latelenovela Chapter 434 The Young Swordsman's Tale: Underworld Chapter 2
Chapter 434 The Young Swordsman's Tale: Underworld Chapter 2
Emperor Tai'an struggled to lift his head, his swollen face almost unrecognizable. His eyes, filled with confusion and fear, looked at Xiao Yi: "I...I didn't do anything?"
Although Xiao Yi was the ancestor of the Xiao family, he appeared much younger than many of the descendants present because he came down to earth early.
Xiao Yi's expression was slightly unfriendly. He gritted his teeth and suppressed his displeasure, turning his gaze back to a wall inside the hall.
Miraculously, a huge screen appeared on the wall, showing what was happening in the palace.
After Xiao Yi died, he was always worried about Bei Li, so he delayed reincarnating.
Who knew that he would be drawn to this place called the "All Heavens and Myriad Realms Playback Hall," where everything that happened to Bei Li after his death would be played non-stop every day.
So Xiao Yi sat down and watched silently.
This observation has lasted for over a hundred years.
Xiao Yi originally held a magnanimous attitude that his children and grandchildren would have their own blessings, but after witnessing a series of outrageous actions by his descendants, his anger flared up, and he wished he could rush into the screen and kill all these unfilial descendants.
Therefore, whenever a member of the Xiao family arrived, Xiao Yi couldn't help but step forward and teach him a lesson. But as the number of them increased, he gradually turned his attention to the emperors of past dynasties.
He didn't pay much attention to the other members of the royal family, simply throwing them into a side hall for a beating before sending them to be reincarnated, thus avoiding seeing or worrying about them.
Xiao Yi's authoritative position within the Xiao clan is beyond question.
He remained silent, and no one else dared to speak rashly; the entire hall fell into complete silence.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the image playing on the big screen, their expressions somewhat complicated.
At Emperor Mingguan's prompting, Emperor Tai'an turned his gaze toward the large screen with a heart full of doubt.
At this moment, Xiao Ruofeng on the screen snatched the imperial edict from Zhuoxin's hand, glanced at it quickly, and then suddenly used his inner strength to shatter the edict into pieces.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Ruofeng announced loudly: "...the throne is passed to the Third Prince, Xiao Ruojin..."
Ok? ? ?
Emperor Tai'an looked bewildered, wondering if his father had just hit him hard enough. He raised his hand and patted his ear, asking, "Did I hear that right? Who did he just say he was passing the throne to?"
Seeing Emperor Tai'an's bewildered and helpless appearance, Xiao Yi's anger became even more uncontrollable. He waved his hand at Emperor Mingguan and shouted angrily, "He doesn't even know who he's passing the throne to! He's utterly muddleheaded! Drag him out and give him another beating to wake him up!"
Emperor Mingguan was weak-willed to begin with, and now that the ancestor Xiao Yi had spoken, how could he dare to be negligent in the slightest? He hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Emperor Tai'an, and tried to drag him to the side hall.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Tai'an hurriedly spoke up to explain, "Grand Ancestor, my will clearly states that the throne will be passed to the Ninth Prince, Xiao Ruofeng, not the Third Prince, Xiao Ruojin. There must be some misunderstanding!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yi snorted coldly and said with a face full of disdain, "You murdered your brothers to ascend the throne. Now that you are dead, your sons have followed suit and joined forces to force the emperor to abdicate and rebel, turning my Xiao clan into a mess. How dare you still have the nerve to say it's a misunderstanding?"
"You have no idea which of your sons wants to be emperor and which doesn't. In the end, you just chose Xiao Ruofeng as the new emperor, and now he has torn up the imperial edict in front of everyone. This will surely lead to disaster in the future."
Emperor Tai'an was also full of grievances: "Ruofeng is of noble character and has extraordinary talent. He is the most suitable prince to inherit the ancestral temple and the state, so... I never expected that he would actually give the throne to Ruojin."
Emperor Tai'an never imagined that there were people in this world who didn't want to be emperor.
Back then, he was just an unfavored prince. He went through countless hardships and schemes to win over Ye Yu and Baili Luochen. He also had the good fortune to get help from Li Changsheng. Only then did he gradually secure his throne.
Now he personally offered the throne to Xiao Ruofeng, but Xiao Ruofeng refused it and instead gave the throne to Xiao Ruojin.
Xiao Yi sneered, his tone full of sarcasm: "You keep saying you value Xiao Ruofeng, but in reality, you've given Xiao Ruojin all the resources and treatment that a crown prince should have. You even made Yi Bu's daughter, who guards Tianqi City, Xiao Ruojin's concubine. Can you still say you value Xiao Ruofeng?"
"If you truly value him, why not marry him to the daughter of the Shadow Sect? Xiao Ruofeng is already over twenty, without a princess consort, or even a servant. He only has one son, Xiao Lingchen, whose parentage is shrouded in controversy. How can such a person shoulder the heavy responsibility of ascending the throne? Have you even bothered to think this through?"
Emperor Tai'an was speechless and felt that he had been out of his mind.
His original intention in agreeing to Xiao Ruojin marrying Yi Wenjun was to give Xiao Ruofeng a boost. But now, he wondered why he didn't just grant Xiao Ruofeng the marriage directly, instead of going through such a roundabout way.
Seeing this, Xiao Yi pretended to suddenly realize something, his words full of sarcasm: "Oh no, you didn't give Xiao Ruofeng nothing, you also gave him military power."
"You gave resources and benefits to Xiao Ruojin, and military power to Xiao Ruofeng. Now that Xiao Ruofeng has abdicated the throne, he still holds military power. It seems that the days when these two brothers fight and kill each other are just around the corner. I must congratulate you."
Who is Xiao Yi?
He was a legendary figure who rose from humble beginnings amidst chaos and turmoil, single-handedly creating a nation.
If he hadn't died young, he probably would have unified the world long ago.
His profound wisdom and far-sighted strategies far exceed what ordinary people can achieve.
Therefore, while Emperor Tai'an was still feeling aggrieved, Xiao Yi astutely foresaw the various changes that might occur in the future.
In his quest for the throne, Xiao Ruofeng gathered power from all sides, but in the end, he handed over the throne that was within his grasp to Xiao Ruojin. Could his supporters really suppress their resentment and refrain from taking any extreme actions?
Moreover, today in front of Pingqing Palace, Xiao Ruofeng tore up the imperial edict in full view of everyone. Anyone with eyes could see that he had given the throne to Xiao Ruojin.
If someone with ulterior motives were to use this incident to make a fuss and claim that Xiao Ruojin's rise to power was illegitimate, what would Xiao Ruojin do to quell the rumors? Would he take action against Xiao Ruofeng?
Having already relinquished the throne but still holding military power, can Xiao Ruofeng truly give up the fight?
Even if Xiao Ruofeng himself can endure it, can the people behind him who have already missed the chance to help him rise to power again hold back from taking action?
The brothers Xiao Ruofeng and Xiao Ruojin each held their own power: one held imperial authority, and the other controlled the military.
If a real conflict were to break out, the Northern Li would inevitably be in turmoil and its state would be unstable.
Can Beili, which is already on a downward trend, really withstand this kind of turmoil?