At this moment, several generals were questioning Princess Xibeya.
Prince Sam, standing nearby, wore a smile as if victory was already in his grasp.
Xibeya sighed softly and said, "Generals, it is true that Prince Saki is missing! I admit I didn't keep a close eye on him, but I absolutely have no intention of coveting royal power!"
However, at this point, even if they knew she had no such intention, she was still suspected!
Moreover, under Xibeya's governance, twelve ministers were assassinated in succession, and she was the only one to bear responsibility.
Just as the generals were making a fuss, Prince Sam raised his hand to interrupt them.
He revealed a look of concern for the royal family and sighed, "Generals, it is useless to blame Xibeya at this point. The most important thing now is to stabilize the situation. As long as the royal family is without a ruler, it could collapse at any moment."
At this, a minister behind him feigned distress, "Now that Prince Saki is missing, what are we to do?"
Another minister spoke directly, "I think it would be best if we choose a new ruler and select a new king!"
"This... how is that possible? Prince Saki is merely missing, not dead, so how can we select a new king?"
"How is it impossible? He has been missing for so long, perhaps someone for the sake of power has harmed Prince Saki! Also, I propose electing Prince Sam as the new king; besides him, no one else is qualified!"
The two, seemingly arguing, were actually putting on a show for the generals.
Xibeya saw all of this and inwardly sneered; her uncle seemed to have put in quite a bit of effort to seize power!
However, she did not interject, remaining like an observer, watching these clowns.
Soon, other ministers joined the discussion, while the generals, though silent, showed hesitation in their expressions.
The great upheaval in the royal family this time indeed required someone to step forward and stabilize the situation!
However, to elect a new king so abruptly seemed too hasty, as the current king, though gravely ill, was still alive.
Just then, Prince Sam felt the time was right and interrupted the acting ministers, "Everyone, be quiet for a moment. Let me say a few words!"
"The royal family is in turmoil, and ministers are being assassinated in secret to disrupt the morale of the people. If you, the ministers, think highly of me, Sam, and wish for me to be the new king, I am deeply grateful."
"However, His Majesty the King is still alive, and Prince Saki is still lost somewhere. Therefore, I absolutely cannot inherit the position of the new king!"
Prince Sam, appearing righteous, paused and continued, "I can manage the royal family on your behalf and simultaneously send people to search for Prince Saki. What do you all, ministers and generals, think?"
This display of concern for the royal family and his humility immediately won the favor of several generals.
Thus, a frontier general immediately praised, "Prince Sam's concern for the royal family is commendable. I believe His Majesty the King would be very pleased if he knew!"
The other generals nodded. One general immediately looked at Xibeya with a stern face and said, "Your Highness Princess, from today onwards, Prince Sam will control everything within and outside the royal family. Do you have any objections?"
A faint smile touched Prince Sam's lips.
It didn't matter that he couldn't inherit the throne for the time being. As long as he held all the power within and outside the royal family, wouldn't the entire royal family be under his command in the future?
As for Prince Saki, who held the true succession right? He would have to have a chance to return to the royal family first.
Furthermore, once he fully controlled the royal family, even that dying old man lying in bed could be disposed of as he pleased!
At this moment, Prince Sam could even envision the scene of smoothly taking control of the royal family.
Across from him, Xibeya suddenly smiled!
She sighed, shook her head helplessly, and looked up at Prince Sam, "Prince Sam, my dear uncle, you truly cannot wait even for a moment!"
Prince Sam smiled and said nothing. In his eyes, Xibeya was likely despairing at this point.
However, Xibeya then sneered, "Prince Sam, you hired assassins to murder twelve ministers of our royal family. Did you really think I didn't know? Generals, as I said, I would give you an explanation."
Soon, two female guards entered the hall, produced a projector, and displayed the images on one of the hall walls.
In the footage, a person wearing a silver mask and two people wearing bronze masks were meeting with Prince Sam.
In the next frame, surveillance footage captured these three masked assassins infiltrating the ministers' homes and committing the murders.
Upon seeing this, the entire hall fell silent.
Prince Sam's face turned extremely grim. He never expected that his meeting with members of the Dark Association would be secretly recorded.
He also never imagined that his every move was under the control of this young girl, Xibeya.
In the hall, the generals could no longer contain themselves. They stood up, gritted their teeth, and angrily denounced Prince Sam, "Prince Sam, why did you frame the royal ministers? I never imagined you were the mastermind behind all of this!"
Xibeya also said coldly, "Uncle Sam, how much royal property have you embezzled over the years? How many accounts are unclear? My father and I, out of past affection, did not say anything."
"But you incited members of the royal family, creating a volatile situation within the royal family, and attempting to control it. Is power truly that important?"
Prince Sam's face became extremely unsightly.
At this moment, he gritted his teeth, as if making a decision, his eyes flashing with killing intent. He said, "Xibeya, I underestimated you!"
"Indeed, I hired people to assassinate those twelve ministers! My goal was indeed to control the entire royal family and become the next king!"
As soon as he said this, several old generals became furious.
They denounced him as rebellious and outrageous!
However, Prince Sam was not flustered at all. He looked at the generals with a cold smile, then at Xibeya, and sneered, "But what if you know? The twelve ministers are dead. Within the royal family, within the royal city, who else can threaten me?"
Prince Sam clapped his hands. Immediately, guards rushed in from outside, surrounding everyone in the hall. The entire hall was under his control.
The generals were greatly alarmed and became vigilant.
Behind Xibeya, several female guards also stepped forward to shield her.
Prince Sam acted as if everything was under his control. He said regretfully, "Originally, I wanted to spare everyone's lives, as I still need to govern the royal family and cannot afford to lose so many core members at once. But who told you, Xibeya, to be too clever!"
It was Xibeya who produced evidence of him being the mastermind, forcing him to resort to force.
"Prince Sam, this is treason! This is the crime of rebellion!" Several generals roared in anger.
Although they were frontier generals who held most of the royal family's military power, they had only brought their retinues on this trip back to the capital. Therefore, at this moment, they could do nothing.
Prince Sam snorted coldly. The crime of rebellion? So what?
Once he controlled the entire royal family and became the new king, who could hold him accountable?
Just as he believed victory was within his grasp, dense gunfire suddenly erupted from outside. Something seemed to have happened outside!
"Report to Your Highness, we... we've been ambushed!"
*Clang!*
Prince Sam almost lost his footing, his entire being showing astonishment.
Ambushed? How was this possible?