Chapter 758: The Last One to Appear Is

The outcome is decided!

The Empress Dowager was pierced through by the power of the lightning and fell to the ground; although she did not die, from this moment on, she was already politically dead.

Not only because she failed, but more importantly, she was defeated by a sufficiently orthodox power. Prince Shun did not use some messy Sword Hero to surround and suppress her, nor did he have an assassin sneak out to ambush her; he first announced her crimes, then activated the most orthodox Ancestral Aura and National Master Lightning, breaking her from the front.

This declared that orthodoxy was on his side, moral righteousness was on his side, the National Master was also on his side, and as for the civil and military officials...

After today, there is no reason for the civil and military officials not to stand on the side of orthodoxy. If someone refuses to stand with them, and now that the battle has not yet ceased, it is quite reasonable for those who refuse to pick a side to be accidentally caught in the fighting and die, is it not?

This is a coup, with a standard coup routine: seize military power, launch a sudden attack, behead the core figures, and control the imperial court. The two most critical steps are done; the next step is to divide the power and then announce it to the world.

As it happens, there are plenty of commoners downstairs, which is a very suitable occasion for making an announcement. Just tonight, there is hope to complete the entire process of a typical coup.

After all, only one very important step remains.

Prince Shun took a deep breath and said, "Uncle Wang."

Shou Wang nodded, his face full of smiles, and said, "Finally, order has been restored. Miao Shi is guilty of heinous crimes and naturally has no right to usurp the position of Empress Dowager. Prince Shun, now that all the imperial clan members are here, we should go to the palace together to hold the funeral for our Emperor."

Prince Shun's gaze tightened slightly: This is not what was agreed upon.

He was certainly not waiting for Shou Wang to urge him to ascend the throne now; that would be too unsightly. According to the plan, he was supposed to join forces with Shou Wang to enter the palace, find the Emperor's remains to hold the funeral, and then naturally bring up the matter of succession. Now that Shou Wang suddenly mentioned that all the imperial clan members should go together, this was something not discussed before.

When the two were in contact before, they had reached a consensus—the one who should ascend the throne was Prince Shun. Prince Shun was not without hypocritical refusals, offering to yield to Shou Wang, but Shou Wang had stated very clearly that he was of age and lacked the motivation to ascend the throne. Moreover, the Emperor had no sons, and the succession from brother to younger brother was also legitimate; how could there be any reason for a nephew to yield the throne to an uncle? Furthermore, he had once assisted the Empress Dowager and the current Emperor; if he were to topple the Empress Dowager and ascend the throne himself, he would inevitably be suspected of being a treacherous villain who betrayed his allies. For the sake of reputation and stability, it was better for Prince Shun to ascend the throne.

In exchange, after Prince Shun ascended the throne, he would fully support Shou Wang's grand plan for longevity and mobilize the power of the world to find the Auspicious Lingzhi to add blessings and longevity to Shou Wang.

This was what had been agreed upon, but now that Shou Wang mentioned all the imperial clan members, what did he mean?

Could it be that he intended to use the hands of the imperial clan to push himself, the old imperial uncle who had been highly respected for many years, to the top and steal the peach from Prince Shun?

However, Prince Shun was not panicked.

Verbal alliances—is it not a matter of course that allies are unreliable? Since a coup has been launched, how can one imagine the other party to be a loyal person whose word is worth a thousand gold? One should think of the other party as one's own kind; does one not understand what one is oneself?

Therefore, Prince Shun naturally kept a trump card for himself and said with a smile, "Uncle Wang, why don't you go and see if Prince Xing is still there?"

The meaning of these words was to let Shou Wang go and see if Prince Xing was dead.

If not, then help him along.

This was something that had to be done, and it could not be delayed. Although pretending to provide medical treatment at this time, carrying him back to the imperial palace, and then letting him "die of illness" would be more decent for everyone, it could not be done that way.

Because Prince Shun knew: the National Master was still there, and the rules were still there.

As the Emperor's own younger brother, Prince Xing's right of succession was higher than Prince Shun's, and he had not killed his brother, so he was without fault and had not lost his right of succession. As long as Prince Xing was alive, according to the rules that had been operating for hundreds of years, Prince Xing should be the next emperor.

Now this rule was still effective, just temporarily blocked. Once they left this building and the restrictions were lifted, the one who could truly obtain the protection of orthodox power would be Prince Xing.

If Prince Xing ascended the throne, Prince Shun and the others would become a huge joke, far worse than Shou Wang ascending the throne himself.

Therefore, Prince Shun was now forcing Shou Wang to do this thing, to do an unrighteous act in full view of everyone.

Prince Shun had already stepped forward just now and bore the pressure of the Empress Dowager alone; now it should be the Imperial Uncle's turn, right?

If Shou Wang did not agree to this either, then he was openly falling out, and Prince Shun would give him a big surprise as a gift.

Shou Wang stared at him and said, "Indeed, Prince Xing aside, Miao Taihou also needs to be confirmed. I will go to support Prince Xing; you look after that woman."

I will go kill Prince Xing, you kill the Empress Dowager; let no one remain clean.

The two exchanged glances and stepped forward together.

Prince Chun, who had been protected and thus able to watch the whole process relatively calmly, gave a low hum.

Killing people on the spot, and killing a minor within his own clan at that—Prince Chun, as a vassal king who had been fighting on the frontier, found it very hard to stomach.

But this cold hum, which almost no one heard, was the limit of what Prince Chun could express. This was a political struggle; it should be this cruel. He could not do anything in the current situation, and he was also just a political animal, only not quite as pure yet.

But his peripheral vision caught Wang Fei, and he saw that his son's face was not only tense but also filled with lingering confusion. His heart tightened, and he gave his son a look:

What is going on? What do you know?

No matter how dangerous or difficult the situation outside was, it was not as difficult as having one's own family members involved in the vortex, especially without one's knowledge.

This kid... how on earth did he get mixed up in this muddy water?

Seeing his father's inquiry, Wang Fei simply stopped playing riddles. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was not here, he lowered his head and whispered in Prince Chun's ear, "The matter is not over. At least one key figure has not appeared. There may be deeper hidden circumstances."

Prince Chun simply turned back to his son and said, "It doesn't matter if you missed a key point, as long as the thing can be accomplished. Even the best plans are often sloppy in actual execution."

This principle is like marching and fighting: it is agreed that five armies will reach the battlefield from different routes, and everyone says they have made full preparations, but when they arrive at the scene, it is inevitable that some will be late, and some who arrive will have half their soldiers scattered. At that time, should one just wait and miss the opportunity for battle?

Therefore, in Prince Chun's view, no matter what key figure there was or why they didn't appear, this coup could be considered more than half successful at this point. Winning is all that matters.

If there is a failure, it might be the subsequent contradictions of the coup group, or being stolen by a latecomer. At least the Empress Dowager was already unable to resist.

The imperial court of the Great Jin should have changed.

Wang Fei shook his head and said, "It's not that simple, someone told me..."

At this moment, they heard Shou Wang say, "Alas, Prince Xing... is he out of breath?"

They saw that the young boy in his arms, dressed in magnificent clothes, had a face devoid of color, his eyes wide open with dilated pupils, and his breath had ceased.

This boy was born into an imperial family, yet it is hard to say he ever lived a good day, and just like that, in a muddled state, he died at the age of twelve.

Although everyone present had long known this would happen, a trace of gloom still passed through their hearts.

A coup is inherently bloody; this is just the beginning.

Shou Wang's expression was sad, but he looked at Prince Shun and the Empress Dowager.

It is your turn to act.

Prince Shun saw that Shou Wang had provided the result and had no intention of going back on his word, so he stepped forward to support the Empress Dowager and said, "Empress Dowager..."

The Empress Dowager was not like Prince Xing, who was already unconscious; she still had some consciousness at this time. Seeing Prince Shun approach, she recoiled violently.

How could Prince Shun let her dodge? He struck like lightning and grabbed the Empress Dowager—

"Ah!"

A scream!

It was Prince Shun!

Prince Shun had indeed grabbed the Empress Dowager, but at that very moment, a large expanse of golden light erupted from her body; it was precisely the Ancestral Protection Aura from just before!

When Shun Wang went to grab her, it was like grabbing onto a spiked shield; countless golden rays pierced his hand, and the greater the force he used, the greater the backlash he received!

Yet this time, the Protective Aura he himself possessed did not appear, so he was defenseless! Shun Wang absolutely had not expected the situation to reverse in the blink of an eye, and caught off guard, he let out a miserable scream. This scream sliced through the air like a sharp blade, instantly stirring up the situation that had already begun to calm down!

"How is this possible?"

Seeing Shun Wang's bloodied arm and the golden light coiling around it, Shou Wang cried out involuntarily.

At a time like this, how could such an unexpected turn of events occur?

Did the Empress Dowager still have a hidden trump card?

But, but that inextinguishable golden light was clearly an orthodox Protective Aura, wasn't it?!

Just moments ago, the Empress Dowager's precious book aura had been shattered by Shun Wang, which meant that Shun Wang's orthodoxy had overwhelmed the Empress Dowager's, and it was also the source of his confidence in taking the initiative to attack today. And the fact that the Empress Dowager's aura was shattered proved that she had already been expelled from a certain scope of protection. The mere title of "Empress Dowager" could no longer protect her life as it could in an era when ritual laws and decorum were still valued.

Yet now, her aura had returned, while Shun Wang's aura had dissipated.

As one wanes, the other waxes; everyone saw it with their own eyes. In terms of the implications of the aura, the victor is orthodox and the loser is rebellious—could it be that the orthodoxy had shifted again?

Is it such a joke? Can the shift of orthodoxy be calculated by the minute and the second? One moment it is you, the next blink it is him?

The Empress Dowager losing the hearts of the people and the orthodoxy was the punishment she received for killing the Emperor; this was a great act of rebellion. Even so, the Golden Book had protected her for a period of time. And what had Shun Wang done for his golden light to be extinguished in an instant, even faring worse than the Empress Dowager?

Was it because he killed Xingwang? But he didn't kill him either.

Shun Wang, Shou Wang, and all the princes participating in the operation were completely stunned; the nobles and officials present were also completely stunned, looking at Shun Wang and then at the Empress Dowager.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager sat up, a layer of golden light lingering on her body for a long time, as if she were once again the Empress Dowager who sat high upon the throne and served as the mother of the world.

At this time, Shun Wang scrambled up, disregarding the wounds on his body, and shouted, "You bitch, you are playing tricks—"

Just as he was about to launch a Death Struggle against that seemingly indestructible golden light, he heard someone behind him sigh, "Shun Wang, things have reached this point, do you still intend to remain deluded?"

Everyone present heard this voice, every single one of them, as if struck by lightning, and reflexively looked toward the door.

At the door, ten thousand rays of golden light.

A figure stood alone amidst the golden light.

Most of the people present were like clay statues or wooden puppets, while others rushed out as if electrocuted and knelt down.

"Long live the Emperor!"