Starting with a cub, the superpower boss becomes the richest man by lying flat

Chapter 125 I’m here to see my father off for the last time!

When the ministers arrived at Luquan Palace, the crown prince, several princes except the third prince, and all the concubines were already standing outside the palace.

"The emperor summons all the ministers and princes to see him." Eunuch An announced loudly. He stood at the door and looked at the crowd, with an expression on his face that was hard to tell whether it was sad or happy.

The people mentioned filed into Luquan Palace and knelt on the ground when they saw the old emperor sitting on the dragon bed. "Your humble servants/your sons pay their respects to the emperor/father. Long live the emperor/father!"

"No need to be so polite, my lords!" The old emperor's sharp gaze swept across the faces of these people one by one, and he looked at the prince for a particularly long time. If it weren't for his extraordinary concentration, he might have been sweating profusely by now.

After reading it all, the old emperor was satisfied and looked at Eunuch An, "An He, announce the decree!"

"Yes!" Eunuch An held the imperial edict in his hand. After everyone knelt, he stood at the corner of the bed and read aloud:
"It is God's destiny, the emperor decreed:

I have been blessed by Heaven, inherited the great foundation of my ancestors, and rule over the world. I work diligently day and night and dare not be negligent.

Now that my time is up, I want to choose a virtuous and capable person to succeed me and shoulder the responsibility of preserving the ancestral temple and the country.

The Crown Prince Qing Ye has been intelligent, benevolent, filial, respectful, frugal, and virtuous since childhood. He has won my heart and is recommended by all the ministers. I hereby pass the throne to the Crown Prince Qing Ye. You will succeed to the throne of emperor. I hope that you will respect the will of heaven and follow the ancestors, work diligently and love the people, so as to carry on my will. All the civil and military officials inside and outside the country should perform their duties respectfully, assist the new emperor, and work together for this great event!

Admire this! "

As Eunuch An's voice fell, the ministers looked at each other and kowtowed respectfully, "We obey your order!"

The old emperor smiled, one of the few times he had in recent days, and looked at the prince. "Qing Ye, come to me."

The prince's expression was somewhat complicated. He stood up and walked to the dragon bed, bowing and standing still.

"Duke Dingguo," the old emperor glanced at the prince, then turned his gaze to Mo Qilan.

"Your humble servant is here." Mo Qilan responded quickly, and a bad premonition arose in his heart for no reason.

"Lord Mo, I remember that the Mo family's title can be inherited for five generations, and after five generations, it will be downgraded and inherited. Am I remembering correctly?"

"Your Majesty is not mistaken. I am the fourth generation."

"That's good. Back then, the ancestor of the Mohist school followed Emperor Taizu in his campaigns, achieving superb martial arts skills. Even Emperor Taizu praised him highly. But I vaguely remember that your family's military leaders declined after him, and in your generation, they even abandoned martial arts and turned to literature. Is that correct?"

Mo Qilan's forehead was covered with sweat. He knelt on the ground and replied with a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, I am stupid and have no talent for martial arts. I have indeed failed the aspirations of our ancestors."

"I heard that you have a son who was once Qing Ye's study partner and has learned martial arts quite well. Is this true?"

"This... my son has indeed learned a few fancy moves."

"Well, Lord Mo, people say that civil officials ensure the stability of a country, and military generals stabilize it. Do you think this statement makes sense?"

"Yes, that makes sense."

"That's good," the old emperor said, no longer looking at Mo Qilan, but looking at everyone, "When the prince ascends the throne, I will rely on your assistance."

"We, your humble servants, will certainly live up to your Majesty's trust and do our utmost to assist the Crown Prince." Everyone answered in unison.

"Fine, fine!" The old emperor said these three words with a smile, but his expression suddenly and rapidly fell, his eyes becoming extremely cloudy. "Father!" The crown prince was closest to him. Seeing him like this, he quickly took two steps to his bedside, raised his hands and pulled his emaciated body into his arms. His nose felt sore, and he called out to him through a sob.

The old emperor leaned in his son's arms and forced a smile at him. This was the only smile he had seen since he was old enough to understand that was not mixed with any calculation of interests.

"Father!"

The other princes all rushed to the bedside. The old emperor's eyes were already dull. He lowered his head slightly and looked in the direction of his sons. The light in his eyes gradually disappeared. Finally, he leaned his head on the prince's shoulder, and his hand that was resting on his knee suddenly dropped down.

"Father!"

"emperor!"

Everyone burst into tears, especially the crown prince. His emotions had been fluctuating violently during the few days he had been with the old emperor. The old emperor told him some royal secrets that only emperors of past dynasties knew. Only then did he realize that the old emperor's heart was different from what he showed. He actually had many misunderstandings about the old emperor before, but he could not forgive him for plotting against him and killing his crown princess, forcing him to separate from his son.

When the imperial physician announced that the emperor had passed away, he fainted from lack of breath.

"Your Majesty!" The ministers and imperial doctors changed their words very quickly.

After a period of chaos, the prince slowly woke up. He struggled to stand up and walked to the dragon bed. Looking at the late emperor's thin but calm face, he couldn't help but shed tears again.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of metal clashing outside the door, as well as shouts and angry calls, which became clearer and clearer in everyone's ears.

The door was kicked open, and the Third Prince, dressed in a black prince's attire, walked into Luquan Palace under the escort of several guards.

"Third brother, what are you doing?" The youngest seventh prince was the first to ask.

"Haha, what are you doing? Can't you see? I'm here to see my father off for the last time!" The third prince had a look of arrogance on his face. He kicked over the Minister of Rites who was closest to him and walked towards the dragon bed step by step.

"Third brother, are you going to rebel?" The second prince pulled the crown prince behind him, pointed at the third prince's nose and shouted.

"Haha, rebellion? Who said I'm going to rebel? As long as my name is written on the decree of succession, who can say I'm rebelling? Huh? Hahaha..." The third prince laughed crazily.

"Father has already passed the throne to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Your name will never be written on the imperial edict!" The second prince said in a loud voice.

"Humph, I knew that the emperor only cared about the crown prince. We sons were nothing to him. Why? We are all his sons, so why can't we sit in that position? Huh?"

"Just because you are inferior to His Royal Highness in every way, and just because we all refuse to submit to you."

"Don't submit to me? Hahaha, it doesn't matter, you will submit soon." After the third prince said this, he glanced at the old emperor on the dragon bed, sneered, and stood there without saying a word, as if waiting for something.

Soon, there was another burst of women's crying and guards' scolding outside the door. The ministers in the room changed their expressions. They could hear that the people crying outside were the women of their families.

The Third Prince tilted his head to look outside, a smile on his face. "Come on, everyone. I'll show you a good show, and then you can decide whether you will obey me or not."

After saying that, he took the lead and walked out the door.

The ministers looked at each other, and finally all looked at the newly crowned Emperor.

"Let's go. I'll go with you to take a look." After saying that, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also went out. When he reached the door, he saw Mo Ziyuan guarding the door. Mo Ziyuan nodded slightly at him. The Crown Prince understood and walked to the Third Prince more calmly. He frowned and looked at the women from various mansions who were being abducted by a group of guards.