Yuan Li looked completely bewildered.
You two keep arguing, why are you suddenly bringing this up with me?!
At least give us a transition period!
"It is because His Majesty established the Central Secretariat, allowing Prince Xin to wield power and act recklessly. First, he abused his power to deal with my uncle, then he framed Zhao Huan, and even caused the death of the Champion King, leading to chaos throughout the land!"
Yuan Li immediately retorted, "Wen Hu, don't make false accusations! Your uncle's downfall was all because of your betrayal! You were also the mastermind behind the affair between Zhao Huan and Champion King!!"
"Hahaha!"
Wen Hu laughed loudly and said, "Your Highness is really clear-headed! You say I betrayed my uncle, then why are my relationship with my uncle still so good? You say I was the mastermind behind the affair between Zhao Huan and the Champion King, but may I ask who was in charge at the Central Secretariat at that time? And who had the final say?"
"If you're asking who the mastermind is, it's naturally you, Prince Xin! I, a mere swordsman from the Central Secretariat, am nothing more than your sword, Prince Xin!"
Yuan Li stammered, pointing at Wen Hu, "Royal brother, he, he! He..."
"What do you mean, 'he'? He's right!" Yuan Xiu glared fiercely at his younger brother and shouted, "Useless thing!"
Wen Hu lowered his voice and said in a deep voice, "There's no point in arguing, Your Majesty, please give the order quickly!"
Yuan Xiu said, "I will not issue such an order."
Wen Hu asked suspiciously, "Does His Majesty not want to return to Changsui?"
Yuan Xiu said, “Does it matter where I am? Aren’t I still your puppet? I think this place is quite nice. Although it’s a bit simple, it’s quiet and suitable for me to retire.”
Wen Hu's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "Your Majesty, my patience has its limits."
"Hmph!" Yuan Xiu walked up to Wen Hu and sneered, "You dare threaten me now! What do you want?"
Wen Hu placed his hand on the hilt of the golden sword and said, "Yuan Xiu, I'll give you one more chance. Don't push your luck."
Yuan Xiu glanced at Wen Hu's hand, showing no fear, and said, "What, if I don't agree, you dare to kill me?"
Wen Hu retorted, "What wouldn't I dare to do?"
Yuan Xiu's expression suddenly changed, turning extremely angry. He said firmly, "Even if you kill me, I will not do anything foolish that would make the Great Jing even more chaotic!"
"Wen Hu, listen to me! Unless you draw your sword and kill me right now, get out of here! Whether you're the Champion King or Yuan Qi's cousin, there are no cowards in the Yuan family!! You think you can use me as a weapon? No way!!!"
Snap!
Suddenly, a golden light flashed between Wen Hu and Yuan Xiu.
A line of blood appeared on Yuan Xiu's neck at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Yuan Xiu stared wide-eyed, clutching his neck with both hands and backing away. As blood seeped from between his fingers, he collapsed to the ground.
"Royal brother!!!" (Reading in the dark)
Yuan Li immediately threw himself beside Yuan Xiu, shouting angrily, "Wen Hu, you've gone mad!! How dare you commit regicide?!"
Wen Hu wiped the blood off the golden knife, sheathed it, and gave Yuan Xiu a cold look.
"Guards! Guards!! The Emperor has been killed by the traitor Wen Hu!!!" Yuan Li shook Yuan Xiu's body while holding him.
Wen Hu stared at Yuan Li and sneered, "Stop pretending, isn't this exactly what you wanted?"
"Brother, brother..." Yuan Li buried his head in Yuan Xiu's chest and cried.
Yuan Xiu's eyes were open, blood was still flowing from his neck, his arms hung limply at his sides, and his breathing was extremely weak.
At this moment, Wen Tai, Luo Ying, and Yu Changsi, who had heard the commotion, came in.
Even Luo Ying was stunned by what she saw.
“Hu’er, you…” Wen Tai’s face showed a complicated expression.
“Uncle, there’s no need to worry. What the soldiers need is the emperor’s encouragement. If this emperor is disobedient, we can just replace him with another one.”
Wen Hu raised his chin at Yuan Li and said, "Prince Xin is His Majesty's younger brother, a peer-ranking prince of the Great Jing, and is also intelligent, diligent in his duties and loves his people. He is highly respected in Xuzhong County and can be said to be the popular choice!"
Wen Tai looked worried and glanced at Yu Changsi.
Yu Changsi nodded slightly.
Wen Tai understood what he meant; what else could be done now that things had come to this?
After a pause, Wen Tai walked to Yuan Xiu's side, knelt down and kowtowed deeply, then grasped Yuan Xiu's hand tightly and said, "Your Majesty, you are wise and powerful, but unfortunately your reign is short, which has brought great suffering to the people. After you are gone, how about entrusting this country to Prince Xin?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Li slowly raised his head and glanced at Wen Tai and Wen Hu with surprise.
“Yuan…Yuan…”
"What did you say, Your Majesty?" Wen Tai put his ear close to Yuan Xiu's mouth.
“The Yuan family…the Yuan family…is not…good…good…”
Before he could utter the last word, Yuan Xiu's head tilted to the side, and he breathed his last.
Wen Tai stood up, bowed to Yuan Li, and said, "Your Highness Prince Xin, His Majesty gave an imperial edict before his departure, bequeathing the throne to you."
Yuan Li released Yuan Xiu and sat down heavily on the ground.
Wen Hu chuckled and said, "Congratulations, Prince Xin. You are luckier than His Majesty. You have a prince right after you ascended the throne."
Everyone present understood Wen Hu's meaning. It was no secret within their inner circle that Yuan Zhengzong was the child of the Empress and Yuan Li.
Wen Tai coughed and quickly helped Yuan Li up.
Wen Hu added, “In urgent matters, we should keep things simple. We should release the news of His Majesty’s serious illness and death at dawn tomorrow, and Prince Xin can ascend the throne at noon. When he ascends the throne, we should encourage the army and order them to raise troops in Changsui!”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Li suddenly shoved Wen Tai aside and roared with red eyes, "My imperial brother said that there are no cowards in the Yuan family!"
"My brother's last words weren't about passing the throne to me!!"
He said there were no cowards in the Yuan family!!!
“I know, I know…” Wen Hu nodded vigorously, and said earnestly, “I know all this, but in order to reclaim Changsui and continue the Yuan family’s legacy, you can’t be so stubborn, can you?”
Yuan Li retreated in a panic, saying, "How could I possibly betray my imperial brother?!"
Wen Hu asked, "So, are you going to become emperor or not?"
"I'll do it!"
"Okay."
Wen Hu and Wen Tai exchanged a glance, both seeing amusement in each other's eyes.
After arranging everything, it was almost dawn. Wen Hu and Wen Tai arrived at the top of Yongliang City and watched the rising sun about to leap from the horizon.
"I never expected Yuan Xiu to be gone like this," Wen Tai sighed.
"Uncle, I was rash, but he's already out of control."
"It can't be said that you did anything wrong in this matter."
Wen Tai said with a deep look in his eyes, "Yuan Xiu has realized that he has lost everything. At this moment, he has become his original self again."
"I didn't witness the coup he and the eldest princess committed back then, so I don't know what he was like back then."
Wen Hu gently shook his head, looking at the first ray of red light shooting from the sky, his expression becoming much more serious.
He continued, "But today's Yuan Xiu commands my respect!"
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