Sitting on the dragon throne, Murong Yan clenched his fists, his gaze cold and grim…

Although Ninth Uncle had already sent word ahead, warning him to be careful of the imperial clan relatives and he had made preparations, when he saw his mother appear outside the golden hall and understood… that his mother had chosen to stand with these clan relatives, his heart still inevitably ached, like being stung viciously by a poisonous wasp.

After his mother arrived at the imperial palace, he gave deadly orders to the soldiers guarding the palace and the hidden guards: if the Yan Empress Dowager forcibly left the palace without the Regent Prince’s order or royal command, and they couldn’t stop her, then… kill her!

The Yan Empress Dowager was his birth mother. Unless absolutely necessary, Murong Li was unwilling to take this step.

He had also instructed Wang Jiuzhou to inform his mother that leaving the palace meant death, hoping she would cultivate herself from then on and cause no more trouble.

But now, his mother appeared outside the golden hall when the imperial clan relatives thought they had control of the Imperial Guards. This meant… the Imperial Guards he had arranged had either rebelled or been killed!

As for the hidden guards he had secretly arranged, they would never betray him, so they could only have been… all killed!

His Imperial Guard commander had already been killed. If his guess was correct, the Great Zhou envoy to Yan had probably also been killed. Perhaps these imperial clan relatives would even disguise it as… the Great Zhou envoy having received advance notice of Great Zhou’s treacherous plan to attack Yan Country and had already fled, to deceive him.

The imperial clan relatives of the Murong descendants had deep foundations. It seemed they had made their final desperate gamble, deploying all the death warriors and private soldiers they had been nurturing for years.

Among the imperial clan relatives, the more influential ones saw the Empress Dowager standing at the entrance, and all looked toward the eldest among the clan relatives… Murong Li’s grand-uncle.

Someone quietly slipped in from a secluded area, whispered something to Murong Li’s grand-uncle, then retreated to the side. The grand-uncle immediately widened his eyes and hastily led the others in kneeling at the entrance to welcome the Empress Dowager, calling out loudly, “His Majesty is young and has been bewitched by the Yan Country traitor Murong Yan. We request the Empress Dowager to resume governing.”

The imperial clan relatives had originally always stood on the emperor’s side.

But now, the Empress Dowager had already produced evidence of Murong Yan’s treason, producing ironclad written proof that Murong Yan had once been Xiao Rongyan. Yet the emperor was still determined to protect Murong Yan to the end. Seeing the emperor’s such trust in Murong Yan, how could the imperial clan relatives not be afraid?

Who among them didn’t fear that if they stood in opposition to Regent Prince Murong Yan, when it came to life-and-death struggles, the emperor… would still abandon them.

So, in the clan relatives’ view, rather than this, it would be better to have someone else take power, such as the weak-natured First Prince, who would be very suitable. But before that… the Empress Dowager needed to govern!

Because the Empress Dowager’s goals aligned with those of these imperial clan relatives, all wanted to kill Regent Prince Murong Yan, and all refused to acknowledge the national wager.

The feudal princes had already risen in rebellion, taking action to kill the Regent Prince and the Great Zhou Emperor. They all wanted to use this opportunity to overturn the national wager, but the emperor said the Xiping battle report didn’t explain the cause of the war, clearly still harboring illusions about the national wager. This was something these imperial clan relatives could not accept.

Yan Country was weaker than the Great Zhou, so the possibility of winning the national wager… was extremely slim.

Therefore, the imperial clan relatives decided to request the Empress Dowager’s return to take charge of the overall situation. No matter what, they absolutely couldn’t let the emperor send envoys to seek peace and inquire about the reasons. If so, Prince Xiping would have died in vain, and the young emperor might personally apologize, after which the national wager would continue.

The Empress Dowager’s face was pale, but her appearance was impeccable. However, her fingernails were filled with dried blood that she hadn’t had time to wash clean. Behind her came the sounds of armor and swords clashing, along with screams…

The court ministers were all silent as cicadas in winter.

Hearing these sounds of killing, what didn’t they understand? A palace coup was probably happening.

Wang Jiuzhou, standing beside Murong Li with lowered brows and submissive eyes, glanced toward a young eunuch below the high platform where the emperor sat and made a gesture. The young eunuch nodded and slipped away before the Imperial Guards escorting the Yan Empress Dowager could control the rear palace.

The Empress Dowager felt that her son A’Li was still too soft-hearted. He thought that these imperial clan relatives were, after all, Murong family blood. While Xiao Rongyan killed in front, A’Li appeased from behind, entrusting them with important positions, thinking… this way he could win over these imperial clan relatives. But he didn’t know that human greed was insatiable.

Indeed, after Xiao Rongyan’s killings, Murong Li had selected some clan relatives for important positions, which did win over the imperial clan relatives’ hearts. At least between the Regent Prince and Murong Li, the imperial clan relatives now had no choice but to stand on Murong Li’s side.

Therefore, the Yan Empress Dowager hoped that today, even if it meant forcing Murong Li, she would make him come to his senses. As long as he abandoned Xiao Rongyan, the imperial clan relatives would still respectfully honor him as king.

The Yan Empress Dowager tightened her palm, looking at her son’s cold and chilling gaze. She forced herself to extend her hand, letting the young eunuch beside her support her as she stepped into the golden hall. Enduring the pain that tore at her wounds with each step, she walked inward while speaking calmly, “Then speak up. What exactly is the reason… for so urgently requesting this dowager’s return from the imperial palace?”

The imperial clan relatives and court ministers knelt without rising, crawling on their knees while always facing the Empress Dowager in kowtow. Some clan relatives even crawled forward on their knees, following behind the Empress Dowager and calling out loudly, “In response to the Empress Dowager, yesterday the Yangquan Prefect sent news that when the national traitor Murong Yan passed through Yangquan, he somehow bewitched the Yangquan garrison commander. The commander took it upon himself to let the national traitor Murong Ping take away the Yangquan garrison! The prefect said the Yangquan garrison general was once a subordinate of General Xie Xun, but His Majesty suppressed this news… Yesterday, he did not discuss it with the ministers during morning court, nor did he call for a private consultation with the court ministers! We ministers were worried that the national traitor Murong Yan had deeply bewitched His Majesty, so we sent people to request the Empress Dowager!”

Murong Li gripped the dragon throne’s armrest, thinking of how the Imperial Guard commander he had appointed had died at home last night. He looked toward the Imperial Guards protecting outside the golden hall and saw the Imperial Guard commanders who had come with the Empress Dowager sheathing their bloodied swords—all unfamiliar faces…

It seemed that not only had he prepared early, but these clan relatives had also prepared early.

The Empress Dowager had already been helped up to the high platform by the young eunuch. She glanced at Murong Li sitting on the dragon throne, then turned to look at the imperial clan relatives.

“Empress Dowager, when you went to the imperial palace to recuperate, you said this Murong Yan was Xiao Rongyan, the imperial consort of the Great Zhou Emperor!” An imperial clan relative glanced at Murong Li, then continued, “This time… the battle report from Xiping also states that it was Murong Yan who, during the battle between the two armies, captured Prince Xiping’s family members and killed Prince Xiping’s second and third sons as well as the Crown Prince’s consort, which caused the Xiping army’s defeat! The military report states this clearly, but when we ministers entered the palace before morning court, His Majesty said… the cause of this war was unclear, and the Regent Prince must have had his reasons for acting as he did.”