The city was overwhelmed by the black clouds, and the entire imperial capital entered the highest level of martial law overnight. Not only were all markets, shops, industry clubs closed, hotels, inns, and restaurants closed, all outsiders must re-register at the local police station, and even the people in the imperial capital were not allowed to go out on the street, and they must stay at home. The four gates have been closed, and the Imperial Guards have entered a state of combat readiness. The Yulin Army and the military police appeared on the street outside the palace to cooperate with the police and spies under the General Administration of the Interior to search doors, which made people hiding behind the door and peeking through the cracks in the door. This was a new thing that had never been seen in previous years. The Yulin Army was a guardian of the palace, so how could he leave the palace to go on duty?

The passing army on the streets made the citizens feel a little more panic. Even when the Taiping Rebellion Army approached the imperial capital two years ago, it had never happened. Some well-informed people vaguely felt that it might be related to the fire in the palace at night. But does the fire in the palace require the army to be dispatched to martial law? The gentry and nobles asked for information through various channels, but they could not even leave the door. How can we understand this?

There is a side hall dozens of meters outside Anfu Palace - Jixian Hall. It was originally a rest place for foreign ministers to wait for His Majesty to receive him. But over time, this gradually became a discussion of government affairs for the important officials before reporting to His Majesty.

Today's Jixian Hall seems particularly solemn and strict. It can be seen from the number of soldiers on duty outside the hall. The Yulin Army has three steps, one whistle, five steps, and even many Yulin Army, which are at the level of officers, are standing far away.

No one is allowed to stand ten meters outside the hall, and even soldiers on duty cannot enter within ten meters. If there is any incident, they can only report it first.

There were eight or nine people sitting in the hall, and the atmosphere was so gloomy that they wanted to tread the house. Everyone was sitting there, but no one was talking, just staring at the ground or the beams without saying a word.

"Sir, don't stop talking like this. This matter cannot be delayed. If it is delayed, there will be a real chaos. Yesterday, someone set fire in the west gate of the palace. This matter cannot be hidden from others. Now there is such a big chaos. Now it's time for you to decide. Lord Chen and I cannot bear this responsibility." The person speaking was a middle-aged man, wearing a yellow military robe, showing that he has royal bloodline. He is Situ Mingzhao, the commander of the Imperial Wulin Army, and he is also a royal clan of the same generation as His Majesty the Emperor. He is a little separated from his blood, but he has no problem with Situ Mingyue. The Lord Chen he mentioned is Chen Zifang, the chief supervisor of the inner court guards, and the two are responsible for all security affairs in the palace.

Although they were deeply trusted by His Majesty the Emperor, this national affairs were not something he could do. As soon as they found out that His Majesty still died, they blocked the scene and carefully observed the situation. They found that His Majesty was not dead in assassination. So after discussion, they unified the same caliber. The Imperial Guard and the Inner Court guards killed the assassin, but His Majesty had a heart attack and passed away silently. However, he did not dare to hide such major events. He immediately reported to Ning Yuanwang, the first deputy minister of the Imperial Administration, and Lu Wenfu, the Minister of the Inner Court. One was the first person under His Majesty the Empire's nominal Emperor, and the other was the chief minister in charge of the internal affairs of the Empire. Nominally, the inner court guards and the Yulin Army should be under the jurisdiction of the Inner Court Minister.

After learning the news, the two men who even had no time to wear the court uniform immediately felt Anfu Palace, and personally checked the situation on the scene, and carefully interrogated the situation at that time. Lu Wenfu's sophistication made Situ Mingzhao and Chen Zifang fall into trouble for a while. Fortunately, God saved people, and several imperial physicians invited from the Imperial Hospital unanimously determined that His Majesty the Emperor died suddenly when he was exhausted and worked hard. This made the inner court guard general and the Yulin Army commander relieved. When he confirmed that no one on both sides was working for the Imperial Hospital, both of them couldn't help but feel proud. After all, carrying such a burden was really unbearable.

But a small bottle of medicine found from the dead eunuch made some new changes in the matter. Although this medicine has nothing to do with His Majesty’s death, His Majesty’s eunuch’s accompanying him would not leave the house, so how could he carry such poisons used for suicide in the world? This is undoubtedly strange. However, this is not the time to investigate this matter deeply. The throne problem is in front of him. This is the real big event. If you are not careful, you will cause a shocking change.

"Mr. Ning, what should you do now? Your Majesty has passed away. I am afraid that this matter will not be hidden for long, and I cannot hide it anymore. If the outside world knows that we have not yet come up with a countermeasure, there will be trouble. You are the Executive Minister, and all the ministers are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are the ones who are willing to let me stand up, but I didn't think of me in other good things? Ning Yuanwang didn't want to support this head from the bottom of his heart, but he was there and he was in charge of the administrative affairs of the imperial country. Although Tian Yi was cunning, he could not say anything without reason. He couldn't decide who would sit on the throne and the Minister of Finance.

"Everyone, Your Majesty has died with excessive work and exhausted. I think we are probably somehow mentally prepared. After all, Your Majesty has been seriously ill and critically ill several times. This is not new. I only regret that as a minister, we cannot share the worries of the king, but we are tired of your Majesty. We are really ashamed." Clearing his throat, Ning Yuan looked at the wooden face and said with a careful speech: "But the current situation of the empire still cannot tolerate our sorrow. Your Majesty's funeral must be done with the new emperor's ascension to the throne. These two things are one thing for the knights. Maybe everyone knows that the first thing now is to select the new emperor first."

"Yes." "Mr. Ning said yes." "This is the first priority, but it must be resolved immediately."

All the ministers agreed with Ning Yuanwang's words, but no one dared to mention who should take on this important position.

"But Your Majesty suddenly passed without leaving a will. This matter of establishing a crown prince has always been a royal private matter. As a foreign minister, it is really hard to intervene." Ning Yuanwang gently pushed the blame, "Since Lord Situ is a royal family member, he has always been with Your Majesty, so why don't we listen to Lord Situ's opinions first."

Situ Mingzhao's back suddenly sweated, and she secretly cursed Ning Yuanwang, the old fox, who actually put the fire under his butt, roasted it. When will it be the turn of the throne be qualified to speak? And if you are not careful, you will be doomed. As a royal clan, you cannot have any ideas, so why bother to get into this muddy water?

"Mr. Ning, you are joking. Situ Mingzhao is just a commander of the Yulin Army. How can he talk about such a major matter? Although the throne is a private matter of the royal family, His Majesty once said that the royal family is selfless. I would like to ask you all to discuss this matter. Let me listen carefully." Situ Mingza pushed the topic aside in a few words.

"Mr. Ning, this is not the time to rule the responsibility. Your Majesty has left. The country cannot be without a king for a day. We should discuss a way as soon as possible." Foreign Minister Sariden is also an old minister of the Empire, but his position is neutral and he will never involve anything else. There are many people in the imperial court.

"But you, Your Majesty has never left a will, nor has you ever made a crown prince, nor has he even made it clear that which palace descendant should inherit the great treasure. How can we decide? How can we make such a decision? Is it enough to establish a king? Is it enough to decide such a big thing just by you and me? If the court officials criticize it, what can we say?" The Deputy Minister of Administration rolled his eyes and said coldly: "At present, the princes are all in the imperial capital. If you are not careful, it will cause a disaster. It is better to be cautious according to my intention."

"I heard from Lord Ning, you think you have to wait until Your Majesty’s funeral is done before you can decide on a new emperor candidate?" Lu Wenfu's heart sank. He didn't expect that the first assistant of the leader and ministers would have such a ridiculous idea at this juncture. If this is the case, I am afraid that the huge waves will be immediately caused. Could it be that Your Majesty did not disclose any intention to him in the past two days, or did he really not know the interests in the middle?

"This is not a bad thing. Your Majesty's funeral cannot be delayed. Of course, the issue of the new emperor's candidate is a major issue related to the rise and fall of the empire. Even Your Majesty has never made up his mind to become the crown prince. At this time, he has to make a decision with a few words between us. This is too much of a joke. With the intention of the official, he will discuss it from multiple parties and solicit opinions from multiple parties. In addition, although the royal family is selfless, does the Queen's Majesty and the Queen Mother's Majesty do not ask for the opinions of you and me, and you will break it arbitrarily?" Ning Yuanwang looked at the other party indifferently, feeling secretly proud in his heart, but on the surface he was righteous and stern, as if the world was for the public.

"Mr. Ning, have you considered it? If you cannot immediately decide on the candidate for the new emperor, the news of His Majesty's death will cause a lot of unpredictable chaos, and the enemy outside looks at him. Have you never considered the consequences in your eyes?" Lu Wenfu had completely cut off this person's thoughts on his heart at this time. This person clearly had an ulterior motive, so he said this just now. However, this guy is worthy of being an old thief who has been practicing for decades. On the surface, every sentence is mainly public and his words are free of water.
Chapter completed!