I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 235 Ascending the Throne
A sharp pain shot through his chest, and blood gushed from his mouth. King Wei turned around and saw Tang Shi swiftly draw his long sword and sweep it away, instantly decapitating King Wei.

"Yu'er!" Consort Xian's eyes were bloodshot as she scrambled over the corpses to reach Prince Wei's side, cradling his head that was still open and weeping bitterly.

Seeing this, Prince An, who was in the middle of a battle, knew that the situation was hopeless. He asked Tang Zheng, who was fighting him, with resentment, "Why? Why did you serve the Crown Prince!"

Tang Zheng plunged a knife into Prince An's chest and whispered something in his ear.

Lord Mu, who was hiding in the distance, saw Prince An stare wide-eyed in disbelief before collapsing to the ground.

"The culprits have been brought to justice. Lay down your weapons, and I will spare your lives!" the Crown Prince roared. "Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"

Upon seeing that Prince An was dead, the soldiers who had been brought into the palace by Prince An lost the courage to fight. They threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and surrendered.

The Southwest Army stepped forward to escort the surrendered soldiers. Tang Zheng and Tang Shi strode up to the Crown Prince and said, "Your Majesty, we are late in coming to your rescue. Please forgive us!"

"Please rise, Duke," the Crown Prince said, personally helping the Duke of Wei to his feet. "You have rendered meritorious service in saving the Emperor and deserve a great reward. Please join me in handling the remaining matters."

"Your Highness, I am at your disposal."

"Good!" The Crown Prince stepped over the corpses scattered on the ground, picked up Emperor Sheng'an's still warm body, and strode away.

The eunuchs and the Crown Princess carried the Empress and hurriedly followed.

Tang Zheng left Tang Shi to handle the remaining matters, while he and the leader of the Flying Dragon Guard followed the Crown Prince to the Panlong Palace.

The Crown Prince placed Emperor Sheng'an's body on the dragon bed, knelt down and kowtowed three times, then said to Eunuch Zhou, who was standing to the side, "Sound the funeral bell and order all officials to enter the palace."

"Yes!" Zhou Dajian personally gave the order, and a moment later the funeral bell rang, waking up everyone who was sleeping in Luoyang.

Inside the Mu residence, the courtyard of Grand Secretary Mu was brightly lit. He lay on a rocking chair, quietly counting the chimes, and suddenly opened his eyes after the chimes ended.

The twenty-seventh stroke signifies the emperor's death.

Grand Secretary Mu looked out the window at the flowers he had carefully cultivated. An hour later, the gate of the Mu residence was forcibly broken open by the Southwest Army. Upon receiving the news, Grand Secretary Mu smiled and shook his head, swallowed the pills he had prepared beforehand, and lay on the rocking chair for a moment before passing away.

Unlike the panicked Mu family, the Zhang family was overjoyed. It was only after Grand Tutor Zhang, dressed in official robes, reprimanded them that they quieted down.

Inside the palace, the maids and eunuchs had changed into mourning clothes, and white banners were hung all over the palace. The empress had awakened and was leading the concubines in mourning.

Grand Tutor Zhang was the first to arrive, followed by the six ministers and officials from various departments. Everyone knelt down to send off Emperor Sheng'an's coffin.

Three days later, Grand Tutor Zhang spoke first, “A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. I urge His Highness the Crown Prince to ascend the throne and stabilize the foundation of the Great Yu Kingdom as soon as possible to reassure the people.”

The assembled officials shouted in unison, "We beseech Your Highness to ascend the throne, to establish the foundation of the nation, and to reassure the people!"

The Crown Prince glanced at the leader of the Flying Dragon Guard, who was also kneeling on the ground, seemingly convinced of his submission.

Despite repeated refusals, the Crown Prince could not resist the pleas of his ministers and walked step by step toward the throne.

"By imperial decree, from this day forward, all the people of Dayu shall observe mourning for the late Emperor in accordance with the law. Anyone who disobeys or indulges in pleasure shall be severely punished!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

After the twenty-seven-day mourning period ended, the Crown Prince formally ascended the throne, changing the country's name to Pingyuan and becoming known as Emperor Pingyuan. He honored the Empress Dowager as Grand Empress Dowager, his birth mother, the Empress, as Holy Mother Empress Dowager, and consorts as Empress, concubines as Imperial Concubine, and Consort Wu as Consort Wu. He also conferred titles upon his eldest son as Crown Prince, his eldest daughter as Princess, and other children and concubines according to custom.

By the time everything had settled down, it was already the New Year.

Snowflakes began to fall heavily in the northwest again. Qiu Yu, who had just been sneaking a bite in the kitchen and was chased out by Xia Mo, ran up to Chun Yu with two roasted taro in her hands, handed her one, and asked, "Are you still practicing martial arts, Miss? How many hours has it been?"

“It’s been three hours,” Chunfeng said with a worried expression. “Ever since the young master told you that the fall of Wuwei City was to conceal the deficit in grain and silver, you’ve been practicing for three or four hours every day, and you’ve lost several pounds.” No matter how much you try to recover, you can’t. Hearing this, Qiuyu lost her appetite. “How can you not be heartbroken, young lady? A mere 1.5 million taels of silver—you could earn that back in less than three years with all the shops you run, yet it cost so many lives!”

That Cao Yang is a real scoundrel!

Xia Duan held up a large earthenware pot. "Miss, I've made your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs. Please finish them before you start practicing!"

Tang Zhao ignored him and continued practicing his swordsmanship.

"Where's the young master? Only the young master can stop the young lady!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dark figure swooped in like an eagle, and after exchanging hundreds of blows with Tang Zhao in his bare hands, it snatched the short sword from Tang Zhao's hand.

"Give it back to me!" Tang Zhao reached out. "I haven't finished practicing yet!"

"Too much of a good thing is bad," Gu Ci shook his head. "You've already practiced for three hours today. Be careful not to hurt yourself."

"It's alright, I have a medicinal soup that the Ghost Doctor prescribed for me. I'll just soak in it overnight when I get back."

Seeing Tang Zhao's stubbornness, Gu Ci didn't say anything more and went straight forward to pick her up and carry her into the inner room.

Lying on the bed, Tang Zhao was furious. "Gu Ci, you..."

"What about me?" Gu Ci put down his sword, took out a box of ointment from his pocket, and held Tang Zhao's hand to patiently and carefully apply it. "Mr. Kui was indeed prescient. Knowing that you didn't know how to apply it, he specially gave me a bottle."

Looking at the chilblains on Tang Zhao's hands, Gu Ci felt that they hurt even more than if they were on his own hands. He blew on them with heartache, carefully sprinkled on the medicine powder, wrapped them up with a silk cloth, and even tied a pretty bow.

Tang Zhao's lips twitched. "You learned it from Gu Xuan again, didn't you?"

"Hmm," Gu Ci's ears turned slightly red, "Xuan'er said that girls all like bows."

"I don't like it. I like Oni Yasha. Next time, tie that up for me."

Gu Ci: 。 。 。 。 。

"Okay!" Gu Ci said, "I'll learn!"

Seeing Gu Ci's pained expression, Tang Zhao burst out laughing.

Seeing Tang Zhao's rare smile, Gu Ci breathed a sigh of relief.

Xia Mo called from outside the door, "Miss, Master, the food is ready!"

Tang Zhao lay lazily on the big bed. "Bring it in. It's too cold outside. I don't want to move."

Gu Ci wondered who had insisted on practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard, but dared not say it aloud. He personally took the food and placed it by the bedside, eating and talking with Tang Zhao.

The atmosphere here was harmonious and warm, but further north in the Turkic royal palace, the atmosphere was as cold as ice.

This was because the Khan disregarded the Empress Dowager's orders and forcibly brought back to the palace the Lady Taizhen, who was praying for the country in the temple, to be his Consort Zhi.

The Empress Dowager was furious and wanted to order the death of Consort Zhi, but the Khan stopped her, and the mother and son had a big argument.

“Your Majesty, please don’t be angry. The Khan is only interested for a short time. Once he gets over this novelty and he gets tired of that Da Yu woman, Your Majesty can punish her however you want,” said Da Ye Hu. “You shouldn’t ruin the mother-son relationship between Your Majesty and the Khan for the sake of a mere palace concubine.”

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