Chapter 126 Tool Person

Mu Zhen, who had been lying half-reclined on the cushion with her eyes closed, opened them upon hearing this, her voice choked with emotion: "I have always believed that Father was deceived back then."

Shen Lun nodded in agreement: "That should be the case, but no matter what, Mu Ji has always been a decisive and ruthless person. He always manages to accomplish what he sets out to do, doesn't he?"

Mu Zhen pursed her lips, closed her eyes again, and did not intend to answer.

Shen Lun received no response, so he stood up and checked whether Mu Zhen on the bed was still breathing.

After confirming that Mu Zhen was still alive, he asked, "Shall I continue the story?"

"Hmm." Mu Zhen closed his eyes tightly and murmured a single word from his throat.

Shen Lun didn't sit back down, but first organized his thoughts: "The rest of the story is simple: Mu Ji used the excuse of 'Xi Clan's betrayal and the people's hearts turning away' to force his father, Mu Huan, to rebel against Xi Clan. At first, it was aimed at 'purging the court of corrupt officials and suppressing the pirates,' but later it evolved into a divine warning that 'the moonlight is bright and the fire is burning,' indicating that the fate of Yan Kingdom was sealed, and Mu Clan, in accordance with the will of Heaven, took its place."

It seems that history repeats itself from ancient times to the present, and everyone's approach to doing things is the same.

"To replace them is to replace them. The Yan Kingdom was destroyed, Xi Yu died for his country, and Crown Prince Zhaomu Xi Hao and Princess Yan Ya Xi Qin escaped." Shen Lun paced back a couple of steps before returning to Mu Zhen's bedside. He glanced at the unresponsive Mu Zhen before continuing, "Your father and Crown Prince Zhaomu grew up together, born on the same day, month, and year. Their relationship was even closer than that of blood brothers. He absolutely refused to believe that the Xi family would do something so ungrateful and betraying of the Yan Sheng people. Therefore, although he had to obey his family on the surface, he secretly assisted the Crown Prince and hoped that one day he could clear the Xi family's name and return the land to its rightful owner."

Mu Xun, who had been kneeling, slumped to the ground.

Mu Xi remained silent.

"As for what happens next..." Shen Lunge glanced at her, seemingly reluctant to say more, "You can probably guess what's going on without me saying it."

At this point, Mu Xi truly understood everything, but all she could do was sneer repeatedly: "It is indeed reasonable to speculate that in order to protect the orphan of the former crown prince and to give him the means to restore the country in the future, he had his daughter take over the position first before the transfer, is that right?"

Shen Lun raised an eyebrow, about to say something.

Mu Zhen opened her eyes again: "Fine, I know you've suffered all these years, so let me explain things clearly."

Shen Lun disagreed, but still took a step back.

Mu Zhen glanced at the distraught Mu Xun before looking up at Mu Xi: "Back when the Yu Kingdom was first established, your grandfather was on the throne, but his health was failing. At that time, although we brothers had different goals, we all wanted to compete for the position of crown prince. Unfortunately, at that time, my eldest brother Mu Zong and my second brother Mu Ji held the most military power."

Mu Xi knew to some extent that these two uncles were not born to the same mother, so she guessed their relationship wasn't very good.

Mu Zhen didn't go into that, but instead exclaimed, "Although I had a few soldiers under my command and had made many meritorious contributions, I was seriously injured and became useless, so it was difficult for me to compete with them. When it came time to reward merits, the two of them were the first to be granted titles and lands, while my fourth brother and I were left out."

The scumbag father Mu Zhen and the fourth uncle Mu Dong were born of the same mother, but the original owner never saw this fourth uncle in his memories. He had always been in the Western Region, under Mu Zhen's protection, keeping a low profile.

"My fourth brother... that is, your fourth uncle, is weak by nature and has no hope. As for me at that time... although I had military merits and prestige, firstly, I was too badly injured to go to the battlefield again, and secondly, there was a rumor that my injuries had affected my fertility and that I was no longer able to have children. Cough cough..." Mu Zhen seemed to have exhausted his strength and had to stop to catch his breath.

Taking advantage of the moment, Mu Xun slowly stood up, silently poured water from the table, and handed it to Mu Zhen.

Mu Xi watched Mu Xun's every move. If it came to filial piety, she admitted that she was inferior, but if it came to affection, this real father and daughter could not compare to the fake father and son.

Mu Zhen shook his head, refusing to drink water, and continued, "Based solely on military merit, I might have been granted a dukedom back then, but to gain military power, without a male heir, it would be impossible. At that time, your mother happened to be pregnant… I planned that if it was a boy, there would be an heir who could go back to the battlefield, and only then would there be hope of competing for military power. But if, unfortunately, it was a girl…"

"If it's a girl, then prepare for the next boy in advance..." At this point, Mu Zhen's strength waned, and Marquis Shen Lun of Yongguo chimed in, "This idea was actually mine, but it was just a temporary measure at the time. We prepared for the next baby boy in advance, so if Shen Ying gave birth to a girl, we could pretend to have given birth to twins. Unfortunately, I don't know if it was fate playing tricks on us or what, but the baby boy suddenly died the day before Shen Ying was due to give birth, while the Crown Princess gave birth to a grandson, and since she was too far away to help and needed to conceal her identity..."

hehe……

Mu Xi never expected that the idea of ​​having the original owner dress as a boy from childhood was originally proposed by Shen Lun.

Shen Lun glanced at Mu Xi's expression and knew what she was thinking: "This is fate playing tricks on us. You didn't need to pretend, but you can only blame yourself for not being born a boy. If you were a boy, you could have remained the heir of the Jin Fang family forever, without having to hide your identity as a prince and change your status repeatedly. You would only need to assist him. What a pity, what a pity... who told you to be a girl..."

There's no need to keep nagging about "it's a pity she's a girl" when this is such blatant sexism.

Mu Xun needed to conceal his identity, so he pretended to be a concubine's son and was brought back to the manor by Mu Zhen. In order to secure the position of heir for Mu Xun, she disguised herself as a man.

Mu Xi gets angrier every time she hears this; this is the brain-dead behavior of a pig.

But in these situations, we have no choice but to suppress it.

After some explanation, she could understand the "unavoidable circumstances" back then, but what she couldn't accept was that they had taken advantage of the original owner without ever feeling any remorse, treating her as if it were perfectly normal, and not treating her as a human being at all.

The original owner was definitely used as a tool, but she absolutely refused to accept that.

Mu Zhen, catching his breath, continued, "It turned out that your uncle's idea was indeed farsighted. Thanks to my military achievements and the status of the Shen family behind your mother, I was granted the title of Lord Jinfang and given the troops of the Western Border, while you were made Crown Prince at the age of one. So you should know that everyone made sacrifices in this matter of restoring the kingdom, not just you. Although I am a descendant of the Mu family, I am not ashamed of treacherous acts, the usurpation of the kingdom and its people. For years, I have been constantly searching for an opportunity to restore the Yan Kingdom. If I had succeeded, it wouldn't have been delayed until today, nor would it have hindered you. Unfortunately, fate intervened, and I couldn't find another opportunity. Beset by internal and external troubles, I was stretched thin, and numerous problems arose, which also delayed your best years. Since I have chosen to be loyal to the Xi family in this life, everything else can only come later. You can hate me if you want, but you cannot let your own selfish desires disrupt the entire plan… Sigh…"