RPAGF Chapter 213 Mutation
Chapter 213 Mutation
Everyone looked toward Long Shang standing at the door.
At this moment, the morning sun shone on Long Shang, making him appear even more outstanding and heroic, causing Sun Cheng next to him to involuntarily take a few steps back.
Shen Zhiyuan and Grand Tutor Dong exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away, lowering their eyes to conceal the murderous intent in them.
Empress Shen was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Prince Jing, even if you are dissatisfied with the Emperor, he is still your father. How can you lay a hand on him? Do you want to rebel?"
She never expected that even though the Emperor had an accident at his residence, he would still dare to attend court instead of trying to find a way to save the Emperor.
Could it be... that vile woman revived the Emperor?
Thinking of this, a strong sense of jealousy and hatred flashed in Empress Shen's eyes.
Things have come to this point. If the Emperor really wakes up, he will know that I poisoned him. He will definitely not let me off the hook. Then I can't stop now. It's either me or him.
Long Shang slowly walked into the Golden Palace. Looking at Empress Shen's sinister eyes, a mocking smile appeared on his lips. "Without any evidence, how can Your Majesty accuse me of treason?"
"Since you wouldn't commit treason, why did you stop Commander Sun from bringing the Emperor back to the palace?" Empress Shen clenched her fists tightly.
Long Shang sneered, "Since Your Majesty the Empress has asked this question, I would like to ask Your Majesty the Empress, what is the meaning of your sending the Imperial Guards to surround my Prince's residence?"
"What do you mean?" Empress Shen sneered. "The Emperor was perfectly fine when he left the palace, but he fainted when he arrived at your Prince Jing's residence. Tell me, what do you mean by that?"
Upon hearing Empress Shen mention Emperor Tianqi's coma, even those who were unaware of the details and remained neutral looked worried.
Now that the emperor has not left a will, if something happens, the Tianqi court will be in turmoil.
The Tianqi Emperor has just resolved the famine problem; if there is turmoil in the court, it would give other countries an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, which would be troublesome.
Long Shang ignored the whispers of the crowd and said indifferently, "I don't know who Your Majesty heard about my father's coma at my residence, but my father is indeed fine now. Your Majesty is overthinking it."
After saying that, he looked at Gao Ming and said, "My father sent Eunuch Gao to announce to everyone that today is a day of rest. Did Eunuch Gao not convey my father's imperial will?"
"Your Highness, this old servant has already told all the officials that His Majesty has decreed today as a day of rest, but..." At this point, Gao Ming looked at Empress Shen, "If Your Majesty does not believe me, this old servant has no other choice."
After Gao Ming finished speaking, Long Shang looked at the ministers and said, "My father has indeed decreed that today is a day of rest. All of you may return home."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Empress Shen roared, "Stop making excuses! Release the Emperor right now, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
Long Shang's eyes were sharp and cold, giving off a chilling feeling that seemed to lower the temperature around him.
"I'd like to see just how impolite Her Majesty the Empress is going to be to me."
After saying this, Long Shang turned to leave, but Empress Shen hurriedly shouted, "Guards! Seize Prince Jing for me!"
Whether Emperor Tianqi wakes up or not, Empress Shen is determined to get rid of Long Shang. This way, Emperor Tianqi will lose an ally. Even if she fails, Emperor Tianqi will not be able to do anything to her or the Shen family.
Upon hearing Empress Shen's words, the Imperial Guard Commander Sun Cheng waved his hand, and hundreds of armored Imperial Guards rushed in from outside, surrounding the entire hall. Their swords were pointed at Long Shang. At the same time, Yun Hao and Yun Yi, who were waiting outside, were also rushed into the hall by the Imperial Guards and stood guard on either side of Long Shang. They looked at the Imperial Guards with vigilance, their hands already on their halberds, ready to act at any moment.
Long Shang didn't even glance at the Imperial Guards rushing in. Instead, he turned and looked up at Empress Shen, mockingly saying, "It seems that Your Majesty is the one who wants to rebel, and has been preparing for it for a long time, hasn't she?"
"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" the old Prince Yu said angrily.
“Yes, Your Majesty, let’s talk this out. How could Prince Jing detain the Emperor? You must be mistaken,” Yang Yanru’s father, Yang Kai, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, quickly added.
His daughter is Prince Jing's concubine. If Prince Jing is accused of treason, then his Yang family will also be implicated.
Shen Zhiyuan and his two sons, along with the ministers who had previously followed the deceased Crown Prince Long Xian and were now following Long Jun, all appeared calm. Only the neutral parties and those who favored Long Shang but were unaware of the reasons behind it showed anxiety on their faces.
Empress Shen's expression remained unchanged as she said to Long Shang, "Say whatever you want. I'm just worried about His Majesty's safety."
After speaking, he looked at Sun Cheng.
Sun Cheng drew his sword and charged toward Long Shang and his two servants. Yun Hao and Yun Yi had not brought any weapons when they entered the palace, but seeing that the others had not moved, they did not use their guns. Instead, Yun Yi met them with his bare hands.
Everyone else, except for Tang Zhenhong and the others who were facing Long Shang, took a few steps back, afraid of being implicated.
At that moment, a majestic voice rang out, "Stop right there, all of you!"
Upon hearing Emperor Tianqi's voice, everyone looked towards the entrance, where they saw Emperor Tianqi being escorted by Chang Jinnuo, Tang Wenqi, Tang Wenle, and Tang Wenze as he entered the Golden Palace.
Sun Cheng and Yun Yi quickly separated, and Yun Yi returned to Long Shang's side.
"Greetings, Your Majesty/Father." Everyone was surprised that the Emperor was actually alright. They all knelt down to pay their respects, except for Empress Shen and Shen Zhiyuan and his son. Even Sun Chengcheng stood there with his sword in hand, not kneeling down.
At that moment, his mind was in turmoil, filled with many thoughts.
He hadn't expected that the Emperor was actually alright. The Emperor must know about his siege of Prince Jing's residence with his troops. No matter how much he explained now, it would be useless.
He committed the crime of disobeying the emperor, and the emperor would certainly not let him off the hook.
Rather than waiting to be punished, it's better to take a chance.
Emperor Tianqi frowned as he looked at Empress Shen and the others. "What? You still want to disobey my orders?"
After saying that, he looked at Shen Zhiyuan and said, "General Shen, do you also want to disobey my orders?"
From the moment Emperor Tianqi walked in, he knew their plan was going to fail. Perhaps today's events were a setup by the emperor to test his attitude.
Perhaps the emperor already knew about his daughter poisoning him. Thinking back to the last time Longfu rebelled with his zombie soldiers, he ultimately failed and the Lü family was executed. He knew he couldn't make the same mistake again.
Even if he couldn't save the Shen family's fortune, it would be good to leave a trace of the Shen family's bloodline. So, he knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not. Please punish me."
When Shen Fengyu saw his father kneel down, he knew that the situation was hopeless, so he had no choice but to kneel down as well.
Empress Shen knew that her father had given up on her, and she cried out in resentment, "Father, even if you kneel down to him now, what good will it do? He will not let our Shen family go."
After speaking, she looked at Emperor Tianqi and said resentfully, "Your Majesty knew all along that I had drugged you, didn't you? The reason you pretended to faint to scheme against me and the Shen family was to avenge that bitch, wasn't it?"
Empress Shen became more and more agitated as she spoke, "Your Majesty, how could you be so heartless? I have given you two sons, yet you scheme against me for that vile woman?"
Emperor Tianqi initially felt it was inappropriate to discuss his private life in front of so many officials, but Empress Shen's aggressive and persistent slander made him lose his temper.
"I'm ruthless? If you weren't so vicious, betraying me first and poisoning me, why would I have schemed against you?" Emperor Tianqi glared at Empress Shen, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.
He never imagined that his wife of many years would want to kill him.
All the ministers, who had been bowing their heads, lowered them even further upon hearing the Empress and Emperor Tianqi's words.
They dared not listen to the Emperor's private affairs. Now they regretted it to death. If only they had listened to Eunuch Gao and gone home earlier, they wouldn't be kneeling here in fear now.
Shen Zhiyuan and his son knew they were not going to get away with this today. They did not try to argue with what Empress Shen had said, and just knelt there to await Emperor Tianqi's judgment.
When Empress Shen heard Emperor Tianqi say that she was ruthless, she laughed loudly.
Laughing, she laughed, then tears of regret streamed down her face.
She shouldn't have married him in the first place, because it resulted in one of her sons losing his life and the other not even being considered a man anymore.
Even though she resented and hated him, she didn't poison him to kill him. She just wanted to make him sick so that Jun'er could inherit the throne.
"So all my years of dedication have been nothing but a vicious heart in Your Majesty's eyes."
"Yes, I was so foolish to have loved Your Majesty for so many years, only to have my two sons meet such a bad end."
"Since you think I am wicked, then I don't need to pretend. If you are unrighteous, don't blame me for being unjust!" Empress Shen looked coldly at Emperor Tianqi, then shouted at Sun Cheng, "Why don't you act now? He won't give you a chance to live."