books44 Chapter 379 Coup 3
Chapter 379 Coup 3
Shen Lan led Li Ye to the palace gate.
She was dressed in men's clothing, following behind Li Ye with her head bowed and eyes downcast; her figure was no different from that of a servant.
"Halt!" The imperial guards at the gate did not recognize Tong Yiwen and stopped him.
Tong Yiwen calmly asked, "Is the Crown Prince in the palace? Have your leader come to see me."
Unsure of his identity, the guard lowered his stance and asked, "May I ask who you are, sir?"
Shen Lan stepped forward and scolded, "Are you blind? This is Headmaster Tong, the Crown Prince's maternal grandfather. Why aren't you going to invite the Crown Prince out to greet him?"
The Crown Prince has entered the palace.
However, he did not rush to the Golden Palace, but instead led a contingent of imperial guards to the Kunning Palace.
Since he has been secluded, the Empress has not shown her face, and he suspects that something bad has happened to his mother.
But he did not doubt Li Ge; he doubted his cold-blooded father.
The Kunning Palace was eerily quiet, without a single person in sight.
The Empress has disappeared, and even the servants don't know where she has gone.
The crown prince angrily slammed his fist on a door and roared, "Go and find her! You must find the Empress Dowager!"
"Your Highness, please calm down. The most urgent matter is to resolve the Emperor's situation. Perhaps the Emperor will know where the Empress is!"
The advisors restrained the agitated crown prince, feeling that he couldn't distinguish between what was important and what was urgent.
"Very well, I'd like to see what my father will say to me!"
Inside the main hall, the Imperial Guards stood at the door, followed by two rows of generals, and then young civil officials, each holding whatever they had in their hands.
As for the elderly officials, they retreated to a corner and hid away.
Several corpses lay on the ground; they were all those who had urged the emperor to surrender and abdicate.
While the emperor couldn't kill the rebels outside, killing a few officials was a piece of cake.
The longer they were besieged, the more depressed everyone became. Even if they didn't say it out loud, they were actually leaning towards supporting the new leader.
"Bang!" There was a loud noise.
The door to the main hall was kicked open, and the crown prince swaggered in.
Zhao Jinxiao blocked his way, holding a sword across his chest.
"Your Highness, please wait!"
The crown prince glared at him and sneered, "You want to stop me?"
"Your Highness's insubordination is truly unacceptable."
"What a joke! Who gives you the right to lecture me?"
The crown prince waved his hand, and a group of soldiers rushed up behind him, fighting with Zhao Jinxiao and his men.
The other officials dared not stop him and made way for the crown prince to enter.
The emperor pushed aside the guards in front of him and looked down at his son.
He laughed.
"Excellent! This is the first time I've realized that the Crown Prince also possesses a wolfish nature!"
"Isn't this all because of you, Father Emperor?"
"What have I forced you to do? Force you to rebel? Or force you to kill?"
The crown prince lifted his robes, knelt down, and kowtowed three times to the emperor.
"Father, please calm your anger. Your son has not come here today to harm you. I only came because I heard that Mother was being persecuted, so I had no choice but to bring troops into the palace!"
“Your mother is in Kunning Palace, not here.”
"Your Majesty, I have just returned from Kunning Palace. Mother is missing. Where did you hide her, Father?"
The emperor raised an eyebrow, clearly somewhat surprised.
But now is not the time to care about that; he does not care about the Empress's life or death.
Only Xiao Ji, upon hearing this news, thought of Li Ge and guessed that Li Ge must have moved the Empress immediately after receiving the news.
To him, the Queen was the best hostage.
But he still couldn't guess what this manager would do next.
His betrayal of the crown prince could be attributed to revenge, but did he have other masters behind him?
It is extremely difficult for a eunuch, especially a young crown prince, to rise rapidly in the palace without anyone's support.
"Tell me first, where did you hide the Tong family members?"
The Crown Prince was equally surprised. "Your Majesty, I don't understand. Why would I hide them?"
"Oh? So you're saying these Northwest Imperial Guards under your command weren't recruited by the Tong family?"
The Crown Prince shook his head. "No, Deputy Commander Yang was someone I planted there; he has nothing to do with the Tong family."
Upon hearing this, the emperor actually breathed a sigh of relief.
He knows his son too well; he knows exactly what he's capable of.
"Get up. Although I said I wanted to depose the Crown Prince, you know in your heart who I was targeting."
The emperor listed ten major crimes committed by the Tong family, and then pointed to the mountain of gold and silver, saying, "I cannot keep parasites like the Tong family. You should also open your eyes and see if they are truly sincere to you."
Today, they're using your name to make money everywhere; tomorrow, they'll dare to seize your position and take your place.
The crown prince bit his lip and asked unwillingly, "Then Father, could you punish only the Tong family and spare me?"
The emperor descended the steps, reached out to help him up, and gently patted his shoulder.
"You are the son I raised by hand, my eldest son, how could I not favor you?"
The crown prince was moved, "Father..."
"Sigh, all I've done is so that you can become a qualified successor, right?"
The emperor reached out and embraced the crown prince.
In the prince's memory, his father had never held him from childhood to adulthood.
His nose tingled with emotion, and he whispered, "Father, your son... ah..."
With a scream, the crown prince forcefully pushed the emperor away and stared blankly down.
A dagger was stuck in his abdomen, a dagger inlaid with seven-colored gemstones.
He remembered that he had given this dagger to his father.
The officials were in an uproar.
Several officials who supported the crown prince rushed over and surrounded him.
Seeing this, the Northwest Imperial Guards launched an even fiercer attack, and many ministers were killed by stray arrows.
Chaos erupted inside the main hall.
The emperor burst into laughter, "You rebellious son! You think you can usurp the throne?!"
The crown prince pointed at him with a trembling hand, his eyes filled with hatred and regret.
Everyone frantically tried to press on his wound, but they didn't know how. By the time the imperial physician arrived, the prince was barely breathing.
It was at this moment that Shen Lan brought in the fake Tong Yiwen.
Everyone's attention was focused on the Crown Prince, and they didn't notice the two people who suddenly appeared.
Shen Lan first found Xiao Ji and was relieved to see that he was safe and sound.
She felt conflicted when she saw the crown prince lying in a pool of blood.
The dagger did not strike a fatal spot; if the imperial physician had treated him promptly, he would have had a chance to survive.
But given the current situation, the imperial physician might not be able to save the person.
Yang Changlong was the first to spot "Tong Yiwen" and moved closer to him.
"Headmaster Tong, you've arrived?"
Yang Changlong had met Tong Yiwen, but that was several years ago.
Many people around looked over, with varying expressions.
In this situation, if the Crown Prince dies, what good will it do even if the coup succeeds? Does the Tong family really intend to take the throne themselves?
Shen Lan winked at Li Ye.
The latter said to Yang Changlong in front of him, "When did you come to the capital? How come I didn't know?"
Yang Changlong treated him with utmost respect and answered all his questions.
"This humble general received a message from His Highness the Crown Prince half a month ago and led his men to come at full speed. I did not expect the Emperor to suddenly attack and injure His Highness. It was due to my failure to protect him properly."
He bowed his head to admit his mistake, thus missing the sudden outburst of anger from the person in front of him, whose hand, hidden in his sleeve, suddenly reached out towards him.
A cold light flashed.
A nimble dagger sliced around the back of his neck, cutting open half of it.
Yang Changlong's body convulsed, and he staggered a few steps before collapsing.
When the Northwest Imperial Guards saw that their commander was dead and the Crown Prince was critically ill, they were all dumbfounded and at a loss.
The tables are turned.