Chapter 283 - 232: Grand Court Assembly, A Cunning Ploy

Chapter 283: Chapter 232: Grand Court Assembly, A Cunning Ploy

"Old Xu, we’ve been friends since our school days. You can’t keep any news from me."

Xu Kai scoffed, not bothering to deal with He Chang’an, and strode into the palace city.

Watching his back, He Chang’an had a meaningful look on his face, but he quickly reined it in and hurried to follow.

"Hey, Old Xu, wait for me!"

After entering the palace city, there was still a long walk to reach Taihe Palace.

The snow on the path was calf-deep, and that was after a group of young eunuchs had already swept it once. Otherwise, it would have been even deeper.

After much difficulty, Xu Kai followed the crowd and arrived outside Taihe Palace.

At this moment, the vast Taihe Palace was shrouded in white.

A massive coffin sat in the very center.

Seeing this, the officials knelt again, wailing endlessly.

Xu Kai snuck a glance and saw that the seemingly solemn and majestic Taihe Palace was surrounded by soldiers in full armor.

These men stood in various positions, watching everyone with expressionless faces.

Xu Kai’s heart tightened. He quickly lowered his head, not daring to look again.

And amidst the hall’s cacophony of wails, a group of people walked in from outside.

The one in the lead was none other than the Empress Dowager of Great Yan.

When she entered, the officials, who had been wailing loudly, swiftly silenced their cries. The entire Taihe Palace then fell into an awkward and strange silence.

Everyone looked at her with peculiar expressions.

The Empress Dowager also sensed the strange atmosphere and felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. But when she saw the armored soldiers with drawn blades outside, her heart settled back down.

Then, she said faintly, "My son’s death from a sudden illness is truly lamentable. But you all must not be overcome with grief. After all, Great Yan is still counting on you."

The meaning behind this sentence was clear: she was telling the officials that even though the emperor was dead, everything should carry on as it had before.

This was also a method to soothe their anxieties.

After all, the emperor had just died, and it was a time of great unrest. She didn’t want to stir up any more trouble.

Sure enough, upon hearing her words, many revealed expressions of relief.

But many others kept their brows furrowed, not relaxing in the slightest, because they noticed that although today’s court assembly was bustling and everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived...

...there was one person who should never have been absent, yet he was nowhere to be seen.

Xu Kai, in fact, had already noticed this.

He understood then that Master Wu’s speculation from the previous night had been correct. Prince Jing’s scheme was clearly no small matter.

The Empress Dowager scanned the hall and frowned as well.

’What’s going on? Why isn’t Yan Jun here?’

Not only was he absent, but not a single person from Prince Jing’s Mansion had appeared either.

This observation made the Empress Dowager’s heart sink.

But she immediately forced herself to calm down.

’Perhaps he was just delayed by other matters.’

She consoled herself with this thought.

But just then, a great commotion erupted outside, and a group of people stormed tempestuously into Taihe Palace.

The group parted to form two lines, and a single figure slowly walked in from outside.

The man was covered in wind and snow, his expression grave.

The moment he appeared, a stir went through the assembled officials.

Because the newcomer was none other than the man who should have arrived long ago: Prince Jing, Yan Jun.

Seeing him, the Empress Dowager’s eyelid twitched, and she immediately looked outside.

When she saw that her own men were still holding their positions, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Though she was a woman, she understood that in a moment like this, only the one with the military advantage would have the last laugh.

And clearly, she was that person.

Therefore, she put on a sorrowful expression and said to the approaching Yan Jun, "Prince Jing, the Emperor was struck by a sudden illness last night. Despite the Imperial Physicians’ best efforts, we could not defy the will of Heaven, and he has passed."

As she spoke, she even managed to squeeze out a few tears in a feigned display of grief.

Yan Jun, however, acted as if he hadn’t heard a word. He stopped abruptly before the coffin and stared at it intently.

The entire hall fell silent.

No one knew what this Prince Jing intended to do.

After a long moment, Yan Jun finally spoke, his voice low.

"What illness did the Emperor contract? Which Imperial Physician prescribed the treatment? And where is the Emperor’s personal eunuch, Liu Sanhai?"

As this barrage of questions was fired off, Taihe Palace became deathly silent.

Many officials wished they could bury their heads in the ground to avoid being noticed.

But some members of the Great Yan imperial clan were moved to the point of tears.

After all, the same blood as the Emperor flowed in their veins, and now he had died under mysterious circumstances.

And the prime suspect was this very Empress Dowager, who ruled from behind the curtain.

This naturally made the clan members extremely dissatisfied.

In their eyes, the world belonged to the Yan family. No matter how powerful the Empress Dowager was, she was still an outsider.

For an outsider to dare harm a member of the Yan family was simply intolerable.

But lacking a leader, and with the Empress Dowager protected by layers of armored guards, they had swallowed their anger and remained silent until now.

Now, hearing Yan Jun’s sharp questioning, which struck at the very heart of the matter, these men felt their spirits lift.

Hearing his words, the Empress Dowager felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. She immediately understood that Yan Jun was turning on her.

However, having held great power for so many years, she had cultivated an impressive degree of composure. Despite the shock and anger in her heart, she showed none of it on her face, only saying coldly:

"It was Imperial Physician Liang who treated him. However, after the Emperor’s death, I deemed him incompetent and had him put to death. As for that Liu Sanhai..."

The Empress Dowager continued grimly, "I am also looking for him. But there is no trace of him in the palace. He must have seen that the Emperor had passed, feared that his own crimes would be exposed, and fled in advance!"

"But as for you, Prince Jing..."

The Empress Dowager’s tone shifted as she suddenly raised her voice to question him. "You knew the Emperor had passed, so why have you only just arrived?"

This move turned the tables, directing the spear of accusation directly at Prince Jing. Her meaning was obvious, a clear message to Yan Jun.

She was telling him: ’Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. It’s not too late to back down. Otherwise, no one will benefit from this.’

But Yan Jun turned a deaf ear to her threat, his face instead twisting with grief and indignation.

"Good. ’Put to death,’ ’fled.’ To put it bluntly, you’ve just made sure there are no witnesses!"

"How dare you! Yan Jun, are you accusing a mother of murdering her own son?" the Empress Dowager raged, but a flicker of panic appeared in her eyes.

Because Yan Jun was acting far too composed.

At the same time, the officials began to stir restlessly.

This was definitely not normal.

’No, this can’t go on.’

’Since Yan Jun intends to betray me, I won’t give him the chance!’

At this thought, the Empress Dowager pointed a finger and shouted, "Yan Jun shows no respect for his sovereign and harbors treacherous intentions! He is no longer fit to wield the authority of Prince Jing! I hereby strip him of all official titles and demote him to a commoner! Guards, seize him!"

As she spoke, the clang of armor was heard from outside, and a group of soldiers walked in.

But they didn’t head for Yan Jun. Instead, they carried a person into the middle of the hall.

When she saw who they were carrying, the Empress Dowager’s expression instantly turned foul.

Because the person being carried was none other than Wang De, the very same Grand Eunuch who had fallen from the palace wall last night and was supposed to be recuperating.

"You... You..." The Empress Dowager pointed a trembling, furious finger at the Imperial Guards, so flustered and exasperated she didn’t know what to say.

Yan Jun, however, sneered. "Empress Dowager, you must be very familiar with this man. You say Liu Sanhai snuck away and I didn’t see it, but I personally witnessed your own Grand Eunuch, Wang De, secretly trying to flee the palace city. How do you explain that?"

With that, he turned to Wang De and said coolly, "Speak. What happened last night?"

Wang De was ashen-faced, trembling from head to toe.

The Empress Dowager finally panicked, crying out almost hysterically, "Yan Jun, don’t you forget our agreement! What, are you trying to tear down the bridge after you’ve crossed?"

The moment she said this, the entire hall was stunned into silence.

Kneeling at the very back, Xu Kai sighed to himself.

’Truly a woman’s short-sightedness,’ he thought. That sentence was tantamount to a direct confession that she was the killer.

Now, she had truly backed herself into a corner.

Meanwhile, someone else also found the situation rather amusing.

Wu Liangchen lay sprawled on the rear eaves of Taihe Palace, taking in the entire scene unfolding within.

He had come specifically to watch the show.

But after the so-called Empress Dowager uttered those words, Wu Liangchen knew there was no need to watch any longer.

Her defeat was already sealed.

However, Wu Liangchen didn’t leave. Instead, he turned his head and looked toward the small mountain to the north of the palace city, his eyes gradually narrowing.

’So that’s the place Xu Kai mentioned? The location of the two protector Grandmasters?’

’This is... getting interesting!’