Did the eldest daughter ascend the throne today?

As soon as Rong Jing left, the Minister of Justice couldn't wait to ask, "Master Prime Minister, what's the secret?"

The Prime Minister's face was frozen. "Since it's a secret, why are you asking?"

The Minister of Justice was frustrated and stood up dejectedly, "I'll go eat something." If you don't want to listen, then don't listen. What's the big deal?

The Queen's ambition could no longer be concealed. "Master Prime Minister, you must think of a way. It would be best if you could snatch the Dragon Shadow Guard away from us. My Sixth Prince is the legitimate prince, and he doesn't have one yet."

She was so envious of this Dragon Shadow Guard and wanted it!

The Prime Minister sneered, "Rong Jing is the eldest princess's son after all, and he is of royal blood. He is better than the queen's son."

After saying this, he walked away.

The queen's heart was beating wildly, and her limbs were cold. What did he mean? It wasn't what she thought, was it? Impossible, how could he know?

Yes, he didn’t know, otherwise how could he be willing to support the Sixth Prince to ascend the throne?

She tried her best to comfort herself, but she always felt uneasy.

Prime Minister Duan turned around and looked for Rong Jing, "I promise you, but there is one condition."

He was very straightforward and even took out the official document drafted by the cabinet, directly appointing Rong Jing as the Governor-General of Gansu and Shaanxi, with the power to dismiss all officials in his jurisdiction.

This means that the military and political power in the Northwest fell into Rong Jing's hands, and he became the local emperor of the Northwest.

The Ning family army must also be under its jurisdiction.

Of course, this is the name, but in fact, for two hundred years, the Ning family army has only obeyed the Ning family commander, who is more powerful than his master and is feared by the king.

Rong Jing took the official document and looked at it carefully. After confirming that there were no problems, he smiled slightly.

"Go ahead."

Prime Minister Duan was silent for a while, "When you leave, please send my granddaughter to the Ning family in the northwest to get married. My two grandsons will also be there to marry her."

Rong Jing looked at him deeply. This was not just a coincidence, but a way to spread the risk and preserve the fire for the Duan family.

Even if the Duan family fails, at least the Duan family lineage will be preserved.

This is the foolproof plan that the old fox who has been immersed in politics for many years considers for his family. All eggs should not be put in one basket.

At the same time, an agreement was reached with the Ning family.

The Ning family holds a large number of troops, and Rong Jing will be in charge of the northwest. With these two powerful forces joining forces, unless there are any accidents, the northwest will be impregnable.

The two smart people didn't need to say anything more, they already understood.

"make a deal."

The two sat down to discuss the details and perfected the entire plan. With Rong Jing's help, Prime Minister Duan felt relieved and looked at him with new eyes. He was resourceful and a minister of nobility. Unfortunately...

"Then I'll go first."

Rong Jing stood up to see him off. When he was about to walk out the door, he suddenly said, "Actually, I don't understand why you insisted on choosing the Sixth Prince?"

Knowing that the Sixth Prince is not of royal blood and that this secret has been controlled by others, you still insist on choosing the Sixth Prince. This is not a smart choice.

Prime Minister Duan's expression was extremely complicated. He smiled bitterly and sighed softly, "I have no choice."

On the day of the funeral, all the civil and military officials in the court attended with their families. It was a huge crowd and a grand occasion.

The four great assistant ministers stood in the front row, the two princes stood in the middle, and the harem, headed by the queen, stood in a straight line behind them.

Officials in the court and members of the royal family stood according to their ranks and saw the emperor off for the last time.

Rong Jing stood in the position of the royal family, replacing the eldest princess.

Right now, everything is ready, except for the east wind and a leader.

Zong Ling was the first to speak up, "Today is the funeral of the late emperor. The fifth prince is older, so please ask him to preside over it."

Whoever presides over today's funeral ceremony will be the new king.

The Minister of Justice disagreed, "No, the Sixth Prince is the legitimate son, and his status is the most noble. It is only natural for him to preside over the affairs, and the subjects of the world cannot find fault with him."

"The Fifth Prince is wise."

"The Sixth Prince is the legitimate son, so the eldest son should be appointed as the heir."

Neither side would give in. Just when they were getting anxious and ready to reveal their true colors, a voice suddenly rang out.

"The imperial edict has arrived. Kneel down."

Jinyiwei Commander Xiao Linfeng came over, surrounded by a group of Jinyiwei. The people kneeling on the ground looked at each other in confusion, "Where did this imperial edict come from?"

Xiao Linfeng looked solemn, "This is the will taken out from behind the plaque of the Yangxin Palace."

Everyone was stunned, "What? A will?" The fact that there was a will was beyond everyone's expectation.

Xiao Linfeng opened the imperial edict and read it loudly, "The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims that the Emperor, having received the mandate, must accept the seal of the emperor, follow the Way of Heaven, and obey the will of the people. The Empress's six legitimate sons are of noble character and are very similar to me. They will surely be able to inherit the throne and ascend the throne after me." Note (1)

The Sixth Prince was overjoyed. It was him! It was him. I heard it right. Hahahaha. He was the new emperor!

The fifth prince’s face turned pale and he stared at the sixth prince with unwillingness. Why couldn’t it be him?

The Empress and her mother's family, Duke Cheng'en, were all beaming with joy. They had become the final winners. From then on, the Qi family was the Emperor's in-laws, and they could get whatever they wanted. The family's prosperity could continue for decades.

The imperial edict continued to be read out, "Also, the underground is lonely, let the queen and the twelve concubines be buried with me, accompanying me in the underground."

As soon as these words came out, the Queen's smiling face froze, and she looked at Prime Minister Duan in disbelief. How could this happen? She didn't want to die!

Prime Minister Duan also looked surprised.

The imperial edict continued, "In addition, the three clans of the Duke of Ji's mansion will be executed. The three clans of the Duke of Chen will be executed. The three clans of the Duke of Cheng'en will be executed."

There was an uproar at the scene, with screams of fear coming one after another.

Duke Cheng'en was so happy just now, thinking that he was going to lead his family to the pinnacle of power, but who would have thought that his entire clan would be exterminated the next moment?

No no, he couldn't accept it.

"This is a false imperial decree. The late emperor did not leave any will."

Duke Chen also screamed loudly, "Yes, it's fake, it's fake."

Duke Ji was going crazy, thinking he had escaped. "It was Xiao Linfeng who forged the imperial edict. Arrest him, chop him up, and kill all nine generations of his clan."

The people of the royal family were stunned for a few seconds, and suddenly they were ecstatic. These three families occupied a lot of positions in the court, and when they vacated them, their own children would have a chance.

"This is true. This is what the late emperor said before he died. The cabinet, the six ministers, and the royal family were all present at the time. We all heard it."

The royal family members became even more excited. Death is nothing to do with them. "I heard it clearly. The late emperor did say that."

The Prime Minister looked at all this chaos coldly and said, "Kill."

A sword flashed by, and the queen's head fell to the ground. The people around her screamed, "Ahhhh."

At the same time, the heads of Duke Ji, Duke Chen, and Duke Cheng'en fell to the ground at the same time, and blood rushed to the sky.

The guards standing behind them attacked with such precision, speed and ruthlessness that it made people tremble with fear.

All the officials were so frightened that they fell to the ground, trembling.

The Minister of Rites was terrified, "How dare you kill an important official without authorization? How dare you?"

The guard with a cold look shouted, "We, the Dragon Shadow Guard, follow the order of the late emperor to kill Duke Ji, Duke Chen, Duke Cheng'en, and the queen."

"Dragon Shadow Guard?" Everyone gasped.