At that moment, Yang Feng felt as though ten thousand grass-mud horses were stampeding through his mind, their hoofbeats louder than the pounding in his chest.
No, come on, guys. This isn't how the script goes.
Becoming emperor is supposed to follow a procedure, okay?
Even if you're usurping the throne, the rightful ruler has to show up and go through the motions, hold some sort of "abdication" ceremony, hand over the imperial seal and the dynastic title and all that. Only then does it count as legitimate.
Yuan Shu hasn't even shown his face, and you're already draping the yellow robe over me. Isn't this just outright robbery?
It won't sound good when word gets out.
Who could have expected that, just as he finished muttering this inwardly, old Yan Xiang would seem like a roundworm in his belly, understanding his thoughts with perfect clarity?
Seeing Yang Feng standing beside the dragon throne with a bewildered expression, apparently still hesitating over something, Yan Xiang simply gave a steady wave toward the entrance of the great hall.
At his gesture, two armored soldiers as fierce as wolves and tigers marched forward, escorting a tightly bound man with disheveled hair.
Yang Feng took a closer look and recognized him at once.
Wasn't this the former emperor, Yuan Shu himself?
Not a trace of the Zhong emperor's majesty remained in Yuan Shu now. He was trussed up like a rice dumpling, tears and snot streaming down his face, utterly bedraggled.
The moment he was escorted into the center of the hall and saw the yellow-robed figure on the dragon throne, his legs gave way, and he fell to his knees with a thud.
Abandoning all concern for dignity, Yuan Shu repeatedly kowtowed toward Yang Feng, wailing like a pig being slaughtered.
"Spare me, Your Majesty, spare me!"
"I'll never dare do it again! I just want to live!"
"I just want a sip of honey water!"
Yang Feng helplessly raised a hand to his forehead. He had barely sobered up to begin with, and now he felt thoroughly drunk again.
He looked at Yuan Shu below, all tears and snot, then at Yan Xiang and Ji Ling beside him, both wearing expressions that said, "See how thoroughly I've handled everything?" Finally, he swept his gaze over the civil and military officials kneeling throughout the hall.
Oh, you lot...
You're really something.
From plotting rebellion to beheading the previous emperor to installing a new sovereign, they had provided the full one-stop service, leaving him, the person at the center of it all, absolutely no chance to back out.
"You lot have truly made Us suffer!"
Yang Feng heaved a long sigh toward the heavens, his voice filled with endless grief, indignation, and helplessness, as though he really were an innocent scholar whom these treacherous ministers and rebels had forced up Mount Liang.
I really only wanted to plagiarize some literary works, make a few little inventions, and live my quiet little life.
But the moment those words left his mouth, he froze.
Us?
Had he just called himself "Us"?
That single word acted like a switch, instantly changing the atmosphere of the entire hall.
Still kneeling on the floor, Yan Xiang's eyes flashed, and he immediately grasped the "deeper meaning" within it.
His Majesty has already accepted his accession, but he's deeply displeased that Yuan Shu, this remnant of the previous dynasty, is still lingering here.
He's hinting that we should dispose of this trouble.
At that thought, Yan Xiang's expression instantly turned utterly solemn. He whipped around and let out a thunderous shout at Ji Ling.
"Ji Ling!"
"As grand general, why have you not swiftly beheaded Yuan Shu, this thief who stole the realm, to set the record straight and put the people's hearts at ease?"
Yang Feng was just about to stop him.
"Don't..."
This was no joke. Whatever else he might be, he was a modern man who had received nine years of compulsory education. Having someone killed right in front of him would be far too much of a shock.
Yet he had barely uttered "don't" when, in the very next instant, a gleaming blade flashed.
Shing!
The sound was so crisp it seemed capable of slicing through eardrums.
Then a perfectly good head shot skyward, tracing a bloody arc through the air before finally rolling to the foot of the steps with a rumble.
Yuan Shu's headless body swayed twice, then crashed to the floor. Blood instantly stained the cold tiles red.
The entire process was lightning-fast, clean, and decisive.
The words "do it" on the tip of Yang Feng's tongue were forcibly choked back by the bloody scene.
He stared at Ji Ling, dumbstruck.
The grand general sheathed his blade without expression, as though he had merely slaughtered a chicken.
At that moment, Ji Ling also instantly understood what he should do next.
Turning to face the dragon throne, he planted the still-warm saber against the floor and dropped to one knee with a thud. His movements were forceful and resolute, and the clatter of armor echoed through the hall.
His voice was louder and firmer than ever before.
"Your Majesty!"
"Yuan Shu has been executed! The traitor to the realm has been eliminated!"
"Yet after this battle, everything in Huainan awaits rebuilding. The displaced people outside the city cry out to be fed, while the people within suffer beyond words!"
"All the people under heaven are eagerly awaiting the arrival of an enlightened sovereign such as Your Majesty, to lead us in restoring the realm and remaking heaven and earth!"
The instant he finished, every civil and military official kneeling below seemed to have had the same switch flipped, raising their voices in unison.
"We beseech Your Majesty to ascend the throne and rescue the people from fire and water!"
"We beseech Your Majesty to ascend the throne, restore the realm, and remake heaven and earth!"
"Long live our emperor! Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
Each wave of sound rose higher than the last, deafening, every word like a heavy hammer striking hard against Yang Feng's heart.
Yang Feng looked at the headless corpse on the floor, then at the civil and military officials below, who had thoroughly "gotten into character," and finally let out a long sigh.
He understood now.
Yuan Shu's blood was the pledge of allegiance they had offered him.
Whether he wanted to or not, he would have to become emperor today.
It really would be embarrassing to keep refusing!
Fine, fine.
Since I'm here, I might as well settle in.
I'll be emperor, then. It's better than being dead.
At least, with this opening, Ji Ling, who held military power, and the wily, calculating Yan Xiang seemed dead set on following me.
At that thought, Yang Feng's tangled thoughts instead began to settle.
His gaze, too, slowly shifted from its initial panic to something deep and steady.
He reached out and straightened the rather ridiculous yellow blanket... no, dragon robe he wore, then slowly rose from the dragon throne.
"You may all rise."
His voice was quiet, yet it carried clearly throughout the hall.
Then he beckoned to Yan Xiang and Ji Ling below the steps.
"Lord Yan, General Ji, come forward."
"Since matters have come to this, We shall decline no further."
"We must have a proper discussion about how to handle what comes next."