At that moment, Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun entered the Hall of Heavenly Harmony under the protection of a group of guards. Li Chenzhou secretly gloated. Whether she liked it or not, she had no choice but to stand with him today. He gave Shi Kuan, who stood behind her, a meaningful look that needed no words. Without the commander of the Golden Scale Guards acting as his inside man, how could he have taken control of the Imperial Palace so smoothly? Today's action was imperative. He could no longer afford to indulge Xue Daoming. If he missed this opportunity, he feared he would never again be able to check the man's rise.
Xue Lingjun approached the court and let out a quiet sigh. "His Majesty has only just gone north to ****. How did things come to this again?"
Li Chenzhou clasped his hands with feigned deference. "Your Highness, Xiang Liren conspired with Dong Bingkun and others to rebel. Fortunately, we discovered it in time."
Xue Lingjun nodded. "What audacity. Where are those traitors now?"
"Xiang Liren resisted to the bitter end and was killed on the spot," Li Chenzhou said. "Dong Bingkun fled in panic and is now wanted. I doubt he can escape the Yong Capital."
The ministers trembled at these words. Even Dong Bingkun and Xiang Liren had fallen, let alone men like themselves. His Majesty should never have left at a time like this. No one had expected Li Chenzhou to strike with such thunderous speed behind his back the moment he departed. In truth, this was not the first time something like this had happened. Li Chenzhou had already staged a dramatic seizure of power in Benevolence Garden. During that palace upheaval, Empress Dowager Jiang and Xue Daohong had died, while Xue Shengjing, the Prince