Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 423 Kill him for me!
"I do not believe!"

The emperor slumped into his chair.

Li Quan took out a handkerchief and stepped forward, wiping his lips with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty, please bear with it a little longer. If I'm not mistaken, the Yan family is already leading all the officials on their way to the palace."

The emperor looked up at him in a daze.

"Your Majesty! This old minister has urgent business to discuss!"

In just that short time, a very familiar, aged voice came from outside the window!

It is Yan Song!
He jumped up and rushed to the door to open it.

He Ping stepped forward and stopped him.

At that very moment, countless shouts rang out one after another!
The approaching footsteps and the rustling of clothes in the wind, like a surging tide or bees swarming out of their nest, instantly filled his ears, as if they were surrounding him from all directions!

He Ping had already torn the thin veil on the door.

Through the coin-sized hole, one could see that Yan Song led at least seventy or eighty officials outside the palace gate! From the second-ranking Grand Secretary Pang Zhi to the fifth-rank Assistant Minister, they were all officials holding substantive positions in their respective departments!

"Your Majesty! This old minister is innocent! I have urgent business to discuss!"

Each shout was an attempt to force the emperor to show himself.

The emperor's forehead veins bulged.

Lu Jie said, "Yan Song used the pretext of seeking an audience to actually force the emperor to abdicate. The fact that the emperor has shown up at this time proves that the plan has failed, and Yan Song has plenty of room to salvage the situation."

"On the contrary, if the emperor does not show up, or if the emperor has already been infected, then these officials can fully support him to control the situation in the palace."

"As the Grand Secretary in charge of the cabinet, wielding power personally bestowed by the Emperor, Yan Song can rightfully intimidate everyone!"

"Until Prince Ning arrives!"

"I don't believe it!" The emperor lowered his hand from the door. "I don't believe my own son would treat me like this!"

"Then let's continue."

Lu Jie was too lazy to pay attention to his nonsense.

The shouts outside the door were repeated more than ten times, and some people began to show signs of suspicion.

"Why are the palace gates closed in broad daylight? It's one thing for the Emperor not to respond, but why haven't even the palace servants on duty come out?"

Yan Song and Pang Zhi exchanged a silent glance.

Then Pang Zhi said loudly, "Yes, why is Qianqing Palace so strange today? Has something happened to the Emperor?"

A single word can stir up a thousand waves.

Countless voices of doubt arose.

Then someone got up, eager to try and push the door open.

Once someone starts something, others will naturally follow.

A few people took the lead and were the first to arrive at the palace gate.

The guards came forward and shouted at them.

But they have limited manpower. They can only stop a few, let alone a dozen or dozens.
A group of people swarmed to the palace gate.

"We want to see the Emperor! Open the door quickly!"

The officials’ loud voices grew louder and louder, such a fierce atmosphere was unprecedented in the mind of the emperor who had been high above and held the power of life and death at will for many years.

"They're rebelling! They really are rebelling!"

The emperor, separated by a door, took a few steps back into the hall. His eyebrows twitched, his beard trembled, and the veins on his tightly clenched fists stood out. It was shock, fear, and anger!
This is the throne he thought he had held for decades, and these are the ministers he had paid money to support. Just because he hadn't shown up for a moment, they came so aggressively to break in!

“Yan Song!…” he murmured, then took a few more steps toward the door. Through the previous opening, he gazed at the face that stood behind the crowd with squinted eyes, looking as steady as Mount Tai!

On the day Yan Shu died, wasn't he so old that he could barely stand? Didn't he say that he was very old and didn't have much time left?

Now, with a fierce glint in his eyes, he commands these people with an air of coercion, showing no signs of old age whatsoever!

The emperor gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "Li Quan, go out and announce to all the officials that I have passed away!"

Li Quan stared at him in shock.

After glancing at Lu Jie's face, he nodded, opened the door, and walked out.

The huge crowd outside the door quieted down after Li Quan appeared.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty has passed away!"

Li Quan let out a mournful cry and knelt down in front of the door.

A collective gasp filled the air.

The audience fell silent.

Yan Song stepped forward: "What did you say? What happened to the Emperor?"

"His Majesty has passed away!" Li Quan raised his eyes in tears and rose in grief. "Your Excellency has arrived just in time. Please preside over the ceremony!"

"I do not believe!"

Yan Song asked, "How could the Emperor have suddenly passed away?"

"The Taoist priests of Baiyun Temple caused trouble and persuaded the Emperor in advance to summon the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to serve in front of the palace. Half an hour ago, the Crown Prince, who took the elixir first, died from poisoning, and the Emperor, who took the medicine right after, was also not spared!"

"The head of the Imperial Medical Academy has been unable to find his whereabouts for a long time, and the two imperial physicians on duty have tried their best, but still could not save him!"
"The Taoist priests are still trapped in the side hall. Your Excellency, please quickly issue an order to all civil and military officials to take charge of the official business!"

"How could this happen so suddenly?"

Some of the ministers trembled in shock.

They only came to see the emperor because they couldn't bear to see the Yan family suffer and didn't want to be implicated and ruin their futures. So what happened? The emperor and the crown prince were both dead!
"A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day!" Second Grand Secretary Pang Zhi shouted in a trembling voice. "Since the Emperor and the Crown Prince are no longer here, we must choose another wise ruler to succeed to the throne!"

"Shouldn't the Prince of Ning's residence in Hubei immediately go to the capital for the funeral? Prince Ning is the only prince left. Who is willing to return to the government office immediately to draft an imperial edict summoning Prince Ning to the capital?"

"...That's exactly right! This humble official is willing to go!"

Several fourth-rank officials raised their hands to accept the task and quickly ran towards the cabinet.

Yan Song glanced at the still-closed palace gates.

At that moment, the palace doors opened, and two imperial physicians, their clothes stained with blood, came out.

Finally, a body covered with a white cloth was being carried to the dragon bed in the main hall.

The side that the white cloth couldn't cover revealed a Taoist robe embroidered with delicate cloud patterns.

Yan Song was all too familiar with this Taoist robe!

Yan Song's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he abruptly turned to face the assembled officials: "His Majesty has passed away! The matter is sudden, and to prevent any unrest, I will take over all palace affairs until Prince Ning arrives in the capital!"

"Listen to my command, all officials of the fourth rank and below, immediately go and set up the mourning hall!"
"Grand Secretary Pang, you will accompany Eunuch Li back to the Directorate of Ceremonial to retrieve the seal!"
"The rest of you, follow me into the palace to kowtow and pray for the Emperor's eternal ascension to paradise!"

After shouting, he turned around, walked to the door with his head held high, pressed his hands on both sides of the door, and pushed it in with all his might!
……

The emperor stood at the very front, flanked by Lu Jie and He Ping. As the palace doors opened, the midday sun streamed in, dazzling the three of them.

Yan Song felt dizzy for a moment, looked back at the silent ministers behind him, and then looked back at the emperor.

"……emperor?"

The emperor suddenly stretched out his arm and pointed, roaring, "He Ping! Kill him for me!"