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Chapter 182 Please have the Khan buried in heaven

"The Northwest Army is so fierce and brave that even the Khan, with the strength of the entire nation, could not defeat them. How much less can my Ashide clan's less than ten thousand cavalrymen?" The Great Yabghu tempted, "Only if the sixth prince succeeds to the throne will there be a possibility of revenge."

The Khatun asked in a hoarse voice, "What should I do?"

"With no crown prince yet and the Khan seriously ill and unconscious, the court and the harem both need your leadership," said the Great Protector, seeing that the Khatun had regained her fighting spirit. Her tone softened as she whispered, "My third brother has already gone outside the palace to mobilize the defenses. Please keep everyone calm before he enters the palace, eldest sister."

The Khatun nodded.

As the Great Yehu turned to leave, he heard the Khatun's hoarse voice say, "The Imperial Guard Commander, Geshu Yong, is my man."

Big Leaf stopped and suddenly turned around.

The Khatun's smile was terrifying. "I haven't spent these thirty-odd years in the deep palace for nothing."

Da Ye Hu trembled inwardly, feeling even more confident about vying for the Khan's throne, and left as if on the wind.

"Someone come here!" The Khatun took one last look at her son's memorial tablet, then strode out of the mourning hall. "Help me dress and change my clothes."

Half an hour later, the Turkic Khagan, dressed in the attire reserved for major festivals, arrived at the Turkic Khan's bedside. "How is the Khan's condition?"

The shaman knelt and reported, "The Khan has fallen into a coma."

"I hereby order you to immediately regain your Khan consciousness."

“This,” the shaman said, his face covered in sweat, “if the royal court’s secret medicine were used, it might restore the Khan’s consciousness, but the medicine would cause great harm to the body…”

The witch doctor swallowed the rest of his words under the Khatun's cold gaze.

"Administer the medicine!" The chill in the Khatun's voice was almost tangible, piercing the hearts of everyone present. "Don't make me say it a second time."

The shaman scrambled over the medicine chest, found the secret medicine hidden at the bottom, and mixed it with water. After the pills had completely dissolved, he served it to the Khan.

The crowd, terrified by the Khatun, watched helplessly as the Khan drank the medicine. Geshufei, suddenly realizing her mistake, felt ashamed and spoke up to save face, "Does the Khatun not care about the Khan's health? What if something happens to the Khan?!"

The Khatun raised his hand and slapped Geshufei hard across the face.

"How dare you! How dare you, a mere concubine, speak before me!" the Khatun rebuked sharply.

Consort Geshu fell to the ground, covering her face and looking at Ashide in disbelief.

"The Khan is seriously ill and no crown prince has been appointed. As the Khatun of the Turks, I should take over the management of the court and the harem in place of the Khan," Ashide said coldly, her usual gentle and docile demeanor gone. "In the past, the Khan favored and indulged you, and I did not wish to hold it against you. Did you really think that I could not do anything to you?!"

Consort Geshu shrank back. Seeing his mother being humiliated, the Second Prince's eyes turned bloodshot and he clenched his fists, ready to step forward, but was stopped by the Sixth Prince.

The Turkic ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. At this critical moment, when choosing the wrong side could mean death, everyone remained silent.

At that moment, a faint groan came from the bed.

"Khan!" the witch doctor exclaimed in surprise, and the tense crowd all looked toward the bed curtains.

Ashide strode towards the dragon bed, lifted the bed curtains, and forced a smile, "Khan!"

The Turkic Khan barely opened his eyes, and what he saw was Ashide's resentful gaze. He was immediately terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. He struggled to raise his left hand and waved it, uttering words in broken sentences, "Let, Consort Geshu, come here."

Ashide strode forward and sat down on the edge of the bed, grasping the Khan's hand tightly. "Great Khan! Your Majesty, I am here!"

The Turkic Khan's hand, gripped tightly, stung. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and scolded, "You...you dare to be so bold!" Ashide sneered, pressing, "Great Khan, what did you say?"

As she asked the question, she leaned closer to the Khan, pretending to listen.

Those outside the bed curtains could not hear the Turkic Khan's words and could only stare at the Turkic Khagan.

"Your Majesty, I will obey your command," Ashide said, turning to the crowd kneeling outside the bed curtains. "Your Majesty has ordered everyone to leave the main hall. Commander Geshu Yong of the Imperial Guards is to lead the Imperial Guards to guard the outside of the hall. No one may enter without a summons!"

Consort Geshu, bearing the handprint of the slap, looked indignant. "Did the Khatun falsely convey the Khan's decree?" she asked, glancing at the shaman kneeling beside the dragon bed.

Under the Khatun's gaze, the shaman forgot about the Khan's summons of Geshu's wife and son, and said in a trembling voice, "The Khatun's words are indeed the Khan's decree."

When Consort Geshu was about to cause another scene, Geshu Han, the special agent kneeling behind her, tugged at her sleeve, forcing her to shut up. With a cold snort, she turned and left the hall with her son.

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally all left the hall.

"Why are you stopping me?" Consort Geshu asked from the corner. "Ashide is clearly forging an imperial edict!"

"So what if it's a false decree? What's the big deal?" Seeing that his sister still didn't understand, Geshu Han pointed to the imperial guards running towards them in the distance and reminded her, "With Third Brother here, even if something unexpected happens, we can control it."

Consort Geshu asked skeptically, "Just based on that lowly illegitimate son?"

"His mother is no longer a nameless dancer, but his father's concubine, and she is barely worthy of being called our third brother."

Seeing his second sister's disdainful expression, Geshu Han continued, "Once the second prince inherits the Khanate, you will be the Empress Dowager. If you really dislike him, just find some excuse to kill him."

Only then did Consort Geshu reveal a satisfied smile.

Inside the main hall, Ashide looked at the figures of the Imperial Guards reflected in the window paper, shook off the Khan's hand, and said with disgust, "The Khan really is obsessed with that slut, completely disregarding the more than thirty years of marriage we have shared."

The Turkic Khan raised his hand to slap the bed but couldn't move. He could only stare at the woman standing by the bed, looking down at him with a vicious gaze, "Execute her!"

"Does the Khan think I'm afraid of death? I'm not!" Ashide slowly wiped her hands, which had just been holding the Khan's, with a handkerchief. "As soon as news of Barth's death reached the palace, I wanted to go with him."

The Turkic Khan continued to stare at her fiercely.

"But I cannot!" Ashide turned to look at the endless torches that had suddenly appeared outside the hall. "I have not yet avenged Barth, and I have no face to see him!"

"Great Protector, who gave you the audacity to lead your troops into the palace in the middle of the night!" Geshu's furious voice echoed into the hall.

"You, you dare to usurp the throne?!" The Khan was so frightened that he spoke much more fluently.

Ashide's face was icy cold. "Even the Great Khan dared to send his own son to die in his place. Why shouldn't I dare to usurp the throne?"

“No, no,” the Khan shook his head repeatedly. “It was Balth who volunteered to delay the Northwest Army.”

“Your Majesty understands,” Ashide nodded, “just as the Great Khan voluntarily passed the Khanate to Altan.”

"Someone, come here, um!" The Khan's shouts were cut off. Ashide covered his face with the handkerchief she had used to wipe her hands, and tightly covered the Khan's mouth and nose with both hands. "Please, Khan, take your final rest!"

The Turkic Khan's struggles gradually subsided, and he breathed his last with his eyes wide open.

Ashide took a handkerchief and closed the eyes of the man she had loved and hated her whole life, then walked out of the hall and said sadly.

"The Khan has passed away!"