After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

"Rare indeed!"

They actually managed to come up with so many reasons.

"You..." Seeing Lu Jian's calm demeanor, the Prefect of the Capital began to panic.

"But that's only nine. What's the tenth?"

"..." Seeing his concern and lack of anger, the Prefect of the Capital suddenly felt uncertain.

Lu Jian wouldn't... no!

Absolutely not!

The Imperial Guards have been wiped out, and Lin Yuchuan and the Baili family are both trapped in Shucheng!

The Ministry of War is also staffed by their people!

He had absolutely no chance of turning the tide!

"Ten!" Turning to face his court officials, the Prefect of the Capital declared in a firm and resounding voice, "Lu Jian poisoned the late Emperor and his ascension to the throne was illegitimate!"

"Hahahaha..." After hearing these ten heinous crimes, Lu Jian immediately burst into laughter.

He laughed halfway through, then abruptly stopped.

He stood with his hands behind his back, descending the royal steps.

"Your Majesty!" The palace official rushed around to Lu Jian in a panic.

"Hey~" but he pushed her aside, annoyed that she was in his way.

With a smile on his face, exuding an air of authority and nobility, he bowed his head and asked, "So?"

"This..." The Prefect of the Capital was so frightened by Lu Jian's gaze, which showed not a trace of anger, that he stumbled back half a step.

Calming himself down and remaining composed, he spoke with an air of advocating for the fate of the nation, saying, "These ten heinous crimes are even more egregious than those committed by the most tyrannical rulers of antiquity."

"Therefore, Your Majesty is urged to repent and abdicate in favor of a worthy successor!"

"After all, you were never the late emperor's chosen heir! You've sat on the throne long enough!"

"That's it..."

Lu Jian looked troubled... he hesitated to speak, but his eyes were full of expectation.

He even glanced at the assembled officials with a hint of pleading, "Is this what you all think too?"

The prefect of Liuzhou, who was on his way to the capital to report on his duties, was the first to stand up and said, "What the Prefect of the Capital says is absolutely right!"

"Your Majesty, we beg you to abdicate and yield the throne to a worthy successor!"

"I second that!" The second person to speak was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, who was known for his upright and incorruptible character.

"I second the proposal!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty seconds this proposal."

"I also second the proposal!"

......

Before half a cup of tea had been brewed, twenty-three court officials had stepped forward.

This doesn't even include the military officers who just beat—no, kicked—the civil officials.

Lu Jian took another step forward, which startled Zhang Shan in the hall, who quickly took a few steps back, his face turning ashen as he gathered his strength in his hands.

"..." As the emperor, the Prefect of the Capital was unconsciously frightened by this aura and hurriedly retreated.

"Don't panic, sir!" The old general behind him pushed him back to his feet.

With a "whoosh," sharp swords were drawn from their sheaths, surrounding Lu Jian.

"Your Majesty!" The palace official rushed forward in a panic.

Then he was dragged aside by several soldiers and subjected to a beating...

At this point, Lu Jian couldn't care less about him. Instead, he asked the Prefect of the Capital with great composure, "I wonder, which virtuous person should be chosen?"

"Your Majesty, you have only me as your son."

"There are other brothers who are not from the same mother."

"But the eldest prince died young, the second prince was mentally challenged, and the sixth prince was frail and sickly."

"Is it possible..."

With a narrowed smile, Lu Jian looked intently at the old general, "Does Your Excellency intend for my imperial uncle to take this position?"

"Hmph!" The old general shoved the Prefect of the Capital aside.

He spoke righteously and sternly, saying, "Your Majesty, I cannot bear the title of Your Majesty's Imperial Uncle!"

"I have not come here for this reason!"

"Oh? Then...who are you going to give it to?"

Seeing that Lu Jian did not shout or fly into a rage, the old general had no good reason to draw his sword.

"I have come here solely to uphold the rites and laws and to restore order to the court!"

"So that the common people and officials will not be harmed by you!"

"But the Lu family's empire cannot be changed. Although the wicked concubine has brought disaster to the country and the people, since she has a son of the emperor, he is of the imperial bloodline."

"The mother should be removed and the son kept, so that the dragon son can inherit the throne."

“Heh…” Lu Jian shook his head and chuckled.

"The old general was already thinking of having an unborn child, whose gender was still unknown, to inherit the throne."

"It really is--"

"So selfless!"

"You..." The old scoundrel was so angry that he drew his sword halfway.

Lu Jian spread his arms wide, exuding an air of confidence. He was certain they would never dare to kill him in court.

At worst, he should wait until he returns to his bedchamber before "suddenly dying from a stroke of anger."

Or, after writing his abdication edict, he "became addicted to elixirs and died from poisoning."

The Prefect of the Capital once again stirred up trouble, saying, "Your Majesty, please abdicate!"

"Your Majesty, please abdicate for the sake of the people!"

"Your Majesty, please abdicate!"

......

Seeing that the situation was not good, two more ministers knelt down, trembling.

One said, "Your Majesty, please leave yourself some good name after death."

Another said, "Your Majesty... As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn... You should abdicate!"

The implication is obvious: you're alive!

The other one...

Further investigation is needed.

"Cowards!! You traitors and rebels, you shall die a horrible death!" Xue Fengshi was ready to fight to the death.

Several civil officials joined him in the fray, shouting, "Bastard! Bah!"

"You're asking for death!" As expected, the broadsword swung down towards their heads.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Then they were all shot off by arrows hidden inside the hall.

"This, this, this..."

"How is this going?!"

Amidst the chaotic barrage of arrows, the officials of the Jingzhao Yin faction were terrified.

"Whoosh!" The old general was the first to react, and with lightning speed, he drew his sword and stabbed at Lu Jian.

"Clang!" A sharp blade flew past Lu Jian's right side, slicing the old general's throat.

"Crack!" A hand reached out and almost simultaneously snapped the neck of the general who was trying to take Lu Jian hostage.

Zhang Shan spun around, sheathed his sword, and protected Lu Jian, then went on a killing spree!

"呲呲!"

"what!"

"Uh......"

Blood splattered everywhere inside the hall in an instant, and chaos ensued.

Some crawled out of the hall, lying on the ground and crying and shouting.

Some were accidentally wounded by arrows shot from the shadows and lost consciousness, causing those around them to frantically call for help.

Some officials, trembling with fear, picked up the blood-stained swords and stabbed at the wounds, only to be killed by the traitors and rebels.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!"

Lu Jian snatched a sword from a military officer, fought his way into a corner, and rescued several officials, including Xue Fengshi.

The rescued people only saw a dragon robe splattered with blood flash before their eyes, and then they saw Lu Jian behead one of them ten steps away!

"You dog emperor!" The old general's lieutenant charged forward without regard for the consequences.

"Sizzle! Pfft—"

Even though Zhang Shan stabbed the adjutant through the back, Lu Jian was also stabbed in the back.

"..." Lu Jian swung his sword to the side, cutting down a rebel soldier, but his left hand was also struck by a sword.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..." Covered in blood, Zhang Shan stared intently at Lu Jian's surroundings, numbly yet swiftly fighting the rebels.

"Clang, clang, clang..." Just then, the shouts of the Imperial Guards grew louder as they approached.

"There's an ambush!" The rebel army was thrown into chaos.

"The Imperial Guards! It's the Imperial Guards!"

"The Imperial Guards were not completely wiped out!"

Some of the officials present were greatly encouraged and picked up knives from the ground, hacking wildly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!!"

Before long, a large number of archers arrived first and shot down all the rebels on the perimeter.

Then the Imperial Guards rushed into the hall, cutting through everything in their path to Lu Jian and Zhang Shan, and in doing so, rescued the other officials.

Half an hour later, the once solemn and magnificent hall was now littered with corpses, and even the dragon throne and imperial screen on the royal steps were splattered with blood.

The moment Lu Jian saw Li Tong appear, he collapsed onto the last step, completely exhausted.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

The terrified palace official crawled on his knees to the left, stammering, "Summon...summon the imperial physician! Summon the imperial physician quickly!"

While trembling, she first tried to stop Lu Jian's bleeding.

Li Tong hurriedly walked to Lu Jian, knelt on one knee, and said, "Your Majesty, your subject..."

Lu Jian raised his right hand to stop him, "Leave three thousand men, and you will lead the team to wipe out the rebels inside and outside the palace."

"The rest of you... hiss..." The palace official panicked, and being injured, he accidentally used too much force.

Lu Jian frowned in pain, but he couldn't scold him at this moment, so he could only glance at him and continue to give instructions.

"The rest are to be handed over to Baili Prefecture and the Investigation Division. Also, order the Ministry of War to seal off all checkpoints and immediately conduct a search of the entire capital... uh... anyone..."

"Anyone connected to the He family or involved in this rebellion shall be arrested."

"Those who resist will be killed without mercy!"

"Yes!" Upon receiving the order, Li Tong immediately made the arrangements.

By the time the imperial physician arrived, dragged away by palace servants and losing his official hat, Lu Jian had already fainted.

......