Donghua glared hatefully at the man showing off in the distance, with a glint of fury in her eyes.
At this moment, Nangong Liuyun also noticed them. Then he said, "With such a huge fire, the emperor and the empress haven't managed to escape. It seems they're in great danger. You two servants, don't you want to accompany them in death?"
His words were so sarcastic that Donghua almost rushed over, but Ruyi grabbed her arm and shook her head at her. Then Ruyi said, "What are you talking about, Prime Minister? We're just palace servants. As for the emperor's situation, we're simply powerless."
His words sounded like those of a fence - sitter, but since there were all Nangong family members around the altar, they all agreed with him. Nangong Liuyun threw his head back and burst into laughter, shouting, "Good! A wise man submits to circumstances!"
By now, the fire on the altar had burned out. When people took a look, they only found one corpse, which belonged to a dead guard.
Everyone was a bit panicked at this sight and then began to whisper to each other, as if suspecting something.
Although Nangong Liuyun had his suspicions, he still thought that with such a big fire, anyone caught in it would surely not survive. Maybe the body had been burned to ashes.
Thinking of this, he waved his hand at the crowd to signal them to be quiet. Then he said, "My lords! The fire that descended on the altar is the fire from the gods. The emperor failed to cultivate himself and neglected state affairs, thus failing his duty as a ruler. That's why he was punished. His body has been taken away by the heavens!"
He spoke in a very convincing manner, relying on the fact that there were no more loyalists in the imperial mausoleum. The only General Lian had already been suppressed.
Sure enough, as he expected, as soon as he finished speaking, his words were echoed by the important officials below the altar. One of the officials suddenly shouted, "A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. Now that the emperor has passed away and has no heirs, we should recommend a worthy person to be the emperor!"
As soon as his words fell, another official immediately shouted, "When it comes to the candidate for the emperor, it should surely be Prime Minister Nangong!"
The crowd below was all flattering his words. Donghua beside them couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to say something, but then heard the man beside her whisper softly during the chaos, "Someone will come later."
Then they saw Nangong Liuyun step onto the altar and say, "Since all the ministers think highly of me, I naturally can't decline this responsibility. I'll be the emperor from now on!"
As soon as he finished speaking and was about to burst into laughter, he heard an angry shout from outside the altar.
"How dare you!"
This deep voice came from Prime Minister Dongfang.
She had long known that there was something strange about this sacrificial ceremony, but the emperor had ordered her to come later. When she just arrived, she clearly heard that the emperor and the empress had been caught in a fire on the altar and were now dead.
Hearing this, her heart skipped a beat. Then she immediately rushed over and just caught the sight of this man trying to usurp the throne.
When Nangong Liuyun saw the person coming, his face first showed a look of surprise and then relaxed. Then he said, "Who are you calling daring? Now I'm the emperor recommended by all the ministers, and you're just a prime minister. Why don't you kneel down and apologize quickly!"
He spoke arrogantly, his narrow eyes slightly squinted, with a strange sense of pleasure. After all, he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
But Prime Minister Dongfang didn't compromise at all. Facing the man's arrogance, she just snorted coldly and then said, "Nangong Liuyun, you treacherous official! The emperor will surely not let you go!"
"The emperor?" Nangong Liuyun mocked and asked rhetorically. Then he continued, "Now I'm the emperor. Your Dongfang family has been disloyal for a long time. It's just my mercy to give you a way out, but you don't appreciate it and are still so arrogant. Guards! Drag Prime Minister Dongfang out and behead him, and exterminate the nine generations of the Dongfang family!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man in front of him suddenly staggered. His heart sank like a stone. Then he heard his own voice, "Nangong Liuyun, you evil villain! The crime of regicide will be seen by the heavens. Even if you kill me, the truth won't change!"
Then he saw Nangong Liuyun wave his hand, and two guards came out from the side, ready to drag Prime Minister Dongfang away.
But at this moment, a sarcastic male voice came from outside the altar, "Let's see who dares to touch Prime Minister Dongfang!"
As soon as this voice came out, everyone was in an uproar because they all heard the male voice refer to himself as "I, the emperor"!
Hearing this, Nangong Liuyun immediately widened his eyes and looked outside, his heart pounding with great uneasiness.
Then he saw Helian Qi in a black robe, followed by Dongfang Yi, striding in.
Some people even rubbed their eyes hard, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Nangong Liuyun subconsciously took a few steps back and then stammered, "N...No way. You should have been burned to death in the fire. How could you come back?"
As he shouted loudly, a look of panic appeared on his face, and he subconsciously stepped down from the altar.
Helian Qi didn't care about his attitude at all. He just walked straight onto the altar, then turned around and looked coldly at everyone, saying, "My lords have really worked hard, staging such a scheme to kill me!"
After saying that, he slapped the table on the altar hard. Then a big hole appeared beside him. It was a secret passage.
When the fire started, he opened the secret passage in time, so he and Dongfang Yi weren't hurt at all. They also clearly watched him stage this play outside the altar.
When Nangong Liuyun saw this scene, his expression froze for a few seconds. Then he burst into laughter and said, "So what if you're not dead? Now I've been recommended as the emperor, and there are all my people in the imperial mausoleum. It's not difficult to kill you again."
Saying this, he waved his hand and shouted, "Guards! Drag this fake emperor out and behead him!"
But after he finished speaking, there was no one behind him. No one came.
Seeing this, he immediately turned around and shouted in despair, "Guards! Are you all dead?!"
On the altar, Helian Qi sneered and then whispered softly, "Come out."
Then Nangong Yunze walked out of the darkness and said to him, "Your humble servant welcomes the emperor!"