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dong dong dong.
The head rolled to the feet of the Prince of Pingnan, scaring him so much that he turned pale.
He abruptly took a few steps back, distancing himself from Ye Gucheng, and pointed at him with a trembling hand, "Are you crazy?"
Ye Gucheng gave him a disdainful look.
To conspire with these two good-for-nothings like this, what else could I be but insane?
I originally thought the heir of the Prince of Pingnan had the makings of a remarkable person, but now it seems he's just a good-for-nothing.
Ultimately, it was Prince Pingnan who was ruthless enough to be willing to sacrifice his own life and the lives of everyone else to pave the way for his son.
"Your Highness, the situation is hopeless."
"Ye Gucheng, how dare you call me Prince in front of them?!"
"Fool, I'm just letting you down out of pity. Even if you were the real emperor, you would still die at the hands of the Wise Prince today. Does it even matter if you're real or not?"
"I have the blood of the Zhu family. If I kill the emperor and seize the founding imperial seal, I will be the new emperor!"
The heir apparent of the Prince of Pingnan burst into laughter, "What right does he have to touch me?"
"I am protected by the dragon vein..."
A flash of sword light appeared, silver light like a dragon, tearing through the golden dragon aura that the Prince of Pingnan relied on, and beheading him with a single sword strike.
Heads fell to the ground.
The resentment in his eyes was exactly the same as that of the previous emperors.
"Noisy."
Chu Yang glanced at him with pity and then took the jade seal from his arms into his hand.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, he crushed it into powder with a look of disdain.
"Useless things."
Golden light shone brightly in the imperial study, and the golden dragon aura manifested from the dragon vein hovered above everyone's heads. Cao Zhengchun and the others revealed greed in their eyes.
The dragon vein is connected to the fate of the nation. Just one breath of it can greatly enhance one's power. That's how those red-robed eunuchs were trained. After they die, they will naturally return the dragon energy to heaven and earth.
Chu Yang opened his palm and did nothing; the dragon energy obediently landed in his palm and turned into a ball of golden light, without needing any jade seal as an aid.
I don't care about your national destiny or dragon veins. If you don't obey, just disappear completely!
Unlike previous emperors who treated him with courtesy, Chu Yang was filled with naked murderous intent from the inside out.
Dragon veins possess a spirit, and naturally they can sense these things.
"Cao Zhengchun, come and collect the Emperor's body."
"Old slave obeys the order."
"Eunuch Cao, I am not the emperor yet."
"Your Majesty, a country cannot be without a ruler for even a day."
Chu Yang shook his head and chuckled. This old dog really knew how to flatter; even he found it somewhat pleasant.
"Your Highness, let me handle the burial of His Majesty's body."
Unlike Cao Zhengchun, Guo Bujing did not change his way of addressing Chu Yang.
In his view, as long as Chu Yang has not officially ascended the throne, he is still a wise king.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Guo."
Chu Yang took one last look at the emperor's corpse before leaving the imperial study, followed closely by Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian.
"May I ask, Your Highness, how do you intend to deal with me?" Ye Gucheng asked.
"I've already said it, you should die at the top of the Forbidden City."
Afterwards, Ye Gucheng returned to the decisive battle location and, as agreed, faced off against Ximen Chuixue.
All the previous farces are no longer important.
All that remained in everyone's eyes was the duel itself.
Chu Yang witnessed the entire process of Ye Gucheng's defeat and death, and also saw the unparalleled celestial being descending from the heavens.
The next day.
News of the emperor's death spread throughout the land.
Chapter 198. The world is draped in mourning! Zhu ignores the objections!
198.
The bell tolled thirty thousand times, and the whole world was dressed in mourning.
Even before winter, the capital city was already covered in snow.
Nobody knows how the emperor died during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and most ordinary people don't care; they just cry and that's it.
They didn't have much affection for the emperor; in contrast, the纨绔贤王 (a spoiled and dissolute prince) was more often in the public eye.
The sound of weeping continued inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The princes were heartbroken, the ministers were heartbroken, but the most heartbroken of all was Yan Song, who cried as if his own father had died, and no one in the entire court could cry louder than him.
Anyone who saw him would sincerely praise him, saying, "Grand Secretary Yan is loyal to the emperor and loves his country."
Whether Yan Song was loyal to the emperor or loved his country is unknown, but his suffering was certainly real.
His son died at the hands of the demons, and the emperor who had always favored him suddenly passed away. In just a few days, he had lost everything. Anyone would have burst into tears in his shoes.
In factional struggles, the situation can change in an instant. No matter how capable Grand Secretary Yan is, if an emperor who doesn't like him comes along, he will still have to obediently step down.
Not to mention that Xu Jie, who is even more capable, is waiting below.
Now that things have come to this point, Grand Secretary Yan has a lot of political enemies. If a real purge were to take place, he might not be able to leave the capital alive.
Compared to the civil officials, the military officers were more composed; at least none of them cried like Grand Secretary Yan.
Two marquises and one gatekeeper, two factories and one guard, only three people stood in the imperial court.
Iron-Blooded Marquis Zhu Wushi, Zhuge Marquis Zhuge Zhengwo, and the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Zheng Dongliu.
The three men stood motionless, eyes downcast, like three thousand-year-old stone statues.
Many people were secretly observing them. It could be said that whether the court would descend into chaos depended entirely on the attitude of these six people.
If everyone sits down and talks properly, things will naturally be peaceful. But the real danger is that someone might try to profit from the situation in secret.
Iron-Blooded Marquis Zhu Wushi is the most unique one among them.
The emperor died suddenly without even appointing a crown prince. Theoretically, it wouldn't be unreasonable for his uncle to try and seize power.
After all, the abnormality of the Demon Kingdom frightened everyone. A stronger emperor would at least make people feel safer.
Moreover, even if Zhu Wushi fails to ascend the throne, according to convention, he would become a regent or similar figure to help the young emperor clear obstacles in the court and establish the imperial authority.
In short, Zhu Wushi benefited the most from the deaths of this emperor.
Because he was the biggest beneficiary, people inevitably associated the emperor's mysterious death with this special Iron-Blooded Marquis.
At this moment, voices of discussion began to circulate among the officials.
Even if they spoke in hushed tones, it would still reach the ears of the three martial arts experts.
The white-haired and bearded Zhuge Shenhou did not resemble a warrior, but rather a Taoist immortal with an air of otherworldly grace. He slowly opened his eyes and said softly, "Lord Marquis, won't you say a few words? The discussion here is a bit too loud."
Zhu Wushi said calmly, "Thank you for your concern, Divine Marquis. I have nothing to refute. The innocent will clear themselves."
Zhuge Shenhou scrutinized Zhu Wushi and found that his expression was natural and composed, not like he was lying, so he nodded slightly.
"If it's not Zhu Wushi, then it can only be..."
The image of Chu Yang flashed through Zhuge Shenhou's mind, and he sighed silently. He knew about Chu Yang's visit to the palace to admire the moon, and he also learned some information about Chu Yang from Sheng Yayu.
But he still didn't quite believe that Chu Yang could really kill a king. Even he couldn't break through the dragon vein's protection, so how could Chu Yang do it?
More importantly, how can someone who murders the emperor sit on the dragon throne?
Who in the world can be trusted?
If he were to actually sit on the dragon throne, it wouldn't be long before war broke out everywhere, with everyone vying for power under the banner of "pacifying the rebellion."
Zhuge Shenhou turned to Zheng Dongliu and asked, "What's the situation with the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Hasn't Lord Zheng heard the news?"
Zheng Dongliu sighed, "The Embroidered Uniform Guards were blocked outside the palace by the Imperial Guards, so they couldn't get in and naturally knew nothing."
"The Imperial Guards?" Zhuge Shenhou frowned. "Who is leading the Imperial Guards now?"
“Li Chengliang, the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaodong.” Zhu Wushi sneered, “But now he should be a proper commander-in-chief, as His Majesty issued an edict before his death.”
“Li Chengliang…” Zhuge Shenhou nodded. He knew this man. He was responsible for fighting against the Jurchens in Liaodong and helping the Ming Dynasty stabilize its northern defenses.
There had been no war there for five or six years, which speaks volumes about his abilities. Zhuge Liang even believed that sending such a talented person back to the capital would be a loss.
"What nonsense."