Chapter 480 I will give this throne to you

A country cannot be without a ruler for a day.

Ever since the palace coup was settled, the dragon throne, which symbolizes supreme power, has been hanging vacant for half a month, and people in the court and the country are in turmoil.

Xiao Nanyan, as the regent, presided over the morning court and went to Taining Palace every day to deal with the trivial aftermath of the mutiny.

The stone steps outside the Taining Palace have recently been blocked by the former Empress Dowager Li and a group of white-haired old ministers.

The old ministers, some kneeling, some standing, pleaded day after day:

"Your Majesty, how can the country remain in vain for long? Immediately restore the Sixth Prince to the throne to ensure the safety of the country!"

Some even screamed with red eyes:

"The one in Weiyang Palace is no longer fit to be king! Your Highness, please issue an order to have Helian Feng abdicate and repent, and return the throne to the former Crown Prince Helian Ji. Then grant him his entire body as a token of gratitude to the world!"

The undercurrent doesn't stop there.

The mothers and concubines of several other princes of Tianqi secretly instigated their cronies and court officials to submit memorials, and between the lines were all temptations to "support a wise ruler", and they simply wanted to push their sons to the supreme position.

Xiao Nanyue collected the memorials every day and put them aside. In response to the pleas of Empress Dowager Li and the ministers, he simply dismissed them with a solemn sentence, "These are important matters of state and require long-term consideration." He never broached the subject of the new monarch.

One day, after the morning court session, the bronze crane in the Golden Throne Hall cast a long, thin shadow in the morning sun. Xiao Nanyan was about to turn around and leave the palace when Mingying, who had been waiting outside the hall, hurried over to pay his respects, his voice very low:

"Your Highness, His Majesty... His Highness is waiting at the Weiyang Palace. Please come over and have a chat."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Nanyan raised his lips to an ambiguous smile:

"He is finally going to see me." He started walking.

"Lead the way."

The red gate of the Weiyang Palace was ajar. Apart from the guards outside the palace, there was no one inside and it was dead silent.

Helian Feng was leaning on the soft couch by the window, still wearing his plain pajamas. His originally handsome face had become much thinner.

Although the arrow wound he blocked for Xiyan during the palace coup half a month ago has scabbed over, his face is still as pale as paper. Only his eyes are still clear.

Hearing the footsteps, he didn't turn around, but just looked at the falling sycamore leaves outside the window, his voice hoarse with illness:

"You're here."

"What do you want from me?"

Xiao Nanyue stood in front of the couch, his tone expressing no emotion.

Helian Feng slowly turned around, coughed twice, and signaled Mingying to leave. Only the two of them were left in the hall.

"In the past half month, you have stabilized the situation in the court that was out of control."

"I am just doing my duty."

Xiao Nanyan said calmly, "After all, this world was once a place that the late emperor wanted to protect."

When Helian Cong was mentioned, Helian Feng's eyes darkened.

On the day of the Yunqiu Rebellion, the arrow he shot at Xiao Nanyan eventually hit his own father's body. The brothers, who were originally connected by blood, completely turned against each other. That blood debt was the sharpest thorn between them.

Helian Feng thought about this and sighed softly:

"If I could turn back time, I would never listen to my mother's words, nor would I impulsively start the Yunqiu Rebellion, and I would not... shoot you with an arrow that killed my father. Unfortunately, there are no ifs in this world. The mistake has been made, and I cannot escape the blame."

"What's the point of talking about the past?" Xiao Nanyan looked away.

"How can I not mention it?"

Helian Feng stood up and looked straight at him:

"I am indeed absurd. I did whatever it took to gain power and position, and even harmed my father. Later, I even colluded with Xiao Beicheng and almost ruined Xiyan and Tianqi. I am unforgivable and have done an outrageous amount of wrong."

Xiao Nanyan stood in front of the bed, his voice calm and unwavering: "Xiao Beicheng is dead."

Helian Feng's hand holding the quilt paused slightly, a trace of astonishment passed across his pale face, and then he softly said "hmm", his tone carrying the relaxation of enlightenment:

"I think the root of all the life-and-death struggles we've endured over the years is him. He hated the Helian family, he hated you, and he hated your mother even more. He orchestrated this whole situation solely for revenge. Now that he's dead, those tangled grudges are finally finally over."

He raised his eyes to look at Xiao Nanyan, with a rare softness in his eyes: "One more thing, thank you."

After a pause, he whispered:

"Mother and Shu'er... their actions were unworthy of being buried in the imperial mausoleum, yet you still granted them a final shred of dignity. It was you who put a clean end to the internal strife within the Tianqi royal family."

Xiao Nanyan lowered his eyes, rubbing his fingertips gently under his sleeves, and never responded.

Helian Feng seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden. He took out a bright yellow imperial edict from under his pillow and handed it to him:

"This is my confession of guilt. I voluntarily abdicate... and I want to clear your name. You are my father's long-lost legitimate son, the true Crown Prince of Tianqi. I abdicate the throne to you."

Xiao Nanyan reached out to take it. The bright yellow color of the imperial edict was so dazzling that it made people's eyes dazzled. However, he did not even glance at it. He only glanced at Helian Feng lightly:

"Why did you abdicate to me? Why didn't you return power to Ji'er?"

Helian Feng smiled bitterly, coughed twice and then said:

"Ji'er? Do you think he has the ability to govern the country? How can we destroy the empire left by our father because of personal grudges? The other royal brothers are even more dissolute and unfit to be emperors."

Xiao Nanyan curled the corners of his lips, with a hint of inquiry in his tone:

"At this point, do you still have hatred in your heart?"

Helian Feng looked at the caisson on the ceiling of the hall, and his voice was as light as a sigh:

"Hating one person is too tiring. I don't want this hatred to continue. If my father were still alive, he wouldn't want to see us brothers killing each other... Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken that fatal arrow for you back then."