Chapter 674 Unification of the World! National Title!
Zichen Palace.
The rich scent of sandalwood from the Western Regions permeated the entire Zichen Hall.
As soon as Li Qingluo stepped inside, she felt that the fragrance was so strong that it was hard to breathe, so she quickly raised her hand and covered her nose with a handkerchief.
Duan Rongshi looked at the Western Region witch doctor kneeling to the side.
The witch doctor whispered, "If the incense burns out, it will take at most half an hour..."
Duan Rongshi: "That's enough."
"With everyone, evacuate."
The witch doctor quickly got up, and soon all the people and incense in the entire Zichen Palace disappeared without a trace.
Li Qingluo found a chair and sat down.
Duan Rongshi then walked towards the dragon bed draped with gauze curtains.
He suddenly yanked open the curtain.
She lifted her foot and walked in quietly.
Hearing someone enter, Emperor Yan opened his cloudy eyes.
"water……"
He wanted to drink water.
However, upon seeing the face that appeared before him, his eyes widened in terror.
"you……"
"Are you the fifth prince, or... the Consort Yue!?"
Duan Rongshi didn't speak, but just stared intently at him.
Emperor Yan raised his hand with trembling hands, but could only touch the curtain.
He struggled to hold on, trying to get up.
Unfortunately, he couldn't muster any strength at all.
Emperor Yan could only cry out in terror, "Help! Help!"
Duan Rongshi: "What are you afraid of, Father?"
Duan Changyan exclaimed in surprise, "Weren't you dead, Fifth Brother?"
"Aren't you dead?!"
Duan Rongshi: "So, if it were my mother, you wouldn't be so afraid?"
"No, you should be feeling fear!"
"Because you are the one who truly killed my mother!"
Duan Changyan also seemed to be forced to think about the past.
His bloodshot eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets.
"No! No, it wasn't me, it wasn't me!"
"What...what do you want to do?"
"Neither you nor your mother were killed by me."
"Your mother died in an accident."
"And you, I only ordered them to send you out... to fight..."
"I don't want to see you..."
"I don't want them to force me... to make you the crown prince—"
Duan Rongshi: "Do you think your self-deception can fool anyone?"
"Father, in your entire life, have you ever truly loved anyone?"
Do you love your sons?
"Which one is not your pawn?"
"Duan Rongyin? Duan Rongjue? Duan Rongxuan? Or Duan Xiyue!?"
"But which of them got a good ending?"
"Just like back then, you loved your mother and your son, but suddenly you withdrew all your love."
"They fueled the fire behind the scenes, allowing those who hated their mother to conspire together to kill her."
"Ignoring the fact that I was bullied, poisoned, and even repeatedly murdered in the palace since childhood—"
"After I grew up, you used me as a knife to do your bidding and to make others hate and fear me!"
"If you're happy, give me a bite to eat."
"If you're unhappy, then lock me up in your mansion and strip me of everything."
Why do you hate me and my mother so much?
"Just because of that forged letter from your queen!?"
"Just because your spies found out the 'truth' from those who hate my mother, you actually concluded that my mother and her own brother had an affair, and even doubted my background, thus insulting my mother's innocence!"
"Is that right, Father?"
Upon hearing this, Duan Changyan began to tremble all over.
His teeth were chattering loudly.
His tongue was starting to become less responsive.
But she still managed to shout with difficulty, "You...you're talking nonsense..."
"No...no..."
Duan Rongshi leaned down and told Duan Changyan, "I forgot to tell your father."
"I am now the Emperor of the Great Chu."
"He was my own maternal uncle, who personally passed the throne to me before he died."
Why do you think he did that?
Duan Changyan could only stare wide-eyed.
He was yelling "Ah ah ah".
Blood kept spilling from his mouth from anger, but he could no longer utter a single word.
Duan Rongshi looked at him expressionlessly.
A hint of disgust even flashed in his eyes.
“My mother has never betrayed you.”
"As a princess of the Great Chu, she knew what it meant to maintain her integrity and purity. She fulfilled her responsibilities as a princess, loving her people and serving her country, and she also bore you children."
"And what about you? Not only did you fail to protect her, you also naively believed the schemes of treacherous people!"
"It was you who disgraced Mother, who humiliated Mother!"
"If it weren't for the peace and tranquility of the Great Chu, do you think she couldn't find a better man in the world, or someone who would truly love her, or even become her principal wife?"
"You're so much older than her, yet you didn't appreciate it and betrayed her true feelings!"
"Duan Changyan, you should have died long ago."
"I've kept you alive until now, just to torture you more, to make you wish you were dead!"
"Furthermore, Zongzheng Qingyue's son doesn't care about your throne!"
He looked down at him with disdain.
Like a majestic eagle on a high mountain, watching an ant.
Upon hearing these words, Duan Changyan realized that what had happened might indeed have been a mistake.
Could it be that Yue'er was really framed and murdered?
Those letters were fake, they were all fake?
The son standing before me is actually my own biological son?
He certainly had doubts about his bloodline.
And I've had my doubts more than once.
He even convinced himself that he would spare Lao Wu's life simply because he looked too much like his mother.
Therefore, he always thought that he had done a favor for Lao Wu and that he did not owe Lao Wu anything.
But what if Yue'er was truly murdered...?
As for himself, regarding the fifth brother...
These years...
And there was Yue'er back then...
Thinking of the great fire at Guifu Palace, Emperor Yan was overwhelmed with regret, pain, self-blame, and shame.
"No--!!"
Yue'er was the only person he ever loved!
What exactly did he do back then?
With a strained growl, Emperor Yan voiced all the regret and resentment in his heart.
At that moment, Duan Rongshi turned and walked outside.
Emperor Yan stretched out his hand with great effort.
He wanted to call him Lao Wu (Fifth Brother).
I want him to stay.
She wanted him to forgive her.
I used to love him the most!
But Emperor Yan's eyesight began to blur.
My throat felt completely locked shut, and I couldn't utter a single word.
He was wrong...
He was really wrong, Fifth Brother—
Li Qingluo had already stood up.
When Duan Rongshi came out, she immediately came over and took his hand.
She didn't need to say anything.
She simply held his hand tightly, and together they turned and walked out of this place he loathed.
As the two walked out of the Zichen Palace, General Wan and others who had been waiting immediately rushed into the palace.
When they discovered that Emperor Yan was still alive, all the ministers breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as His Highness Prince Su hasn't died of anger, he hasn't committed patricide.
Everything else is negotiable.
General Wan even personally picked up a handkerchief and carefully wiped the bloodstains from Emperor Yan's mouth.
Then all the old ministers rushed to Emperor Yan's bedside and began to wail.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty—"
Emperor Yan raised his hand weakly.
He really wanted to talk.
I'd rather they all shut up.
However, the ministers were only concerned with their own weeping and no one cared what Emperor Yan was thinking at that moment.
General Wan even shouted out of nowhere, "What?"
"Your Majesty, you say the throne should be passed to the Fifth Prince, Prince Su?"
"Your humble servants will obey Your Majesty's command!"
Emperor Yan's inner thoughts: Fifth Prince, you planned all of this, didn't you?
Although Emperor Yan had been confused for the past few years, he was completely unaware of what Duan Rongshi had been doing outside.
But at this moment, apart from resentment towards his current predicament, he actually accepted the outcome.
The moon...
My beloved concubine...
If I truly misunderstood back then and fell for the schemes of those vile women—
If I were to die, I wonder if you would still be willing to see me?
"Don't worry. He won't see his mother."
"My mother must have gone to the celestial realm long ago, to a place beyond the heavens where she will never again be reborn as a human and suffer the pain of reincarnation."
"They will never see their mother."
"Ah Shi, look—"
Li Qingluo led Duan Rongshi to the highest point of the palace and pointed to the entire city of Jinling.
The afterglow of the setting sun illuminated the wild geese flying slowly over Nanjing, creating a beautiful picture that will be etched into the past forever.
Holding his beloved's hand, Duan Rongshi's heart, like the evening glow, calmly awaited the complete end of all the hatred within him...
Saying goodbye to the past.
Welcoming the rising sun.
Emperor Yan passed away.
The fifth prince, Duan Rongshi, followed Emperor Yan's dying edict and succeeded to the throne of the Great Liang Kingdom.
However, at this time, the new emperor of Liang announced to the world that he had unified the two kingdoms of Liang and Chu.
The world was unified, and from then on, the two countries were united as one, and all the people were one family.
They declared the country's name as Yue, the era name as Longshi, and established their capital at Jinling.
The people of Da Chu were initially reluctant.
But there was nothing we could do but accept this fact.
After all, the name of the country has been changed. As long as their Great Chu is not transformed into Great Liang, the unification of the two countries will not have a significant impact on the people.
However, if the capital is established in Jinling, the powerful and influential people of Nan'an and the former officials of the Great Chu will all have to move the capital as well.
However, the new emperor sent troops to assist them and relocated them in batches, one household at a time, which greatly reduced the burden on the nobles and officials of the Great Chu.
They were acting on the emperor's orders and moved to the former capital of Daliang in a perfectly legitimate manner.
This is not just a move, but also an imperial favor. But deep down, isn't it another kind of intrusion?
Moreover, they were the ones who first bestowed the title of Emperor upon him!
Therefore, according to the order of arrival, it was their Great Chu emperor who invaded their Great Liang!
The people of Chu were very open-minded.
After all, it was said that the new emperor had demoted half of the former officials of the Liang Dynasty in order to clean up the court.
Of course, these demoted officials were not good people themselves.
Just like in their Great Chu Dynasty, half of the court officials had been purged, and now only half of the officials had come to this new capital.
After the two dynasties merged, although it brought a new look, the court was quite lively.
The family moved six months ago, and six months later, a group led by Zhang Tingjiu and Yang Qilang finally arrived in Jinling.
The bustling new capital has long since lost its former glory, and everywhere is filled with novelties that the people of Chu have never seen before.
The officials of the Great Chu were received by the officials of the Great Liang as soon as they entered the city.
Each family announced their name and was immediately led to their assigned new house.
"Was this truly a gift from His Majesty?"
No one could believe it.
Upon arriving in the new capital, they were surprised to find that a house had already been prepared for them.
As expected, His Majesty has the people of Great Chu in his heart!
The officials were deeply moved.
And they made a vow in their hearts that they would dedicate everything to the Great Yue Kingdom, even unto death!
We will surely make Dai Viet a true golden age!
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