The legitimate daughter brings disaster to the concubine! Seize the imperial power and the throne

After searching almost every corner of the Huguo Temple, Xu Minghuang still couldn't find the two men. He started to panic because tomorrow was the agreed one-month deadline.

The bustle of Huguo Temple faded away.

She stood on top of the three thousand steps, feeling mixed emotions.

It was not until nightfall that someone came from the palace, carrying a tray and bringing three things.

Dagger, poisoned wine and white silk.

"Empress, the Emperor said that the Queen Mother is seriously ill. If you can make up your mind to stay in the Huguo Temple for the rest of your life and pray for the Queen Mother, I will definitely give you a favor." said the palace servant.

Xu Minghuang clenched his fists tightly under his sleeves, raised his eyes, and glanced at the dozens of imperial guards wandering at the door. Each of them held a weapon in his hand, and his whole body was filled with murderous aura.

Escape is impossible.

The solemn atmosphere of the entire yard wrapped her tightly.

Her throat seemed to be blocked by a ball of cotton, and she asked in a hoarse voice: "Does it have to be like this?"

The palace maid smiled in a mocking tone: "Have you forgotten, Queen, that this was your own choice?"

Xu Minghuang regretted that she shouldn't have contradicted her brother that night.

Maybe if I talk nicely, Xu Feng will take me away.

"Empress?" the palace maid reminded.

Xu Minghuang glanced at the three things, then reluctantly picked up a glass of poisoned wine, put it close to his lips, closed his eyes, and his hands were shaking so badly that he didn't open his mouth for a long time.

"Your Majesty, why are you doing this? The Emperor is waiting for me to report to you." The palace servant urged.

pat!

In the end, she didn't have the courage to drink the poisoned wine. Her hand slipped and the wine fell to the ground and broke into several pieces. She opened her eyes and said, "I want to see the emperor for the last time."

The palace servant had lost all patience: "The Emperor ordered that if the Empress is reluctant to make a choice, then I will have to do it for you."

"When you go back and report, just say that I have something to report..." Xu Minghuang put aside his dignity, reached out to pull the palace servant's sleeve, as if begging.

How could the palace maid dare to delay? She immediately chose Bai Ling and gave a wink to the guards, who held Xu Minghuang down on the left and right.

The white silk was put around the slender neck, and with a little force, Xu Minghuang's face suddenly turned pale, and he opened his mouth but could not utter a word.

After a long time, it was confirmed that the person had stopped breathing.

The palace people returned to report.

The next day

The news that the Queen of Northern Qi was murdered by spies from Southern Liang while she was praying spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys.

The Emperor of Northern Qi was deeply distressed and ordered an army to personally lead an expedition to attack Southern Liang.

two days later

Southern Liang was the first to start a war on the border, with the Southern Liang empress Lu Jingning personally leading the command. The initial battle was a success, and the Northern Qi army was completely defeated.

The morale of Southern Liang was greatly boosted.

On the other side, half a month after the Northern Qi Emperor set out, the Prince of Jin rebelled in Kyoto and quickly occupied the city.

It took only two days to capture the palace.

The Emperor of Northern Qi was furious when he heard this, and he fell ill due to anger. The imperial physician in the tent stayed by the Emperor's bed day and night, never leaving his side.

The news spread like wildfire, and the powerful officials and people of Northern Qi were in chaos when they learned about it.

The three armies had no intention of fighting.

In less than ten days, Southern Liang attacked two cities in succession with great momentum.

The Emperor of Northern Qi fainted on the spot in anger and his condition was extremely serious.

At that time, the Prince of Jin was in Kyoto and forced the Queen Mother to issue an edict to appoint a crown prince. The Queen Mother refused, so the Prince of Jin locked her up in the palace and tortured her in private.

"What a sin." The Queen Mother knelt on the futon. A fishy smell came out of her throat. She could not hold on any longer and had to be held on the futon by the palace servants. She had not even eaten or drunk for several days. In just a few days, she had become so thin that only a bag of bones was left.

Prince Jin looked down at the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother looked up at the newcomer and cursed, "You traitor, you shall not die a good death."

The Prince of Jin sneered, raised his hand and slapped the Queen Mother hard in the face, knocking her to the ground without mercy. The Queen Mother could not hold on and fell to the ground, spitting out blood.

"Your Majesty, this is bad. The Fourth Prince has led his troops into the palace."

"The fourth prince?" Prince Jin raised his eyebrows: "Is that the bastard?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of fighting was heard outside, with the flashing of swords and the smell of murderous intent filling the air in an instant.

Prince Jin's face changed slightly, and when he was about to leave, a knife was suddenly placed on his neck. Prince Jin was stunned and looked at his trusted guard in disbelief.

The guard said, "My lord, I'm sorry."

Without waiting for Prince Jin to react, the guard raised his knife and chopped off Prince Jin's head. The blood splattered on the Queen Mother's cheek, warm and pungent.

The queen mother was dumbfounded.

It took only about an hour from the time the Fourth Prince entered the palace for Prince Jin's men to be captured and the palace riot to end.

Zhao Yan pushed open the door and walked in.

The silver armor made it impossible for the queen mother to open her eyes. She raised her head with difficulty and looked at the person who came. Suddenly she burst into laughter and almost cried.

"The Fourth Prince... What a great Fourth Prince!"

Zhao Yan signaled for someone to help the empress dowager up, and the room was quickly cleaned up, sprinkled with grapefruit water, and incense was burned to cover up the fishy smell.

The palace maid put clean clothes on the empress dowager and helped her sit on a chair.

"Everyone, please step back." Zhao Yan said.

The Queen Mother sneered, "What a trick to clear the court. You are clearly a traitor, but you used the King of Jin to clear yourself and make everyone a stepping stone for you. Zhao Yan, you really have a good plan."

Zhao Yan did not comment.

He did take advantage of King Jin.

At this time, the guard brought a cup of tea. Zhao Yan threw a pill into the tea and then brought it to the empress dowager.

The Queen Mother frowned: "Are you so impatient to kill me and silence me, or do you want to frame the Prince of Jin?"

"This is the antidote."

After saying this, she was speechless and looked at him with wide eyes.

Zhao Yan sat on a chair beside him, his body sitting straight. The Queen Mother suddenly felt that she couldn't see through the person in front of her: "What do you want?"

"The Northern Qi Emperor is about to die. He can no longer hold on. The people of Northern Qi are in a panic. The Queen Mother should make a decision as soon as possible." Zhao Yan said in a low voice: "No one except me can take the throne. At this moment, I just want a legitimate reason."

If this had been said a month ago, the Queen Mother would have definitely called me outrageous.

But the reality was right before her, and she had no choice but to accept it.

"What if I don't agree?" The Queen Mother sneered and would never agree to Zhao Yan's wishes.

Zhao Yan smiled softly and said word by word, "If I were a traitor, the Queen Mother and the Northern Qi royal family would be prisoners and criminals who would destroy the country. In less than two months, the iron cavalry of Southern Liang would be at the gates of the city. From now on, there will be no Northern Qi in the world, and a new dynasty will be established!"

"You!" The Queen Mother's face suddenly changed. She was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a long time. After she calmed down, she looked at Zhao Yan and said, "I made you the crown prince, but you may not give up the country to someone else. Then it will still not change the current result."

Zhao Yan stood up with his long legs, turned his head and glanced at the Queen Mother: "I am not discussing this with you. I want to see the imperial edict before dawn."

The threat is particularly obvious.

The Queen Mother was furious and yelled at Zhao Yan's back.

The next moment, Madam Cheng Da and Madam Cheng Er were brought in and pushed towards the empress dowager. Both of them had disheveled hair and wounds all over their bodies. Madam Cheng had an obvious slap mark on her cheek.

"Who beat him?" the Queen Mother asked angrily.

Madam Cheng covered her face and cried bitterly.

"It was Lord He, the leader of the Imperial Guard, who did it." Madam Cheng gritted her teeth. Who could have thought that Lord He had surrendered to the enemy so early.

Madam Cheng just cursed at him a few times before she was grabbed by the collar and slapped hard several times, as if she was going to be beaten to death.

"Empress Dowager, the capital city is in chaos. Several princes are holding meetings all night long, and many people are fleeing. If we don't stop it in time, something bad will happen to Northern Qi." Madam Cheng advised.

Who could have thought that in less than a month, the city of Kyoto would have changed so dramatically?

The Queen Mother sat on the chair, gripping the armrests tightly with both hands. Thinking back to what Zhao Yan said, she shuddered.

If we support Zhao Yan, Kyoto City will return to peace. With Nanliang as his backer, Zhao Yan will be able to suppress those princes.

If he did not support it, Zhao Yan would not only not help Northern Qi, but would also take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble, invite a wolf into the house and completely change the situation of Northern Qi.

The consequences are not something the Queen Mother can bear.

She had no choice.

"What do you think about the Fourth Prince taking the throne?" asked the Queen Mother.

Madam Cheng Da and Madam Cheng Er looked at each other. Perhaps because she was scared after being beaten, Madam Cheng Da covered her face and said nothing. Madam Cheng Er spoke up, "If we don't support the Fourth Prince, we won't be able to wait for reinforcements and other people to treat us, and we will definitely be killed by the Fourth Prince as soon as possible."

This is a fact.

The Queen Mother sighed, "Yes, there is no choice anymore."

Even if he died now, he would not be buried in the imperial mausoleum, and he might even be charged with a false crime.

By now, it's too late to regret.

"The thought of letting that evil creature sit on the throne is even more painful than killing me!" The Queen Mother covered her chest with her hands, extremely angry.

Madam Cheng advised in a low voice, "Steady the Fourth Prince first, and wait until the overall situation is settled, there will be a long way to go."

These words comforted the Queen Mother.

So the empress dowager sent someone to tell Zhao Yan about this and brought him an imperial decree, which clearly stated that she and the emperor both approved of the fourth prince being made the crown prince.

Zhao Yan held the imperial edict in his hand, his expression calm.

He is still waiting.

sleepless nights.

The next morning, bad news came from Kyoto City that the Emperor of Northern Qi had passed away.

Zhao Yan stood up suddenly.