Chapter 652 - 270: Severing Family Ties and Seizing the Throne, Ji Tang’s Final Stand (Part 2)

There is, and only one possibility.

"Did something happen to the Grand Ancestor Empress Dowager?"

That’s what they thought.

No one among the civil and military officials dared to make a sound or stand out.

Even Zang Taiyuan, Tang Wenzheng, and the other three Cabinet Scholars had lost their previous composure.

Their heads hung so low they almost touched their chests, staring intently at their toes, not daring to lift their heads.

For fear of saying half a wrong word and angering Ji Changshou sitting above.

Because His Majesty the Emperor’s face was deathly pale, even whiter than a ghost who has died unjustly for three days.

No one moved, no one spoke.

In fact, everyone’s breathing was particularly light, ears perked up, listening to the sounds coming from outside the hall.

If their guesses were correct, then a real change was imminent.

At this time, it was not a question of future prospects or family reputation, but about how to stay alive.

Surely, the nation-bound Grand Ancestor wouldn’t just shout once without any follow-up.

The follow-up came quickly.

Cries of women and children echoed from all directions, accompanied by the synchronized steps of a large troop and the clashing of weapons...

The smell of blood, carried by the cold wind, had already seeped into the luxuriously majestic Qingher Hall.

Ji Changshou didn’t move.

None of the other civil and military officials dared to move.

"Your Majesty, save me, I don’t want to die."

A piercing cry of despair came from afar.

Followed by a familiar chorus of voices, one after another pleading for help, Ji Changshou’s eyebrows twitched wildly, his face turning from white to black, yet his body seemed glued to the throne, entirely devoid of strength to move.

He recognized it.

That was the cries of his own Empress and some consorts.

Of course, there were also cries from his sons and grandsons, some calling for His Majesty, some for Grandfather, and others cursing madly.

It must be said, as the imperial palace’s consorts and members of the imperial direct lineage, regardless of gender, they were well-versed in Divine Essence Qi and of uncommon cultivation realm.

A single roar could reverberate across half the city.

"Why has it come to this, why indeed?"

Though usually indifferent and heartless, lacking much care for the women of his harem and the legion of offspring they bore him, in this moment of shared sorrow, his heart pained, and tears welled up.

In sensing the Qi mechanisms, he had long realized it was the guard led by his Grand Uncle, trained through secret techniques by Ji Tang over the years, forged into soul-harvesting iron-blooded warriors, totaling three hundred strong, the weakest among them in late-stage Innate, nearly a hundred in Unity Realm.

This army, hidden in darkness, forever unseen, named the Divine Guard Army, possessed exceedingly formidable combat power, and now deployed, not to mention those consorts and princes of the harem, even he himself would have no chance to resist.

The footsteps of a large troop approached Qingher Hall, quickly followed by a hundred blood-stained Divine Guard soldiers, each exuding a powerful aura, entering the hall.

Behind them, naturally, was the nation-bound Grand Ancestor Ji Tang.

Behind him, a few youngsters under ten, stumbled along.

Ji Changshou recognized them, his twenty-eighth son, thirty-ninth son, and forty-third son.

"Changshou, abdicate, let Xuan Hua ascend the throne. Over the years, you’ve acted contrary to good governance, causing misery among the people, ruining our reputation. For our Great Li Dynasty to face such calamity today, you as Emperor bear inseparable responsibility..."

"Ancestors, you cannot, you cannot! Where have I gone wrong that can’t be corrected? No matter how unfavorable the situation at the front lines, we are not without the strength to fight, why resort to this?"

Ji Changshou did not dare to question why his Grand Uncle had killed the consorts and offspring within the palace, he didn’t even dare to mention it.

What was this chaos leading to abdication and kin slaying, was it a bid to flee?

You say slay all the royal concubines to prevent them from being dishonored by invaders, that’s somewhat justified, but how has it come to killing all bloodline descendants?

And me,

The bearer of the nation’s fate, he daren’t kill, he cannot kill.

Otherwise, under collapsing fortune, the Grand Uncle’s True Dragon Dharma Body will never reach perfection.

"No, why did you bring Hua’er, He’er, and Yu’er here?"

Suddenly realizing a possibility, an enormous sense of crisis flooded Ji Changshou’s mind.

Indeed, as Emperor, the old man daren’t kill him.

But, not being Emperor, the old man could kill him without the slightest hesitation.

"It was you, it was you, old devil. If not for these past decades of you extracting the nation’s fortune for refining techniques, the world wouldn’t be at this juncture? Where are these pervasive smokestacks of war, where does Beizhou’s invasion come in..."

Understanding this, Ji Changshou’s anger rose from his heart, wickedness sprang from his gall.

No matter the powerful pressure of Ji Tang’s aura, it couldn’t suppress his internal resentment.

"Say what you will."

Ji Tang shook his head, expressionless, coldly laughing: "Scouring for women everywhere, surely, that’s not my doing. Blame yourself for being born into the Ji Family without capability, dragging down even your elder brother and me. Choosing you as Emperor, truly my vision was flawed."

As he spoke, Ji Tang’s palm moved slightly, a five-clawed dragon emerged, with a swoosh, extending to the throne, dragging Ji Changshou down.

As the dragon claw fell, it turned Ji Changshou’s lower body into a mess of flesh.

"Ah..."

Ji Changshou wailed in pain, sharp and jarring, tears and mucus flowed uncontrollably.

Beyond tears and mucus, that which was yellow and white also uncontrollably leaked from below.