Fan Zehao coldly curled his lips, "I am a first-rank Prince personally enfeoffed by the late Emperor. You are merely a Prince. In my presence, you are a rank below. Speak to me with respect, or no matter who you are, you'll have to ask if the sword at my waist agrees!"
"Fan Zehao, don't be too arrogant. So what if you are a first-rank Prince? The late Emperor was my own father. I am of royal blood. If you dare to harm me..." Huangfu Xian, enraged, pointed at Fan Zehao's nose and cursed.
But before he could finish his words, a sharp sword pressed against his fragile neck, drawing a long, thin cut. Blood seeped from the wound, slightly dampening his collar.
The remaining curses he intended to utter died in his throat. His face turned beet red.
Fan Zehao had no time for his nonsense at this moment. "Huangfu Xian, let me tell you, the five hundred thousand troops in my hand are my backing. Forget harming you; even if I kill you today, I'd like to see who dares to stand up and say a word for you!"
His gaze swept across all the ministers in the hall, including the other generals who had returned from the border, and even the civil officials who were biased against him. He let out a cold snort, "Whoever is not convinced, step forward. I will be the first to send him to play chess with the late Emperor. The old man is very lonely and needs company!"
The Prime Minister pursed his lips and chuckled inwardly. Who said the brute was foolish? The brute's words now were far more effective than those of scholars.
A loose tongue is not as useful as a sword!
Such imposing might, let alone civil officials, made even the generals guarding other regions instinctively touch their own necks, wondering if they were hard enough.
They had five hundred thousand troops, while the other three generals combined had only five hundred thousand. Moreover, the Prince of Zhen had earned his title through countless battles, having walked over mountains of corpses. He was a master of warfare, and who dared to oppose him?
Huangfu Xu glanced at Fan Zehao, then lowered his head, adopting an attitude of detachment.
From the back of the hall, Yao Jingyun, dressed in the attire of an Imperial Consort, and Zhao Jiaqi, in the attire of a Princess, watched everything happening in the hall.
"His Highness is truly formidable. After his words, not a single civil or military official in the hall dared to speak out, showing how much they fear him!"
Beneath her wide sleeves, Yao Jingyun secretly wiped the cold sweat from her palms. The events of just now still made her tremble with lingering fear, a chilling sensation down her spine.
Zhao Jiaqi, equally tense, smiled faintly. "If they aren't subdued in one go, wouldn't everything descend into chaos later? This way, sacrificing Prince Xian's dignity once to subdue those people isn't a loss. The main thing is that it allows the Crown Prince to ascend the throne smoothly!"
Yao Jingyun nodded heavily. Her heart gradually settled. As long as Fan Zehao was here in Yun Country, any attempt to stir up internal strife would likely fail.
The Crown Prince, now wearing dragon robes, walked to Yao Jingyun's side. They exchanged a glance. She asked, "Crown Prince, are you ready?"
"Ready!"
Huangfu Yifan helped Yao Jingyun onto the dais. She took her seat on the Phoenix throne, with the Crown Prince in dragon robes standing beside her.
Wang Zhanlin, holding the imperial edict, also appeared before them.
With Huangfu Yifan appearing before them like this, everyone knew that he was about to ascend the throne.
If anyone were to resist now, they could already imagine Fan Zehao's sword swinging wildly at them.
"The late Emperor has passed away, and the country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. When the late Emperor was alive, he appointed the Crown Prince Huangfu Yifan as his successor. Now that the late Emperor has passed away, it is the late Emperor's will for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne. Today, the Crown Prince ascends to become Emperor. Chief Eunuch Wang, read the imperial edict!"
Fan Zehao sheathed his sword and knelt respectfully on the ground. As Wang Zhanlin began to read the imperial edict, the sounds of clashing swords and even heart-wrenching screams erupted from outside the hall.
Wang Zhanlin seemed oblivious, continuing to read the edict.
The ministers kneeling on the ground trembled, sweat dripping from their foreheads onto the reflective floor tiles. They had no mind to care who became emperor, nor did they pay heed to Chief Eunuch Wang's words. All they thought about was whether they could return home in one piece after the court session.
What was happening outside was a palace coup!
Huangfu Xu and Huangfu Xian, the two brothers, simultaneously glanced at the Prince of Zhen kneeling in front of them. Seeing him kneel so straightly, unaffected by the events outside, they surmised that his own soldiers must be guarding outside.
At that moment, the Prime Minister scanned the Prince of Xian and the Prince of Xiaoyao, wondering whose men were trying to prevent the Crown Prince's enthronement.
However, seeing their puzzled expressions, he silently withdrew his gaze.
Wang Zhanlin helped the Crown Prince to the Nine-Five Supreme Dragon Throne and was the first to kneel, shouting, "Long live His Majesty, long live, long live forever!"
This single sentence echoed throughout the hall. The ministers then snapped back to reality and quickly followed suit, shouting, "Long live His Majesty, long live, long live forever!"
Huangfu Yifan sat on the dragon throne and finally breathed a sigh of relief. It had been an incredibly difficult path to this position.
He slightly raised his hand towards the people below, "All my esteemed ministers, rise!"
Everyone obediently stood up. Fan Zehao, seeing that the Crown Prince had ascended, knew the next task was to go out and assess the situation.
He wanted to see who had eaten the gall of a pig to do such beastly things. His gaze swept towards the Prime Minister, confident that with him present in the hall, no mistakes would be made.
Zhao Jiaqi, who had been watching him closely, followed him silently from a side door as he exited the hall.
A contingent of soldiers flanked Zhao Jiaqi, ready to protect her at all times. Upon reaching the Qixia Palace, the soldiers lined up on both sides of the entrance.
Pinfeng saw her return and immediately grabbed her hand, asking, "Sister-in-law, how is everything outside? I heard from the palace maids that there was fighting earlier."
"Everything is going smoothly. As for who the intruders are, it's still unclear, but with Xiao Ce and twenty thousand elite soldiers guarding, I believe it will be quelled soon. Don't be afraid, the imperial guards are protecting the harem, so they won't be able to break through!"
Pinfeng nodded weakly, looking out at the clear sky, recalling the care and affection her father had shown her when he was alive.
"Sister-in-law, why do you think people die, and why do those left behind suffer?"
Zhao Jiaqi: "..."
They sat there in silence, gazing at the sky, lost in thought. When Yao Jingyun returned, she found two fools sitting at the palace entrance, looking at the sky as if they were not cold.
"Alright, let's go inside."
Yao Jingyun sat on a soft chair, taking a sip of tea to calm her nerves. She finally felt she could breathe again. "When I returned, I saw dead bodies all over the ground outside. The blood was almost flowing like a river. His Highness is currently having people clean up the bodies and investigate the clues!"
"Does the Grand Consort know who it was?"
Yao Jingyun shook her head slightly. "How would I know? But judging by their actions, they deliberately concealed their identities, wearing identical black clothes and their faces covered. This matter should be left for the men to investigate."
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, sighing, "I've lived for more than half my life. I used to hear about palace coups, but I never experienced one. Today, I have. It's truly terrifying. If you ask me, having too many sons is not good. It would be better to have just one, then no one would fight for the throne."
It was fortunate that she had only given birth to a daughter back then, otherwise...