the foolish and weak-willed woman down.
As the leader of the secret guards, he was not entirely without cunning. Princess Pingzhao's arrival at the palace at such a sensitive and coincidental moment made her highly suspicious.
The leader couldn't help but probe, "I didn't know the princess had arrived here so early in the morning..."
Princess Pingzhao cried, “Today is the anniversary of the late Empress’s death… My father and I used to worship together every year… Heavens! On the same day, I lost both my mother and my father!”
Princess Pingzhao was in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Only then did the head of the secret guards remember that the Ghost Festival was the anniversary of the late Empress's death.
On this day, the emperor would hold a grand celebration every year. Not only would he hold a grand sacrificial ceremony, but he would also set up a huge altar to summon the soul and invite eighty-one eminent monks to chant sutras for the late empress.
The sacrificial ceremony was complex, and as the late empress's only child, Princess Pingzhao would naturally have to personally oversee it. Therefore, it was reasonable for her to arrive at the palace at the crack of dawn.
Princess Pingzhao tearfully summoned several senior officials to the palace. In the blink of an eye, the four princes who had rebelled outside the palace were captured. Of course, all of this was thanks to the emperor's clever and skillful planning, who had laid a trap for his sons long ago.
The emperor's most trusted senior officials were all civil servants who had served him for many years. Seeing such a hero meet such an end, they were both shocked and saddened. However, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and the emperor, in the prime of his life, had suddenly died in such a disgraceful manner, without leaving a single word of his will... What should be done?
Logically, the heir should be chosen from among the emperor's remaining sons. The emperor originally had seven or eight sons and about ten daughters, but after so many years of court intrigue, only five princes have survived to adulthood.
Of the five princes, the eighth prince's maternal grandfather's family had just been raided by the emperor. What was found was a luminous pearl larger than the tribute items in the Forbidden City, a gold crown larger than the emperor's dragon crown, Kasyapa camphor wood known for its ability to "revive the dead and heal bones"—something not even found in the imperial treasury; and the Azalea Shadow Brocade, a tribute from Nansang, of which even the emperor only had two bolts, yet the eighth prince's maternal grandfather's family had half a warehouse full of it.
The emperor was furious and had the entire maternal family of the eighth prince wiped out. In his rage, he exclaimed, "Even if the whole world were to die, would this son still be unworthy of being a ruler?"
The emperor's words are law, and there is no reason for him to go back on his word. Therefore, the eighth prince bid farewell to the throne forever.
In other words, the emperor only had four sons left to choose from.
—That's right, those four who were neatly tied up outside the palace because of treason.
Even in the finale, "The Tale of Clouds" didn't abandon its dark humor. This short plot segment is full of twists and turns, with each element linked to the next, making the audience laugh non-stop.
All four sons were accused of patricide and regicide. Forget about inheriting the throne; it would be a miracle if they even survived!
The veteran ministers were suddenly faced with a dilemma—what should they do now?
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