mtl008 Chapter 180: Lin Shiming entered carrying a bloodstained sword.
Chapter 180: Lin Shiming entered carrying a bloodstained sword.
"Very well!" The history books had already been written, and King Ping, enraged by the ministers' scolding, stopped pretending and simply dropped the pretense, "It seems you really aren't afraid of death!"
“Prince Ping! What good will it do you to kill us?” Minister of Rites Xu Shenghong spoke again. “Without His Majesty’s decree, your legitimacy is questionable, and you cannot ascend the throne! When reinforcements arrive, you will still be a traitorous minister who plotted rebellion and murdered the emperor!”
The academicians of the Hanlin Academy also pointed their fingers at King Ping and cursed him: "You murdered the emperor and seized the throne. The history books will record your infamy for ten thousand years!"
"Shut up, all of you!" King Ping shouted, then smiled smugly. "Who says my title is not legitimate?"
He waved his hand, signaling to the guards behind him, who obeyed and quickly ran to open the palace doors.
In the deep darkness of the night, a simply dressed old woman walked slowly, supported by several guards.
Upon closer inspection, it's clear that the leg is slightly lame.
"Who are you? The Empress Dowager!"
They were all important officials in the court, and soon someone recognized the newcomer and exclaimed in surprise.
Prince Ping smiled smugly, "It is indeed the Empress Dowager!"
The crowd was in an uproar.
At King Ping's signal, the guards helped the Queen Dowager Qin forward.
"The Emperor misjudged people, which led to his death in the Zhaixing Palace. I am deeply saddened. Fortunately, Prince Ping was filial and immediately eliminated the traitors for His Majesty."
"The Emperor was also my child, and I am inevitably grieving his passing. However, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and the people of the world still need a wise monarch. Therefore, although I am heartbroken, I still have to issue an imperial edict in my capacity as the late Emperor's principal wife, the Emperor's stepmother, and the matriarch of the nation, ordering the second prince, Prince Ping, to ascend the throne and restore order to the court!"
The Queen Dowager's words enraged the assembled senior officials, who were furious and their eyes blazed with fury.
Xu Shenghong trembled all over and could only stand up with the help of the imperial guards. "How can women in the inner palace interfere in politics?"
"I am the Empress Dowager! How can the throne not be decided by me?"
"You old woman!" The Minister of War pointed at Empress Dowager Qin and cursed, "You harmed Crown Prince Hua Min back then, and now you want to harm the Crown Prince again? The late Emperor was benevolent, how could he have married a poisonous woman like you?"
"Having repeatedly disrupted the court, how can you be worthy of the position of Empress Dowager Changping?"
"How could I be unworthy?" Empress Dowager Qin raised her chin high. "I was personally bestowed by the founding emperor, the late emperor's principal wife, and the mother of the nation. My title is rightfully mine!"
"The laws of the land are paramount. Even if you are the Empress Dowager, how can you meddle with the emperor's power and interfere with the selection of the crown prince?"
"..."
After several rounds of debate, the indignant and fearless members of the imperial family and court officials stood firmly behind Emperor Longyun and Lu Yuxi, and rushed to point their fingers at Prince Ping and the Empress Dowager, hurling insults at them.
"Marrying an unvirtuous wife will bring disaster to the family!" This was said by members of the imperial family.
“King Ping is a shameless brat, he is intolerable to Heaven!” This was said by an old scholar from the Ministry of Rites.
"You wicked empress dowager, one day in the netherworld you will surely be thrown into a vat of boiling oil!" This was said by an uncultured Minister of War and military officer.
"Go to hell with your Empress Dowager! Eat one of my fruits!"
This is Lou Yunsu, a young and impetuous man who calls himself a cultured person but actually prefers to take action rather than talk.
Among a group of elderly, white-haired officials, his agile figure stood out, and he successfully broke through the encirclement and smashed a huge apple into King Ping's face.
With a "bang," King Ping immediately covered his nose and howled in pain, and red blood quickly flowed from between his fingers.
This turn of events left everyone stunned.
But in just a few breaths, the second and third fruits were thrown from the general's hands. The aim was excellent, passing through the Yizhou garrison that rushed to protect the Prince of Ping, and hitting the bullseye repeatedly!
"Fine, fine, fine!" The Prince Ping, who was covered in bruises from being smashed, was enraged and revealed his true nature. "Since you don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Kill these accomplices of the Crown Prince and purge the court of corrupt officials!"
At the command of the Prince of Ping, the garrison of Yizhou surged toward the Imperial Guards' defenses like a tidal wave.
Seeing that the situation was becoming critical and that the enemy outnumbered them, there was another loud noise, and everyone looked towards the palace gate.
The palace door, which the Empress Dowager had closed after entering, lay broken on the ground. This time, in the thick of night, entered Lin Shiming, carrying a bloodstained sword.
At this moment, King Ping, who had been gloating all night, suddenly realized that he had forgotten something.
In the midst of his focused performance and the chaos of accusations and curses from his ministers, he failed to notice that Lin Shiming, the strongest fighter on Emperor Longyun's side, had not appeared at all throughout the day.
King Ping's face turned pale instantly.
Although the Zhaixing Hall was large, it could not accommodate several hundred people. The Prince of Ping brought only about a hundred people into the hall, while the rest of the Yizhou garrison surrounded the Zhaixing Hall in an impenetrable circle.
But now, Lin Shiming appeared openly behind him, and no one outside came to stop him.
What this meant was obvious; King Ping broke out in a cold sweat.
"How...how did you get in?"
Lin Shiming slowly wiped the blood splattered on his face, smiled gently, and said, "What do you think?"
That's impossible! How could he, all by himself, kill 20,000 Yizhou garrison troops?
unless…
King Ping's heart sank, and he stood frozen in place.
Before the incredulous Prince Ping could recover, Lou Yunsu, standing behind him, jumped up excitedly and waved, "Your Highness! Your Highness the Crown Princess! Quickly kill them!"
The generals cheered as if they had seen a god descend, their shouts echoing throughout the air.
"Kill! Kill him!"
Panicked and disoriented, Prince Ping lost his composure and forgot all about killing Emperor Longyun. In his haste, he ordered the Yizhou garrison to kill Lin Shiming first. In his panic, he even pushed the soldiers around him toward Lin Shiming.
Despite being attacked from both sides, the Yizhou garrison chose to obey orders and first kill Lin Shiming, who appeared to be outnumbered and outmatched. They shouted as they charged toward Lin Shiming.
"bass--"
Sparks flew where the swords clashed.
Lin Shiming was fearless, his movements as swift and unpredictable as the wind. In just a few breaths, he easily killed the soldiers at the front. Then, with a backhand strike, the soldier's sharp and sturdy longsword instantly broke in two and fell to the ground.
This immediately stunned everyone.
Lin Shiming slowly withdrew his stance, standing with his sword in hand. "Prince Ping and the Empress Dowager plotted rebellion. Considering that you have been deceived, you can be treated leniently if you surrender now. Otherwise, you will be killed without mercy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Tingyun Army, who had been waiting outside, swarmed in and stood in a fighting stance behind Lin Shiming, ready to make a move at any moment.
The situation inside the Zhaixing Palace reversed instantly, with the Tingyun Army and the Imperial Guards surrounding the Yizhou garrison and launching a pincer attack.
King Ping was already slumped on the ground, his face ashen.
The tide is gone.
"Your Majesty!" Hu Jiao suddenly threw down his weapon, rushed towards the Imperial Guards, knelt down and cried, "Your Majesty, I was misled by Prince Ping and mistakenly thought that Your Majesty was in trouble, which is why I raised an army to protect you!"
"Your Majesty! I am innocent!"
As Hu Jiao's wailing rang out, the imperial relatives and court officials who had just sided with Prince Ping felt their hands and feet turn cold and lost all strength. They immediately knelt down, weeping and pleading their innocence.
"Your Majesty, I... I am only worried about Your Majesty!"
"I was confused for a moment!"
……
On the fifteenth of July, at the third quarter of the hour of midnight, King Ping's plot to assassinate the emperor failed, and he was arrested on the spot.