"Father?"
Upon hearing Ye Fan say that Emperor Li Hongwen had left him a letter, Li Mufeng snatched it away.
Gazing at the familiar handwriting, he felt a pang of panic. With trembling hands, he opened the letter, where several lines of strong, vigorous writing were displayed.
"Feng'er, I'm sorry, your father is weak and unable to protect you from the wind and rain. The only thing I can do now is to clean up the court for you, so that you can ascend the throne without any worries. This is the only thing your father can do for you."
What exactly happened in the capital?
After reading the letter, Li Mufeng had a bad feeling and asked in a hoarse voice.
"This humble general is not too clear either. After the prince left the capital, the emperor summoned many officials, but they did not all enter the palace at the same time."
This humble general belongs to the second batch. The first batch consisted of officials from the Feng clan. Apart from the Empress Dowager, almost all officials from the Feng clan were present.
When I arrived, all of them were vomiting black blood, clearly poisoned.
When asked what had happened, the emperor only vaguely said that those people wanted to assassinate him, and then sent his servant to assist the prince.
What happened after that, I have no idea.
General Ye Fan, the Tiger Warrior, truthfully recounted what he knew. Li Mufeng's gaze deepened.
"Father is prepared to fight to the death. If Grand Tutor Feng and the others are dead, who else would be a threat to Father?"
Could it really just be illness? The Emperor ultimately softened towards the Empress Dowager, hoping the letter in his hand would help him make a decision.
I looked up at the sky outside. It was already late, so I decided to rest for the night and set off back to Beijing tomorrow.
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation
A stunningly beautiful woman, touching her round belly, slowly walked to the bedside. Her slender, fair hand traced the man's pale face, and her lips parted slightly.
"Old man, are you going to write the edict of succession or not? If you don't, believe me, I'll send you to your death today!"
"Even if you kill me, I will never pass the throne to you, you wicked woman. I... I will only leave the throne to Feng'er."
Li Hongwen spoke haltingly, and the woman, enraged, slapped him hard across the face.
"You old fool, I see you're just going to refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Since you're so ungrateful, I'll have your son skin you alive with his own hands and see how long you can keep up this act."
Han Ruyi spoke, then shouted in a deep voice,
"Hurry up and come in."
"You old fool, what is it about me that I can't compare to that bastard? You only want to pass the throne to him instead of me. Since you are so biased, don't blame me for being impolite."
As Li Muchen spoke, he ruthlessly plunged the dagger into Li Hongwen's shoulder.
"ah……"
Just as Li Hongwen let out a scream, Han Ruyi covered his mouth.
"Quick, find something to gag this old bastard."
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
The voice of Eunuch Yu came from outside the door. A few days ago, Emperor Li Hongwen suddenly fell ill. Eunuch Zhou was suspected of neglecting his care and was ordered to be beaten to death by Consort Zhen, Han Ruyi, who said she would take care of the emperor herself. Since then, Emperor Li Hongwen has been imprisoned in the Hall of Mental Cultivation and no one has seen him since.
King Lin personally sent people to guard him, King Xian went mad and neglected state affairs, and King Longxuan was not in the capital.
The Empress Dowager and Prince Lin are birds of a feather, and everyone is left with no one to turn to for help.
Eunuch Yu could only wait outside the palace. As a rootless man, he could do nothing but worry helplessly.
"Reporting, Your Highness Consort Zhen, Prince Longxuan has returned to the capital. Lord Feng has asked me to inquire whether he can be allowed to enter the city."
While Li Hongwen was being tortured to the point of near death inside, a guard's report came from outside.
"What are we going to do? That bastard is back."
The second prince, Li Muchen, panicked immediately.
"What's there to be afraid of? Isn't there still this old bastard? As long as Li Mufeng dies, won't this empire be yours?"
Han Ruyi remained calm and composed, her slender fingers brushing against Li Muchen's ear as she breathed softly.
"Little vixen, I'll deal with you after I've dealt with Li Mufeng."
Li Muchen spoke ambiguously, but when he saw Han Ruyi's bulging belly, a hint of disgust flashed in his eyes.
But he knew that the Feng family's power was waning, and as Empress Dowager Feng Xiuzhen had said, he had to capture Han Ruyi in order to make a comeback.
Thinking of all this, Li Muchen reached out and stopped her, pulling Han Ruyi into his arms before pushing her down onto the bed and pressing her against Li Hongwen.
"Ugh, the Emperor is still here!"
Han Ruyi murmured sweetly, but her arms wrapped around Li Muchen's neck, clearly intending to please him.
"You wretch, you unfilial son..."
Emperor Li Hongwen trembled with rage, wanting to unleash a torrent of curses, but his mouth was stuffed with a strip of cloth, his eyes wide with fury, his face contorted with utter humiliation.
"I want to show this old man that I not only want his throne, but also his women."
As Li Muchen spoke, he brought his lips close to Han Ruyi's red lips.
Although she wasn't Li Muchen's love, she was his stepping stone. Besides, Han Ruyi wasn't ugly; if you ignored her pregnancy, she was still acceptable.
The two kissed for a while, until Han Ruyi was almost out of breath, before Li Muchen finally let go of her.
"You're so wicked! He's your father, the Emperor! How can you treat him like this? Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?"
Han Ruyi chirped coquettishly and poked Li Muchen, only to hear him say...
"This person is not my father at all. My father is..."
Before Li Muchen could finish speaking, Feng Ling's urging voice came from outside.
"Your Highness, please make a decision quickly! Prince Longxuan is almost at the city gate. If we don't stop him now, it may be too late."
"I'll take this old man to have a look first..."
Just as Li Muchen was about to mention Li Hongwen, he discovered that Li Hongwen had already passed away.
It turned out that every word Li Muchen and Han Ruyi had just said had reached Li Hongwen's ears.
He had always suspected that Li Muchen was not his son because he looked very much like Feng Yi, and even the servants would gossip about it behind his back.
She just didn't dare say anything to his face. So she sent someone to secretly follow Empress Feng Meiling for more than a year, but she didn't see any interaction between the two.
Li Hongwen dispelled his doubts and devoted himself to Li Muchen. Later, the Feng faction became increasingly rampant, and out of hatred for Li Muchen, he stopped liking him.
Li Muchen had everything a prince should have. Li Hongwen could be said to have fulfilled his duties as a father. If Li Muchen hadn't been so disappointing and always involved with the Feng family's faction, he wouldn't have been so disgusted with him.
Now that he heard Li Muchen say with his own ears that he wasn't his son, what else could Li Hongwen not understand? Thinking of all the tolerance and fatherly love he had shown Li Muchen over the years, Li Hongwen was disgusted to death. His eyes were wide open, and he died with his eyes wide open, truly unable to rest in peace.
"Now that old bastard is dead, what can we use to threaten Li Mufeng? You'd better think of something quickly!"
Li Muchen is a good-for-nothing. In crucial moments, he can only rely on women. Before, it was the Empress Dowager, and now it's Han Ruyi.
"What's the panic? Go find a copyist right away, I have a brilliant plan."
Han Ruyi's fox-like eyes darted around as she urged Li Muchen on.
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