"Yuan, Yuanbi!" Emperor Xiaoxuan suddenly turned to look at the Crown Prince. "I am your biological father. Even if I have done wrong, I have been punished. As long as you help me, this country will be yours in the future."
"Do you really want to watch the empire that's within your grasp be handed over to someone else?"
The Crown Prince chuckled softly: "My royal uncle promised that if he could cure me of the poison, he would also give me the empire."
"Impossible!" Emperor Xiaoxuan's pupils widened as he looked at Zhou Xuance in disbelief. "I don't believe that you, after all this scheming, don't want to be emperor?"
"Looking around the world, who wouldn't want to sit in this position!"
"Yuan Bi, he is lying to you. He is cunning and will definitely kill you in the future."
“If my uncle really wanted to control me, he wouldn’t have cured me of the poison, Father…” The Crown Prince looked at Emperor Xiaoxuan, who was prostrate on the ground, “Why don’t you listen to your uncle and abdicate?”
"Impossible! Someone, come quick, I want you all dead!"
"Zhou Xuance, I should have killed you long ago, killed you!"
Emperor Xiaoxuan appeared deranged.
Zhou Xuance only looked at him coldly, "Kill me? Aren't you afraid that the edict of succession left by Father will be made public?"
The Crown Prince was surprised:
Grandfather, did he really leave a will?
Having lived in the palace since childhood, he naturally heard some rumors and gossip.
When the Emperor's grandfather suddenly passed away, his father, who was the Crown Prince at the time, naturally succeeded to the throne. However, there were rumors that the Emperor's grandfather had left an edict saying that the throne would be passed to his uncle, and that the edict was in the hands of his uncle.
It is said that,
This is the real life-saving charm for the Imperial Uncle!
Emperor Xiaoxuan was also greatly shocked upon hearing these words.
At this moment, Zhou Xuance slowly took out a bright yellow imperial edict from his bosom, saying, "Brother, if you do not abdicate today, this throne will not be secure."
Emperor Xiaoxuan trembled, his body shaking, "You...you planned this all along!"
With a single glance from Zhou Xuance, the Crown Prince produced the prepared abdication edict, which only needed to be stamped with the imperial seal.
Emperor Xiaoxuan was completely dejected.
Since things have come to this point,
What can he do?
They dared to do this because they already had complete control over the court and the country. Rather than letting Zhou Xuance ascend the throne, it would be better to abdicate in favor of their son.
The moment he saw the imperial seal being sealed, he felt short of breath and vomited a mouthful of blood.
"Yuan Bi, he is really not a good person. He dared to treat me like this, and he will never let you off the hook in the future!" Emperor Xiaoxuan warned through gritted teeth.
"Brother, this is not something you should worry about."
Upon receiving the abdication edict, Zhou Xuance smiled and handed it to him, saying, "Take a look. This was left by my father."
This is it...
She's controlled him for most of his life!
He gripped the imperial edict tightly and said with a bitter smile, "Zhou Xuance, do you know? Ever since Consort Xiao entered the palace, I have hated her to the core."
"You shouldn't hate her, you should be grateful to my mother," Zhou Xuance said coldly. "You should know that with Father Emperor's affection for my mother, if she wanted to..."
"You can easily get a seat in the back!"
"Even your position as crown prince can only be given to me!"
These words stung Emperor Xiaoxuan.
"Yes, blame your mother for not being ruthless enough. The palace is a place that devours people. Being the sole favorite in the Empress's quarters was the biggest mistake. Do you know how many people in the entire palace want the lives of you and your son?"
"How many people are hoping for your downfall!"
"I thought my father's affection for her was only temporary. After all, most of the concubines who entered the palace had their share of glory, but..."
"Her favor with the emperor never waned!"
"Not only that, she was pregnant, but even while she was pregnant, the Emperor never visited any of his other concubines."
“I knew then that once she gave birth to a son, he would definitely threaten my position.”
But the truth is,
What I feared most came to pass!
Consort Xiao did indeed give birth to a prince.
The late emperor was overjoyed and held a grand banquet, with all officials paying homage. The scale of the first birthday banquet was even larger than that of the crown prince's.
If Zhou Xuance were a useless piece of trash, that would be one thing.
He could live his whole life as a carefree prince and pose no threat.
However, he showed extraordinary talent from a young age.
With outstanding looks, exceptional talent, and extraordinary abilities, he was the perfect heir to the throne, which is why there were many voices in the court at that time advocating for a change of heir.
Emperor Xiaoxuan chuckled softly, "Don't blame me, blame your father for being so heartless!"
“I served as the crown prince for so many years, working diligently, yet he still had the idea of changing the heir.”
"He actually wants to pass the throne to you, you greenhorn brat? On what grounds? How can I accept this? This position rightfully belongs to me; how can I simply hand it over to someone else!"
Zhou Xuance sneered: "So you murdered the emperor and your father, and forced my mother to her death."
"This is all your fault. The struggle for the throne is always filled with corpses. What does it matter if a few people die!"
"Nothing much?" Zhou Xuance sneered. "Perhaps in your eyes, no one is as important as this position."
Emperor Xiaoxuan gritted his teeth: "Zhou Xuance, I don't believe you really don't want to sit in this position!"
"You could tolerate the imperial edict of succession?"
"I...don't believe it!"
In his heart, the imperial throne was above all else.
He couldn't believe that anyone would give up the throne and hand it over to someone else!
As Emperor Xiaoxuan spoke, he directly opened the imperial edict.
This is indeed my father's handwriting.
[I have received the mandate of Heaven to inherit the great legacy of my ancestors… I fear my strength is waning, and I live in constant anxiety, worried that I may not live to see the end.]
The eldest son of the Emperor, Zhou Xuanli, is endowed with benevolence, wisdom, filial piety, and brotherly love. He is fit to ascend the throne to uphold the divine mandate, bring peace to the people, and bestow blessings upon future generations.
...
Emperor Xiaoxuan gripped the edict tightly, his eyes wide with horror. "Pass the throne to the eldest son—"
"Zhou... Zhou Xuanli!"
"No, this is impossible, this edict is not real."
Zhou Xuance glanced at him, his expression cold: "This is the edict of succession that you have always been wary of. Father Emperor does love me, but he has never wanted me to inherit the throne. In his heart, the heir to the throne has always been you."
"At that time, there were many rumors circulating in the court and among the people, so he issued an edict."
"I just never expected that I would be killed by you so soon after."
"You personally killed your father, the emperor who wanted to put you on the throne!"
"Impossible!" Emperor Xiaoxuan felt dizzy and, after shouting, vomited a mouthful of thick blood, staining the imperial edict red. His eyes were wide open as he stared intently at every word on it.
murmuring:
"Wrong, all wrong..."
"Father, was I really wrong?"
He recalled the scene of forcing his father to die, and how his father only said that he had left a will for Zhou Xuance, and then stopped struggling.
Therefore, he always believed that the imperial edict must have stated that the throne was to be passed to Zhou Xuanze!
Therefore, he was afraid and panicked.
For more than ten years, I have been living in fear and trembling.
It's all wrong.
He schemed against his father, but in the end, his father still outmaneuvered him.
What has he been doing all these years...?
All wrong!
In an instant, he felt as if his insides were burning, his whole body was on fire, his blood was churning, and after vomiting blood again, he fainted.
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