socalfunplaces Page 626
Page 626
Wei Yuan gasped, and the teacup in his hand clattered to the ground.
"Lord Jingning, you must not speak recklessly, you must not speak recklessly."
Li Chang'an sighed, "You missed your only chance to be my elder."
At the gate of the imperial city.
The imperial guards carried a thin coffin, inside which was displayed the body of the Prince of Zhenbei.
The body was incomplete; the missing limbs could not be replaced, and it looked like a hostage.
A head, barely discernible in its face, was placed awkwardly inside the coffin.
Outside the palace, the group was stopped.
Wei Yuan was accompanied by four golden gong players and ten bronze gong players, while Zhang Shen represented Yunlu Academy.
In addition, there was Wang Zhenwen, along with several ministers from Wang's faction, as well as Chuzhou officials such as Zheng Xinghuai.
Wei Yuan informed Chief Minister Wang of the matter overnight. Chief Minister Wang witnessed Que Yongxiu's confession and immediately agreed to go to the palace together.
At this critical juncture, the two largest factions in the court united.
Wei Yuan said, "Go and report to His Majesty that the night watchman has important military intelligence to report."
"Please wait a moment, gentlemen."
The Imperial Guards guarding the city bowed and said this, then jogged into the palace.
In the bedroom.
Emperor Yuanjing sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to breathe deeply.
The young eunuch whispered a few words, and the old eunuch in the python robe tiptoed back to Emperor Yuanjing's side.
He lowered his voice cautiously: "Your Majesty."
When Emperor Yuanjing was meditating and cultivating Taoism, he was not allowed to be disturbed unless there was something urgent to attend to.
The old eunuch had served Emperor Yuanjing for so many years, so they had a certain level of understanding.
Emperor Yuanjing opened his eyes and slowly asked, "What is it?"
The old eunuch bowed and said, "Lord Wei and the Grand Secretary have personally led the night watchman and the great scholars of Yunlu Academy to the palace gate."
"They say there's an urgent military report from the northern border!"
Emperor Yuanjing frowned, looked at the old eunuch, and asked, "What's the matter in the Northern Border that's so urgent?"
"Your Majesty, it is said that a great calamity was brought to the Northern Border with a coffin... and two third-rank demons and barbarians were killed!"
Emperor Yuanjing suddenly stood up, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "He succeeded?!"
"Did the Prince of Zhenbei kill Jiliguzhi and Xuanjiu?"
"Such a great victory, why didn't my brother come in person!"
After Chu Xianglong left with the princess, there was no further news from the northern border.
Those spies of the Prince of Huai seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Emperor Yuanjing was actually somewhat anxious.
However, he also knew that the matter needed to be kept secret, so he could only wait.
He found it strange that it was Wei Yuan who came.
This matter... has absolutely nothing to do with Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan, the Grand Secretary, the Minister, the Golden Gong, and the others were informed and led into the palace by a eunuch in blue robes.
The rest of the people, including the coffin, were naturally not allowed to enter the palace.
Even if the Prince of Zhenbei were lying inside, he would still need to be summoned by the emperor to enter the palace.
Moreover, so far, no one in the palace knows that the corpse in the coffin is the first warrior of the Great Feng Dynasty and the younger brother of Emperor Yuanjing.
Upon entering the spacious and luxurious imperial study, everyone waited in silence.
A quarter of an hour later, Emperor Yuanjing arrived with several eunuchs.
The old emperor, dressed in a Taoist robe with flowing black hair, did not sit behind the large desk.
Instead, it stopped in front of everyone, its dignified gaze containing a hint of joy.
"You two have come together, is there some joyous occasion?"
Wei Yuan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I congratulate you!"
"All the third-rank experts from the demon and barbarian races, Jiliguzhi and Xuanjiu, have been annihilated!"
"The demon and barbarian army attacked Chuzhou City, and all 40,000 demon and barbarian soldiers were wiped out!"
"The northern border of the Great Feng Dynasty, once plagued by demons and barbarians, is now safe and sound!"
After he finished speaking, everyone in the prince said in unison, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Yuanjing was overjoyed, "Excellent!"
"Great! This is wonderful news!"
"A great victory was won in the north, and the Prince of Huai deserves immense credit!"
"I will offer sacrifices to Heaven and inform my ancestors that this is a golden age unprecedented in a hundred years!"
At this moment, Wei Yuan took a long breath and then took out a memorial.
"The General Commander of the State, the Prince of Zhenbei, in order to be promoted to the second rank, colluded with the leaders of the Witch God Cult and the Earth Sect, intending to slaughter the 380,000 lives in Chuzhou City."
"Fortunately, the Marquis of Jingning discovered it in time and led the Yunlu Academy, the astronomers of the Imperial Observatory, and the night watchmen to kill the corpse soldiers who had slaughtered the city."
"After that, the three Great Feng Transcendents, Marquis Jingning, the Imperial Preceptor, and Master Hengyuan, killed the Prince of Zhenbei, the Black Lotus Avatar, and a third-grade Spiritual Wisdom Master of the Witch God Sect!"
"The demon army has invaded, and with the assistance of the Nine-Tailed Fox, a remnant of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, an earth-shattering extraordinary battle has broken out beneath the walls of Chuzhou City!"
"In this battle, we killed Jiliguzhi and Zhujiu, captured the remnants of the Nine-Tailed Fox from the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, and annihilated the entire demon army!"
"This is a grand event unprecedented in the history of the Great Feng Dynasty! Your Majesty, I request that you reward the military officers and soldiers!"
"The greatest contributor to this battle is Marquis Jingning, Li Chang'an, who shall be granted the title of First-Class Prince, a hereditary title!"
Upon hearing the news, Emperor Yuanjing's face remained expressionless.
It was as if thunder had exploded in his ears; Emperor Yuanjing's face suddenly turned deathly pale, all color draining from his eyes.
He stared blankly at everyone for a long while, then raised his hand and reached out to the memorial with a slight tremor.
Then, his expression became strange, showing shock, confusion, fear, and anger!
Zheng Xinghuai took a deep breath and said loudly, "The General Commander of Chuzhou, the Prince of Zhenbei, has committed heinous crimes and cannot be forgiven!"
"Your Majesty, I hereby submit a memorial impeaching the Prince of Zhenbei and request that Your Majesty severely punish him."
"Marquis Jingning secured the northern frontier in one battle; he should be granted the title of King!"
Wang Zhenwen also took out a memorial, saying, "Your Majesty, I hereby impeach the Prince of Zhenbei and request that Your Majesty severely punish him."
"Marquis Jingning secured the northern frontier in one battle; he should be granted the title of King!"
Those who had the authority to handle matters all took out their memorials.
After reading the memorial, Emperor Yuanjing's voice was hoarse, "The Prince of Zhenbei is really dead..."
The emperor's acting was absolutely superb.
Emperor Yuanjing was one of the masterminds behind the massacre of the city.
He is very angry, but he is also very scared.
Because Li Chang'an was entangled with four extraordinary beings!
Among them... was the Imperial Advisor!
"His Majesty!"
Wei Yuan said, "The Prince of Zhenbei was attacked by both Heaven and Man, and has now been executed."
The body was transported back to the capital and is now outside the palace.
The decision on how to dispose of this fiend's corpse is left to Your Majesty.
Emperor Yuanjing felt as if he had been hit on the forehead with a wooden stick. He lost his balance and staggered backward, about to fall backward.
"His Majesty!"
The old eunuch screamed shrilly and rushed forward to support Emperor Yuanjing, preserving the last shred of dignity for the emperor.
"Go away!"
Emperor Yuanjing let out a deep roar, shoved the old eunuch aside, and staggered out of the imperial study. His back was filled with panic and helplessness, and his face was as pale as paper.
He could no longer maintain the dignity and composure of a monarch.
"Quickly, keep up! Protect His Majesty! Protect His Majesty!"
The old eunuch's screams gradually faded into the distance.
Emperor Yuanjing rushed out of the imperial study and ran wildly without any regard for his image. The wind whipped his long beard and reddened his eyes, making him look less like an emperor and more like a pitiful refugee.