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

The next day, at the hour of Mao.

The imperial palace, the heroic inner hall.

After enjoying the service of his concubines all night, the emperor felt refreshed. He spread his hands and allowed the maid to put on his dragon robe.

But at this moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the palace, followed by the voice of the eunuch chief, Zhao Ming:

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened to your Majesty!"

The emperor frowned, looked at Zhao Ming who came in in a panic and said unhappily: "You have followed me for many years, why are you still so clumsy?

Even if the sky falls, I will hold it up!"

The domineering words did not calm Zhao Ming down. Instead, he said in panic, "Your Majesty, Lord Wang was killed last night!"

The emperor was stunned: "Lord Wang? Which Lord Wang?"

There are at least twenty civil and military officials with the surname Wang in the court. Who knows who this Lord Wang is?

Zhao Ming stamped his feet anxiously: "It was the Minister of Rites Wang Wenguang. He was killed on the way back from the Prince of Chu's Palace last night!"

The emperor was stunned again, as if he didn't hear clearly who it was, and asked blankly: "Who did you say was killed?"

Zhao Ming swallowed his saliva and said word by word: "Lord Wang Wenguang, the Minister of Rites!"

This time, the emperor heard it clearly.

His calm face was instantly covered with dark clouds, his eyes flashed a hint of cruelty, and murderous intent surged throughout his body!

"Everyone get out of here!"

The emperor swung his hands, and the two maids who were dressing him were thrown out.

He rushed forward, grabbed Zhao Ming's collar fiercely, and asked in a cold voice: "Is the news true?"

"Your Majesty, the body of Lord Wang has been sent outside the palace."

The emperor pushed Zhao Ming away and shouted angrily, "Bring in the body!"

Soon, four imperial guards came into the palace carrying a corpse covered with a white cloth.

The emperor rushed forward and lifted the white cloth. What came into view was a pale corpse with a striking bloodstain on the throat that was particularly eye-catching.

At just one glance, the emperor recognized it was a knife scar!

Wang Wenguang was killed by a knife in the throat!

"How audacious! How audacious!"

The emperor stood up, clenched his hands, gritted his teeth and said, "In the capital, under the feet of the emperor, someone dared to assassinate a third-rank official in the street!"

"Someone, carry the body to the court!"

It was early morning, and the emperor wanted to take the opportunity to investigate the matter.

……

In the Golden Palace, the ministers were solemn, waiting for the emperor to arrive as usual.

But when the time came, no one saw the emperor.

The three people headed by the crown prince, the tutor and the prime minister could not help but look at each other, and then shook their heads to show that they didn't know why the emperor had not come yet.

At this moment, four imperial guards carried Wang Wenguang's body into the hall.

The expressions of the officials changed drastically.

"Ah... this is Lord Wang Wenguang!"

"This... Lord Wang is dead?"

"Isn't Lord Wang in His Royal Highness Prince Chu's residence? How did he become like this?"

"Could it be that the King of Chu killed Lord Wang?"

For a moment, everyone was whispering to each other.

At this moment, Zhao Ming's shrill voice rang out: "Your Majesty has arrived!"

Everyone bowed and saluted: "Greetings to His Majesty (Father)!"

The emperor had a gloomy face as he stood in front of the dragon throne and glanced at everyone. His cold eyes carried a strong sense of oppression that made it difficult for people to look him in the face.

For a full half cup of tea, the emperor stood in front of the dragon throne and looked at everyone.

This allowed Deng Hongwen and others, who were among the top three new emperors who attended court for the first time, to witness the emperor's majesty for the first time!

Fortunately, the emperor's majesty did not last too long. He stared at everyone coldly and said, "I'm sure you have seen it, Lord Wang Wenguang is dead!

But he was killed, killed on the street!

Someone actually assassinated a third-rank official under the emperor's feet. This incident made the court lose face!"

The emperor narrowed his eyes and roared, "Who is in charge of the city defense camp?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a young general in armor changed his expression, his legs went limp, and he fell to his knees in the hall.

"Your Majesty, the City Defense Battalion is now under the command of this general."

Everyone turned around and saw that it was He Qingyun, the son of Minister of Industry He Peng.

A year ago, He Qingyun was framed by Chu Ning because of his entanglement with Feng Mulan, and was transferred to guard the city gate.

But because of He Peng's relationship with the prince, he was promoted to the commander of the city defense camp within a year.

It is easy to become an official if you have connections in the court. As the son of an official, He Qingyun had a successful career.

The only difference is that the person who died this time was Wang Wenguang, a veteran minister who had served three dynasties, a neutral figure in the court, and a staunch defender of the emperor.

If it were any other matter, the emperor would just turn a blind eye and let it go.

But the emperor will not let this matter go!

The emperor glared at He Qingyun fiercely and said gloomily, "What do you do as the city defense battalion? You actually let a third-rank official be assassinated in the street!

Come, drag this man away and give him a severe beating of twenty feet, and remove him from his position as commander of the city defense camp!"

He Qingyun's face changed drastically, and he quickly begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please have mercy, Your Majesty, please have mercy!"

But the imperial guards didn't give him any chance at all, they stepped forward and dragged him out of the palace.

He Peng's face changed drastically and he looked at the prince with pleading eyes, wanting the prince to plead for his son.

But the prince frowned and lowered his head as if he saw nothing.

If it is anything else, the prince will definitely help.

But now that an old minister has died, no one dares to offend the emperor at this time.

When He Peng saw the prince's appearance, he immediately gave up.

A moment later, He Qingyun's screams were heard outside the hall.

He Qingyun was beaten with the stick for a full twenty times, leaving his skin and flesh torn and bloody, and he fainted immediately.

After the imperial guards finished the execution, they came to the palace to report: "Your Majesty, Lord He has fainted."

The emperor snorted coldly: "He Peng, take your son and get out of the palace!"

If it weren't for He Peng and the prince, He Qingyun would not have been punished with just twenty strokes of the cane, but would have been beheaded outright!

He Peng also understood this, and he quickly bowed and left with his son.

After dealing with the matter, the emperor looked at everyone and said, "Lord Wang was killed. This matter must be investigated thoroughly!"

Ling Haoran, the Minister of Justice, had a slightly changed expression, and stepped forward to salute: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice is currently fully investigating the murder of the Eighth Prince. If we are distracted from investigating Lord Wang, I'm afraid we won't be able to do it. Please send more people to investigate this matter!"

As soon as these words came out, the Tenth Prince took the initiative to step forward and said in a deep voice: "Father, why don't you let me investigate this matter?

I have some people in my mansion who can work with the Ministry of Justice to investigate the murder of Lord Wang!"

The prince's expression changed slightly.

If the Tenth Prince were to extend his hand to the Ministry of Justice, it would be extremely disadvantageous to him.

The prince immediately stood up to object: "Tenth brother, you don't know much about this kind of thing. If you rashly participate, you may end up doing something bad with good intentions!"

The tenth prince was not willing to be outdone and retorted: "Lord Deng is a man of quick wits and a new champion, so Lord Deng can be involved in this matter.

I believe that with Lord Deng in charge of investigating this matter, we will be able to get to the bottom of it."

The prince's face changed, and he was about to retort, but the emperor suddenly spoke:

"Alright, I also want to see what the new champion is capable of. I'll leave this matter to you and the Ministry of Justice to investigate!"