The daughter of the emperor is beautiful and holds the power over the world

The emperor's dissatisfaction was written all over his face, as if all this had nothing to do with Prince Chen or Prince Yong, but only with Si Yan.

Si Yan looked gently at the rapidly aging emperor in front of him, knowing that his character would inevitably lead to his tragedy.

He is weak and wavering, his mind is not strong, and he has not yet decided who will be his successor.

"Answer me!" The emperor clenched his fists and roared in Si Yan's ears.

Si Yan's voice was as strong as the wind. "Your Majesty, can I really protect you? May I ask, Your Majesty, when you became the Crown Prince and ascended the throne, could you have spared the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Qi who were your rivals? Aren't they your brothers who share the same father?"

Suddenly, the emperor seemed to lose his voice.

His angry face gradually calmed down, and he opened his lips but didn't say a word for a long time.

How much blood and gore did he go through when he was promoted from Prince Yu to Crown Prince, and then from Crown Prince to the throne?

How much blood of brothers has been stained on your hands?

The emperor lowered his eyes dejectedly, his body burning faintly like an oil lamp that was about to run out.

He knew he could not hold on for much longer, so he had to appoint a crown prince.

But who should be made the crown prince?

The competition between Prince Xin and Prince Yong has reached this point. No matter who is enthroned, the other one will die.

"Si Yan, tell me, how can I protect my two remaining sons?"

"Your Majesty, you have three princes left." Although, he might soon only have two princes left.

Because according to Yayue Pavilion's investigation, Prince Xin is very likely not the emperor's biological son.

The emperor's eyes lit up: "Yes, and there's also the boss, the deposed crown prince."

Speaking of this son, the emperor couldn't help but feel heartbroken. He hadn't seen this son for five years. He wondered how he was doing now?

"Si Yan, what should I do?" The emperor looked up at the imperial court lady he had personally appointed. "How can we prevent the brothers from continuing to kill each other?"

When the emperor was fighting for power, he never thought that his sons would experience the same thing.

Hearing the emperor's straightforward words, Si Yan understood his deepest concerns.

Si Yan said softly, "Your Majesty, you can make Prince Yong the crown prince and have him swear that when he inherits the throne, he will never harm his brothers."

The emperor stared at Si Yan sharply and said, "You still favor Prince Yong. Why can't I make Prince Xin the crown prince and make him swear not to harm his brothers?"

"Your Majesty, only some people will abide by the oath." Si Yan replied.

The emperor's chest heaved violently. "According to what you said, Prince Yong has disobeyed my imperial decree twice, and he will certainly not abide by his oath."

"Your Majesty is wrong. If Prince Yong swore an oath, I would definitely abide by it. But as for Prince Xin, I am not sure."

The emperor looked confused. He didn't know whether he should trust Prince Yong or abandon Prince Xin.

The emperor felt a splitting headache and was silent for a long time. He forced himself to sit up and asked someone to call Prince Yong in.

Qi Ziyu walked slowly into the hall. The emperor looked at his son, his eyes red and his lips trembling. After a long while, he spoke in a hoarse voice: "I want you to swear that if you become the crown prince in the future, you will never harm your brothers."

Qi Ziyu lowered his eyes and knelt on the ground: "Father, I am guilty. Please punish me."

"What is your crime?" The emperor widened his eyes and looked at Prince Yong who was apologizing.

Qi Ziyu choked up and said, "I was impulsive and couldn't control myself. I accidentally killed Prince Chen. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

The emperor narrowed his eyes and looked at Qi Ziyu: "You don't want the position of crown prince anymore?"

Qi Ziyu shook his head and said, "I don't want it. I only want punishment from my father. I killed Prince Chen and am unworthy of being the crown prince. I beg your father to appoint Prince Xin as the crown prince."

The emperor did not expect Prince Yong to apologize, and tears flowed down his face again.

Qi Ziyu has always been a good boy. He is never competitive and is always gentle and obedient.

This time, I think he couldn't bear it anymore and made such a big mistake.

Qi Ziyu's retreat reduced the emperor's anger towards him a lot.

The emperor summoned Peng Yu, the guard of the South Gate of Zhuque, into the palace. Peng Yu told the emperor how Prince Chen colluded with his subordinate Tao Zai to ambush Prince Yong and Si Yan. He also told the emperor about Prince Chen's outrageous remarks and his threat to kill Si Yan in the future. The emperor burst into tears again.

"General Peng, since you knew Prince Chen was plotting rebellion, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Peng Yu remained calm. "Your Majesty, Prince Chen only said that someone broke into Suzaku Gate during the Lantern Festival and asked me to ambush and kill them with him. I never imagined that Prince Chen intended to use this opportunity to kill Prince Yong and Lord Si Yan. When I discovered Prince Chen's intentions, I immediately tried to stop him, but it was too late. Prince Chen colluded with my subordinate Tao Zai and had already bribed half of the Suzaku Gate defenders. I could only fight to the death to protect Prince Yong and Lord Si Yan."

The emperor stared at Peng Yu coldly and said, "As the commander of Suzaku Gate, you don't even know that your own men have been bribed by Prince Chen?"

Peng Yu took a deep breath and said, "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, most of the troops guarding Suzaku Gate were people the Prime Minister had planted there years ago. They defected to the Prime Minister, and I was powerless to stop them."

"What did you say?" The emperor frowned. Why is there something about Xin Rui again?

"Every word I said is true. Back then, the Prime Minister took advantage of the Crown Prince's incident to reshuffle the garrison at Suzaku Gate. Your Majesty should be aware of this."

The emperor knew about this, but so much time had passed that he almost forgot about it.

At that time, the crown prince had just been deposed. Xin Rui wrote a letter saying that most of the guards at Suzaku Gate had failed the assessment. Under the influence of Concubine Xin, the emperor asked Xin Rui to re-select a group of palace guards to join the Suzaku Gate guards.

After Si Zhengxuan knew about this, he wrote to him again and said that it was not appropriate for the Prime Minister to control the Suzaku Gate, and asked him to take control of everything himself.

So the emperor ordered his trusted general Peng Yu to be transferred from the Jingji camp to suppress the defenders of Zhuque Gate.

Peng Yu was also recommended by Si Zhengxuan at that time.

The emperor couldn't help but sigh, and once again thought of the tragic struggle for power he had experienced when he was young. He slowly looked at Qi Ziyu and said, "Get up."

The emperor waved his hand at the three of them and said, "I'm tired. You all should go down. Si Yan, let your father come into the palace to accompany me."

"Yes." The three of them retreated.

Eunuch Gu followed and said to Prince Xin, who was kneeling at the door, "Your Highness Prince Xin, His Majesty has asked you to go back and bury Prince Chen properly."

Qi Mingzhe yelled uncontrollably, "Eunuch Gu, I want to see my father!"

"Go back, Your Highness Prince Xin."

After saying this, Eunuch Gu glanced at the imperial guards, returned to the emperor's bedroom, and closed the door.

Qi Mingzhe stood at the door of the emperor's bedroom, his face full of disbelief: "Father, Father..."