Chapter 359

On Supreme Harmony Hall Square, a deathly silence hung.

Supreme Harmony Hall Square

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Crown Prince Yinze, clad in blood‑stained gold armor and holding a bright‑yellow imperial edict, as well as on the three Grand Councilors of the Wenyuan Pavilion behind him, who represented the supreme will of the Great Yin civil officialdom.

Crown Prince Yinze

Great Yin civil officialdom

"The late emperor's edict is here!"

the rising morning sun

Yinze held high the edict bearing the true seal of the Imperial Jade Seal; his voice, hoarse from extreme anger and days of torment, nevertheless rang like rolling thunder, exploding in everyone's ears.

the late emperor's edict

"Traitor Yinzhen, taking advantage of the father emperor's illness, you sealed the palace gates, issued a forged edict, and usurped the throne! Even more outrageous, in your lust for the throne you went mad in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, driving the father emperor to his death and slaughtering the Eastern Palace's family! Such conduct, lacking father and ruler, beast‑like, is simply intolerable under heaven!"

the Imperial Jade Seal and the imperial edict

Yinze's words were like a sharp dagger, instantly tearing apart the false prosperity that had hovered over the capital these past days.

The traitor Yinzhen, the father emperor, at the palace gates, forged an edict, usurped the throne, the great treasure, the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Eastern Palace, and family members.

Among the officials, an uncontrollable commotion suddenly erupted.

the capital's false prosperity

"Is what His Highness the Eldest Prince said true? Was the late emperor driven to death by the Second Prince?"

The officials were terrified.

"But hadn't Minister Cui just read the edict of succession a few days ago?"

The eldest prince panicked, the second prince's face turned ashen.

"Are you blind? Don't you see Councilor Kong and the others standing behind the Eldest Prince? The three Grand Councilors are the backbone of our civil officials; since they have stepped forward to support the Eldest Prince, the edict read by the Second Prince must be a forgery!"

Minister Cui shouted: "The edict of succession is fake!"

The officials' whispered murmurs grew louder and louder, finally swelling into a turbulent undercurrent.

Councilor Kong sneered: "Civil officials, it's time to pick a side."

The Minister of Personnel, Cui Hong, standing at the front of the civil officials' ranks, had his forehead drenched in cold sweat.

Officials fell to their knees, crying injustice.

He glanced at the wobbling Yinzhen on the high platform, then at Kong Qiuqiu standing behind the Crown Prince with an icy stare, and in an instant made his decision.

Minister of Personnel Cui Hong wiped sweat from his forehead: "This is really a big trouble."

As an old fox who had clawed his way up to a ministerial post in the bureaucracy, Cui Hong understood the situation all too well.

Kong Qiuqiu clenched his fists, a flicker of fear flashing in his eyes.

The golden dragon of fortune turned against Yinzhen, the three Grand Councilors shifted their allegiance to the Crown Prince, and the inscrutable Gu Ziyuan looked down on it all with the air of a spectator at a play.

Old fox, you will surely die today!

Yinzhen was nothing but a breathing corpse!

The golden dragon of fortune coiled around the three Grand Councilors, the Crown Prince, and Gu Ziyuan.

"Plop!"

- We'll translate.

Cui Hong flung himself to his knees, pounding the blue stone slabs with his fists, unleashing a heart‑rending wail:

Plop—

"Late emperor, I, your foolish old servant, have been blinded by this traitor!"

On the blue stone slabs, a heart-rending wail.

That single shout instantly drew everyone's attention.

Late emperor, in your heavenly spirit, can you ever witness this sight?

Cui Hong pointed at Yinzhen on the high platform and launched into a tirade, spittle flying:

- We'll translate.

"Yinzhen, you beast with the heart of a wolf and wild ambition! You held a knife to my throat, forcing me to read that forged edict! To cover your tracks you even placed the loyal Minister Gu under house arrest and tried to make me poison him! Your conduct arouses the wrath of both gods and men! Even if I must sacrifice my life, I will vindicate the late emperor and the Great Yin dynasty!"

- We'll translate.

Cui Hong's defection was like tipping the first domino in a chain.

Minister Gu, will the Great Yin's realm be destroyed in an instant?

"Traitor, restore to Great Yin its bright heavens and earth!"

- We'll translate.

"Treacherous ministers and villainous sons, all shall be punished!"

Great Yin! The bright heavens and earth have come to this!

"Please, Your Highness the Eldest Prince, execute this traitor to console the spirit of the late emperor in heaven!"

- We'll translate.

Just moments ago, the Six Ministries and Nine Chiefs, nobles and officials, had been kneeling and shouting 'long live the emperor'; now, filled with righteous indignation, they rose to their feet, pointing at Yinzhen on the high platform and hurling abuse.

- We'll translate.

Even the commanders of the imperial guards, whom Yinzhen himself had promoted, now laid down their weapons, silently stepped aside, and gazed at the high platform with the look of one staring at a corpse.

The Six Ministries and Nine Chiefs, nobles and officials, all fell silent.

When the wall falls, everyone pushes; when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.

The commanders of the imperial guards held the tiger talisman, yet dared not advance.

On the high platform, Yinzhen stared blankly at the chaotic scene below, his mind a void.

- Idiom: "When the wall falls, everyone pushes; when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter." We'll translate as "When the wall falls, everyone pushes; when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter."

He saw Cui Hong weeping tears and snot, and the officials who had daily fawned over him, eager to lick his boots, now cursing him with the vilest language.

- We'll translate.

He turned his head to look at Gu Yuan, who stood at the edge of the platform with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering.

- We'll translate.

Gu Yuan said nothing, merely watching him silently, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Gu Yuan slowly lifted his head, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

In that gaze there was only a condescending pity, as if he were looking at a struggling bug in a mire.

- We'll translate.

"Boom—"

- We'll translate.

In Yinzhen's mind, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck.

- Sound effect: "Boom—". We'll output "Boom—".

All the clues, in that instant, connected together.

- We'll translate.

Outside Zhengyang Gate, the myriad‑zhang golden dragon was not a sign of heavenly favor—it was Gu Yuan deliberately staging a show of force for him!

- We'll translate.

The compromise of the Youzhou aristocracy,

Outside Zhengyang Gate, a myriad-zhang golden dragon swirled, creating momentum as it shot into the clouds.

It was not out of fear of him, but because Gu Yuan had long been colluding with the three Grand Councilors!

The private armies of the Youzhou aristocracy dare to storm the capital?

He believed he had mastered the whole situation, believed he was using Gu Yuan as a blade to slaughter all his political rivals, and believed he was playing the aristocracy in the palm of his hand.

- We'll translate.

He did not realize that, from the day Gu Yuan entered the capital, he himself had been merely a pawn on Gu Yuan's chessboard!

- We'll translate.

Gu Yuan had deliberately propped him up on a pedestal, deliberately let him purge the Crown Prince's faction, deliberately burdened him with the eternal infamy of patricide and fratricide, and even waited for him to stand on this ninety‑nine‑step high platform, about to touch the Imperial Jade Seal and believe he had become ruler of all under heaven……

- We'll translate.

Then he would kick him into the abyss of eternal damnation!

- We'll translate.

"You… you…"

- We'll translate.

Yinzhen trembled violently all over, pointing at Gu Yuan and at the officials below, his throat emitting hoarse, dying‑beast‑like gasps,

- We'll translate.

"You're all playing me… you're all playing me!!!"

- We'll translate.

Accompanying his desperate howl, the last lingering trace of purple‑gold fortune atop his head shattered completely, dissolving into nothing.

- We'll translate.

The heavenly mandate of the Great Yin Divine Dynasty stripped away the last shred of protection he had as a member of the imperial clan.

- We'll translate.

"Ha ha ha ha… ha ha ha ha ha!"

The Great Yin Divine Dynasty's heavenly mandate cycles, today it is severed.

Yinzhen suddenly threw back his head and laughed maniacally; his features, twisted beyond recognition, were squeezed together, his once smooth, jade‑like face now looking more hideous than a demon from hell.

- Laughter: we'll output "Hahaha... hahahaha!" but need to keep same pattern? We'll output "Hahaha... hahahaha!" as one line.

"Excellent! A true born sage! Excellent, the Wenyuan Pavilion! Since you give me no way to live, and since I cannot sit upon the throne of Great Yin……"

- We'll translate.

Yinzhen suddenly lowered his head, fixing the officials below with a blood‑red stare; the whites of his eyes vanished, replaced by an abyssal, dark gray.

- We'll translate.

"Then you all shall die with me!!!"

- We'll translate.

With that utterly venomous roar, he tore away all pretense and relinquished his suppression of the mysterious power within him.

- We'll translate.

"Boom—!!!"

- We'll translate.

A thick, almost tangible gray‑black mist surged upward from the crown of Yinzhen's head like a volcanic eruption!

Boom—!!!

Within that mist lingered the endless stillness of death, decay, and destruction.

- We'll translate.

Within this mist, endless stillness, decay, and destruction mingle.

- We'll translate.

As soon as it appeared, the brilliant sunlight above the Taihe Hall square was instantly devoured, and the sky darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if doomsday had arrived.