The Virgin Mary in the Book: I Decide My Life with Two Swords

Cang Yue Kingdom——The Imperial Palace in the Capital

On the fifth day of September, the autumn rain continued. In this rainy world, the sun seemed to never appear. There was only endless darkness and depression that made it impossible for people to escape or get rid of it.

Nangong Hanyi was already terminally ill. Lying on the bed in the bedroom, he looked at Nangong Che who had entered the room with a look of disgust on his face. "Why are you here when you're not in the front court watching over your brother? Kang Hai?"

"The old servant is here," Kang Hai responded quickly.

"Xian... Why hasn't King Xian returned yet?"

"This...maybe we were delayed on the way."

"Go... go... get some pen and paper. I need to write a will, letting... letting Prince Xian inherit the throne. I'm going to summon General Jiang and... and Grand Tutor Mu. Go quickly..."

“Yes.” Kang Hai glanced at Nangong Che before leaving.

Nangong Che sneered: “Father really loves Prince Xian!”

"He is my eldest son, the most like me, you useless... don't understand"

"Yes! I am a waste. You have never looked at me since I was born. When your queen killed my mother, you still didn't even look at me. How cruel you are!" Nangong Che said slowly.

Nangong Hanyi's thoughts were already in disarray: "What are you talking about, you rebellious son?"

Not long after, General Jiang and Grand Tutor Mu came in together. They both bowed to Nangong Che first, and then paid their respects to Nangong Hanyi.

Nangong Hanyi spoke weakly, "I am no longer able to write. Please, Lord Mu, write for me and let Prince Xian ascend the throne as emperor."

"Your humble servant obeys your command." Grand Tutor Mu began to write on the imperial edict. Strangely, he wrote two copies at once.

A moment later, Grand Tutor Mu brought one of the written imperial edicts to Nangong Hanyi: "Your Majesty, please review it."

Nangong Hanyi carefully read the words above, making sure it was from Prince Xian, Nangong Xuan. Only then did he feel relieved. He struggled to stand up and personally stamped the imperial edict with the jade seal: "General Jiang, Grand Tutor Mu, your two beloved ministers will assist the new emperor."

"Yes, your honor, I obey your command," they said in unison.

Nangong Hanyi finally closed his eyes in peace: "I want to sleep for a while, you just stay outside the palace."

"Yes." General Jiang took the jade seal from Nangong Hanyi's hand and walked straight to the desk. He looked at another imperial edict, which clearly stated: Prince Wen Nangong Che will inherit the throne.

General Jiang stamped the jade seal without any hesitation, and then nodded slightly to Nangong Che.

Tutor Mu also handed the imperial edict in his hand to Nangong Che, and they both went out of the hall to wait.

After a while, an urgent letter of eight hundred miles was delivered to the palace. Nangong Che woke up Nangong Hanyi: "Father, there is an urgent letter of eight hundred miles."

"What is it?" Nangong Hanyi insisted: "Is Xuan'er back?"

"Father, I'm afraid I'm disappointed," Nangong Che said slowly, "You asked my brother to go to Langya Pavilion to look for something, but he openly kidnapped Feng Qingyang's apprentice and forced Ye Ling to hand over the Langya Pavilion map. In a rage, Ye Ling cut Prince Xian's arms, severed his tendons, and gouged out his eyes. The prince you've been thinking about has become a cripple."

Nangong Hanyi trembled all over after hearing this: "How dare you! How dare you! Come here! I will kill Ye Ling, you traitor!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down. I think he did nothing wrong. Why don't you let Ye Ling go? She is the victim. Your Majesty is very similar to you in terms of killing loyal people!"

"What did you say?" Nangong Hanyi stared at Nangong Che with bloodshot eyes. He had sensed something was wrong: "Where is King Beichen? Let King Beichen come to see me."

"Father, you drove King Beichen away. Have you forgotten?" Nangong Che said as he opened an imperial edict: "Father, do you think a useless person can be the emperor of Cang Yue Kingdom?"

"What are you going to do? Even if King Xian...can't, it's not your turn to say that. Who the hell are you? A piece of trash born of a lowly creature."

Nangong Che was not angry, but smiled slightly and burned the imperial edict in his hand that conferred the title of Emperor Nangong Xuan in front of Nangong Hanyi.

"How dare you! Come here! Where are the Royal Guards? Come here!" Nangong Hanyi wanted to stop him, but he was powerless.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to shout. I am right here. You can tell me if you have any instructions. Your Majesty, how do you think King Xian will live in the future? Like a dog? Without arms, unable to walk, and with his nose cut off, it's interesting to think about it." Nangong Che's words were true. He didn't expect Ye Ling to do this.

"Xuan'er, my Xuan'er," Nangong Hanyi suddenly pointed at Nangong Che, "It was you? Did you instruct Ye Ling to do this? I should have killed that bitch a long time ago. Are you in the same group? King Beichen, King Beichen, come here, I want to see King Beichen."

"Father, you're only remembering King Beichen now? It's too late. If you hadn't driven him away, I wouldn't have dared do this. After all, his martial arts skills are too high. It's a pity that you've destroyed everything you had! Oh, I forgot to tell you that the commander you sent to the border of Dayu is also one of my men."

"Don't even think about succeeding. The Leng family won't sit idly by, and the court officials won't allow a useless person like you to be in charge."

"Father, oh father, even at this time, you still can't see clearly that my princess is the granddaughter of Duke Leng. Do you think there will be anyone in the court who disagrees with this marriage?"

"Impossible, impossible, Duke Leng will not support you. No, yes, Ye Ling, it's Ye Ling..." Nangong Hanyi understood.

"Do you know why you've been deserted by everyone? Because you never show any sympathy for your subordinates and have wrongfully murdered countless loyal servants? They all hate you. Duke Leng has served three terms, so he's no fool. You condoned Prince Xian's murder of Ye Tingzhan, and everyone can see it. Do you think you're going to make Duke Leng feel better?"

"You...it's you..." Nangong Hanyi couldn't catch his breath and fell straight down with his eyes wide open, dying with his eyes open.

The hall fell silent. Black Hawk suddenly appeared, stepped forward to examine him, and nodded slightly: "Your Highness, he is dead."

A moment later, a cry of "His Majesty has passed away" resounded throughout the palace.

The next day, all the court officials wore mourning clothes and knelt in the courtyard of the mourning hall. At the front were Nangong Che and King Wu Nangong Zi who had just returned.

After the memorial ceremony, Leng Ruxue's face was solemn. He slowly unfolded the will and read in a low and solemn voice, "By the will of Heaven, the late Emperor declares: I, though unvirtuous, have ruled the world and failed to ensure the people live and work in peace. I feel deeply guilty. Now that I am about to pass away, I have appointed Prince Wen, Nangong Che, as the new Emperor. I hope he will inherit the throne, work hard to govern the country, and revive the government."

Everyone remained calm when they heard this. Nangong Zi looked at Nangong Che, feeling puzzled but also a little happy. To him, anyone could be the emperor as long as it wasn't Nangong Xuan.

Nangong Che took the imperial edict with both hands, stood up and looked at everyone.

Everyone stood up and shouted: "Long live our emperor!"

Nangong Che remained calm. He had been planning for this moment for many years and finally waited for it.

The next day, at the coronation ceremony, Nangong Che, wearing a dragon robe, walked up to the dragon throne step by step, and the court officials knelt on the ground one after another.

Guangyi began to read the first imperial edict after Nangong Che ascended the throne: "I ascend the throne today and grant amnesty to the whole country. All prisoners without serious crimes can be released and return home. The people's taxes will be reduced by half for one year and by half for three years. All exorbitant taxes will be abolished. In addition, my biological mother, Zhao Cairen, is canonized as the Empress Dowager Nianci, the granddaughter of the Duke of Leng is canonized as the Queen, Mu, the daughter of the Grand Tutor Mu, is canonized as the Consort Shu, and Wen, the sister of the Minister of War, is canonized as the Consort Duan. King Beichen is canonized as the King of Backer Mountain, Leng Aoyun is canonized as the First-Rank General of the State, and General Xiao Aoxiao is canonized as the General of the State.

Furthermore, Prince Xian has acted unilaterally, openly provoking conflict between the Jianghu and the imperial court, and has previously resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers. Therefore, all matters concerning him and the Langya Pavilion will be discontinued. Only by maintaining internal stability can external governance be achieved. I hope all of you will work together to formulate strategies and bring prosperity to the Cang Yue Nation. This is my decree!"

"Long live our emperor!" everyone shouted in unison.

"My dear ministers, please stand up," Nangong Che said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty"

Nangong Che spoke slowly: "Today in the hall, I have another announcement. Xidu has been stable and abided by the agreement for many years. For the long-term friendship between the two countries and the peace and prosperity of the people on the border, therefore, starting next year, Xidu will no longer have to pay tribute to our country. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty is wise," said Grand Tutor Mu. "This will have two advantages. First, the situation on the border with Da'an is tense, and we absolutely cannot allow the Western Capital to participate in the war. Second, it will demonstrate the demeanor of a great power. If they invade the border again, General Leng will be able to fight back without hesitation."

"I second the motion," everyone said in unison.

After the court was dismissed, in the imperial study, Nangong Che asked everyone to leave. He looked at Xue Jingchuan and said, "I have already exempted the Western Capital from paying tribute according to Ye Ling's wishes. Don't be angry anymore."

Xue Jingchuan smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty has now successfully ascended the throne, and it is time for me to go home."

“You’re leaving?” Nangong Che was obviously anxious: “I can’t live without you.”

"Your Majesty, you are no longer short of counselors. I will go back with Bai Lang once, and Da'e will immediately cease hostilities. At the very least, you will no longer fight Cang Yue Nation while you are on the throne. You can be your emperor in peace, and I will go back for a while, then wander the world freely."

"Do you want to follow in Ye Ling's footsteps?"

"Don't involve her anymore. This is my only wish. Let her live the life she wants, okay?"

"Jiuyou is really not dead?"

"You really want him to die? Your Majesty, you should understand Ye Ling. From the beginning to the end, you two are not on the same path, and she and I are not on the same path either."

"I just want to know, is Jiuyou really not dead?"

Xue Jingchuan shook his head. "I don't know. Langya Pavilion released a message saying he's not dead, but seriously injured and in a coma. He might never wake up. I went to see Ye Ling, and she looked so distressing. She was so heartbroken that she lost her sense of taste and smell. Even so, she said she didn't hate any of us. Everything she said was fate."

Nangong Che was silent for a long time: "Don't worry, whether Jiuyou is dead or not, I will not disturb her again."

“I thank you on her behalf.”

"Did she go to see Yelu Zongzheng off?" Nangong Che couldn't help but ask.

"Yelü Zongzheng is looking for the Langya Pavilion. Ye Ling is the envoy of the Renzi Hall, so I have to send him there personally. It's good to go out for a walk. It can change your mind."

"In that case, Jiuyou can't be alive. If he is really seriously injured, Ye Ling will definitely not leave Langya Pavilion at this time."

"I think so too, so... I don't know why Langya Pavilion said that. Anyway, it's none of our business anymore."

"Are you really going?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, take care."

"Bon Voyage"