in2ebook Chapter 269 Confrontation with the Former Dynasty
Chapter 269 Confrontation with the Former Dynasty
"Then Uncle Cheng, let's try it. Are your people faster, or is my sword faster?" The sword light was slightly cold, slightly cutting through the surface of King Cheng's skin.
Prince Cheng shuddered, but still managed to speak: "How dare you kill me in front of all these ministers?"
"My ministers have witnessed with their own eyes that Uncle Cheng is plotting rebellion and defying His Majesty's will. I, acting on behalf of the Emperor, will enforce the law and execute this villain by my side. This is my just and proper act."
As Zhong Ning finished speaking, an imperial censor emerged from the ranks and loudly advised, "Princess, this is forbidden. Prince Cheng is, after all, a descendant of the royal family and an elder. If you take action, it would be contrary to filial piety. Moreover, Prince Cheng's private soldiers are stationed in Mingzhou. If you kill them rashly, Mingzhou will be in chaos, and the people of the world will suffer!"
"Filial piety? What filial piety? Did he give birth to me or did he raise me? Does it really require me to be filial to him?"
Zhong Ning sneered, "I have my own parents, so I don't need to be filial to others."
The censor choked for a moment, then said indignantly: "His Royal Highness Prince Cheng is your elder after all..."
"You elders are not kind. You didn't see the censor giving you sincere advice, but instead lectured me. I have reason to suspect that you are conspiring with Prince Cheng to usurp the throne..."
Zhong Ning's hand holding the sword moved an inch closer to King Cheng, and his voice was icy cold. King Cheng was immediately frightened and broke out in a sweat.
"Come here, drag him away and investigate thoroughly..."
As soon as Zhong Ning finished speaking, two imperial guards stepped forward, grabbed the censor, and dragged him out of the hall.
The whole way was filled with the censor's angry curses, and the officials in the court looked at Zhong Ning with even more fear.
"Zhaohua... we can talk it over..." Prince Cheng couldn't help himself any longer and begged for mercy in a low voice, "Just now, I said something wrong. I hope you won't take it too seriously!"
Let this madman let me go first. I can’t die before the reinforcements arrive!
"If Uncle Cheng had understood his situation earlier, he wouldn't have to suffer like this..." Zhong Ning released the sword and pushed the man out.
After all, he is the foreign king. There is no concrete evidence yet. She cannot act rashly in front of all the ministers. She just needs to suppress him a little with her momentum!
As soon as Prince Cheng escaped from danger, he heard the voice of "The Queen Mother is here" coming from outside the palace, and he was stunned again.
"Mother, mother..." Prince Cheng covered his neck and knelt down crying towards the beautiful woman in gorgeous clothes who was slowly walking into the palace, "Mother, my brother suddenly fell ill, and I was entrusted with the task. I didn't expect Zhaohua and the Second Prince to misunderstand me and even want to kill me..."
The Queen Mother was about sixty years old, but she was well maintained and looked no more than fifty. Her almond eyes were frosty and she was majestic without even being angry. When all the ministers saluted and greeted her, she pointed her spearhead directly at Zhong Ning in front of her.
"I heard that the emperor brought back an illegitimate daughter from the people. I think it must be you..." The empress dowager walked slowly to the imperial platform and looked down at Zhong Ning.
"Zhaohua, I'm honored to meet the Queen Mother..." Zhong Ning bowed solemnly without any mistakes.
But the Queen Mother clearly wanted to support her son and did not shout. She glanced around with an expressionless face and then said calmly, "Prince Cheng was specially allowed to act as regent by my order. Are you provoking me like this because you are dissatisfied with me?"
Zhong Ning stood up and met the Queen Mother's gaze.
As expected, the Queen Mother's expression changed drastically. "He really is from the common people. He really has no manners."
"I, your Excellency, thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. As for your question, I have something to say. Before my father passed away, he left a secret decree, ordering me to assist the Second Prince in governing the country if anything were to happen to him. I dare not trouble Uncle Cheng!"
"You..." The Queen Mother pointed at Zhong Ning angrily, "In your opinion, the Emperor's secret decree is not true or false, but Prince Cheng is following my orders!"
"You gentlemen have just verified that this secret decree is indeed in my father's handwriting... Queen Mother, there is no two suns in the sky, and no two rulers in a country. Your Majesty has clearly ordered that the Second Prince be regent. Could it be that the Queen Mother intends to disobey my father's holy will?"
When the Queen Mother heard this, her face turned pale.
Zhong Ning turned to the ministers and asked again:
"I am here to ask you gentlemen, when Taizu founded the country, he clearly stated that the harem was not allowed to interfere in government affairs. Even if my father is in a coma, his son is still capable of handling important matters. When will the empress dowager's decree be able to command the former dynasty?"
"Even I, the Queen, only dared to assist in the administration of the country with the special permission of my father. The Queen Mother secretly left the harem and interfered in the affairs of the court. Whose will was it?"
"You..." The Queen Mother's pupils shrank slightly and she was shaking with anger. For so many years, no one in this palace dared to disobey her!
Today, he was to be publicly humiliated by a foreign bastard in front of everyone!
If her youngest son had not been too young at the time, why would she have supported her eldest son, who was not close to her, to ascend to the throne?
Now that the eldest brother is seriously ill, it is time for the younger brother to take over.
But this ruthless and cold-blooded bastard actually played tricks on her and directly disrupted her plan with a secret order.
The Queen Mother was so angry that her chest kept heaving, and Prince Cheng was also dumbfounded.
Unexpectedly, Princess Zhaohua was so stubborn that she didn't even give the empress dowager face.
Just as he was about to explode, a young eunuch suddenly rushed in from outside the palace: "Oh no! The Flying Tiger Battalion and the Cheetah Battalion are leading their troops hunting outside the city right now. They heard that His Royal Highness Prince Cheng is the regent, so they sent someone to congratulate him!"
what?
All the ministers were shocked.
There are 20,000 imperial guards guarding the capital.
There are three camps outside the city, each with 20,000 soldiers, forming a protective posture for the capital. Now, two of the three camps are secretly leading troops to hunt outside the city.
This move is actually a threat to the capital!
In particular, the other party has already defected to King Cheng.
The intention of this group of people coming to congratulate was probably to support King Cheng's ascension to the throne.
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
Prince Cheng straightened his body even more.
His reinforcements are coming!
Forty thousand soldiers fought against the twenty thousand imperial guards in the city.
The winner and the loser are clear at a glance!
Everyone is waiting to see how Zhong Ning will react?
Prince Cheng even raised the corners of his lips with a smug look on his face. How dare such a young boy go against him? Let him know what the real means are.
Zhong Ning glanced over calmly, then said loudly to everyone:
"My father has repeatedly stated that the foreign princes are not allowed to have private relations with the military camps. Now, as you can see, Prince Cheng has not much time left in the capital, so he secretly bribed the commanders of the Flying Tiger Camp, Yu Tu, and the commander of the Cheetah Camp, Feng Wudu."
"This move is truly a wolfish ambition. It's clear that they are eyeing the throne and committing treason. I, following my father's secret order, am now the regent princess, holding power on behalf of the emperor. Today, I will personally take action to eliminate this official and eliminate this threat to Dayong!"
After saying that, Zhong Ning drew out his soft sword, exerted his internal force on it, and threw it directly at King Cheng. However, it happened in a flash. A secret guard rushed to King Cheng and used his body to block the sword for him.
With a "puff", the secret guard vomited blood and his body went limp.