Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 418: Chapter 404: The Tyrannical Crown Prince, Disaster Befalls the Imperial Rules

Prince Gong sneered, ”If His Highness the Crown Prince seeks to charge his royal brother with a crime, why bother with these useless trifles? Just convict him directly, and he shall surely abide by your will!”

”Hmph, do you think I lack evidence?” retorted the Crown Prince with a cold snort, ”Bring forth the Mountain River Tower’s Tower Master!”

Following that, a few guards dragged a figure covered in wounds in front of everyone.

Yang Zhenshan cast a glance.

The Master of Mountain River Tower!

Heh heh~

In the worldly society of martial artists, he was definitely a renowned expert.

His strength and status far exceeded Ye Changkai and Xiang Qiaohe.

But now, this man was dragged before the court officials like a dead dog.

In front of the court, that’s how low Jianghu Martial Artists are regarded.

Don’t even mention exploits in defiance of the ban on martial arts or a commoner’s wrath leading to bloodshed within five steps.

Without Innate strength, you wouldn’t even have the qualification to shed blood within five steps.

”And about that Jade Dew Spirit Peach, heh, a year ago, the royal brother had spent a fortune to acquire it from the Southern Sea, and to offer a bounty for Marquis Jing’an, even such a treasure was put up; truly, a hefty investment indeed!”

The Crown Prince gestured to an attendant who then brought forth a jade box, inside of which lay a peach with a hint of red through its green skin.

The peach wasn’t big, just the size of an adult’s fist, looking no different from an ordinary peach.

But with close observation, one would notice a faint halo circling the peach.

Prince Gong’s expression darkened, not anticipating that the Crown Prince would not only capture the Master of Mountain River Tower but also find the Jade Dew Spirit Peach, and even knew about the acquisition from the Southern Sea a year ago.

”Prince Gong, Prince Cheng, what do you have to say now?” The Crown Prince, his eyes radiating a commanding light, stared at the two of them.

Prince Cheng’s thoughts sank, yet a faint smile still lingered on his face.

Prince Gong’s complexion was gloomy enough to drip water.

With such evidence, he found himself unable to refute.

As for admitting guilt!

That was even less possible.

Both princes remained silent; the scene fell into dead silence.

The officials looked up at the Crown Prince and the two princes with speculative eyes.

Most were well aware of the situation, though some were unclear about the details.

And just as the scene descended into silence, the gates of Xuanping Gate at the Capital City’s South City flew open, as squads of soldiers clad in Iron Armor bearing weapons surged into the city from outside.

Simultaneously, from inside the Prince Gong Mansion, hundreds of fully-armed soldiers rushed out towards the Noon Gate of the Imperial City.

”Who goes there? The Imperial City is a forbidden area; no unauthorized persons may approach!”

The Imperial Guard in charge of the Noon Gate warned upon seeing the approaching soldiers.

”The Crown Prince is tyrannous, confining His Majesty and causing chaos in the court; we follow Prince Gong’s orders to purge the royal side and settle the national crisis. Step aside at once!”

The leader of the soldiers yelled out loud while charging toward the Noon Gate.

Hearing this, the Imperial Guard’s complexion drastically changed.

Today was the grand ceremony of granting titles, and with the front gates of the Imperial City wide open, although many guards were on duty, they couldn’t close the gates in time to stop the charge of hundreds of soldiers.

”Kill!”

A roar kicked off this military revolt.

At first, the Imperial Guard clashed with Prince Gong’s chaotic forces at the Noon Gate, but quickly the imperial guard from the city outskirts arrived at the scene.

In less than a quarter of an hour, inside and outside of the Noon Gate had turned into a gory battlefield.

A massive number of Imperial Guards arrived from within the Imperial City as support, alongside numerous imperial guards through the streets to the Noon Gate.

The scale of the battle grew rapidly from a few hundred to a few thousand, then tens of thousands.

”Report!”

A guard rushed before Fengtian Hall, panting, ”Reporting to His Highness the Crown Prince, there’s an insurgent force attacking the Noon Gate!”

The calm scene became instantly tumultuous.

Everyone looked toward the direction of the Noon Gate.

Currently, they were not far from the Noon Gate; in front of Fengtian Hall stood the Fengtian Gate, beyond which was the Jinshui Bridge, and past that lay the Noon Gate.

The Crown Prince abruptly stood up, his expression grim as he stared toward Fengtian Gate – not visible from their position, but even now, they could faintly hear the clamor of battle at the Noon Gate.

Prince Cheng, Prince Gong, are you intending to rebel?” The Crown Prince’s eyes flashed with fury as he bellowed.

Such a situation did not fit into the Crown Prince’s plans.

A military coup and rebellion were definitely the most unwise choices.

Emperor Chengping had not yet passed away, and the Imperial City was still in the hands of the Emperor’s personal army; taking down the Imperial City was certainly not an easy feat.

Furthermore, let’s not forget that the place was filled with civil and military officials of the court.

Civil servants aside, the noble military generals were not ones that would be dealt with easily.

Just the noble military generals on its own could match against ten thousand troops.

A coup attacking the imperial restrictions was undoubtedly a foolish decision.

Yet Prince Cheng and Prince Gong did so!

This greatly exceeded the expectations of the Crown Prince, causing him endless fury and shock.

Not just the Crown Prince, the whole court was full of astonishment and incomprehension.

An attack on the imperial restrictions!

What a foolish act!

Yang Zhenshan did not expect the situation to evolve like this; he had anticipated today might climax in a struggle between Prince Cheng, Prince Gong, and the Crown Prince, but never did he imagine Prince Cheng and Prince Gong would dare to defy the world and choose to strike at the imperial restrictions.

Prince Gong remained cool and seated in his place, saying not a word.

Prince Cheng, fiddling with the thumb ring on his hand, was also silent.

Both paid no heed to the Crown Prince’s interrogative shout, merely sitting quietly and waiting.

Time ticked by, minute to minute, and the Crown Prince’s eyes slightly squinted, ”What are you waiting for? Seize these two traitors for me!”

”Heh, I’d like to see who dares. With the Emperor’s bestowed decree in my possession, who would dare to act against me?” Prince Gong withdrew a golden decree from his sleeve and spoke in a cold voice.

Seeing the golden decree in his hand, the surrounding guards were hesitating, and the full court of officials exchanged confused looks.

Yang Zhenshan’s expression stirred slightly as he obediently stood among the ranks of subjects, with no intention of sticking his neck out.

This is where the problem lies.

Before my eyes stand a Crown Prince and two Princes; who among the civil and military officials of the entire court has the right to take up arms against these three?

Storming the palace forbidden grounds is rebellion, but the current situation seems more like a family affair of the royal house.

Without Emperor Chengping’s edict, the civil and military officials cannot do anything to Prince Cheng or Prince Gong.

As for the Crown Prince, he is only the Regent and has not yet ascended the throne; he cannot mobilize the personal army within the Imperial City.

For a moment, the situation fell into a stalemate.

The shouting and killing outside Fengtian Gate grew louder, and the Crown Prince’s complexion turned increasingly ugly.

”Duke Ning, Duke Rong, Duke Chang, Duke An, do you plan to allow these rebellious troops to alarm His Majesty?” the Crown Prince looked at the Dukes standing in the front row of the nobles and military generals.

Da Rong has six Dukes, namely Duke Ning, Duke Rong, Duke Chang, Duke An, Duke Xing, and Duke Shou.

Among them, Duke Ning and Duke Rong are hereditary first-rank Dukes, while Duke Chang, Duke An, and Duke Xing are hereditary third-rank Dukes.

Duke Shou is Emperor Chengping’s maternal grandfather, a non-hereditary third-rank Duke!

At today’s ennoblement ceremony, four of the six Dukes were present; Duke Xing Mansion has traditionally been stationed in the Southern Border, rarely coming to the Capital City, naturally, he could not attend today’s ceremony.

And Duke Shou is advanced in years, frail and weak, having long withdrawn from court politics.

In addition to the four Dukes, there are also eight Marquises and twenty Lords; aside from those who had duties or remained as idle nobility at home, the rest of the nobility had nearly all arrived.

With the rebellious troops storming the palace, naturally, the nobles had to stand up and protect the palace.

As for the Emperor’s personal army and the forces within the palace, the personal army had sealed off the palace forbidden grounds and the Emperor’s sleeping quarters at the very start of the conflict at Wumen.

Now, in front of the gates of the Emperor’s sleeping quarters stood eunuchs with varying expressions. Eunuch Chen, arms hanging before him, silently stood outside the sleeping chamber, while three elderly eunuchs with white hair stood or sat beside him.

Inside and outside the sleeping chamber, surrounded by three layers inward and outward, stood the soldiers of the Imperial Guard.

The Emperor’s personal army, the Twelve Guards, was guarded by the soldiers of the Four Guards of the Imperial Guard on this day.

Apart from the soldiers of the Imperial Guard, there were faint silhouettes atop the pavilions and halls.

”How far have they gotten?”

Suddenly, a hoarse voice came from the sleeping chamber.

”Reporting to Your Majesty, the rebels are attacking Fengtian Gate!” Eunuch Chen leaned slightly to one side and replied with a bow.

”They haven’t reached Fengtian Hall yet?”

”They should be there soon!”

”Then let’s wait until they reach Fengtian Hall before we talk about it!”

The hoarse voice faded, and silence returned in front of the sleeping chamber doors.

Eunuch Chen resumed his previous posture, motionless in his place.

Beside him, the three white-haired old eunuchs likewise closed their eyes in rest.

Da Rong has only one Emperor, and the Imperial City has only one master; this fact has never changed.

In front of Fengtian Hall, the Imperial Guard eventually failed to hold back the rebels, allowing them to break through Fengtian Gate.

Thousands of blood-drenched rebels surged onto the square in front of Fengtian Hall.

The civil and military officials of the entire court looked indifferently at these rebels.

”Sigh~~” Duke Ning Zhou Mao let out a long sigh.

Standing at the forefront of the civil officials, Li Siyuan maintained a calm demeanor, head bowed and eyes lowered, as if asleep, not even sparing a glance.

Duke Rong furrowed his brows tightly, glancing at the Crown Prince, then at Prince Gong and Prince Cheng.

Duke Chang was closely watching Duke Ning and Duke Rong beside him.

Duke An, the youngest among the four Dukes and also the least experienced, was not in a position to speak out at this moment.

A vast number of rebels flooded into Fengtian Gate, quickly surrounding the area in front of Fengtian Hall.

The Crown Prince looked on at these rebels with a dark expression; when he spotted Marquis Wuxin, Cao Can, his gaze pierced sharply into Cao Can’s heart like a sword thrust.

Cao Can’s body trembled, but in the end, he strode forward, approaching the hall.

”The Crown Prince is tyrannical, imprisoning His Majesty, bringing chaos to the court structure; I am here by the order of Prince Gong to cleanse the royal side and eliminate traitors!”

He bowed to Prince Gong with a clenched fist.

Exactly, these rebels were the soldiers of the Brave Camp from among the Twelve Camps of the imperial guards.

Yang Zhenshan heard this and looked at Liang Chu standing not far from him.

Liang Chu’s eyes were slightly closed, as if nothing concerned him.

Liang Chu, as the General of the imperial guards, would bear the primary responsibility for the assault on the palace, even if he had no knowledge of the matter.

Yet now, Liang Chu showed no reaction!

Yang Zhenshan felt something odd.

It wasn’t just Liang Chu who felt odd; many others did too.

Yang Zhenshan slightly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Duke Ning, Duke Rong, Li Siyuan, and several other key officials.

”The Crown Prince should wait here for a moment, this Prince will go and see the Emperor!” Prince Gong finally spoke up.

”You want to see the Emperor?” the Crown Prince looked coldly at Prince Gong.

Prince Gong ignored him, turning instead to look at the civil and military officials below, ”May this Prince see the Emperor, my lords?”

The officials remained silent.

”Humph, since the Emperor fell seriously ill, I have not seen His Majesty! Today, I must see the Emperor! Whoever dares to stop me can be regarded as a treacherous usurper!” Prince Gong said coldly.

Rebellion?

That’s impossible!

Storming the palace is already foolish enough; rebellion would be both stupid and foolish!

Prince Gong clearly understood that the throne cannot be seized by force; therefore, what he aimed to do was not rebellion, but to cleanse the royal side and eliminate treachery.

Only by doing this would he have a chance of winning.

As long as Emperor Chengping remains unconscious, the Crown Prince is the treacherous one imprisoning the Emperor.

And as long as the Crown Prince can be accused, even if the charges are trumped-up, he could pull the Crown Prince down from power.

So, for him, the key is not what the Crown Prince does or the attitude of the entire civil and military officials; it’s whether Emperor Chengping is still enshrouded in unconsciousness, having no will of his own.

Prince Gong is gambling, betting that Emperor Chengping is too ill to decide for himself, only then would he have a sliver of chance to win.

Actually, Prince Gong is well aware that his chances of victory are slim, but he has to take a risk.

Without trying, he would have to suffer at the hands of the Crown Prince; if he did not attack the palace today, he would end up a prisoner beneath the Crown Prince’s feet.

In simple terms, he was driven to this point by the Crown Prince.