The normally solemn and majestic hall was now awash in blood.
The golden dragons carved onto the jade pillars were also splattered with blood, looking ferocious.
The ministers had long since fled to the corners, cowering with their heads in their hands. They had chosen sides, but they needed to survive to scheme further.
Xiao Muqian protected the First Prince while fending off the reckless soldiers.
Fortunately, he was a man who had truly fought on the battlefield, so he was not at a disadvantage.
Seeing this, the Ninth Prince roared, "You court death!" and immediately joined the fray.
Although his injuries had not fully healed, if the First Prince escaped today, he would have no peace in the days to come. With this resolve, he ignored everything else, aiming every blow at the First Prince, intending to kill him.
This made it somewhat difficult for Xiao Muqian.
Seeing this, several soldiers stepped forward and engaged him in combat. The First Prince was left vulnerable, and the Ninth Prince was not about to let such a good opportunity slip by.
Just as the sword was about to pierce his chest, it was shattered into two by a black feather arrow. Turning around, he saw it was none other than Prince Ding, Xiao Tingyi!
The way he held the bow and arrow seemed to transport him back to those years.
Alas, the recoil of the black feather arrow was too powerful. He was thrown back, affecting his lungs and heart. He began to cough violently, and a trace of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth, looking particularly jarring.
"Seventeenth Brother!"
Emperor Qi, dressed in plain clothes, walked over. Seeing him like this, he frowned.
"Are you alright?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I haven't used this black feather arrow in a long time, and my qi and blood surged a bit. It's nothing."
He coughed a couple of times, and it didn't sound any better than before.
But this was not the time to discuss his health. Emperor Qi walked towards the hall with a cold expression.
Following behind him were Prime Minister Bai, Elder Xu, and Lin Wang.
Several Imperial Guards had already surrounded the entire hall, making it impenetrable. The Duke of Wei and the Ninth Prince clearly saw this scene.
They were so shocked they could barely speak.
"Bold rebels, surrender now!"
Lin Wang's authority in the Eastern Capital far surpassed Xiao Muqian's. As soon as he finished speaking, many soldiers were so frightened that they immediately collapsed to the ground, throwing their weapons far away and crouching in place, awaiting capture.
Seeing this, the Ninth Prince cried out, "This is bad!"
Then, upon seeing Emperor Qi walking in, his eyeballs nearly popped out.
"Father! You... you're alright!"
"Hmph, if something had happened to me, wouldn't that have fulfilled your wishes!"
He then looked at the Duke of Wei with eyes full of mockery and disgust.
The Duke of Wei's heart skipped a beat. How could he not be dead! He was actually still alive!
"Duke of Wei, are you disappointed that I am not dead?"
"Your Majesty!"
Even though the Duke of Wei was shocked, he had to pretend for now. He quickly knelt down and cried out.
"This old minister thought he would never be able to serve Your Majesty again. I never expected that Heaven would bless our Great Jin, and Your Majesty would return alive. This old minister is overjoyed! Overjoyed!"
Elder Xu raised an eyebrow as he looked at the weeping Duke of Wei, lamenting inwardly that the Duke of Wei was indeed more skilled at acting.
Even at this point, he could still argue his case!
Unfortunately, they knew the truth of the matter, and Emperor Qi knew it too.
Emperor Qi paid no attention to the wailing Duke of Wei. Instead, he ordered his men to arrest Wei Dalang.
"Father, save me, Father!"
When the Duke of Wei saw his son being arrested, he knew the tide had turned. His mind raced, trying to find an excuse to absolve himself and everyone else.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Qi beat him to it and revealed the entire story.
"I truly never imagined that the sons and subjects I raised for so many years would want me dead! They wouldn't even leave me a whole corpse. Not only that, but they framed others. If I hadn't known about this earlier, I would truly be suffering in the underworld by now."
"Your Majesty, what nonsense have you heard? How dare they slander this old minister like this!"
"Nonsense? Duke of Wei, from the moment you joined forces with General Meng, I knew. Do you think you could have so easily placed those assassins at Fahua Temple and the bamboo forest? Ridiculous!"
Emperor Qi spoke with disdain as he looked at the Duke of Wei.
Ever since he lost that eye, his mind had become muddled.
Such a major event was entrusted to Wei Dalang to handle. The Imperial Secret Guards had followed the clues and dealt with everything.
The Emperor and Empress who departed from the palace today were not their true selves. He had been hiding well beside Lin Wang.
He had initially hoped that today would just be a misunderstanding, that he had been overly suspicious.
However, when the sound of thunder erupted, he knew there was no turning back!
Watching the First Prince and General Meng rush away, the remaining people actually intended to harm Master Jueyuan as well!
If Lin Wang had not intervened in time, the consequences today would have been unimaginable.
Looking at the Duke of Wei, his eyes were devoid of any emotion. However, when he looked at the Ninth Prince, he still showed a trace of disappointment and heartache.
After today, they would not even be father and son.
This was the price to pay for the nobility of the imperial family.
Hearing this, the Duke of Wei knew that he had heard enough. He took a deep breath and calmly asked Emperor Qi.
"So, Your Majesty has been setting a trap for us since the corruption case in the Grand Canal was investigated?"
"Exactly!"
Emperor Qi looked at the Duke of Wei's expression, showing no embarrassment at being exposed.
Instead, the Ninth Prince, on the side, said with a hoarse voice.
"So, Father is using himself as bait, forcing me to make a move..."
The Ninth Prince only now realized that he had fallen into Emperor Qi's trap, his face filled with disbelief.
But what did it matter?
In the end, they still made a move against Emperor Qi, didn't they?
"Hmph, how dare you say that. My greatest regret in this life is giving you and your mother too much favor, which led to you and the Wei family becoming arrogant and presumptuous, even daring to scheme against me!"
Emperor Qi spoke these words through gritted teeth.
No one present dared to intervene. They all knelt on the ground, wishing their ears were deaf so they could hear fewer imperial secrets.
Prime Minister Bai remained calm. Standing beside Emperor Qi, he looked at the Duke of Wei indifferently.
In fact, his initial goal was only to make the Wei family pay the price they deserved by using the corruption case in the Grand Canal. However, Emperor Qi was hesitant, so he decided to make a decisive move.
Who knew that the Wei family would be so audacious as to orchestrate the Emperor's death.
Compared to the unfounded charges in Qianzhou, this was a direct assassination. It didn't matter if Emperor Qi was reluctant to forgo filial piety.
Before imperial power, no one could threaten or challenge His Majesty's dragon might.