Chapter 62
Emperor Zhaoming, who was originally very tough, suddenly collapsed the moment he saw Zhao Congyun, and his eyes were filled with grief and heartache that did not belong to an emperor.
Zhao Congyun also stopped suddenly.
But Song Liang, standing beside him, was still urging his horse forward. Zhao Congyun was suddenly pulled and nearly fell. Song Liang actually whipped his whip around Zhao Congyun's waist, pulling him back and saying sarcastically, "Your Highness, be careful!"
Zhao Congyun was dragged all the way to Lord Fan by the whip.
Lord Fan couldn't help but smile with satisfaction, "Your Highness Prince Jia, how are you?"
Zhao Congyun looked at him coldly without saying anything.
"Haha... General Song, this is your fault." Lord Fan said with a smile, "I asked you to go out of the capital to greet him, so how did you make the prince so embarrassed?"
He took a step forward and patted Zhao Congyun's collar: "Your Highness has always been respected and valued. It's really disrespectful to treat him like this!"
Zhao Congyun turned slightly to avoid his hand: "No need to be hypocritical, just tell me... What do you want?"
"Now that things have come to this, why are you still so proud?!"
Seeing that he still had an air of superiority, Lord Fan suddenly felt a strong hatred in his heart: "Zhao Congyun, for so many years, you have repeatedly opposed me, both openly and secretly. I really want to kill you...
"But you're so lucky to be born into an imperial family. Just by being a relative of the emperor, you have an extra advantage in life compared to others!"
A malicious light flashed in his eyes, and he said with a half-smile: "Now your life is not in my hands, but in--" He paused deliberately and cast his gaze towards the bright yellow in the distance: "...in the hands of your royal brother!"
"Your Majesty! I wonder which is more important to you, the throne or your brother's life?"
"Do you want to threaten me?" The sadness on Emperor Zhaoming's face faded away and he regained his imperial dignity.
Lord Fan snorted, "People always say that emperors are ruthless. I want to give Your Majesty a chance to choose... If you are willing to write an edict of abdication, I will spare his life!"
Emperor Zhaoming was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "What are you going to do with my life?"
Lord Fan also laughed: "There is no second ruler in the country, how dare I let the tiger go back to the mountain?"
"You want the throne, but you also want me dead... My dear, don't you think you're being greedy?"
"The choice is yours... Your Majesty can refuse!"
Emperor Zhaoming did not respond, but Zhao Congyun, standing beside him, said calmly, "You have a strong army at your disposal, and every advantage, yet you still want to sow discord. How petty!"
When Mr. Fan's thoughts were exposed, his face suddenly turned dark.
Of course, he could kill Zhao Congyun immediately in front of Emperor Zhaoming and the soldiers, which would not only boost morale but also relieve his hatred.
But he was not satisfied.
He also wanted to see Zhao Congyun and Emperor Zhaoming killing each other for their lives before killing them!
He wanted to expose Emperor Zhaoming's darkest and cold-blooded heart in public. He also wanted to destroy Zhao Congyun's pride, make him feel the despair of being abandoned by his family, and let him die with deep pain, instead of looking righteous like he is now!
"So what if I'm trying to sow discord?!" Lord Fan sternly demanded, "Aren't you curious about what your royal brother will choose? Do you not want to know, or do you not dare to know?!"
Zhao Congyun's face froze. Lord Fan laughed heartily at this. "I thought you were brothers of one mind, but it turns out you're nothing more than this!"
Emperor Zhaoming ignored his sarcasm and said calmly, "I can choose... But I want to know, besides these rebels in the palace, how many of your people are left in the capital?"
Lord Fan paused. He didn't know what Emperor Zhaoming's intention was and didn't dare to answer easily.
Emperor Zhaoming said, "The Beijing Suburban Patrol Battalion has 3,000 elite soldiers. Given your caution, you'd need at least three times that many to confidently control the situation. So you left... 10,000 troops outside?"
Mr. Fan's heart skipped a beat.
I guessed it right!!
Emperor Zhaoming continued, "There are only a thousand Qilin Guards in the palace, but because forcing the emperor to abdicate is considered treasonous, you were too afraid, so you brought more rebels into the palace than outside... Let me guess? Fifteen thousand? Or twenty thousand?
"Besides that, you have to divide your forces to intercept and kill Prince Jia. The troops he brought from Lingzhou are quite powerful, so you can't neglect them. You can only send Song Liang, but his Iron Eagle Guards only obey him... I wonder how many of General Song's ten thousand men are left after the recent battle?"
Upon hearing this, Lord Fan glanced at Song Liang uneasily. He had just become a little too proud of himself when he saw Zhao Congyun being captured, and actually forgot to confirm such important information!
Emperor Zhaoming's gaze was as sharp as a torch, and he boldly concluded, "Lord Fan, those who joined you in the rebellion...are there only a mere 50,000 people?"
He shouted angrily, "Fifty thousand people! You dare to overthrow my kingdom?!"
Even in this situation, the emperor's majesty still shook everyone's knees. Lord Fan desperately wondered if he had made any mistakes, otherwise why would Emperor Zhaoming still be so confident?
But at this moment, Emperor Zhaoming suddenly pulled out a jade scroll from his sleeve, and Lord Fan's eyes suddenly lit up -
That was an imperial edict!
Sure enough, the next second, he heard Emperor Zhaoming say word by word: "I can give up the throne!"
Lord Fan could hardly believe his ears—Emperor Zhaoming actually compromised!
Just for Zhao Congyun... He always felt that something was wrong, but the end was so close at hand that he couldn't think straight at all, and his mind was completely focused on this imperial edict!
What on earth is written on it?!
Emperor Zhaoming's action was clearly beyond everyone's expectations. Even Zhao Congyun was stunned. Besides confusion, his eyes were filled with worry.
"Royal brother...you..."
Emperor Zhaoming smiled at him and asked without thinking, "Is he here?"
Lord Fan didn't understand, but Zhao Congyun understood instantly and called out to the soldiers behind Song Liang, "Come here!"
A skinny young man walked out from the crowd of captives. The soldiers did not dare to stop him and looked at Song Liang. However, Song Liang said on his own initiative: "Let him come over."
The young man walked forward step by step. In front and behind him were rebels holding swords, but he walked very steadily, staring at Emperor Zhaoming without blinking.
Emperor Zhaoming, who had never shown any sign of weakness in the face of forced abdication, suddenly faltered the moment he saw the young man. He seemed to want to step forward to meet him, but he forced himself to hold back, telling himself that it was not the right time yet!
Not only were there the rebels who were eyeing them covetously, but more than a decade had passed between them. His Dragon Roar Sword could kill the enemies, but he didn't know how to make up for the emotional debt.
"Anian, that is His Majesty... kneel down and kowtow." Zhao Congyun said.
Ah Nian had already come to Zhao Congyun's side. He glanced coldly at Lord Fan, then bowed his head and kowtowed: "Ah Nian... pays homage to Your Majesty!"
Mr. Fan looked at the scene in confusion, with doubts in his heart. Until the young man's eyes swept over him, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
This kind of gaze... He was so familiar with it!
He had been stared at with the same gaze by Emperor Zhaoming countless times in Chaohua Palace and the Imperial Study.
Who is this boy?
Why is it that at such a young age, he already has the aura of an emperor... so similar to Emperor Zhaoming!
The next moment, he heard Emperor Zhaoming's trembling voice ask, "Your name is Anian... I'm asking you, did you come back voluntarily?"
Ah Nian answered firmly: "Yes!"
"Very good! Stand up!" A flicker of relief flashed across Emperor Zhaoming's eyes. He turned to Lord Fan and said, "My dear minister, don't you want my imperial edict to abdicate? Come and receive it!"
“…” Mr. Fan took a few steps forward in a hurry, but then stopped suddenly.
Could this be a fraud?
He met Emperor Zhaoming's deep gaze suspiciously. Emperor Zhaoming sneered, "If you want to sit on my throne, you must have some courage! Will you accept this imperial edict or not?"
Lord Fan paused for a moment before finally coming to his senses: Why should he still obey Emperor Zhaoming's orders?
Then he turned to Song Liang and said, "How about General Song take this imperial edict for me?"
Song Liang nodded, stepped forward, took the imperial edict from Emperor Zhaoming, and handed it back to Lord Fan. Lord Fan couldn't wait to open it and first looked at the signature. A seal was embedded in a private seal, which was indeed written by Emperor Zhaoming himself!
He read it intently, and when he saw the word "abdication" suddenly appear, he felt his eyes burning and his hands shaking uncontrollably - really! This abdication edict was real!
Is it done?
Just as he was about to smile, a strange name suddenly jumped into his eyes!
...Now I give up the throne to my son, Zhao Huan.
Mr. Fan's heart exploded. He read it over and over again three or four times unwillingly, but the words were written in black on the paper and were clear as day.
Zhao Huan...who is that?
"Your Majesty, are you joking?" Lord Fan's face turned pale, and he forced a smile. "For so many years, you have been childless, and everyone in the court knows it. When will a son appear?"
"Didn't you just see it?" Emperor Zhaoming said, "He's standing right next to you, Anian... He's my long-lost flesh and blood!"
Except for Zhao Congyun, everyone present was shocked!
Emperor Zhaoming said solemnly, "Do you still remember the Xinghua Tower back then?"
Mr. Fan opened his mouth wide, but suddenly became speechless.
Although Empress Li was the mastermind of the Xinghua Tower case, he also contributed a lot as an accomplice. Naturally, he knew that Emperor Zhaoming had favored a woman, but he never expected that she was pregnant with a dragon seed!
And looking at the age of this young man, it really fits...
For some reason, Mr. Fan suddenly believed it, and he felt a surge of regret for not being able to eradicate the problem completely.
Fortunately, it won’t happen this time!
He slammed the imperial edict to the ground. "Your Majesty, if you reveal the royal family secrets now, you will only send one more person to his death! I will send you, father, son, and brother, to the grave!"
Emperor Zhaoming showed no fear at all, but instead smiled with satisfaction: "Very good! It seems you admit it! You are an insider of the truth about Xinghua Tower. With you testifying for my son in front of so many people, there is no longer any doubt about his identity!"
…!!!
Lord Fan was about to bite his back teeth to pieces. "You dare to play tricks on me when you're about to die! I'll kill your son first!"
He snatched the long knife from the nearby soldier and stabbed at Ah Nian fiercely: "Go to hell!"
A flash of sword light flashed across, barely blocking the blade. No matter how hard Fan Gong tried, he couldn't move it forward even a little bit.
The sword was in Zhao Congyun's hand! He was the one who intercepted Lord Fan's attack!
"You!!" Lord Fan looked at Zhao Congyun in horror. He had untied the ropes on his hands at some point. He no longer looked like a prisoner.
"Someone come! Song Liang! Capture them for me!"
But Song Liang did not move. The Iron Eagle Guards did not move.
The ally he thought of looked at him with disdain, slowly drawing his sword, the blade pointing at him mercilessly. Meanwhile, the "captives" also removed their ropes, drew their weapons from their waists, and surrounded him and the rebels.
Zhao Congyun said, "Surrender. You've already lost."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
