The Empress opened her mouth, about to say something, when she suddenly froze, a look of incredulity appearing on her face. She looked down at the Emperor beside her and said, "Your Majesty? Your Majesty, are you awake?"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a dead silence in the grand hall, with all eyes turning toward the Emperor leaning against the Empress.

Under the watchful eyes of all, the Emperor showed no signs of movement.

The Crown Prince, who had tensed up, relaxed again and sneered, "Empress, at such a time, do you think using this trick can scare me? Even if Father woke up now, what would he——"

The rest of his words abruptly stopped as he looked, astonished, at the Emperor who had originally been lying with eyes closed, slowly open them.

This scene was not only seen by the Crown Prince but also by all the civil and martial officials.

Immediately, several senior ministers rushed forward, calling out sincerely, "Your Majesty——"

The Emperor opened his eyes. Although he seemed weak all over, his accumulated majesty was evident. With just a glance, the entire hall fell silent, and everyone knelt to the ground.

The Emperor’s final gaze settled on the Crown Prince, and the father and son looked at each other from a distance.

The Crown Prince couldn’t help shivering all over. Already guilty and fearful, being stared at by the Emperor made him even more short of breath, forcing him to avert his eyes. If it weren’t for a final bit of resolve supporting him, he might have knelt to confess on the spot.

"What is this you are——" The Emperor, likely suffering from an ailment, spoke with some feebleness.

Before his question was completed, the invisible figure of the Second Prince sprang forward, kneeling before the Emperor, crying and accusing, "Father! Father, it’s so good that you’re alright! If you didn’t wake up, I’m afraid we’d all be silenced by big brother, Father——"

As he spoke, he deftly disclosed the Crown Prince’s rebellious intentions and, in passing, exonerated and glorified himself a bit.

According to his words, the Crown Prince had long harbored ill intentions, painstakingly planning today’s upheaval.

He had long noticed the Crown Prince’s ambitions but didn’t dare to alert him, fearing he would act out of desperation.

Therefore, he had remained silent, waiting for the Crown Prince to reveal his ambitions and recruit him. Taking advantage of this, he successfully infiltrated the inner circle of the Crown Prince’s rebellious faction.

Indeed, Heaven did not forsake those who pursued it diligently. He finally found out who were the core members of the Crown Prince’s group and that the Emperor’s new favorite, who poisoned him, was directed by the Crown Prince.

He also said that the Crown Prince had always resented the Emperor, feeling that the Emperor favored the Ninth Prince and was too harsh on the grown sons like them. Now the Ninth Prince was still young, but once he matured, these grown princes would become stepping stones for the Ninth Prince, and so on.

Everything he said was shocking.

The Crown Prince, snapping out of his stupor, jumped up and shouted, "Nonsense! You bastard, old second, you set me up! And to think I trusted you——"

The few confidants around the Crown Prince, seeing the Emperor awake and the situation reversed, realized that today was not going to end well.

Rather than surrendering, it would be better to fight to the death; maybe there was still hope for survival.

They moved closer to the Crown Prince and spoke, "Your Highness, the victor is the king, and the defeated is the villain! We have no retreat now, but we are not without a chance in this great opportunity today! Outside, these Imperial Forest Army and guards are all ours! As long as we control His Majesty and others, and make His Majesty write an edict of abdication, then——" They made a throat-slitting gesture.

The Crown Prince couldn’t help swallowing. He was brave enough to have conspired to poison his father by bribing his father’s concubine.

However, living under the Emperor’s shadow for so long, facing the Emperor himself now that he was awake, his courage was ebbing.

At this moment, hearing what his subordinate said, it was obvious: force the father to write the abdication edict, then eliminate all present princes, leaving him the sole royal blood. Then who else would take the throne but him?

As for posthumous fame, history is written by the victors; what’s there to fear?

The Crown Prince also knew this was a point of no return: either ascend to supreme power and rule the world, or face complete failure, at best being banished for life, at worst losing his head.

Having come ninety-nine steps, if he didn’t take the last step, he wouldn’t be content.

He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, ready to give the order.

Who knew, before he spoke, the Empress’s panicked voice rang out again, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, what’s wrong? Your Majesty, wake up?"

Looking up, oh no, the Emperor had fainted again.

With this, the Crown Prince hesitated no longer and ordered the Imperial Forest Army outside to come in.

A group of Imperial Forest Guards, armed with sharp blades and stern expressions, rushed in, surrounding everyone in the center.

The Crown Prince looked at the Second Prince, coldly smiling, eyes seemingly poisoned, "Old second, earlier you gave big brother a great gift, and now big brother shall return the favor."

With that, he gestured, "Seize the Second Prince——"

The Second Prince, initially looking shocked, saw the Crown Prince turn hostile and attempt to end him. He simply stood, faced the Crown Prince directly, and snorted, "Big brother, do you really think you’ve won? Why don’t you look back and see if these people listen to your command?"

The Crown Prince turned and saw that the Imperial Forest Army stood firm, unmoving.

Suddenly panicking, both angry and scared, he shouted, "Didn’t you hear my command? Arrest the Second Prince and his accomplices!"

The Imperial Forest Army remained motionless.

The Crown Prince’s face grew increasingly frantic as he turned to his confidants.

Those confidants were also panicked, hollowly shouting, "What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you hear the Highness’s words?"

The Second Prince leisurely stepped forward, "Arrest this treasonous faction with the Crown Prince——"

As soon as he gave the order, the previously immobile Imperial Forest Army immediately stepped forward, swiftly capturing those who were allied with the Crown Prince.

Only a few confidants remained beside the Crown Prince, who drew daggers from their robes, blocking the approach of the Imperial Forest Army to the Crown Prince.

Everyone knew this was but an ant trying to stop a chariot, useless.

At this point, what was there the Crown Prince didn’t understand? He immediately showed a dismal expression and said, "Oh, old second, what strategy and means you have! Like a praying mantis catching a cicada, with the oriole behind, while I smugly thought everything was going so smoothly! Turns out you were controlling everything behind the scenes!"

"That master who always said I had the aura of a king, he was your man, right? The Deputy Commander of the Imperial Forest Guard who joined me was also yours, right? And even the one who poisoned father was yours, right? It’s pathetic I thought I was destined, ambitious! Turns out I was just a pawn in your game, old second!"

"I cleared all the obstacles in front for you, even my reputation is ruined! But you ascend clearly and cleanly above me, old second, you’re so ruthless!"

The Second Prince only then smiled proudly, "Big brother, we all rely on our abilities. You lost by a single move, blame yourself for lacking skill! How can you blame others?"

"Besides, earlier when you thought everything was under your control, you had no intention of sparing Father or us brothers! Now you make such a scene for whom?"