Chapter 829

Qiqi calmly looked at Empress Jian and said: "I ask you again, did you put poison in the emperor's food and drink?"

At this moment, Long Tingsheng woke from a brief coma, he cried out: "Mother Empress, you must not have fallen into her trap……"

Qiqi gave a glance to the eunuch beside him, and immediately those few eunuchs twisted Long Tingsheng's right leg, with a crack, breaking it again at the knee.

Hearing her son's heart-rending wail, Empress Jian's mental defense collapsed completely; she flung herself at Qiqi's feet, pleading tearfully: "Please spare Tingsheng, I admit, I admit everything, it was I who put poison in the emperor's food and drink, but it was all instigated by Ji Feihua; this matter was entirely my doing, Tingsheng knows nothing about it."

Qiqi took a confession from Li Yan's hand and threw it in front of Empress Jian: "You know what you should do!"

Empress Jian nodded repeatedly.

Qiqi stood up, stepped out of the gate; outside the rain grew heavier. Standing under the eaves watching the rain for a while, Li Yan came behind her, holding the confession Empress Jian had just signed, and respectfully said: "Your Highness, she has confessed!"

Qiqi nodded.

Li Yan lowered his voice: "How should we deal with the two of them?"

Qiqi said: "One plotted to kill her husband, the other murdered his father and sovereign; what do you think should be done?"

Li Yan respectfully said: "This servant is foolish; I will obey the Princess's orders."

Qiqi said: "Announce their crimes to the world; Dakang's law clearly states how they should be dealt with, so deal with them accordingly."

"Yes!" Li Yan said, then recalled something: "Right, following the Princess's orders, we have already invited Scholar Wen and Chancellor Zhou to the Diligent Governance Hall; they are waiting there now."

Qiqi nodded and said: "Very good!" She stepped forward, and immediately a young eunuch came over, raising a canopy to shield her from the rain.

Wen Chenghuan and Zhou Ruiyuan had been waiting in the Diligent Governance Hall for a full hour; recently the crown prince had not summoned officials for discussion for a full seven days. Although they inquired widely, there was little news leaking from the palace, but from the frequent mobilizations of the capital's Feather Forest Army, it seemed something major had occurred in the imperial palace. Both men possessed keen political instincts, each feeling an ominous premonition; during these seven days, martial law had been imposed throughout Kangdu city, and even officials of their rank were not allowed to leave their residences lightly. Over the past two days they had heard rumors that Ji Feihua was dead, though this rumor remained unverified. Yet it was enough to make their hearts pound, and even in their depths they had braced for the worst.

They stood in the Diligent Governance Hall for a full two hours, their backs sore and aching, yet they dared not speak casually to each other, for who knew if there were no court spies around; in such a situation, the more cautious they needed to be. A coup had taken place in the palace, yet they had heard not a whisper of it, proving they had been excluded from this palace upheaval—a bad thing, yet also a good one.

A slightly immature voice sounded from behind: "You two sirs have been waiting a long time!"

The two turned around at the same time, only to see Yongyang Princess walking slowly into the palace, with no one else beside her.

Wen Chenghuan was the first to react, bowing and saying, "This old subject pays his respects to Your Highness, the Princess!"

Zhou Ruiyuan hurriedly followed suit and performed the salute.

Qiqi said, "No need, you are all pillars of Dakang—no need to stand on ceremony." She stepped before them, glanced at their faces, and asked, "Why aren't you two sitting?" Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan exchanged a furtive glance. The vast Diligent Governance Hall held nothing but the emperor's dragon throne; there were no other seats. Even if they were bold, they would not dare sit on the dragon throne. Did Qiqi mean for them to sit on the floor?

Qiqi said, "Someone, bring chairs for the two sirs."

At that moment, four eunuchs emerged from behind the curtains, each pair lifting a chair and placing them left and right below. An elderly eunuch followed slowly behind them, walking with a three-step sway.

Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan fixed their gaze—the elderly eunuch was none other than the previously missing Quan De'an, and at once they both understood what was going on.

Quan De'an smiled and said, "Please, sirs, take a seat."

Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan looked at the chairs, yet neither dared to sit first.

Qiqi said with deep meaning, "How come? I asked you two to sit, yet you refuse—do you really need the Emperor himself to personally invite you before you'll sit?"

A chill ran down the backs of both Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan; at this moment neither of them saw Qiqi as a mere little girl anymore—this girl had deep scheming, could it be that all the recent events in the palace were her doing?

Qiqi seemed a little angry, turning and walking behind the curtains; the two watched her silhouette disappear behind the drapes, momentarily unsure how to respond.

Quan De'an sighed and said, "Why won't you two sirs listen to the Princess?"

Zhou Ruiyuan sensed there was more in Quan De'an's words, and respectfully said, "Please, Eunuch Quan, give us your guidance."

Wen Chenghuan shared the same thought; the two of them had a decent private relationship with Quan De'an, and Wen Chenghuan had even once teamed up with him to deal with Ji Feihua.

Quan De'an, however, said nothing, merely smiling faintly as he whispered, "You'll understand soon enough."

From behind the curtains came a low cough; though not loud, to Wen Chenghuan and Zhou Ruiyuan's ears it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky. They knew the voice of the Retired Emperor Long Xuan'en all too well; from the bits of news they had gathered and combined with what they saw today, they had a vague idea of what had happened in the palace, and hearing that cough, even before the figure appeared, they already knew who had entered.

Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan exchanged a glance and, without prior agreement, knelt down together.

Qiqi supported an elderly man in a yellow robe as he slowly emerged from behind the curtains—that old man was none other than the Retired Emperor of Dakang, Long Xuan'en.

Seeing Long Xuan'en appear, Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan's inner garments were instantly soaked with cold sweat. Although they had not directly participated in overthrowing the old emperor Long Xuan'en, both were high-ranking ministers appointed by Long Yelin, and Zhou Ruiyuan had once offered strategies for Long Yelin, while Wen Chenghuan, after the old emperor's fall, had quickly switched allegiance to Long Yelin and even sent his adopted daughter into the palace. Based on these facts alone, their heads would not be enough to pay for a hundred executions.

Long Xuan'en was by nature cruel and cold-blooded; this successful restoration would surely unleash a great slaughter. Zhou Ruiyuan thought to himself: I must never implicate my family.

Wen Chenghuan, however, thought: after years of bitter endurance and covert service in Dakang, it was unexpected that his efforts would come to naught, and he would die in a palace coup—truly lamentable. The two kept kowtowing on the ground, crying: "Guilty ministers Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan pay homage to Your Majesty, may you live ten thousand years!"

Without Long Xuan'en even stating his identity, the two had already begun to change their address; now they believed those rumors were entirely true. Ji Feihua was dead, Long Yelin had gone mad, and Dakang had undergone another upheaval.

Long Xuan'en, supported by Qiqi, came to the dragon throne and sat down; he took Qiqi's hand, letting her sit beside him, his gaze lowered upon the two kneeling before him, his face showing no anger as he said, "My lords, please rise at once."

Zhou Ruiyuan said in a trembling voice, "Guilty subject, I dare not!"

Wen Chenghuan also shouted, "My crime deserves ten thousand deaths; please, Your Majesty, punish me!"

Long Xuan'en waved his hand, seeming not wanting to speak; life is but a fleeting autumn, Long Xuan'en truly felt that after experiencing this upheaval, his body was growing weaker and weaker. Sitting on the dragon throne, he no longer had the former aura of looking down on the world, not even a trace of satisfaction, exhausted in body and mind.

Qiqi said, "You won't listen to my words; you don't even want to hear the Emperor's words—could it be that…"

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Ruiyuan and Wen Chenghuan had already scrambled to their feet. Quan De'an subtly gave them a glance, indicating they should sit down, but even if they were given immense courage, they would not dare to sit.

Long Xuan'en took a breath and said: "When I initially passed the throne to Long Yelin, I had hoped that under his hand Dakang could rally and revive, but I never expected that shortly after his ascension he would be harmed by treacherous men."

The two thought they had misheard; initially Long Yelin's ascension to the throne was clearly a usurpation, forcibly removing Laohuangdi from the throne—why would he say this? Could it be that Laohuangdi has already acknowledged Long Yelin's accession as fact? Or perhaps he wishes to erase this palace scandal from history?

Long Xuan'en said: "Jian Yue Ning's wicked mother and son colluded with Ji Feihua to poison my son, intending to usurp the throne! Poor my son was killed by them, cut down in his prime..." Laohuangdi said this, lifted his sleeve, turned away, and secretly wiped away tears; whether he actually shed tears only he himself knows.

Zhou Ruiyuan, upon hearing this, already understood: Laohuangdi did not simply beat Long Yelin to death; instead he pointed all blame at Ji Feihua and Empress Jian, meaning he was telling the world that he had voluntarily passed the throne to Long Yelin, not been forced to abdicate, nor usurped. It seems Laohuangdi has finally come to his senses, prioritizing the greater good.

Wen Chenghuan breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart; since Long Xuan'en was unwilling to pursue Long Yelin's responsibility, it meant he was now targeting only the remnants of Ji Feihua and Empress Jian; perhaps others could escape disaster. Indeed! Even Qiqi and Quan De'an he could spare—it seems Laohuangdi this time wants to stabilize the situation rather than carry out a massive slaughter for revenge.

Long Xuan'en said: "A state cannot go a day without a ruler; Long Yelin was harmed by treacherous men, the heir he personally designated is a wolf-hearted, dog-lunged beast; Tingzhen was killed by Ji Feihua's treacherous eunuch; among my descendants there is no one capable of bearing this heavy responsibility. You two ministers, who do you think should now take charge of the situation?"

Wen Chenghuan and Zhou Ruiyuan glanced at each other; everyone knew this problem was too thorny, nobody wanted to answer. In fact, Laohuangdi had almost laid it out plainly: among his grandsons there is no one capable of bearing the responsibility; only among his sons could one be chosen, but Long Xuan'en's sons, though not few, he himself had killed three; moreover, after Long Yelin's accession, in order to consolidate the throne, he launched a massacre against his own brothers, leaving only Prince Long Yefang of Xizhou alive in the world.

Although Long Yefang was alive, he was under house arrest in Xizhou, becoming a hostage of Li Tianheng. Although Laohuangdi's palace coup succeeded, it does not mean Li Tianheng is willing to abandon independence and return to the court; whether Long Yefang can smoothly return remains unknown; at present the most suitable person to emerge and take charge of the great order is naturally the old emperor Long Xuan'en.

In the early morning, the First Update is posted; it's a new week again. Zhangyu asks for Recommendation tickets—if everyone casts their Recommendation tickets, the Medical Union will surely break into the homepage weekly recommendation list. After a week of continuous struggle, we only seek ranking to encourage; give Zhangyu ongoing support, and Zhangyu will continue to burst forth!

。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。！(To be continued~^~)