My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

At this moment, the person who was most excited was naturally Haug.

The thought of sitting on that magnificent dragon throne and receiving the homage of civil and military officials filled Hauge with an irrepressible excitement.

He clenched his fist every now and then, then relaxed it, as if he were feeling the power that was about to be in his hands.

Suddenly, a panicked shout came from inside the house.

"His Majesty has passed away!"

The shout was like a thunderclap, exploding instantly in the silent air and making everyone's ears ring.

In an instant, everyone present widened their eyes, their gazes filled with disbelief.

They were waiting to see Huang Taiji one last time, but they never expected that Huang Taiji would suddenly pass away at this time!
Immediately afterwards, the expressions on everyone's faces varied.

Some had furrowed brows, their eyes revealing deep worry and contemplation.

Some were genuinely saddened by Huang Taiji's death, their expressions filled with grief.

Some had already burst into tears.

Only Hauge and Dorgon couldn't help but show a hint of joy on their faces. Although they tried their best to hide it, the slight upturn of their lips and the glint in their eyes betrayed their true feelings.

In Hauge's view, Huang Taiji was already dead, so according to the previous plan, he could soon smoothly inherit the throne.

In Dorgon's view, Da Yu'er had been with Huang Taiji all along, and now that Huang Taiji was dead, she must have secretly replaced the imperial edict during this time!

With this, the situation is settled, and Fulin can immediately ascend the throne!

Just then, the guard who had been responsible for delivering the message finally arrived in front of everyone.

He walked hurriedly, his face etched with sorrow, and then he said bitterly to the crowd:

"Your Highnesses and Your Majesty, His Majesty has passed away."

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke, as if he were truly immersed in grief.

Upon hearing these words again, the concubines could no longer hold back and burst into loud sobs.

"Your Majesty, how could you leave like this! What should I do!"

"Your Majesty! You can't just leave like this!"

Their cries rose and fell, some heart-wrenching, others gentle and mournful.

However, it wasn't necessarily all insincere, because according to the rules, concubines without children were to be buried alive with the emperor.

Therefore, among these concubines, the few who had no children cried with absolute heartbreak!

As for Hauge and the others, they couldn't wait and rushed straight into the palace, completely ignoring everyone else.

At first, the guards at the door kept blocking them and wouldn't let Hauge and his party in no matter what.

Without Huang Taiji's order, the guards dared not let anyone in; it was their duty.

But now that Huang Taiji is dead, how dare these guards stop the crowd?

After all, everyone knows that one of these people is their future emperor. If you offend the future emperor, your life will be in danger!
And so, a large group of people stormed into the palace, including the concubines who had been crying earlier.

They were crying and wiping away their tears with handkerchiefs, looking quite pitiful.

When everyone arrived at the palace, they saw that the guards and maids inside were kneeling on the ground, all weeping softly. The cries echoed in the quiet palace, sounding particularly desolate.

Not far away, Dayuer was lying by Huang Taiji's bedside, holding his arm and crying miserably. Her cries were truly heartbreaking.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, how could you leave like this? How could you bear to abandon your humble servant?"

Her voice was hoarse and sorrowful, as if she had used up all her strength.

Although everyone already knew about Huang Taiji's death, when they actually saw this scene, no one present dared to take another step forward.

After all, that was Huang Taiji!
Just then, the imperial physician who had been taken to rest in the side hall earlier also hurriedly walked in.

He ignored everyone and went straight to Huang Taiji's bedside, then carefully checked Huang Taiji's pulse and breathing.

After testing the waters, the imperial physician turned to the crowd and said:

"Gentlemen, His Majesty has passed away!"

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that they shouldn't be standing there, and then they knelt down with a thud.

Haug, kneeling at the very front, burst into tears:

"Father, Father, why are you leaving so soon? Your son didn't even get to see you one last time!"

With Hauge leading the way, everyone couldn't help but burst into tears.

As for how much of it was genuine and how much was feigned, only they themselves know.

After crying for a while, everyone gradually stopped crying.

Immediately afterwards, Haug, who was confident of victory, suddenly stepped forward.

He straightened his back, his eyes revealing confidence, and then looked at the group of uncles and brothers behind him, saying:

"Everyone, Father has passed away. Don't be too sad. Let's discuss what to do next."

Upon hearing this, everyone knew that the real highlight was about to begin, and they all stopped crying and slowly stood up.

But at that moment, Dorgon suddenly looked coldly at Hauge and said:

"Hauge, what do you mean by that? His Majesty didn't seem to leave a will for you to succeed him, so how come you seem to be the emperor now?"

In the past, faced with Dorgon's aggressive behavior, Hauge would have been very angry and might have even had a big argument with Dorgon.

But now, Hauge felt no anger at all, and even his gaze toward Dorgon had become somewhat indifferent.

Because he knew that once he became the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Dorgon would obediently kneel at his feet and submit!
If he doesn't submit, that would be even better!

Because then he could find all sorts of excuses to demote Dorgon, dismiss him from his post, exile him, or even kill him!

And all of this is about to happen!
Thinking of this, Hauge immediately stopped pretending. He took out the imperial edict from his robes and loudly proclaimed:
"This is His Majesty's will, which he personally handed to me. He said that I would immediately succeed him before his coffin after his death!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed once again.

Some suddenly realized something, while others were confused, unsure whether the imperial edict in Hauge's hand was real or fake.

However, most people still believe the imperial edict to be authentic, because judging from previous actions, Huang Taiji did indeed intend to pass the throne to Hauge. After all, Hauge was Huang Taiji's eldest son, and possessed considerable ability and prestige, making his succession to the throne a logical course of action.

Just then, Zhe Zhe walked over, supported by a palace maid.

Her steps were slow and steady, each step seemingly carrying an air of authority and solemnity.

Now that Huang Taiji is dead, Zhe Zhe is the person with the highest status in the harem.

Although she is not Hauge's biological mother, she is now considered Hauge's mother in name only!
After arriving in front of Hauge, Zhe Zhe stared at Hauge and said:

"Hauge, are you telling the truth? Is this really His Majesty's will?"

Although Hauge didn't particularly like Zhe Zhe as his mother, he knew this wasn't the time to dwell on such matters, so he quickly said with a respectful expression:

"Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. Please see for yourself if you do not believe me."

After saying this, Hauge handed over the will with both hands.

Zhe Zhe received the edict with trembling hands, and then eagerly opened it to read it.

After clearly seeing the handwriting and seal, she nodded and said:

"That's right, it is indeed His Majesty's handwriting, and the seal is also correct."

The moment he said that, the atmosphere fell silent, and everyone's gaze toward Hauge changed.

Just when Hauge thought the matter was settled, Dorgon suddenly jumped out again and said:
"Wait a minute, if it's a will to pass on the throne, there shouldn't be only one copy, right? Otherwise, it would be too easy to forge!"

As soon as Dorgon said this, the atmosphere at the scene turned even colder.

Most people thought Dorgon's worries were unnecessary, after all, Hauge had even produced the will, how could it be fake?

But Dorgon didn't care what everyone thought; he continued to follow the plan he had discussed with Dayuer.

The goal was to force Hauge to reveal the will hidden in the secret compartment!

Sure enough, Hauge fell for it immediately!

He said confidently:

“Uncle Fourteen is right. There could not possibly be only one copy of such an edict of succession; there must be two.”

"One copy is in my possession, while the other is hidden in a secret compartment above Your Majesty's bed."

"As long as the imperial edict hidden in the secret compartment is taken out and compared with this one, it can be confirmed that the imperial edict in my possession is genuine."

When he said this, Haug was extremely confident because he felt that there was absolutely no way things could go wrong!

But it's clear that Haug is about to be disappointed.
So, under everyone's watchful eyes, a guard climbed onto Huang Taiji's bed and began to carefully feel around.

At Hauge's instruction, the guards quickly located the hidden compartment.

Opening the hidden compartment revealed a beautifully crafted wooden box.

The guard climbed off the bed with the box in his hands and respectfully handed it to Zhe Zhe.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhe Zhe reached out and opened the box, inside which was indeed a will.

He then took out the will and examined it carefully.

A moment later, Zhe Zhe's expression suddenly became very strange, and his eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.

Then, she looked at Hauge with a very strange expression.

Hauge, who had been looking confident of victory, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine when Zhe Zhe looked at him like that. It was as if a cold shiver ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

An ominous premonition suddenly came to my mind.

Immediately afterwards, he subconsciously leaned forward to look at the imperial edict in Zhe Zhe's hand, and looked directly at the part with the name written on it.

What he saw shocked him; Haug was instantly dumbfounded and began to tremble uncontrollably!
For some reason, the name written on this memorial was not his, but Fu Lin's!
Aisin-Gioro Fulin!

"How could this be?"

Haug couldn't help but scream, his eyes filled with shock and madness.

"Impossible! I clearly saw two imperial edicts at the time, both with my name on them. How come this edict has Fulin's name on it?"

"This is fake! This is fake!"

These words shocked the entire audience!
All eyes were focused on Fu Lin, who was standing at the very back, and everyone was utterly shocked!
Fu Lin, however, looked completely bewildered, as he was only six years old and had no idea what it meant.

The once quiet palace instantly became noisy.

Most of the people present were ready to pay homage to Hauge, the future emperor, but unexpectedly, things took a new turn at that very moment!
Two imperial edicts, with two different names on them – this is incredibly bizarre!

Those who were closer couldn't help but move closer and look at the imperial edict in Zhe Zhe's hand.

Seeing this, Zhe Zhe calmly handed the imperial edict to the people behind him, asking them to examine it carefully.

While the others were examining the will, Zhe Zhe remained silent. However, her gaze drifted subtly to Dayu'er beside her, her eyes revealing a profound meaning, as if she had already seen through everything.

Zhe Zhe is not stupid. She is meticulous and has developed a keen eye after experiencing many trials in the palace.
At this point, she realized that Hauge was not lying. Huang Taiji originally intended to pass the throne to Hauge, and the name on the edict in the hidden compartment should have been Hauge!
As for why he suddenly became Fu Lin, it must be because he was secretly replaced by Da Yu'er!

After all, only Dayuer had been taking care of Huang Taiji personally, so she naturally had the opportunity to come into contact with the imperial edict.

Even though she had figured out the reason behind it, Zhe Zhe didn't intend to expose it!

Because she was actually Da Yu'er's aunt, she and Da Yu'er were naturally on the same side.

Furthermore, she hoped that the next emperor would have the blood of their tribe, which would strengthen the relationship between their tribe and the Jurchens, and would also be of great significance to the future of Mongolia.

Just then, almost everyone present had finished reading the will in the hidden compartment, and then their faces became very strange.

After all, there were two edicts and two names; no one knew which one was the real one!
Although based on previous indications, the one in Hauge's hands should be the real one, since Huang Taiji had no reason to abandon an adult prince and pass the throne to a young son.

Besides, Huang Taiji had never seemed to like Fulin that much before!
However, no one dared to say these words, because this was a crucial moment in the transition of imperial power, and anyone who uttered a single wrong word would surely die without a burial place!

For a moment, the palace was completely silent, with only Hauge's rather frantic voice still echoing.

"Fake! Fake! This will must be fake; someone has replaced the real will!"

"Father Emperor clearly said he would pass the throne to me, how could he possibly pass it to Fulin!"

Haug's mind was in complete chaos at this moment, and he even showed signs of madness! (End of Chapter)