Eunuch Lu couldn't help shaking and cried, "Your Majesty, I am leaving first. But I have something to say. If I don't say it now, I will never have the chance to say it again."
"Then just keep it to yourself and keep your mouth shut even until you die." The emperor's expression suddenly changed and he said viciously.
"No, Your Majesty is wrong. Your Majesty should not have violated the bottom line of the prince and your own bottom line. You used to be a good emperor, but now you are a tyrant. Your Majesty, you are wrong. You should not sacrifice the lives of the people to seize power. You violated the teachings of the late emperor and the Empress Dowager, and violated the words you announced to the world when you ascended the throne."
Eunuch Lu burst into tears and cried out in grief, "Baozi, I'm here to find you. We have been loyal to the royal family our whole lives and have lived up to its reputation."
After saying this, Eunuch Lu rushed towards the huge column in the hall, his head broken and bleeding.
The emperor watched in a daze as a man who had served him for decades died in front of him. He watched the blood flow all over the ground, forming tragic blood flowers along the smooth and tightly-sewn white jade floor of the Xiwei Palace.
Murong Jie acted very quickly. Yan Xu and Liang Shulin were quickly subdued. Yan Xu resisted and was killed on the spot. Liang Shulin knew the situation and surrendered immediately.
This bloody change of dynasty was not stained with much blood. The ministers probably knew how the emperor dealt with the epidemic. Nothing was more chilling than harming the people.
By the time the medicine to cure the plague was found, it had already been burned.
The emperor's last few loyal and trusted ministers chose to live and die with him. A few military generals, who had some troops under their command, rode into the capital on horseback to save the emperor's reputation by killing traitors.
The Chen family and the Xiao family chose to stay out of it.
The gate of the Regent's Palace has remained closed.
Zi'an was in the palace and could hear the shouting and fighting outside. He heard from Di Shui that the royalist party had entered the capital and the prince personally led the troops to resist.
The royalists had few soldiers and horses, and they were all captured in just one night.
As Zhuangzhuang said, this was the emperor's last shudder.
The emperor didn't take this trembling seriously. After hearing the defeat, he just smiled coldly, "You don't know your own abilities."
He was overestimating his own capabilities. Just a few thousand people who entered the capital were not enough for Murong Jie to fill his teeth.
He always believed that the best way was to achieve success without bloodshed.
Therefore, when Murong Jie appeared at the gate of Xiwei Palace, he stood on the stone steps with a smile to greet him, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
Murong Jie's battle robe was stained with blood, and his back was straightened by the golden and jade belt. He looked tall and majestic.
He had just returned from a killing spree. Killing the soldiers of the Great Zhou was the most shameful thing in his life.
He blamed the emperor for this shame.
"Seventh Brother, you finally took action." The emperor looked at him, smiling like a ghost, "If my father and ancestors saw this, would they take back what they said?"
"Does the emperor look very happy?" Murong Jie sneered. His hair was slightly loose and fluttering in the wind. "If my father and ancestors saw what the emperor did, would they regret insisting on appointing the eldest son instead of the most capable one? An emperor who uses the lives of the people as a weapon is not worthy of being a descendant of the Murong family, and is not worthy of being an emperor."
"You're rebelling, and you can still find such a high-sounding excuse for yourself. No matter how you argue, you are still a traitor who wants to seize the throne."
The emperor took a step forward and stood on the highest step of the stone steps, letting the spring breeze lift up his robe. His smile was tragic, like a warrior who was about to sacrifice himself.
He stretched out his hand, pointed at Murong Jie, and said sternly: "You, Murong Jie, are a traitor of the Great Zhou. Even if you ascend to the throne, you will bear the infamy for all eternity. Even the people of the Great Zhou will point at your spine and spit on you."
Murong Jie still sneered, "Really? Why don't we go and listen?"
The emperor was startled and narrowed his eyes. "The most heinous crime is to usurp the throne. Anyone can punish traitors and traitors. Even if I am not a virtuous person, the people will only curse you."
"So, I would like to ask the emperor to wait for two days and listen to what the people say in person." Murong Jie's face was gloomy, and he gave an order, "Come on, keep a close eye on the emperor and don't let him step out of Xiwei Palace."
"Murong Jie, what do you want to do? If you want to kill me, just come on. I will accept it even if I die at your hands." The emperor pointed at Murong Jie and scolded him.
"The emperor knows he cannot escape death so he forces me to kill you? But I will not kill you. There is someone else who will kill you." After Murong Jie finished speaking, he rolled up his battle robe and strode away.
The door of Xiwei Palace was heavily closed, and Eunuch Lu's body was carried out. Murong Jie took a look and said solemnly, "Bury him properly."
"Yes!" Ni Rong did it as ordered.
The emperor sat in the dark palace, and for once, he believed the words of the previous emperor.
"Father, Father, you have misjudged me. You have also misled me. You once said that the Seventh Brother would never rebel at any time. Did you see that? This time, I have lost the bet."
He knelt on the ground and roared angrily.
Regarding the epidemic, he took a gamble and wanted to destroy Murong Jie's reputation and have him chased and scolded by the people like a stray dog.
He bet that Murong Jie would not rebel, and that he would remain the same as before. Although he was furious, he could not do anything to him, because Murong Jie wanted to save face and reputation, and he would not bear the crime of regicide.
Just one step, just one step, and he would be able to get rid of Murong Jie's shadow, sit on the throne of the emperor again, look down on all the ministers, and rule the world of the Great Zhou. Even if Murong Jie did not die, he would become a stray dog and would never be able to turn the tide.
"That's fine, that's fine. I'll show you how vicious and evil the person you've been praising is. You're all wrong."
He laughed out loud, and his laughter was eerie and strange.
"I could have waited until I came to power before dealing with him. At that time, I would have had a chance of winning. But I couldn't wait. I couldn't let him leave with the credit. If I did that, even if I came to power again, I wouldn't be able to break his myth as the regent. He's not the emperor, but he's better than the emperor, and he's higher than the emperor."
"I must do this. I want him, Murong Jie, to become a rat crossing the street, a sinner of the Great Zhou, and a sinner who killed the patients of the epidemic in Jiangdong. Only in this way can I still be the wise ruler I used to be. All the crimes must be borne by him, Murong Jie."
"But how dare he, Murong Jie, rebel? How dare he sit on the throne during the morning court session? Fine, fine, you have given yourself the name of a traitor. Even if I don't want your life, I will make you, Murong Jie, lose your reputation and become a traitor."
He laughed sinisterly again. The light shining through the tiles made his face look dark and crazy. "Even if I die, I will take you with me!"
His laughter echoed in the huge palace, and the response to his laughter was even more sinister. A chill seeped out from every corner. He slowly walked back to the bed and reached out to touch the embroidered dragon on the quilt. "I am the emperor. I will be the emperor until the day I die. I will not abdicate."
(End of this chapter)