Chapter 118 - 116: Struggle for the Throne
Da Han Dynasty’s Imperial Capital, Yunling City.
Da Han was established nearly a thousand years ago, during its long and rich history, there have been a total of twenty-one emperors, and the capital city, from ancient times, has only ever been this one, never changed.
It is said that the Yunling Imperial Capital is the foundation of Da Han Dynasty’s fortune, located on a high plateau, praised by all as the Celestial City!
Within the Celestial City, the Celestial Palace!
The Imperial Palace is situated at the highest point in the city, with hundreds of stone steps stretching upward, the entire golden palace city is as dazzling as the blazing sun.
Below the stone steps, it is for the common people to worship daily.
In the palace, today the Emperor does not hold the morning court, and the court hall is empty.
On a dragon throne within the Nourishing Body Hall.
The old emperor, dressed in a dragon robe, with white hair, was leaning feebly.
His face was dull with no shine.
His eyes were cloudy and lifeless, staring intently at the mural of soaring dragons and leaping tigers on the wall.
At this moment, a person walked in.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
This person was also of advanced age, his official uniform decorated with an Immortal Crane Pattern, representing a first-grade official in the court.
"Chancellor Wei, I have been asleep for three days, how is the court?" The old emperor still fixed his gaze on the mural and slowly asked.
"Your Majesty, in the past three days, the court has been uneventful, as per your instructions, the Crown Prince is currently handling state affairs." Chancellor Wei replied respectfully.
The old emperor’s gaze slowly began to move, it seemed even moving his eyes has become extremely difficult for him now.
The gaze finally landed on the chancellor before him.
"Chancellor Wei, you are the person I trust the most in the court, tell me, after my death, how confident are you that Zheng’er can ascend to the throne smoothly?" asked the old emperor, his voice somewhat unclear.
"Your Majesty, your health is well..."
The chancellor began, but was interrupted by the old emperor with a frown: "There are only the two of us here, there’s no need for unnecessary words, just answer my question."
Seeing this, the chancellor changed his words.
"The Crown Prince is your designated successor, he is to follow the will of heaven, ascend the throne to become emperor, rest assured, Your Majesty, at that time, even if I die, I will definitely ensure the Crown Prince ascends smoothly."
"..." The old emperor’s eyes gradually turned cold, the muddled air around him slightly dissipated, staring at the chancellor in front of him.
"Wei Zhe, I have elevated you to the position of chancellor during these years of my reign and regarded you as a confidant, why!"
The old emperor’s tone grew significantly heavier towards the end, like an old mighty lion letting out a final roar with all its strength!
"Why did you defy my imperial decree!"
"Your subject wouldn’t dare!" The chancellor’s expression subtly changed, bowing on the ground.
After all, the old emperor is still the old emperor, even though he is aging, he is still the most powerful person in the land!
His presence of emperor’s qi is enough to overpower anyone before him.
"Wouldn’t dare?" The old emperor’s previously bloodless face suddenly showed a slight flush, staring fiercely at the chancellor prostrate before him.
"You secretly helped Jing’er, thinking that while I was bedridden, I would know nothing!"
"Please calm down, Your Majesty, your subject is wronged." The chancellor was startled in his heart, but on his lips he quickly defended himself.
"Your subject has always acted solely for Your Majesty, never with the heart of disloyalty, please see clearly, Your Majesty..."
As the chancellor spoke, he suddenly noticed no movement from the dragon throne, and then he subtly lifted his head to peek.
He saw the old emperor had, unknowingly, lain on the dragon throne, eyes open but motionless, with no breath.
The chancellor’s heart skipped a beat, he called out to His Majesty twice more cautiously but still received no response.
He immediately stood up and leaned closer, completely confirming that the old emperor had suddenly passed away just like that!
The chancellor flicked his sleeves and steadied himself, his mind became lively instantly, and his previously worried heart was now completely relieved, muttering to himself.
"Your Majesty, there are things you did not know, the Crown Prince is arrogant and holds no place for me in his heart, how could I support him.
If the Crown Prince truly ascends smoothly, it would be a dead-end road for me!
You should also understand, what I have done is all for my own survival..."
He expressed his most genuine thoughts, but the old emperor was destined never to hear them.
The emperor’s death wasn’t immediately disclosed outside the Imperial Palace.
Initially, only the six powerful princes knew about it.
Afterward.
The palace was locked down, and outside Yunling City, in various prefectures and counties, all the dormant forces received the orders at the first moment.
Numerous governors personally led county soldiers towards Yunling City!
The world, at this moment, was plunged into chaos!
The storm was impending, centering on the vast imperial capital, it would rapidly sweep in all directions.
The Donglai Prefecture, where Song Changming was located, was remote, and by the time the news reached there from the imperial capital, it was already early autumn in July.
In the courtyard of the Liu Residence.
Liu Dingsheng and Song Changming sat opposite each other at a stone table.
A chessboard was placed on the table, yellowed leaves had fallen onto it, and were brushed aside onto the ground by Song Changming.
Pa!
Liu Dingsheng placed a chess piece down, considering it a good move, and contentedly took a sip of tea with a smile.
A moment later, Song Changming shook his head and conceded defeat.
"Your skills are exquisite, senior, I lost again."
"Haha, you’re doing well, Changming. You’ve improved quite a bit lately, and this time I didn’t win easily," Liu Dingsheng stroked his beard and laughed.
Song Changming looked at the massacre on the chessboard, speechless.
What a so-called "not easily won."
Previously, he hadn’t devoted much to studying chess, merely reaching the stage of knowing how to play.
On the other hand, Liu Dingsheng had researched chess for decades, and his prowess needed no introduction.
Yet this old man adored crushing novices.
Upon knowing Song Changming could play chess, he often invited him over as a chess companion.
Song Changming gladly accepted, as it allowed him to repeatedly consult Liu Dingsheng.
As for the massacres on the chessboard, he grew accustomed to them after a while.
"Lord, news from the Imperial Capital has arrived..." A martial artist from the Liu Residence in a short robe suddenly walked in but closed his mouth upon seeing Song Changming present.
"Senior, I’ll take my leave," Song Changming tactfully gestured to rise.
"Oh, you can’t leave after just one game, it’s fine, Ziwen, speak your mind," Liu Dingsheng motioned for Song Changming to sit down and spoke to the martial artist.
Seeing this, the martial artist had no choice but to reveal the shocking news he just received.
"News from the Imperial Capital states that governors of each surrounding prefecture have suddenly set out with troops, heading towards the Imperial Capital!"
"Oh!" Liu Dingsheng set the teacup down, pondered briefly, then spoke.
"These governors have long made their alignments, and only the current six princes could mobilize them; they moved their troops."
Song Changming listened from the side, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he couldn’t help but speak.
"Could it be!"
Liu Dingsheng noticed what Song Changming was thinking and nodded, saying, "This is the most likely outcome, something happened to His Majesty, and it’s not the same as when he was bedridden."
He spoke subtly.
In fact, he thought the old Emperor had likely passed away this time!
Otherwise, the six princes wouldn’t dare forcibly mobilize their troops into the Capital!
This is a treacherous act, all for vying for the throne left unoccupied.
The current situation sees the six princes breaking the surface calm entirely, tearing each other’s faces.
It is foreseeable that the ensuing struggle for the throne must be bloody, either you die or I perish.
"Just hope the new Emperor ascends quickly to stabilize the situation; otherwise, the whole realm will plunge into chaos," Liu Dingsheng lamented the unpredictability of life and suddenly looked at Song Changming.
"By the way, Changming, let me remind you that your Lord Zhuang, the governor, and the captain are actually people sent by the Fifth Prince, belonging to his inner circle."
"The Fifth Prince..." Song Changming was momentarily stunned.
He could guess after the Xiao Family’s demise, the governor from the Imperial Capital and people like Zhuang Ren were inevitably sent by one of the princes.
Initially, he suspected it was the Second Prince.
After all, the culprit behind wiping out the Xiao Family, the mastermind was indeed the Second Prince.
This strategized annihilation of the Xiao Family, smoothly installing his men as successors of the Governor of Donglai, seemed logical.
Yet Liu Dingsheng revealed that Zhuang Ren and the governor were backed by the Fifth Prince, which genuinely surprised him.
He had no clue how the Fifth Prince managed to intervene and seize Donglai Prefecture.
Nonetheless, Donglai Prefecture remains temporarily peaceful.
The fact that the Governor of Donglai hasn’t received orders to dispatch troops to the Imperial Capital indicates the Fifth Prince is aware of Donglai Prefecture’s remoteness; by the time the Governor receives his orders and sends reinforcements, it’ll be too late for him.
Thus, there’s no expectation for the Governor of Donglai to play a key role at this critical juncture.
Apart from Donglai, other remote prefectures are similarly placed on hold, watching the outcome within the Imperial Palace from afar.
Not only the governors of these prefectures, but even someone as well-informed as Liu Dingsheng from Jianghu is closely monitoring news from the Imperial Capital.
Until everything settles, nobody can predict how the future of the realm will unfold.
"Which of the six princes does senior believe will ascend this time and become Emperor?" Song Changming went on to ask since they were already deep into the conversation.
Through multiple interactions and connections with Liu Dingsheng, this elder, he gained insights into various external affairs.
He listened to Liu Dingsheng narrate past and present events with clarity.
Consequently, each time something crossed his mind, Song Changming instinctively inquired Liu Dingsheng’s opinion.
"It would be the current Crown Prince," Liu Dingsheng said confidently.
"He is the Crown Prince appointed by the late Emperor; innately closer to the throne than the other five princes, and the late Emperor surely paved his way; unless he is thoroughly inept, he’s most likely to emerge as the ultimate victor."
However, Song Changming didn’t quite agree. He, too, browsed the history of the Da Han Dynasty over the years, hence asked, "Was the late Emperor a Crown Prince back then?"
"Uh..." Liu Dingsheng was momentarily speechless, then argued, "In the late Emperor’s time, it was because the Crown Prince was indeed too incompetent that the empire fell into the late Emperor’s hands."
"Perhaps." Song Changming glanced at the chessboard and continued, "But I think precisely because the Crown Prince is closest to the throne, he becomes the most prominent target at the start; the other five princes would all aim at him first.
His path to the throne might actually be the hardest."
...