Chapter 712: Chapter 422: The New Emperor_2
He sat on the Imperial Throne for too long, the assault of national fortune was too deep, and the passage of time on him had accelerated countless times.
But his sons had never been eroded by national fortune; if he passed the Imperial Throne to them, they would have enough time.
He couldn’t deal with Li Xuanjing and the Left and Right Prime Ministers, but those rebels also couldn’t deal with the Emperor of Daxia. If Daxia achieves unification, the one who benefits the most would also be the Emperor of Daxia.
Although he himself wished to be the eternal, never-ending emperor, he was schemed against by those treacherous ministers, and he could no longer achieve it.
After passing on the throne, with the national fortune leaving his body, with his cultivation as a Martial Path Half-Saint, living another ten years would be easy.
He patted the two on the shoulder and said, "You may go."
King Gong’s pupils suddenly contracted; while Father Emperor was speaking, he was looking at King Chun!
In the next moment, he gathered his thoughts and bowed, "Your son takes his leave..."
King Chun’s expression was in a daze, appearing somewhat lost in spirit, and he left silently.
As the two figures disappeared, the Xia Emperor leaned against the Dragon Chair, murmuring, "Li Gong is deeply scheming, fighting without seeming to, cold-blooded and ruthless, how similar to me back then. Li Chun is emotionally driven and gets hurt by loyalty and affection, probably hates those treacherous ministers more than I do. Perhaps, he could be my backup. Let’s see how the two of them choose..."
...
Chang’an.
The entire Chang’an was already in an uproar.
Everyone knew that just now at the Great Court Meeting, the Minister of Justice and the Left and Right Prime Ministers, leading a group of courtiers, directly confronted the Emperor, preventing the Emperor’s restoration of old laws, ultimately ending with the Emperor’s concession.
This matter itself was shocking enough, but what was even more shocking was that the Minister of Justice, Li Xuanjing, known by everyone in Daxia as a treacherous minister, was actually a Confucian Semi-Saint!
That is to say, all these years, he had never abandoned his ideals!
It turned out that the rumors spread before were true. Over the years, his suppression of famous families and slaughtering of nobles was not for partisan struggles, but for the people. He bore the name of a treacherous minister, was scolded for twenty years, yet harbored no resentment, never altering his original intentions. What kind of steadfast will is this?
Upon learning this news, countless people burst into tears, deeply regretting their previous misjudgment of the Minister of Justice.
Inside the Li Mansion, it was already packed with people.
All the senior ministers from various departments gathered here.
The Left Prime Minister looked at Li Xuanjing and asked, "Su Meng’s death..."
Li Xuanjing said, "Great Scholar Su sacrificed himself willingly for the sake of national righteousness."
The Left Prime Minister asked again, "And those Confucian officials..."
Li Xuanjing did not speak, and only then did the Confucian officials present understand why the Minister of Justice killed so many Confucian officials, yet still retained the cultivation of a Confucian Semi-Saint. Those fellow Confucians must have already known everything before their deaths.
They willingly went to their deaths, and Lord Li naturally would not be affected.
As fellow disciples of Confucianism, they could understand the actions of those fellow disciples. If it were them, they probably wouldn’t hesitate either.
What a pity, they awaited today, yet those who willingly went to their deaths for their ideals will never see it...
Today is a victory for the Confucians, a victory for the people. Everyone’s faces were full of smiles, yet the silhouette they surrounded had a trace of undisguisable worry in the eyes...
King Chun Mansion.
Inside the luxurious kitchen.
The soup that was set to stew last night was still bubbling with hot steam on the stove.
But this soup could no longer be delivered.
A figure slowly walked in from the outside.
King Gong looked at King Chun, curled his lips, and said, "At this time, you’re still stewing soup?"
King Chun adjusted the size of the stove flame without turning around.
King Gong stepped forward and continued, "Actually, I don’t understand why Father Emperor wants a cook, a fool who reads too much, as Regent. He should have long established me as the Crown Prince!"
As his words fell, three more figures entered from outside.
The guards of the King Chun Mansion lay scattered on the ground, injured yet easily overpowered by the three Semi-Saints from the Zheng, Lu, and Du families since the guards were at most Grandmasters.
After they entered, the space in the entire kitchen was restricted.
At this moment, a True Qi aura emanated from King Gong’s body. Initially very faint, it rose to the level of a Grandmaster in a very short time.
He looked down at King Chun and said, "Clearly, I am Father Emperor’s most outstanding son. I inherited his Martial Path talent perfectly. I can’t understand why he wants to pass the throne to you?"
The three Semi-Saints from famous families looked at King Gong, their eyes revealing a trace of surprise.
Those of the Royal family indeed like to hide their strengths. The Emperor concealed his cultivation as a Martial Path Half-Saint, unexpectedly slaying Emperor Wei, seizing Wei’s national fortune. King Gong, similarly, is deeply concealed, and his Martial Path talent is not inferior to the best disciples of several large Martial Path families.
King Gong looked at King Chun, his eyes full of anger!
Li Xuanjing had lost the Emperor’s favor, King Rui withdrew himself from the throne’s fight, and he thought the throne was already his. But today, in Father Emperor’s eyes, he only saw King Chun. He didn’t understand, what the reason behind King Chun’s merit was?
"Make way."
King Chun walked past him and began to handle the ingredients on the table.
The steps for this soup were extremely complex, requiring new ingredients to be added at every stewing interval.
Completely ignored by King Chun, King Gong became even angrier, shouting, "Look at you, you don’t have the demeanor of an emperor. You’ve been manipulated by Li Xuanjing for twenty years. Is it useful to be so good to him? From start to finish, wasn’t he just using you?"
