“Later, King Yi and the East Central General, as well as the North Central General, brought their men over to see what was happening. After a round of disagreements, conflict broke out. They were all killed by the regent,” the guard quickly said.
“What?” Zhao Si’s body grew unsteady and he almost fainted.
My dad died?
He was shocked and furious. “Bastard Zu, are you thinking of committing treason? I will definitely report this matter to the eight dukes and have them uphold justice!”
That guard then quickly added, “The eight dukes have already received news and made an appearance. The Grand Officer was… was also killed.”
Zhao Si was stunned. He asked, “What about the other dukes? Did they not say anything?”
The guard shook his head. “They seemed to exchange some words with the regent, and then they began to take care of restoring law and order to that place.”
“That’s it?” Zhao Si was in disbelief. Zu An had killed so many members of the royal family, and even one of the eight dukes had been killed, and yet the others just let it go?
“Yes, that’s it.” The guard nodded.
Zhao Si opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. Forget about him, everyone else had roughly the same expression. This information was just a bit too explosive.
“Zu An, you really are rebelling?” Bi Qi shouted what everyone else was thinking.
“The ones who have rebelled seem to be your Bi clan and King Yi, I believe. I am the honorable empress dowager, and yet I was chased all around by your people like a stray dog!” Liu Ning finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke up for Zu An.
Many guards in the Imperial Palace swallowed with difficulty. There were just too many shocking insider details being brought into the open today. They wondered if they would even live to see tomorrow.
“That is because your Liu clan was too bossy and didn’t treat his majesty with any respect. How many key positions in the civil and military departments were occupied by your people? At that point, was it the Zhao clan who ruled this empire, or your Liu clan?” Bi Qi retorted with a cold snort.
“Doesn’t the entire court belong to your Bi clan now? According to what you are saying, isn’t the Bi clan also committing treason?” Liu Ning stared coldly at him.
Bi Linglong was speechless.
Sis, that guy can’t represent our entire Bi clan, okay?
“What an annoying troublemaker. It was his majesty who personally declared your treason.” Bi Qi waved his sleeves. He clearly didn’t wish to argue this topic.
Zu An asked just then, “Oh? Then may I ask why his majesty committed treason?”
When they heard his question, everyone’s eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.
Bi Qi was even more worked up, exclaiming with an angry laugh, “What did you just say? Are you trying to overturn the order of the heavens?”
“This dynasty was established under the rule of filial piety. Filial piety is the national policy. The emperor’s natural mother is from the Liu clan, as well as the older sister of the current empress dowager, and yet he declared that the Liu clan rebelled, massacring the seniors of the Liu clan. He even sent people to chase down the current empress dowager. Someone as unfilial as this shakes the root of this dynasty. If that isn't treason, then what is it?”
Zhao Ruizhi clenched his teeth when he heard thaat. Unfortunately, he was currently playing the role of an idiot and couldn't really say anything. He could only continuously give Bi Qi looks.
Bi Qi shouted, “Ever since ancient times, when has a subject ever been allowed to criticize the ruler? You’ve killed so many members of the royal family today, and even dared to kill the prestigious Grand Officer. When we combine that with all of the princes and members of the eight dukes that you have killed, we can see that you have rapacious designs after all! You are trying to bring down this empire!”
When he heard that, Zhao Si shouted in agreement, “That’s right! This Zu guy had an illicit relationship with the empress in secret, and they have already plotted actively to rebel. Everyone had better listen up! Whomever follows him is a traitor and ought to have nine generations of their clans eradicated!”
“Illicit relationship…” Bi Linglong’s face turned pale when she heard that, and her body staggered backward.
Just then, Liu Ning shot over to Zhao Si’s side like a flash of lightning and smacked the back of his head with a palm strike.
Crack!
Zhao Si’s skull fractured, sending blood gushing out of his seven apertures. He died on the spot.
“Hmph, what nonsense. You actually dare to criticize the empress? You ought to have died ten thousand times over!”
She did so first and foremost for revenge. Back then, this guy had been one of the main perpetrators behind the political upheaval of the capital. The second reason was that, if she continued to let these scoundrels sway public opinion, it would be unfavorable to Ah Zu. As for Bi Qi and Zhao Ruizhi, she trusted that Zu An would ensure her safety.
Sure enough, when he saw what she did, Bi Qi’s body shook a bit. However, he gave Zu An a look and didn’t act. He could only protest, “You’re actually killing someone to silence them?”
“This empress dowager has already killed that person. What can you do about it?” Liu Ning returned to Zu An’s side and gave him a provocative look.
“You…” Bi Qi’s expression changed several times. The soldiers under his command immediately waned in morale.
Zu An chuckled. “Now that I think of it, which one of those alien monsters wasn’t aggressive and domineering, acting as if everyone else was trash and they had a right to conquer the world? The two of you have pushed this far, and yet don’t even dare to do a thing. You really are the shame of the alien monsters.”
Zhao Ruizhi couldn't hold himself back and shouted, “You’re only doing this to obtain Linglong! That’s why you’re framing us as alien monsters! Even though I’m not smart, I'm still the emperor! The emperor cannot be humiliated! Men, kill this traitor for me! Bastard Zu, if you have the skill, then come and kill me! History will remember you as a scoundrel who committed regicide!”
When they heard this solemn and stirring speech, many of the emperor’s soldiers directed their anger at their common enemy. Their eyes became fiery, and they shouted that they would protect the emperor to the end. There were still many people loyal to the emperor in the Zhou dynasty, which had already ruled this world for many years.
Zu An admired their courage. However, his expression remained extremely calm as he said, “We’ll know if they’re alien monsters once I capture them.”
As soon as he said that, he appeared in front of Zhao Ruizhi and grabbed toward the latter's face.