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

East Palace, three quarters past midnight

The sound of the dripping copper kettle was particularly clear in the silent palace. The iron horses on the eaves were blown by the night wind. The sporadic jingle mixed with the sound of clappers under the distant palace wall, hitting Jia Yu's spine again and again.

He raised his hand to brush away the night dew condensed on his shoulders. When his black cloak swept across the stone steps of the corridor, it startled a few crows curled up in the dark.

The candlelight in the main hall of the East Palace shone through the scarlet gauze window, casting a long, slanted shadow of Chu Ning pacing back and forth on the floor tiles.

The prince was indeed not asleep.

"Your Highness, Lord Jia requests an audience."

Before the eunuch on duty finished his deliberately low voice of announcement, Chu Ning had already turned around abruptly.

The green smoke from the gilded Boshan stove was dispersed by the corner of his robe, revealing the ginseng soup that had already cooled on the table, with brown medicinal stains on the edge of the bowl.

Jia Yu bowed, and the jade pendant with dragon pattern on the hook of his jade belt made a crisp sound. "I have failed to live up to your trust."

He lowered his head, a look of helplessness on his face.

Chu Ning's fingertips pressed heavily on the secret document on the sandalwood table, the veins at his knuckles bulging slightly. "Father didn't reveal his purpose?"

"Yes."

When Jia Yu raised his eyes, he saw the coiled dragon jade pendant on Chu Ning's waist with blood-like patterns in the candlelight.

"I tried to test His Majesty by saying, 'The three generations of the Grand Tutor Chen family are loyal and heroic, and they deserve to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and buried in the Imperial Mausoleum.' However, His Majesty still did not reveal his purpose."

The hall suddenly fell into silence.

Chu Ning suddenly chuckled, grabbed the gold-plated and silver-inlaid wine goblet on the table and took a gulp.

The amber wine flowed down his chin into his collar, leaving dark marks on his apricot-yellow python robe.

"Father, you are so tight-lipped. It seems that this succession is not a simple one."

He stumbled back into his armchair, his eyes bloodshot. "It's a good thing that my father wants to pass on the throne, but he chose the wrong time!"

"Your Highness, be careful what you say!"

Jia Yu said in a deep voice: "If the throne falls into your hands, the officials below will indeed be able to work for the court with peace of mind and will not have to worry about this matter all the time."

Chu Ning was silent.

Everyone wants to be able to follow the dragon.

He has now completely controlled the military and political power of the Chu State and the right to speak in the court. If he does not ascend the throne and become emperor at this time, the ministers under him will naturally be anxious.

No one wants to see such a thing as a long night with many dreams.

"Send a message to the Royal Guards."

Chu Ning's voice cut through the silence in the hall: "Watch Taiji Hall closely for 12 hours. The visiting cards sent to and from each residence must be copied in duplicate. As for the Tang, Wei, and Han dynasties..."

His eyes narrowed suddenly, a gleam of light flashing across them. "Have the commanders disguise themselves as merchant caravans and enter the capital in batches. Announce to the public that they will not be returning to watch the ceremony!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

After Jia Yu took the order and left, Chu Ning also returned to Qingxinju.

The gold-embroidered shoes of Crown Princess Shen Wanying stopped outside the pearl curtain, and the picture of hundreds of children and grandchildren embroidered with silver thread on the hem of her skirt flickered in the candlelight.

"Your Highness is drinking cold wine again."

She took the hangover soup from the maid's hand and paused her white fingertips on the edge of the bowl.

"I have heard about what happened today. Your Highness, do you really want to hang the bodies of the Grand Tutor and his son for three days?"

Chu Ning frowned and put down the bowl of soup: "Wanying, do you also want to plead for the Grand Tutor?"

Shen Wan sighed deeply, "I was thinking, since my father wants to play the role of a loving father and a filial son, why don't you help me, Your Highness?"

Her fingertips brushed against the back of Chu Ning's hand, which was straining. "Hanging the corpses for half a day is enough to shock the government and the people. If Dugu and his son were really allowed to rot at the city gate, history would be as sharp as a knife..."

"Tomorrow at Mao hour."

Chu Ning suddenly reached out and hugged her with astonishing strength: "I will ask Zhao Yu to send the body parts to my father and say-"

He stared at the gradually whitening sky outside the window and forced a sinister smile: "I pity his loyalty and bravery and have granted him a golden nanmu coffin."

After saying this, he carried Shen Wanying towards the bed in the hall.

These days, he was either poisoned or dealing with the affairs of the Grand Tutor, and had no time to be intimate with Shen Wanying.

Now that I have some free time, of course I have to enjoy it.

At noon, the autumn wind blew over the Chang'an city wall.

Zhao Yu stood in front of the Suzaku Gate wearing armor, with three hundred white horse cavalrymen standing silently behind him, their iron armor reflecting the cold moonlight.

When the commander at the city gate saw that it was the commander of the Eastern Palace's personal guards who had arrived in person, he did not dare to stop him and quickly ordered his men to lower the drawbridge.

Zhao Yu dismounted from his horse, his iron boots stepping on the wet bluestone slabs, splashing tiny drops of water.

"Take it off."

His voice was as cold as iron, and his eyes swept across the two heads hanging high on the city gate like a knife - the heads of Dugu Xin and Dugu Sheng were pierced through the jaws by iron hooks and hung on the flagpole of the city wall. The blood had long since solidified into black and purple, and their faces were hideous.

The autumn wind blew, and her hair fluttered in disarray. Her empty eyes seemed to still be glaring at the imperial city.

The guards set up a ladder and climbed up to the city wall. The moment the blade cut the rope, two heads fell heavily.

Zhao Yu reached out and caught it steadily. His palm touched the cold and stiff skin, and a complex look flashed in his eyes.

"Embarkation."

He gave the order in a deep voice, and the guards immediately brought the nanmu coffin that had been prepared long ago and carefully placed the bodies of Dugu and his son inside.

Zhao Yu closed the coffin lid himself and tapped the coffin lightly with his fingertips, as if saying a silent goodbye.

Outside the Taiji Hall, the sky is shining.

When Zhao Yu arrived with the white horse cavalry escorting the coffin, the guards in front of the palace were all shocked and no one dared to stop them.

Upon hearing the news, the eunuch chief Zhao Ming hurried over. Seeing the coffin parked in front of the hall, he was so frightened that his face turned pale and he quickly turned around and ran into the inner hall.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty!"

The King of Chu, who did not need to attend court, was taking a light nap on the dragon bed. He was awakened by Zhao Ming's urgent voice. He sat up suddenly and said angrily:

"Why are you panicking?"

Zhao Ming knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice, "General Zhao Yu... has brought the bodies of the Grand Tutor and his son!"

"what?"

The King of Chu was furious. He threw back the brocade quilt and stepped barefoot on the cold floor tiles, his eyes almost bursting with anger.

"Chu Ning! How dare he be so presumptuous!"

Sending the bodies of the Taifu father and son to the Taiji Hall was clearly a challenge to his imperial power!

But the next moment, Emperor Chu's clenched fist slowly loosened.

Dugu Xin was his teacher. If he fell out with Chu Ning over the corpse, he might not even have the chance to bury the body.

What's more, he is about to pass the throne to Chu Ning. If he breaks off relations at this time, it will only make the situation more uncontrollable.

"Hold it!"

He took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his chest, and said coldly: "Change clothes!"

Outside the hall, the morning mist was thick.

Zhao Yu stood at the bottom of the stairs. Seeing the Emperor of Chu come out in his robes, he immediately knelt on one knee and saluted with his fists clasped.

"I, under the order of the Crown Prince, am here to escort the bodies of the Grand Tutor and his son back to the court."

The Emperor of Chu had an expressionless face. He glanced at the two coffins and said coldly, "The Crown Prince is quite thoughtful."

Zhao Yu said in a deep voice, "His Royal Highness, remembering the Grand Tutor's devotion to our dynasty, has granted him special permission to be buried with the Emperor in the mausoleum to honor his loyalty and heroism."

Upon hearing this, the corners of Emperor Chu's mouth twitched slightly, and a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes.

People have been killed, why pretend to be righteous now?

But he didn't get angry after all, and just said calmly: "Go back and tell the prince that I thank him."

After a pause, he added with a meaningful tone:

"However, I no longer have any troops at my disposal. I would like to ask the Crown Prince to personally arrange for the Grand Tutor to be taken to the Imperial Mausoleum."

Zhao Yu's eyes flickered slightly, and he lowered his head and replied, "I will definitely convey it."

The King of Chu said no more and turned back to the palace. His back looked particularly lonely in the morning light.

Zhao Yu mounted his horse and led the white horse cavalry away slowly, leaving only two coffins quietly parked in front of the Taiji Hall, as if in silent mockery.