mousepad-d2 Chapter 5535 Entangled by Fate
Chapter 5535 Entangled by Fate
Chapter 5535 Entangled by Fate
Inside the Divine Dragon Palace, Consort Shen held the young prince Li Jun in her arms, feeling panicked and helpless. The sounds of fighting and firearms, sometimes clear and sometimes faint, drifted through the heavy rain, shrouding the entire palace in fear and confusion.
Outside, eunuchs and guards would occasionally relay messages back.
At first, it was said that assassins dressed in black and wearing black and gold masks stormed Wanchun Palace, shouting slogans such as "The Crown Prince is immoral" and "Kill the Crown Prince." Consort Shen was both frightened and secretly pleased. Although she did not know which side was trying to harm the Crown Prince, she was not stupid. How could His Majesty be unaware of the fact that so many assassins could be hidden in the palace?
Perhaps His Majesty had failed to forcefully change the heir apparent multiple times, leaving him no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.
As long as the Crown Prince is killed, Empress Su will also be in danger of losing her own life. Her son will surely be officially appointed as the heir apparent, and she will become the Empress of the Tang Dynasty!
However, her joy was short-lived. She heard that many of her elite soldiers had failed in their assault on Wanchun Palace and suffered heavy losses, which plunged Consort Shen into great fear.
The fact that assassins were hiding in the Forbidden City to attempt to kill the Crown Prince is not only a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of three generations of one's family, but it would also shake the very foundations of the state and have a huge impact. To quell such an impact, it is clearly not enough to exterminate one person's entire family; it is likely that several influential individuals will need to be sacrificed to appease public opinion and provide an explanation to the Crown Prince.
The only ones who could possibly please the Crown Prince were her and the little prince in her arms...
If she could think of these things, the other eunuchs, guards, and maids in the palace would naturally think of them as well. For a moment, the wind and rain raged outside, and the fighting shook the heavens, while inside the palace, silence fell and panic spread.
As palace servants who serve Consort Shen and the young prince, they will likely all be implicated and none will escape unscathed...
Inside the Divine Dragon Palace, everyone, from top to bottom, awaited their fate with despair and helplessness.
After an unknown amount of time, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the palace. First came the guards' questions, "Who are you?" and "What do you want?" as they tried to stop them. Then came the loud bang of the palace door being kicked open.
Then a group of heavily armored "Hundred Cavalry" soldiers rushed into the bedchamber and escorted Consort Shen and the young prince out.
Inside the main hall, Li Jingye did not perform the full ceremony, but only clasped his hands and bowed slightly before pulling out a roll of yellow silk: "His Majesty has been poisoned by the Crown Prince and Wang De in collusion and has passed away. This is His Majesty's last edict, deposing Crown Prince Li Xiang from his position as heir apparent and establishing the young prince Li Jun as the new Crown Prince!"
Each sentence and each word seemed to explode in Shen Jieyu's ears like rolling thunder, leaving her dazed and confused.
His Majesty... has passed away?!
There was even a will that named the youngest prince as the crown prince.
Since Your Majesty has passed away, doesn't that mean that your son, after being made crown prince, will immediately inherit the throne and become the emperor of the Tang Dynasty?
However, Shen Jieyu felt no joy whatsoever; instead, an extreme fear swept over her entire body.
With powerful generals like Li Jingye holding the so-called imperial edict and supporting the young prince, it was clear that the young prince's ascension to the throne would guarantee their own interests; and with supporters of the Eastern Palace like Fang Jun, how could they possibly let the matter rest after His Majesty's death and the dethronement of the Crown Prince?
A tiger enters through the front door, a wolf enters through the back; the life and death of the orphan and widow hang by a thread!
Consort Shen bit her lip, not daring to agree or refuse, and forced herself to calm down before asking, "Where is the Crown Prince now?"
His Majesty has passed away, but there is still the Crown Prince.
As long as the Crown Prince remains, with civil and military officials like Fang Jun supporting him, what power does Li Jingye have to resist?
Li Jingye said in a deep voice: "The Crown Prince colluded with Wang De to poison His Majesty. After the incident, he fled to avoid punishment. Once the young prince is established as the Crown Prince and ascends the throne, he will be sentenced to death and a warrant for his arrest will be issued. Anyone who harbors or assists him will be executed immediately!"
Consort Shen felt dizzy and lightheaded. "You've caused such a huge mess, and the Crown Prince has already escaped?"
She gritted her teeth, resisted her fear, shook her head, and said, "Establishing a new crown prince is a matter of great importance. How can it be decided privately within the palace? It would be better to convene the ministers to discuss it before making a decision."
Whether the edict was real or fake, she dared not accept or refuse it rashly at this moment, and had to leave the decision to the ministers.
If the court officials believe the edict to be genuine, the mother and son will naturally rise to great heights.
If the court officials believe it to be a fake and still support the crown prince, then the mother and son are merely pitiful people who have been coerced, and they won't necessarily die without a burial place...
Li Jingye looked slightly surprised and gave Shen Jieyu a very serious look.
This woman had been sowing discord in front of His Majesty, causing him to harbor deep resentment towards the Empress and the Crown Prince, even leading to the Empress staying in the Eastern Palace for nearly a year and refusing to return, causing marital discord and a falling out between father and son...
What she was trying to do was to get His Majesty to change the heir apparent and then appoint her son as the crown prince.
The imperial edict is right here. His Majesty has passed away, the Crown Prince has fled, and a great opportunity is laid out before her, yet she refuses to seize it…
But at this moment, it was extremely urgent. Fang Jun had already led the Left and Right Imperial Guards straight into the imperial city, forcing the emperor to kneel and plead. Before Fang Jun launched his offensive, he had to handle all matters such as the appointment of the crown prince and the enthronement of the new emperor. At that time, with complete rites and a just cause, he could also commit suicide to atone for his sins against His Majesty.
"Guards, please escort Consort Jieyu and the young prince to the Taiji Hall for the investiture ceremony!"
"Here!"
Female officials stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Consort Shen, then forcibly led the mother and son out of the Shenlong Hall and onto a palanquin to the Taiji Hall.
Consort Shen held the little prince tightly, her heart filled with fear and her face filled with despair, yet she could only submit to his will.
Before even reaching the Taiji Hall, one could see torches waving and lanterns shining brightly on the entire Chengtian Gate and the palace walls on both sides in the rainy night, with soldiers coming and going at the palace gates, creating a tense atmosphere.
The shouts of countless people outside the palace converged into waves of sound that echoed through the heavy rain, and the repeated knocking on the palace gates were deafening.
A captain trotted up to Li Jingye and reported: "The Grand Commandant, along with the Left and Right Imperial Guards, are knocking on the imperial gate outside Chengtian Gate. Many other civil and military officials have also arrived and are requesting to enter the palace to pay their respects to Your Majesty."
As Li Jingye watched Shen Jieyu and the young prince being led into the Taiji Hall by the crowd, he ordered, "Inform Helan Sengjia to bring all the members of the imperial family and ministers into the palace in a hanging basket. They are not allowed to open the gates themselves!"
"Furthermore, send people to keep an eye on Xuanwu Gate. Report back immediately if there is even the slightest unusual activity!"
As long as Empress Su and the Crown Prince remain blocked at Xuanwu Gate, they cannot affect the overall situation. Once the enthronement and other procedures are completed under the watchful eyes of the officials, the overall situation will be settled. Anyone who dares to oppose them will be considered a traitor!
"Here!"
The captain turned to relay the order.
Li Jingye took a deep breath, pressed his hand on the sword at his waist, and entered the Taiji Hall.
There were naturally many "rebels" within the Taiji Palace, but they either retreated to the Xuanwu Gate or were suppressed in various corners and did not pose a significant threat. Most of the palace staff, eunuchs, and imperial guards had already been turned against the government by the "Hundred Cavalry Division" and many members of the imperial clan, and they all supported the establishment of a new crown prince and the ascension of a new emperor.
After the two coups by Changsun Wuji and Prince Li Zhi, coupled with the impact of the corruption case at Zhaoling Mausoleum, almost none of the meritorious members of the imperial clan who had served Emperor Gaozu were left. But the imperial clan was, after all, the foundation of the country. Even the few remaining minor members were not to be underestimated. Without their support, how could he have so easily taken control of the entire Taiji Palace?
The only unexpected thing was that the "Divine Machine Battalion" managed to infiltrate Wanchun Palace without anyone noticing, causing the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince to fail and adding a sudden twist to the situation...
……
Several riders galloped from the direction of Yanxi Gate, followed the side street straight to Chengtian Gate, and after finding Fang Jun, the cavalrymen immediately dismounted and knelt on one knee, about to report, but when they saw the civil and military officials gathered around, they hesitated.
Fang Jun waved his hand: "It's alright, there's no need to avoid others when sharing any information."
"Yes, Commander! A message has arrived from Xuanwu Gate that the Empress and the Crown Prince are currently inside the city wall, but they are being besieged by several thousand 'Hundred Cavalry' soldiers and can only hold their ground, unable to break through the encirclement."
Most people breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the Crown Prince was unharmed.
The crown prince is the foundation of the nation. Even if something were to happen to His Majesty, there would be no successor and the country would not fall into turmoil.
Li Yuanjia stepped forward and asked urgently, "What exactly happened in the palace?"
The soldier replied, "I only heard that several hundred rebels had been hiding in Foguang Temple beforehand. After nightfall, they suddenly launched a fierce attack on Wanchun Palace in an attempt to assassinate the Crown Prince. Fortunately, the Imperial Guards of Wanchun Palace were able to protect them and defeat the rebels before protecting the Empress and the Crown Prince as they retreated to Xuanwu Gate."
Li Yuanjia then asked, "How is His Majesty?"
The soldier shook his head: "All the information comes from the Crown Prince and his imperial guards. We don't know the situation at the Wude Hall."
Tang Jian leaned closer and asked, "Who is in charge of things in the palace?"
The soldier shook his head: "I don't know."
Tang Jian sighed, "This is troublesome!"
With the palace gates sealing off the inner palace, it was impossible to respond effectively and promptly without knowing what was happening inside, which could very likely lead to missed opportunities and serious mistakes.
Fang Jun was also hesitant.
There is no news of His Majesty; whether he is alive or dead is of great importance.
If His Majesty were still alive, launching a fierce attack on the palace gates would be a capital offense. No matter what reason one gives afterward, one would not be able to absolve oneself of the crime. Even if His Majesty were "forgiving" or "benevolent," one would still be demoted to the lowest level and banished from the capital.
If His Majesty is dead, yet the palace gates remain closed for so long, then the traitor must be manipulating things within the palace. Once a new emperor is established, restoring order will be extremely difficult and involve serious consequences. In the absence of witnesses, who would dare to declare the new emperor's position invalid? Countless stakeholders would undoubtedly defend it.
Another troop of soldiers galloped in from Yanxi Gate. As they approached, the riders dismounted, and everyone recognized them as Duke Li Ji of Yingguo and his son Li Siwen.
Everyone stepped forward to greet them.
Ma Zhou frowned and asked, "Previously, an eunuch with His Majesty's edict summoned the officials to Chengtian Gate. Was Duke Ying not summoned?"
Li Ji's face was ashen. He remained silent, ignoring the assembled civil and military officials, and strode to the Chengtian Gate. He shouted, "Tell that bastard to open the palace gates immediately and come out to see me!"
Everyone was shocked.
Could the "bastard son" that Li Ji mentioned be Li Jingye?
Just then, Helan Sengjia shouted from the city wall: "His Majesty has decreed that all civil and military officials of the third rank and above shall be hoisted up to the palace gate and enter the palace to pay homage!"