Joy of Life: Me, the Second Prince? Summon Yuan Tiangang!

The Taiji Hall was deathly silent.

A deathly silence that sends shivers down your spine.

Above the nine jade steps, Emperor Qing leaned lazily on his dragon throne, the thin memorial in his hand seemingly possessing endless allure. But the moment he casually raised his gaze, it transformed into a sharp sword that pierced through everything, aiming straight at Li Chengze in the center of the hall.

Li Chengze stood there, his posture upright, his expression calm, as if he were attending an ordinary morning court session. There was even a faint, enigmatic smile on his lips.

On both sides of the main hall, the heads of civil and military officials were bowed so low that they almost touched the jade tablets on their chests.

Cold sweat trickled down the foreheads and temples of these usually aloof and domineering adults, dripping onto the polished gold bricks and creating a subtle yet terrifying cracking sound.

Out of the corner of everyone's eye, their gazes intertwined and collided, conveying the same fear and shock: Has the Second Prince gone mad?!

Last night's one-sided massacre was carried out by His Majesty himself.

Logically speaking, even if Li Chengze didn't kneel outside the Taiji Hall with disheveled hair and weeping bitterly to beg for forgiveness, he should have claimed illness and stayed away to avoid the limelight.

But he came anyway, impeccably dressed, and stood proudly at the very center of the storm.

What alarmed the courtiers even more was the current political situation.

The eldest prince is about to marry the eldest princess of Northern Qi. This is not only a grand event for the Qing Kingdom to demonstrate its national power, but also a national strategy to stabilize the border between the two countries, a matter of great importance that affects the whole country.

Normally, at this extremely sensitive juncture, Kyoto must not be allowed to descend into chaos!

But they all remembered what happened yesterday.

If, at this moment, the Second Prince were to lose control completely due to last night's purge and directly confront His Majesty in the Taiji Hall... the consequences would be unimaginable! When the Emperor is enraged, millions will die, and if the Prince were to force the Emperor to abdicate, how many of the officials standing in the court would be able to leave alive?

They were genuinely afraid.

Immortals fight, mortals suffer.

They didn't know which side they should stand on if the situation got out of control.

Stand before His Majesty?

Since the Second Prince dared to come, who knows what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve around the Taiji Hall?

The Second Prince? The one sitting on the dragon throne is none other than the unfathomable and all-knowing Emperor Qing!

The eldest prince, Li Chengru, standing at the head of the military officers, had his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

The eldest prince's lips moved slightly; he wanted to reprimand Li Chengze or smooth things over and ease the tense atmosphere.

After all, his wedding was imminent, and there had been many things going on recently; he did not want to see bloodshed in Kyoto again.

However, when he looked into Li Chengze's deep, still eyes, he couldn't utter the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, all he could manage was a silent sigh, unable to speak.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian, standing at the forefront of the civil officials, was experiencing extremely complex emotions.

Last night, the Second Prince's faction suffered a devastating blow, and he should have been the happiest person.

He had even prepared a celebratory banquet in the Eastern Palace.

But now, looking at Li Chengze's fearless demeanor, the Crown Prince suddenly felt an extremely strong sense of unease.

He believed he knew his second brother very well.

Li Chengze never does anything without being certain of success. The fact that he dares to stand here shows that he is not afraid of his father's executioner's blade at all.

The Crown Prince even had a chilling feeling that Li Chengze was expecting something.

The Crown Prince swallowed hard, wanting to try and ask a question, but after glancing at the aloof Emperor Qing, he could only swallow his words, just like the First Prince, and remain silent.

The air in the entire Taiji Hall seemed to freeze.

The father and son stood together, one perched high on the dragon throne, the other proudly standing in the hall.

Their gazes met in mid-air, as if an invisible spark was exploding wildly.

One second... two seconds... three seconds...

Those brief few seconds felt longer than a century to the officials in the hall. Some of the older ministers' legs began to tremble uncontrollably, almost to the ground.

Just as this tension was about to snap, and everyone was desperately waiting for the thunder to strike or for countless axemen to rush into the hall—

Li Chengze suddenly moved.

His eyelids lowered slightly, concealing all the sharpness and madness in his pupils, and the previously tense facial lines softened instantly. He tucked his hands into his wide sleeves, took a half step forward with remarkable ease, leaned slightly forward, and revealed a gentle, even respectful and kind smile on his face.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty."

The clear voice echoed in the deathly silent Taiji Hall, without the slightest resentment or murderous intent, just like an ordinary morning when a most filial son was paying his respects to his father.

After speaking, Li Chengze, without waiting for Emperor Qing to reply, naturally straightened up and walked with composed steps to the side of the First Prince, standing quietly in his designated spot. He even turned his head and nodded slightly to the First Prince, whose expression was stiff, revealing a gentle smile.

"call--"

As Li Chengze joined the ranks, a series of clear, resounding sighs of relief echoed throughout the Taiji Hall.

Most people in the court, whether ministers of the six ministries or censors of various departments, felt their tense backs suddenly relax at this moment, their undergarments already soaked with cold sweat, sticking coolly to their backs.

There was no immediate confrontation! No coup! The Second Prince backed down!

In the eyes of the officials, Li Chengze's words "I have seen the Emperor" and his retreat from the ranks were undoubtedly a sign of bowing to imperial power.

So what if 137 trusted confidants died last night?

Before the supreme imperial power, even a prince could only swallow his pride and suffer in silence. His Majesty was, after all, His Majesty, and the second prince ultimately dared not act rashly.

The atmosphere inside the Taiji Hall finally warmed up slightly from that suffocatingly cold point. Although it was still oppressive, at least for the time being, there was no longer any fear of heads rolling.

However, the Emperor Qing, who was sitting high on the dragon throne, had an extremely deep look in his eyes the moment Li Chengze turned around, and a trace of solemnity flashed in the depths of his eyes.

A dog that bites doesn't bark. The calmer and more submissive Li Chengze appears, the more it shows that this matter is not over.

……

at the same time.

Kyoto, Inspectorate.

Deep within the Imperial Censorate, in a dimly lit secret room.

There were no windows, only a few dim oil lamps flickering on the walls, casting a long shadow of the gaunt old man in the wheelchair.

Chen Pingping was wearing a black wool cloak, her legs covered with a thick blanket. She had her eyes closed, and her dry, bark-like fingers were gently tapping the armrests of her wheelchair, making a monotonous "tap, tap, tap" sound.

Suddenly, the shadow in the corner of the secret room twisted eerily.

Without any footsteps or fluctuations of breath, a figure completely wrapped in black cloth, revealing only a pair of cold eyes, appeared out of thin air behind Chen Pingping like a ghost.

"Dean." The shadow's voice was low and hoarse, as if it came from the depths of hell.

Chen Pingping didn't open his eyes, but simply stopped tapping the armrest and gave a faint "hmm": "Is there a commotion outside?"

Don't miss this exciting chapter: Chapter 149 Calm and Tranquil? Full text available, click here.