Chapter 185 Are You Worthy of Me?
The emperor was speechless as he watched the four men slowly descend the city wall. Eunuch Li, seeing the emperor's frustrated expression, consoled him, "Your Majesty, don't overthink it. After all, the former crown prince was captured without a fight. This is something to be happy about."
The Emperor sighed inwardly, "Actually, sometimes I really envy my Ninth Brother. He's been gifted since childhood and learns everything quickly. He can grasp and apply what I once struggled to understand with just one glance."
"When we first learned horseback archery as children, all the princes were excited but also a little scared and didn't dare to step forward, so no one would appear too outstanding or too timid."
"When we were older and already riding horses and hunting, my ninth brother was just old enough to learn archery. I remember him slowly walking over, touching the horse's back, and then jumping onto it. His movements were so smooth, it was as if he was born with the ability."
"Later, when my father asked about it, he said he just watched us ride horses, and he learned it over time... There are many more stories like this. If I were my father, I would also choose my ninth brother to inherit the throne."
"But we are also princes. Except for a few exceptions, almost every prince wants to sit on that position, especially the ninth prince who is so much younger than us. I know that the way I ascended to the throne was not glorious, but... this position is really tempting, and I will do everything I can to get it."
The emperor looked at Xiao Jingrui, who was abducted by the imperial guards under the city wall, and continued, "In fact, I failed. That day... when Princess Zhan said that they didn't need me to give up the throne, I knew that I had been completely defeated."
"I've never had anyone I like in my life. I can't say I haven't, but before the throne, no one else is important and can be abandoned. I may have had some feelings for her, but they were strangled in the cradle before they even began to germinate. I never even gave them a chance to grow up, simply because they were of no help to me."
"I married the Queen. After spending every day and night with her, I knew she had no feelings for me at all. But her father was the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, so I had to marry her."
The Emperor chuckled, remembering something. "Do you know anything about Li Defu? If it weren't for the fact that the Ninth Prince was so much younger than us, the Prime Minister would have wanted to marry the Empress to him."
"Li Defu, if I hadn't used all means to seize the throne, my ninth brother would be sitting on the throne right now. If he had been the emperor...would the situation of the Great Zhou be completely different?"
Li Defu has been loyal to the emperor since he was a child, but if he were to be honest, he naturally knew that his master was not fit to be the emperor. If it was Prince Zhan who succeeded to the throne... Beining would probably have disappeared by now.
Looking at Li Defu's tangled expression, the emperor laughed again: "I know what you are thinking. It doesn't matter. I won't blame you, because not only you think so, but almost everyone in the court thinks so."
"But I am already the emperor. If they help my ninth brother seize the throne, they will be rebelling. Even if they ascend to the throne in the future, it will be illegitimate and will be criticized by the world."
"Forget it. It's useless to say anything more at this point. Xiao Jingrui, that evil child, has already been dealt with. Only the third and sixth brothers are left. What an injustice, it's all an injustice."
Fengyi Palace
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. My Rui'er cannot fail. Isn't there the Heavenly Master? Why didn't the Heavenly Master help Rui'er? Rui'er is his biological son."
"What you said is not true. You must be lying to me. I...I want to leave. No matter what I have done, I am the emperor's legally wedded wife, the empress who holds the phoenix seal, and the mother of the country!"
Just as the queen was making a fuss, the palace gate that had been closed for a long time was finally opened, and a figure in bright yellow stood there against the light.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... I was wrong. I didn't mean to betray you back then. I was really just confused for a moment. Please, for the sake of our marriage, let Rui'er go."
"I'm not asking you to let him succeed to the throne, but... let him live out the rest of his life peacefully as an ordinary citizen. I beg you, I beg you."
The Emperor walked over and looked at the kneeling Empress with a calm expression. "Did you know that your son has assembled 50,000 troops and has been besieging Kyoto for several days? Did you know that another 50,000 troops are heading towards Kyoto? Do you know that if I hadn't captured your son today, I would probably be a corpse by now?"
"How could you two, mother and son, let me go then? You... probably wish I would die sooner so you could make room for me."
"Luo Yun, you married me when I was still a prince. Although there was no love between you and me, at least we respected each other. I gave you the title of Empress and I think I have treated you well over the years, but what about you?"
"You had an affair with the Heavenly Master, cheated on me, and gave birth to a bastard. You poisoned me... Luo Yun, are you worthy of me?"
The queen knew that the emperor would definitely not let her go, so she sat on the ground and laughed wildly.
"Xiao Jin, you know why you asked to marry me in the first place. Isn't it because my father is the Prime Minister and you want to use his influence to seize the throne? But why should your ambition be at the expense of my lifelong happiness?"
"Do you think I want to marry you? Do you think I want to be your queen? No, I don't. I just want to be with the person I love in this life. I don't want anything else. Even if I no longer wear gold and silver, even if I can just live an ordinary life, I'm willing to do that!"
"But what about you? You ignored my wishes and privately decided the rest of my life. Did you ask me? Did you ask if I was willing? I also have someone I like..."
The Emperor sat on the chair that Eunuch Li had brought, looking down at the Empress who had once been high and mighty but was now slumped on the ground. "Does the person you like like you?"
"Speak up, does the Tianshi like you? Has he ever said that he likes you? Is he willing to live an ordinary life with you?"
"If he liked you, it would have been easy for him to take you and your son out of the palace, but he didn't, because... you are nothing in his heart. You are just a pawn for him to take revenge on the Xiao family."
"Do you really think he will support your son to take the throne? Don't dream. He once told me in the ancestral temple that he would kill everyone in the Xiao family, including himself and your son. After all, your son also has the blood of the Xiao family."
"He hates everyone in the Xiao family, including your son. He's gone mad, and you actually still have hope in him, hoping that he can save you and your son. You are simply a joke."
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