Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 734 - 607: Deciding a Winner (Great Climax - , Requesting Monthly Tickets)_3

Chapter 734: Chapter 607: Deciding a Winner (Great Climax Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)_3

Following a moment of surprise, Li Xuan collected himself and said, "Let’s check it out first."

When they reached the Chengtian Gate, indeed, great numbers of students kneeled on the stone slabs in front of the gate, exposed to the heavy rain. Around seven hundred Disciples were present, and many civil and military officials who were preparing to enter the court through the Chengtian Gate gathered on the side, either pointing and talking or discussing in hushed tones.

Li Xuan glanced over the students, then he rode his horse straight over, "Zhang Dan, what is it that you’re doing here?"

The ’Zhang Dan’ that Li Xuan referred to was one of his students at the Guozi Bureau. Given his magnanimity and generosity, he was quite influential among the students and considered their leader.

With that, a man stood up from the crowd, glanced at Li Xuan awkwardly, and bowed deeply to him, "Sir, we’re here to protest! The Emperor has no heir, and The Court lacks a successor. A succession of natural disasters and the ominous celestial sign of a comet offending the palace of Ziwei cannot be ignored. It’s clear that heaven is warning us. If The Court turns a blind eye, there will be a disaster."

"So, you want to force the court to make Prince Xiang the successor?"

Li Xuan asked coldly, then Zhang Dan remained silent, bowing deeply again. Li Xuan sighed quietly, his eyes grew colder, "Take your classmates and leave. Prince Xiang is not trustworthy and harbors wild ambitions. He is not fit to be the successor."

The students around who were protesting, were taken aback by his words. Some of them frowned severely, some looked perplexed, and some glared angrily at Li Xuan.

Zhang Dan was also stunned for a moment. He looked at Li Xuan, somewhat hesitantly, "I’ve heard rumors that the Marquis of Guanjun holds a longstanding grudge against Prince Xiang, is that why you don’t want him to succeed the throne?"

Li Xuan answered with a calm expression, "In your eyes, Zhang Dan, am I such a person who would harm the public for personal grievances?"

His gaze was fixed on Zhang Dan, "Can you trust me for just one day? There will be a result in the court today. If you still think that Prince Xiang can be the successor tomorrow, it’s never too late to protest."

Zhang Dan’s face turned pale white for a while before he bowed deeply, "As your disciple, I’ll obey. However, of all the students here, I can only persuade half of them at most to leave."

Li Xuan thought to himself, even if it’s only half, that’s quite good; it could save many talents for the court.

Then he rode his horse straight towards the Wu Gate.

Once he entered the Wu Gate, Li Xuan met with an anxious-looking Zuo Daoxing.

"Qianzhi!" Zuo Daoxing’s face was extremely distressed, "I just received a message, some court officials have conspired to attempt a rebellion today!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan pointed to the Jinshui Bridge nearby, "I’ve already seen it, it’s right there."

Indeed, in front of the five Jinshui Bridges leading to the Taihe Gate, various civil and military officials were boldly rallying their colleagues and forming factions, each based on the categories of the Six Ministries, Nine Temples, Five Supervisors, and Five Army Dudu Mansion.

Those who were called over had various expressions; some were pale, some were flushed, some were excited, and some were frightened and uneasy.

Zuo Daoxing’s eyes grew colder, "Prince Xiang seems to be aiming for the successor position; he wants to pressure the Emperor into submission."

Li Xuan chuckled lightly, "He must first get past me. Do not worry, he shall not succeed. By the way, later on, I have a few witnesses and pieces of evidence to be sent into the palace, you arrange for some reliable and capable people to bring them in."

Zuo Daoxing looked at him intently, the trust developed through their long-time cooperation eased his expression somewhat.

Just then, a stir came from not far away.

"Prince Xiang!"

"Long live Prince Xiang—"

"Long live the Prince—"

Amidst the wave of calls, Prince Xiang Yu Zhanshi, draped in a large cloak, strode valiantly forward.

As he passed Li Xuan, he paused slightly and glanced at him with a profound look, "Has there been any progress with your Golden Knife Case, Marquis of Guanjun?"

Li Xuan bowed slightly and responded succinctly, "Not yet!"

"That was what I assumed. Marquis of Guanjun has never genuinely investigated the case, so how could there be progress?"

Prince Xiang’s face darkened abruptly, and his voice turned as cold as ice, "I have been generous, but even a Buddha begets wrath. Li Xuan, you continue to accuse me baselessly, what’s the meaning of this? Until when will you be satisfied?"

As he said this, his voice thundered through the court, drawing the attention of all the court officials.

Then, Prince Xiang turned to Zuo Daoxing, "When will your Xiuyiwei release my daughter Yunhuang?"

Zuo Daoxing remained impassive and bowed slightly, "Princess Changning is implicated in the case of the attack on the Princess, and she has not yet been cleared of suspicion."

In fact, Yu Yunhuang’s stay or release was no longer up to him.

Yu Yunhuang was now the only leverage the Emperor had to damage Prince Xiang’s reputation. Why would he release her easily?

"Suspicion? Yet when we demand you to present concrete evidence, you have none."

Prince Xiang scoffed coldly and pointed a finger at Zuo Daoxing, "You’ve got another day. After a day, I demand to see Yunhuang. Otherwise, I will call upon all the royal clan members to present a joint petition, asking the Emperor to execute you, the treacherous villain!"

After he finished his words, he strode into the Taihe Palace.

Zuo Daoxing’s face turned even darker.

Afterwards, hundreds of officials proceeded to enter the palace. Due to the heavy rain, those officials ranked below the fifth rank didn’t stay in the square but lined the sides of the outer corridor of the palace.

Li Xuan noticed keenly that Wei Zhen, Xue Bai, and Quan Dingtian, stationed at the back, have been completely isolated.

The officials around them all kept a particular distance.

Later, the Jingtai Emperor also entered the palace and sat down on the throne.

He was obviously aware of the conspiracy of the court officials, and his aura was particularly cold.

Just after nine cracks of the whip, the chief butler of the Sili Bureau, Qian Long, uttered ’If there is anything officials need to discuss, speak up. If not, retreat.’ Immediately, there was a thunderous noise in the court. More than six hundred people left their positions, and knelt down on the golden bricks in the centre of the court.

The officials ranked below the fifth rank outside also moved into the rain one after another, kneeling down.

In unison, they thundered, "We hereby respectfully request your Majesty to abide by the heavenly signs and decree Prince Xiang as ’Regent Prince’, allow him to participate in politics in the inner court, and prepare him to be the nation’s successor."

The Emperor’s face instantly turned ashen. His piercing gaze shot at Prince Xiang. His hands gripped tightly onto the dragon chair’s armrests, veins bulging.

Meanwhile, high-ranking officials like Chen Xun, Gao Gu, Xiao Ci, and Shang Hong all wore somber expressions.

Prince Xiang wore a face full of unease and fear.

Then, Li Xuan stepped out, holding his token, and bowed towards Jingtai Emperor, "Your Majesty! I think the matter of decreeing the ’Regent Prince’ can be postponed. Before that, this humble servant has a case involving Prince Xiang that needs to be reported to Your Majesty!"