met free Chapter 355 Song Siyao is back alive
Chapter 355 Song Siyao is back alive
Time passed second by second, each second feeling like an eternity.
Jiang Xiang glared at those who were cursing him and sternly rebuked them, "Shut up! Anyone who dares to utter another word will be killed on the spot!"
"Jiang Zhen, you are a wolf in sheep's clothing! The Qin state has long been destroyed. You are plotting to seize power. Even if you take that position, the people of the world will not submit to you!" Minister of Revenue Yan Bo'an pointed at Prime Minister Jiang and cursed him angrily.
"Hmph, according to Lord Yan, the Shen family seized the throne from our Xiao family, so the Shen family is also a traitor!" Prime Minister Jiang said coldly.
"How can these be compared? The fall of the previous dynasty was the will of the people and the expectation of all. At that time, the Qin emperor neglected state affairs, was obsessed with alchemy and the dream of immortality, listened to eunuchs, and allowed treacherous officials to be in power. The whole country was corrupt and the people were suffering."
Yan Bo'an spoke righteously, "Look at the Great Zhou now. The rivers are clear and the seas are calm. The people are prosperous and the world is at peace. This is the life that the people really want."
Seeing that Yan Bo'an had stepped forward, the other court officials followed suit.
Emperor Changlong was a benevolent and wise ruler, and there were still many people loyal to him.
"Yes, Lord Yan is right. The fall of the previous dynasty was inevitable. Jiang Zhen, if you continue to act willfully, you will only harm yourself!"
"Jiang Zhen, just surrender! The era of your Xiao family is long gone. Stop bringing disaster to the country and its people!"
"Jiang Zhen..."
……
Looking at these people's faces and listening to their accusations and insults, Jiang Xiang was filled with rage.
"Guards! Tell those who just insulted me to shut up!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Imperial Guards stepped forward and stabbed the man who had just cursed him.
He continued, "Anyone else disagree? Step forward and speak!"
The court officials were afraid and dared not speak again.
"Jiang Zhen, your men have been gone for so long, why hasn't the cannon you mentioned fired yet?" Emperor Changlong asked, trying to divert Jiang Zhen's attention.
Prime Minister Jiang also noticed something was wrong. According to the time calculation, the cannons should have already fired by now.
As soon as the cannons fire, at least part of the palace will collapse, which will surely intimidate everyone.
"Your Majesty, are you in such a hurry to go and die?"
Jiang Xiang attempted to use harsh words to cover up his guilty conscience.
"Even on the verge of death, you still don't know how to repent!" Emperor Changlong cursed.
"My lord, something terrible has happened! Someone has broken in!" A member of the Imperial Guard rushed in to report to Prime Minister Jiang.
"What's the panic? The entire capital is under my control now. If anyone outside rushes in, they're our people too. There's no need to panic!"
Jiang Xiang was confident and smug.
The Imperial Guard replied, "Sir, those who rushed in are not our men."
"Who is that?" Jiang Xiang asked.
"It's your great-aunt!" A sharp and domineering voice pierced the air and entered everyone's ears.
To intimidate the enemy and reassure the frightened crowd.
The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw Song Siyao, dressed in red and holding a sharp sword, walking quickly towards them.
"It's the Crown Princess!"
"The Crown Princess is not dead! The Crown Princess is back!"
"The Crown Princess is back! We're safe!"
……
Everyone looked at Song Siyao as if they had seen a savior, their faces beaming with joy.
Of course, except for Prime Minister Jiang.
Jiang Xiang reacted quickly, snatching a sword from a nearby imperial guard and holding it to Emperor Changlong's neck.
"Song Siyao, how could you not be dead?!" Prime Minister Jiang exclaimed in disbelief.
At first, General Chen wrote to him saying that Song Siyao had died.
Later, when General Chen secretly returned to the capital with his men, he confirmed once again that Song Siyao was dead.
He finally felt relieved.
Now that Song Siyao was standing alive in front of him, he naturally couldn't believe it.
"Since you're still alive, of course I, the Crown Princess, must live!" Song Siyao's eyes sharpened. "Jiang Zhen, you can't escape! Surrender now, and I might even leave you with a whole corpse!"
Jiang Xiang snorted coldly, "Song Siyao, if you dare to take a step forward, I will kill him immediately!"
"Jiang Zhen, do you think you can still escape? All those people outside the palace have been killed, and the Prime Minister's residence has been taken over. Now you are the only one left, and you only have one way out: death!" Song Siyao's voice was cold and full of killing intent.
"If I can't live, your master can't live either. Killing the emperor of the Great Zhou can be considered revenge for my Xiao family. In the afterlife, I can face my ancestors with a clear conscience!" Prime Minister Jiang roared.
He increased the pressure on his hand, and a bloody mark immediately appeared on Emperor Changlong's neck.
"Jiang Zhen!" Song Siyao shouted fiercely, "You dare to harm the Emperor! I will whip your Prime Minister's mansion ten thousand times and grind your bones to ashes!"
While Song Siyao was distracting Jiang Zhen, a hidden weapon struck Jiang Zhen's sword from the side.
With a clang, the sword fell to the ground.
Before Jiang Xiang could react, Song Siyao had already leaped forward and kicked him away.
"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue. Please forgive me!" Song Siyao said, bowing.
"Yaoyao, you're finally back." Emperor Changlong's eyes filled with tears, like an old father seeing his long-lost daughter.
"Your Majesty, your injury..." Song Siyao saw the bloodstains on Emperor Changlong's neck.
"This minor injury is nothing to worry about. Let's detoxify everyone first," said Emperor Changlong.
Song Siyao said to Consort Yue, who was closest to her, "Your Highness Consort Yue, let me take your pulse to see what kind of poison it is."
Consort Yue hesitated slightly, but still extended her hand. "Thank you, Crown Princess."
Song Siyao's hand landed on Consort Yue's wrist. A moment later, she took out a ceramic bottle from her sleeve, poured out a pill, and gave it to Consort Yue. "Consort Yue, take the antidote."
Then, she handed the ceramic bottle to Eunuch Wang, saying, "Eunuch Wang, dissolve the medicine inside in water and have the poisoned person drink a bowl of it to detoxify them."
"Yes, Your Highness," said Eunuch Wang.
Shen Pei knocked Jiang Xiang's sword away. After Song Siyao kicked Jiang Xiang away, he seized the opportunity to grab Jiang Xiang and forced him to kneel before Emperor Changlong.
"Kneel down!" Shen Pei cupped his hands and said to Emperor Changlong, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty. Your subject is late."
"Not too late, just right." Emperor Changlong said with a look of satisfaction.
Fortunately, he raised a good son, and his good son married a good daughter-in-law.
At this moment, Wei Xin entered and said, "Your Highness, the Imperial Guards have been brought under control."
"Jiang Zhen, your inside-outside collusion has failed!" Emperor Changlong said to Prime Minister Jiang, "Those who act justly gain widespread support, while those who act unjustly find themselves isolated. Your attempt to seize power against the will of the people was doomed to failure!"
Jiang Xiang sneered, "The victor is king, the loser is a bandit. Even if I fail to kill you today, I will haunt you as a ghost!"
"You have indiscriminately murdered important court officials, colluded with soldiers guarding the border, plunged the people into misery, and poisoned countless people. Your crimes are too numerous to count. I will make sure you can't even die a peaceful death!"