After giving her contraceptives, she went mad, criticizing the prince for turning white-haired overn

The Empress Dowager said coldly, "The throne of Great Yan cannot fall into the hands of a eunuch."

"It's even less likely that it would fall into the hands of someone of questionable bloodline."

Her gaze was like a knife as she stared directly at Prince Li: "His Majesty's body is barely cold, and you're already so impatient, issuing a false imperial edict!"

"Is your grandson impatient?" Prince Li sneered.

"Compared to my grandmother, who smothered my grandfather to death in her quest for the throne, I am much calmer."

As soon as the Prince of Li finished speaking, the Empress Dowager on the high seat turned grim and stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

The civil and military officials below immediately began to whisper among themselves.

The Empress Dowager's hand, resting on the dragon throne, trembled slightly: "How dare you slander me!"

Prince Li sneered, "Slander?"

"Grandmother, I saw it with my own eyes back then."

"That is why you gave the chief eunuch by the Emperor's side poisoned wine."

"Now that the Emperor has passed away, the Empress Dowager should pay with her life for poisoning the late Emperor."

As soon as the Prince of Li finished speaking, a group of armored soldiers rushed into the Golden Palace and surrounded the entire hall.

Before long, Duke Liu walked in calmly.

Behind him followed an old eunuch with white hair.

That old eunuch was none other than Eunuch Gao Yi, who had served the late emperor.

When the Empress Dowager saw Eunuch Gao Yi, she was startled and her eyes were filled with disbelief.

Grandpa Gao Yi's hair has turned completely white.

The Empress Dowager poisoned him, and he faked his death to escape, but his throat was still poisoned and he lost his voice.

He shakily took out a written letter from his sleeve and presented it to Duke Liu.

Duke Liu took the letter, unfolded it and read it carefully, then looked coldly at the Empress Dowager.

"The Empress Dowager poisoned the late Emperor back then, and now she wants to seize control of the court. What is she trying to do?"

He waved the letter in his hand: "The Great Yan is currently leaderless. Prince Li is a prince, and he should rightfully succeed to the throne."

"Absurd!" The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the armchair and stood up abruptly. "Do you expect me to fight Prince Li to the death today?"

"Now that Prince Chen's whereabouts are unknown, we must at least wait for his return."

"Su Linfeng of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion is also of His Majesty's bloodline. The Great Yan Dynasty should rightfully be inherited by one of them."

Duke Liu sneered, "Su Linfeng is a prince? How come I didn't know?"

"He has neither been included in the royal register nor has any merit. Even if he were to sit in this position, who would respect him?"

He pressed closer, his gaze landing on the Empress Dowager: "Your Majesty, please relinquish this position."

-

Meanwhile, inside the Regent's Palace.

Shen Ning was fast asleep, lying on Xie Linyuan's body, when suddenly the sound of a lock being opened came from outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, Mo Yu's voice came from outside the door: "Your Highness, it's almost ready."

"The private armies of the Liu and Ruan families have already entered the imperial city."

"The two armies are at war, and the imperial city is now in chaos."

Hearing the sound, Xie Linyuan slowly opened his eyes and looked down to see that Shen Ning was already awake.

He whispered to Shen Ning, "You wait in the palace, I have some things to take care of."

As Xie Linyuan spoke, he reached out and helped Shen Ning up.

Shen Ning got off him and lay down on the couch beside him. Suddenly remembering something, she asked, "Your Highness, where is Prince Chen?"

"I'm afraid that Prince Chen is still alive, which would only make things more chaotic."

Xie Linyuan raised an eyebrow at her, a slight smile curving his thin lips.

"Ah Ning, do you really want Prince Chen dead?"

Seeing Xie Linyuan's strange expression, Shen Ning was stunned for a moment.

She nodded and said seriously, "Of course I want him dead, preferably pierced by a thousand arrows and torn apart by five horses, to avenge the grudge from our past lives."

Xie Linyuan chuckled softly and gently stroked Shen Ning's lips with his finger.

Then he leaned down and whispered in her ear:

"As you wish, he is dead."

"He died from being pierced by ten thousand arrows."

After Xie Linyuan finished speaking, he slowly moved his lips away: "The skeleton kept in the Regent's Palace is his."

"It's just that after he died, I had someone disguise him and put him in my likeness."

"So that's how it is," Shen Ning said softly, and when she looked up, she saw Xie Linyuan looking at her.

Xie Linyuan sighed, got up from the bed, and put on his clothes one by one.

"You will wait at the Regent's Palace. I will handle everything."

Since it was inconvenient for Shen Ning to attend court affairs, she could only stay at the Regent's Palace.

Xie Linyuan threw on his black cloak, turned around, and walked out of the room.

Mo Yu quickly followed behind him: "Your Highness, the Imperial Guards outside the North City have now entered the city. Should we deploy the Qilin Army?"

Xie Linyuan said calmly, "First, send a detachment into the capital. Tell the deputy general of the Qilin Army that they must not harm the innocent lives of people in the palace."

"Have someone protect the ministers of the court; the lives of all civil and military officials must be saved."

"Today, we must eradicate these two malignant tumors, the Ruan family and the Liu family."

Mo Yu clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

"And one more thing," Xie Linyuan continued to instruct.

"Take all the assassin leaders captured at Jiayuguan to the Golden Palace."

"Tear off Prince Chen's mask and carry his body into the palace."

Mo Yu clasped his hands in a fist salute again: "Yes, Your Highness."

-

At this moment, inside the Golden Palace.

Duke Liu, accompanied by Prince Li, looked coldly at the Empress Dowager on the high throne.

His hand gently rested on the sword at his waist as he walked step by step toward the throne.

"Does the Empress Dowager intend to emulate Empress Jinzhao of yesteryear?"

"Now that His Majesty is gone, leaving behind a young prince, what does the Empress Dowager still intend to do?"

The Empress Dowager's gaze fell on the Duke of Liu's hand resting on the hilt of his sword, and she sneered:

"Does Duke Liu intend to kill me today?"

Duke Liu said, "I am acting on behalf of Heaven to avenge the late emperor's death."

"How dare you!" The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the armchair, her voice shrill.

Just then, a eunuch stumbled in from outside the Golden Palace.

"Your Majesty, the Regent, along with the Qilin Army and the Imperial Guards outside the northern city, have surrounded the palace!"

"Now that the chief generals of the Ruan and Liu families are dead, the Regent is leading his men and is marching towards the capital."

As soon as the eunuch finished speaking, the Empress Dowager, Prince Li, and even Duke Liu's expression changed.

"Isn't he dead?" The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the chair.

Duke Liu exchanged a grim glance with Prince Li, a sense of foreboding instantly rising in his heart.

The Liu family's private soldiers were all secretly raised, with the intention of helping Prince Li or Prince Chen seize the throne one day.

But now the Prince of Chen is missing, and the Regent...

Amidst the shocked expressions of the crowd, a massive army of Qilin soldiers stormed into the hall.

The spears in their hands were all aimed at the Ruan family soldiers behind the Empress Dowager, as well as the private soldiers raised by the Liu family.

The officials breathed a sigh of relief, and someone whispered, "The Regent is still alive."

The Empress Dowager gripped the armrests tightly, her gaze fixed on the outside of the Golden Palace.

"I don't believe it, he's really still alive!"

The assassins at Jiayuguan were all highly skilled individuals secretly trained by the Ruan family for many years. How could they possibly fail?

"Thanks to the Empress Dowager, I didn't die!"

"The fact that the Golden Palace is so lively today is truly unexpected for me."

A cold, magnetic voice came from outside the Golden Palace.

Everyone looked up and saw a tall man dressed in black slowly enter from outside the door.

The man reeked of blood, his black cloak stained with bloodstains, and he exuded a sharp killing intent.

The moment he entered, his invisible authority made everyone hold their breath.

Behind him followed a young man in red, holding a sword in one hand and an imperial edict in the other, looking on with an air of anticipation. This young man was none other than Su Linfeng.

There were also several leaders of the Ruan family guards being held captive by the Qilin Army.

Further on, several soldiers carried in a corpse.

When they saw the corpse, everyone in the hall was incredulous; the corpse was none other than that of Prince Chen.

"Royal brother!" Prince Li exclaimed in surprise.

Upon seeing the corpse, the Empress Dowager, trembling, pointed at Xie Linyuan: "You, you faked your death to deceive me!"

Xie Linyuan smiled and said, "If I didn't tease you, how would I know that the Liu and Ruan families were plotting a rebellion and raising private armies?"

"Your Majesty, please don't rush. Let me finish dealing with important matters before I explain everything to you in detail."

As Xie Linyuan finished speaking, Su Linfeng casually put away the blood-stained sword in his hand.

He lazily unfolded the imperial edict in his hand.

"His Majesty has decreed that Prince Li, being a filial son, shall be buried with the Emperor to fulfill the bond between father and son!"