Chapter 781 Clash - The Truth

The emperor did not see his own reflection in the man's face. Instead, it was as if the man, the man he loathed, hated, and wanted to kill, was standing in front of him once again.

"You...you are Bai Xu's son."

The emperor hardly needed to confirm; he could tell at a glance that Yun Yichen's face was strikingly similar to Bai Xu's.

It turns out that the reason Yun Yichen had been wearing a mask all these years was not because he was ugly, but because he was afraid that he would be recognized as the son of Bai Xu and the Princess.

"Hahaha……"

The emperor suddenly burst into laughter, realizing that the grand funeral he had given to the heir of the Duke of Anguo, and the fact that he had even arranged for him to be buried in the imperial mausoleum, was all part of Yun Yichen's scheme.

He seemed to see the faces of Bai Xu and the Princess, who were smiling at him and saying, "See? In the end, you still lost, lost to our son."

No, I am the emperor, I am the ruler of this country, how could I possibly lose, how could I possibly lose.

"Traitors and rebels, you bunch of traitors and rebels!"

The emperor put on a brave front, but he knew very well that whether it was the fourth prince or Yun Yichen, they were both thieves who had come to take his life.

His gaze swept over Gu Renjie, who had remained silent, and he quickly spoke up: "Renjie, you don't know yet, do you? You are my son, the second prince of the Great Zhou."

The emperor looked at Gu Renjie with fervor and eagerness in his eyes.

The only person who can help him now is Gu Renjie. Although he knows that Gu Renjie is Yun Yichen's brother-in-law, that was without his knowledge.

That's right. Renjie certainly doesn't know his true identity. If he knew that he was the Second Prince and a strong contender for the throne, he definitely wouldn't have joined forces with Yun Yichen to deal with him.

As long as I reveal that he is the one to whom I pass the throne in my imperial edict, given his ambition for power, he will surely help me.

The emperor was overjoyed and was about to tell Gu Renjie the truth about passing the throne when Gu Renjie spoke first.

"No, I am not your son."

Before Gu Renjie could finish speaking, the emperor said urgently, "No, you are, you are my son, and I have people who can prove that your mother is Consort Yun."

The emperor feared that even this last hope was lost, but reality ultimately proved him wrong.

“I am indeed not your son. I thought I was before, but it wasn’t until Uncle Jiu gave me a painting that I realized my real father was the Seventh Prince.”

Gu Renjie showed no unease about discussing his background, which surprised the emperor, who stared wide-eyed.

Yun Yichen, whom he thought was his son, became Bai Xu's son, and Gu Renjie, whom he thought was his son, became Lao Qi's son.

It was as if fate was playing a joke on him, and the emperor couldn't help but burst into laughter again.

Suddenly, he remembered that he had summoned several ministers, Yun Yichen, and Gu Renjie, and in front of them, sealed the edict he had written and handed it over to the old ministers for safekeeping.

Back then, to protect himself from his sons, he had specially written another edict and placed it in a secret compartment. But now his sons are all dead, and the edict bears someone else's name.

"So it was you who plotted to kill my child."

Perhaps it was because he had reached a point of no return that the emperor suddenly realized something.

Although he didn't know what role Yun Yichen played in it, he was certain that they had instigated the conflict among his sons.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Yun Yichen bowed gracefully to the emperor and, in an extremely respectful manner, reported, "Your Majesty harbored resentment towards the Fifth Prince because of the Third Prince's deposition. Your Majesty believed that the Fifth Prince disregarded brotherly affection in order to become the Crown Prince. But in reality, the one who truly deposed the Third Prince was me."

After saying that, Yun Yichen couldn't help but add, "I did it myself!"

After hearing Yun Yichen's words, the emperor trembled slightly.

He never expected Yun Yichen to be so ruthless, to do something so vicious to Lu Youming.

Why did you do that?

The emperor's voice trembled slightly with anger.

Upon hearing this, Yun Yichen thought about it seriously for a moment, and then said, "Why? That's a good question. It seems that Duke Anguo asked the same question before he died, and my answer at the time was, do you still remember how the Eldest Princess and the Crown Prince of Wei died back then?"

Yun Yichen glanced at the emperor as he spoke, "Does Your Majesty know?"

Yun Yichen's sincere inquiry moved the emperor to his feet. He stood up excitedly, swaying as he pointed at Yun Yichen.

"You actually didn't even spare the father who raised you for twenty years? You are truly a vicious snake. It is a disgrace to my sister to have a son like you."

The emperor was almost hoarse from shouting, but due to his weak body, only a few people in front of him could hear him.

Yun Yichen sneered, "Disgrace? I wonder who is truly disgraced by Mother? Has Your Majesty forgotten what you did more than twenty years ago? As an elder brother, how could you..."

Yun Yichen did not say those words aloud because he felt that saying them would be a desecration of his mother.

The emperor trembled after hearing Yun Yichen's words. He hadn't expected that Yun Yichen knew so much about these old stories.

A look of panic flashed across his eyes. The events of twenty years ago were still vivid in his mind: the face of that man and his imperial sister, all those entanglements—how could he possibly forget?

Seeing Yun Yichen's gradually erupting anger, Gu Renjie patted him on the shoulder, "Relax."

Yun Yichen loosened his clenched fist and simply turned his head away, no longer looking at the emperor.

The emperor stood a few steps away, stunned for a moment, then looked at the three of them again, finally seeing Lu Changqing with a shocked expression on his face.

Lu Changqing knew very little about these people and events, and upon hearing Yun Yichen's questioning of the emperor, he could no longer control his expression. Not only him, but Sun Ruoyun also wore an expression of disbelief; they had never expected to learn so many secrets today.

"Changqing, you can control Gu, right?"

The emperor regained his composure in no time.

The man before him, Lu Changqing, was his last son. Although Lu Changqing had half Li ethnic blood and was not as pure as others, the emperor still preferred his own son to inherit the throne, rather than Gu Renjie, who was not his son.

Moreover, Lu Changqing can control Gu. If he releases Gu worms to control Yun Yichen and Gu Renjie, wouldn't the father and son be safe?

At this moment, the emperor seemed to have forgotten his previous dislike for Lu Changqing. Even the fact that he held a controlling stake in Lu Changqing was now seen as an advantage by the emperor.

Lu Changqing, who was initially in surprise, was reminded of this matter by the emperor.