Mountain River Festival 263. Regent King and Crown Prince

Because of the emperor's serious illness, the whole palace was already gloomy before the New Year was over. In the past few days, the faction of Prince Li and the faction of Prime Minister Liu have been fighting overtly and covertly in the court. All the well-informed people knew why the emperor fell ill. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the golden throne in the hall. Even Huai's request for help from Zijing Pass was ignored. Mo Jingqi lay in bed, and he had difficulty taking care of himself every day, let alone handling state affairs.

"Your Majesty." The eunuch guarding outside the palace curled up his hands and feet to keep warm because of the cold weather. Seeing the man in brocade clothes striding towards him, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute, with a flattering smile on his face. Mo Jingli looked at the eunuch in front of him proudly and said in a cold voice: "This prince has something to discuss with my brother."

The eunuch was stunned, and said with some embarrassment: "But the emperor is now..." Mo Jingli swept his eyes and said coldly: "Why? I want to see my brother and I need your consent?"

The eunuchs at the door were all trembling. They had indeed received orders from the Imperial Concubine and Prime Minister Liu to prevent Prince Li from entering, but no one could tell the situation in the palace. Prince Li was now in power, so they naturally couldn't afford to offend him. After hesitating and deceiving, the gatekeepers finally stepped back and said with a smile, "I dare not... Please, Your Majesty." Mo Jingli snorted and stepped into the bedroom.

The bright yellow elegant furnishings came into view, and Mo Jingli's eyes shook slightly. Looking at Mo Jingqi lying silently on the bed, Mo Jingli suddenly felt an indescribable pleasure in his heart. He knew that Mo Jingqi was not asleep, so he walked up to the bed and looked down at the pale and thin man on the bed. A satisfied smile appeared on his lips. The secret medicine he got from southern Xinjiang was much more effective than the so-called Five Stones Powder. There was no feeling when taking it all the time, but once the medicine was stopped, the effect was definitely a hundred times more amazing than the Five Stones Powder. In just a few days, Mo Jingqi had become emaciated.

After thinking for a while, Mo Jingli stuffed a tiny pill into Mo Jingqi's mouth. Mo Jingqi's dim and confused eyes gradually brightened up. When he saw the person standing in front of his window, his eyes flashed with anger, and his throat gurgled. Mo Jingli was calm and asked with his head tilted, "What do you want to say, brother?"

"You... you dare to come?!" Mo Jingqi screamed. He hadn't spoken or eaten anything for several days, so his throat was dry and hoarse. Mo Jingli smiled and said, "Why shouldn't I come? My dear brother, I am worried about you."

Mo Jingqi stared at the person in front of him with hatred, as if he wanted to bite him to death. Mo Jingli walked to the bedside leisurely and sat down. Looking at Mo Jingqi's resentful look, a strange smile appeared on his face. "Brother, you really shouldn't blame me. If you want to blame someone... blame mother. If she hadn't been constantly instilling those ideas into me in order to suppress you, if she hadn't supported me to fight against you for her own rights. Maybe we would still be a pair of good brothers now. Brother... do you know how much of a failure you are as a person? Look at you... mother wants to deal with you, your brother wants to deal with you, and the royal relatives of the royal family ignore you. Do you think they don't know that you are sick in a strange way? But did they ask? If you want to blame someone, blame you for being too cruel to the royal family, so now no one is willing to help you when you encounter problems. Even your most beloved Concubine Liu and the Liu family... hehe, I'm afraid they have already made their own plans."

Mo Jingqi's eyes widened, revealing a look of disbelief. Mo Jingli didn't care, and asked leisurely: "Has Concubine Liu come to see you these days? No... Well, Concubine Liu's heart is on Mo Xiuyao, why would she come to see you at this time? The Liu family is helping Concubine Liu's son to the throne."

Mo Jingqi's face turned blue with anger. He wanted to roar loudly but his body didn't even have the strength to roar. Mo Jingli continued, "Brother, you know... if I ascend the throne, you might still have a chance to survive. After all... even if it's because of my concern for my mother and brother Mo Xiuyao, I'll let you live. But if Concubine Liu's son ascends the throne, I guarantee you won't live for more than a month. After all, if there's an emperor above the little emperor, how can Concubine Liu be a queen mother who rules the country from behind the curtain? Brother, I didn't expect that your cold and arrogant concubine would have such ambitions. Do you know why she wants to rule the country from behind the curtain? Haha... she wants to control the entire Great Chu, and then compete with Ye Li for Mo Xiuyao. What an infatuated woman, brother, don't you think?"

"Wow!" Mo Jingqi's face turned blue and red, and he finally spat out a mouthful of blood. He lay on the bed, without the strength to get up. The blood was all over his neck and front, and even the lower half of his face was covered with blood. He looked horrible and pitiful. For an emperor to fall to such a state, one can imagine the anger and sorrow in his heart.

Mo Jingli looked at him without any mercy in his eyes, "How is it? Have you thought it through, brother?" Mo Jingqi stared at him for a long time, and suddenly laughed. The blood-stained face and the weird smile made Mo Jingli narrow his eyes in displeasure.

Mo Jingqi took a breath for a while before speaking: "You want to force me to do it? Brother... don't forget that I am your elder brother. All your tricks are what I used to do. I really shouldn't have shown you mercy!" Mo Jingli frowned, looking at Mo Jingqi's smile with a little uneasiness in his heart. It has come to this point, and he really can't think of what else Mo Jingqi can do.

Mo Jingli stared at the man lying on the bed, frowning. Mo Jingqi looked at him with a smile, and said slowly: "Jingli... after all these years, you still only have one child, right?" Mo Jingli narrowed his eyes slightly, not quite understanding what he wanted to do by bringing this up at this time. Mo Jingqi said slowly: "If I say that you will only have this one child in your life. What will you do?"

"What do you mean?!" Mo Jingli's face changed. He took a step forward, grabbed Mo Jingqi's collar, pulled him up from the bed and asked in a sharp voice.

For men, offspring are sometimes more important than power. Although many people can sacrifice their children for power, that is because they have many children. If they have no children, then the significance of all the power and status in the world will immediately decrease by half. Sitting on the throne but not being able to pass it on to their own offspring is like a person who has worked hard to save money all his life, but in the end, it is given to someone else's son. Although Mo Jingli is not without a son, his only son, the child born to Ye Ying, is indeed young and sickly. He is less than seven years old, but people always worry that he will not live past the age of twenty.

Mo Jingli was shocked by what Mo Jingqi said. He stared at Mo Jingqi fiercely and said, "What did you do? No... You couldn't have the chance to drug me?!" Mo Jingli was not a person without defense. In fact, he was more defensive against his brother than anyone else. He was also very careful about his food, clothing, housing and transportation. Mo Jingli didn't want to have the chance to drug him.

Mo Jingqi laughed. Seeing his brother's angry expression obviously made him feel good. "Jingli, you should thank me for letting you keep a child. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not being a good prince and going against me." Mo Jingli's face was gloomy. After a long time, he suddenly sneered and said, "You also said that this king at least has a son. Believe it or not, I will kill all your sons one by one?!"

Mo Jingqi, however, did not take his threat seriously at all, and smiled faintly: "Do you think that the child in your house is really your son? Jingli, you don't know that when Princess Li gave birth to that child, I held him in my arms. He was a fair, tender and strong boy, and your sickly child is not even half as big as him."

"Asshole!" Mo Jingli was furious. He threw Mo Jingqi back onto the bed, then rushed forward, grabbed his neck and roared, "Where did you take my son?! Tell me!"

Mo Jingqi seemed to be blind to the hand that was tightly pinching his neck. Even though his face turned red from holding it in, he still half-closed his eyes and ignored everything. In the end, Mo Jingli could only let him go in frustration. He couldn't really kill Mo Jingqi now. When he took the throne, he would become a heinous regicide. Looking at the person lying on the bed, Mo Jingli sneered and said, "You won't say anything? Do you think I can't deal with you? I'll kill a prince every day to show you. One day you will tell me."

Mo Jingqi opened his eyes and looked at him, saying calmly: "I am about to die, how can I care about them? Even if you kill all my sons, what does it matter? Changle is still in the northwest. Even if she is a daughter, she is still my blood, and you... are destined to have no descendants. As long as you kill a prince, I guarantee that your son will be delivered to your table the next morning."

At this point, Mo Jingli had to admit that he was not as cruel as his brother. "What do you want? You should know that your body will never recover. Do you think you will be safe if you give the throne to Concubine Liu?" In order to be absolutely sure, he would never give her a drug with an antidote. When mentioning Concubine Liu, Mo Jingqi's eyes flashed with cruelty. He lowered his eyes and thought for a long time before saying, "What I want to do is none of your business."

Soon, Mo Jingqi's decree came from the palace. He appointed Mo Xiaoyun, the eldest son of Concubine Liu Gui, as the crown prince, and appointed Prince Li Mo Jingli as the regent to manage state affairs. The imperial decree shocked the court, but they didn't understand what the emperor meant. The court officials who wanted to take sides were also confused. Should they choose the crown prince or Prince Li?

Prince Li's Palace

As soon as Mo Jingli returned to the mansion, Ye Ying and Princess Qixia came to greet him. Princess Qixia was still as beautiful as a flower, but Ye Ying looked pale and thinner in comparison. The young woman, who was just in her early twenties, looked as if she was already nearly thirty, and she was holding a boy who looked less than five years old. But everyone in Dingwang Mansion knew that the little prince, who was pampered by the prince and princess, was about to turn seven this year.

"My Lord, congratulations on being crowned the Regent King. You will now hold great power." Princess Qixia smiled brightly and tenderly, looking genuinely happy but not deliberately flattering. This made Mo Jingli, who was originally sullen, smile a little.

There was a hint of jealousy in Ye Ying's eyes, and she walked forward with her son, smiling, "Your Highness and I would also like to congratulate His Majesty on being conferred the title of Regent Prince..." After saying this, she gently squeezed the young prince's hand to signal him to speak.

The little child's face was pale, and his body was so weak that he seemed to fall down with a gust of wind. He leaned against Ye Ying tightly, and seemed to be very afraid of his father Mo Jingli. Ye Ying gritted her teeth secretly. She really didn't understand. She and Mo Jingli were not timid people, so why did the son she gave birth to be so timid that even his father was afraid of him. The child raised his head timidly, and called Dad in a voice as small as a mosquito, and then he had nothing to say.

Mo Jingli looked at the timid child in front of him, and felt that his anger was boiling and about to burst out. How could such a cowardly, timid and fragile child be his son? ! He couldn't help but think of the time when Mo Jingqi was lying on the bed before leaving the palace, although he was very weak, he still had a smug look in his eyes. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, staring at the child's eyes as if he was about to spit fire.

"Prince..." Ye Ying looked at Mo Jingli with some doubt. At this time, she could see that Mo Jingli was not happy about becoming the regent. In fact, he was very angry. Carefully supporting her son who was afraid and wanted to hide behind her, Ye Ying asked carefully.

Mo Jingli snorted coldly and kicked the child away. After he sent people to investigate carefully, he learned that the midwife when Ye Ying gave birth was arranged by Mo Jingqi, and after Ye Ying gave birth, all the people in the manor were replaced and disappeared. Mo Jingli knew that Mo Jingqi was not lying, and the sickly child in front of him was not his son at all. He did not look like himself and Ye Ying. He was not ugly, but it was definitely obvious that even if he grew up, he would be just an ordinary-looking child.

"Prince?!" Ye Ying screamed, and the servants and maids present, including Princess Qixia, were all stunned. Ye Ying threw herself at the child, who fell to the ground and gulped down two mouthfuls of blood. He couldn't even cry, and was breathing more than he was breathing. Ye Ying was so frightened that she almost didn't dare to touch the child, and could only shout, "Son... Quick! Hurry up and bring in the imperial physician?!"

The servants woke up in shock and looked at Mo Jingli hesitantly. The young master was kicked by the prince, so it was up to the prince to decide whether to invite a doctor. And most people, although they didn't know medicine, could see that the young master had been weak and sick since childhood, and it was obvious that he was about to die after being kicked so hard by the prince.

"You are not allowed to go!" Mo Jingli said coldly. Ye Ying looked up at Mo Jingli in shock, tears hanging on her face, not knowing what to do for a moment, "Prince...Prince..."

Mo Jingli's annoyance towards Ye Ying has reached its peak. This woman is good at nothing but causing trouble. He was really crazy to want to marry her. And he missed it because of this... He grabbed Ye Ying and dragged her into the yard. Ye Ying kept struggling and crying while looking at the dying child.

"No... Prince, the child..." Mo Jingli's figure was behind the shadow wall, and everyone present looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Princess Qixia looked at the child on the ground with a schadenfreude smile on her lips, and waved her hand and said, "Wait until Prince is done with his work before dealing with it."

Ye Ying struggled all the way while being dragged by Mo Jingli, but how could a weak woman like her struggle? After being dragged back to the room by Mo Jingli, Ye Ying was pushed hard and she was unsteady on her feet and bumped into the table in the room. Ye Ying raised her head and said with tears in her eyes, "Prince, why are you doing this? That's our child, are you really that cruel..."

"Shut up!" Mo Jingli said coldly, staring at Ye Ying coldly and said, "You are an incompetent idiot! You didn't even know that your child was switched, and you actually let me raise a bastard from nowhere for seven years!" What? Ye Ying was stunned, and she couldn't understand what Mo Jingli meant. Mo Jingli stared at her coldly and said, "Don't you understand? That sickly kid is not my son at all. The child was switched when he was just born!"

"How...how could this be? This is impossible?!" Ye Ying cried out. The son she had cared for so carefully for several years was not her biological son? Then where did the child she conceived go? "Prince...then...where is our child?" Ye Ying asked anxiously.

Mo Jingli said in a hateful voice: "In Mo Jingqi's hands!" Hearing this, Ye Ying fell down on the chair powerlessly. She knew very well what the relationship between Mo Jingli and Mo Jingqi was like over the years. If the child fell into Mo Jingqi's hands, would he ever be able to get it back?

Ye Ying grabbed Mo Jingli's clothes in panic and cried, "Prince, please save our child. Ying'er begs you to save our child. Wuwu... My poor child..."

Mo Jingli pushed him away in annoyance. Of course he would save the child, he had to. Looking coldly at Ye Ying crying beside the table, Mo Jingli felt that this once gentle and lovely woman made him extremely annoyed, "From today on, you stay in the backyard and don't come out. I don't want to see you again!" Ye Ying was stunned. She had just heard the news that her son fell into Mo Jingqi's hands and was confined by Mo Jingli. How could she bear it?

"Why... why?" Ye Ying looked at Mo Jingli absentmindedly. She had lost favor over the years. If she hadn't had a son by her side, she would have been forgotten in a corner. The love and sweetness of the past seemed like a dream, but now, was she going to lose even what was left?

Mo Jingli said coldly: "If you weren't stupid, how could I not know the whereabouts of my son for so many years? Do you know what I have lost because of your stupidity? What my mother said was right, she is indeed a stupid and incompetent woman. If I hadn't married you..." Thinking of the gentle woman he had met once in Ancheng last year, Mo Jingli couldn't help but feel a sense of regret. After so many years, she is still as elegant as orchid, graceful and elegant. If it was her... If it was her, this would never have happened.

After taking one last look at Ye Ying, Mo Jingli left without any regrets. Ye Ying was left standing there with tears falling silently. After a long time, sobbing sounds were finally heard from the room.