Helian Jun was extremely flustered by Helian Rong's words.
How did the old man manage to see through people's hearts and guess his inner thoughts so clearly?
Helian Zheng frowned and glanced at Helian Jun, not denying that Helian Rong had guessed his thoughts correctly: "Yes, if the third and fourth princes help me ascend the throne, I won't kill them. But Helian Ci and his son dare to compete with me for the throne, so of course I must deal with them!"
He's not stupid. Those two dared to challenge him for the throne, so why should he be polite to them? He definitely won't let them get away with it!
But if the old man guessed so accurately, does that mean what he said about Helian Jun was also true?
If Helian Jun were to ascend the throne, would he kill him and the third prince?
However, now that both of their military seals are in his hands, the throne is not for him, the fourth prince, to sit on!
He was confident that he could seize the throne of Northern Wei among the three of them!
Helian Rong saw right through Helian Zheng's little scheme and directly exposed him: "You think you have the best chance of ascending the throne among the three of you. You don't take the third or fourth prince seriously. You think they can only be your helpers and stepping stones. They are not worthy of competing with you for the throne!"
Having his thoughts exposed once again, Helian Zheng's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
Faced with the questioning gazes of Helian Jun and Helian Qin, Helian Zheng offered no explanation.
However, his lack of explanation was seen by Helian Jun and Helian Qin as tantamount to an admission.
Helian Qin moved to the side again, further away from the two of them.
It turns out that neither the second nor the fourth brother ever took him seriously. In their eyes, he was always just a stepping stone!
Then why did he have to be so stupid as to become a stepping stone?
Helian Jun was also filled with mixed feelings. He hadn't expected that even he had never appeared in Helian Zheng's eyes.
He never even considered them as opponents; to Helian Zheng, they were merely his helpers in dealing with Helian Ci and his son.
No wonder they took their military seals before. Now that the seals are in Helian Zheng's hands, I'm afraid the two of them can only let Helian Zheng do as he pleases!
Helian Zheng did not refute Helian Rong's words; he was simply unconvinced: "Father, where do you think I lost? In what way am I inferior to Helian Ci!"
He just wanted to know why his father had bypassed him and made Helian Ci the crown prince. He could have been an excellent crown prince, so why didn't his father give him the chance?
Is it because he was born out of wedlock, while Helian Yu and Helian Ci were born out of wedlock?
As if he had guessed Helian Zheng's thoughts once again, Helian Rong chuckled again: "Do you think I'm not giving you a chance because of whether you're legitimate or illegitimate?"
At this moment, Helian Jun and Helian Qin also looked up at Helian Rong, as they were also curious to know whether it was the legitimate or illegitimate child causing trouble.
Although their father had just criticized them and exposed their character flaws, they were still unwilling to admit that this flaw would be the reason their father abandoned them.
So they were still hoping that if their father's actions were due to the issue of legitimate or illegitimate children, they would still not be convinced!
Seeing how concerned the three of them were, Helian Rong explained earnestly, "Yes, I do favor your eldest brother. Of course, my affection for Yu'er is not solely because he is the legitimate son, but because he possesses qualities that none of you possess. He is intelligent, kind, upright, wise, brave, and skilled in both literature and martial arts; all the qualities of a perfect crown prince are embodied in him. How could I not favor such a perfect crown prince!"
After Helian Rong finished speaking, he solemnly looked at the three of them: "The reason I don't give you opportunities because of whether you are legitimate or illegitimate is because you are not good enough and do not meet my requirements, so you don't have a chance!"
Helian Jun and Helian Qin both frowned. Their father had just criticized their character flaws, and they seemed too ashamed to ask any further questions about what they were not good enough about.
Only Helian Zheng still frowned, his face full of resentment. He clearly didn't know what he was lacking that made his father not give him a chance!
Helian Rong stopped beating around the bush and said bluntly, "You are indeed smarter than the third brother and more considerate of brotherhood than the fourth brother, but you are too violent and have a violent nature!"
"Your subject..." Helian Zheng began indignantly, wanting to defend himself, but Helian Rong didn't give him a chance at all: "You've smashed almost everything in your house! Is there anything left intact?"
Helian Rong's words left Helian Zheng speechless.
At the same time, he was even more puzzled. How did his father know about these things? Could he have planted an informant in the Prince Rui's mansion? And who in the Prince Rui's mansion was actually his father's man?
Helian Rong saw his expression and immediately snorted coldly, "Don't doubt how I know these things. You are all my sons, and you have grown up by my side since you were young. I dare say that I know you better than anyone else, even yourselves."
Neither Helian Jun nor Helian Qin dared to speak.
And you know what? The old man was absolutely right. They don't know if what he said about others is accurate, but they know perfectly well what he said about them.
Helian Zheng was still somewhat unconvinced: "Even if I broke a few things, what does that prove? Why does Father Emperor deny me because of this, and think that I cannot be a qualified crown prince?"
Seeing that he still had the nerve to be defiant, Helian Rong immediately rebuked him: "Your tyrannical nature is not only reflected in your smashing things. Before, when your illegitimate son forcibly abducted a woman, I told you to deal with it properly. How did you deal with it? You directly wiped out that entire family. Do you think I didn't know? I just thought that since everyone was dead, I was too lazy to expose you!"
Helian Jun and Helian Qin both looked at Helian Zheng, not expecting their second brother to have done these things.
Helian Zheng did not deny it. He had indeed done the right thing. Who told that family to be so troublesome? He was afraid of being blamed by his father and worried that this matter would affect his image in his father's eyes. He did not expect that this matter would ultimately affect him.
Helian Rong's criticism was not over yet: "Furthermore, you previously led troops to attack the small tribes surrounding Northern Wei without authorization. Those tribes had clearly already surrendered to Northern Wei and paid tribute every year. Why did you suddenly go and slaughter them all! There were even infants among them, and you didn't spare a single one!"
Helian Zheng neither denied nor offered any explanation for this matter.
There was no explanation for this; he simply went out and slaughtered those small tribes because he was in a bad mood.
He also said it was a small tribe, so the massacre was nothing, and what big deal could it be!
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