Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 424 You Forced Me to Rebel

There was a brief pause outside the door.

The stillness of the pool was quickly broken by the sound of people kneeling down.

This was followed by a trembling voice.

Then came the sound of teeth chattering.

Pang Zhi, who had just followed Li Quan to the covered walkway, heard the emperor's angry shout from afar and suddenly stopped.

Li Quan asked, "Grand Secretary Pang, what's wrong?"

"Is that the Emperor's voice?" Pang Zhi suddenly hesitated, unsure whether to move forward or backward. "The Emperor isn't dead?"

"How dare you!" Li Quan pointed at him and roared, "You dare curse the Emperor! Guards! Seize him!"

Several guards suddenly appeared from the side corner and, in the blink of an eye, twisted Pang Zhi to the ground.

Pang Zhi looked at them and said, "This isn't the uniform of palace guards! Where did they come from?"

"From the Grand Commandant's residence, are you satisfied?"

Shen Qingzhou stepped forward with her sword drawn, and with a single stroke, she removed his hair bun: "Take him away!"

Without saying a word, He Qu twisted Pang Zhi's neck and dragged him to the side hall.

Tang Yu also brought back with his two brothers and several people, who were the officials who had been sent out to deliver the imperial edict to Prince Ning.

"The two young generals from the Qin family, along with the two young generals from the Huang family, have all entered the palace. General Qin has already gone to the Imperial City Garrison with the Grand Commandant's tiger tally!"
"The Second Young Master led his team to the Guang'en Marquis's residence and found the Guang'en Marquis's Heir, who was on leave today! A quarter of an hour ago, the Guang'en Marquis's Heir also rushed to the Imperial City Garrison!"

Upon hearing this, Li Quan's face showed worry again: "If the Prince of Ning's mansion had already arranged for people to wait outside the city gate, they would probably already be preparing to attack! Does Young Master Shen have any countermeasures?"

Shen Qingzhou gripped the sword tightly: "Don't worry, I've already instructed my younger brother to order all the garrisons in the city to immediately prepare for defense!"

This was the place that Lu Jia was most worried about. Every garrison mobilization required an order from the Ministry of War. Although Shen Bo was not present, the Ministry of War still had two vice ministers who could mobilize troops.

However, even a military operation needs a legitimate reason. The matter in the palace has not yet been revealed, nor should it be. How could the Vice Minister of War simply issue a tiger tally?
But Shen Bo had been a commander-in-chief for many years, and there were always a few trusted confidants in the garrison. These were the people Shen was looking for.

"If we really can't hold out, we should ask the Emperor to issue an edict to mobilize troops. Surely he won't refuse!"

"No need!"

As the two were talking, a third voice suddenly appeared. "Since you were prepared, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

Upon hearing this voice, the two men were terrified and turned around simultaneously.

Then, Grand Commandant Shen appeared before us, dressed in a neat official uniform. Although he looked tired, his eyes were full of the confidence of a valiant general in control of the battle.

Shen Qingzhou had never been so surprised: "Father!"

Grand Commandant Shen patted him on the shoulder: "Where is the Emperor?"

"Your Majesty is well! When did you arrive in the capital?"

"Before the Crown Prince left the palace."

……

The Imperial Guards immediately apprehended Yan Song.

Inside the main hall, officials knelt on the ground both inside and outside the gate.

At this moment, several agile figures suddenly emerged from the crowd, each drawing a soft sword from their waist and instantly attacking the Imperial Guards!

Yan Song escaped his predicament, glanced back at them, straightened his clothes, and stood proudly upright.

He took a few steps forward, looked at the Crown Prince who was motionless on the soft couch behind the screen, and sneered, saying, "So the Emperor is safe and sound. That's wonderful! This is a blessing for our dynasty! The Grand Eunuch Li Quan dared to lie and say that the Emperor had passed away. He deserves to die!"
"It seems he is the murderer who killed the crown prince! Guards! Seize Li Quan immediately and execute him on the spot!" Among the kneeling officials, several more people stepped forward and flew off in the direction Li Quan had left!

"Traitor! You traitor!"

The emperor was furious and for a moment he could not find the right words to express his feelings.

He Ping raised his sword to help him: "Yan Song! You dare to murder the emperor and attempt a rebellion! I, He Ping, will kill you first!"

The men who had dealt with the imperial guards had returned behind Yan Song and caught the sword just in time.

Such a scene was naturally beyond He Ping's ability to describe.

Unfortunately, the other side had too many people.

Among the hundred or so people dressed in official robes, more than ten people suddenly appeared in an instant, and then a few more appeared to help their accomplices deal with the attack!

The emperor was terrified and his hatred for Yan Song was extreme!

Yan Song, who had always been obedient to him throughout his life, now issued commands and received a hundred responses, acting more like an emperor than he, the emperor himself!
"I had a dog, and I pampered and loved him every day. Now that he's grown up, he's using his fangs to bite me!"

The emperor gave a wry smile.

He staggered in the hall.

“That’s right!” Yan Song was already in front of him. “Your current situation is all thanks to your own efforts!”

"It's not that I want to rebel, it's that you're forcing me to rebel!"

Yan Song grinned, his white beard flying wildly: "You're the one who raised me from an unknown scholar from a poor family to a position second only to the emperor!"

"It was you who helped me, who was struggling financially, gradually accumulate a vast fortune!"
"You are the one who made me climb to the clouds, so that my descendants can look down on the world!"
"You let me have all of this, but just when I was about to retire successfully, you ruthlessly trampled me into the mud!"

"You want me to serve you faithfully for the rest of my life, only to end up with nothing? Let me ask you this: if you were emperor your whole life, would you be willing to return to Luzhou as the powerless and powerless heir of the Prince of Xingxian?!"

"Are you willing?!"

The emperor was questioned so much that he had to back away repeatedly.

Lu Jie, his body tense, turned to look out the window but did not interrupt Yan Song.

“Who doesn’t love power? Who doesn’t love wealth? Who said that the world is yours alone and not mine?” Yan Song stroked his beard. “If someone has to say that, then I’ll just have to become you.”

He turned to the kneeling, trembling officials and said, “What are you still kneeling for? Get up! The Crown Prince has died, and the Emperor has been listening to the nonsense of the Taoist priests and taking elixirs for years. He is now terminally ill!”

"He is no longer capable of governing."

"We must welcome a new emperor and let him sit on the dragon throne! I will continue to lead everyone to assist the monarch!"

"Why are you still worshipping him?"

"Grand Secretary Yan, how could you deceive us?..."

"Deceive? Who said I deceived you?" Yan Song glared at him. "Didn't we only find out about all of this recently?"
"It was Li Quan who intended to rebel. I merely led you to the rescue at the first opportunity and led you to turn the tide!"

"You're actually afraid?"
"Why aren't you getting up yet? Hurry up and start making arrangements for the Emperor and the Crown Prince's funerals."
"Go and strike the death knell!"
"Go and proclaim this to the world!"

"Go open the palace gates and welcome the people from the Prince Ning's residence to the palace for the funeral!"

His impassioned voice echoed repeatedly in the hall, penetrating everyone's ears like a demonic sound!

The emperor pointed at him: "You shameless!"

Lu Jie helped him up: "Your Majesty, please calm down! This old thief has no way out and can only act so recklessly!"
"He's trying to provoke you. If you fall down now, it will be exactly what he wants!"

"His true intention is to anger you without firing a single shot, so that you will destroy yourself!"