At this time, the capital of the Donghua Empire was already a bustling scene of welcoming important figures. Not long after nightfall, the city was already brightly lit. Even the main road leading into the city was paved with a red carpet, which was a rare sight. Clearly, the royal family attached great importance to this welcoming ceremony.
"Have you heard? The leaders of the four major clans and the ten major families are gathered in the capital city to discuss the enfeoffment with His Majesty." A guard at the city gate whispered to his comrade.
Enfeoffment? His companion subconsciously froze for a moment, then looked around before smiling faintly and said, "I guess these people's brains are probably flooded with water."
The guard chuckled. "Do you think His Majesty will fly into a rage and burn all the leaders of these clans?"
Being burned was the only death penalty in the Empire's laws. The name of this punishment was not only the same as that of a certain tyrant in ancient Huaxia, but the mortals who were punished had to be tied to a cross covered with steel nails and burned alive in boundless flames, so no one was willing to be sentenced to death.
At this moment, a large group of aristocratic families had gathered outside the Imperial City. All of them were dressed in luxurious robes, and their demeanor, demeanor, and manner of speech were all flawless. Even after being blocked by the guards in the heavily-guarded Imperial City for so long, they didn't show any signs of impatience.
Inside the imperial city, the princess had already changed into a bright red palace dress. She was no longer as fierce and seductive as she was when Jiang Cheng first met her. Instead, she had a natural sense of nobility and majesty. The person standing beside her was Qin Sheng, who had been detained in the imperial prison not long ago.
Now that the news of the late emperor's death could no longer be hidden, was the princess going to reveal everything?
At this moment, Qin Sheng was wearing a black, tight-fitting armor, which made him look even more dangerous. The experience of being in the army for a long time made this middle-aged man's iron-blooded aura firmly dominant. However, at this time, he appeared with the identity of the princess's personal guard, which added a bit of inexplicable coldness to this iron-blooded aura.
Hmm. The princess said faintly, "These aristocrats seem to have received some news, which is why they want to talk to me about enfeoffment.
Should he call back the people from the deathmatch camp? Qin Sheng said somewhat indifferently, "I'm afraid that the imperial city doesn't have enough power.
There was no need to go through so much trouble. He could just change the location of the meeting to the front of the Pao Burning Altar behind the Weiyang Palace.
There was a hint of naughtiness in the princess's tone. However, even an experienced expert like Qin Sheng could only feel a bone-piercing chill in front of such a mischievous smile that was full of the taste of a little girl.
Jiang Cheng did not chat with Zhao Bei for too long. The two of them only wandered around the wasteland for a while before going their separate ways.
After receiving the news from Her Royal Highness, Jiang Cheng first applied for leave from his direct superior, Liang Cheng, and then brought a team of fully-armed guards to the Imperial City.
Riding the Ferghana Horse covered in black heavy armor, Jiang Cheng was expressionless as he charged into the capital city.
This was the privilege of the deathmatch camp in the Imperial City. Not only did they not need to get permission to enter the city, but they could even gallop on the street and crash into the roadside stalls and passers-by.
Looking at the trampled red carpet beyond recognition, Qian Fangyun, the governor of the capital city, said faintly, "It's a pity."
This young man's name was Qin Hu, the second son of the Qin family in the northwest. This time, he came as a hostage, but for some reason, he became the deputy commander of the deathmatch camp.
His Majesty's intention is not something we can figure out. Qian Fangyun glanced at the guard beside him and said coldly, "Is there anyone unusual among the people from the Qian family who came to see His Majesty this time?"
The guard was slightly taken aback, and then scratched his head in confusion. What did his master mean by that?
Qian Fangyun continued, "I don't want anyone from the Qian family to get involved in this enfeoffment. You and I have lived in the capital for a long time, so we know a lot about the inside story. You should know what kind of person His Majesty is."
The guard was immediately relieved, and then hurriedly ran away. Obviously, he was in a hurry to inform the Qian family to withdraw.
Qian Fangyun's bronze-colored square face revealed a mysterious smile. This guard had only just left, so it was likely that he wouldn't make it in time. He raised his head slightly and looked at the dark clouds that covered the full moon in the sky. He said faintly, "It looks like the sky of the empire is about to change."
At this time, the heavy gates of the Imperial City finally opened slowly to the impatient nobles. The crowd immediately surged toward the Unending Palace in the center of the Imperial City. But when they saw the Unending Palace, everyone subconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air.
The Unending Palace, which used to be resplendent in gold and jade, was now shrouded in white curtains that symbolized a great funeral. Princess Changhong stood on the long steps in front of the palace, dressed in a bright red palace dress. Her face was expressionless, and this kind of color contrast could be said to be extremely powerful. Many of the nobles' attendants who had never seen much of the world widened their eyes in shock.
His Majesty is dead? The person in charge of the Zhao Clan was slightly startled, and then his expression immediately returned to normal.
As one of the top four aristocratic families in the empire, the Zhao Clan's attitude was more biased toward the royal family. Moreover, Lady Zhao was currently in the Deathmatch Camp. No matter how great the ambition of the Zhao Clan was, they would not dare to gamble away one of the family's heirs and the empire's core power.
At this moment, the situation in the Unending Palace and Princess Changhong's dress indicated one thing without a doubt — the late emperor had passed away, and Princess Changhong had firmly grasped the ability to inherit the throne. The matter of the new emperor's succession had already been put on the agenda.
Almost everyone is here, right? Princess Changhong raised her clear eyes slightly and looked around indifferently. Then she said in an indifferent tone, "Chief Steward Qin, please lead the honored guests to the banquet site. I will be there in a moment."
Qin Sheng nodded under everyone's bewildered gaze, and then turned to leave.
When the clans and nobles arrived at the scene of the banquet and saw the blazing Cannon Altar not far away, everyone's expression became incomparably interesting.
Queen Changhong had ordered that during the banquet, no one was allowed to whisper or make a ruckus. No one was allowed to leave without permission, and no one was allowed to disrupt the order of the banquet under any excuse. Anyone who disobeyed the order would be executed on the spot!
However, before they could react, a group of golden-armored guards rushed over with a murderous aura. The leader of the guards shouted loudly, "Don't worry, I'll kill you!"
All the whispers disappeared in an instant. Even the people in charge of the top four aristocratic families in the empire, Zhao Qian and Sun Li, looked at these guards in golden armor with extreme fear.
Before a young man could say anything, his mouth was covered by an old man beside him. "Silence!" These people were the Donghua Valiant Cavalry directly under the empire's royal family!
The Donghua Valiant Cavalry was the most elite in the entire empire and the only military organization that was absolutely loyal to the empire's royal family. Their captain was directly responsible to the highest ruler of the empire and had the right to act first and report to the highest ruler of the empire later.
Now, the actions of the Donghua Valiant Cavalry had undoubtedly shown that they had become the new Queen's power. These aristocratic families, who had their own selfish motives, naturally could not say anything.
Not long after, Her Majesty Queen Changhong arrived at the banquet site. Behind her was an expressionless young man in black armor.
He was the youngest son of the Qin family. The person in charge of the Zhao family said in a low voice, "Regardless of whether there was any conspiracy involved in Her Majesty's death, the Qin family definitely played a key role in these matters."
Jiang Cheng had completely adapted to the identity of Qin Hu. He was like a son of a noble who had grown up in the army. He had the arrogance and strength unique to the aristocratic families in the west, but also the tenacity and iron blood that the army had brought him.
It was said that this Young Master Qin Hu was the product of the union between Qin Sheng and an Imperial Princess of a certain clan in the Western Region. His eyes were azure blue, and his entire face was a combination of the gentleness of an Oriental and the sharpness of a Westerner. His tall and slender body, as well as his impeccable bearing, made the eyes of those aristocratic girls shine.
Today was a day that would decide the fate of the empire.
Queen Changhong took her seat at the head of the table and said, "From today onwards, the empire will maintain the original provincial system."
Everyone below pricked up their ears.
With the Zhongnan River and Nefarious North River, which ran through the empire's territory as the boundaries, the empire was divided into four regions: East, West, South, and Central. The Zhao family was in charge of the eastern region, the Qian family was in charge of the southern region, the Sun family was in charge of the northern region, the Li family was in charge of the central region, and the Qin family, who had recently obtained the status of an aristocratic family, was in charge of the western region. Queen Changhong continued.
Hearing this arrangement, everyone was slightly stunned. Then, the people of the Li family revealed expressions of ecstasy.
The capital of the empire was located in the center of the central district. Her Majesty had handed over the hinterland of the capital region to the clan to manage. It was obvious that she valued the Li family.
The expressions of the other clans also relaxed a lot. Their original goal was to be enfeoffed. Now, they got what they wanted without any conflict.
"We'll talk about the specifics in the court tomorrow. Now is the time to enjoy. Don't talk about national affairs."
A cold smile appeared on Queen Changhong's face. Then, she said coldly, "Serve the dishes."
Qin Hu nodded slightly and waved his hand. A group of soldiers dressed in the same black uniform as him, who obviously belonged to the dark side of the empire's armed forces, rushed over and threw a man who was beaten to a pulp to the ground like trash.
Tell our clan lords and patriarchs who this person is. Qin Hu said calmly.
"Yes!" The leader of the soldiers said respectfully, "This person was sent by the alliance of countries in the west to murder the late emperor."
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