Chapter 215: The Imperial Court Trembles

Jinling, Imperial Palace.

The Memorial in Zhao Heng's hand dropped to the floor, beads of sweat the size of peas broke out on his forehead, and his whole body began to tremble as if he had caught a chill.

Liang Cheng had never seen this emperor so terrified; he hurriedly stepped forward to support Zhao Heng, "Your Majesty, you, what has happened to you?"

"The Yuan Family has rebelled, they are attacking Yanguan, Mo Di has met an untimely death..." Zhao Heng stated the contents of the Memorial with a blank expression.

This Memorial was sent by Ma Yuan, as Yanzhou is currently in a state of chaos.

An eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch that should have arrived in three days took seven days to be delivered.

"The Yuan Family has rebelled!" Liang Cheng's heart skipped a beat. "So it was false that Yan Wang and General Mo were colluding, and it is true that the Yuan Family is colluding with the Northern Di to rebel."

Zhao Heng's face was covered in sweat; disregarding decorum, he wiped it constantly with his sleeves. "It is all my fault. Why did I suspect Yan Wang and General Mo? If I had ordered them to capture Yuan Li immediately, how could there be such a disaster today?"

Liang Cheng's heart felt as if it had been rolled over ice; he realized a problem. "Then, Yanguan?"

Hearing this word, Zhao Heng's body trembled even more; his face turned pale. "Censor Ma says he has ordered Mo Di's son, Mo Yu, to temporarily serve as the Main General of Yanguan, and Yan Wang has also led troops toward Yanguan."

In his view, this was of no help at all.

If the Yuan Family truly colluded with the Northern Di to attack Yanguan from within and without, how could Yan Wang alone save the situation?

"Summon the officials!" Zhao Heng roared.

Yanguan has fallen, and the Great Song is in danger.

In his view, Yanguan could no longer be held.

From now on, the Northern Di army will drive straight in, tearing the magnificent Great Song empire into pieces.

Liang Cheng immediately left the study; because he was too flustered, his foot tripped on the threshold, and he fell to the ground.

But he could not care about dusting off his clothes and immediately called for the eunuchs.

"All of you, go and summon the ministers; run as fast as you can, go quickly!" Liang Cheng stomped his feet and pointed outside the Imperial City.

The eunuchs were also panicked; they had never seen Liang Cheng so anxious.

They left the palace gate and galloped wildly along the Imperial Street.

On the way, they kept ordering pedestrians to move aside.

"What's wrong? Have these eunuchs gone mad? Why are they in such a hurry?" a commoner said.

Having lived in Jingshi for over twenty years, he had never seen the eunuchs in the palace lose their composure like this.

"It must be a major event," one person said.

"..."

The crowd discussed it heatedly, and before long, they saw the ministers riding horses, sitting in sedans, or jogging toward the Imperial Palace.

This made the people of Jingshi guess even more wildly.

"Could it be that the Emperor has passed away..." a commoner whispered.

"This scene really looks like it," one person said.

"Nonsense, the Emperor is only over fifty and has no illness."

"Hehe, that's hard to say. It is said that the Emperor is quite lecherous; what man could withstand such exhaustion..."

"Shut up, don't say any more, you are all courting death."

"..."

The commoners were confused, and the officials were equally confused.

On the way, they asked their colleagues, but none of them could get any news.

Upon arriving at the palace,

He was surprised to find that the Emperor had arrived earlier than them for the first time and was already sitting on the Dragon Throne waiting for them.

Seeing this, they were even more puzzled.

The Sixth Prince and the Second Prince arrived together.

As soon as the two entered the great hall, they saw Zhao Heng's gaze fixed upon them.

There was an anger in that gaze that made them fear.

For so many years, they had never seen such an expression in their father's eyes.

They looked at each other, both feeling uneasy in their hearts.

When all the civil and military officials had arrived, they lined up on both sides.

Zhao Heng pointed at the Sixth Prince. "Men, seize the Sixth Prince and throw him into the Heavenly Prison."

The ministers were shocked and all looked at the Sixth Prince.

Those thrown into the Heavenly Prison were all people who had committed heinous crimes.

What on earth had the Sixth Prince done to make the Emperor so angry?

The Sixth Prince was terrified.

He asked himself what he had done during this time; he had only gotten into a fight with a few sons of nobility.

This was just a small matter; why would he need to enter the Heavenly Prison?

"Father, this son is innocent! I do not know what crime I have committed!"

Yuan Hang immediately stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince has always been dutiful; I hope Your Majesty will investigate clearly."

Zhao Heng felt a chill down his spine when he saw Yuan Hang; he pointed at Yuan Hang and said urgently, "And him! Drag him out of the Meridian Gate and beat him to death immediately!"

Zhao Heng was so out of character that the officials were even more bewildered.

The Prime Minister Dou Wei raised his voice.

Not to mention the current situation where the Great Song Royal Clan and the powerful families were checking each other.

Even during the heyday of the Great Song Royal Clan, an emperor had to provide a reason for killing someone in the court.

He said, "Your Majesty, what crime has the Sixth Prince committed, and what crime has Yuan Hang committed? I hope Your Majesty will clarify, otherwise, I fear it will be difficult to convince the public."

"This is a memorial sent via 800-li express by Censor Ma; Yuan Li has rebelled and attacked Yanguan. Is this reason enough?" Zhao Heng held the memorial high and threw it fiercely at Dou Wei.

He did not only hate the Sixth Prince now, but also hated Dou Wei and these influential clans of the Great Song.

If it were not for them harboring their own ulterior motives, smearing Yan Wang and Mo Di in the imperial court, how could he have had doubts in his heart?

Upon hearing this, Dou Wei's expression changed drastically; he hurriedly picked up the memorial and took a look, and it was indeed just as Zhao Heng had said.

Instantly, his heart tightened.

Although the Eight Great Influential Clans each had their own interests.

And they paid lip service to the Imperial Clan while secretly defying them, they had common interests when it came to resisting the Northern Di people.

After all, if the Northern Di entered the pass, their good days would all be over.

The court officials were like a pot of boiling water upon hearing this; they flocked to Dou Wei, scrambling to look at the memorial.

"The Yuan Family has truly rebelled; Yan Wang and General Mo were not wrong."

"What is to be done? If the Northern Di enter the pass, how, how can we resist them?"

"It's over, it's all over."

"..."

The ministers spread their hands, their faces all filled with bitterness.

Zhao Heng saw that the officials had all wilted at this moment.

Recalling how they had denounced Yan Wang and Mo Di made him even more furious; he pointed at the Sixth Prince and Yuan Hang and said, "Drag them out! Furthermore, investigate every official in the court who has had dealings with the Yuan Family for me."

The Sixth Prince had already collapsed limply onto the ground.

He had run rampant in Jingshi by relying on the Yuan Family.

And this, his greatest backer, had actually rebelled.

"Father Emperor, this child is innocent; this child did not know the Yuan Family was going to rebel." As the Imperial Guard soldiers approached, the Sixth Prince shouted repeatedly.

Zhao Heng did not even look at him, simply waving his hand.

The Sixth Prince looked at Zhao Qu at this moment, hugging his leg and begging, "Second Brother, please plead for me, please plead for me..."

Zhao Qu's forehead was covered in cold sweat; he had, after all, questioned Yan Wang in the imperial court alongside the Sixth Prince that day.

It was already a great fortune that his Father Emperor had not punished him; how could he dare to have any further connection with the Sixth Prince?

Furthermore, with the Yuan Family rebelling, who would dare to be associated with them now?

He kicked his leg out to shake off the Sixth Prince as if he were a disgusting fly, and said angrily, "I truly misjudged you; I never expected you to be such a devious person."

Seeing Zhao Qu's cold expression, the Sixth Prince's heart fell into an ice cellar.

Previously in Jingshi, he had bullied the Ninth Prince Zhao Xu the most.

Now, he finally understood how lowly he would become once he lost his support.