Chapter 188 He has been scheming for most of his life, but in the end it is all in vain

Before Yu Youning could answer, Wei Zhao's face showed shock.

"Why is it so sudden?" Wei Zhao asked in a lost voice.

Chu Huaishan looked at Wei Zhao, his expression slightly changed, "It's not that sudden."

Wei Zhao was not stupid. When he heard Chu Huaishan say this, he almost instantly understood what Chu Huaishan meant.

An emperor who has not much time left will naturally try to find a way to help his son find a powerful alliance before he dies.

Although he understood it, it didn't mean Wei Zhao was willing to accept it.

Wei Zhao pursed his lips tightly, his face looking a little nervous.

Just as I was about to say something, Yu Youning spoke first.

"What are the benefits of being a princess?"

Chu Huaishan was not surprised at all when he heard Yu Youning ask this.

This is indeed a question that Yu Youning could ask.

If you ask whether there are any benefits...then there definitely are.

"Yes." Chu Huaishan nodded.

"What benefits?" Yu Youning became even more curious.

"As a princess of Nanzhao, you will have endless mushrooms to eat."

Yu Youning's eyes widened, and her mouth opened wide. "So good? Then I'll take it!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Tingwan opened her mouth to speak, but she swallowed the words back as they reached her lips.

Just before coming in, Chu Huaishan had already analyzed the pros and cons with her and Wen Shiyan.

Making Yu Youning a princess of Nanzhao is the most solid way to form an alliance between Nanzhao and Dayong.

After all, Wei Zhao would definitely be the next emperor of Nanzhao.

But Wei Zhao treated Yu Youning differently from others.

However, the reason and purpose for Yu Youning's agreement were completely different from what they thought.

But if you think about it carefully, it's not a big deal.

As long as the result is what they want, it doesn’t matter what the reason and purpose are, or what the process is.

After Yu Youning agreed, she looked at Wei Zhao. Seeing Wei Zhao's complicated expression, as if he was not very happy, she hurriedly asked him, "Wei Zhao, are you unwilling to let me be the princess of Nanzhao?"

Facing Shangyu Youning's eyes, Wei Zhao quietly clenched his hands hidden in his sleeves.

After a few breaths, Wei Zhao smiled and slowly shook his head, "I'm not unwilling."

Yu Youning stood on tiptoe, raised her hand, and patted Wei Zhao's shoulder. "Don't worry, even if I become the princess of Nanzhao, I won't eat too much! I will definitely not eat all the mushrooms in Nanzhao!"

Even though Wei Zhao was in a heavy mood, he couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

Is this what he is afraid of?

But when he looked at Yu Youning's face, he couldn't say a word of what was in his mind.

Wei Zhao said nothing in the end.

In fact, he didn't need to say anything.

The Emperor of Nanzhao had made up his mind, and Yu Youning readily agreed.

Yu Tingwan and Wen Shiyan had no objections either.

When Chu Huaishan entered the palace the next day, he told the Nanzhao Emperor that he agreed.

The Emperor of Nanzhao was really impatient and immediately asked someone to draft an imperial edict and announce it to the world.

The imperial edict stated that in order to thank Chu Huaishan for saving his life, he adopted Chu Huaishan's closed disciple as his adopted daughter and named her a princess.

This statement sounds like there is nothing wrong with it, but it is not known how many people will believe it.

When Jiang Liyang learned of the imperial edict, he was extremely surprised.

Over the years, he has been highly valued by the emperor, and the emperor would usually discuss important matters like this with him.

Even if I don't discuss it with him, I will let him know first.

But this time, the emperor didn't say anything to him.

He actually knew the news together with others.

If it were in the past, how could this situation possibly happen!

Could it be that the emperor has some opinion about him?

Jiang Liyang was shocked and his heart skipped a beat.

But when I think about it carefully, I feel that it shouldn’t be the case.

He just helped the emperor deal with the queen, so the emperor should value him more.

Perhaps the emperor just hadn't recovered yet and was running low on energy, so he didn't think of telling him in advance.

Jiang Liyang comforted himself in his heart and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the housekeeper coming in hurriedly.

"Master, someone is coming from the palace, send them in quickly!"

Jiang Liyang's heart trembled again.

Why did the emperor summon him into the palace at this time?

Seeing Jiang Liyang standing there motionless, the housekeeper urged him cautiously.

"Master, someone told you to hurry up because the Emperor is a little anxious."

Hearing this, Jiang Liyang suppressed the inexplicable uneasiness in his heart and nodded, "Okay, I'll go right away."

...

Jiang Liyang looked at the hall in front of him, took a deep breath, and then walked in.

"Your Majesty!"

As Jiang Liyang spoke, he knelt on the ground.

But he waited for a long time, his knees ached, and still didn't hear any sound.

He has never experienced such cold treatment in all these years!

In the past, every time he came to see the emperor, he could hear the emperor calling him before he even knelt down.

Today this is...

Jiang Liyang was already feeling uneasy, and now he felt even more uneasy.

But he didn't dare to look up, let alone ask, so he could only wait obediently.

It was not until his knees were aching from kneeling that Jiang Liyang finally heard the voice of the Nanzhao Emperor.

"Lord Jiang, do you have anything you want to say to me?"

"emperor...."

Jiang Liyang slowly raised his head and looked at the emperor with a puzzled expression, "I don't quite understand what the emperor means."

"I don't understand... Hehe." The Nanzhao Emperor laughed softly, "What a misunderstanding."

"Since he doesn't understand, show him the things."

The eunuch standing not far from the Nanzhao Emperor came to Jiang Liyang holding a box.

Jiang Liyang felt that the box looked familiar, and when he saw what was inside, his face turned as pale as paper.

The box contains memorials, secret letters, and account books.

These are all evidence of his private dealings with some officials, as well as evidence of his corruption.

These things were clearly hidden very well by him, so how could they appear here?

Jiang Liyang couldn't understand this at all.

But now is obviously not the time to think about these things.

Instead of wondering why these things are here, think about how to excuse and defend yourself.

At this moment, Jiang Liyang's mind was working exceptionally fast.

Before he could come up with an explanation, the Nanzhao Emperor spoke again.

"You should have guessed my physical condition. I don't have much time left."

"Among my sons, the one I like the most has always been Zhao'er."

"I intend to draft an edict this afternoon, abdicating the throne and allowing Zhao'er to succeed me."

After hearing these words, Jiang Liyang could no longer hold back. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the Nanzhao Emperor in shock.

"emperor!"

Why did the emperor first produce the evidence of his guilt and then say these words?

The Nanzhao Emperor's face was pale, but his eyes were extremely sharp and oppressive.

The Nanzhao Emperor looked directly into Jiang Liyang's eyes and said word by word, "But the premise of all this is that you want to die."

Jiang Liyang's face was full of disbelief, "Your Majesty..."

"Zhao'er is my son, so I am naturally willing to give him the throne. But I absolutely cannot allow my relatives to monopolize power.

Over the years, I have placed great trust in you and have helped you rise to higher positions step by step. Half of the officials in this court obey your orders.

This is the case while I am alive. If I am gone, Zhao'er will only become a puppet emperor, which I absolutely cannot allow.

If you are willing to die, the Jiang family will withdraw from the court, and I can safely pass the throne to Zhao'er.

I'll give you a quarter of an hour to think it over."

Jiang Liyang heard every word of the Nanzhao Emperor clearly.

But the more clearly I heard it, the more I couldn't believe it.

He has been scheming for most of his life just for the Jiang family.

But in the end, it was all in vain?

How could he accept this!

The hall was extremely quiet, and neither the king nor his ministers spoke.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Jiang Liyang slowly raised his head and asked, "Does the Seventh Prince know about the Emperor's decision?"

The Nanzhao Emperor smiled silently, "Zhao'er, come out!"

As the Nanzhao Emperor finished speaking, Wei Zhao walked out from behind the screen.

Wei Zhao looked anxious.

As soon as he came out, he strode to Jiang Liyang and knelt straight on the ground.

"Father!"

"Please, Father, spare my uncle's life!"

"Although my uncle made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes in life. I believe that my uncle was just confused for a moment!"

"My second uncle is already dead. If my eldest uncle dies too, how will my grandparents accept it? Even if my mother knew about it, she would definitely blame me!"

As Wei Zhao spoke, he bowed deeply to the Emperor of Nanzhao.

"Father, I don't care about the throne. I just want my family to live well. My brothers are both civil and military experts. They are definitely more suitable than me..."

"Seventh Prince."

Jiang Liyang suddenly spoke.

"With the Seventh Prince's words, I will die without regrets."

Jiang Liyang turned his head to look at Wei Zhao beside him, "Zhao'er, you are just like your mother, too kind and always thinking of others. This is a good thing, but it is not a good thing either.

I let your mother down before, and today, I don’t want to let you down again.

I have made countless mistakes and have already committed a capital crime. You don't need to plead for me anymore.

I only have one favor to ask of you. After I die, there will be no one left in the Jiang family court, and we can only rely on you to protect them.

Let your grandparents enjoy their old age, let your aunt live the rest of her life in peace, and let your cousins ​​live a rich and leisurely life...that's enough.

You are a good child, and your uncle believes in you."

After Jiang Liyang finished speaking, he looked at the Nanzhao Emperor and knelt respectfully on the ground.

"Your Majesty, we have been king and subject for decades... and ultimately, I have betrayed your trust.

I will leave today. I only hope that Your Majesty can take care of himself! The Seventh Prince is young. If Your Majesty can protect him, Nanzhao will surely be more stable."

The Emperor of Nanzhao just looked at Jiang Liyang with burning eyes without saying a word.

The eunuch standing by came forward with the poisoned wine that had been prepared long ago.

Jiang Liyang looked at the poisoned wine in front of him and smiled self-deprecatingly.

A few days ago, in this very palace, he watched the Queen and the Third Prince commit suicide by drinking poison.

Only a few days had passed and it was his turn.