All the way into the Imperial city with soldiers unimpeded, Qi Yue’s inner suspicions are getting heavier and heavier, and he has gradually raised his guard.
Now, the sun is shining in the Imperial city. All the officials have taken their places, and the Grand Prince has already offered sacrifices to the heavens. He was just about to be helped by the attendants to ascend the hundreds of steps to the throne.
All the officials in the city were looking in the direction of the dragon chair in anticipation of the new Emperor’s accession to the throne when they suddenly heard another attendant announce, “General Qi Yue has arrived!”
At once, a burst of neat and uniform footsteps sounded, and the black-armored army, which was still cold under the sunlight, was presented in front of everyone’s eyes.
All the ministers drew a breath of cold air and could not help but discuss.
Seeing Qi Yue and the densely packed Northern army, Wei Lin felt that the sky was spinning and he was about to faint. The new Emperor is about to be crowned. How can this Qi Yue so coincidentally come at this time and even bring the army in?
Is the Imperial army made of paper? How come they let these tens of thousands of troops walk in so easily?
He reached out, pulled one of the attendants by his side, and asked, “Does……no, does His Majesty know about this?”
“There is no need to worry. The Emperor has made all the preparations.”
All the preparations? What can be prepared?
Wei Lin’s heart was cold. In the whole of Great Yan, what kind of foolproof preparation can stand up to Qi Yue’s army? The Grand Prince is a smart man, but is he confused at this time?
The officials kneeling under the Imperial city looked at Qi Yue with pale faces.
The troops behind him marched forward, and the sound of neat footsteps shocks people’s ears.
“Qi, General Qi should not move forward! Your place is there……,” an attendant trembled as he reached for Qi Yue, only for his extended hand to be brushed away.
The officials had even more drums in their hearts when they saw Qi Yue’s attitude. It was difficult to see today’s outcome.
Qi Yue’s face is serious, and his black eyes, which are the same color as his armor, are cold. He did not care about the officials in front of the Xuanzheng Hall but tilted his head to search for the young man’s figure.
Now that the Grand Prince is ascending to the throne, Xiangfeng, who has been his assistant, should be present. Why are all the officials kneeling on the ground, but Xiangfeng is nowhere to be seen? Could it be that he is still late? Qi Yue’s heart was gloomy. He tilted his head to meet the blinding sunlight and glared at the figure standing in front of the Xuanzheng Hall, about to ascend a hundred steps.
However, the moment he saw the figure, Qi Yue stumbled and almost fell to the ground. The power that had been built up step by step in his body suddenly dissipated!
The figure is thin and frail, yet it stands firm, like a green bamboo pine. The figure also carries a dignified feeling and matches with the gold embroidered imperial clothing.
Qi Yue opened his eyes wide for a moment to look at the youth on the high platform. Afraid that he was mistaken, he rubbed his eyes stung by the sun and took a few steps forward until he could see the corner of the youth’s mouth smiling arc.
It’s him……is he?!
Even though the youth had a coronet that covered his forehead, Qi Yue could not be mistaken because the experience of kissing this man’s handsome face inch by inch is still deeply engraved in his mind.
Not to mention that at this moment, the noble youth’s clear and crisp voice also happened to ring out: “General Qi has overstepped the mark.”
This familiar voice sounded like thunder in Qi Yue’s mind, and he felt his legs become a little weak.
Xiangfeng was the Grand Prince Yan Sa? The young man he loved to his bones and went out of his way to rebel for him was the Grand Prince Yan Sa, whom he was so jealous of and wanted to overthrow with all his might?
Sa is also Xiang Feng. 1
This is the most simple and clear hint, but he overlooked it in the past.
Qi Yue froze on the spot, and he thought of his first meeting with the young man. Wei Lin, who was in a high position, was also walking respectfully behind the youth.
He thought of the night visit to the inn when he denigrated the Grand Prince with Zhang Lin and the disbelief and anger in the youth’s eyes.
He also thought of the strange smile at the corner of his mouth when the youth frequently mentioned the Grand Prince during his time in Xiangzhou.
“Why don’t you and I have a competition to see if you can put the Grand prince on the throne, or I can support someone else to the throne?”” The words that he said with a smile back then seemed to ring in his ears once again.
The disbelief in Qi Yue’s eyes disappeared, leaving only a sigh of relief and laughter in his eyes. He stopped steadily, knelt on one knee, and said aloud, “I, General Qi Yue of Zhenbei, see Your Majesty, Long Live My Emperor!”
In their contest, the youth won, and he won too.
The army behind Qi Yue was startled by the sudden move of their General. They lost their military discipline for the first time as they knelt in scattered groups and chanted aloud with him.
The rising and falling voices caused the ministers present to have a wooden face. Within the imperial city, the atmosphere at one point became very strange.
This General Qi Yue must be out of his mind. He took the trouble to lead tens of thousands of soldiers back to the capital and was so aggressive that he looked like he would rebel. As a result, their hearts were raised high, but they just ended up shouting “Long Live”?
Could this be the new Emperor’s way of testing their loyalty?
Wei Lin also had a blank face and did not know what to do. He watched Qi Yue, who was kneeling on the ground with a submissive look on his face, and wondered in his heart what kind of preparations the Emperor had made to make the raging army turn into such a state in an instant?
In fact, the soldiers were also confused. They looked at their General, who used to use the army like a god as if looking at another fool.
What about the promised rebellion?
The soldiers in front were not focused on their own General but on the military commander who was sprawled out on the ground. They have doubts in their eyes. Although everyone is not kneeling neatly, they are at least kneeling down. How did the military commander simply fell flat on his face with weak hands and feet?
You know nothing about it! The military commander, whose face was pressed to the hot floor tiles, felt the surrounding eyes who looked at him as if they were looking at a fool.
The General had fallen in love with the prince from the very beginning. The other day he even succeeded in winning the beauty, so they, they both……
Inhuman, this is playing with people!
The military commander now has only one thought in his mind, and that is: The Third Prince has lost!
Emperor Hongming heard the outside noise in the Jing Yang Palace and woke up leisurely. He opened his mouth and asked, “Can Sa’er visit me today?”
Eunuch Su shook his head with a bitter face towards Emperor Hongming. He thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, today……the Grand Prince, supported by all the officials, is about to ascend the throne.”
“Oh? Sa’er is actually ascending the throne today?” Emperor Hongming sat up on the bed. His health was getting worse and worse, and he was mostly in a coma every day. The several bowls of medicine sent by Chen Bing could not alleviate his condition. After all, Emperor Hongming’s life expectancy had been exhausted, which could not be reversed by medication.
Being assisted by Eunuch Su to the window, Emperor Hongming peeked out but could not see the noisy scene. He turned his head to look at the scrolls of holy decrees spread out on his desk and could not help but reveal a bitter smile.
The boy also refused to see him since he returned from controlling the flood. Although his confinement was lifted, the other tended to hide whenever he went to look for him in person.
Emperor Hongming deliberately delayed the holy decree and said to Chen Bing that if Sa’er agreed to see him, he would immediately give the decree to abdicate and let Sa’er succeed.
But even so, the boy was still hard-headed and never agreed.
Emperor Hongming had both appreciation and lamentation in his eyes. He should have thought that, with this child’s talent, where would he need his holy decree to help him ascend to the throne?
I am afraid that Qi Yue has also been subdued by Sa’er, right?
But even so, Emperor Hongming didn’t want his child, the one who was most on his mind, to be left with a stain, so he put pen to paper and wrote down words on that blank decree.
Now that all the officials have come to their senses, it is not convenient for him to read this decree in front of all of them. In case someone else stirs up trouble later, Emperor Hongming deliberately wrote the wrong date for the decree.
He thought about it and thought it was not right, so he ordered Eunuch Su to say, “Go and read out the imperial decree to Sa’er, quickly!
Eunuch Su received the order and immediately trotted over to the Xuanzheng Hall.
Chen Bing, who was supporting Qing Yun, looked at the army kneeling below and immediately felt relieved. He looked at the new Emperor’s smiling face and could not help but sigh, the Northern army has reached the front, but the Emperor is still so calm and really tough-minded!
Qing Yun looked at the man kneeling on the ground far away and hooked his lips. This man’s reaction was quite fast. But then, a trace of cunning flashed in his eyes. What’s the point of reacting quickly? He remembered every word of his slander of the “Grand Prince ” clearly.
The number of people who insulted the Grand Prince is countless. Qing Yun did not care about them, but he did with this man. If his mouth spits out evil words, Qing Yun will have to teach him a lesson.
Turning around to help the new Emperor ascend the steps, Chen Bing turned to see Eunuch Su running towards this side and immediately raised his heart. What does this person want to do now? Could it be that the old Emperor has come up with something again?
Eunuch Su came all the way and was also noticed by others.
The officials all know that Eunuch Su is a well-known figure under Emperor Hongming. Though the ascension of the first prince to the throne is expected by all, it does not follow the procedure of establishing the crown prince after all. If this Eunuch Su makes a fuss, it will not delay the new Emperor’s ascension. Still, it will definitely leave a stain on his reputation.
At once, there was another slight noise coming from the crowd.
Eunuch Su ran to the front of the platform and knelt down with a panting voice: “This servant has been ordered by the Emperor to come and read the Imperial decree of accession to the throne for the Emperor!”
Once he heard Eunuch Su’s words, Wei Lin immediately breathed a sigh of relief and stroked his beard. He knew that Emperor Hongming had long been interested in the Grand Prince, so how could he have sent someone to stir up trouble?
This time, Eunuch Su has come to make up for the shortcomings of the Grand Prince’s ascension to the throne.
“Granted.” Qing Yun looked at Eunuch Su and nodded. He turned around and waved Chen Bing away. By himself, he dragged his innately deficient body and stepped up a hundred steps to sit on that majestic and noble throne.
Since then, in the original direction of this world, the tyrant Yan Sa, who was overthrown after less than three months on the throne, finally ascended to the throne with the support of all the officials and Emperor Hong Ming.
The new Emperor ascended the throne and granted amnesty to the people.
This has been the routine. All the officials were already physically and mentally exhausted by the two unexpected events, the arrival of the Northern army and Eunuch Su. Therefore, once they saw that the new Emperor had finally ascended to the throne, they went limp and did not pay attention to the imperial edict that they had jointly prepared in advance.
However, when this edict was read to the part they had finished, it was surprising that it had not yet reached the end.
The officials could not help but support their ears, listening to Eunuch Su’s suddenly shaky voice: “…… North, Northern General Qi Yue privately led soldiers back. This, This is a negligence of duty. Therefore, I punish him to guard the border for three years and shall not be allowed to return…… ”
As soon as the order came out, Wei Lin, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, stumbled a little and held the pillar beside him to keep himself from falling over.
Today can really be described as having a lot of situations. It is not easy to sit on the throne, so why does the Emperor want to stimulate this Northern army. What if Qi Yue becomes angry and revolts on the spot?
The rest of the officials are also drenched in cold sweat, quietly glancing at the Northern General Qi Yue.
They found something really extraordinary when they looked. This Qi Yue seemed to be more scared than they were. His face was colorless, and he forgot the rule that he could not look directly at the Emperor’s face as he looked at the Emperor on the dragon chair in disbelief.
Qi Yue’s heart sank straight down. He had thought that even if the youth was the Grand Prince, they still got along well. However, the young man who had entangled with him only a short time ago had given such an order.
Although there is no substantial punishment, the youth surprisingly did not allow him to return to the capital for three years. That is, three years……even not allowed to see him……
This is totally no less than torture for Qi Yue!
Why did the youth give such an order? Could it be that he misunderstood his actions today? Qi Yue’s head buzzed, subconsciously revealing a weak and pleading gaze. However, he only saw the youth on the throne with a flat expression, without revealing anything, making it difficult to see his thoughts.
Qi Yue’s face turned white again, but he could not resist the youth’s order and could only respond bitterly, “I……comply with the order.”
The initially nervous ministers saw Qi Yue’s ghastly white expression and were strangely not tensed anymore. They wiped their sweat and grimaced, thinking, “It’s just a three-year period in the border, isn’t it? This General Qi used to be happy to stay in the north, but now when he heard this order, how come it looks like someone wants to chop off his head?