“Say it if you will. I disdain the throne obtained by any means.”
Ye Beihan kicked Ye Yueze in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.
After kicking him, he pulled his foot back and realized that he had hurt Ye Yueze. His anger subsided a little.
“You don’t understand anything. We are siblings from the same mother. As long as you listen to me, I will not harm you.”
Ye Yueze had to prop himself up on his elbows to lift his head, and he kept sneering.
"I don't understand anything, but what have you done, brother? Did you poison Father? Did you cause Father's death?"
Over the years, no matter what Ye Beihan did, Ye Yueze didn't care. He thought that all his brother did was to get that position so that he could live a peaceful life under his protection.
But in the end, he never expected that all of this was paving the way for him.
"So, you refused to ascend the throne because of that person?"
Ye Yueze remained silent, which was tantamount to acquiescence.
Ye Beihan walked up to him and reached out to help him up.
"Have a seat! It seems there are some things I should tell you."
It was rare for Ye Beihan to speak to Ye Yueze so seriously.
He rubbed his shoulders and reluctantly sat down opposite Ye Beihan.
He had already made up his mind that no matter what his brother said next, he would not agree to become the Emperor of Beiliang.
“My brother doesn’t try to persuade me. I know my own abilities.”
Su Luo had tea in her room; she had predicted that Ye Yueze would come to find her in the middle of the night, so she had prepared it well in advance.
Ye Beihan poured Ye Yueze a cup of cold tea and then said.
"Yueze, do you know how our mother died?"
Ye Yueze paused in his teacup-holding motion. Why bring up their mother's death at this time?
"Brother, didn't the people in the palace say that Mother died in childbirth because of complications?"
This is what Ye Yueze always felt he owed his brother; if it weren't for him, they would still have their mother.
"You're wrong. Your mother wasn't killed because of you, but by the so-called father you speak of."
"How could that be, brother? Are you kidding me?"
Ye Yueze couldn't believe it. Since he could remember, how could his father, such a gentle man, have killed his mother?
"Ha! I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be false? He killed my mother with his own hands and it wasn't enough for him, he even had her body torn to pieces..."
This was something Ye Beihan had always kept hidden in his heart. It was from that moment on that he knew that if he wasn't ruthless enough, he could end up like his mother, handing his life over to someone else.
He wanted to protect his younger brother; there were still people in this world he cared about.
He recounted all the past events he had been unwilling to discuss.
"Yueze, my mother was originally just a beauty in the harem."
It was only after I became the regent that he posthumously conferred the title of concubine upon my mother.
Everything I've said today is true. If you don't believe me, go and see my mother's tomb; it's nothing more than a cenotaph.
This was the first time her brother had sat down and had a heart-to-heart talk with her.
He never lied to himself, and he would never use his mother's affairs to deceive him.
Was the father-son relationship all these years just an act by the emperor?
He could understand that his father didn't like his older brother, but his father didn't even like his mother, so how could he like him?
"Brother...I..."
Ye Beihan gently patted Ye Yueze's shoulder and said earnestly.
"Yue Ze, if you are unwilling to succeed to the throne because of his death from poisoning..."
Actually, there was absolutely no need for that. Ultimately, I didn't poison him; there are hidden reasons you don't know.
Ye Yueze tightened his grip on the teacup; he couldn't bring himself to murder his father and seize the throne.
Ye Beihan continued, "Even before you were born, he had a pharmacist imprisoned in the underground palace."
Rumor has it that this pharmacist can concoct an elixir of immortality.
But there is no elixir of immortality in this world, and after several years, the pharmacist made no progress.
Seeing this, he assumed the pharmacist was doing it on purpose, so he cut off one of the pharmacist's legs.
All the causes and effects of the Northern Liang changed at that time.
The pharmacist is actually the most powerful poison master in the world, with an extremely strong desire for revenge. He is also my master.
From that time on, he added a touch of poison to all the pills he gave to that person in the palace, a poison that even the imperial physicians couldn't detect, and that person took them for over a decade.
Based solely on what Ye Beihan said, Ye Yueze still had doubts, but Su Luo had said the same thing when she visited her father last time.
My father took a slow-acting poison for over ten years, which is why he ended up like this.
"No, that's not it. I clearly found out that it is..."
Ye Yueze wanted to say that the clues he found all pointed to his brother poisoning their father, the emperor.
"So what you found was the poison I administered?"
Ye Yueze lowered his head and acquiesced, feeling guilty for investigating his own brother.
"Your investigation is correct. That person in the palace should have died years ago. I kept him alive with medication."
But my medicine is both an antidote and a poison.
He survived, but he also brought out toxins that had been accumulating in his body for years.
It was all his own fault; it was karma.
Ye Yueze: "Brother, why didn't you tell me these things before? Father, you, and Aunt all know the reason behind what happened back then, but I'm the only one who doesn't."
As he spoke, Ye Yueze choked up. He was conflicted. His father and brother had such a grudge, so was the kindness his father had shown him all these years truly good?
"It's all fake, brother. Why do relationships have to be so complicated? I just want a simple life, but it's all fake."
Ye Beihan protected him too well, and when he learned the truth, he found it hard to accept.
"Yueze, pull yourself together. You're not allowed to cry after tonight. An emperor should act like an emperor."
Ye Yueze shook his head in resistance: "Brother, you are less suited to be an emperor than I am. Why me? I just want to be a carefree prince."
"Brother, you are the best successor to Northern Liang. Anyway, all the ministers in the court listen to you. I'll write an edict of abdication, and they won't have any objections."
Ultimately, Ye Yueze was still afraid and dared not accept the throne.
It was rare for Ye Beihan to have such a heart-to-heart talk with his younger brother. He took out a small box from his pocket.
Ye Yueze had no idea what he was going to do. He only saw him open the box, and inside was a black scorpion.
"Brother, you..."
To Ye Yueze's surprise, Ye Beihan placed the scorpion on his wrist.
The scorpion stung his wrist without any surprise.
Scorpions are venomous, and stings can cause redness and swelling on the face. However, it seems that scorpion venom has no effect on Ye Beihan.
He acted as if nothing had happened, catching the scorpion with his hand and putting it back in the box.
"The poison master in the underground palace is my master. I was fed all kinds of poisons since I was a child, and this body is no longer that of an ordinary person."
Perhaps one day in the future, I might suddenly die; I can't guarantee what will happen to me.
But the path has been paved for you. Once you've learned to govern Northern Liang, Su Luo and I will find a secluded place to live out our lives in peace.
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