#558 - Still a cruel father - I am the villain in the book

From the Court of Judicature, which oversees justice, to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, which is in charge of sacrifices.

From the Office of the Supervisor of Imperial Instruction, which manages foreign affairs, to the Office of Transmission, which handles external memorials and sealed petitions from subjects.

When almost all neutral officials at court suddenly "stepped forward" and expressed their positions clearly and uniformly, everyone else was stunned for a moment.

Including Wei Xianzhi, who was greatly shocked, and Ning Wenjun, who was incredulous.

And Ruan Tianfu, who was dumbfounded.

Even an idiot could tell that so many people launching an attack at the same time could not be a coincidence.

That could only mean that these colleagues, who usually seemed unwilling to offend either side, had long since been loyal to "Wei"!

Li Kan, Yu Shoudao, Liu Buqing, Lu Ru, Sun Guozhen...

One name after another flashed through his mind, each a prominent figure.

Among them, the most surprising to Ruan Tianfu was undoubtedly his immediate superior, the gray-haired Minister of Works, Lu Ru.

"Lord Ruan, a gentleman should be harmonious but not conformist, neutral but not biased."

"Now that the world is in chaos, our Ministry of Works can only protect itself by remaining impartial in this chaotic world."

"There's nothing wrong with adhering to the doctrine of the mean, you must remember that."

The above were Lu Ru's exact words to him not long ago.

But now, looking back, Ruan Tianfu could only say...

Good heavens!

This old codger is quite the actor!

He raised his eyes to look at Lu Ru, who was standing in the front row, speaking loudly, and looking extremely serious. Ruan Tianfu was speechless.

The former, however, had no time to look at him. At this moment, he was full of "righteousness" in his support for Ning Wenjun, with not a hint of "moderation" in his words.

"Your Highness! The reason why Da Ning has come to this point is entirely due to the tyrannical ruler!"

"Now the south is in chaos, and there is a national war in the east. Food prices are high everywhere, and the people's livelihood is declining! In various prefectures, people are starving to death!"

"..."

In Ruan Tianfu's astonished gaze, Lu Ru rattled off a great deal.

The other high-ranking officials who had just stood up were the same, each finding various reasons from different perspectives why Ning Wenjun had to ascend the throne immediately.

Some said that Ning Yongnian's crimes were far more than those Ning Wenjun had mentioned, and there were even more.

Some said that only if Ning Wenjun ascended the throne would Ning Yu Ke be likely to negotiate with the court, ensuring that Da Ning would not split into two countries.

Some said that they had observed the celestial phenomena at night and found that Ning Yongnian's imperial aura had dissipated completely due to the Yuanzhou City incident. If Da Ning did not change emperors again, the country's fortune would greatly decline...

In short, all sorts of strange reasons, whether true or false, were thrown out at this time, all with the aim of forcing Ning Yongnian to step down.

This, of course, also made the voice of the "supporters" instantly exceed that of the "opposition".

Out of a total of one hundred and eighteen court officials, seventy-one now clearly stated their support for Ning Wenjun's usurpation, thirty-nine clearly opposed it, and eight unimportant officials like Ruan Tianfu remained uncommitted.

For these thirty-nine people, they were undoubtedly surprised by the sudden change in the situation, but they also knew that now was not the time to consider when Li Kan and others had formed a party with the Wei family.

In any case, they certainly could not watch Ning Wenjun usurp the throne so smoothly, even if they could not stop it, they had to try to delay Ning Yongnian as much as possible.

However, Wei Xianzhi would certainly not let them succeed.

Hiding behind the screen, he coughed lightly to attract Ning Wenjun's attention.

With just a look, the latter understood the meaning and immediately roared in a deep voice:

"Enough!"

"No matter what, you are all officials of my Da Ning Dynasty! What kind of decorum is this, arguing like this in court!!"

"I know that some of you must be unconvinced!"

"Good! Those who are unwilling to assist me as the new emperor, stand up!"

"..."

Ning Wenjun's roar stopped the noise in the hall, but after a long while, no one took the initiative to stand up.

Everyone understood the principle that the first bird to stick its head out gets shot, so they were all somewhat hesitant at this moment.

However, Li Kan was also clever. Seeing that the "opposition" did not dare to come forward, he knelt down on the ground with a "plop" and shouted:

"I am willing to assist Your Highness in ascending the throne as the new emperor!"

Huh?

Everyone's eyes focused on him instantly. Everyone was smart, so they quickly understood what Li Kan was doing.

"I am also willing to assist Your Highness!"

"This old minister is too!"

"Your subject as well!"

"..."

In less than three breaths, a large area of the hall immediately knelt down.

The faces of those who were still standing were very ugly at this moment.

Most of them were Ning Yongnian's people, and they had originally wanted to resist Ning Wenjun's ascension to the throne in a "non-violent non-cooperation" manner.

But now it seems...

"Plop!"

"Plop, plop!"

Under heavy pressure, more than a dozen court officials soon knelt down, either hesitating or struggling, including both small officials like Ruan Tianfu who "followed the crowd" and several opposition members who defected at the last moment when they saw the situation was not good.

As a result, only twenty or so people remained standing upright.

It could be seen that they were actually very conflicted.

But they could not kneel, so they tried to hold out to the end.

At this time, Wei Xianzhi needed to make a personal appearance.

"Your Highness..."

He walked out from behind the screen with Han Zhao and stood beside Ning Wenjun.

Wei Xianzhi first cupped his hands to the latter, then quickly swept his eyes over Li Kan and others who were kneeling on the ground.

Without a doubt, these more than twenty "neutral" court officials who had suddenly "defected" had long been won over by Wei Changtian.

In fact, when Wei Changtian first revealed Han Zhao's identity, Wei Xianzhi was almost shocked out of his mind.

Who was Han Zhao?

A late-stage Second Grade expert! A Great General of the Nation!

Such a figure was unexpectedly turned against by his son without a sound, and even staged a great show, burying Ning Yongnian's 200,000 elite troops...

Wei Xianzhi felt at the time that his position as Commander of the Hanging Mirror Division and Head of the Wei family seemed to be too much of a failure.

But only now, when an even larger force that had penetrated the court so deeply surfaced, did he realize that the power Wei Changtian controlled was far more than just Shu Province and the Gongji Society.

Perhaps, it was time to hand over the position of head of the family...

Shaking his head, temporarily restraining his complicated thoughts, Wei Xianzhi turned his eyes to an old man in purple robes with a stiff neck not far away.

Minister of Justice, Gu Zisheng.

Currently, Ning Yongnian's number one loyalist in the entire capital.

"Lord Gu, are you sure you want to defy the will of His Highness the Prince?"

Narrowing his eyes, Wei Xianzhi asked directly: "You only need to answer yes or no."

"Hmph! Lord Wei is really impressive!"

"This old man..."

Obviously, Gu Zisheng would not be foolish enough to answer the question directly. He was now preparing to start by mocking him.

However, before he could finish a sentence, he saw Wei Xianzhi suddenly wave his palm in full view of everyone.

In the next second, the palm wind was fierce, and in an instant, it slammed heavily on the crane on Gu Zisheng's chest!

"Bang!"

Accompanied by a muffled sound, the latter immediately spat out blood and flew backwards for several feet, then fell to the ground like a broken sack.

The dull thud echoed in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, blood splattered, drawing a long bloodstain.

Gu Zisheng at the end of the bloodstain had already lost all signs of life, only his wide-open eyes showed his mood at the last moment before his death.

"..."

A chill ran through the air, and the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

"General Han."

As if he had done a trivial thing, Wei Xianzhi turned his head to look at Han Zhao under everyone's gaze.

"Gu Zisheng not only shielded the tyrannical ruler, but also openly defied His Highness the Prince. His crime is heinous."

"Although the chief culprit has been executed, this crime should implicate his nine generations of relatives."

"This official is temporarily unable to leave, so I will trouble the general to immediately take people to the Gu family."

"..."

"Lord Wei, rest assured, this general will go to the Gu residence immediately and ensure that not a single thief escapes!"

Without hesitation, Han Zhao agreed and walked straight to the hall door.

But at this moment, a terrified and angry voice suddenly sounded.

"Wei, Wei Xianzhi!"