readsfreenovel Chapter 126 Rebellious Officials of the Former Dynasty 57
Chapter 126 Rebellious Officials of the Former Dynasty 57
"Are you waiting for your princess again?"
Upon seeing the couple dressed in armor before the emperor, the emperor immediately uttered a sarcastic remark.
Xiao Yao, who had been keeping a straight face for a long time, could no longer maintain it upon hearing these words.
He laughed: "Father, you are wise!"
This smile has a hint of the carefree days of the past.
When all the enemies were wiped out and he was only one step away from the throne, he actually relaxed.
Now, Father has no other choice, and no one will try to separate him and Yi-yi anymore.
The emperor looked away with disdain and smiled at the anxious Lady Yu, saying, "Look at your son, he's still the same after all these years!"
Madam Yu gave a stiff smile in response to his teasing.
She was undoubtedly a smart woman; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to live peacefully in the palace for so many years and even send Xiao Yao away from the vortex before the struggle for the throne.
Even with all her intelligence, she never imagined that Xiao Yao would go this far.
In recent years, due to the infighting among his sons, the emperor has become increasingly wary of his concubines participating in politics.
To protect herself, she wouldn't even do something as trivial as sending a eunuch out of the palace, let alone know about important affairs of the court.
As for her son's situation, she could only judge that he was doing well by the considerable amount of New Year's gifts he received each year.
But now, looking at her son clad in armor, Madam Yu's heart was filled with turmoil.
This is more than just good, it's absolutely fantastic!
They're all so good that they'd have to go toe-to-toe with his father, the Emperor!
At this moment, Madam Yu was filled with extreme fear.
The emperor beside her had been on the throne for nearly forty years, and the image he left in her mind was one of majesty and unfathomable depth, an image that could not be diminished even by his declining health in recent years.
Now, the innocent child she remembered was vying for power with a powerful emperor. How could she not be terrified?
She wanted to kneel down and beg for forgiveness, but knew she couldn't let her son's momentum falter at this moment.
Under the emperor's smiling gaze, Lady Yu pursed her lips and said softly, "Your Majesty naturally understands the Ninth Prince. He has always been stubborn since childhood, and there is nothing he cannot do once he sets his mind to something."
"Is the struggle for the throne also like this?" the emperor asked slowly.
"I see." Before his mother could reply with a forced smile, Xiao Yao answered first.
He looked directly at the emperor and said softly, "Please grant my request, Father."
At this moment, the warm pavilion was heavily guarded, and Xiao Yao could even hear the sound of armor rubbing against each other.
The emperor patted his knee and said softly, "I'm getting old. If this were twenty years ago, if you dared to talk to me like that, I would have skinned you alive!"
Lady Yu's face was deathly pale. She looked at her son, trying to discern the source of his confidence in opposing the Emperor.
But she couldn't see anything.
Suddenly, she realized that she didn't even recognize the child anymore.
"You and your son should go and catch up. I'd like to have a chat with her," the Emperor said, pointing at Ling Yi.
“Father.” Xiao Yao frowned, thinking of what his father had said to him the other day.
The next moment, Ling Yi pressed down on his wrist, silently stopping him.
In an instant, Xiao Yao fell silent.
The emperor's gaze deepened as he watched this scene unfold.
When only the two of them remained in the room, the emperor pointed to a chair: "You sit."
At this moment, his expression even seemed somewhat amiable.
But his words were anything but kind: "All these years, the affairs of the northern desert have been your doing, haven't they?"
“Yes.” Ling Yi did not deny this.
"Pacify the borders and comfort the people," the emperor sighed, "If only you were my child."
"But unfortunately..." the emperor looked coldly at Ling Yi: "You are the son of the previous dynasty."
The aged emperor, his eyes still radiating majesty, stared intently at Ling Yi, trying to discern the ambition within them.
Ling Yi pondered for a moment: "It doesn't have to be that."
emperor:"……"
These words threw the emperor's emotions into disarray.
"...You are different from what I imagined." The emperor looked at Ling Yi with a deep smile, then laughed in exasperation.
Ling Yi tilted her head: "What kind of person am I in Your Majesty's heart?"
"He is harsh and ungrateful, extremely cold-hearted, and neither a wise ruler nor a good minister."
Seeing her pure gaze, the emperor simply gave up on trying to play mind games with her.
It's hard to imagine that someone who has killed so many people and done so many things could still have such cold, pure eyes.
It was as if those people and those events had never left a ripple in her heart.
Ling Yi nodded in deep agreement: "Your Majesty is wise."
Isn't she just that kind of person?
The emperor choked up again.
Even when facing his son, who had grown up considerably, he still managed to bring him under the weight of his imperial authority, making his stubbornness a little more subdued.
Yet, he sensed no fear of imperial power in this woman whatsoever.
It was as if he were an old, senile, and confused sensible man.
Such a feeling is not pleasant for an emperor.
The emperor took a deep breath, once again crossed out the new conversation plan that had arisen in his mind, and said bluntly: "I have investigated your past."
Those former dynasty loyalists who had been hidden before the old man entered the capital were easily found by the emperor, who also learned about Ling Yi's entire life before she appeared by Xiao Yao's side.
"The you of the past is not the same as the you of today."
According to others, Ling Yi was an overly silent and overly loyal guard.
She faithfully followed her father's will and devoted herself to taking care of the former dynasty's princess, never daring to slack off for a single day.
Although she possessed some martial arts skills, they were not the kind of fighting skills she had on the battlefield, nor did she have any means of pacifying the people.
But this very person suddenly changed at a certain moment.
She was invincible on the battlefield and was able to transform the northern desert into a land of plenty.
Can such inconsistent methods and such drastically different temperaments really appear in the same person?
The emperor withdrew the aggressive look from his eyes; he was getting old, and it was tiring to always intimidate people like that.
"Can you tell me why?" He looked at Ling Yi inquisitively. "Is it a deity, a demon, or some other supernatural phenomenon I am unaware of?"
Ling Yi didn't understand why the topic had suddenly shifted to this.
Shouldn't they be discussing the issue of succession to the throne, interference in politics, or asking her to pledge her loyalty?
After disrupting the emperor's emotions, Ling Yi was finally disrupted by the emperor himself.
Seeing her like this, the emperor laughed triumphantly: "I have won this round!"
Ling Yi: "..."
What? A mentally ill person can become an emperor?
Where did your previous profundity go? Where did your previous inscrutable nature go?
Would you consider picking them up, dusting them off, and continuing to use them?
"I know what you're thinking," the emperor waved his hand, coughed twice, and then said, "But I'm about to die, why should I care about these things?"