Chapter 0249: Twisted Postures Rising, Everyone Is an Acting Pro

The ministers “divided into two groups”—one followed behind Cao Que, the other behind Xie Shoujun.

Clearly, those behind Cao Que were the Crown Prince’s faction, while those behind Xie Shoujun were the Second Prince’s faction. They eyed each other warily, fearing that with one careless move, the two sides would clash again and injure themselves.

Neither the Crown Prince nor the Prince Regent was present, leaving everyone uncertain about the next steps.

“Empress, who actually won this palace coup?”

An elderly minister couldn’t suppress his doubts. He felt something was off, as if this coup wasn’t truly targeting the new emperor’s throne but had some other purpose.

Cao Qingran cast him a faint glance before turning her gaze to Xie Shoujun and speaking first, “Eldest Prince, supporting the Prince Regent is one thing, but do you truly have the heart to let the soldiers who fought and bled with you face charges of treason and the extermination of their nine clans?”

Xie Shoujun lifted his eyelids to look at her briefly before indifferently looking away. “Treason? What treason? This prince knows nothing of it.”

Cao Qingran: ?

Cao Qingran narrowed her eyes slightly, puzzled by Xie Shoujun’s words. If he meant that the Prince Regent possessed the imperial decree, making his support legitimate and not treasonous, then why had he mobilized elite troops without the military tally? Regardless of his intentions, this violated military law and deserved punishment.

As a prince, he might escape execution, but these loyal soldiers who had long followed him wouldn’t be so fortunate.

Moreover, from what she knew, Xie Shoujun cherished his soldiers like his own children. Why would he willingly implicate them? Was this a deliberately fabricated illusion, or…

As Cao Qingran pondered, she realized they had arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The bodies of the imperial guards lay strewn across the ground, blood splattered everywhere—a testament to the ferocity of the battle.

The sacrifice of so many lives for power struggles struck Cao Qingran as both tragic and inevitable, a recurring theme throughout history.

Just as she was about to order Cao Que to have the bodies cleared, she saw him step forward abruptly and call out to the corpses on the ground, “All of you, rise.”

Cao Qingran: ?

Bewildered, Cao Qingran watched as the imperial guards, who had seemed thoroughly dead, began to rise in twisted postures. They stretched their numb limbs and glanced around curiously, asking, “Is it over?”

Cao Qingran stared wide-eyed in astonishment and turned to Cao Que. “What is going on?”

The nearby ministers were equally stunned, pointing at the resurrected guards with trembling lips, unable to speak.

Was this… a resurrection of the dead?

“Reporting to the Empress, to eliminate Sheng Shihai, the Prince Regent dispatched Lord Shen to discuss with the Crown Prince and stage a fake palace coup,” Cao Que explained.

“The battle between the two armies was fabricated. To prevent Sheng Shihai from detecting the ruse over time, we deliberately had the Crown Prince retreat, with the Prince Regent ordering Sheng Shihai to pursue him. This was to lure Sheng Shihai away from the Hall of Mental Cultivation and conceal the fake battle.”

The imperial guards who came to act at the Hall of Mental Cultivation were all carefully selected by him and Shen Yuan. Though he didn’t know how Shen Yuan had identified Sheng Shihai’s spies among the guards, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the act had succeeded—deceiving Sheng Shihai and using the Crown Prince as bait to ambush and kill him.

As for those spies…

They had likely perished in the outer skirmishes. After all, they had secretly arranged for blood bags made from pig intestines to be placed on specific parts of the soldiers’ bodies to be punctured. If the enemy struck lethal blows elsewhere, they would not be allies and could be directly eliminated.

Moreover, he had specifically instructed his trusted aides to covertly eliminate these individuals, believing they had all been dealt with.

As for some unexpected sacrifices, they were unavoidable. Preserving the lives of the majority of the soldiers was, in Cao Que’s view, sufficient.

Jian’an’s troops were already scarce. According to the Prince Regent’s own words, “He would be heartbroken if even one soldier died.”

However, the moment Cao Que remembered that he had paid out of his own pocket for the pig intestines and pig blood, he resolved to demand reimbursement from the Crown Prince and the Prince Regent afterward.

After hearing Cao Que’s explanation, Cao Qingran couldn’t help but rub her temples. “I was completely kept in the dark.”

So, Xie Chengze had never intended to stage a palace coup. His goal, from beginning to end, was to eliminate Sheng Shihai.

The throne in his eyes…

Perhaps truly meant as little as a blade of grass.

Cao Qingran laughed mockingly. “What does it matter? The Emperor still gave the throne to him.”

“Your Majesty is mistaken.”

At that moment, Eunuch Zhao, who had remained unseen until now, slowly approached. He gave Cao Qingran a deep look before handing her the imperial edict he was holding.

“This humble servant will not read it aloud. Her Majesty the Empress may read it herself.”

Cao Qingran was momentarily stunned. She took the edict but, for some reason, suddenly lost the courage to open it.

Perhaps she already knew the answer in her heart, but it was both what she wanted and not what she wanted.

It might cruelly reveal that everything she had once believed was wrong.

How despicable she had been.

After a long while, she let out a soft sigh. Her fingertips brushed over the edict as she slowly unrolled it. When her gaze fell upon the familiar handwriting, her eyes trembled violently.

Her nails dug into her palms, unable to dispel the sorrow and regret in her heart.

He had never deceived her.

“Qingran, the only one fit to inherit the throne is Xie Jinyu.”

His words echoed in her ears, but she had never believed them.

The woman’s eyes reddened abruptly.

…

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Xie Chengze looked at Emperor Jian, whose lips had turned purple and showed no signs of life. He stepped forward, grasped the Emperor’s cold hand, and asked with a glimmer of hope, “Father, the treacherous official has been dealt with by your son. Please rise!”

Emperor Jian on the dragon bed remained silent. Xie Chengze then tickled the Emperor’s waist, trying to provoke a reaction. “Father! I know you’re not dead! Stop pretending—I’m not falling for this!”

The Emperor on the dragon bed still did not move. Xie Chengze’s body stiffened, and he forced a smile as he turned to Eunuch Zhao, who stood to the side behind him. “Eunuch Zhao, I know you’re all in on this trick. Fine, I’ve been fooled. Now, please make Father get up.”

Eunuch Zhao’s eyes were moist. “Second Prince, His Majesty… has truly passed away.”

“I don’t believe it. Don’t think I don’t know,” Xie Chengze shook his head, looking at Eunuch Zhao with an amused expression, though his own eyes were pitifully red, making his demeanor appear utterly absurd. “There must be a martial arts technique in the martial world that allows one to hold their breath for a long time—it’s called the ‘Turtle Breath Technique.’ Father was a martial artist. He must have used the Turtle Breath Technique to temporarily conceal his vitality, right?”

Eunuch Zhao wiped his tears and shook his head, gazing at him with tender affection. “Second Prince, His Majesty was no martial artist, nor did he know any turtle-breathing technique. I beg Your Highness to restrain your grief and not let sorrow consume your health.”

“Before his passing, His Majesty left instructions for this old servant to ensure Your Highness’s wellbeing. Though he couldn’t grant you the throne, he could give you a second chance at life…”

The Emperor had always cherished the Second Prince most dearly.

Xie Chengze’s lips trembled as if he wanted to say something more, but tears burst forth from his eyes first. Gazing upon Emperor Jian’s peaceful countenance in death, he finally broke down into heart-wrenching sobs. Clutching the Emperor’s hand, he cried out hoarsely, “Life! Life! Life! I don’t want any second chance at life! I only wanted you to live out your natural years!”

But Father…

Other fathers seek longevity, even grudging their sons their youth. Why were you so foolish, preserving the Life-Preserving Pill for me?

Won’t you wake up? From now on, if you want me to attend court, I’ll attend every day. If you want me to review memorials, I’ll review them. If you want me to reprimand any official, I’ll reprimand them for you. There are still so many curious things I haven’t told you about…

So please, won’t you wake up?

Watching Xie Chengze’s profound grief, Eunuch Zhao couldn’t hold back his own tears again.

The hall echoed with continuous weeping, the young man’s every sob seeming to tear from his very heart and lungs. Meanwhile, beyond the hall, the imperial guards who had narrowly escaped death cheerfully made plans to visit the tavern after their day off, celebrating their survival during the palace coup that accompanied the transition of power.

A single door separated all laughter from sorrow.

The guards gave thanks to the Prince Regent whose strategies had spared their lives, allowing fathers to remain with their sons and sons to keep their fathers. Unaware that the very man they were thanking…

Had just lost his own father.