Chapter 2027: Internal Disorder
Empress Qi fired back with her own rebuttal. Wasn’t Honored Princess Mei’s accusation of her and her son also based on mere speculation?
What audacity! Honored Princess Mei presumed to cast aspersions and slander, yet recoiled when faced with the same treatment? Who did she think she was?
She was the Queen, appointed by the Emperor himself!
She refused to tolerate such baseless slander!
Princess Concubine Virtue and the Second Prince, sensing their implication in the turmoil, waded into the fray to assert their innocence.
Empress Qi dispatched several imperial physicians to examine the Emperor’s body. Their conclusion: the Emperor’s demise resulted not from poisoning but from prolonged medication use, which had compromised his health over time. His passing, they deemed, was a consequence of his weakened condition…
Honored Princess Mei breathed a sigh of relief, doubling down on her pressure against Empress Qi…
Ultimately, the pivotal question remained: Who would ascend the throne?
None of the three princes yielded to the others. With no clear testamentary decree, each harbored aspirations for the throne, unwilling to relinquish their claim.
At this critical juncture, Princess Consort rallied, accompanied by her eldest grandson, brothers, and loyal ministers and guards from the East Palace.
The Crown Prince’s legacy persisted—the eldest son, now a grown man with children of his own, emerged as a contender for the throne.
This time, the chaos reached unprecedented levels!
The capital teetered on the brink of anarchy as the four factions clashed with ferocious intensity.
Only two entrances remained open at the city gates, heavily guarded by trusted sentinels from each faction. Neither side yielded an inch of ground to the other.
The city gates buzzed with activity, swarming with messengers darting in and out, seeking reinforcements or hastening from distant locales.
Outside the city, several garrisons, large and small, bolstered the factions’ forces.
Within the palace walls, the tension was palpable.
Emperor Xuan’s remains were hastily interred, and the mourning hall hastily arranged. Tempers flared over seating arrangements and incense offerings.
But amidst the chaos, the Emperor’s funeral took a backseat to the power struggle unfolding before them.
The throne beckoned irresistibly, a prize none could ignore and none were willing to relinquish!
With no testamentary decree, power lay within reach of the most capable. It was a prize worth fighting for, and no one would shy away from seizing it.
Doubtful? Prove your worth—seize it if you can!
The ambitions of the princes were no longer veiled but laid bare for all to see.
Courtiers aligned with the princes followed suit, throwing themselves into the fray with abandon.
For them, victory meant ascending to the throne—there was no turning back now, only pressing forward.
However, loyalists to the imperial court and the late Emperor, particularly the venerable old officials, lamented this spectacle. They implored the princes to halt their power struggle and prioritize the funeral rites for the late Emperor. How could he rest in peace amidst such turmoil?
In response, the princes employed a strategy of deflection—waiting for others to halt first before considering a pause themselves.
It was an impasse—a conundrum with no solution in sight.
With their own fates hanging in the balance, no one could afford to divert their attention elsewhere!
Princess Consort got so furious that she almost exploded.
If the Crown Prince was still around, the throne would naturally belong to him.
The Crown Prince was no longer around. As the saying goes, a son inherits his father’s negative karma, so the throne naturally belonged to the eldest grandson. What right did these people have to snatch her son’s empire!
All of them were shameless!
But Princess Consort’s faction was the smallest among these forces.
Crown Prince had too many scruples and didn’t dare to expand his influence. After all, there were so many eyes on him.
At this point, the Eastern Palace was completely powerless to compete with others.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter