The Prince of Rui frowned and said in a deep voice, "Murong Wanlin, it's inappropriate for you to come and hinder the enthronement in front of the spiritual tablet during your father's funeral. If you have an imperial edict in your hand, show it to everyone! If it really says that the Ninth Prince shall ascend the throne, we'll have nothing to say. Anyway, a country cannot be without a ruler for a single day! Don't make a fuss here!"
Seeing the Prince of Rui protecting him, the Tenth Prince's complexion immediately improved a bit.
"Exactly!" Many people whispered and looked up at Wei Dongling on the glazed tile roof.
Wei Dongling nodded. Standing on the eaves, he shouted loudly in the direction of the palace gate, "Brother Nine! Hurry up with the imperial edict and come to ascend the throne! Uncle Rui also said that the throne cannot be left empty, and a country cannot be without a ruler for a single day!"
Hearing this, everyone turned their heads and looked towards the gate.
The Tenth Prince couldn't wait to look in that direction. His heart was filled with extreme panic. He was sure that his palm strike yesterday had made it impossible for Murong Yuchen to survive! Why could Murong Wanlin summon the Ninth Prince so confidently? Could she be just putting on a show?
Suddenly, the imperial guards guarding the gate were knocked down one by one. Then, Pin Hao escorted the "Ninth Prince" and walked slowly towards everyone.
Murong Yunqian was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out. Facing the surprised look from the Prince of Rui, he was also completely confused. The Ninth Prince had clearly been hit by his palm yesterday. How could he still be alive? Looking at the man's steady steps, he didn't seem to be seriously injured at all! How was this possible?
The man walked slowly. His face was clearly that of the Ninth Prince himself!
The Empress Dowager craned her neck and stared intently at the "Ninth Prince". Her eyes were almost swollen from crying in the past two days. Moreover, she had rarely seen the Ninth Prince in the palace before, so she didn't notice anything amiss.
But Eunuch Cao clearly felt something strange. This man resembled the Ninth Prince in some ways. They were both tall, but this man's figure was much more burly than the Ninth Prince's, and his face was much rounder! How could this be the Ninth Prince?
Murong Yunqian stepped forward like he had seen a ghost, pointed at the "Ninth Prince" and shouted angrily, "Who on earth are you pretending to be?!"
Pin Hao glanced at him, arched his hands and stepped forward, saying, "What's wrong, Your Highness the Tenth Prince? It hasn't been long since we last met. Why don't you recognize His Highness the Ninth Prince?"
Murong Yunqian was extremely shocked. Although he didn't know Pin Hao, he vaguely guessed that this man should have some influence in the army.
The "Ninth Prince" didn't answer. He looked at the coffin sadly. In front of everyone, he threw himself on it, pounding his chest and stamping his feet while wailing, "Father! Father! Why did you leave your child like this? Your child didn't even get to see you for the last time! Wuwuwu..."
Seeing this, the Empress Dowager couldn't help shedding tears. She quickly stepped forward to support him, calling out, "Yuchen! My good child! Let your imperial grandmother have a good look at you!"
The "Ninth Prince" knelt down with red eyes and choked with sobs, "Grandmother, your grandson misses you so much..."
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager was filled with grief and trembled all over. She quickly reached out her hand to help him up.
Seeing that the Empress Dowager couldn't tell the truth from the false, Murong Yunqian was suddenly flustered. He grabbed the Empress Dowager's hand and glared at the man kneeling on the ground, shouting angrily, "You're not Brother Nine! Who on earth are you? Hurry up and confess!" Then, he slapped the "Ninth Prince" kneeling on the ground fiercely.
All the court officials secretly thought it was bad. They had long known that the Ninth Prince was highly skilled in martial arts! In the early years, there were many experts around Queen Zhao. Even though this crazy Tenth Prince was locked in the Ten-Thousand Buddha Pagoda at that time, Queen Zhao had often sent people to secretly teach him carefully!
They were afraid that with this palm strike from the Tenth Prince, the Ninth Prince kneeling on the ground would either die or be seriously injured.
Wei Dongling didn't look panicked at all. Sitting on the tile roof, he leaned over and watched with great interest.
Only to see that the "Ninth Prince" didn't dodge. When the Tenth Prince's palm was about to touch his neck impatiently, he quickly leaned back and punched the Tenth Prince in the face with his backhand. This punch sent the unprepared Tenth Prince flying far away. He hit a pillar before stopping, spitting out fresh blood and a broken tooth.
Everyone was so shocked that their eyes almost popped out. The Ninth Prince's martial arts were actually so good? He really had been hiding his strength!
Eunuch Cao rushed to help Murong Yunqian who was leaning against the pillar, anxiously calling out, "Your Highness the Tenth Prince! Are you okay?" Eunuch Cao vaguely felt that the person in front of him was not His Highness the Ninth Prince. Even if it was really him, in front of the Prince of Rui and all the court officials who supported the Tenth Prince, the Ninth Prince couldn't stir up any waves.
So Eunuch Cao firmly stood on the side of the Tenth Prince. Seeing him fall, he pretended to step forward to help.
Murong Yunqian was caught off guard and was sent flying. His head hit the pillar and was buzzing. It took him a long time to regain consciousness.
He had been suspicious before. Could the man who fed ginseng soup to his father in front of the sickbed yesterday not be the Ninth Prince, and the one in front of him was the real one? But after being punched, he was more certain that the person in front of him was definitely not his useless elder brother! This person was obviously extremely skilled in martial arts. The force of this punch was so great that he was instantly sent flying without any defense. If it weren't for his years of martial arts training and good physical endurance, this punch would have killed or seriously injured anyone else.
This person could never be his elder brother, Murong Yuchen!
Murong Yunqian pushed away Eunuch Cao who came to help him and shouted hoarsely and angrily, "Who on earth are you! How dare you be so presumptuous? Guards, arrest him!"
All the imperial guards responded and surrounded the "Ninth Prince" in an orderly manner.
Luo Xunlong was tall, about the same height as the Ninth Prince, but much stronger. In order to fit into the Ninth Prince's clothes, Luo Xunlong was still holding his breath. The belt that Cui Huan tied for him was really too tight. When he made a move just now, he almost tore his robe open.
On Luo Xunlong's face was the makeup done by a group of women. Wei Dongling used the burnt charcoal to draw some shadows on his face. He didn't understand what it was for, but after it was done, everyone praised that he really resembled the Ninth Prince in some ways.
So he was forced to impersonate the Ninth Prince. Luo Xunlong always remembered Wei Dongling's instructions: talk less and cry more! So he had been holding back until now.
Well, seeing the Tenth Prince make a move to take his life, could Luo Xunlong, with his hot temper, bear it? He punched back and knocked out all of Murong Yunqian's silver teeth on the spot.
Seeing Murong Yuchen surrounded by the imperial guards, the Empress Dowager rushed forward and shouted, "All of you step back! Don't hurt my grandson!"
Luo Xunlong took out a scroll of imperial edict from his lapel and handed it to Pin Hao beside him. Pin Hao quickly held the imperial edict and carefully unfurled it. He walked in front of all the civil and military officials one by one for them to take a look.
Everyone immediately started discussing: The throne shall be passed on to the Ninth Prince, Murong Yuchen! This is really the handwriting of the late emperor!