Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 914 - : The Victorious King and the Vanquished Foe, Flowers Bloom and Wither

Chapter 914 -914: The Victorious King and the Vanquished Foe, Flowers Bloom and Wither

“Old Master Marquis! Old Master Marquis you…”

Soft calls of yearning followed from behind, but Di Yelei’s steps did not halt; if anything, he walked faster.

As if he were being chased by a specter.

“Old Master Marquis! Old Mas…”

Xing Pan’er called out several times in succession, only ceasing when the figures in front of her had disappeared at the end of the path. A curious smile then spread across her face.

Don’t think you can escape the first day of the Lunar New Year and be free on the 15th day of the lunar month.

The days are still long! After all, she had time to grind him down slowly.

Thinking this, her face became much more composed, and she turned to go back inside the room, beginning to give orders to the servants in the manor.

“Servants! Hurry and prepare some food for I the Madam. Have you not seen how far I have traveled, nearly dying of thirst and hunger? Must I cry out before you start moving?”

This manor was originally bought by Liu Sisi, and naturally, the people of the manor were all arranged by Liu Sisi. Suddenly, an unexpected Cheng Yaojin appeared halfway, which naturally left the manor’s manager unsettled.

That being said, despite not knowing who the unexpected arrival was, they overheard a few conversations and dared not be negligent. The married woman hastily brought over fine tea and food to serve their guest, all the while keeping a watchful eye on this person, ready to take notice of the slightest disturbance.

Leaving aside Xing Pan’er in the manor for a moment, let’s talk about His Majesty’s return to the palace, where he naturally lavished Marquis Yongwu with great rewards, for Di Yelei had hurriedly arrived at the main hall. Fortunately, His Majesty kept in mind his contributions to quelling the rebellion, and although he chided Di Yelei coldly a few times, he paid no heed to Di Yelei’s sweaty appearance and dismissed everyone present.

After all the people had withdrawn from the Golden Luance Hall, he ordered Zhao Dun to be brought before him.

Separated for years, Zhao Dun now stood again in the Golden Luance Hall, his body weighed down by heavy fetters and feet shackled by iron chains. His hair, white as a chicken’s nest, and his white beard, which clearly hadn’t been groomed for days, were messily plastered around his lips, adding a few more traces of world-weariness to his already aged face.

As he entered the main hall, Zhao Dun looked greedily around, as though he could still see it as it once was. Back when he was in his prime as the Crown Prince, Father Emperor sat on the dragon chair, looking at him with a smile, beckoning him, “Jiong’er, come here!”

“Father Emperor…”

Zhao Dun’s heart leapt with joy, and he subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to grasp Father Emperor’s outstretched hand. Unexpectantly, he stumbled as his feet sank, and the fetters on his feet clanked heavily, shattering the illusion before him into fragments that vanished from sight.

“Father Emperor, Father Emperor, Father Emperor…”

Zhao Dun called out frantically, his demeanor growing increasingly frenzied.

Zhao Yuanlang on the dragon chair furrowed his brows, and beside him, Eunuch Xiao, adept at reading expressions and demeanor, quickly signaled to someone nearby.

An attendant close by stepped forward, not the least bit intimidated by Zhao Dun’s frenzy. He kicked Zhao Dun hard behind the knees.

“Kneel down! How dare you be so insolent before His Majesty!”

Zhao Dun suddenly burst into wild laughter, struggling to rise from the ground, only to be firmly pinned down by the shoulders by the attendant, unable to break free. He couldn’t help but struggle fiercely: “Zhao Wu! Aren’t you afraid to see me, your elder imperial brother? To think you dare to sit so comfortably in that place, don’t you have nightmares at night? Zhao Wu, release me, let go! I, at the very least, am a sovereign of a nation, how dare you humiliate me so!”

“Tss—You, a traitor, dare to presume yourself a sovereign? What audacity!”

Zhao Yuanlang didn’t leave him a shred of face, and stood up from the dragon chair with great composure, walking with the vigor of a dragon or a tiger, step by step coming down from the elevated position, and gradually approached Zhao Dun.

The words he spoke were powerful and resounding, “Although you were the Crown Prince back then, you lacked ambition, spending all your days in pleasure quarters and courtesan houses. Then, you even took after those romantic scholars, loving only beauty but not caring for the land. Everything that followed, every single step, was wrought by your own doing. Who do you have to blame?”

One wrong step leads to a cascade of errors!

Because of one wrong path taken, the fates of countless people were indirectly changed.

Getting to this point today is his own doing!

“So what if I took the wrong path? I love Lin Xiner, and I have no regrets! Even if I took one wrong step, what of it? I will make up for all the mistakes of the past!”

Zhao Dun didn’t feel the slightest regret for anything he had done, and even in his disheveled state, he straightened his back.

“Make up for it? Hah, that’s the most ridiculous joke I’ve ever heard!”

Zhao Yuanlang looked down on him contemptuously, “It’s a shame you’ve lived to such an old age. Do you still remember what Father Emperor said back then?”

Zhao Dun was taken aback, “What did he say?”

“A ruler should maintain a benevolent heart.”

Zhao Yuanlang gazed down at him from his lofty position, “You can engage in conspiracies and schemes, but you must have the civilians in your heart, and prioritize the interests of Zhao Country above all. But look at what you have done! Out of momentary anger, you’ve turned this vast beautiful land into a place beyond recognition, causing civilians to lose their homes, leaving all people to utter misery. Such behavior, is this something a descendant of the Zhao Family should do?”

Zhao Dun was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly became enraged!

With a fierce movement, he tried to stand up but was forcefully held down by the guards behind him. After several attempts, he no longer cared for restraint and burst out cursing loudly.

“Stop preaching all that useless crap to me! They say ‘steal a hook and you’re put to death, steal a kingdom and you become a marquis’; there is another saying, ‘to kill one is a sin, to kill ten is unforgivable, to kill hundreds and thousands makes you a tyrant, but to kill ten thousand qualifies you to be a king.’ I have killed countless people, and I have done nothing wrong, it is simply a matter of the victor being king, and the loser a bandit! From the moment my army collapsed, I never intended to live a cowardly life!”

Zhao Yuanlang wanted to speak again, but as he opened his mouth, he paused for a moment and ended up sighing deeply instead.

“Enough! At this point, there’s no use saying more.”

Having said that, he turned and walked towards the exit of the hall. However, after a few steps, he stopped and stood still for a while, “Originally, I had no intention to compete with you for anything. But you pressed step by step, and to survive… Eventually, we got to where we are today. Why couldn’t we brothers just get along well?”

Zhao Dun’s body shook, and then he burst into laughter, spitting out a thick phlegm, “Pah! To be born in the house of an emperor and still be so soft-hearted. You deserve your bad luck!”

Zhao Yuanlang closed his eyes and then opened them again, striding out of the hall, never looking back from beginning to end.

Zhao Dun watched his gradually retreating figure, with tears flickering at the bottom of his eyes. But they disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if they had never appeared at all.

It was his own wrong path taken, and he should face the deserved punishment. He had had enough of living this rotten life until now.

But perhaps it was better this way, he could finally be free!

He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, wondering if he would still be able to see tomorrow’s sun?

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.