"If he wants to, you won't be able to stay in your position."

The Crown Prince suddenly chuckled, “So… that’s why you took action against him.”

"Yet you dare not kill him, for you fear that if he dies, he might have a backup plan, and that imperial edict could pull you down from your position as the supreme ruler?"

"You scoundrel!" Emperor Xiaoxuan raised his hand and slapped him across the face.

What do you mean by that?

"Questioning me?"

"Your subject dares not!" The Crown Prince's face burned like fire, but his heart was filled with coldness.

"Just remember, if you want to stay in this position, you must learn to use both kindness and severity, and be ruthless. With your indecisive and hesitant nature, how can I entrust the throne to you?"

Emperor Xiaoxuan took a deep breath. “You have been by my side since you were a child, and I have personally raised you, yet you are not like me at all.”

The crown prince laughed out loud, "Yes, of all the princes, he's most like you..."

"It's the third brother!"

"It's a pity that he's just too much like you. He's willing to do anything to achieve his goals. As a prince, he dared to betray his country and even attempted to assassinate his uncle, which resulted in him being stripped of his title and imprisoned."

"Zhou Yuanbi!" Emperor Xiaoxuan raised his hand and slapped him hard again!

This time, the force was extremely strong.

The blow caused the prince to stagger, his head hitting the edge of the bed, whereupon blood immediately seeped out.

"Who taught you to speak to me like that!"

"Your Majesty, it was you who assassinated my uncle when he went south, Father. But the Third Prince may have also attacked my uncle, and my uncle thought it was him who did it. As for you..."

"Just go with the flow and let your own son take the blame!"

"Father, that's your own son!"

"Shut up!" Emperor Xiaoxuan suddenly roared, "Get out of here! Get out! I don't want to see you."

As he spoke, he coughed violently again, even coughing up some blood.

The Crown Prince simply smiled and asked, "Father, in the last battle in the southern border, you suddenly ordered Song Yuxiu to join the army. What exactly did you assign him?"

"Are you questioning me?" Emperor Xiaoxuan gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "I am the Son of Heaven, and I do not need to tell you what I do!"

"He poisoned me?"

Emperor Xiaoxuan's pupils suddenly dilated. "What are you saying?"

"You don't need any heir to the throne at all. You said you loved me and made me the crown prince, but you also supported your third brother to ascend the throne, causing us brothers to fight amongst ourselves..."

"But the truth is? You're dissatisfied with no one!"

"You only want to last forever and sit firmly on the throne. For this, you are even willing to scheme against your own son."

"You are unworthy to be a ruler, unworthy to be a father!"

Perhaps this touched a nerve, for Emperor Xiaoxuan roared, "Get out—"

"Get out of here!"

"You want me to be sickly and weak like my uncle, so you can control me. If I obey, you might really pass the throne to me; otherwise, I'll be the second third brother!"

"Because you said it..."

"You need submissive, easily manipulated tools, and I... am your tool too!"

"Get out!" Emperor Xiaoxuan roared, "Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs—"

He seemed to have forgotten that Gao Daban had been bitten by Chen and was not there at all.

As the palace doors were gently pushed open and closed, footsteps gradually became clearer.

"Goldman Sachs, drag this rebellious son away, drag him away—"

He coughed violently, his blood churning.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, and my head was throbbing as if it were about to explode.

"I...I want to depose him as crown prince..."

Before Emperor Xiaoxuan could finish speaking, his pupils widened in horror as if he had seen a vengeful ghost that was about to take his life. "You... how could it be you?"

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Gao was bitten just now, and his carotid artery was severed. He died before he could be taken to the hospital."

"Impossible, impossible!" Emperor Xiaoxuan gasped, "You killed him, it was you!"

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Gao's passing was merely an accident..."

Zhou Xuance was dressed in fine clothes, his hair tied up with a black hairpin, and he wore a pair of black boots. He was dressed in a strong and powerful style, but his tone was lazy and he looked at him with a smile, as if he were strolling leisurely.

"Just like when Father passed away, you said it too."

"Sudden death was an accident!"