Inside the Qinhua Palace.

The dinner is ready.

At this time, it was already the time of the year, and the civil and military officials and the ministers of the king and grandson all came to the main hall.

The theme of this banquet is a blessing banquet for His Majesty's well-being, so no one dares to refuse. When the dinner begins, everyone will take their seats.

In the middle of the hall, beautiful dancers perform wonderful songs and dances.

The officials talked to each other, waiting for the arrival of the emperor, and secretly exchanged glances.

The seemingly lively banquet is permeated with an inexplicable depression.

The concubine Niangniang was already sitting on the side seat, wearing a lilac palace dress, which was delicate and unparalleled, attracting many officials to peep secretly.

On the opposite side, the eldest prince sat quietly.

He had no guards around him except a maid who was pouring wine.

On the other side, the second prince Xue Dongjie and his younger brother the second prince sat together, chatting casually, their eyes occasionally looking at the guards outside the palace gate, waiting with peace of mind.

The atmosphere was lively, yet tense.

"The emperor has arrived—"

With the slender voice of the eunuch, the majestic Emperor Qiming, wearing a dragon robe, slowly came to the main seat with the support of the master.

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

"Long live my father, long live, long live!"

“......”

The ministers knelt on the ground one after another, including the three princes and the noble concubine.

It's just that when the concubine was kneeling, her brows frowned slightly, and a little pain appeared on her delicate face, and it seemed that the injuries on her body had not healed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, be flat. ”

Emperor Qiming said lightly.

"Emperor Xie!"

The ministers got up, sat down in their seats, and fell silent.

The dancers quietly retreated.

"If it weren't for Jie'er's friend's healing, I'm afraid that the person sitting in front of you would have been someone else now. ”

Emperor Qiming said slowly.

In the main hall, the atmosphere added a little more depressing, and everyone didn't even dare to take a breath, and they were all listening to the emperor's speech quietly.

"This catastrophe of life and death has made me understand some things, and some things, when they are constantly interrupted, they will be in chaos, so the matter of the prince should be concluded. ”

Hearing this, the ministers of civil and military affairs were all suffocated.

No one expected that the emperor didn't even bother to say some polite words, and went straight to the point.

The concubine Niangniang's jade hands tightly grasped the dress, her palms were full of fine sweat, and her phoenix eyes glanced at the eldest prince from time to time, and her eyes were full of worry.

The eldest prince looked calm and drank the wine silently.

"Jer, come to your father's side. ”

Emperor Qiming beckoned.

Seeing the emperor's move, the ministers no longer had any doubts in their hearts, and their faces changed one by one, knowing that the emperor was going to announce the crown prince.

Xue Dongjie stepped forward and sat beside the emperor.

"Your Majesty, the minister has a book to play!"

At that moment, one of the ministers suddenly got up.

Without waiting for the emperor to speak, he raised his voice and said: "Weichen wants to report the second prince! In the early month of last year, the subordinates of the second prince got drunk and made trouble in the Tianfu Restaurant, and set fire to the restaurant, causing seven deaths and three injuries!"

However, the second prince connived at the prisoners, did not allow the government to arrest them, and injured several guards, please allow Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

At this time, another minister also stood up:

"Your Majesty, the minister also has this play!"

"Three years ago, on the shore of Hongyu Lake, the second prince forcibly snatched the people's fishing boats and went out of the lake to play, causing several families to be separated and their families to be destroyed!

"Your Majesty, the minister also has this play!"

"When His Majesty fell ill before, the second prince forcibly broke into the palace and killed the chief of the guard, ignoring the law of the country, and should be convicted!"

"Your Majesty......"

The ministers rose up one after another, all of them were aimed at the second prince Xue Dongjie without exception.

And these things are said to be true on the surface, but when they are investigated carefully, they are another truth, but they don't care.

They had only one purpose, to prevent the emperor from announcing that Xue Dongjie would become the crown prince!

In the face of the impassioned rebuke of the ministers, Xue Dongjie's face was pale, but he did not say a word, nor did he defend himself.

It's useless to argue at this time.

The emperor was expressionless, quietly listening to the ministers' reports against the second prince, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

After the last minister finished speaking, Emperor Qiming looked around, and there was a smile on the corner of his lips: "Have you finished speaking?" ”

The hall was silent, and no one spoke.

"Come on, take all these people down!" the emperor suddenly snorted.

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

The ministers who reported the second prince were dumbfounded, they didn't expect the emperor to be so tough today, and before he could react, he was forcibly taken down by the guards.

Of course, these courtiers are just the first batch of cannon fodder.

The important ministers who supported the eldest prince always sat in their seats and did not say a word, as if they had nothing to do with themselves.

The air was breathless.

Emperor Qiming looked at a confidant minister and said lightly: "Dong Aiqing, if I want to set up a certain prince as the crown prince, what should I do first?"

"Your Majesty, drink the Sacred Heart Wine, and pray that the next generation of princes will be supreme kings!"

The minister said in a deep voice.

Emperor Qiming nodded and looked at the second prince next to him: "Jie'er, pour the bar." ”

"Yes, Father!"

Xue Dongjie got up, picked up the wine jug on the table, and carefully poured a glass of wine.

The wine, the utensils, the tables, and the blankets on the floor have been carefully examined countless times, and no one will be given the opportunity to be poisoned.

What's more, there is a top master like Master Yu next to him, and the slightest fluctuation in the air can be detected.

Emperor Qiming picked up the wine glass, got up and raised it to the sky, and said in a deep voice:

"God bless me in the Wind and Thunder Country! God bless me in the Xue Clan! Give me the Sacred Heart, protect my country, and the prince will follow the path of heaven and obey the mandate of heaven!!"

After speaking, Emperor Qiming drank it all in one gulp.

Crash!

The glass slammed into the table, shattering.

Emperor Qiming took a deep breath and said slowly: "Although I have recovered, I am physically and mentally exhausted, and I need to have a companion to share my energy, so I will take this banquet to announce to the world that the position of the crown prince——"

Emperor Qiming's voice suddenly stopped.

He stood dumbfounded, his arms still raised, but he stood still in front of the table like a sculpture, his eyes slowly bulging, and his face gradually climbed into a layer of flush.

The ministers were still listening.

Seeing that the emperor suddenly did not speak, they were all strange, and when they looked up, they saw that the emperor was just standing.

Master Yu was the first to sense that something was wrong, and hurriedly stepped forward.

At this time, Emperor Qiming's seven orifices began to bleed, and in Xue Dongjie's shocked and dazed eyes, he slowly fell down.

"Alcohol is poisonous!!"

Master Yu picked up a piece of wine glass fragment on the table, glanced at it, and his expression changed greatly.

In the main hall, the sound of commotion was instantly plunged.

Some ministers shouted in panic, no one expected such a thing to happen, and they were all at a loss.

"Father!!"

Xue Dongjie pounced.

Emperor Qiming's body trembled, black blood kept overflowing from his mouth, grabbed Xue Dongjie's arm, tried his best, and squeezed out two words from his throat:

"Quick...... Let's go!"

With that, the head hung down and disappeared from life.

At this time, the concubine Niangniang fell to the ground and wailed loudly: "The second prince has killed his father!!"