Chapter 823: That’s a Throne Worth Inheriting

The commotion came from outside.

"Could it be that the rebels have arrived?"

Mrs. Hong’s face looked the worst. When she was young, her family fled due to the chaos caused by rebels.

In Qinghe Bay, her parents and brother were all killed by the rebels’ knives.

The subconscious memories made Mrs. Hong shake like a sieve.

He Chao was not by her side, busy at the shop preparing for the work resumption on the sixteenth of the first month.

Tong Huaqiong held Mrs. Hong’s hand and said, "Sister Hong, don’t be afraid, nothing is certain yet; it might not be the rebels."

Mrs. Hong was still worried.

Tong Huaqiong called a maid to help Mrs. Hong down to rest.

At this moment, He Chao came running in from outside, panting heavily, unable to speak, and took Mrs. Hong away.

Tong Huaqiong knew he came in a hurry out of concern for Mrs. Hong.

"The peaceful days were going well; whoever stirs up such chaos deserves to be killed by the messy army," Mrs. Zhao cursed.

Mrs. Zhao and Liu Tiechui were equally worried; they had also experienced chaos during their childhood. At that time, various forces fought like a pot of porridge, and the whole village fled into the deep mountains and forests.

Due to frequent wars, they couldn’t farm or live, and the entire village was on the brink of starvation.

Making matters worse, every troop that passed through the village swept like locusts.

It was only when the army that Han Niu joined appeared that the common people found a way to survive.

"Amitabha, may Buddha bless us; hopefully, it’s not the rebels," Mrs. Zhao said with hands clasped in prayer.

Gu Taohua and Liu Yueer and others had never experienced war. In their memory, Qinghe Bay had never been wealthy, but it was always tranquil.

They simply couldn’t truly feel the fear and worry of Mrs. Hong and Mrs. Zhao.

Liu Yueer even wanted to go out to see the commotion.

"The rebels mainly rush into the palace to seize the throne, it doesn’t concern us commoners," Liu Yueer said, grabbing the dried fruits on the table while eating.

Gu Taohua agreed, nodding, "Second sister-in-law is right; if rebels seize the world, someone still needs to farm and do business to pay taxes. They won’t wipe out all commoners, would they?"

Mrs. Zhao gave Liu Yueer a glance, speechless at her carefree attitude.

Mrs. Zhao said, "Some rebels kill indiscriminately, not caring at all about the lives of commoners."

Tong Huaqiong said, "There are rebels who don’t even know why they rebel; they rush in like a swarm, and with lax discipline, they may loot and plunder the common people."

The reason why the army Han Niu followed could win back then was largely because they won the hearts of the people.

But the troops outside now, it’s unclear whose they are.

If the troops outside belong to the current emperor, that’s easier to say. After all, an emperor, comfortably seated on the throne, wouldn’t easily incite war, nor turn his weapons on the common folk for no reason.

But if it really is rebels from some Prince or faction coming for the throne, that’d be hard to say.

Damned, who on earth is causing trouble?

To be fair, although the Old Emperor killed the former Crown Prince and was overly suspicious, that was their internal Royal Family conflict. Over the years, the series of decrees by the Old Emperor were relatively beneficial to Dasheng.

At the very least, the common people lived stable lives; though there were border wars, they didn’t affect many more people, and they achieved victories.

So even if there are rebels, they certainly aren’t from civilian forces — either remnants of the former dynasty or some Prince.

Tong Huaqiong leaned towards the latter.

"Aunt Min, what do you think?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Mrs. Min pondered for a while and said, "The Grandson returned, and the Emperor fell ill last month, making some people restless."

Mrs. Min meant that a certain Prince might be forcing the Emperor’s hand tonight.

"This morning there was news from the palace, and my Han Niu went to the Jiangbei Camp right after hearing it."

Moreover, officials were urgently summoned to the palace at night. Mrs. Min suspected that the Emperor was seriously ill and, since the heir to the throne hadn’t been decided, everyone needed to discuss who would sit on that dragon throne.

The Emperor currently had two grown Princes; who would be willing to watch the throne pass to the other?

Gu Baishuang said, "My Xiao Feng also went to Jiangbei Camp early."

Gu Baishuang had never seen the bloody brutality of a palace coup, but she understood it was life and death.

Since Nie Xiaofeng was Han Niu’s subordinate, their army belonged to the Emperor. If someone was indeed forcing a coup tonight, they would surely fight to protect the Emperor and Shengjing to the death.

Resistance would inevitably lead to bloodshed.

Gu Baishuang prayed for Nie Xiaofeng’s safety.

Tong Huaqiong asked Mrs. Min, "Is the Emperor really seriously ill?"

Mrs. Min said, "Officials from the court all entered the palace; can it be false?"

Tong Huaqiong was skeptical, for in Tong Dajiao’s memories, the Emperor wasn’t supposed to die at this time.

"Could the Emperor’s illness be feigned to draw out those with rebellious intentions?" Tong Huaqiong asked.

Mrs. Min’s eyes brightened slightly; it wasn’t impossible.

"Draw out whom?" Liu Yueer asked.

Tong Huaqiong replied, "Who else? Of course, it’s to draw out that ambitious son."

Only Princes, under the guise of rescuing the Emperor or wishing to eradicate the Emperor’s corrupt advisors, could raise troops with a legitimate call. Otherwise, with no rightful cause, few would rally behind them.

Gu Baishuang said, "The Royal Family’s struggles are truly ruthless; do they not care about kinship at all?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "Caring about kinship? Not to mention anything else, even Nie Mingyuan’s little inheritance has stepsons fighting to the death, let alone it being the Royal Family — that’s an actual throne to inherit. Isn’t that tempting?"

The Old Emperor had already killed one son; killing other sons wouldn’t be surprising.

Tong Huaqiong thought, Emperor Tang Xuanzong had no problem killing three sons in a day without psychological stress.

In every such power struggle for the throne, father and sons, or brothers, are at each other’s throats.

For a son of the emperor, rebelling comes with high risks and high rewards; if successful, one becomes the supreme ruler. As for reputation, history is written by the victors anyway. If the rebellion fails, they get executed; after all, without that throne, always being suspected, they could still lose their life accidentally.

So in situations like these, they might as well take a big gamble. What if it succeeds?

Gu Baishuang sighed after listening to Tong Huaqiong’s words, "The struggles of the Royal Family are indeed more brutal than those of ordinary people."

Chen Sufen held her chest and said, "Will the Grandson be in danger?"

As the son of the former Crown Prince, he was a thorn in the eyes of other Princes. If they succeeded in rebelling, the first to be eliminated would likely be the Grandson.

Everyone else thought of this possibility as well, and their faces turned solemn.

Tong Huaqiong said, "The Grandson is blessed; heaven will watch over him. We don’t even know what’s truly happening tonight; maybe it’s just a false alarm. Let’s not speculate."

Tong Huaqiong wouldn’t say that, in the end, it was the Grandson who ascended to the ultimate throne.

The commotion outside started up again, and Gu Dahuan observed the situation at the door, seeing a blazing fire rising on West Street.

It seemed to emanate from the tall platform of the Golden Dragon Lamp.

In the distance, there seemed to be screams echoing.

"The Golden Dragon Lamp has been lit," Gu Dashu ran in to inform everyone.

Everyone ran to the yard, and indeed, they saw the direction of the platform ablaze.

"Scared me to death."

"Good thing we came back."

Everyone patted their chests, trembling from the fright.