The more cowardly a person is, the more wild they are; I've driven the villainous minister craz

Yun Shang knelt on the ground, looking at Li Yuanhe.

Back in that small place of Huicheng, the two, the emperor and his minister, were like old friends, even though they had only known each other for a short time.

Nearly five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Although I knew from the beginning that Li Yuanhe was physically weak and wouldn't last long, I still found it hard to accept when the day actually came.

The friendship between the emperor and his subject ended well, but Li Yuanhe could not see the future prosperity of the Great Zhao Dynasty.

Yun Shang remained silent for a long time without speaking.

Perhaps sensing his reluctance and regret, Li Yuanhe smiled gently, "Life and death are predestined. Everyone says 'Long live the Emperor,' but have you ever seen an emperor live to be a hundred?"

The air in the imperial study was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, but it couldn't mask the bitterness and self-mockery in his words.

“Your Majesty.” Yun Shang’s eyes flickered, his voice low and husky, “Your subject… will certainly remember Your Majesty’s teachings.”

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanhe couldn't help but laugh even more heartily, but after only a few laughs, he was struck by another violent cough.

Yun Shang quickly got up and handed him warm tea. After drinking the tea, the emperor's coughing gradually subsided. He pushed Yun Shang's hand away, bent down and found a roll of bright yellow silk on the imperial desk: "Keep this secret decree."

A secret decree?

Yun Shang hesitated, "Your Majesty, this is..."

Li Yuanhe urged him, "Open it and take a look."

Yun Shang had no choice but to accept it. He opened the secret decree, and when he saw its contents, his expression changed. He knelt down, lifted his robe, and held the decree high above his head: "Your Majesty, please rescind your order!"

The emperor looked at him but did not take the paper. “Yun Shang, I am doing this for the sake of the people of Da Zhao. If the crown prince is incompetent, you may replace him.”

"Absolutely not!" Yun Shang refused coldly. "The Crown Prince is the ruler, and a subject is always a subject. I will never overstep my bounds."

Li Yuanhe gave a helpless, bitter smile: "Yunqing, I know your loyalty. But this is my order. Do you intend to disobey?"

He reached out and grabbed Yun Shang's wrist tightly. "Yun Qing, promise me!"

He seemed determined not to give up until the cup was accepted.

Yun Shang hesitated for a long time before finally saying in a hoarse voice, "Your subject obeys the decree."

Half an hour after leaving the palace, Yu Wan noticed that Yun Shang was absent-minded. As soon as he got home, he went into his study and locked himself in. She couldn't help but knock on the door.

After a while, a man's slightly hoarse voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Yu Wan pushed open the door and entered, seeing Yun Shang standing by the window, tightly clutching a bright yellow silk cloth in her hand.

The afterglow of the setting sun gilded his entire body with a layer of gold, but it could not illuminate the gloom between his brows.

Yu Wan's gaze lingered on the bright yellow silk for a moment before she placed the soup she was holding on the table.

"What's wrong?" Yu Wan asked softly.

Yun Shang did not turn around, but simply handed her the secret decree.

Yu Wan unfolded it and her pupils shrank: "This..."

"His Majesty wants me to promise that if the Crown Prince proves incompetent..." Yun Shang's voice was hoarse beyond recognition, "I will take his place."

Yu Wan carefully rolled up the secret decree and gently placed it on the table: "What do you plan to do?"

Yun Shang turned around, his dark eyes unfathomable. He looked at the bright yellow imperial edict on the table, his voice somewhat cold, "Power can bewitch people. If I have tasted the power, and still hold such an imperial edict in my hand, I don't know if I will be able to willingly hand over power ten years from now."

Yu Wan remained silent.

She doesn't know either.

The original novel only went on until the male protagonist became regent, and now the male protagonist is no longer a two-dimensional character controlled by the plot; he has his own thoughts and an independent personality.

Humans have desires; no one is exempt from them.

Yu Wan slowly walked to Yun Shang's side and looked out the window with him at the deepening twilight.

Several newly planted crabapple trees in the courtyard swayed gently in the evening breeze, their petals drifting down with the wind.

“Yun Shang,” she said softly, “do you still remember the old couple we met in Xiaozhou?”

Yun Shang's eyes flickered slightly.

They met a farming couple during their travels. They were over sixty years old and still working in the fields, but they gave their only half a bag of rice to a beggar by the roadside.

“I remember.” His voice was low. “The old man said, ‘He is very old and it doesn’t matter if he starves to death, but the children are full of energy and represent new life and the hope of the Great Zhao. They cannot go hungry.’”

Yu Wan hugged his waist from behind, gently pressing her cheek against his back. "I remember you said after you heard that you would do your best to ensure that the elderly and children of Da Zhao would no longer have to make choices."

"The common people can only live happily in a stable time. If those in power fight for power, the common people will be plunged into misery. In the end, it is still the common people who suffer."

Yun Shang's hand trembled slightly.

He turned to look at the secret edict on the table, the gloom in his eyes gradually dissipating, replaced by a firm clarity.

"This secret decree cannot be kept."

A flame suddenly ignited in the study. Yu Wan looked at the imperial edict that had been thrown into the brazier, rested her chin on her hand, and gazed at Yun Shang. "You didn't actually intend to keep this secret edict in the first place, did you?"

If he intended to keep the secret edict, he wouldn't have shown it to her.

Yun Shang stared at the flickering flames as the bright yellow silk gradually turned to ashes.

He smiled slightly: "His Majesty gave me a choice, and I chose the safest way."

Yu Wan's eyes reflected the firelight as she smiled, "But this is defying an imperial decree."

“No,” Yun Shang stretched out his long arm and pulled her into his embrace, “this is true obedience. His Majesty does not want a powerful minister who holds the power to depose and install emperors, but a minister who can uphold his principles and be entrusted with the care of the young emperor.”

“I will go to the palace tomorrow to inform His Majesty,” Yun Shang said softly. “This secret decree shall be treated as if it never existed.”

"That young prince..."

“I will definitely teach him well,” Yun Shang said firmly, “and make him a good emperor.”

……

Old Feng had been researching new medicines to help the emperor improve his health. The Great Zhao Kingdom's treasury also stored many rare medicinal herbs. With these herbs, Old Feng actually managed to concoct some useful elixirs.

It was originally said that the emperor would not live more than a month, but after the ceremony of the crown prince's investiture and the ceremony of Yun Shang's investiture as regent, the emperor was still able to get out of bed and walk around.

Moreover, his complexion looked better than it had been a while ago.

The ministers were convinced that the emperor's condition had improved.

In the two or three years since Li Yuanhe ascended the throne, although he was physically weak, even the veteran ministers could not find fault with his handling of state affairs.

He was undoubtedly a good emperor, diligent in his duties, loving his people, and compassionate towards them. He was never biased or favoritism. It was just a pity that such a person would suffer from a terminal illness.

The officials of the Great Zhao Dynasty all lamented the injustice of Heaven, for the Great Zhao had finally welcomed a good emperor, but in just a few short years, he was about to be taken away.

Just when all the officials thought the emperor's condition had improved, one night, a sudden, mournful tolling of a funeral bell resounded throughout Shengjing.

The tolling of the death knell echoed through the silent night, waking the slumbering city of Shengjing.

Yun Shang suddenly sat up in bed, her fingers unconsciously clenching the blankets.

Yu Wan was also awakened by the sound of the bell. Looking at Yun Shang's stiff back, she whispered, "Is it... the palace's death knell?"

Yun Shang gave a soft "hmm," got out of bed, and quickly put on her outer robe.

His hands trembled slightly as he tied his belt, and it took him three tries to tie a simple knot.

"I'm going to the palace to take a look." He turned to look at Yu Wan, his voice hoarse.

Yu Wan felt that if she let him go out in this mood, he might fall, so she quickly got up and said, "I'll go with you."

This time, Yun Shang did not refuse.

When the two arrived at the palace, the palace gates were already wide open, and all the imperial guards had changed into plain clothes.

They were the first to arrive, and behind them, lights began to shine in Shengjing, which had been shrouded in darkness, as if the sounds of weeping were coming from every household.

At the palace gate, Xiao Fuzi waited with swollen, red eyes. Upon seeing Yun Shang, she rushed over, overwhelmed with grief.

He knelt down with a thud, crying out, "Lord Yun—His Majesty…His Majesty has passed away!"