"As you all guessed, I too hold an imperial decree from the late Emperor. You are welcome to examine it yourselves. The contents of this decree in my hand are quite similar to those held by the Prince of Nan and Chancellor Chi.
However, the late Emperor repeatedly instructed me to inform you all that the debt of gratitude for saving his life and that of the late Empress Dowager was already repaid by His Highness when he was the Regent of our Great Qian."
Prime Minister Wen handed the late Emperor's decree to Chen Jianzhang, who was seated below him. "The late Emperor stated that he entrusted the people and soldiers of Great Qian to His Highness the Prince of Qin of Great Qin, as the deposed ruler of Great Qian.
No one is to use his and the late Empress Dowager's life-saving grace for any further leverage, especially after his identity has been restored."
The imperial decree, a mere two to three hundred characters, circulated among the officials. They all read it time and again, and after confirming there were no omissions, returned the decree to Prime Minister Wen.
Everyone's thoughts mirrored those of Lu Qingwan and Feng Qingheng initially. No one truly believed Emperor Jingyou would willingly cede his empire to another, yet the facts were undeniable.
Si Fengwu patiently waited for everyone to finish reading the imperial decree before announcing in a clear voice, "Today, I, this King, will execute Feng Qingheng and set things right.
Do any of you have objections?"
"Of course!"
As expected, it was Yue Yuanting, the Governor-General of Southern Zhili, who stepped forward.
Before Si Fengwu could respond, he bellowed, "The late Emperor entrusted Great Qian to Feng Xiwu, the Regent of Great Qian, not to Si Fengwu, the Prince of Qin of Great Qin.
If you dare to lay a single finger on His Majesty, I will immediately have you apprehended.
Entering another country without permission makes you invaders, no matter where you are. I refuse to believe the Emperor of Great Qin would become enemies with Great Qian indiscriminately!"
"That's right, you are twisting words and misleading people!"
...
It was surprising that, besides Yue Yuanting, anyone else would speak up for Feng Qingheng.
Although he was a minor official, whose rank Lu Qingwan and Si Fengwu did not even recognize, at least someone was speaking up for Feng Qingheng!
Lu Qingwan chuckled, "Fine, we won't twist words or mislead. How about you go fight the two hundred thousand Northern Wei troops on the north bank of the Jade River?"
Upon hearing this, Si Fengwu calmly added, "More than that, it was only seven days ago that Huyuan Che of Yunqiang also led his troops into Zhenyuan Pass.
If nothing unexpected occurs, the armies of Yunqiang and Northern Wei will reach the capital city within three months."
Except for a select few, like Yue Yuanting, who had staked their entire fortunes on Feng Qingheng, the other officials fell silent.
They knew very well that Feng Qingheng lacked the ability to govern Great Qian. When the armies attacked, Feng Qingheng could use the lives of the soldiers as a shield, but they did not have so many human shields.
Furthermore, Si Fengwu had been in Great Qian in the twenty-third year of Great Qian. They all knew that Si Fengwu was a man who would not offend unless offended, and that following him would ensure their lives, and their futures, as long as they did not act foolishly.
As the officials exchanged surreptitious glances, the Prince of Nan was the first to step forward.
He knelt before Si Fengwu and declared, "Your subject Feng Jue, by the late Emperor's command, implores the enlightened ruler to ascend the throne immediately and turn the tide!"
The Prince of Nan held a high position and had great influence, and his eloquent demeanor represented the stance of a portion of the military officers.
His bow was followed by many mid-level and high-level military officers who also bowed.
"Your subjects respectfully implore the enlightened ruler to ascend the throne immediately and turn the tide!"
...
Feng Qingheng never expected Si Fengwu to so easily win over those whom he himself had failed to win over in a year, as soon as he returned.
Enraged, he roared, "You have sinned! You group of treacherous officials have truly rebelled!"
But it was useless. As the saying goes, "A good bird chooses its tree." The officials, being in the court, understood his and Si Fengwu's capabilities and styles of handling affairs all too well.
If it were merely about knowing when to yield, even Chen Jianzhang, the Minister of Revenue and Feng Qingheng's maternal uncle, shouted, "We implore the enlightened ruler to ascend the throne immediately and turn the tide!"
Feng Qingheng was so furious that he spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot. "Why?
You are my own maternal uncle, and I have never mistreated you..."
Chen Jianzhang knelt on the ground, his back straight, and said with a clear conscience, "My Chen family has been a pillar of integrity for a hundred years.
Innumerable individuals from our lineage have entered officialdom, never flattering anyone, nor have they ever compromised the prosperity of the Chen family.
On the contrary, you and your mother have brought immense shame upon the sons and daughters of the Chen family, making it difficult to face others.
Now that an enlightened ruler has returned, I, Chen Jianzhang, in my capacity as the Minister of Revenue of Great Qian, implore His Majesty to abdicate and pass on!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Qingwan's eyes suddenly lit up. She almost couldn't resist waving her little fists and shouting, "Lord Chen, you are mighty!"
Si Fengwu looked at her expression and felt a sense of relief that Chen Jianzhang was a man in his fifties. If he were younger, Si Fengwu feared he would need to drink several vats of vinegar to overcome his jealousy.
He squeezed Lu Qingwan's palm, then took out the imperial decree and the Imperial Seal left by Emperor Jingyou, and slowly walked onto the high platform, holding Lu Qingwan's hand.
Feng Qingheng finally realized his cause was lost and nervously blustered, "What do you want to do?"
Si Fengwu handed the imperial decree to Li Jin, who was standing nearby, and said, "You read it."
Li Jin took the imperial edict and read it aloud. The content was similar to the decrees held by Prime Minister Wen, Chancellor Chi, and the Prince of Nan, but the meaning was essentially the same.
Si Fengwu held up the Imperial Seal and said sarcastically, "Tell me, how incompetent must you be to force my imperial brother to leave behind four imperial decrees with similar content, urging me to save the people of Great Qian from their suffering?"
Feng Qingheng's eyes were bloodshot. "It's all you! If it weren't for you, Father Emperor wouldn't have treated me like this. It's all your fault, all your fault..."
As he spoke, he suddenly lifted the seat in front of the dragon throne.
The spatial laboratory's danger alert immediately sounded. Lu Qingwan quickly retreated and roared, "Run! There are bombs!"
Before her words had even finished, she snatched the saber from a guard's hand and swung it with great force. Feng Qingheng's hand, holding the tinder to ignite the fuse, was instantly severed.
With a piercing scream, Si Fengwu and the few dark guards simultaneously channeled their internal energy, jointly pushing all the civil and military officials inside the Golden Palace towards the outside.
The Golden Palace was not small, and many people were standing inside. Even though all those present were martial artists of level five or higher, it still took several attempts to push everyone out.
The moment everyone evacuated the Golden Palace, Si Fengwu grabbed Lu Qingwan with one hand, and a surge of fire and a blast wave erupted from within.
"A'Wan!"
"Princess Consort!"
"Your Highness!"
A cacophony of shouts erupted. Li Jin and the others, without a second thought, prepared to rush into the inferno.
As they reached the doorway engulfed in flames, a familiar figure flew out from within the fire. Seeing the dire situation, the few of them quickly ran forward to prepare to catch the person.
With a thud, two people crashed heavily onto the ground, leaving Li Jin and the others empty-handed.
Before everyone could recover, with another thud, something else landed not far from the two.
Li Su and the others rushed over, "Princess Consort, are you alright?"
Such a massive fire, and they didn't know how Lu Qingwan managed to get out. Everyone was stunned.