Chapter 164

Chapter 164

The choice of an heir traditionally prioritized the eldest legitimate son. Sheng Chengxi, as the Empress's adopted son and Dayu's nominal heir, would have been a rightful choice for the Emperor. However, any steps the young prince would take in the future would be incredibly difficult, due to external gossip and speculation.

Yet, now with rumors swirling throughout the city, the ministers and officials, even if they didn't speak openly, privately harbored doubts about the legitimacy of the eighth prince’s bloodline. Under such circumstances, the Emperor’s edict appointing an heir shocked the court and the public.

This was a clear statement that even if it meant appointing an outsider as his successor, he would not pass the throne to Sheng Chengli.

But why?

Ever since his return from the imperial mausoleum, the fifth prince had been treated favorably by the Emperor. What reason could there be to hand over the throne to someone else instead of his own son?

Inside the diligently adorned Palace Hall, amidst opulence and weighty history of the capital’s centuries, Su Huaijing rose from the tiled floor, glancing unintentionally at the beam above the Emperor’s head.

Moments later, the Lord Chancellor diverted his gaze meaningfully.

His parents died here...

Strangled by palace servants and then staged to look like a hanging from this very beam...

Su Huaijing, holding a secret letter, respectfully retreated. The moment the palace doors closed, the Emperor, admired by countless, began coughing heavily and somberly.

Su Huaijing lowered his long, thick eyelashes, heading step by step towards the palace gate, head bowed.

The autumn wind blew through the imperial city, as if playing a dirge.

Su Huaijing walked outside the palace walls, counting the steps of his journey, the scenes behind him fading into the illusions of a dream.

But he rarely dreamed.

-

After the edict appointing the heir was issued, rumors abounded. More than one senior official earnestly pleaded with the Emperor to rescind his decision. Some, relying on their seniority, even barged into the palace, demanding that the Emperor and the eighth prince undergo a blood test to quiet the public’s doubts.

Sheng Xuyan was furiously uncontainable, both for the well-known yet unspoken doubts about his own lineage and for the inexplicable, frustrating ignorance of the people. A lowly drama, not fit for public showing, had turned their loyalties, with even commoners daring to question the legitimacy of the heir.

The Emperor’s emotions were unfathomable, finding solace only during the times when Hui Mian came to the palace to recite scriptures.

On this day, after Hui Mian left the palace, Sheng Xuyan knelt in the Buddhist hall, softly chanting sutras, relishing a tranquility he hadn't felt in a long time.

The wooden door behind him closed and opened again. He frowned displeasedly and said sternly, "Has the master forgotten about respect and hierarchy?"

It was he who had said there were no ranks of kings and ministers before Buddha, yet now he was the one displeased by someone entering without announcement.

Contradictory, hypocritical, and sanctimonious... These words were perfectly exemplified in Sheng Xuyan.

The newcomer chuckled softly, "Father, whom are you lecturing about respect and hierarchy?"

The Emperor, startled, abruptly opened his eyes and stood up, staring intently at the young man striding in, his eyes full of anger.

If one looked closely into that anger, they might also discern traces of barely perceptible fear.

Sheng Chengli, intrigued, raised an eyebrow and casually remarked, "This son greets the Father Emperor. May you enjoy health and longevity."

His words, flippant and casual, would provoke anyone to accuse him of disrespect and insolence towards the Emperor.

The Emperor slowly calmed down, his chest heaving violently. He threw the rosary beads onto the ground in fury, shouting, "Rebel!"

The sandalwood beads scattered across the hall. Sheng Chengli glanced at them regretfully and shook his head softly, "Such a pity for this material."

Showing sincere pity for mere inanimate objects, yet when his gaze returned to the Emperor's face, his expression gradually turned cold.

He appeared very curious, not hostile or threatening, just immensely puzzled, and asked slowly, "Why?"

"The second brother was made a king, the third and fourth brothers buried, the sixth brother guards the imperial tomb, the seventh brother can't even recite the Four Books, and the eighth brother..."

He paused briefly, then scoffed, "The eighth brother is someone else's seed."

"I really am curious, Father," Sheng Chengli asked, "why didn't you appoint me as the heir?"

The Buddhist hall was extremely quiet. The majestic Buddha statues looked down in pity from their high pedestals. Sheng Chengli advanced step by step, no one rushing in from outside the hall. Sheng Xuyan's chest heaved, lacking any of his past warmth or guilt, whether genuine or feigned. Father and son faced each other, and in Sheng Xuyan's eyes, Sheng Chengli saw only wariness and hatred.

After a long moment, the young man nodded slightly and chuckled softly, "I understand now, Father. You've had a dream."

The Emperor's body involuntarily trembled, his pupils constricting, inadvertently confirming Sheng Chengli's guess.

"What did you dream about?" Sheng Chengli asked. "Did you dream that I killed the third brother, poisoned the second brother on his way to exile, or deliberately caused the fourth brother to suffer from heatstroke? Or that I fed the seventh brother a poison that drove him insane, and smothered the two-year-old eighth brother with my own hands?"

He spoke casually and lightly, seemingly unaware that any of these accusations, if spoken out loud, would be enough for his execution.

Sheng Xuyan's pupils contracted, his facial muscles tensed, and his teeth trembled uncontrollably, not from fear, but from unbridled rage.

In contrast, Sheng Chengli stood relaxed, smiling at him: "Father, you took my fate and sat on the throne for so many years. I never intended to hold you accountable, but now, at this point, what are you really thinking? Can you tell me?"

"I am genuinely curious why it had to be Chengxi. And why, exactly, do you despise me so much?"

Sheng Xuyan's teeth chattered, and he had to grip the altar tightly to prevent himself from collapsing.

He was the emperor of the land, and the father of the man before him. Yet, at this moment, they were like two wild beasts in a jungle, fighting for dominance, devoid of ethics and decorum, driven by pure animalistic instinct.

After a long while, Sheng Xuyan finally spoke, his voice filled with overwhelming hatred: "You monster!"

A gust of autumn wind arose outside the courtyard. Sheng Chengli opened his eyes and looked at him for a few moments, as if finally realizing something, then lowered his head and smiled joyfully, "How could I be a monster? I am your son."

He took strides forward, approaching the Emperor slowly and composedly. His expression was pleasantly content yet unfathomable, tinged with a hint of regret: "He wanted to spare your life. What to do, I can only give it to him."

"Father," Sheng Chengli called out dependently and gently, "consider it a small compensation for stealing my fate, causing my mother's demise, and letting me languish in the cold palace for so many years."

The autumn wind howled. The Emperor glared with fury, his teeth clenched, "Monster! If it weren't for you..."

"If it weren't for me, what?" Sheng Chengli approached him, reaching out to grasp Sheng Xuyan's throat: "Father, are you trying to say that if it weren't for my birth and fate, you wouldn't have usurped the throne from my uncle?"

“……”

"Enough," Sheng Chengli laughed, enjoying the sight of the Emperor's face turning red from lack of air: "You are inherently evil, despicable and scheming. Your rebellion and betrayal, the collusion with external enemies to invade Dayu, would have happened regardless of me or my master's existence. Don’t push the blame onto others."

"Speaking of which," Sheng Chengli released him. The once commanding Emperor instantly lost his strength, collapsing under the altar, his face deathly pale, "You are not even close to being as good an emperor as my uncle was."

Sheng Xuyan was overwhelmed with rage, turning his head to vomit blood. He held on for two seconds before collapsing on the ground, his body convulsing.

Sheng Chengli watched from above for a while, then stepped out of the hall, shouting urgently, "The Emperor has had a stroke, summon the Imperial Physician immediately!"

Eunuchs and guards rushed towards the Buddhist hall in a frenzy. Sheng Chengli glanced at the sky and then headed to the inner palace.

His 'younger brother' was still being nurtured by the Empress Mother.

How could the Crown Prince of Dayu indulge in his mother's care, craving for milk, when the Emperor was critically ill?

-

After the Emperor appointed an heir and had a stroke, the nation could not be without a ruler for even a day. Although the eighth prince was the appointed heir, he was still too young. With the court wary of empowering the Empress's family, it was impossible for the Empress to assume regency.

Consequently, Sheng Chengli assumed the responsibility of regency.

Rong Tang heard the news and frowned slightly, but then he learned that a secret sorcerer had arrived in the capital.

He paused for a moment, dredging up memories related to this sorcerer.

Back in the Jiangnan royal residence, it was he who had divined Sheng Chengli's fate, which was later deceitfully transferred to the Empress's own son.

Rong Tang suddenly remembered that in his previous life, towards the end, Sheng Chengli had hosted an esteemed guest in his residence, whom he called "Master."

Rong Tang had originally thought it was the eunuch from the imperial tomb who had taught him martial arts, but now, as the coincidences added up, he almost instantly realized he had been wrong.

The story of "The Emperor's Conquest" began with the male protagonist Sheng Chengli's fate being altered; and the uprising in the twenty-fifth year of Yuanxing also involved Sheng Xuyan, who was inspired by the prophecy of "auspicious qi coming from the east" to head north with boosted morale.

Rong Tang felt that he should meet this sorcerer.

But before he could find the man, another shocking news spread in the turbulent capital.

The saying 'a father’s illness could be transferred to his son' echoed.

In Dayu, where filial piety was revered, some royal physician suggested that using the prince's blood as a medicinal catalyst might help the Emperor recover sooner.

The choice of the prince for this sacrifice was critical; it had to be a prince favored by the Emperor and of the highest status. Only then, with such a display of filial piety, could there be a chance for the Emperor’s recovery.

This was superstitious to the extreme, the idea of a foolish and ignorant lineage passed down through generations.

But with the Empress Dowager dead, the Emperor incapacitated by a stroke, and the Empress powerless to protect, even she couldn't shield the young Crown Prince.

The little prince was taken by his wet nurse to the Xinyi Hall to have his blood drawn. Half a bowl of blood was taken, causing the two or three-year-old child’s face to turn deathly pale, and he soon fainted.

The royal physician quickly boiled the blood into the medicine and fed it to the Emperor.

Unexpectedly, after feeding the Emperor a bowl of the prince's blood, not only did he not wake up, but his condition worsened, nearly costing him his life.

The entire palace was in shock. The imperial physicians knelt in a row, subtly implying that such an outcome would never have occurred between a true father and son.

The fifth prince, attending the Emperor’s illness, made a decisive move, cutting his own wrist to let blood for a new medicine, which barely saved the Emperor from death's door.

After this incident, the legitimacy of the eighth prince's birth, despite the edict, inevitably came under suspicion.

A talkative palace maid casually mentioned that before the Empress conceived the eighth prince, Prince Ningxuan and his wife had visited the Empress.

Rong Tang, listening to the ever-changing situation in the capital from his courtyard, chuckled upon hearing this.

After all the twists and turns, it had come to this.

He wasn't upset, but suddenly very curious to ask Su Huaijing if he had foreseen this scenario when allying with Sheng Chengli.