Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 423: The Enthronement of the Empress (1)

Dugu Chen arrived at the Imperial Palace and saw the palace gates tightly shut. With a wave of his hand, a group of Demon Forest men leapt onto the palace walls and jumped in to clash with the Imperial Army inside. Meanwhile, a neatly equipped Iron Cavalry Army, dozens strong, held thick logs and began to ram the palace gates. Demon Forest men inside took advantage of the commotion to use their Inner Strength to crack open the heavy gate, and those outside dropped their logs and quickly forced the gates open, slaughtering their way through. By the time they reached Jinluan Hall, the ground was littered with the dead and wounded, with only the Ministers curled up in the corners, comparatively safe.

Dugu Chen saw the Emperor and a few guards locked in battle, while the heavily wounded Zhuisu knelt firmly on the ground, head bowed, his body covered with sword marks, fresh blood flowing from the wounds.

Dugu Chen looked at his elder brother, now in a pitiable state, and remembered what their mother had once said. He slightly lifted his hand and Huang Yi and Tian Yi behind him drew their swords and quickly dispatched the remaining dozen or so guards; silence fell upon the hall in an instant.

Prince An narrowed his eyes, looking at Dugu Chen who had foiled his plans, and calmly turned his eyeballs, "Charmer King, the Emperor is already a eunuch. Our Dugu family’s empire cannot be ruined by this man. I know you have always disliked court politics, so once I ascend the throne, I will bestow upon you the title of Carefree King. Now, I command you to take him down quickly."

Dugu Chen, with eyes bloodshot from luxury, looked at Prince An and smiled faintly, "Prince An, committing lèse-majesté, insolence, conspiring with Grand Marshal Hou Wei, attempting treason and more—combined, your crimes are enough to kill you ten thousand times over."

"Charmer King, I’m offering you a friendly warning, do not get ahead of yourself," Prince An, feeling uneasy, and seeing his Uncle Hou Wei calm and composed, mustered up the courage to step forward and angrily rebuke the Charmer King.

Dugu Chen glanced at him, too lazy to waste words, slightly parted his red lips, "No mercy."

"You dare?" Prince An looked at Dugu Chen in panic, his body involuntarily retreating slightly, his hand holding the sword trembling, as he desperately looked to his Uncle Hou Wei for support.

By this time, the palace’s Imperial Army had been utterly routed, retreating into the Jinluan Hall with the Iron Cavalry Army harrying the remaining few and encircling them, Prince An and Hou Wei included.

"Hmph, in my eyes, there is no question of daring or not, kill them, leave no survivors."

The Iron Cavalry Army, upon receiving the order, charged forward, slaughtering all the rebels; Hou Wei, seeing the dire situation, quickly took his chance during the chaos to flee with Vice Marshal Fan.

Huang Yi and the others cleaned up the corpses and discovered Hou Wei was not among them; they turned and reported back to their master.

"Not there? Issue a warrant, search the entire nation. Whoever captures Hou Wei will be rewarded with a hundred thousand taels of silver. Inform Xue Wuhen that Hou Wei committed treason, and have him temporarily take up the position of Marshal. The imperial edict will follow soon," said Dugu Chen, frowning tightly, lips pressed firmly together. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Dugu Han looked at his brother donned in battle regalia, a faint smile on his face, "Little brother, keep our empire safe," and then let out a muffled groan, blood slowly trickling from the corners of his mouth as he fell to the ground. He turned to the Dragon Throne behind him, slowly crawling towards it, reaching out to touch it, and slowly smiled as he closed his eyes.

Tian Yi stepped forward, crouched down, extended a hand to check for breath, pried the mouth open, and inspected, "Master, he bit his own tongue to commit suicide."

Dugu Chen silently took a breath, waved his hand, "Take him away and take care of him properly, bury him with the Emperor’s rites. Concubines who have shared the bed chamber and bear no children, all follow in martyrdom; those who have not, send them all to temples to pray for blessings. Any escapees are to be executed on the spot."

"As you command, master." Tian Yi summoned a few eunuchs and carried away the dead Dugu Han.

The Ministers slowly gathered their composure, with the Prime Minister kneeling down first, "Long live the Emperor, long may he reign."