We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Dormant.

When he was first imprisoned in the Eastern Palace, Li Huan relied on these two words to survive.

The chains were cold, the throne was hard, and he was force-fed by the eunuchs every day, like an animal...

He endured all of this.

Because at that time he felt that he still had a future and a chance to escape from the predicament.

Locked in this tiny space, time becomes thick and long.

People need to think when they are alive, so Li Huan began to think about his life over the past twenty years.

As a descendant of the royal family and the emperor's biological son, he has been living a life of luxury since childhood and was born a noble person.

Although Emperor Qing's attitude towards him is not as high as that of his brothers such as the Crown Prince, Prince of Qin, and Prince of Jin, who are all highly regarded, it is much better than that of the Sixth Prince Li Che, who is disliked by his father and ignored by the ministers.

With two royal brothers as his backers, he could have lived a peaceful and prosperous life as a wealthy and idle king.

When did it start?

When did I start to become unwilling to accept it?

It was when I was reading history books and saw everyone vying for the throne, so I felt a yearning for it.

Or when listening to teachers from aristocratic families talk about the ups and downs of the court and the changes of power, one's blood boils.

Or perhaps, seeing the supreme authority that can bring supreme glory and the power of life and death, one begins to be tempted.

Once ambition sprouts, there will be people who smell it and come to water it.

When the Crown Prince fell, the power of the two kings of Qin and Jin declined, and the aristocratic family's greatest enemy, King Feng, became increasingly powerful...

Those noble families who had nowhere to go flocked to him, piling promises and instigations in front of him.

They put themselves on a pedestal, allowing themselves to develop inappropriate delusions and strive for that supreme position.

Li Huan chewed over this half of his life over and over again until there was no taste left.

At this time, he had been imprisoned for less than a month.

The world seemed to have completely forgotten him.

He had no contact with anyone except the eunuchs who came on time every day to carry out the task of force-feeding.

Silence was no longer silence, but a heavy entity, pressing in from all directions, trying to crush his bones and burst his internal organs.

He began to feel fear, a fear even deeper than when he was first locked up, as if he had been abandoned by the world and wiped out alive.

He tried to speak to the eunuch.

At first, he was still arrogant and gave orders to the eunuchs in a condescending manner.

Then it turned into begging, begging them to tell me what was happening outside, even if it was just a casual chat about the weather.

But the only response he got was silence. No one dared to disobey Emperor Qing's orders.

The fear accumulated to the extreme, giving rise to complete despair, and Li Huan began to repent.

He began to cry to the empty hall, begging for mercy from his father who was nowhere to be found, and analyzing his sins.

He began to cry bitterly, recalling the love between father and son and begging for mercy.

His voice became hoarse and his forehead was bruised, and in return the eunuchs force-fed him even more roughly.

His words could not be spread at all, or if they were spread, no one would care.

Begging for mercy is useless, despair will refine the venom.

Hatred grew wildly in his chest, tightening around his heart like a vine.

He hated Li Che, Emperor Qing, his brothers the King of Qin and the King of Jin, the indifference of all the civil and military officials in the court, the aristocratic families that pushed him into this desperate situation, and even hated his mother's family, the Duke of Qi.

I hate them for not trying harder to help him, I hate them for giving birth to him in this royal family!

This hatred had nowhere to attach itself to, and could only burn repeatedly in his body, burning away his strength and his emotions.

In the end, even hatred becomes numb.

He no longer struggled or spoke, and every day he was like a breathing puppet, allowing the eunuchs to manipulate him.

My eyes are open all day long, but I can't see anything, they are dead.

His spirit slowly crumbled into ruins in endless confinement.

Until this day, the heavy palace door made a harsh friction sound and burst open.

The long-lost light poured in in columns, causing his eyeballs to shrink physiologically, but his face remained expressionless.

A figure walked on the light and stopped in front of him, casting a shadow that completely enveloped him.

The man looked at him as if he were a rotten puppet, frowning slightly.

"His Royal Highness?"

Li Huan didn't react at all, not even his eyes moved, as if the title had nothing to do with him.

The man took a deep breath, and his voice echoed in the empty temple:

"His Royal Highness!"

The person on the throne still looked like a clay sculpture or wooden carving.

The man seemed to have lost his patience. He turned sideways and took a wine jug from the guard behind him. He pulled out the cork and poured the wine in it on Li Huan's face without any hesitation.

The liquid dripped down the ends of the hair and cheeks, soaking the dirty lapels and bringing a cold touch.

"Your Highness," the man said in a slightly hurried voice, "His Majesty is seriously ill. It is time for you to take charge of the situation."

Li Huan's stiff neck seemed to make a slight sound, and he raised his head very slowly, little by little.

On the wine-stained face, the pair of eyes that had been empty for who knows how long slowly turned and finally focused on the face of the person who came.

The sunlight pouring in through the palace door fell on his face, so bright that it seemed cruel.

After a while, the dead face twitched slightly, and the corners of the mouth pulled upwards very slowly, bit by bit.

He gave a stiff, strange and weird smile.

. . . . . .

Huang Jin looked at the weird smiling face in front of him and felt a chill on his back.

Crown Prince Li Huan!

Among the ministers, those who did not know the situation were even more stunned.

Li Huan, wasn't he deposed by Your Majesty for the crime of treason and secretly imprisoned in the Eastern Palace for four years?

There were even rumors throughout the court and the country that the fallen prince had already died quietly within the walls of the Eastern Palace.

After all, His Majesty's most preferred successor is Prince Feng Li Che, who is far away in Fengtian and has made great military achievements.

How dare he... and how could he possibly be here?!

In a flash, Huang Jin understood everything.

Those who sealed off the palace were acting in a manner tantamount to treason, but they ultimately did not dare to completely break off relations and blatantly usurp the throne.

They needed a legitimate "front", a prince who could stand on the stage and take charge of the overall situation.

Who could be more suitable than this prince?

He has the title of crown prince and has sufficient motive for revenge, so he is naturally an ally of the traitors.

Huang Jin came back to his senses, his face as pale as paper.

Fear made him temporarily forget about hierarchy, and his sharp voice cut through the stagnant air:

"Prince! His Majesty has been merciful and spared your life. How dare you do such a treasonous act?!"

Li Huan still had a smile on his face. He walked forward slowly and said softly:

"Eunuch Huang, I don't understand what you are saying."

"What have I done to make you so disregard your superiors and subordinates and criticize me?"

"My father is in poor health and is bedridden. As the crown prince of Daqing, I am here to temporarily assume the power of regent. This..."

Li Huan's voice suddenly stopped, and then rang softly in everyone's ears:

"Isn't it as it should be?"