The peerless and dark princess

"Father, are you pretending?"

"I was just playing along. I've tolerated your actions behind my back all these years, but you've gone too far and even drugged me and your brother..."

Chen Yunfeng smiled bitterly. It turned out that there was no family affection in the royal family. The person next to him was so calculating. Was power really that important? Was it so important that family affection and blood ties could be sacrificed?

If others knew what Chen Yunfeng was thinking at this moment, I'm afraid they would all spit at him to death. Of course, it's better to give in now. After all, treason is more severe than those moral condemnations, isn't it? He has already enjoyed the vast majority of the benefits, but still stands on the high ground and says that rights are not that important. Isn't this just occupying the toilet without taking the shit?

"Father, Queen Mother did not give you any drugs."

Chen Yunfeng opened his mouth and uttered only this one sentence. It didn't really matter whether he said it or not. The mere fact of drugging his brothers had already left him with no way out. Even if he didn't want to, those things were done by his mother, and he had also participated in many of them.

"Oh?! Do you think I still believe it? Why?"

Chen Yan wanted to ask why. He had already given Meng Yujiao the position of queen that she wanted. The crown prince was established when the previous one was in power, but if the crown prince ascended the throne, wouldn't Meng Yujiao be the queen mother? What else did she want?

"No reason. Father allowed Uncle Yue to return to the capital, but didn't he leave any chance for us mother and son to survive?"

Chen Yan suddenly didn't want to go on anymore. He had been through that time before, and the throne was paved with the corpses of other brothers.

"Father, I am late in coming to your rescue. Please punish me."

The Third Prince, Chen Yunbin, entered the palace with a pretentious air, observing the farce unfolding before him. With the Crown Prince now far away in the southern border, he was the only one here. Even if the Crown Prince returned to the capital, the situation would have been settled long ago. Furthermore, with the Western Rong pestering the Crown Prince, it would have been impossible for him to return to the capital. Little did he know, this was all a fabrication created by the Crown Prince, with Zuo Ci secretly aiding him.

"Are you late in rescuing me? Third brother, you might as well give way a little. Didn't you just hear your second brother say that I have recalled your uncle, the Prince of Yue, to the capital? Or do you think you can all be free as long as the crown prince leaves the capital..." In fact, Chen Yan wanted to see in his heart how many of his sons wanted him dead, so he did not immediately take action against Queen Meng Yujiao. After all, deposing the queen would also involve the fundamentals.

Chen Yunbin's expression remained calm. "I know, but Uncle Wang is not in the capital yet. I was worried about my father, so I entered the palace without permission."

-

King Chen Yu of Yue, who was being talked about by several people, was stopped by Zuo Ci, and the two men were deadlocked outside the capital.

"Zuogang's son, Zuo Ci, it turns out everyone was blind. You are the one who pushed all this forward."

"Yes, King Yue, you are going to protect Chen Yan."

"King of Yue? Didn't you call me Yushu before? How come I feel so strange after not seeing you for over ten years?"

Zuo Ci looked at Chen Yu, who was already over 40 years old, and didn't know how to face him. The memories of those years were still vivid in his mind. He had been with this man for a long time and was spoiled by him. But now his brother, the supreme emperor in the world, was his enemy. Could he still be like before? Obviously not.

Faced with Zuo Ci's silence, Chen Yu also knew that those things were already in the past. It was his father that he talked to about everything, but over the years, he, who claimed to be his father's good friend and brother, had never shown up, and had not even visited his grave. How could he talk about the friendship they once had?

"You were recalled to the capital by Chen Yan. Since we are destined to be enemies, let's not dwell on the past."

"Enemy?!" Chen Yu was shocked again. It went without saying that what happened to Zuo Xiang's family was caused by his good brother, the emperor. That's why the child tried so hard to seek revenge, but the people were innocent. "But the people are innocent. I believe that if your father were still alive, he wouldn't want them to suffer."

"Did Chen Yan ever care about the people? Did you know that the Prince of Yan's Mansion immediately returned the military command after their victory? You thought... you stayed in Minzhou safely for more than ten years. In these ten years, a lot has changed. He is no longer the same person he used to be." Zuo Ci glanced at Zuo Qi beside him and said, "Show our King of Yue the information that Leng Qing and the others have collected. What happened to our Majesty and his princes in recent years."

Zuo Qi handed a stack of evidence to King Chen Yu of Yue, asking him to take a good look at the "achievements" of the person sitting on the throne now. If it weren't for Chu Lianyao and other capable ministers supporting the court, Dali would have perished long ago.

Yan Li, who was standing beside Chen Yu, took the documents and handed them to him. Chen Yu didn't hesitate at all, taking a few copies and examining them carefully. Chen Yu thought that Chen Yan had certainly relaxed his vigilance after becoming emperor, but he wouldn't ignore the people. He knew that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.

After reading a few copies, Chen Yu's hands began to tremble, and his face paled. Is this still the same Chen Yan? What had he, Zuo Xiang, Chu Lianyao, and the others pushed into this? How could he be so disregarding of the people of Dali? ! ! One copy even contained evidence that Chen Yan had murdered Zuo Xiang. The secret guards had long been killed, and this piece of evidence was left behind when the secret guards visited Zuo Xiang's family before killing them. Logically, the secret guards couldn't have made such a mistake, but that day, someone had somehow stayed, allowing him to obtain this piece of evidence. Otherwise, Zuo Ci wouldn't have been able to find proof that the emperor had murdered his family even if he returned for another ten years.

"Child, you have suffered. He is not worthy of being the emperor." Chen Yu paused for a moment and supported his head. "Those princes are not worthy of being the emperor either."

Chen Yu was particularly distressed. He had learned from Gao Yong that Chu Wanran had passed away in the past few days. He had barely managed to make it to the capital. Even if there was a nephew who could take on the important task, he would have stopped Zuo Ci. Now he didn't even have that desire: Crown Prince Chen Yunjie murdered his father (by poisoning), Chen Yunfeng just obeyed Meng Yujiao and was obsessed with women (Mu Ruohan), and the third brother was even more ruthless, directly collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country... He had also considered letting Chen Siran, but think about it, Chen Siran couldn't bear such a burden...

"I'm stopping you here because I want to go with you to see him. Ask him why."

Zuo Ci knew in his heart that he wanted to tear off Chen Yan's hypocritical face just because his father was on good terms with the King of Yue in front of him. Then what about the Chu family? Several generations have fought for their Chen family's kingdom. If the Chu family had not made plans in advance, they would probably have followed in his footsteps.

The Chu family was also brightly lit. In fact, this action had long been inconsistent with the Chu family's motto, but they were helpless. If they continued to be blindly loyal, they were afraid that the lives of their children would be ruined. When Chu Lixiu was a teenager, the empresses and concubines in the palace were all planning to marry their relatives into the family. Chu Lixiao was also like this, and now Chu Moxuan and Mu Wange are also like this.