Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress novel Chapter 1430

Chapter 1430: Chapter 1425: The Political Situation

The Empress placed her hands, intertwined, on her lap and smiled at the Second Prince, changing how she addressed herself: "However, today’s Imperial Edict has finally been revealed. If the Second Prince leaves Xiao Qi with this palace, should anyone question the legitimacy of your claim to the throne in the future, we will serve as living witnesses! Don’t you agree, Second Prince?"

Seeing the Second Prince raise an eyebrow, the Empress continued, "Naturally... this palace must keep the contents of the Imperial Edict secret, not mentioning the Emperor’s order for Xiao Qi to ascend the throne. Likewise, the Second Prince must keep this palace’s secret and not mention the Emperor’s order for me to follow him in death, correct?"

The Empress was essentially handing the Second Prince leverage over herself, hoping to secure the lives of her and her child from him.

The Second Prince, originally handsome and well-featured, now had sunken eyes, likely due to overindulgence. His eyes appeared more sinister in the yellow-orange glow of the grand hall. He chuckled softly, "Now, I hold the knife, and you lie upon the slab, yet you dare try to negotiate with me! A secret of the Imperial Edict? Tonight, not a single person in this grand hall shall leave alive. Tell me... who would ever know what nonsense the edict contains?"

As soon as the Second Prince’s words fell, the head of the Imperial Guards nodded to his subordinates, and with a raise of their blades, the palace maids, eunuchs, and kneeling officials in the hall had their heads severed one after another.

"Spare us, Second Prince! Spare us, Second Prince!"

"Spare us, Second Prince!"

"Empress, save this maidservant!"

The grand hall was filled with screams one after another, blood splattering against the screens, and soon, it returned to silence.

The heavy stench of blood permeated the entire hall.

The Empress closed her eyes, her hands on her lap clenched tightly. As her close maid was killed, blood splattered onto her face, and her lips were filled with that nauseating taste.

She wiped the bloodstains from her eyes with a handkerchief, then looked up...

The blood flowing in the grand hall was no exaggeration. It reached the footrest beside the Emperor’s bed and the Crown Prince’s clothes. Trembling, the Crown Prince was afraid that his brother would lose his mind and even kill him.

"Second Brother! Second Brother... Father has passed the throne to you! I heard nothing just now!" The Crown Prince hurriedly knelt, bowing repeatedly to the Second Prince, "Long live the Emperor, long live!"

Looking at his cowardly brother, the Second Prince tapped the Crown Prince’s face with his sword and shouted, "Take him away and lock him up!"

"Yes!" The imperial guard immediately dragged the Crown Prince out.

The Second Prince approached the Empress, casually lifting his foot onto the side of the bed where the Empress sat. He tilted his head to glance at the now-lifeless Emperor inside: "Then... the Empress will hand over the Seventh Prince to me and follow the Emperor in death! If you do this, I will spare the Seventh Prince’s life!"

Without hesitation, the Empress replied, "Alright! Your Seventh Brother is asleep in the bedchamber... do not disturb him!"

Upon hearing the Empress’s answer, the Second Prince lost all patience and grabbed the Empress by the collar: "Still not telling the truth? The entire Imperial Palace is under my control! If your Seventh Brother is in the palace, how could I not know? Where have you hidden him?"

The Second Prince’s men inquired with the people at the staging post, receiving news that the Zhou envoy had sneaked away recently. Understanding that the Zhou envoy was returning to Zhou, they immediately rode swiftly to the coast. Under orders of the new Emperor, they dispatched a large water-force navy, ensuring they intercept and kill them before those Zhou officials could reach Zhou’s borders with the Seventh Prince.

If Zhou were to bring the heir of the Dongyi Kingdom back to Zhou, they would likely support a puppet emperor of their own one day. He would rather kill his own Seventh Brother than let such a situation occur.

In the second year of Yuanhe, on the tenth day of the eighth month, the Dongyi Kingdom saw a palace coup as the Second Prince forced his way to rebellion.

The sky had already brightened. Lu Fenglang sat in the ship, his lips tightly pressed. He was unsure if the Second Prince’s coup was related to the suggestion he had made to the Empress. If indeed it was related, this time, he had spoiled Zhou’s plans.

In the cabin, the envoys from Zhou were still speculating, wondering why the Second Prince would suddenly stage a coup. But even in coup rebellion... as envoys of Zhou, could that Second Prince dare lay hands on them?

"Minister Liu, also for precaution’s sake, had us leave first, while he stayed in Dongyi. Presumably, regardless of who takes the throne in Dongyi, they wouldn’t... they dare not rashly trouble us Zhou envoys!"

"Indeed! The new ruler ascending would want to stabilize the court and maintain relations with neighboring countries. Our Zhou, is a strong power. Can we possibly fear this small nation?"

Fan Yugan, observing Lu Fenglang’s tense demeanor, poured him a cup of hot tea and said, "I know you are worried about Minister Liu, but Minister Liu had us leave just for precaution’s sake. I’ve interacted with that Second Prince; although everyone says he is a madman, he hasn’t lost his senses to the extent of disregarding diplomatic relations and insisting on killing Minister Liu!"

Lu Fenglang looked up at Fan Yugan and finally spoke softly, "There’s one thing... I haven’t told Minister Liu..."