N-A-A Chapter 1835: Everyone was dumbfounded.
Chapter 1835: Everyone was dumbfounded.
Prime Minister Shen simply couldn't believe it.
But with so many people around, and even Eunuch Qin agreeing with the Crown Prince's words, the Emperor may have fainted but he wasn't dead, so it's likely the Crown Prince would dare to spout nonsense.
The old Duke was a royalist; now, as long as the Emperor was safe, he didn't care about anything else.
However, he was still puzzled. "The Fifth Princess, a mere woman, how could she force the Emperor to abdicate? Has she gone mad with greed?"
The crown prince had been waiting for him to ask questions.
Zhou Ruan's plan was probably to first gain the emperor's approval, gradually have the truth about his male identity accepted, and then talk about the throne.
However, first of all, he offended the Imperial Uncle, and his identity had already been exposed by the Imperial Uncle.
Secondly, his subordinate, Master Yu, was too greedy and acted too aggressively, ruining Zhou Ruan's plans.
They want to take action against the Imperial Uncle, but do they even realize that the Imperial Uncle is not so easily outmaneuvered?
Behind the Imperial Uncle is the First Mystic Sect, and there's also someone as powerful as the Imperial Aunt.
Therefore, Zhou Ruan failed.
This time Zhou Ruan failed, so don't blame him for kicking him when he's down and using Zhou Ruan as a stepping stone again.
So the Crown Prince said to the old Duke with a very “sorrowful” expression, “Fifth Princess, he has become the Fifth Prince.”
"W-what do you mean?" The old Duke thought he was just getting old and hard of hearing.
“He was born a man, but he has been pretending to be a woman, which has fooled the Emperor and everyone else. If the Duke and the Prime Minister don’t believe it, they can ask him after the Emperor wakes up.”
The crown prince sighed deeply.
"His Majesty has just issued a decree to arrest Master Yu and imprison him. The Fifth Prince is to be placed under house arrest!"
The guards called out in a deep voice, and at the Crown Prince's command, they immediately rushed into the hall.
Master Yu had just woken up when he heard the noise and immediately reached into his robes to retrieve the talisman.
He had to leave the palace first!
But just as his hand reached into his clothes, a kick came out with a bang, sending him flying.
Aoki withdrew his foot, and at the same time, a hidden weapon was launched at Master Yu.
Yu Zhenren suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back and spat out a mouthful of blood with a "poof".
Two guards rushed forward, twisted his arms backward, and slammed him to the ground.
Yu Zhenren's chin was pressed down so hard it felt like he was being plowed into the ground.
"How dare you! Do you know who I am... mmm... mmm..."
Before Master Yu could finish speaking, a guard knocked him unconscious with a single palm strike.
His junior sister was also brought out.
"Your Highness, the Fifth Princess has disappeared without a trace!"
One of the guards searched around but did not find Zhou Ruan, so he immediately went out to report to the Crown Prince.
"Search again!"
The Crown Prince gave the order, then looked at the still-shocked Duke, "Duke, did you hear that? My fifth brother has fled to avoid punishment. If he hadn't done anything outrageous or treasonous, why would he run away?"
The old duke believed most of it, his face turning ashen. He waved his hand and roared, "Search! Search thoroughly! We must catch him!"
Now, the old Duke's mind is filled with even more thoughts.
As he grew older, he enjoyed watching plays with the Duchess at the mansion. Recently, a troupe of actors was performing a play about a concubine of a powerful family who secretly switched the legitimate son of the mistress of the house with her daughter born to her lover.
He felt that if Zhou Ruan was originally a prince born to Consort Yu, how could she possibly raise him as a daughter?
Unless! This Zhou Ruan is not of royal blood!
Consort Yu was afraid of being discovered, so she raised Zhou Ruan as a princess. After all, a princess would not be expected to be favored, nor would she be watched by others.
"I was wondering why the Fifth Prince hadn't been seen for so many years! It turns out something's been going on!"
The old Duke could not tolerate such misuse of the royal bloodline.
The crown prince was letting him give orders here.
Because when Prime Minister Shen tried to speak, he was met with a barrage of insults from the old Duke.
“This is a very important matter. Shouldn’t we suppress the matter concerning the Fifth Prince for now and wait until the Emperor wakes up before making a decision?” said Prime Minister Shen.
The old duke suddenly sprayed it over.
"The royal bloodline is not to be trifled with! The man must be found and locked up! Other matters can wait until the Emperor wakes up, but this cannot be delayed! He has already escaped, what does that mean? Quickly, all of you go and help search for him!"
At this moment, Aoki was carefully looking around the hall.
He had visited Qianning Palace with the prince before, and had heard the retired emperor and the prince mention that there was a secret passage in the palace...
Will Zhou Ruan find out about this?
Aoki immediately beckoned Qingyu over.
"You follow His Highness the Crown Prince and tell him I went into the secret passage to search for people!"
"Be careful." Qingyu nodded.
Aoki patted the sword at his waist.
The princess had talismans applied to them, and he still has powerful talismans on him, so what's there to be afraid of?
Aoki immediately gathered several guards trusted by the Crown Prince, quietly circled around to the back, and opened a secret passage.
The guards were surprised to find that he knew the secret entrance to the Emperor Emeritus's residence, and they looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Let's go!" Aoki said in a deep voice, "We must capture the Fifth Prince."
The guards straightened up, immediately responded, and followed him into the secret passage.
The Crown Prince and the old Duke Shen entered the hall, where several Imperial Guards had already woken up.
Although still dizzy, Prime Minister Shen couldn't wait any longer. He personally stepped forward, grabbed one of the men by the collar, and asked urgently, "What just happened? Did the Prince of Jin do something to the Emperor...?"
The Imperial Guard was dizzy and instinctively told the truth.
"His Majesty... His Majesty wants to arrest Prince Jin... The Emperor Emeritus has appeared..."
"Master Yu wants to kill the prince, but the emperor is afraid of the retired emperor, so he says that as long as the prince is imprisoned first..."
"Fifth, the Fifth Princess appeared dressed as a man..."
The man spoke haltingly, but his words essentially confirmed what the prince had just said.
When the old Duke heard that the Emperor wanted to kill the Prince of Jin, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Why would Your Majesty kill Prince Jin for no reason? Can Prince Jin be arrested so easily? He's been causing trouble since he was a child. If Your Majesty does this, won't he force him to tear down the palace?"
Prime Minister Shen: "..."
Old Duke, do you still remember that you are a royalist?
That's ridiculous. If Prince Jin is a troublemaker, shouldn't the Emperor support him in teaching Prince Jin a lesson? Why should the Emperor give in to Prince Jin?
He didn't know that the old Duke was also used to Zhou Shiyue's persona since childhood, and was also used to the fact that for the past twenty years, the Emperor had always been the image of a good older brother, and that honest people always had to give way to the troublesome one.
Now that the Emperor has suddenly changed his mind and wants to arrest that rascal, the old Duke instinctively felt that the Emperor was acting recklessly.
After all, the Prince of Jin doesn't seem like the type to seize the throne.
He just got married.
"Wait, what did you just say? The Emperor Emeritus suddenly appeared?" The old Duke suddenly seized on another point of interest.
Prime Minister Shen was also dumbfounded.
"Yes, the Emperor Emeritus has appeared; we all saw him..."
Several more Imperial Guards who woke up confirmed this.
"The retired emperor scolded the emperor..."
"That Master Yu stabbed the Emperor Emeritus with a bronze sword..."
Everyone's faces lit up with a variety of emotions as they listened.
What on earth happened?!