Chapter 17: The Eve of the Imperial Court Assembly (Part 2)

  At the same time, outside the palace.

  The civil and military officials stood facing the palace gate, quietly waiting. The crimson palace gate was still tightly closed, like a heavenly moat, cutting off all contact between inside and outside. If it were an ordinary day, the atmosphere would be solemn, with everyone following their posts and not daring to make a sound, but at this moment, the atmosphere was eerie.

  Innumerable eyes, some secretly and some boldly, were cast upon one person - the current General Zhao Wen of the Imperial Guard. The three forces of the Grand Chancellor, the Cavalry General, and the Marquis of Chongtian were in a state of equilibrium; only the Zhao family could break this balance.

  The Zhao family became the key and naturally attracted attention. However, many people wanted to show off, but no one took the lead in taking action.

  Ming Yuan first glanced around, then also cast his gaze towards Zhao Wen. At this moment, Zhao Wen's expression was calm and unruffled, with a self-satisfied look, as if he were not affected by external things.

  Old fox. Mingyuan silently cursed in his heart, if the Zhao family still had anyone who could be brought out, it would only be this person.

  Mingyuan's goal was to get close to the Zhao family, and he really couldn't delay any longer. He gritted his teeth, lifted his feet, and walked towards Zhao Wen.

  Mingyuan's actions instantly caused a reaction among the many officials, and one by one, their gazes shot towards Mingyuan.

  Ming Yuan's face was also thick enough, and he came to Zhao Wen's side with a calm and composed expression under the gaze of the crowd. He raised his fist and said, "It's been many days since we last met, General Zhao is still as majestic as ever."

  The Zhao family's power has waned, and Zhao Wen is also idle at home, having not attended court for many days. Ming Yuan hasn't seen Zhao Wen in a long time either.

  "Marquis Ming is still as elegant as ever." Zhao Wen couldn't help but know what was on Ming Yuan's mind, turned his head to look at Ming Yuan and said calmly.

  "The older I get, the more I feel inferior to General Zhao's carefree life at home, and the younger he becomes. Ming Yuan sighed and said with a hint of implication: "Alas, General Zhao is indeed carefree and content at home, envied by others. However, some people just won't let the general have peace of mind, leading to today's disaster."

  "Hmm."

  A cold snort sounded, and everyone knew without looking that it was Chancellor Deng Kuang. Mingyuan's words were hinting at something, wasn't he pointing at the people from Deng Kuang's faction who were stirring up trouble?

  Ming Yuan didn't take Deng Kuang's cold hum to heart, and with a fake smile, he turned his head to glance at Deng Kuang, openly showing contempt and hostility.

  He then turned back and rushed to Zhao Wen, saying: "Ah, the great prince is really pitiful. The eldest son of the great Zhou Kingdom, was bitten by a poisonous snake, so that he couldn't move his legs, it's heart-wrenching."

  In Mingyuan's words, it was even more naked.

  Deng Kuang's face was originally not good-looking, and at this moment it was even more iron-blue. But he also knew in his heart what Ming Yuan was up to, the angrier he became, the more he seemed to be at odds with Ming Yuan.

  This way, Zhao Wen had a good impression of Ming Yuan, and this situation was greatly different.

  Then, Deng Kuang took a deep breath and suppressed the annoyance in his heart. He began to look at the palace gate with an expressionless face, as if the patterns on the gate were quite good-looking.

  Mingyuan saw Deng Kuang but didn't pay attention to him, nor did he want to sing a duet with him, and he didn't think it was boring. He continued: "Alas, since the queen disappeared, this palace has been in chaos, and the court is also in chaos, the Zhou kingdom is in chaos! Now that the king's eldest son has lost a leg, the signs of chaos have begun to appear. We old ministers are really worried."

  Mingyuan seems to be worried about the country, but secretly points out that the queen's disappearance is related to the evil spirits in the palace. Who is it? Deng Guifei.

  Mingyuan brought up the disappearance of Queen Wang, but Zhao Wen's expression didn't change. What happened that year, he also didn't know. The disappearance of Queen Wang was indeed intriguing, but it shouldn't be Empress Deng, because at that time Empress Deng didn't have the guts to do such a thing. So Mingyuan was just slandering and framing her.

  Mingyuan's expression became somewhat awkward, one after another provocative method had been used in the past, but none of them could ignite the old fox's anger, and it seemed that this play was about to come to an end. But just at this moment, reinforcements arrived.

  "Marquis Ming said it well, this queen's disappearance is indeed strange, and the eldest son was crippled by someone. This matter is highly suspicious, there must be a demon causing trouble in the midst. I've heard that in ancient times, demons often bewitched kings, leading to the downfall of nations. It's something we cannot ignore."

  His voice was loud and clear, and everyone involuntarily turned their heads to look at the current Marshal of the Imperial Guard, Guan Xing. They saw that Guan Xing's face was full of righteousness and dignity, with a very worried expression for the country and its people.

  Although Guan Xing is not as cunning as Ming Yuan, he plans to use the Zhao family as cannon fodder. However, Guan Xing also knows that winning over the Zhao family and joining forces with them to attack Deng Kuang would be a good idea.

  First eliminate Wang's second son Zhoufeng, this is the way of the king.

  This old man is a cunning and treacherous person, speaking in a roundabout way. However, this manager is straightforward, and his words are indeed unpleasant to hear.

  Deng Kuang couldn't help but speak up, he took a deep breath and sneered: "Guan Tianji is joking, this vast and peaceful world, the four seas are calm. How could there be any evil spirits causing chaos?"

  "If you want to keep it a secret, don't do it yourself. What's the point of Deng Chengxiang pretending to be so serious?" Guan Xing retorted with a cold smile, not giving Deng Kuang any face at all.

  "Hmph, Deng Xiong, don't be too arrogant." Deng Xiong's eyes glared, his voice cold.

  "Watching Deng Chengxiang's actions, even if I were to be as arrogant as possible, it would still be impossible for me to compare to him." Guan Xing said with a cold smile, unwilling to show weakness.

  "Let's fight!" The moment he finished speaking, Ming Yuan had already quietly retreated outside the battle circle, a smile in his heart, and his old spirit was stirred up again.

  Then a good show began, and Chancellor Deng Kuang and General-in-Chief Guan Xing launched a fierce attack on each other, with swords drawn.

  "This group of people is really too arrogant, they are willing to do whatever it takes to get the prince's position, even if it means losing face." Xiao Yun's face turned iron-green with rage.

  Xiao Yungang was fierce and unyielding, but that didn't mean he lacked strategy. At this moment, seeing the development of the situation, Mingyuan stirred up trouble, Deng Kuang joined in, and Guan Xing entered the battlefield, forming alliances and pacts, not putting Wang Changzi in their sights, truly detestable.

  Zhao Deng clenched his fists tightly, his eyes blazing with fury.

  "Alas." Zhao Wen sighed, helpless. It was their incompetence that failed to protect Jian Er's safety, resulting in his leg being broken, and they ended up becoming the scapegoat.

  They can use you if they want to, pull you in if they want to, or crush you if they want to. Sigh.

  "Ouch."

  Just then, amidst the noise and commotion, the tightly closed palace gates creaked open. In an instant, Guan Xing and Deng Kuang, who had been arguing heatedly, immediately shut their mouths and became solemn in expression.

  Mingyuan also retreated into his own column, with a solemn expression on his face.

  A moment later, under everyone's gaze, an imperial eunuch walked out from the palace gate, raised his head and shouted in a sharp voice, "All officials enter the palace."

  In an instant, all the civil and military officials lined up in a neat queue and entered the palace, as if nothing had happened earlier.

  But many people know that things have reached a boiling point, and all three parties are now openly quarreling.

  Just now, Mingyuan, Guanheng and Dengkuang's attitudes have already been very clear.

  Deng Kuang and Zhao Wen are at odds, Guan Xing wants to use Zhao Wen, Ming Yuan wants to win over Zhao Wen. The three forces have already made their moves for the position of Crown Prince.

  In the imperial court, they will collide with each other, and it will be even more intense.

  Wang's second son Zhou Feng, Wang's third son Zhou Chong, and Wang's fourth son Zhou Fei all relied on the help of these external relatives to have their own opportunities.

  Everyone was thinking of the three people, but unfortunately, Zhou Jian was forgotten.

  No one suspected that Zhou Jian's broken leg was fake, so no one thought Zhou Jian had a chance.

  ..............

  I recommend a book by Sanqi's good brother, it's very interesting. "Seeking Death" Book number 2472829.

  Born with a golden key, Zhao Zongyang had an illustrious status, extraordinary talent, and even a fiancée who was like a heavenly immortal... but all of this brought him endless suffering.

  After having a mysterious and unpredictable fate wheel in his body, he embarked on a miraculous path of the strong. But his original intention for fighting desperately to death was not to live longer, live better, but just for ——

  Defy heaven and change fate, just seeking one death!!

  Seeking Death