Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

What's even more shocking is that the old emperor had actually passed away half a month ago, but Dongyan Jun concealed the news and has not announced his death until now.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, when the civil and military officials finished their rest and went to court as usual, they were surprised to find that the person sitting on the dragon throne was not the old emperor, but the sixth prince, Dongyan Jun!

The court was deathly silent. Everyone looked at each other, and no one dared to speak.

A eunuch walked forward steadily, holding a bright yellow imperial edict in his hands.

After he stood still, he unfolded the imperial edict and began to read it aloud.

As the eunuch read the announcement, the faces of those ministers who had openly opposed Dongyan Jun turned deathly pale.

They never imagined that Lord Dongyan would so ruthlessly order their execution in the very hall in front of so many ministers.

The Imperial Guards moved with ghostly speed; amidst the flashing blades, the ministers fell dead before they could even utter a scream.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen court officials fell to the ground and died.

Blood stained the floor of the imperial court, and the pungent smell of blood filled the air, making people nauseous.

After killing the people, the Imperial Guards quickly dragged their bodies away.

The remaining ministers watched in horror as their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

They were completely terrified, not daring to utter a sound, for fear that they too would become the next victim of the knife.

One by one, they knelt down and kowtowed in fear, shouting in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Dongyan Jun sat on the dragon throne, and seeing all the civil and military officials kneeling before him, he let out a wild laugh, "Hahaha..."

The laughter echoed in the empty court hall, a mockery and contempt for these ministers.

"Hahaha, hahaha..." Dongyan Jun's laughter finally subsided. He looked at the ministers below, who were trembling with fear, and slowly said, "Get up, all of you."

The ministers were relieved and hurriedly got up from the ground, but their legs were still weak and they could not stand steadily.

Immediately afterwards, the eunuch read out more than a dozen imperial edicts.

Without exception, these imperial edicts were all orders concerning the promotion and demotion of officials.

The officials who were promoted were naturally those who had always been loyal to Dongyan Jun;

Those who were demoted were the ministers who had opposed him.

Shang Congwen was not spared either; his official rank was demoted by two levels.

Mu Nan, being a leisurely Duke of the State who no longer needed to attend court, was unaware of what was happening in the court.

"Go find them right now! If you can't find them, you'll all come back to me with your heads! A bunch of useless bastards, you can't even look after a few people!"

Lord Dongyan was furious, and his voice echoed throughout the palace, making people's eardrums ache.

When Dongyan returned to the palace after court, he discovered that the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and their child had all disappeared.

Not only that, Mu Xiao, who was imprisoned in the palace, also disappeared without a trace.

This caused Dong Yanjun's mood to plummet, and he unleashed a furious rage on his personal guards.

Mu Xiao noticed something unusual in the palace when he went to work there half a month ago.

He secretly sneaked into the old emperor's palace to take a look.

He had just sneaked into the palace when he was discovered and captured by Dongyan Jun's men. Dongyan Jun imprisoned him and the Crown Prince's entourage.

Just as Dong Yanjun was getting annoyed after scolding away those incompetent guards, a man in black walked in like a ghost.

Dong Yanjun looked closely and recognized the person as an old acquaintance. He frowned and asked in an annoyed tone, "Why are you here again?"

The man in black didn't care about Dongyan Jun's attitude at all. He said expressionlessly, "Does Your Majesty intend to abandon me after I've served my purpose?"

Upon hearing this, Dongyan Jun's anger flared even more. He snorted coldly, "I have done everything I promised you. You have made a fortune in Dongliang over the years. What more do you want?"

"What do I want? I want..." A cold smile appeared on the corner of the man's mouth. He flicked his sleeve slightly, and a poisoned needle shot out like lightning, flying straight towards Dong Yanjun's face.

Dong Yanjun had no time to react and watched helplessly as the poisoned needle approached him. His pupils dilated sharply, and his face was filled with terror and despair.

"You...you..." Dong Yanjun uttered a hoarse sound, wanting to say something, but the poisoned needle had already mercilessly pierced his brow.

Dong Yanjun's body seemed to have all its strength drained away, and he fell straight down, his eyes still wide open, dying with his eyes open.

"Haha." The man in black looked at Dong Yanjun lying on the ground and let out a smug laugh.

He said sarcastically in Japanese, "Useless thing."

Then, the men in black acted swiftly.

He exchanged clothes with Dong Yanjun, then took out a thin mask from his pocket and gently put it on his face.

Suddenly, two identical Dongyan Jun appeared.

Dong Yanjun took out a bottle of medicine from his pocket, carefully opened the cap, and poured the liquid inside onto the lying Dong Yanjun.

As soon as the liquid touched Dong Yanjun's body, it acted like ignited gunpowder, rapidly corroding his skin.

In the blink of an eye, Dong Yanjun's corpse turned into a pool of blood, emitting a nauseating stench.

Dong Yanjun's secret guards arrived at the Mu family.

When they broke into the Mu family's two residences, they were surprised to find them empty.

"What's going on?" The guards looked at each other, their hearts filled with doubt and unease.

Soon, Dongyan Jun ordered the execution of the entire Mu family, including nine generations of relatives, on charges of treason and collusion with the enemy.

Immediately, Dongyan Jun sent people everywhere to hunt down members of the Mu family, and portraits of Mu Nan and Mu Xiao were everywhere on the streets.

The Mu family's property was raided, and all their shops and farms were sealed off.

However, Dong Yanjun discovered that all of the Mu family's houses, shops, and farms were deserted.

No valuables were found, not even a single coin of gold or silver.

Every day thereafter, urgent messages arrived from various cities, reporting the invasion of Japan and requesting the emperor to send troops to provide support.

Despite these urgent requests for help, Dong Yanjun remained unusually calm.

They always refused to send troops to support Dongliang, citing the fact that Japan was just a small, insignificant country that posed no real threat to Dongliang.

Rewind to the eighth day of the first lunar month, and Aoshan Village was bustling with activity.

The villagers gathered at the Wu family's house to celebrate the grand wedding.

A festive atmosphere permeated the entire village, with people laughing and chatting, raising their glasses to drink and fully enjoying this joyful moment.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from the road outside the village.

Several men dressed in tight-fitting clothes rode horses and galloped towards the village like the wind.