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

Chapter 1685 You don’t understand

The imperial palace was shrouded in a solemn atmosphere late at night. The flickering candlelight in the Yangxin Palace illuminated Chu Ning's stern face, making it appear bright and dim.

Zhao Yu bowed and saluted. There were still traces of blood on his armor, which glowed dark red in the candlelight.

"Your Majesty, all the people in the old Prince Qin's mansion were executed, and no one survived!"

Zhao Yu's voice echoed in the empty hall. He raised his head slightly, his eyes sharp as a torch:

"According to your majesty's order, the bodies have been hung on the four gates for public display. Iron hooks have been pierced through the scapula of each corpse to ensure they will not fall."

Chu Ning's slender fingers tapped lightly on the dragon table, and the muffled sound of the sandalwood was like a death drum.

He suddenly stopped, picked up the teacup and took a sip of the now cold Biluochun tea: "Does anyone dare to collect the body?"

"Your Majesty, I have sent twelve teams of imperial guards to take turns guarding."

A cold expression crossed Zhao Yu's lips. "An old servant tried to secretly collect the master's corpses, but he was shot like a hedgehog and hung on the city gate. Now, even wild dogs dare not approach within three feet of the corpses."

Suddenly, a cold wind blew outside the window, causing the candle flame to shake violently.

Chu Ning's shadow twisted and deformed on the wall, like a ferocious beast waiting to devour its prey.

He was about to speak when he heard hurried footsteps and the sound of armor clashing outside the hall.

"Your Majesty! Something bad is happening!"

Minister of Justice Ling Haoran stumbled into the hall, his official hat askew and his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He fell to his knees with a thud, his knees colliding with the gold bricks with a dull sound: "Han Lie...Han Lie has been kidnapped!"

With a "crack", the teacup in Chu Ning's hand was crushed to pieces, and the porcelain pieces pierced into his palm. Blood dripped through his fingers onto the memorial, forming a bunch of gorgeous blood flowers.

His eyes instantly became colder than the ice in the Far North: "Ling Haoran, are you tired of living?"

Ling Haoran slammed his head against the ground, his forehead instantly turning purple. "I, your humble servant, deserve death! Those thieves used a deception tactic to lure away most of the jailers, then returned with a surprise attack when the guards were gone."

"They... they can even cut through the specially made black iron shackles in my Ministry of Justice prison."

Zhao Yu stood up suddenly, the sword at his waist clashing with his armor. "Your Majesty, please allow me to search the city! Even if we have to turn Kyoto upside down, we must find Han Lie!"

Chu Ning slowly loosened his palm, letting the porcelain fragments and blood fall onto the dragon table.

He suddenly smiled, and that smile made Ling Haoran tremble all over. "Great, it's really great. I just killed the old King Qin, and someone can't wait to jump out."

He turned to look at Zhao Yu and said, "Seal the four gates. No one is allowed to enter, but no one is allowed to leave. Anyone who behaves suspiciously will be killed without mercy!"

After the two men left, Chu Ning walked to the window.

The moonlight was like water, stretching his figure very long.

He looked at the vaguely visible corpse in the distance towards the city gate and muttered to himself: "Han Lie... Green Snake Sect!"

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, Lord Deng, the Minister of Rites, has arrived."

The old eunuch's shrill voice sounded outside the hall.

Deng Hongwen almost tripped over the threshold when he entered the hall.

The Minister of Rites, who was over forty years old, looked pale at the moment, and his loose court robes seemed to be hanging empty on his body.

After he finished his ceremony, Chu Ning got straight to the point: "The enthronement ceremony will be held in three days."

"This……"

Deng Hongwen's Adam's apple rolled, and cold sweat trickled down his temples. "Your Majesty, according to ancestral rules, the late emperor's mourning period hasn't yet passed. I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to confer a vice empress at this time..."

"ancestral system?"

Chu Ning chuckled, picked up a memorial from the dragon table and threw it in front of Deng Hongwen:

"Look at this. The Tang and Han armies have already joined forces to attack Wei. If I don't quickly confer the title and head to the front lines, I'm afraid I'll lose my kingdom."

Deng Hongwen opened the memorial with trembling hands and read the contents word by word.

He suddenly understood something and looked up: "Your Majesty, are you going to lead the army in person?"

Chu Ning walked up to him, placed his hand on Deng Hongwen's shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "So the matter of enthronement must be done as soon as possible. After I leave the capital, someone will be needed to take charge of the court."

He leaned over and whispered in Deng Hongwen's ear, "You don't want anyone to stir up trouble again in the court after I leave, do you?"

Does this mean that the affairs of the court will be handed over to the Vice Empress Wu Zetian?

Deng Hongwen reacted immediately and said in a deep voice, "Your humble servant...your humble servant will do it right away! Everything will be ready within three days!"

"Remember, all the princes and ministers must be included."

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Especially the descendants of the royal family."

When Deng Hongwen bowed and left the hall, Chu Ning was already standing in front of the military map.

His finger moved all the way from Kyoto to the border of Wei, and finally stopped at a pass.

There, a mark was drawn with cinnabar.

The night wind blew the candlelight, casting Chu Ning's figure on the map.

The shadow just covered the entire Wei area, like an invisible giant hand, firmly grasping this blood-stained land.

At this time, Wu Zhao walked out slowly from the side hall, and the moon-white palace dress skirt dragged an elegant arc on the ground.

Her brows knitted slightly, and her eyes gleamed with worry. "Your Majesty, isn't it too soon to hold the enthronement ceremony in three days?"

Chu Ning stood with his hands behind his back in front of the military map. The candlelight cast his tall figure on the wall, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath.

"That's too late."

His voice was low, and his finger pressed heavily on a city marked with cinnabar on the map. "The Jinyiwei have come with an urgent report from eight hundred miles away. The Tang cavalry has breached Tongguan, and the Han army of one hundred thousand is besieging Yecheng."

Wu Zhao walked slowly forward, the golden hairpin in her hair swaying gently with her steps, making a crisp sound.

She stared at the alarming red markings on the map and whispered, "Your Majesty, are you really going to lead the army in person?"

"I must personally lead the expedition."

Chu Ning turned around, his deep eyes dancing with fighting spirit: "This time when I leave the capital, all the affairs of the court will be handed over to you."

Wu Zhao pursed her red lips slightly, revealing a hint of hesitation: "I am new here, and I was once the Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I am afraid that those old stubborn people in the court will not obey my orders."

"They dare!"

Chu Ning suddenly shouted, swung his sleeves violently, and the teacup on the table shattered.

He grabbed Wu Zhao's hand with such force that she frowned slightly: "I killed the old Qin King's entire family just to let everyone in the world know the consequences of disobeying me!"

Wu Zhao's eyes flashed, and she finally understood the profound meaning of Chu Ning's thundering move.

She sighed softly and raised her hand to smooth Chu Ning's frown: "Your Majesty, why are you so radical? I can..."

"No, you don't understand."

Chu Ning held her in his arms, resting his chin on her fragrant hair, and spoke in a rare gentle voice:

"If this battle can defeat the Han and Tang dynasties in one fell swoop, the world will usher in true peace."

He tightened his arms, as if to rub her into his bones and blood: "After the enthronement ceremony in three days, you will be my legitimate vice empress. When I am not around, you will be the sky of this Great Chu."

Wu Zhao leaned on his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, a complex light flashed in her eyes.

She said softly, "I will definitely live up to your Majesty's trust."

Outside the window, a crescent moon quietly disappeared into the clouds, leaving only the stars in the sky coldly watching this undercurrent-filled imperial city.