Even the crown prince is getting a marriage of convenience? Why are you in such a hurry to stop bein

Xiao Lie changed into a black robe and, along with Seventeen and several Shadow Guards, rushed to the Imperial Clan Court.

The gate to the courtyard where the Third Prince was located was locked from the outside.

The noise of the door being opened disturbed the Third Prince.

He sat up in surprise and looked outside.

The door was pushed open, and he looked up to see Xiao Lie, who had arrived looking travel-worn.

"Xiao Lie, what are you doing here? This is the Imperial Clan Court, how did you get in?" The Third Prince glared angrily at Xiao Lie.

Xiao Lie walked up to him, his whole body filled with murderous intent. "Jiang Heng, you have committed many evils and endangered the country. Today it is time to send you on your way."

The third prince shouted, "Guards! Xiao Lie is trying to kill me! I am the future crown prince! Come and save me!"

However, the guards outside the Imperial Clan Court were all Xiao Lie's men.

Who would rush in and save a dying person?

"Where is my father? I want to see my father!" The third prince knew that only the emperor could save him now.

Xiao Lie sneered, "Your father will soon be joining you; he won't live much longer either."

"What...what did you say?" The Third Prince couldn't believe it. Why hadn't he received a single word about it?

It was clear that he received secret letters from his men every so often.

The higher authorities made no mention of the emperor's critical health.

Xiao Lie told him directly, "That's because all those secret letters you received were modified by me before being sent to you."

"The emperor is extremely foolish. He actually sent the second and fourth princes to try to contact the garrison generals and gather a large army to attack my Xiao family."

"Those border generals who were hostile to my Xiao family have long been secretly dealt with by us."

"As for the second and fourth princes, we were just playing a trick on them, and they were so scared that they wet themselves and went crazy."

Xiao Lie did not kill the second and fourth princes, but instead sent people to monitor them day and night.

In case they are faking their madness.

"What about Prince Jing?" The Third Prince placed his last hope on the Fifth Prince.

Even if the emperor is going to die, he will die tonight; at least there is still the fifth prince.

As long as the empire still belongs to the Jiang family, the Third Prince doesn't care who becomes the new emperor.

He knew all too well that he was doomed to die.

Could Xiao Lie not guess his thoughts? "When did you become so naive and foolish?"

"Do you think I would give the Fifth Prince a chance to seize the throne?"

The Fifth Prince has quite a few men under his command, enough to rival the Xiao family.

But how could they possibly defeat battle-hardened frontier soldiers?

If a fight really breaks out, the Fifth Prince and all his men will be defeated in less than a day.

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince was so overwhelmed by the blow that he threw his head back and burst into wild laughter.

He kept laughing, laughing nonstop.

"Your Highness, is he insane too?" Seventeen stared at him for a long time before finally speaking.

"They're so easily provoked, driving three princes insane so quickly. I wonder if they're really mad or just pretending."

Xiao Lie had a plan in mind: "Go to the palace and send a message to Consort Yuan, asking her to inform the Emperor of the devastating news that the Third Prince, the Second Prince, and the Fourth Prince have all gone mad."

Seventeen couldn't help but admire Xiao Lie's ruthlessness once again.

"What did you say?" Upon hearing that his three princes had been driven mad, the emperor coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His mouth and eyes were crooked, and he could no longer utter a single word.

"Your Majesty, you must take good care of your health." Consort Yuan said in a pretentious manner, supporting the emperor and swaying him back and forth.

The emperor was nearly shaken to death by him.

From then on, the entire palace was completely under the control of Consort Yuan, and no minister could do anything about her.

Whether the emperor was dead or alive was unknown, and no one was allowed to enter his bedchamber.

Meanwhile, news of Xiao Tianze's great victory finally reached the capital.

The people were overjoyed, and some even enshrined Xiao Tianze's portrait in their homes.

Even more extreme, some people spent large sums of money to have stone, silver, and gold statues of Xiao Tianze made.

Among the common people, rumors circulated that the country was about to change hands.

The ministers in the capital who had participated in the campaign against the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion panicked.

In the imperial court, Consort Yuan sat regally on the dragon throne.

The ministers stood on either side.

"Your Highness, how is the Emperor?"

"We want to see the Emperor."

The ministers were extremely anxious, while Xiao Lie's faction watched silently, getting increasingly impatient.

Consort Yuan's sharp gaze swept over the ministers. "What's your hurry? His Majesty is unwell and cannot be seen by others."

"If something were to happen to the Emperor after we met with you, could you bear the responsibility?"

What could the ministers say after being reprimanded like that? They couldn't very well force their way into the bedchamber.

They cannot bear the infamy of causing the emperor's death.

"Your Highness, the Duke of Zhenguo has won a great victory and is now leading an army of 200,000 men toward the capital."

"If they bring their troops to the city gates, the country may change hands."

"Rumors are circulating that Xiao Lie is going to become emperor."

Xiao Lie had actually been disguised as a guard, hiding in the main hall.

He abruptly removed his helmet, stepped forward, and exclaimed, "Nonsense! I don't want to be emperor!"

The ministers were so frightened that they almost collapsed to the ground.

"Xiao Lie, what are you doing in the main hall?"

They quickly realized what was going on; surely they could see it by now?

Consort Yuan and Xiao Lie are in cahoots.

"Our Xiao family has never harbored any rebellious intentions, so don't slander us so easily." Xiao Lie's entire being exuded a chilling aura.

No one dared to utter a sound, fearing that if they said the wrong thing, they would be executed on the spot in the main hall.

Since there was nothing to beat her up for, Consort Yuan announced the end of the court session.

"I will go and ask the Emperor to make a will, passing the throne to the child in my womb."

Consort Yuan whispered to Xiao Lie before entering her bedchamber.

Xiao Lie, on the other hand, was waiting in the side hall.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Zhenguo has returned to the capital and will soon be at the gates of the city."

"The imperial physician said you don't have many days left to live."

"We must write the will as soon as possible, otherwise the country may change hands."

The emperor was unable to speak; even his hands were trembling.

Consort Yuan ordered someone to help the emperor up, and she personally held the emperor's hand as she wrote his will.

Having received the imperial edict, she happily went to the side hall.

"I will send someone to announce this to the world right now."

Xiao Lie stopped her, "Keep the imperial edict safe. There's no rush. We'll take this step after my grandfather has garrisoned outside the city."

Consort Yuan threw herself into Xiao Lie's arms, "I can't wait any longer, I want to be with you legitimately now."

"Just bear with it a little longer." Xiao Lie comforted her gently, and after a long while, he finally left the palace.

Little did they know, the Fifth Prince's men had seen everything that happened in the side hall.

The Fifth Prince paced back and forth, extremely anxious. "How could this happen? This won't do!"

"The throne must be mine."

"Think quickly, we need to destroy the will."

"At the very least, I must see the Emperor and let him know that Consort Yuan is Xiao Lie's woman."

However, the men under the Fifth Prince were terrified when they received news of the Duke of Zhenguo's triumphant return to the capital.

"Your Highness, shall we surrender?"