r18novel Page 117
Page 117
Of course, the coup was only a final preparation; Zhu Wushi had three plans for his ascension to the throne.
First, Zhu Houzhao died, and he ascended the throne as the first in line to the throne.
Secondly, Zhu Houzhao was not dead. He used the power of the ten generals to force Zhu Houzhao to abdicate, and then found an opportunity to kill Zhu Houzhao.
However, to do this, one must first eliminate one's political enemies in the court, so that no one will oppose one's ascension to the throne.
The most important thing is that Zheng Daban needs to find someone to resolve this issue; if that can't be resolved, then he should be lured away.
Thirdly, we should emulate Emperor Taizong by launching a rebellion to quell the rebellion and purge the court of corrupt officials.
Traitorous officials are easy to find. After the emperor was purged of his inner circle, he unfortunately passed away in 597, and his uncle had no choice but to reluctantly ascend the throne.
In the original story, Zhu Wushi dispatched Wuhuan and that cross-dressing transvestite to kidnap the Empress Dowager, with assassinating the Emperor being the first option.
It's a pity that Cheng Shifei ruined everything, and Zhu Houzhao didn't die.
In the finale, Zhu Wushi chose the second method, attempting to force Zhu Houzhao to abdicate.
The ending is quite obvious: the main villain dies because of love, the protagonist group wins a great victory, except for the death of Shangguan Haitang.
Zhu Houzhao, of course, had no idea what Zhu Wushi was thinking; he probably just thought that Zhu Wushi was a bit dishonest.
After all, he was a member of the royal family, so it was understandable that Zhu Houzhao had designs on the throne. He thought that since Liu Jin's death, Zhu Wushi had already learned his methods and no longer had such petty thoughts.
After all, when it comes to political maneuvering, he has already surpassed him in the court, and when it comes to martial prowess, there is Zheng Daban in the palace who can easily crush him.
However, Zhu Houzhao was still very glad that his mother's Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom was stolen by Cao Zhengchun back then, otherwise it would have ended up in Zhu Wushi's hands. After all, Zhu Houzhao, who had just ascended the throne, really trusted his well-reputed imperial uncle.
This is why Zhu Houzhao only reprimanded Cao Zhengchun, but ultimately let the matter off lightly.
Chapter 213: Martial Arts Crossover: Princess Yunluo, Luke's Warning
"You dog lackey, why aren't you bringing out the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom and handing it over to this great hero?"
Looking at Cao Zhengchun kneeling on the ground, constantly begging for forgiveness, Zhu Houzhao snorted coldly.
Cao Zhengchun dared not delay and hurriedly said, "This servant will go right away. This servant dares not carry such a precious thing on his person. This servant will go and get it right away."
The fragrant cardamom should naturally be kept in the most secluded place, where only you know about it.
Cao Zhengchun never underestimated the intelligence capabilities of the Dragon Guard Manor, and he also knew that the number one manor in the world had a so-called number one thief.
Whether this master thief is the best in the world is debatable, but since he dares to call himself the best, he must have some skill.
Although Cao Zhengchun was highly skilled in martial arts, he had his own area of expertise and had no interest in using his Tianxiang Doukou (a type of medicinal herb) to challenge someone's ability to make a living.
Cao Zhengchun dared not use his light-footed skills, as he was still shaken, so he ran wildly and bumped into a woman on the way.
"Ouch!"
"Cao Zhengchun, are you trying to die? Are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated? How dare you hit me?"
Cao Zhengchun bowed to the young girl and said, "This old servant has been rude. I will apologize to the princess later. This old servant will take his leave now."
This girl was none other than Princess Yunluo, his younger sister.
Logically, the emperor's sister should be a princess, not a county princess, but there is a reason why Yunluo has the title of county princess.
Princess Yunluo was mischievous and playful by nature, especially fond of teasing others. Although she was kind-hearted by nature, in the long run, Emperor Xiaozong, as her father, would inevitably get angry.
So, in order to teach him a lesson, Emperor Xiaozong stripped her of her princess title and demoted her to a county princess.
Of course, this punishment was only temporary. When she could become a princess again was entirely up to Emperor Xiaozong.
However, Emperor Xiaozong suddenly fell seriously ill and soon passed away, so Princess Yunluo's title of princess was never returned until Emperor Xiaozong's death.
The Confucian principle of filial piety dictates that one should not change one's father's will even after his death. As the emperor, Zhu Houzhao could not disobey his father's imperial edict, so Yunluo's title of princess was preserved.
However, Yunluo herself didn't care about this. So what if she was a princess?
Zhu Houzhao only had this one younger sister, and the Empress Dowager only had this one daughter. She was called a princess, but how was her treatment any different from that of a princess?
"Brother, look at Cao Zhengchun, how dare he treat me like this, it's simply too much 々々."
Yunlu pouted, her pretty face full of dissatisfaction, and came to Zhu Houzhao's side, tugging at his sleeve and acting coquettishly.
Zhu Houzhao sighed and rubbed his forehead, saying, "Yunluo, what are you doing here so late at night? Don't you have anything else to do?"
Princess Yunluo said coquettishly, "Royal brother, I was just worried about your safety because I heard some noise in the Imperial Garden."
The commotion in the Imperial Garden was indeed considerable, but under Zhu Houzhao's orders, no one dared to come here.
As for when Zhu Houzhao issued the order, that's not important.
However, Princess Yunluo was naturally very curious, so how could she obey orders? As a result, the scene just now happened.
"Brother, who is this? Could it be an assassin? Don't worry, brother, I'll protect you."
Suddenly, Yunluo saw Luke wearing a Nuo god mask, her eyes lit up, and she said with some eagerness.
It can only be said that Yunluo and Zhu Houzhao are indeed siblings, their personalities are quite similar.
As a princess, Yunluo didn't enjoy leisure or the things that women of this era were good at, such as knitting. Instead, she loved practicing martial arts.
Moreover, compared to Zhu Houzhao, her martial arts aptitude was quite good.
However, despite her decent aptitude for martial arts, no one dared to teach her.
Born into royalty, she was used to a life of luxury, and even the slightest bump or bruise could be fatal. Although the martial arts instructors who taught her martial arts all taught her the real skills, none of them dared to fight her seriously. After all, if Yunluo were injured, they would most likely be injured as well, or even die.
Over time, Yunluo came to believe that she had mastered martial arts and was eager to fight others every day.
However, within the imperial palace, who would dare to lay a hand on her? This made her somewhat unsure of her own position.
Before Zhu Houzhao could stop Yunluo, a sudden change occurred.
Luke transformed into a blur and instantly appeared beside Yunluo, pointing his fingers like a sword and lightly touching Yunluo's forehead.
Yunluo felt a blur before her eyes, and before she could react, a cold aura was already approaching her brow.
Her pupils suddenly contracted, her heartbeat seemed to stop for a moment, and the blood in her body seemed to freeze.
She had never felt the threat of death so clearly, as if her life would be extinguished like a candle flame with the slightest pressure from Luke's finger.
A bead of cold sweat slowly slid down Yunluo's forehead, dripping down her fair cheek to the ground.
Her breathing became rapid, her chest heaving violently, as if every breath of air had become exceptionally precious.
Her hands trembled involuntarily, her fingertips were slightly cold, and her voice became hoarse and weak: "...What...what do you want to do?"
However, Luke did not answer her, and his eyes did not even flicker.
His finger was still lightly touching Yunluo's forehead, as if he was waiting for something.
Yunluo's mind went blank; all her pride and confidence vanished in that instant.
She finally realized that her martial arts skills, which she was so proud of, were nothing but child's play in front of this man.
Just when Yunluo thought she was doomed, Luke slightly raised his finger, and a powerful burst of true energy suddenly erupted from the back of her head.
That true energy was like an invisible sword, instantly piercing through the air and emitting a sharp whistling sound.
Yunluo felt a violent tremor behind her, as if the whole world was shaking at that moment.
"Boom! (Li Nuo Zhao)"
With a loud bang, the artificial mountain behind Yunluo instantly turned into dust, with rubble flying everywhere and dust billowing up.
The remains of the artificial hill flew through the air, as if torn apart by an invisible force, and finally turned into ruins.
Yunluo's body trembled uncontrollably, her legs went weak, and she could barely stand.
She slowly turned her head to look at the now-vanished artificial hill, her eyes filled with horror and disbelief.
"This...this is..." Yunluo's voice trembled, as if every word was being squeezed out of her throat with difficulty.
Her mind was in complete chaos, and she couldn't comprehend what was happening before her eyes.
Although the artificial mountain wasn't huge, it was made of solid rock, and even if she attacked with all her might, she could never destroy it.
However, Luke shattered her completely with just a wisp of true energy; this power was far beyond her comprehension.
Chapter 214: Crossover Arc: Luke Takes Off His Mask
Luke remained expressionless, as if what he had just done was nothing more than a simple act.
He slowly withdrew his finger, his gaze sweeping indifferently over Yunluo, his voice low and cold: "Princess, this is no child's play. If you continue to be so arrogant, next time, it won't be the artificial mountain that will be destroyed."
Yunluo's face turned pale instantly, her lips trembled slightly, and she tried to say something, but found that she couldn't make a sound at all.
Her heart was filled with fear and shock, as if she had just experienced a nightmare.
She finally understood that her martial arts skills, which she was so proud of, were nothing more than ants in front of this man.
Zhu Houzhao's face was gloomy, and he seemed somewhat displeased.
Zheng Daban saw this scene, but didn't pay any attention to it.
His duty was only to protect the emperor, but when he had the capacity, he would also be willing to protect other members of the royal family.
Unfortunately, judging from the results of the battle just now, I am no match for that mysterious masked man.
Moreover, he didn't sense any killing intent from the other party at all, so there was no need to go through with anything unnecessary.
"Your Majesty, please don't be offended. It was just a demonstration. Look, isn't the princess much calmer now?"
Luke didn't take it seriously at all. It was better to be startled by himself than for her to lose her life later due to her recklessness.
Zhu Houzhao was naturally very unhappy, but he could only be unhappy because there was nothing else he could do. However, in an instant, a cheerful smile appeared on Zhu Houzhao's face.
"You're too kind, sir. Although I am the ruler of the world, I have always had a headache because of this younger sister. It's good that she's learned a lesson now, so that she won't suffer a great loss in the future."
This isn't the imperial court; it's just in private. Zhu Houzhao doesn't mind admitting defeat.
When Zhu Houzhao was the crown prince, he was arrogant and domineering. While he didn't exactly treat human life like dirt, he was certainly unscrupulous. However, he was of good nature, so he didn't cause any major mistakes.
Even so, his teachers and court officials still gave him the evaluation of being unruly and unfit to be a ruler.
The main reason is that Zhu Houzhao's personality was unconventional and unruly, which was not the ideal monarch in the minds of those literati.
However, after Emperor Xiaozong passed away, and with no one left to protect him, Zhu Houzhao matured at an extremely rapid pace. He learned to be patient and to compromise, which are the most important political skills.
A person who doesn't know how to be patient will never succeed, and a person who doesn't know how to compromise will eventually be abandoned by everyone.