Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

Heavy rain poured down, and the bluestone slabs of Zhuque Street were stained dark red by blood.

Li Zhong's left arm hung limply at his side, and his right leg, with a knife wound so deep that the bone was visible, left a winding blood trail on the blue bricks with every step he took.

The sound of three pairs of iron boots crushing the rain curtain behind him was getting closer and closer. He staggered and knocked open the door of a tavern on the street, not even noticing the wood chips piercing his palms.

"If you don't want to die, get out now!"

The pursuers' shouts pierced through the rain, and immediately the tables and chairs in the tavern were overturned, and the diners screamed and rushed to the back door.

Li Zhong chopped off half of the table leg with his backhand and threw it at the pursuer, and when the pursuer dodged, it broke the carved wooden window on the second floor.

At the moment when the splinter of wood pierced his waist and abdomen, he touched the silk handkerchief in his arms - the words "Qin wants to swallow up the world, Chu and Jin should be of one mind" soaked in the prince's blood were getting hot.

As the palace walls and gates were looming in the rain and fog, Li Zhong's vision began to blur. He bit his tongue to force himself to wake up, but his mouth was filled with the taste of rust.

The crossbow arrows of the pursuers flew past their ears and clanged continuously on the copper nails of the palace gate. The imperial guards on duty finally noticed the unusual movement and dozens of torches instantly lit up the rainy night.

"Prince...Handwritten order..."

Li Zhong fell on the gilded palace bricks, his bloody fingers tightly gripping the iron boots of the captain of the imperial guards.

The last thing he saw was a black cloak fluttering in the rain—it was the death flag hoisted by the Black Ice Stage killer as he retreated.

Half an hour later, in the palace, inside the main hall.

The Jin Emperor's hands holding the silk handkerchief were shaking under his dragon robe.

The candlelight cast the five words "Qin wants to swallow the world" on the Panlong Pillar, which looked like a ghostly spell.

The three princes knelt at the foot of the altar. The second prince, Ji Yingjie, suddenly kowtowed heavily: "Father, please understand! This handkerchief must have been forged by Chu Ning!"

"Second brother is right."

The fourth prince, Ji Yingwu, stood up, holding the jade sword on his waist, his armor clanging. "Last month, the envoy of Chu secretly visited the East Palace, and now my elder brother has suffered such a disaster. If it were me, I would say that Chu Ning should be tied up and sent to Xianyang to apologize!"

The Sixth Prince Ji Yingcai gently stroked the sachet on his waist, his voice as gentle as a venomous snake: "I'm afraid that Guard Li has been bribed by the State of Chu. What means does Heibingtai have? If he really wanted to silence me, how could a mere guard escape back to the palace?"

Before he finished speaking, all the nobles in the hall echoed him.

The Minister of Revenue stepped out tremblingly and said: "The Qin cavalry has already deployed at Hangu Pass. If we form an alliance with Chu at this time, it will be like hitting a rock with an egg!"

He turned to the Jin Emperor and bowed deeply: "I think what the Second Prince said is absolutely right. Your Highness the Crown Prince... Alas, you are too young and hot-tempered after all."

The Minister of War followed closely behind: "The Fourth Prince has commanded the army for many years and is well versed in military affairs. In my opinion, it is best to appoint the Fourth Prince as the commander and strengthen border defense at this time."

As he spoke, he glanced at the Fourth Prince meaningfully.

The Minister of Rites stroked his long beard and said slowly, "The Sixth Prince has always been steady and has won the hearts of the people. I think that the Sixth Prince should be sent as an envoy to Xianyang to negotiate peace. With the Sixth Prince's talent, he will surely be able to turn hostility into friendship."

Li Zhong looked at the ministers who used to fawn on the Crown Prince but now turned against him, and he felt extremely sad and angry.

He violently tore open his bloodstained robe, revealing seventeen new and old scars that looked as hideous as a centipede in the candlelight.

"Three years ago, during the battle of Cangjiang, I was shot by nine arrows while trying to save the crown prince! Last year, during the spring hunt, I was stabbed and I blocked the poisoned hidden weapon with my back!"

He pointed at the sachet on the Sixth Prince's waist and shouted, "Your Highness, this Western Region Ambergris, I clearly smelled it on the Black Ice Stage assassin last night!"

"presumptuous!"

The Jin Emperor smashed the teacup to pieces, and the jade fragments flew past Li Zhong's forehead: "How dare a mere guard talk about the royal family!"

"His Majesty!"

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites suddenly stepped out and said, "I have heard of Li Zhong a long time ago. He is a spy from the State of Chu and has been lurking beside the Crown Prince for many years. What happened today is clearly a plot by the State of Chu to sow discord between the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince!"

Li Zhong recognized this man. He was one of the prince's most trusted advisers and had talked with the prince many times all night long about the strategy of forming an alliance to resist Qin.

But at this moment, he was the first one to jump out and frame him. Li Zhong felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife.

"What the Minister of the Ministry of Rites said is absolutely right."

The Imperial Censor also stood up and said, "I have found out that Li Zhong secretly meets with merchants from the State of Chu every month. Your Highness... I am afraid that you have been deceived by this man."

Li Zhong looked around the hall. The ministers who used to drink and discuss state affairs with the prince were now either keeping their heads down and keeping silent or just echoing him.

Even the prince's most respected tutor just closed his eyes and shook his head without saying a word.

"You..." Li Zhong said hoarsely, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince treats you well!"

"That's enough!" The second prince shouted, "Li Zhong, you are a spy from the Chu State, are you worthy enough to mention His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Come, arrest this man!"

The imperial guards poured into the palace, swords drawn.

Li Zhong, however, laughed loudly, his laughter shaking the dust on the beams and falling down: "What a royal family! The Crown Prince's body is still warm, and you are trampling his hard work into mud!"

He turned and pointed his sword at the three princes, and said with tears in his eyes: "The Second Prince secretly communicated with the Qin salt merchants, the Fourth Prince used sand as rice for the army's rations, and the Sixth Prince even hid armor in Zhongnan Mountain - do you really think that the Crown Prince doesn't know?"

"Shut up!" The Jin Emperor slammed the table and stood up: "Come here, give me..."

"Wait a minute!"

The Taifu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, Li Zhong is an old subordinate of the Crown Prince after all, so why not... let him finish his words."

Li Zhong looked at the tutor gratefully and continued, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has already found out that the Second Prince not only transported private salt through the Qin salt merchants, but also mysterious wooden boxes were transported from the Cangjiang Wharf to the Lishan Imperial Mausoleum on the first and fifteenth nights of each month.

The Fourth Prince withheld military pay and secretly raised private soldiers, and the Sixth Prince..."

He pointed at the sachet on the Sixth Prince's waist and said, "There is a secret hidden in this ambergris. The Yin-Yang School's spell is engraved inside the grains!"

The whole hall was in an uproar. The Sixth Prince's face suddenly changed and he subconsciously covered his sachet.

The second prince and the fourth prince looked at each other with murderous intent in their eyes.

"Absurd!" The Jin Emperor shouted angrily, "Li Zhong, do you know what crime it is to frame the prince?"

"Since I'm here today, I don't plan to leave alive."

Li Zhong took off the broken East Palace token from his waist and threw it towards the imperial steps. Amid the clanging of metal, he drew out the Imperial Guards' sword and held it across his neck:

"Today I will testify to your loyalty with my blood. When the Qin army breaks into the city, let's see how long you nobles can sit on this dragon throne!"

The moment the sword brushed across his throat, torrential rain and thunder split the dome of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Blood splattered on the hem of the Jin Emperor's dragon robe, dyeing the gold-embroidered dragon a blinding scarlet.

The three princes stood frozen on the spot, the Sixth Prince's sachet fell to the ground, and the smell of ambergris mixed with blood from the Western Regions filled the hall.

The tutor slowly closed his eyes, and two lines of tears slid down his old cheeks.

The entire court was silent, except for the heavy rain outside the palace, which seemed to be weeping for this loyal soul.

After a long while, the Fourth Prince suddenly said in a cold voice: "Humph, he just wants to die and escape interrogation."

He turned to look at the still dazed Emperor Jin and said in a deep voice: "Father, given the situation, it's time for us to make a decision."