GBP Chapter 450 Where Did This Madman Come From?
Chapter 450 Where Did This Madman Come From?
"His Majesty has passed away—"
The young eunuch's tearful announcement pierced the void.
Before the words were even finished, the court officials had already knelt down, their cries shaking the heavens. They seemed to have forgotten that not long ago, it was also the Meiji Emperor they had ignored who was preoccupied with debating the evidence of the Fourth Prince's crimes with them.
A crack appeared on Xie Baiyan's face as he stood beside Qin Miaoxi, tilting his head to ask, "Are you so angry I could die?"
Qin Miaoxi coughed twice and said righteously, "Don't talk nonsense, it was impossible to save him anyway."
"That was because you did it on purpose."
Qin Miaoxi gritted her teeth and glared, "Second Senior Brother~"
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything."
"Hmph, I haven't even told him that Princess Xinglan's 30,000 troops are in our hands, and look what happened..."
She paused, then asked anxiously, "Wait, Second Senior Brother, his private army isn't going south. Can Eldest Senior Brother handle it?"
"Don't worry! Everything is under control."
After crying for a while, several ministers came to inquire about the arrangements for Emperor Meiji's funeral.
"Naturally, he was buried according to the standard imperial scale."
Hearing Qin Miaoxi say this, the royalists secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the four imperial guards were not going to pursue the Meiji Emperor's mistake of keeping a madman, and were willing to preserve his last bit of face.
However, they did not know that the reason for this arrangement was that they discovered that the person who gave Emperor Meiji the method for making the Madman Puppet was the Fourth Prince.
Emperor Meiji prided himself on having everything under control, but he never knew until his death that his son was even more ruthless and more cunning than him.
"Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Sister, now that things are settled, it's time for us to go."
Qin Miaoxi yawned. She had been on edge for the past two days, even more so than when she was investigating a case.
I really don't understand why those people are fighting tooth and nail over that broken chair. It's freezing cold, they get angry earlier than chickens, work harder than dogs, and still have to worry about this and that. Just thinking about it is exhausting.
The two nodded in agreement and followed her to leave.
"Please wait, gentlemen!"
"Sir, you can't leave!"
"Yes, now that His Majesty has passed away, the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. The Third Prince is no longer here, the Fourth Prince has committed heinous crimes, and the Fifth Prince has been exiled. I wonder if Your Excellency has any candidates in mind?"
Just then, another series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
The Empress and several other concubines rushed over, asking, "Where is His Majesty?"
"Your Majesty, please accept our deepest condolences. His Majesty... has passed away."
The concubines wiped away their tears in disbelief, and whether their sobs were genuine or feigned, the sounds of weeping echoed through the hall once again.
Qin Miaoxi closed her eyes in frustration. This never-ending cycle was something she just wanted to do. She just wanted to go home and get some sleep. Why was it so difficult?
"Madam Hou, His Majesty has passed away. What kind of expression is that? This is a great disrespect to His Majesty."
Suddenly, someone stepped forward from the crowd to attack Qin Miaoxi, glaring at her with grief and indignation, forgetting to hide the smugness in his eyes.
Qin Miaoxi: "...Who are you?"
"You, you dare to be so insolent! How dare you disrespect me! Guards, drag her out and give her fifty lashes!" The woman trembled with rage, and the powder on her face fell off in a flash.
But no one at the scene made a move, completely ignoring the woman's orders.
"Fine! The Emperor has just died, and you're already rebelling?"
Qin Miaoxi picked at her ear in an unseemly manner. "Did you put flour on your face? Don't you know that flour explodes when it comes into contact with a flame?"
The woman's face was horribly grim, and she pointed at her for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence, "You...you..."
"Guards! Get this man out of here right now!"
As soon as she finished speaking, guards immediately restrained the woman and dragged her out of the hall without any mercy.
The woman panicked completely and cried out in grief and indignation, "Your Majesty, please save me! She... she has committed insubordination!"
"Halt!" The Empress's scrutinizing gaze fell on Qin Miaoxi. "Madam Marquis, how dare you order the palace guards around?"
The fact that a minister's wife could command the palace's sharp blades, while the ministers seemed completely unfazed by it, was an unsettling combination.
Qin Miaoxi looked up and met her gaze, saying casually, "Your Majesty should worry about the Emperor's affairs after his death!"
The Empress was taken aback, not expecting that she would dare to speak to her in such a tone.
"How dare you be disrespectful to Her Majesty! Slap him!"
The head maidservant beside the Empress shouted and stepped forward, raising her hand high towards Qin Miaoxi.
Just as the slap was about to land on Qin Miaoxi's face, the ministers loudly advised, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! That's Lord Xuanwu."
! !
The concubines stood frozen in place, dumbfounded. The head maid paused upon hearing this, and upon meeting Qin Miaoxi's calm eyes, she immediately knelt down with a thud, her voice trembling violently with fear.
She kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "My lord, spare me! I was just out of my mind and talking nonsense. Please forgive me!"
The Empress muttered to herself in a daze, "No wonder, no wonder..."
The restrained woman stared wide-eyed in horror, cold sweat soaking her makeup and leaving streaks of white stains.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I was unaware of your identity. It was all unintentional. Please do not hold it against me." The woman knelt at Qin Miaoxi's feet, clutching her trouser leg and pleading.
Before Qin Miaoxi could react, another figure knelt beside her other leg. The eldest prince pleaded pitifully, "My lord, my mother is innocent and has no crime. Please forgive her!"
Qin Miaoxi nodded, and saw two identical faces covered in snot and tears.
The eldest prince?
I almost forgot about him.
"She is your birth mother, Consort Shu?"
The eldest prince readily agreed, and said righteously, "Yes, yes, Your Excellency, have you spared us? I know Your Excellency is troubled by the establishment of a new emperor, and I am willing to volunteer to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the country and relieve Your Excellency's immediate crisis."
Qin Miaoxi: "..."
Where did this madman come from? Do you want to hear what kind of crazy things you're saying?
Consort Shu's eyes lit up. Now only the eldest prince and the second prince had a chance to inherit the throne. But how could the sickly second prince compare to her son? In the end, the throne would still fall to her son.
"Yes, our Crown Prince is not afraid of hardship and is willing to take on this heavy responsibility."
On the contrary, the Empress, the other party involved, said calmly: "Consort Shu's words and actions were inappropriate and offended Lord Xuanwu, which is extremely disrespectful. Effective immediately, she is stripped of her consort rank and demoted to Consort Shu. It is hoped that the six palaces will take this as a warning."
The arena was deathly silent; this was a duel between two princes.
Consort Shu gritted her teeth inwardly, thinking: When my son becomes emperor, I will avenge today's humiliation.
The powerful ministers of both sides were eager to seize power, as the fate of those who had helped the emperor rise to power would be decided in this very moment.
"Your Majesty, I believe the Crown Prince is the most suitable candidate."
"The eldest prince is mediocre, how can he compare to the second prince? Naturally, the second prince is superior."
The two sides argued endlessly. Qin Miaoxi watched them with a faint smile and remained silent. She took advantage of the chaos to disappear and returned only after a short while.
"There's no need to argue, we already have someone in mind."
The argument between the two parties abruptly ceased, and all eyes turned intently to her, wondering who would ultimately win the award.
Qin Miaoxi's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on the Empress and Consort Shu.
"he is the one……"