Firmament Sword

Wei Feng’s body suddenly shuddered, and he stammered, ”This old minister’s eyes are dim with age. I... I didn’t see anything. I drank too much and passed out...”

”Hm?” Huangfu Haoyue seemed far from satisfied with this answer.

”The Sixth Prince colluded with a group of Military Generals and launched a palace coup. He poisoned the Emperor and Empress, and then personally killed the Crown Prince. But what he didn’t expect was that while the mantis stalks the cicada, an oriole is always waiting. The Sixth Prince was then cut down by the Transformation Realm powerhouse Xu Ji and his son!

”Although Xu Ji and his son didn’t appear to participate in the Sixth Prince’s rebellion, they had actually been plotting all along. The pitiful Sixth Prince was merely doing their dirty work, nothing more than a pawn in Xu Ji’s hands!

”In fact, among the Military Generals who rebelled with the Sixth Prince, men like Xu Zhongtian and Sui Wanli were actually secret agents planted by Xu Ji long ago! Xu Ji’s true plan was to use this palace coup to install the Eldest Prince, thereby achieving his goal of ruling all of Cangqiong and overthrowing the Royal Family...”

Huangfu Haoyue continued with a smile, ”And me? I just happened to be there, hosting my fellow sect members in the Imperial Capital. When I encountered such an attempt to overthrow the Cangqiong government, how could I possibly stand idly by? After all, the blood of the Cangqiong Royal Family flows in my veins! As a scion of the Royal Family, I had to step forward and restore justice for all the people of this land!

”I saw through Xu Ji’s treacherous plot. Because he hadn’t anticipated that members of my sect would be present, he was outmaneuvered and forced to flee in a panic...”

Huangfu Haoyue watched Wei Feng with a broad, unnerving smile. ”And you, you’re the sole witness to this entire affair. Oh, that’s right—there are two of you. Your son, Wei Ziting, is also a witness. That future pillar of the court. Both of you saw what happened. Do you understand?”

”This old minister... this old minister understands!” Wei Feng shot Huangfu Haoyue a look of pure terror. It was likely the first time this powerful head of the Civil Servants had ever looked at a young man with such fear.

Even when Xu Luo had thrown the Wei Family into chaos and nearly destroyed the reputation Wei Feng had built over a lifetime, Wei Feng had never found him as terrifying as the young man standing before him now. This man was so frightening that his very soul trembled.

The youth before him had succeeded in making Wei Feng’s soul shudder with a terror that reached its absolute peak.

An old fox like Wei Feng, who had spent his entire life navigating the treacherous waters of the court like a fish in its element, understood the key to the entire affair in a single instant.

’Behind the seemingly absurd ending to this palace coup was the unfathomably deep cunning of this young man with royal blood. He had schemed against everyone!

’He’d made an outrageous demand, blinding the Sixth Prince who was obsessed with the throne. The Prince thought Huangfu Haoyue would be wary of the Kaiyang Sect backing the Royal Family and wouldn’t dare touch a legitimate heir.

’The pitiful Sixth Prince assumed that the height of Huangfu Haoyue’s ambition was... at most... to become the Regent King and use him as a puppet.

’And when that time came, all he’d have to do was call upon the Kaiyang Sect, and a mere Huangfu Haoyue with his four Transformation Realm Sword Kings would be easy enough to handle.

’But who could have possibly imagined that just as the palace coup succeeded, Huangfu Haoyue would run the Sixth Prince through with his sword—the Prince who was a hair’s breadth from the Emperor’s throne!

’The other princes still in the Imperial Palace would surely not escape Huangfu Haoyue’s slaughter.

’Not only that, but the only legitimate heir left, the Eldest Prince, and even the National Guardian General King Xu Ji, a pillar of the Cangqiong Empire, were all part of Huangfu Haoyue’s scheme!

’Everything he was thinking of now, this terrifying young man had likely already considered... He’d directly framed Xu Ji and his son, pinning all the blame on them.

’Who in the entire Imperial Capital didn’t know of the bond between the Eldest Prince, Huangfu Chongzhi, and Xu Luo?

’They were sworn brothers!

’After something like this, the first thing Xu Ji would do would be to rush out of the Imperial Capital and head north to protect the Eldest Prince...

’Wei Feng could see it all. The entire affair was in this young man’s grasp, and Xu Ji’s fate had only two possible outcomes.

’First: he fails to escape the Imperial Capital and is slain by the peerless powerhouses at Huangfu Haoyue’s side. Then, Huangfu Haoyue has the Eldest Prince assassinated and successfully usurps the throne.

’Second: Xu Ji successfully breaks out of the Imperial Capital with his men and joins the Eldest Prince. But then, what awaits them will be Huangfu Haoyue’s thunderous retaliation!

’In terms of power, Huangfu Haoyue wields martial might that makes the mortal world tremble. The great noble families are masters of seeing which way the wind blows; they will certainly choose to cooperate with him.

’In terms of legitimacy, once Huangfu Haoyue is nominated as Regent King by myself and the other high ministers of Cangqiong, he will hold the moral high ground. At that point, there will be no place left for Xu Ji in the entire Cangqiong Empire!

’He and the other high ministers could refuse, of course, but the consequences...’ As Wei Feng thought this, he felt a suffocating sensation.

’He’d never imagined that someone with royal blood, but raised in a sect, would be so hungry for worldly power. More than that, he’d never expected the man’s mind... his scheming... to be even more unfathomable than that of an old fox like himself, who had navigated the court for decades!

’Wei Feng could already see the fate awaiting Xu Ji and his family. Even if he managed to escape the Imperial Capital by some stroke of luck, would there be any place left for them in the Cangqiong Empire?

’Would Huangfu Chongzhi be allowed to live?

’Perhaps, in the end, Huangfu Haoyue wouldn’t even ascend the throne himself. He would find an infant, claim it was the Emperor’s youngest son, and place him on the throne. And the true identity of this infant would be...’

Wei Feng suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He remembered how, just a moment ago, while he was weeping for the dead Emperor, his bastard son had slapped him across the face and arrogantly declared: ”The heavens have changed! I am the next generation of powerful ministers in the Cangqiong Empire! I am the Sixth Prince’s Minister of the Dragon!”

’That absolute fool!’ Wei Feng couldn’t even be bothered to glance at his son, who now stood pale and trembling.

”So, Prime Minister Wei,” Huangfu Haoyue asked, his smile never wavering, ”at a time like this, shouldn’t a highly respected and virtuous senior minister such as yourself step forward to take charge of the situation?”

”I...” Wei Feng trailed off, hesitating.

He didn’t want to die, especially not in a chaotic palace coup. But if he truly sided with Huangfu Haoyue, then... his reputation... would be forever tarnished, reviled for millennia to come. Most importantly, as a witness to the coup, once Huangfu Haoyue was done using him... how could he possibly be allowed to live?

”Father, have you gone senile? What are you hesitating for? Hurry up and agree!” Wei Ziting suddenly snapped back to life, yelling urgently at Wei Feng.

SLAP!

Wei Feng swung his arm in a full circle, putting nearly all his strength into a vicious slap across Wei Ziting’s face.

”You animal!”

The roar, filled with terror and fury, echoed through the Imperial Palace.

”Heh heh. Prime Minister Wei, there’s no need for anger, nor for fear. If I’ve kept you alive, it’s for a reason. A smart man like you should know what to do. I can promise you a life of boundless wealth and glory. I would never do something as distasteful as killing the donkey after the milling is done.” Huangfu Haoyue smiled at Wei Feng. ”Think of your Wei Family.”

Wei Feng’s body trembled slightly. He was seething with rage, screaming internally, ’You would never do something distasteful? Then how do you explain this... this whole scene before us?!’

At that moment, he understood he no longer had a choice.

It was as if he had aged decades in an instant; even his back stooped. In a heavy voice, he declared, ”This old minister, Wei Feng, will go at once to respectfully welcome the Eldest Prince back to the Imperial Capital to ascend the throne!”

”Are you insane?” Wei Ziting clutched his face, staring at his father in disbelief, his eyes filled with panic and fury. ”You old fool, if you want to die, fine, but don’t drag...”

SLAP!

Wei Feng was so furious he could have spat blood. He delivered another heavy slap to the other side of Wei Ziting’s face and roared, ”I, Wei Feng, have been renowned for my wisdom my entire life! How could I have produced something as idiotic as you—you’re dumber than a pig!”

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

Huangfu Haoyue clapped his hands lightly a few times, a look of admiration on his face as he watched Wei Feng. ”Prime Minister Wei is indeed a pillar of our nation. I’m impressed, truly impressed!”

”This old minister... must now go and stabilize the court ministers. The Empire cannot be without a ruler for even a day. This old minister humbly requests that Your Highness temporarily assume the role of Regent King to stabilize the situation!” Wei Feng gave Huangfu Haoyue a deep bow, bending until his torso was parallel with the ground.

”Granted.” Huangfu Haoyue nodded and waved a hand, dismissing Wei Feng.

Outside the Imperial Palace, the mouthful of blood Wei Feng had been holding back finally burst from his lips. He swayed twice, nearly fainting on the spot.

”Why did you do that?” Wei Ziting’s cheeks were badly swollen as he stared at Wei Feng with a sullen expression. ”Young Master Hao Yue clearly said that Xu Ji was the true mastermind, and his goal was to install the Eldest Prince on the throne. Yet you want to welcome the Eldest Prince back to be coronated? What is that if not suicide?”

”Sigh...” This time, Wei Feng didn’t strike him again. He only let out a deep sigh. ”I can understand how you feel. As your father, I don’t even blame you for slapping me earlier. But you... you truly are... far too foolish!”

Wei Ziting, unconvinced, retorted, ”I only hit you for your own good...”

”Do you really think,” Wei Feng asked with a cold sneer, ignoring his son’s justification, ”that the Eldest Prince will live long enough to return and ascend the throne?”

”Huh?” Although Wei Ziting was arrogant, he wasn’t quite as dumb as a pig. Hearing this, he was stunned for a long moment before muttering, ”I understand... So Young Master Hao Yue... he doesn’t want his reputation to be stained in the slightest. He wants the world to see that even though the Eldest Prince and Xu Ji colluded to orchestrate all this, he will still allow the Eldest Prince to take the throne, simply because... the Eldest Prince is the legitimate heir of the Royal Family... What... what a terrifyingly deep scheme.”

”To think the Sixth Prince could be clever his whole life, only to be foolish in a single moment. He did all the work for Huangfu Haoyue, and in the end, he was branded a patricide, a matricide, and a fratricide. A man truly cannot let himself be blinded by desire. Otherwise, he won’t even know what killed him.”

Wei Feng sighed, speaking as much to himself as to Wei Ziting. ”After this is all over, I... I will announce my retirement and return to my hometown. You can stay here in the court and be the most powerful minister of your generation.”

”I...” Wei Ziting’s face, already stinging, burned with a new kind of shame. He finally lowered his head. ”Father, I was wrong.”