Chapter 56
Prince Anling, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward from the crowd. He raised his hands, silencing the clamoring officials, and spoke.
“I am honored by the Prime Minister’s recommendation, but I have no interest in the throne. I only wish to fulfill my duties and serve the nation to the best of my abilities.”
“Your Highness, please don’t decline. In my opinion, you are the only one worthy of the throne. Can you bear to watch the people suffer? Can you bear to watch our great Qing Dynasty fall prey to foreign powers while we are leaderless?”
“I… Very well. Since you all insist, I cannot refuse. I will accept this heavy responsibility.”
“Excellent! Men, open the palace gates! Let the soldiers enter! We will force the Emperor to abdicate!”
Li Xinjun and Hongli, who had been listening from outside the hall, were stunned. They hadn’t expected the Prime Minister to offer the throne to Prince Anling. This meant that the Prime Minister had been working for Prince Anling all along. The seemingly carefree and indifferent prince was the true mastermind behind everything.
Hongli clenched his fists, his jaw clenched. He couldn’t believe that his beloved uncle, whom he had always respected, would resort to such treachery to seize the throne. No wonder people said that the imperial family was the most ruthless. He was experiencing it firsthand.
His face flushed with anger, he strode into the hall, confronting the officials. The officials, seeing the Emperor, trembled in fear, bowing their heads and parting to make way for him. Hongli, his eyes blazing with fury, continued forward, Li Xinjun close behind him, her hand protectively on his arm.
“How dare you! You plot to usurp my throne right here in my own palace! Do you think I’m invisible?!”
Hongli’s voice boomed through the hall, his anger palpable. The officials, except for the Prime Minister and Prince Anling, cowered, their heads bowed.
The Prime Minister, however, met Hongli’s gaze, a smug smile playing on his lips. He stepped forward and said,
“Your Majesty, as the saying goes, the throne belongs to the capable. Since you are incapable of leading the Great Qing through this crisis and providing a prosperous and peaceful life for its people, I, as Prime Minister, have a duty to choose a new leader. Don’t you agree?”
“You traitor! You’re the one who created these jiangshi! You’re plotting treason! I treated you well! How dare you betray me!”
“Your Majesty, I’m sure you know how your father ascended the throne. The late Emperor intended to pass the throne to me, but your father poisoned him and secretly altered his edict. Do you really think your father would have become Emperor otherwise?”
Prince Anling, unable to contain himself any longer, stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Hongli, his usual gentle demeanor replaced by a sinister expression. Hongli narrowed his eyes, staring at him. He was aware of these unsavory events but had always believed that they were matters of the past, best left undisturbed.
Since his father’s ascension, he had treated Prince Anling with kindness and respect, granting him a fiefdom and bestowing upon him the title of Prince Anling. The prince had always seemed content with his position, never causing any trouble. He hadn’t realized that Prince Anling harbored such resentment and ambition.
“Uncle, I never imagined… You hid your true nature so well for so many years. I never suspected you, always treating you with respect. I was too naive.”
“Hahaha, respect? If I hadn’t pretended to be a harmless fool all these years, your father and you would have killed me long ago! Your father, to maintain his image, couldn’t openly order my execution, but he sent assassins after me countless times! If not for my luck, I would be dead!”
“I don’t care if it’s true or not! Those are matters of the past! I have treated you well, entrusted you with important responsibilities! Yet you still covet my throne! You even sacrificed innocent lives for it!”
“Hmph! I’m done talking! Whether you agree or not, you’re losing your throne! Men, seize the Emperor!”
The palace guards, hearing his command, drew their swords and approached Hongli. Li Xinjun, seeing this, stepped forward, shielding Hongli with her own sword. She then whistled sharply towards the palace entrance.
The Prime Minister and Prince Anling finally noticed the person standing protectively in front of Hongli. Prince Anling, recognizing Li Xinjun, smirked.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Empress who rejected the Emperor at the altar! Hahaha! I never thought I’d see you again! What’s this? Have you two rekindled your romance? Hahaha!”
“Shut up! I’m here to protect the people of the Great Qing and eliminate scum like you!”
“Oh? Don’t be angry, Your Highness. Perhaps I’ll make you my Empress after I ascend the throne. Oh, wait, I almost forgot. Our esteemed Empress prefers women. I even had Mark help you two reunite. And now you’re betraying us?
Is that Song woman not satisfying you? Is that why you came crawling back to this incompetent Emperor? You shouldn’t have been so dramatic at the wedding. But to be honest, I enjoyed the show immensely.”
“Your Highness, why waste time talking to them? Let’s just capture them! Then we can eliminate those jiangshi outside and save the people! The citizens will praise you, their benevolent and patriotic prince! And look at the time! The situation outside must be critical by now! It’s time to go and save the people! Don’t waste any more time on them!”
“Yes, seize them! I want them alive!”
Hundreds of guards attacked them. The Prime Minister and Prince Anling, without waiting for the outcome, turned and left the grand hall. The Prime Minister’s army had breached the city gates. They were ostensibly attacking the jiangshi, but they were actually targeting the city’s defenders.
Brother Wu and his troops were desperately trying to hold them back. Although they had anticipated this attack, they were outnumbered and struggling to hold their ground. Meanwhile, Uncle Wang was leading a group of jiangshi, eliminating those who refused to obey him.
Prince Anling and the Prime Minister, accompanied by a group of guards, went outside the palace, pretending to help the citizens, hoping to gain their support and bolster their image as benevolent leaders.
They had miscalculated. They hadn’t anticipated that Hongli and Li Xinjun wouldn’t be easily captured. Li Xinjun, single-handedly, had defeated all the guards who tried to stop them.
She led Hongli out of the palace to join Brother Wu and the others. Hongli, taking command, led the defense against the Prime Minister’s army, while Li Xinjun went to find Uncle Wang. The Prime Minister and Prince Anling, learning of Hongli’s escape, were shocked. They listened as a soldier recounted how Li Xinjun had single-handedly defeated hundreds of guards.
“Your Highness, what do we do now? That Li Xinjun is incredibly powerful! She rescued the Emperor by herself!”
“Hmph, we have no choice now! There’s no turning back! Release all the jiangshi! I’m going to kill that brat today, no matter the cost!”
The Prime Minister personally went to a mansion where the first batch of jiangshi, the mindless, uncontrollable ones, were being held. They had been abandoned after the Prime Minister had successfully created a new batch of obedient jiangshi.
He hadn’t intended to use them again, but Li Xinjun had disrupted his plans, forcing him to resort to desperate measures.
As a precaution, he had kept the key to the dungeon himself. He arrived at the mansion and went down to the dungeon, where hundreds of jiangshi, starved and ferocious, were imprisoned.
As a soldier approached to unlock the door, the jiangshi surged forward, scratching and biting him. When the door opened, they swarmed out, attacking anyone in sight. Many soldiers were killed. The Prime Minister, seeing this, immediately retreated, pushing his men forward to buy himself time to escape.
He ran out of the mansion, but the jiangshi caught up to him, tearing him apart. He screamed for help, but the soldiers, having witnessed their comrades being sacrificed by the Prime Minister, refused to help, watching in horror as he was devoured.
“Help me… Someone… Help me…”
The Prime Minister, who had believed himself to be a brilliant strategist, died a gruesome death, his body torn to shreds by the very creatures he had created.
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