Adhere to the gentleman's principles

Xiao Xuantang walked towards the cell where Xiao Zhengshu was imprisoned with a solemn expression. When Xiao Zhengshu looked up and saw that it was Xiao Xuantang, his eyes revealed a hint of surprise and confusion.

"Your Majesty, how do you have free time to visit me?" Xiao Zhengshu's voice was tinged with sarcasm.

Xiao Xuantang's eyes became stern, and he said in a deep tone: "Don't you know where you are wrong?"

Xiao Zhengshu straightened up and responded without flinching, "Is it wrong for me to fight for what I desire?"

Xiao Xuantang frowned even more tightly, and he said sternly: "Of course it's not wrong, but you have killed so many innocent people in the pursuit of your great cause! Lord Lin, Lord Song, Lord Jiang, so many great Wei heroes died in your hands. When you killed them, did you ever think that they would come to you late at night to claim your life? These people have taught you, and some even saved your life. Xiao Zhengshu, as a prince, you are indeed qualified to compete for the throne, but you should never pave your own way with the blood of others."

After hearing this, Xiao Zhengshu's face flashed with a barely perceptible sense of guilt, but it was quickly covered up by indifference. He sneered and retorted: "Those who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters, and necessary sacrifices are inevitable. If I don't do this, how can I ascend to the supreme throne?"

Xiao Xuantang was furious. He pointed at Xiao Zhengshu with wide eyes and asked, "What you call 'necessary sacrifice' is taking human life lightly? Those who died also had families. Can you understand their pain and sorrow? Has your heart become hardened?"

Xiao Zhengshu was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "I just chose a more difficult path. In order to achieve my goal, I had to make some cruel decisions."

Xiao Xuantang took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He said earnestly: "Xiao Zhengshu, Xiao Zhengshu, power and desire often blind a person's eyes and make him lose his reason and conscience. But as a king of a country, you should put the people first and care about the people of the world. If you can't even do this, how can you take on the responsibility of governing the country?"

Xiao Zhengshu fell into deep thought, as if thinking about what Xiao Xuantang said. However, after a while, he spoke again: "Your Majesty, now that the matter is settled, no amount of arguing will help."

Xiao Zhengshu spoke again: "I am the great King of Yue of Wei. They are just servants of our Xiao family. What's the harm in killing them? Why not?"

Xiao Xuantang retorted, "It's absolutely ridiculous! Second sister, third sister, fourth sister, seventh sister and eighth sister, they are all your sisters, how could you be so cruel as to offer them to the old and ugly King of Handan Chi? If Fu'er hadn't stopped the carriage for the marriage in time, do you think they would have survived safely? Although the Wei Dynasty does have the etiquette of princesses marrying, that is also an agreement between us and Yihan."

Xiao Zhengshu laughed and said, "They are not my biological sisters, why should I feel sorry for them? But you, have you never thought of harming your siblings? Don't you want to get this position?"

Xiao Xuantang responded, "If this position is destined to belong to me, then even if I don't fight for it, it will eventually be mine. As for killing my brothers and sisters, if I really had this idea, I would have killed you a long time ago. When you and Qin Zhuoyuan teamed up to plot against Xing Hui, you should have expected such consequences, right? The conflict between you and me should not have involved a woman, Xiao Zhengshu, you are really a coward."

Xiao Zhengshu slowly raised his head and cast his gaze towards Xiao Xuantang, with a hint of sneer on his lips, "Humph! In the final analysis, you are heartbroken because your wife Yuan Xinghui died! Yuan Xinghui is dead and that's it. As the current emperor, you will naturally have three palaces, six courtyards and seventy-two concubines to accompany you in the future. I am actually helping her by doing this, so that she will not be involved in the harem struggles in the future, which will only add to her troubles and pain."

When Xiao Xuantang heard this, he was furious. He glared at Xiao Zhengshu with wide eyes and said sternly, "You are simply crazy!"

Xiao Xuantang took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, but his voice was still filled with anger and disappointment. "For so many years, I have always considered you as my brother. Even if you have repeatedly plotted against me, as long as I noticed and prevented it in time, I never thought of fighting back against you... But you are so cruel and ruthless that you even killed my fifth and sixth brothers and crippled them! My brother, can you really be so cruel?"

Facing Xiao Xuantang's questioning, Xiao Zhengshu remained silent. Seeing this, Xiao Xuantang's eyes became colder and colder, and he said firmly: "Since you are unwilling to admit your mistakes, then you can do whatever you want! This is what I promised my brother. From now on, our brotherhood is over, and you will fend for yourself in this cold palace!" After saying that, he turned around and left, leaving Xiao Zhengshu alone in the cell, feeling sad.

After Xiao Xuantang left, Xiao Zhengshu continued to lie back on the straw mat. At that time, Xiao Zhengchu lowered his eyes and sighed, Empress Dowager Ci'an shook her head and left. Xiao Xuantang walked up to Xiao Zhengchu, and Xiao Zhengchu said, "Everyone has his own destiny."

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