The retainer did not find out who had ordered the ministers to attend court. Seeing his master angry, he naturally did not dare to say a word.
Marquis Qingyang rubbed his inexplicably cold forehead and said in a low voice, "Things aren't right. Could it be that something has gone wrong?"
"Impossible. This King's plan was flawless. How could there be a flaw at this time? The Empress Dowager must have deceived us. "Prince Li gnashed his teeth.
Marquis Qingyang waved his hand with a wry smile. "Impossible. Do you think I don't know my older sister's personality? Moreover, the Royal Prince also saw it. She is timid and an ordinary woman. She can't cause any waves. "
Prince Li's anxiety and anger were forcefully suppressed. He turned his head to look at the charred ruins of the estate and then looked at the corpse that had been carried out by the retainer and placed in the carriage.
Commandery Prince Li did not know what was going on. Suddenly, he had an idea. He strode toward the carriage and observed it carefully.
Marquis Qingyang furrowed his brows and pinched his nose as he also walked over. "What is the Royal Prince doing? What is there to look at in a dead person?
Prince Li completely ignored the noisy Marquis Qingyang. He took a lamp from his retainer and used the weak light of dawn to carefully examine "Li Qitian's" face. In the end, he discovered that there was something wrong with the burnt skin.
Prince Li's heart skipped a beat. Without caring whether it was dirty or not, he reached out to grab at the corpse's face.
Marquis Qingyang thought that Prince Li was overly nervous and cried out in alarm, "What are you doing …"
Before he could finish speaking, he saw that Prince Li had already peeled off the skin on the corpse's face. The thin layer of skin was still burned with ash and blood. Under the orange light of the lantern, it appeared particularly frightening.
But even more frightening was still to come.
Under the skin was another unfamiliar face.
That was not Li Qitian at all!
Prince Li blankly clutched the tattered skin mask in his hand. His entire body shivered and the hairs on his back stood on end.
How could it be fake?
If Li Qitian was not dead, then what was the cause of the fire in the mansion?
That's right, the charred corpses in the Prince's Mansion were barely recognizable as human bones. It was impossible to tell whether they were male or female. Therefore, there might not be any female members of the Prince's Mansion among them.
There was something strange about the fire in the mansion. Li Qitian's corpse was fake, and the ministers came to court for no reason.
When these three points were connected, even if Prince Li was an idiot, he would still be able to understand.
He had been tricked!
The fire this time had planned everything. The other party had grasped his mentality tightly and lured him out of the palace with a plot to beat him at his own game. At this time, Li Qitian might have already taken back the Imperial Palace!
Prince Li's whole body trembled like a sieve, and he almost couldn't stand straight.
The Marquis of Qingyang was no better than Prince Li.
His mind was filled with Li Qitian's viciousness and majesty.
"What should we do, what should we do? If Your Majesty returns. Would there be any good outcome for the two of us? Your plan definitely won't be able to escape. Even I will be finished with you! Your Majesty cares about military power the most. Didn't you see that Pang Zhixi's military power was taken away? I, the commander-in-chief of the Tiger Army, refused to listen to Your Majesty's decree to support Tianmen Guan. If Your Majesty knew, he would punish me for neglecting my duty! "
Prince Li's expression was gloomy, and the trembling of his body gradually calmed down.
The Marquis of Qingyang anxiously said: "The only thing we can do now is quickly enter the palace and beg my sister! My sister is the Empress Dowager. If we say a few good words in front of Your Majesty, we might still be saved! "
Prince Li suddenly looked at the Marquis of Qingyang and coldly said: "If you want to throw yourself into a trap, go yourself."
"You … …"
"Did you forget how you treated the Empress Dowager? The Empress Dowager's brain isn't filled with water. If I see you now, I will definitely ruthlessly retaliate! Also, how will you see the Empress Dowager? Since Li Qitian has the ability to announce a court appearance, that means he has already taken back the imperial palace. As long as the two of us approach, we will be directly captured and sent to Li Qitian before we even see the Empress Dowager. "
The Marquis of Qingyang's face turned deathly pale. He felt as if the sky was about to collapse.
How did things develop to this point? Everything was originally fine, so why did it all suddenly turn into bubbles?
"Then what do you think we should do?" The Marquis of Qingyang was already in a mess. He could only look at Prince Li.
Prince Li gritted his teeth and immediately said: "In for a penny, in for a pound. In any case, quite a few Tatar Spies have sneaked in. Otherwise, Li Qitian wouldn't have been buried alive. Right now, who knows if there are Tatar spies hiding in the palace walls, wanting to harm the Empress Dowager and Empress?"
"You're saying … … you want to attack the imperial palace?" The Marquis of Qingyang was shocked and lowered his voice.
Prince Li said: "Either wait for death or take a gamble. If you want to die, I won't stop you. I can guarantee that as long as you approach the palace walls, you will immediately be tied up and sent to Li Qitian. At that time, how you die will not be up to you. "
The Marquis of Qingyang shivered. His eyes gradually turned from panic to determination.
"Good, then let's take a gamble! Don't forget, this Marquis is currently the commander-in-chief of the Tiger Army! "
Seeing the Marquis of Qingyang so tactful, Prince Li inwardly let out a sigh of relief.
He turned around and ordered, "There are Tatar spies who have sneaked into the imperial palace and pretended to be Your Majesty with bad intentions. Immediately dispatch all the soldiers of the Five Cities Warden's Office. We have to protect the Empress Dowager, protect the Empress Dowager, and protect the unborn dragon son!"
"Yes!"
Prince Li's loyal subordinates immediately went to the Five Cities Warden's Office to report this.
The Five Cities Warden's Office was in charge of the capital's security and other matters. The soldiers of the Five Cities Warden's Office added up to at least ten thousand people. In addition, the Marquis of Qingyang had dispatched the Tiger Army.
With such an offensive, it wasn't impossible for them to fight with all their might!
%
At this time, in Heavenly Worship Palace, all of the capital's civil and military officials above the fifth-rank were already standing in line.
Everyone was actually very uncomfortable in their hearts.
Prince Li was the imperial relative chosen by the Empress Dowager to be regent. Although his personality was normally a bit soft, he still knew when to advance and retreat. As a regent, he had never made any arrangements to attend court.
Why did he suddenly change his personality today?
The officials all had grave expressions, their gazes pensive.
Your Majesty and Prince Zhongshun had already been buried for twenty-one days. What kind of person could persist for so many days without eating or drinking? The heavens of Da Zhou had probably already changed.
They just didn't know why Prince Li had summoned them to court today.
Among the officials, there were already some who were considering which side to side with. There were also some who were loyal to Li Qitian and were full of anger. For a moment, all of the officials' expressions were unsightly.
At this time, a sharp voice unique to the officials came from outside.
"Your Majesty has arrived!"
According to the rules, officials couldn't raise their heads to look directly at the emperor's face during court.
Although all of the officials had a lot of complaints about Prince Li daring to call himself Your Majesty, not a single person disobeyed the rules at this time.
Out of the corner of everyone's eyes, they saw a figure wearing a bright yellow dragon robe sitting on the Dragon Throne. The officials with their heads lowered couldn't see the appearance of the person sitting on the Dragon Throne. They could only see a pair of brand-new golden coiling dragon boots.
As expected, Prince Li had disloyal intentions! He wanted to rebel!
Thinking back to the fire at Prince Zhongshun's residence yesterday, the officials all connected the dots. It seemed that Prince Li really couldn't wait any longer!
At this time, a few people understood and willingly knelt down and shouted "Long Live Your Majesty".
But there was also a portion of people who believed that Prince Li's actions were the actions of a traitor. They would rather die than admit that Prince Li had privately proclaimed himself emperor.
As a result, the officials' salutes were all different.
Those who had been bribed by Prince Li or those who wanted to protect themselves all knelt down and kowtowed.
As for the stubborn old officials and the imperial censors who didn't fear death, they only stood with their heads lowered and slightly bent their knees.
"Long Live Your Majesty!" Everyone's voices were all over the place.
Sitting upright on the throne, Li Qitian looked down at the officials who were saluting him with completely different postures. He couldn't help but feel comforted in his heart.
Those who directly knelt down and said "Long Live Your Majesty" only accounted for 20% of the total number of people.
Those who refused to say "Long Live Your Majesty" and refused to kneel down made up 80% of the total number of people.
It seemed that his throne was still very stable. Even though he had disappeared for 20 days and people outside were saying that he had died, these loyal officials still didn't immediately recognize Prince Li.
Li Qitian carefully remembered who knelt and who didn't kneel. Then he jokingly said: "What, you old fellows still don't kneel when you see me? Do you want to rebel?"
Li Qitian's voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the hall.
When the officials with their heads lowered heard this familiar voice, they ignored the rule of not looking directly at Li Qitian's face and raised their heads one after another.
They saw Li Qitian wearing an imperial robe and sitting upright on the dragon throne. Behind him, Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu stood on his left and right. Surprisingly, there was also a beautiful pregnant woman standing next to Prince Zhongshun.
"Your Majesty!" Everyone cried out in surprise.
Li Qitian smiled and said: "Look, we have returned!"
"Long Live Your Majesty, long Live Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty is the true Son of Heaven. This old official already knew that Your Majesty would definitely return safely!"
The officials all knelt down and saluted. There were even some who were so excited that tears streamed down their faces.
In the midst of everyone's salutes, the 20% who first knelt down and recognized Prince Li were already trembling on both knees.
It's over, it's over, the person who shouldn't have returned is back. Wouldn't the next step be to purge them?
At this time, they no longer cared about why there were other than Ji Zeyu and Pang Xiao behind Your Majesty, and even women standing together. They only wanted to think of a way to survive. They absolutely could not let Your Majesty think that they were all plotting a rebellion.
Rebellion was a serious crime that could bring disaster to the entire clan!
Just as everyone was feeling uneasy, the newly arrived Grand Eunuch Xiong Jinshui loudly announced: "Your Majesty has decreed that if there is something to report, report it early. If there is nothing to report, dismiss the court!"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the officials let out a sigh of relief.
Your Majesty did not resolve the issue of rebellion during the court meeting. Instead, he only asked about the state's affairs. Where else could one find Your Majesty who placed state affairs as the most important thing?
As a result, everyone seemed to have been injected with chicken blood and reported all the things that had accumulated during Li Qitian's absence. They even discussed it in the court.
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