At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

Night fell silently.

Snow stopped.

The cold wind remains.

The brightly lit Daxing Hall was dazzling in the darkness. Hundreds of armored warriors were scattered around the hall, standing like statues, unmoved by the howling wind!

As the imperial palace of the Great Yu emperor, this palace complex was the core of the Great Yu imperial guards' defense. Inside, no man was allowed to enter without an imperial edict; anyone who dared to overstep their bounds would have their entire family, up to nine generations, executed!

This concerns the emperor's dignity.

It is also about the dignity of the royal family.

As the memorial service for the deceased emperor concluded, the oppressive atmosphere that had enveloped the Yu Palace seemed to shift somewhat. The deceased is gone, and no matter how sad or grief-stricken one is, life must go on. The living cannot live for the dead all the time; this is a reality that no one can escape.

This subtle change in the Yu Palace will also affect the outer court, and over time, it will gradually influence every part of the Great Yu.

"There are quite a few more people now."

Inside the Daxing Hall, Chu Ling, lying on his throne, sighed with emotion, "It seems that my actions at the Shouhuang Hall today have clearly provoked some people, but who exactly?"

A series of figures appeared in Chu Ling's mind.

Is it Empress Dowager Cixi Kangshou's granddaughter, Sun Li?

Is it Empress Dowager Xu Zhen, the Holy Empress Dowager Cishou?

Is it the current Empress Wang Xiu?

However, Empress Wang Xiu was quickly rejected by Chu Ling. Judging from the commotion caused by Chu Hong and his group, which led to the three empresses stepping forward one after another, and the attitude of the high-ranking members of the Imperial Guard, it was not difficult to see that Empress Wang Xiu's influence over the Imperial Guard was far less than that of the other two.

It seems that within the besieged city of Yu Palace, the power of the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager is roughly equal, at least on the surface.

Thinking of all this, Chu Ling sat up from his throne.

He captured this crucial information.

However, the three queens showed a striking consistency in their attitudes toward the three kings. What were their motives? Was it truly to maintain the prestige of the Great Yu?

I'm afraid it's not that simple.

Chu Ling frowned; he felt that this matter was not as simple as he had thought.

Emperor Taizong's eldest son, Chu Hong, was the maternal grandfather of Li Jin, a Duke of the current dynasty, who was also the General Who Conquers the West and stationed troops in Xiliang to guard against the powerful enemy from Xichuan for the Great Yu.

Chu Biao, the fourth son of Emperor Taizong, was the maternal grandfather of Dong Hong, a Duke of the current dynasty, who served as the General Who Conquers the South and commanded troops to guard the southern border, thus deterring the remnants of Nanzhao for the Great Yu.

Emperor Taizong's fifth son by a concubine, Chu Jun, had a maternal grandfather named Qi Sheng, who was a high-ranking official in the court and served as the Grand Councilor of the Secretariat. His students and former officials were spread throughout the court and the country.

The maternal clans of these three men were very powerful and had intricate connections with many civil and military officials in the court. Just because they wanted to use the pretext of supervising the construction of the imperial mausoleum to try to stay in Yudu, they were stripped of their princely titles and imprisoned in the Ten Princes' Mansion. This is not a simple matter no matter how you look at it.

But what about the three emperors? Aren't they afraid that their maternal grandfathers might be dissatisfied?

Aren't you afraid that this action will cause some turmoil or unrest in the central government or local areas of Da Yu?

Chu Ling couldn't understand it.

Chu Ling was unclear about the interests of the three queens, and based on what he currently knew, he simply could not fathom their thoughts.

Footsteps could be heard outside the hall.

It was very urgent.

squeak~

The tightly closed palace doors were pushed open at this moment.

"Please, Your Majesty, move your carriage here!!"

Li Zhong rushed into the hall, disregarding everything else, and ran in under Chu Ling's watchful gaze, followed by dozens of armored warriors.

Ok?

Chu Ling frowned; his intuition told him that something was wrong.

Is the counterattack happening so quickly?

Subconsciously, Chu Ling recalled his behavior at the Shouhuang Hall earlier that day. However, Chu Ling was not worried about his safety at all. The memorial service for the late emperor had just ended. If anything happened to him, the successor emperor of the Great Yu, not only would the entire Yu capital be in chaos, but the whole country would probably be in turmoil.

"Li Zhong, what happened?"

Thinking of all this, Chu Ling looked at Li Zhong and asked, "Why is that..."

But as he spoke, Chu Ling smelled something burning.

In that instant, Chu Ling understood.

"Your Majesty, a fire has broken out in the Daxing Hall!" Li Zhong hurriedly bowed and said, "For Your Majesty's safety, please move to the Ganlu Hall!"

"Please, Your Majesty, move to the Ganlu Hall!"

As soon as Li Zhong finished speaking, the people who followed him into the hall bowed and paid their respects.

Among these people, Chu Ling recognized several familiar figures—the same ones who had carried him into the Yu Palace: Sun Ben, Zong Zhi, Chang Feng, Xu Bin, Shangguan Xiu…

Chu Ling, however, couldn't remember their names.

"hurry up!!"

"Put it out quickly!!"

"Except for the Imperial Guards on duty, everyone else, stand still!!"

"Anyone who dares to make a move will be killed on the spot!!"

At this moment, sounds rang out from outside the hall.

Is it an accident?

Was it intentional?

Hearing this, Chu Ling frowned. His intuition told him that the heavily guarded Daxing Palace, especially tonight, had an increased number of imperial guards, so the probability of an accident causing a fire was very small.

But if it was intentional, who would have done it?

Under such tight security, the fact that someone could set fire to the Daxing Hall is quite alarming. Judging from the situation, it's no wonder they haven't caught who did it.

"Please, Your Majesty, move to the Ganlu Hall!"

Seeing that Chu Ling remained silent, Li Zhong became extremely anxious. Especially after hearing the commotion outside the hall, Li Zhong disregarded everything else and quickly walked towards Chu Ling.

The ceremony to mourn the deceased emperor's coffin had just ended when the Daxing Hall was hit by fire, which was bound to cause a huge uproar.

If, amidst this chaos, the succeeding emperor were to suffer any further mishap, it would be even more disastrous.

Having spent so long in the Yu Palace, Li Zhong understood one thing: the more chaotic the situation, the more dangerous it was for the emperor, because it was uncontrollable!

"Let's go."

Seeing Li Zhong's reaction, Chu Ling stepped down from his throne.

"Escort!!"

Upon seeing the succeeding emperor descend, Sun Ben, who was at the head of the group, shouted in a deep voice, and the guards gathered on the left and right formed a battle formation as if facing a formidable enemy.

None of these sons of noble families dared to be careless.

It seems that many people do not want to see themselves die.

Upon seeing this, Chu Ling's face remained unchanged, but a smile secretly arose in his heart. However, his vigilance did not disappear, after all, such things are not absolute.

"Escort!!"

Surrounded by a crowd, Chu Ling walked out of the hall and heard Xu Hui shouting. But then Sun Ben stepped forward and stopped him, saying, "No one is allowed to approach without permission. Anyone who violates this rule will be killed on the spot!"

The atmosphere became subtle.

Xu Hui, who was walking with a sword at his side, stopped and looked at Sun Ben with a complicated expression. Just as he was about to say something, he saw his eldest son, Xu Bin, shaking his head slightly at him from the escort team.

In that instant, Xu Hui understood something.

The fire got bigger.

Chu Ling, standing in the crowd, felt a wave of heat wash over him when he saw this scene. He looked up and saw a fire spreading in a side hall of the Daxing Palace. Sparks flew everywhere in the howling wind, and the fire danced like a dragon, dispelling the darkness and making the place exceptionally bright...