Chapter 574: Chapter 574

On the Taihe Palace square, the elderly ministers led by Grandmaster Zhang turned on Xie Xun, accusing him of plotting to usurp the Yuwen dynasty’s throne, refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the Beining dynasty. They claimed Yuwen Jing was not dead and that Xie Xun was unqualified to sit on the throne. Even if Yuwen Jing was guilty, the Crown Prince or Prince Duan were far more suited to be monarchs than Xie Xun.

Grandmaster Zhang, having taught countless Crown Princes and emperors during his lifetime, could never accept Xie Xun ascending to the throne. To him, this was worse than death. Today, he deliberately adorned himself in the official robes of the Grand Tutor, holding a golden whip in his hand, representing authority and orthodoxy.

The enthronement ceremony was interrupted, yet Xie Xun showed no hint of displeasure on his face. He had long anticipated this group of old ministers would attack and challenge him. To Xie Xun, they were nothing but irritating and exasperating. These old relics could neither be punished nor silenced. Zhang Boju had even planned to take discreet measures and have his grandfather feign illness at home to avoid causing trouble, worried that Grandmaster Zhang might provoke Xie Xun’s wrath. But Xie Xun had said no matter what the elderly tutor said, he would not hold it against him.

Precisely because of this, Zhang Boju felt even more guilt-ridden.

"Since you, Grandmaster, do not recognize me as emperor, I see no reason to acknowledge the golden whip in your hand either. That whip was bestowed upon you by the Yuwen dynasty, not by the Beining dynasty. You are advanced in years, and I remember the few days of mentorship we shared when I was young, which is why I show you leniency. But if you persist in your obstinate defiance, do not blame me for being harsh!" Xie Xun did not desire to kill him, only found him tiresome. "If you do not acknowledge my throne, why bother attending the enthronement ceremony? Guards, escort him out! Anyone—regardless of who—who refuses to recognize my authority may leave. The Beining dynasty has plenty of capable people to safeguard the nation!"

As Xie Xun issued the command, Zhang Boxi led the Kyoto Capital Guard to remove the elderly tutor. Grandmaster Zhang roared in fury, "You dare! You treasonous usurpers have no right to act unscrupulously in Taihe Palace! Xie Xun, you are also a descendant of the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion. Your father loyally served the emperor and loved his country, the Marquis Mansion defended Ningzhou for a century, repelling the Beiman invaders, and yet you have disgraced your ancestors, shamed them! When you descend to Huangquan in the future, how can you face them?"

A few elderly ministers clustered around Grandmaster Zhang, their righteous indignation palpable. Zhang Boxi dared not forcibly remove the elderly tutor, as any injury caused would result in being held culpable. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel fire.net

When Grandmaster Zhang invoked the ancestors of the Xie family, Xie Xun’s expression instantly darkened. The new sovereign must ascend the ninety-nine steps of Taihe Palace’s dais one by one during the enthronement ceremony, missing none and never backtracking. Having already ascended halfway, Xie Xun resolutely descended step by step.

Lin Helin, Zhang Boju, and others were visibly shaken, their expressions morphing drastically. Zhang Boju was the first to kneel, pleading, "Your Majesty, please quell your anger. For the sake of my grandfather’s advanced age and senility, forgive his folly. This is the enthronement hall—you cannot walk back!"

Xie Xun paid him no heed, already standing before the elderly tutor.

"Dare you kill me?" Grandmaster Zhang declared, resolute in his willingness to die. "Today, if you insist on usurping the throne, I shall cast myself against the Taihe Palace walls. Your enthronement ceremony will proceed atop the blood and bones of elderly ministers who shall never recognize you. Neither will the people of the realm ever recognize your legitimacy." Grandmaster Zhang, having resolved to die, hoped his sacrifice would awaken the civil and martial officials.

The duty of loyal ministers is to perish for their remonstrations.

"Were you not to mention my father, brothers, and ancestors, I might have restrained myself. But since you have, let me ask you this: Why did the loyal Marquis Zhenbei Mansion face annihilation? They shed blood on the battlefield, generation after generation. So why, in the end, are only I and my Second Brother left, with no descendants? The loyal bones of the Marquis Mansion are buried beneath the mountains, while the loyal, virtuous Grandmaster Zhang’s house flourishes in abundance, with offspring aplenty!" Xie Xun smirked—a malicious smile. "Such inequity! Guards! Drag out every last member of the Zhang clan for execution!"

The court erupted into chaos, "..."

"What did you say?" Grandmaster Zhang nearly fainted, his blood boiling from rage, nearly collapsing on the palace floor. The Kyoto Capital Guard pulled out sixteen members of the Zhang clan from among the civil and martial officials.

"Tyrant! Xie Xun, you tyrannical murderer..." Grandmaster Zhang spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed, feebly withering on the floor. Those elderly ministers surrounding him shouted frantically, trying to rouse him.

Zhang Boju and other Zhang clan members were roughly pressed to kneel on the ground, including Zhang Boxi. The Zhang clan was the most prosperous among the noble families in terms of descendants.

Lin Helin hesitated, while Lin Hongyuan, enraged, shouted, "Zhixu, have you gone mad?"

"Silence, all of you!" Xie Xun thundered. "I am now emperor; my word is law, unyielding as iron. Anyone who questions the qualifications of the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion to ascend the throne, I will slaughter their entire clan. My whole family was sacrificed for this realm, and yet you wallow in luxury within the Capital City—by what right? Guards, Nuanyang, step forward. Pull apart these dotards!" Grandmaster Zhang lay in disgrace, prostrated on the ground. "Grandmaster, behold your clan. Today, among the assembly at my enthronement ceremony, there are just over a hundred civil and martial officials. Yet your Zhang clan alone holds sixteen positions in court—from Zhang Boju in the inner cabinet to Zhang Boxi as Commander of the Kyoto Capital Guard. Each occupies a position of power. Meanwhile, where is my family? Dead in Ningzhou. Sacrificed for you. Your luxuries in the Capital City come bathed in the blood of my Marquis Mansion. By what authority do you lecture me? I call you Grand Tutor, and you fancy yourself my teacher? What are you? You proudly call yourself the mentor of successive Crown Princes and emperors, but what did you teach them? Under their rule, the Yuwen dynasty was eradicated. And still, you dare critique me? By what justification?"

Xie Xun vented his pent-up anger, having long disdained these aging officials. "You merely assume I am kind and unwilling to slaughter innocents. That even if I kill one man, I will spare his clan. But you are wrong. To publicly insult the new monarch during his enthronement ceremony, to defy him—your entire clan will not escape unscathed. You are old, with little time left to live, so of course, you care not. You have had your satisfaction; you have martyred yourself for the Yuwen dynasty, proving your loyalty. But it is your kin who suffer pitifully. Were I one of your clansmen, I would despise you to the core! An aging bag of bones, dragging nine whole generations to their demise. I hear one of your clansmen just had a newborn grandchild; the infant cannot harbor hatred. But the rest of your kin, condemned by your obstinacy—what of them? Open your eyes and behold the sixteen kinsmen kneeling before you. Do you sense their hatred? To be despised to the marrow by those closest to you—Grandmaster Zhang, this is the result of your loyalty. No, this is your selfishness. You care only for yourself, not your clan, nor the lives of your people. Having nurtured so many incompetent rulers, were I you, I would not have the face to appear before anyone!"

It was simply a massacre of both flesh and spirit!

Even Lin Helin was stunned by Xie Xun’s barrage of words, having assumed Xie Xun would not take issue with the elderly tutor. Who could have foreseen such incisive blows, aimed directly at Grandmaster Zhang’s heart?

No wonder Xie Xun had not opposed their disruption of the enthronement ceremony—it was all leading to this moment.