Chapter 768: Chapter 706: Catch that Zhang San!
The next day, Crown Prince Yang Ce’s coronation ceremony took place.
After all, during this period, everyone in the Capital City knew that Kaihuang went to worship Empress Dugu and, as a result, encountered an attack by the Path of Calamity’s natural disaster. Kaihuang passed away.
A country cannot be without a ruler for a day.
At such a critical juncture, it was necessary for the Crown Prince to stand out, succeed the throne, and stabilize the hearts of the people.
Therefore, for the ordinary citizens who were unaware of the true situation, they were still very supportive of Crown Prince Yang Ce, who had a legitimate claim.
What’s more important is that nobody wanted to see a conflict over the throne involving fratricide within the Imperial Family.
A smooth transition like this seed good to many ordinary citizens.
Therefore, early in the morning, the Crown Prince’s carriage, protected by the Six Rates of the Eastern Palace and the elite of the Jin River Army, set off towards the place of ascension.
However, along the way, on the roads of Daxing City, they inevitably encountered so onlookers.
Luckily, during this ti, the Ministry of Rites had quickly created an effective public relations campaign.
Everyone now regarded Crown Prince Yang Ce as a very filial and capable prince, who would surely beco a good Emperor in the future.
So although many people on both sides of the road were kneeling, in Crown Prince Yang Ce’s view, these people were showing him boundless support and adoration.
“As Crown Prince, I am about to beco the Emperor of Great Sui. There’s no need for the people to keep kneeling; please rise!”
Hearing the Crown Prince’s words, an untold number of citizens were moved.
Back then, the Crown Prince would have people kneel just to watch a spectacle at the execution grounds.
Now, about to beco Emperor, he asked people not to kneel.
I’m truly, crying to death.
At this mont, Crown Prince gazed at the throngs outside, exuberantly throwing their support behind him and chanting long live, his heart filled with emotions both excited and complex.
Just then, the Crown Prince suddenly noticed, in the midst of the crowd—in a ti when everyone was cheering Long Live—
There was one person who was also chanting along but staring intensely at him.
And that face, he could never forget it even in death!
Zhang San!
He actually managed to infiltrate the crowd!
“Guards! Seize Zhang San!”
The Crown Prince imdiately gave the order, pointing to the side, and the surrounding guards rushed forward, enveloping the individual he had pointed at.
The guy who was cheering “Long Live” just a mont ago thought it was because he was the loudest that he was about to receive a reward from the Crown Prince.
The next instant, a group of guards wielding spears surrounded him.
Terrified, he imdiately knelt on the ground.
At that mont, the Crown Prince rubbed his eyes and realized he had mistaken this person for soone who just looked sowhat like Zhang San; it wasn’t Zhang San.
But as the Crown Prince, soon to beco Emperor,
He couldn’t possibly admit to a mistake, could he?
“This man is an assassin! Seize him!”
At the Crown Prince’s command, several guards took the trembling man kneeling on the ground into custody.
Although many citizens didn’t understand—wasn’t this just Fool He from the next ward over, who was said to have fainted by hitting his head on the toilet on his wedding night? How could such a person beco an assassin?
But after all, it was only a minor incident, and the people didn’t pay too much attention to it.
Yang Ce sighed deeply, feeling that he was perhaps too worried.
After all, there had been no news of Zhang San and his father the Emperor during this period, so his worries were inevitable.
But it was about to be resolved.
Once he ascended the throne to beco the new Emperor, to beco the Red Dust Immortal, all of Great Sui would be his!
The entire Imperial Path would be his!
However, just then, Crown Prince Yang Ce suddenly felt a chilling gaze and turned his head only to see soone else sneering at him.
It was Zhang San!
“Guards! Capture that Zhang San!”
Imdiately guards rushed forward to seize “Zhang San.”
However, the person captured was only mocking the Fool He who had just been taken away, wondering how he could have been seized after laughing for just a short mont.
anwhile, the Crown Prince also realized that this person only resembled Zhang San.
“Seize him! Seize him!”
The Crown Prince, growing impatient, gave the command and then hastened the carriage onward.
However, as they traveled, the Crown Prince spotted Zhang San amidst the crowd once more.
Another order was issued!
At first, everyone thought that Zhang San was mingling in the crowd, planning to ambush the Crown Prince.
After all, so of them knew that the mishap during Kaihuang was the Crown Prince’s doing.
As long as the Crown Prince was enthroned, even if Kaihuang returned, it would be to no avail.
Thus, if they were Zhang San, they too would likely choose to sneak in and assassinate the Crown Prince, preventing his coronation, or even causing his direct demise.
Then they could return with Kaihuang in tow.
But as ti went on, everyone gradually realized that perhaps it wasn’t Zhang San who had arrived; rather, it seed that the vision of their own Crown Prince was sowhat impaired.
On this journey alone, a full twenty Zhang Sans were apprehended!
Each one looked different, yet the Crown Prince was convinced they were all Zhang San, claiming after each capture that they seed sowhat similar.
Even four among them were won!
Where was the resemblance?
The Crown Prince felt sowhat embarrassed by the situation.
At that mont, he wished he possessed a Zhang San Ball that could be thrown to capture Zhang San wherever he was.
Fortunately, after the many twists and turns along the way, the procession finally arrived at the site of the coronation ceremony.
After all, the ascension of an Emperor was a matter to be declared to heaven and earth.
At this mont, almost all the civil and military officials had gathered.
The reason it was “almost all” instead of “all” was because so ministers had previously left with Kaihuang and had not yet returned, and the Crown Prince had temporarily chosen not to replace them.
For example, the position of Minister of War, Wen Chudao, was left vacant.
Of course, there were also those who had sensed sothing fishy about the affair and thus indignantly refused to attend.
Such was the case with the Minister of Punishnt, Shen Wei.
Almost no ministers from Legalism attended the coronation ceremony.
In contrast, the ministers from Confucianism were present in full array.
Especially so the Minister of Rites, ng Jiuxiao, who had already prepared everything for the occasion.
Seeing the vacancies, ng Jiuxiao found these people laughable.
Did they fancy that by such ans they could intimidate the Crown Prince?
That is the soon-to-be Emperor we’re talking about!
If you won’t do it, there are plenty who will!
Our reserves of Confucian officials are plentiful, just waiting for you Legalists and so who deem themselves above it all to make way!
At this ti, the Grand Offerer of the Offering Hall, Lu Qianqiu, arrived with his entourage.
After all, the coronation ceremony was not just the succession of the throne, but also the transition of the Red Dust Immortal.
The Offering Hall, an organization that in reality was only responsible to the Imperial Path’s Red Dust Immortal, had always been concerned only with the Red Dust Immortal.
Therefore, their presence was partly as witnesses.
On the other hand, it was to control the Jade Seal, as the original ascension of Kaihuang was illegitimate, causing the Jade Seal to beco spirited, looking exactly like the last young Emperor of Northern Zhou, Kaihuang’s grandson.
By now, nearly everyone who should be present had arrived.
Lu Qianqiu looked around.
Not a single person from the Town Martial Office had co.
Not a single person from Legalism had co.
Not a single person from Mohism had co.
He hoped that today would pass without chaos or perhaps unveil an extraordinary turmoil, but above all, to steer clear of indecision that might affect the future of the Imperial Path.
As for whether the Red Dust Immortal would be Kaihuang or Yang Ce, it mattered not to the people of the Offering Hall.
For so reason, at this mont, Lu Qianqiu suddenly thought of the aforentioned Zhang San.
Although their acquaintance was brief, Lu Qianqiu always felt that the young man seed to bring unexpected surprises with him.
At this mont, ng Jiuxiao glanced at the ti and loudly announced, “The coronation ceremony of the new Emperor begins—”
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