A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Your Majesty, I didn't kill him."

"I had just had a disagreement with His Majesty, and he was assassinated that very day. Am I not afraid of public opinion?"

"This is clearly a frame-up, using the pretext that His Majesty and I have disagreements on political affairs to assassinate His Majesty and frame me."

"I will definitely get to the bottom of this!"

Zhai Hong said coldly, "I've been shooting geese all day, but today I've been pecked in the eye by a goose."

Zhai Hong wished he could drag out the person behind the scenes and tear them to pieces, skin them alive and pull out their tendons.

"snort!"

"Zhai Hong, you've openly led troops into the palace, and you still dare to say you haven't rebelled?"

"You have committed heinous crimes by assassinating His Majesty, besieging the palace, and taking the Crown Prince, Empress, and Empress Dowager hostage. Aren't you afraid of the extermination of your entire family?"

Zongzheng Xia pointed at Zhai Hong's nose and cursed.

Zhai Hong's face darkened, and he waved to the Imperial Guard. Immediately, two men dragged Zongzheng Xiaqie away, and soon after, a scream came from outside.

The officials present were so frightened that they all trembled.

Zhai Hong also realized that he was now in a terrible predicament, like mud dripping down his pants.

Since that's the case, he might as well go on a killing spree and carve out a bright and peaceful world.

"As I've said, it's not the truth; someone has framed me."

"His Majesty's protection has always been provided by the Imperial Guards. Guards, seize Nangong Ye and interrogate him thoroughly."

"Seize all the Imperial Guards and throw them in prison!"

"The Commander of the Imperial Guards has taken over the guard of the palace. Without the Prime Minister's order, no one may enter or leave."

No sooner had Zhai Hong finished speaking than Nangong Ye led all the Imperial Guards to draw their weapons, preparing to break through the encirclement with the Crown Prince, the Empress, and... the Empress Dowager.

"superior!"

At Zhai Hong's command, tens of thousands of Imperial Guards charged towards the thousands of Imperial Soldiers. The thousands of Imperial Soldiers were already at a disadvantage in terms of strength, as they were protecting the Crown Prince, Empress, and Empress Dowager as they tried to break through the encirclement, and they also had three burdens.

What was even more despairing was that when they rushed up to fight the Imperial Guards, some of the guards stabbed their comrades in the back with their weapons.

The Imperial Guards couldn't distinguish between friend and foe, making them even more timid and hesitant in battle.

Even though they were all imperial guards, each one an elite force, they were powerless in the face of such internal and external troubles.

The Empress coldly observed everything, then suddenly spoke up: "Don't worry about us! Take your men and break out here, proclaiming to the world what happened today!"

"Your Majesty!"

Nangong Ye killed the general in front of him with a single blow, tears welling in his eyes.

"This is an order. The late emperor cannot have died in vain. Someone must avenge him."

The Empress also came from a prominent family and was exceptionally capable, while the Imperial Censor was quite decisive.

Nangong Ye gritted his teeth and nodded, saying, "Brothers, let's fight our way out!"

They decided to abandon protecting the Crown Prince and his two companions, but the Imperial Guards had already suffered heavy losses. Nangong Ye glanced at the situation and his heart sank. Even if he gave up protecting them, he might not be able to break through.

Moreover, his guards outside the palace were killed in quick succession. Even if he managed to break through from there, he would still have to get past that line of defense.

"General, let's go!"

Suddenly, some of the Imperial Guards turned around and attacked their teammates, with one of the captains shouting at Nangong Ye.

Nangong Ye looked over and recognized who it was.

Zheng Hu was a trusted confidant secretly cultivated by the late emperor.

Zhai Hong's expression changed. He hadn't expected that there would be a traitor among the Imperial Guards, whom he had completely controlled.

Taking advantage of the opening created by Zheng Hu's sudden defection, Nangong Ye successfully led the Imperial Guards out, but the Imperial Guards also suffered heavy losses, with less than a thousand men able to stay by his side.

He couldn't lead his less than a thousand men out of the city gate. If the enemy made any slight obstruction, the pursuers would arrive soon. If they were attacked from both sides, they would surely die!

Nangong Ye had guarded the palace for over a decade and was extremely familiar with it. He happened to know a place where, although there were palace walls, they were relatively low, and there was a river outside the walls.

Not many people know about this place, and it is a small place with limited space, so not many people can pass through it.

As long as some people can stay behind to cover the retreat, the others can swim across the river, escape the palace, and expose Zhai Hong's wolfish ambitions to the world.

Thinking of this, Nangong Ye quickly led his men to change direction and ran towards the low palace wall.

"Chase after them!"

Zhai Hong roared.

"Now that His Majesty has been assassinated, the empire cannot be without a ruler for even a day. I hereby recommend the Crown Prince to succeed to the throne. What do you all think?"

Zhai Hong looked at the three dukes and nine ministers around him and asked in a cold voice. His patience had run out, and he had to act decisively and kill anyone who tried to stop him.

"Zhai Hong, you attempted to assassinate His Majesty and disrupted the court; your crime deserves death!"

The Imperial Censor stepped forward and said that he knew he would die if he did so, but he had been favored by the Emperor for generations, and now was the time to serve him even unto death.

Officials continued to stand up and condemn Zhai Hong, and some even bravely faced death.

Zhai Hong granted their request and ordered the Imperial Guard to drag them all away and behead them as a warning to the public.

After killing them, they took their heads and placed them in front of the court officials, who were so frightened that they shrank back like quails.

The tough guys in the court have all been taken away, leaving only the spineless.

Zhai Hong gave them a cold glance, and they all bowed their heads. Finally, someone couldn't bear it and knelt down first, saying, "Please, Crown Prince, ascend the throne and inherit the great lineage."

Once someone set an example, everyone else followed suit and knelt down. In an instant, cries for the Crown Prince to succeed to the throne resounded throughout the palace.

"Your Highness, the ministers all request that you ascend the throne."

Zhai Hong didn't even kneel; he simply bent slightly at the waist, which was considered a gesture of respect.

The young Crown Prince Xia Zhao was only four years old. He was so frightened by the scene that he burst into tears and rushed into the Empress's arms.

The Empress pursed her lips, suppressing her anger. She first comforted her son before looking at Zhai Hong, "Zhao'er, don't cry. I agree."

Only if Xia Zhao ascends the throne will she have the opportunity to contact the court officials, overthrow Zhai Hong, and regain power.

Zhai Hong looked at the Empress with a meaningful gaze. Judging from the Empress's behavior just now, this Empress was also quite extraordinary.

They can't keep them!

But now that the emperor has just died, if he were to kill the empress, it would be a huge blow to his reputation.

It was so extreme that even if he were to burn his bridges, he wouldn't dare to do it.

He was not Dong Zhuo after all. The death of the young emperor could be explained by framing someone, but political struggles that escalated to the point of assassinating the emperor, although ugly, could still be accepted with a guilty conscience.

However, it was simply unacceptable that the emperor and empress died one after another within a few days.

In this way, no one will support him; no one will support someone who has no political principles whatsoever.

Unless he commands a large army and, like Dong Zhuo, truly goes on a killing spree.

However, the key issue is that he did not have the same foundation and army as Dong Zhuo; his military strength was relatively weak.

Moreover, most of the army was still in a standoff with the forces of the imperial clan and military generals.

The only option is to keep the Empress in the palace for now and keep her under strict supervision!

Under Zhai Hong's direction, the four-year-old Crown Prince Xia Zhao hastily ascended the throne before the coffin, honoring the deceased young emperor as Emperor Shao of Xia, and appointing himself as a trusted minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor, holding the positions of Prime Minister and Grand Tutor.

Even after Xia Zhao ascended the throne, Zhai Hong maintained firm control over the palace's defenses.