The entire room fell dead silent.
No one expected that Emperor Yunning, who should have perished along with the Dasheng Dynasty, was actually still alive!
Holding up the secret letter, the Princess Consort asked with a trembling voice, "Since you didn't die, then, then this secret letter..."
"I wrote it to Murong Feng," Emperor Yunning admitted calmly. "He harbored treasonous thoughts early on, but he didn't dare to act rashly because of Royal Brother's presence. So, I told him your itinerary, intending for him to strike while you were on your way back to the Western Frontier."
The Regent's body stiffened, his eyes as cold and deep as an abyss. "Then when you told about the plague in the capital and urgently summoned back, that was also—"
"That's right, I lied to you. There was no plague in the capital at all. It was just that you and the Princess Consort were together, and even with the burden of children, the odds of success were still too low. That's why I had soone lure you away so we could defeat you one by one."
His tone was exceedingly respectful, yet the words he spoke chilled people to the bone.
The Regent took a step back. The Princess Consort supported him, but saw this man, who had been proud and unyielding all his life, couldn't help but ask, "Why."
Their father had a total of eleven sons.
But in the end, only three survived.
Excluding the two who died young, the rest were killed, imprisoned, died in defeat, or committed suicide by taking poison... The entire royal family was imrsed in a sea of blood. Even he, who had led troops in battle and killed countless people, didn't want to commit any more slaughter.
Yunning was the youngest, and completely different from his other ambitious brothers.
He was pure, kind, and benevolent, only wanting peace in the world and for the people to live and work in peace and contentnt.
Therefore, he sent the Prince of Jin, who was lucky enough to survive, to guard the imperial mausoleum to clear the obstacles for his ascension to the throne. He also personally taught him the way of being a sovereign and the art of an emperor. Fearing that he wouldn't be able to control powerful ministers, he demoted a large number of military generals with actual power before leaving, and even exiled the families of maternal relatives who might interfere in politics. He had done almost everything he could think of and worry about.
But he never expected that it would end up like this!
Emperor Yunning's expression dimd, a hint of unspeakable complexity flashing in his eyes.
After a long ti, he softly said, "Royal Brother, you indeed did a lot for , but you forgot one thing: the more you did, the more people would feel that I only ascended this throne by relying on you."
The Regent shook violently, his cold, lightning-like gaze shooting at his face.
Emperor Yunning turned his face away, gritting his teeth and saying, "But I don't want to be this puppet emperor. I want to tell the whole world that I have the ability to be a good emperor!"
The Regent covered his forehead as if drained of strength.
For over a decade, his family was torn apart and destroyed, all for such a ridiculous reason!
He couldn't speak a word, but Yun Lang sneered, "That's right, you ruined the Dasheng Dynasty single-handedly and handed the Yun family's empire over to others. You really did a good job as the emperor of a subjugated nation!"
Emperor Yunning's face flushed red, but he quickly suppressed it.
Yun Zihao shouted, "Shut up! You are not allowed to talk about Imperial Uncle like that!"
Yun Lang happened to have a belly full of fire with nowhere to vent. Seeing him bump into it, he imdiately curled his lips and said lazily, "'Imperial Uncle' this, 'Imperial Uncle' that, you call him so affectionately. But have you forgotten that if it weren't for your Imperial Uncle going crazy and trying to kill Old Madman, how could he have invited a wolf into the house and given the Murong family an opportunity? Speaking of which, your father, the Prince of Jin, died tragically in the imperial mausoleum, and it was all thanks to him. Why did you deliberately forget it? Are you trying to acknowledge a thief as your father and be an ungrateful wretch?"
"You!!" Yun Zihao was so angry that his eyes spewed fire. Emperor Yunning raised his hand to stop him.
He looked deeply at Yun Lang. "Are you Langlang?"
"Is 'Langlang' sothing you can call ?" Yun Lang crossed his arms, completely unappreciative.
Emperor Yunning wasn't annoyed either. He looked at him for a mont and then shifted to Chu Ruoyan. "Are you Miaomiao?"
Chu Ruoyan frowned and squeezed Yan Zheng's hand.
The emperor stepped forward a half step, shielding her behind him. "Whether she is or not, it has nothing to do with a subjugated monarch like you, does it?"
Emperor Yunning didn't ignore the dragon robe on him. He stared in a daze for a while and muttered, "Yes, fighting back and forth, and in the end, it benefited Yan Xu's son. Perhaps this is the will of Heaven..."
As he spoke, his gaze returned to the Regent's face.
The man had an expressionless face. Emperor Yunning looked at him deeply and complexly for a while before saying, "Royal Brother, things have co to this point. I don't expect your forgiveness. I only ask to die by your hands so I can go see the ancestors of the Yun family."
Yun Zihao's expression changed. "Imperial Uncle! We agreed before—"
Before he could finish speaking, Emperor Yunning flicked his sleeve and hit his mute acupoint. He could only watch helplessly as he walked towards the Regent.
The Regent's expression was indifferent, but he inexplicably recalled the past.
When he led troops in battle, covered in blood, the other brothers avoided him. Only the youngest, Yunning, would run over, carefully blow on his wounds, and ask if it hurt...
When he was suspected by their imperial father, stripped of his military power, and confined in the Imperial Clan Court without food or water, the other brothers kicked him when he was down. Only the youngest, Yunning, would sneak in and bring him rabbit pastries...
A child as pure as a blank sheet of paper, a younger brother whom even those red-eyed brothers on the bloody path of fighting for the throne couldn't bear to touch a single hair on his head. How could he believe that he was a deeply scheming and cunning person?
He suddenly asked, "Was it you who leaked my whereabouts of returning to the Western Frontier?"
"Yes."
"Was it you who colluded with the Murong family to kill ?"
"...Yes."
"Was it also you who turned Yun Zhao into a dicine person and intended to seize Zheng'er's empire?"
"Yes."
"Was it also you who offered advice to the High Priest to blow up Mount i?"
"Yes."
The Regent closed his eyes, feeling tired for the first ti in his life.
What exactly were the imperial throne and imperial power? They could turn a living person into an evil ghost.
Yun Lang didn't know their past, nor was he interested in knowing. He crossed his arms, cold light under his slender brows. "Old Madman, don't tell you've gone soft. If you can't do it, I will."
He would never forget his elder brother's enmity in this life.
The Regent stopped him. "No need."
He raised his palm and channeled his inner strength.
Emperor Yunning seed to have been looking forward to this mont for a long ti and eagerly closed his eyes.
Yun Zihao's eyes were splitting as he struggled desperately, but his throat could only emit "woo woo" sounds.
Chu Ruoyan's mind suddenly turned, and she asked loudly, "When we returned to the capital this ti, was the Minister of Personnel who wanted to support Wenjing also instructed by you?"
Emperor Yunning nodded.
Chu Ruoyan shouted, "Father, wait!"
But it was too late. An incomparably fierce palm wind was already slapping towards his chest.
It all happened so fast. Yan Zheng suddenly swept out and pushed him away with the montum of chasing the wind and catching the moon.
Bang!
The palm strike missed and shattered half of the wall.
Yun Lang said sternly, "Miaomiao! What are you doing?"
Chu Ruoyan hurriedly went forward and first asked Yan Zheng, "How is it? Are you hurt?"
The emperor shook his head and said to Yun Lang, "Second Brother-in-law, please be patient. This person didn't tell the truth."
Yun Lang raised an eyebrow, but heard his little sister say, "Yan Zheng is right. Father, Mother, Second Brother, the Minister of Personnel who supported Wenjing has already confessed. He said he received a secret letter informing him that we were not in the palace, so he took the opportunity to rebel!"
Yun Lang frowned. "Isn't that instructed by Emperor Yunning? What's there to say about this?"
Chu Ruoyan said anxiously, "It's because it's him that it's not him!"
These words left everyone completely bewildered. Yan Zheng explained, "When he gave his orders to the High Priest, he already knew we were at Mount i. But the journey back was long and arduous; even traveling day and night, it took us over ten days. If he truly intended to usurp the throne, why didn't he strike during that ti? Why wait until the exact day we returned to the capital to have the Minister of Personnel storm the palace?"
Everyone was stunned. Chu Ruoyan chid in, "Exactly. The High Priest blew up Mount i, yet our people were completely unhard. The Minister of Personnel stord the palace, but that only ended up helping Yan Zheng root out a large number of treacherous court officials. Father, Mother, regardless of what happened in the past, he is at least helping us right now. Therefore, what he said earlier might not necessarily be the truth!"
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