NFBE Chapter 465 The Palace Coup of the Great Liang Dynasty
Chapter 465 The Palace Coup of the Great Liang Dynasty
In the dead of night, the palace walls stood imposingly.
The third prince, dressed in black, couldn't suppress his excitement, which became even more blatant in the lamplight.
He turned and glanced at Li Yingcheng, who was standing behind him with his head down, and said in a cold voice, "You know what to say later, right? I don't need to remind you again."
Li Yingcheng trembled all over, "No, I dare not... I remember everything."
"That's good."
The Third Prince sneered, his eyes flashing with excitement.
He didn't want to wait any longer; he didn't want to wait even a second longer!
He couldn't wait to see Meng Ze's home be ransacked!
That old bastard fought with him for so long, but in the end he still got defeated!
Before long, a faint yet authoritative voice came from inside the hall.
"Let them in."
The Third Prince rushed into the Golden Palace without waiting, with Li Yingcheng following behind him trembling with fear.
The room was filled with the strong aroma of medicine, and the small palace lanterns illuminated Emperor Liang's thin and sallow face.
He leaned against the couch, his eyes sunken.
"What is it?" His voice was hoarse, dry and cracked like an old bell.
The Third Prince stepped forward, cupped his hands, and bowed. "Your Majesty, I have discovered something extremely important!"
His gaze shifted to Li Yingcheng, sharp as a knife: "Li Yingcheng, you tell me yourself."
Li Yingcheng knelt down with a thud. "Your Majesty, I have seen Meng Ze in the Great Jin Dynasty. He is not from the Great Liang Dynasty. He is the eldest son of the Great Jin Dynasty who went missing years ago... Gao Qiyuan!"
Emperor Liang suddenly opened his half-closed eyes, and a chill swept into the palace.
The Third Prince seized the opportunity: "Father, Xie Yanli is currently the most powerful minister in the Great Jin Dynasty. He is the son of Meng Ze!"
"Our prime minister of Liang is actually a spy planted in Liang by the Great Jin!"
Emperor Liang remained silent, staring intently at Li Yingcheng.
After a long while, he leaned back on the couch, his gaze cold and indifferent.
At the same moment, the night wind quietly turned cold, and shadows silently spread around the palace.
Beneath the city walls, beside the secret passages, and between the corner towers, groups of men in black silently took their positions, their shadows intertwined like ink, without the glint of blades, yet their killing intent was chilling.
The Imperial Guards sensed something was amiss during their changing of the guard, but it was too late.
The torches at several sentry posts suddenly went out, and the guards fell silent, with only the cold wind whipping up their clothes.
The entire imperial city was silently surrounded.
Inside the Jinluan Hall.
The doors of the main hall slowly closed, and the Third Prince's ears twitched slightly as he turned to look at the doors.
But he didn't care and stood in the hall with a face full of excitement.
"Father, this man is cunning and harbors treacherous intentions!"
"These traitors deserve to be executed!" His voice rose. "Your Majesty, I implore you to issue an edict to proclaim this to the world and restore peace and order to our Great Liang!"
Emperor Liang listened quietly, expressionless, and after a long while, he slowly nodded.
“You’re right,” he said calmly. “This Meng Ze truly deserves to die.”
The Third Prince's eyes lit up, and a smile almost formed on his lips.
But in the next instant, he was interrupted by a deep voice.
“However…” Emperor Liang suddenly paused, a cold smile slowly rising on his lips, “you deserve to die too.”
The smile on the third prince's face froze, and he suddenly looked up, "Father?"
Emperor Liang slowly rose to his feet, his tone chilling, "Father? Ha, I am not your father."
The Third Prince's pupils contracted sharply as he saw the person in front of him suddenly stand up, his previously haggard figure instantly straightening.
He then raised his hand and peeled off a human skin mask as thin as a cicada's wing.
The face beneath the mask was very familiar.
A mole between his eyebrows! He's Zhang Tianshi!
The third prince was struck dumb, staggering backward, his voice trembling, "Master Zhang?! How could you..."
"Where is Father? Where did Father go? Who are you? Who is behind you?!"
Zhang Tianshi looked at him calmly and took a step forward slowly. "Haven't you been investigating Meng Ze all along?"
"The person behind me is Meng Ze."
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince was struck as if by a heavy blow, his face turning deathly pale.
He instinctively turned his head, pleading for help: "Someone! Protect me!"
But before he could say anything, he realized something was wrong.
The palace doors were already closed, and there were only two guards inside; they were undoubtedly his men.
The Third Prince's pupils constricted. "You...you planned this all along?"
Zhang Tianshi smiled coldly, "Issue my imperial decree: the Third Prince Li Hao is wicked and has colluded with treacherous officials, intending to usurp the throne. The evidence is conclusive. He is to be executed immediately, without exception!"
"Yes." A voice responded from the shadows and stepped out.
The third prince's face was deathly pale, and his legs could barely support him: "No, no... I am a prince, you can't, you can't kill me!"
Before he could finish speaking, a blade flashed.
The smell of blood quickly filled the air.
The bodies of the Third Prince and Li Yingcheng lay across the front of the hall, their eyes still open.
Zhang Tianshi then raised his hand and quickly pressed the human skin mask back onto his face, restoring him to the appearance of "Emperor Liang".
But before his hand could fall off the mask, the palace door was kicked open from the outside with a loud bang!
"boom--!"
The next moment, a figure slowly walked into the hall, his gaze sharp.
It was Li Wuyang.
He was dressed in a black robe stained with blood, followed closely by several menacing assassins.
His gaze swept across the scene, first landing on the corpse on the ground, and he raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Why did my third brother die so young?
It's a real shame I didn't kill him.
Immediately afterwards, Li Wuyang's gaze fell on Emperor Liang in front of him, and he gave a cold smile.
Zhang Tianshi's heart skipped a beat.
No, that's not right. Hasn't the palace already been taken over by their people?
How could Li Wuyang barge in like this?
Is it...
Zhang Tianshi felt a chill in his heart, but he still instinctively shouted, "Guards! Protect the Emperor! Protect him..."
"Protect the emperor?" Li Wuyang scoffed, interrupting him.
"Who are you trying to call? The Imperial Guards? The Feathered Forest Army? Or your secret agents?"
He laughed, a chilling laugh, "They've all been killed by me."
Before Zhang Tianshi could utter a second shout, Li Wuyang had already approached like a ghost.
A long sword with a chilling gleam suddenly appeared from its sheath!
"puff--!"
The sharp blade pierced through flesh and blood, a sword through the heart, without hesitation.
Zhang Tianshi coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Li Wuyang looked down at him, her eyes cold as ice.
Seemingly by chance, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and noticed a very subtle, unnatural crease at the collar of Zhang Tianshi's clothes.
The skin edges were slightly darker in color, resembling stitches.
His gaze darkened, and he calmly reached out and peeled back the thin layer of skin...
"hiss--"
Once the thin skin was peeled off, a grim and aged face was revealed.
It wasn't Emperor Liang, but Zhang Tianshi!
Li Wuyang paused for a moment, then slowly curled his lips into a faint smile.
Ah.
The real father, the fake father... they're all the same.
Soon, the entire palace was thoroughly cleaned up.