Chapter 111

The Emperor was in a coma for over a month. Upon hearing the devastating news that Empress Feng and Qi Xiao had both passed away, he nearly couldn't bear it. Qi Xiao smiled faintly, "Jiang Deqing, serve His Majesty some ginseng slices..."

The Emperor was furious. He was suffering from a fever, and consuming ginseng and such would be akin to hastening his death.

But at this moment, he feared he couldn't hold on more than Qi Xiao did. He had no choice but to pick up a small slice from the ginseng box Jiang Deqing brought over and put it in his mouth. Slightly composing himself, he asked in a hoarse, cold voice, "What... they said just now, was it all true?"

Qi Xiao scoffed, "What do you think?"

"How dare you!"

The Emperor clenched his fists tightly, barely suppressing the anger in his heart. He could accept Empress Feng's death; he had already considered deposing her two years ago, otherwise he wouldn't have favored Concubine Xue so much. If Empress Feng really passed away one day, it would only bring him relief.

But Qi Hua was different. No matter what, he was his biological son, and his only legitimate son! And now he actually...

The Emperor gritted his teeth and said in a rough voice after a long while, "You harmed your brother, aren't you afraid of being criticized by the world?"

Qi Xiao couldn't help but laugh out loud. He waved his hand, shook his head and said with a smile, "Jiang Deqing... take the people and go down. The Emperor and I have important matters to discuss."

Jiang Deqing nodded and led the crowd, along with the tightly bound Fu Hailu, downstairs. After everyone had left, the smile on Qi Xiao's face slowly faded. He said coldly, "You and Empress Feng are indeed husband and wife. Even your nonsense sounds so alike. Harming my brother? I'd like to ask you first, in what way is Qi Hua my brother?"

The Emperor was at a loss for words. His breathing became even heavier. Qi Xiao slowly walked up and stared straight into the Emperor's eyes, "Besides... what right do you have to ask me this? You may not have harmed your brothers, but as soon as your legitimate elder brother died in battle, you couldn't wait to bully his widow and orphan. Haha... You're not even afraid of the world's criticism, so what am I afraid of?!"

The Emperor didn't want to mention that past event the most. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but fly into a rage. He slapped the bed and roared loudly, "The younger brother succeeds the elder! What did I do wrong?!"

"The wrong is that before the younger brother succeeds the elder, there's still the son succeeding the father!" Qi Xiao's eyes were full of resentment as he angrily said, "Didn't my imperial father establish the crown prince?! As a concubine-born son! Just because you were raised by the Empress for a few years, you forgot your own roots? The legitimate line still has people! What business is it of yours to interfere?!"

The Emperor was rendered speechless by Qi Xiao's questioning. A sense of shame and disgust surged in his heart. He forcibly retorted loudly, "Your maternal family had all died! Your mother is still young. As a member of the imperial clan, how could I watch the Great Xiang fall into..."

Qi Xiao stepped forward and fiercely grabbed the Emperor's collar. The Emperor's voice abruptly stopped as he looked at Qi Xiao in horror, struggling desperately like a drowning person. No matter how much he struggled, Qi Xiao remained motionless. He stared coldly at the Emperor's terrified eyes and said in a deep voice, "You still want to lie even now. How my maternal grandfather's family died... you know better than me, don't you?!"

The Emperor never expected Qi Xiao to know even this. He was momentarily flustered and turned his head, not daring to look into Qi Xiao's eyes again. Qi Xiao grabbed the Emperor's chin and stared at him intently, "My maternal grandfather's family were all heroes. More than a dozen men shed blood and sweat for the Great Xiang, defending the land and expanding the territory! You beast! For the sake of your unspeakable thoughts, you actually had people disguise as Northern Di deserters and killed them all!"

"My youngest uncle was only sixteen when he died! Before he went to war, my imperial father betrothed the Jiang family's daughter to him, promising to hold the wedding upon his victorious return... The poor Jiang family's daughter and the womenfolk of my maternal grandfather's family waited day and night. After bitterly waiting for half a year, what greeted them at the city gate were seventeen coffins..."

Qi Xiao's eyes were bloodshot. "Still a man in the spring boudoir's dreams... The Jiang family's daughter directly crashed into the coffin and died! Qi Jing!! So many of my relatives died at your hands! And you still dare to tell me you did it for the Great Xiang?!"

The Emperor's throat was clutched by Qi Xiao. His face turned the color of pig liver. He couldn't utter a word and could only shake his head and whimper. Qi Xiao pushed him away and watched the Emperor cough desperately. He said coldly, "I forgot to tell you. The Xue family, in order to curry favor with me, recently drafted a memorial and sent it up, requesting to posthumously confer titles on my maternal grandfather's family members who died in battle back then. There were quite a few supporters, so I approved it..."

"The Xue family?" The Emperor looked at Qi Xiao in a daze, then immediately understood everything. He raged, "That bitch! I treated her..."

"She knows in her heart how you treated her! But Concubine Xue is someone who knows how to read the situation. Hehe... I'm not finished yet. The posthumous conferment and such are trivial matters. There's one item I particularly like... Enshrining their spirit tablets in the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Qi Xiao laughed coldly, "Qi Jing, in the future, your tablet will also be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. More than a dozen heroes from my maternal grandfather's family will be guarding you day after day. That feeling... should be quite nice."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor's face instantly turned deathly pale. It took a long while before he recovered his senses. He managed to steady his mind and said in a low voice, "What... do you ultimately want?"

The Emperor looked at Qi Xiao, his voice trembling, "You specifically woke me up... it can't be just to show off your power, right?"

Qi Xiao chuckled lightly. He put down his teacup and slowly said after a while, "Naturally, there are still places where I need to use you..."

The Emperor was both angry and shocked. His body couldn't quite support him. He slowly leaned back against the pillow behind him and said hoarsely, "I don't have long to live. At this time... you think I will still listen to you?"

Qi Xiao put down the teacup and said casually, "You naturally won't easily let me have my way. I didn't expect that either. Waking you up was to let you issue an imperial edict."

The Emperor laughed coldly and coughed a few times before saying in a low voice, "Let me issue a succession edict? Cough... in your dreams..."

Qi Xiao laughed, "Succession edict? No... What you need to issue is an abdication edict."

The Emperor was stunned at first, then greatly alarmed. He shouted hoarsely, "What did you say?!"

"What you need to issue is an abdication edict." Qi Xiao enunciated each word. "Uncle, did you hear clearly?"

The Emperor looked at Qi Xiao in disbelief, "You've gone mad?! You..."

"Don't worry, I will definitely sit on this dragon throne with a legitimate claim." Qi Xiao smiled faintly and took out an edict from his bosom, handing it to the Emperor. He slowly said, "They drafted a copy. You just need to rewrite it according to this."

The Emperor snatched the edict and read it in its entirety with a glance. Then he threw his head back and laughed. After a while, he panted and laughed, "Haha... I was muddled for a moment back then? So I snatched my nephew's imperial position... Haha... Now that I'm critically ill, I think about it day and night, regretting my past actions. Therefore... erase the past adoption, abdicate to the crown prince... to uphold the righteous way and appease the ancestors..."

The Emperor abruptly rose and threw the edict in his hand at Qi Xiao. He raged, "In your dreams! If you have the guts, just kill me! Letting me issue this kind of edict, you... cough, cough..."

The Emperor coughed violently, almost unable to catch his breath. Qi Xiao raised his eyebrows and sneered coldly, "Feeling humiliated? Heh... you should be content. For the sake of the imperial family's reputation and to have fewer troubles after I take the throne, I didn't include how you coerced the Empress and massacred loyal officials in the edict! This is already a whitewashed version for you!"

The Emperor glared at Qi Xiao resentfully and hissed, "You... you..."

"Don't worry, you have a choice." Qi Xiao suddenly smiled and said slowly, "It's best if you obediently do as I say, properly preside over the succession ceremony, and then I'll let you live. I'll allow you to slowly die here in Chengqian Palace..."

Before the Emperor could speak, Qi Xiao laughed again, "I know you're unwilling. Then let me tell you the second option. If you don't agree, we'll be at an impasse. Although Qi Hua is gone... you still have quite a few illegitimate sons. I'll give you a day to think it over. If you don't agree tomorrow, I'll kill Qi Qi. The day after if you still don't agree, I'll kill Qi Li... After killing all the princes, there are still the princesses. I can keep killing for a dozen days or so. You can take your time to consider."

The Emperor stared at Qi Xiao. Suddenly, he vomited a mouthful of blood.

Qi Xiao acted as if he didn't see it and continued smilingly, "If you still don't agree after I've killed them all, I'll have no choice but to send you on your way. But that edict will still be issued."

The Emperor wailed and roared hoarsely, "If you kill all the princes and princesses... aren't you afraid of the gossip and rumors from the people?!"

"To be honest, I really don't care." Qi Xiao chuckled softly, "I'm not like you. I've never cared about gains and losses in reputation. Besides, I don't have a good reputation to begin with. People say I'm vicious and ruthless. What does it matter? In the future, I'll still be a wise ruler who expands the borders and ushers in a prosperous era."

"Of course, I still hope you can obediently do as I say. That way, I'll have less of a stigma from massacring the imperial family and you can keep a few illegitimate sons alive."

The Emperor hesitated for a while and said in a low voice, "The imperial clan... Humph, I never had any hopes for them. But what about the court officials? Are they all ungrateful like the Xue family?! If you coerce me, they'll..."

"They'll know who they should be loyal to."

Qi Xiao suddenly turned his head, frowning anxiously, "Why did you come?!"

The Emperor was even more shocked than Qi Xiao. He looked at Bairen as if seeing a ghost and exclaimed, "Bairen! When did you enter the capital?!"

Bairen was wearing court attire with a seven-dragon coiled crown, looking extremely noble and imposing. He smiled gently at Qi Xiao, "I heard the Emperor woke up, so I came in case something happened."

Bairen turned to look at the Emperor, his expression solemn and distant, "Upon hearing that the current Emperor's health is poor and he wants to abdicate to the Crown Prince, we officials are overjoyed, so I came to the capital to offer congratulations."

The Emperor raged, "Prince of Lingnan! You've also rebelled?!"

"Yes." Bairen lowered his eyes, "These words... He Hongluo also said them back then."

Bairen glanced at Qi Xiao with a faint smile, "That day when you disobeyed the imperial decree to let me go... He Hongluo also asked if you had rebelled..."

The Emperor was stunned, "That day... he deliberately let you go?"

"There was no letter from the Western barbarians to begin with. The accusation of Wenyutong colluding with the enemy was completely unfounded." Bairen looked at the Emperor with pity, "You refused to believe it before and missed countless opportunities, all because you didn't believe he would have genuine feelings for me."

Bairen lowered his eyes and smiled, "I don't blame you. At first... I didn't believe it either."

The Emperor thought of all the past events, feeling so angry that he wished he could pounce and tear Qi Xiao and Bairen to shreds! But Bairen continued indifferently, "When did I come to the capital? It's been a long time... I've been staying at the Crown Prince's residence for several months. You just didn't know."

Bairen no longer had the docile and charming demeanor he showed in front of Qi Xiao. Each word stabbed into the Emperor's heart, "Huo Rong has long been His Highness the Crown Prince's man. Naturally, he wouldn't tell you."

The Emperor finally couldn't take it anymore. He laughed miserably, the hoarse sound grating on the ears. Bairen quietly watched the Emperor go mad and said solemnly, "Your Majesty knows His Highness's temperament best. If he says he'll kill the princes, he won't show mercy. If Your Majesty has any familial affection left, you should issue the edict."

"Of course, Your Majesty can also drag things out and wait for the court officials loyal to you to jointly petition against the Crown Prince." Bairen's eyes were stern, "But my Lingnan cavalry and iron riders... won't wait until then."

The Emperor was greatly shocked. Before he could speak, a young eunuch staggered in, knelt down in a panic, and said in a muffled voice, "A major event has occurred! An urgent report from the 800-li area of the Southern Frontier! The Southern Frontier... the Southern Frontier is now full of soldiers! The army is already in chaos, urgently asking His Highness to discuss with the elders... Huh? This is..."

The young eunuch was still in a daze when Xi Xiang, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, dragged him out.

Bairen looked at the Emperor coldly and said, "Court officials? His Highness's people have already infiltrated the army. How many in the court are truly loyal to you? Even if there are some... now that I, the King of Lingnan, am petitioning Your Majesty with troops to support the Crown Prince, would they still dare to say more?!"

Qi Xiao's eyes reddened, wishing he could hold Bairen tightly in his arms. Bairen, understanding Qi Xiao's thoughts, turned his head and gave him a faint smile.

He then turned back to the Emperor and enunciated each word, "Abdicate obediently, otherwise... I, the King, will mobilize the power of the 72 clans of Lingnan to send troops to uphold righteousness! We won't stop fighting until blood runs dry and we die!"

The last straw that crushed the camel was laid down by Bairen. The Emperor let out a shrill wail and collapsed onto the couch, finally accepting his fate...

Qi Xiao took a deep breath and softly called for Jiang Deqing. Jiang Deqing had long been waiting for this moment. He hurriedly brought in the blank edict, brush, ink, and inkstone with trembling hands. The Emperor had no choice but to draft the edict. After drafting it, Qi Xiao brought over the imperial seal and handed it to the Emperor. The Emperor turned his head away, refusing to take it.

Qi Xiao sneered coldly, grabbed the Emperor's hand, and forcefully pressed it down to affix the seal!

From this day forward, Qi Xiao was no longer just the eldest legitimate son of Qi Jing, but once again a descendant of Emperor Wu and Empress Xiaoxian.

From this day forward, the great injustice from years ago was finally cleared, allowing Emperor Wu's heroic spirit to rest in peace and Empress Xiaoxian's phoenix soul to find solace.

From this day forward, the legitimate bloodline of the Qi imperial clan was rightfully restored to the main hall.

From this day forward... Qi Xiao looked at Bairen, his eyes brimming with tears. Henceforth, the Emperor of Great Xiang and the King of Lingnan would be inseparable, in life and death.

The court officials and imperial clan members, upon receiving news of the Emperor's awakening, hurriedly rushed to Chengqian Palace. They arrived just in time, not too early or too late.

The crowd looked at the people in the warm chamber in bewilderment. They saw Bairen, the King of Lingnan, with a solemn expression, properly kneeling down before Qi Xiao and performing the ritual of three kneelings and nine bows.

"Long live my Emperor, may he live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousands of years."

-- The End --

Author's Note:

This couple is probably the most ill-fated one I've ever written about. They have no special abilities or powerful backers, and have to rely entirely on their own efforts to climb up. Born into nobility, those who wish to wear the crown must bear its weight. The higher the position they are born into, the greater the blessings they enjoy, but also the greater the suffering they must endure.

Of course, the author is not a wicked stepmother and hasn't made this pair of lovebirds suffer too much (*^＿＿^*). The protagonist's halo is not just for show. It's just that there are times when things don't go their way, which is part of their growth.

When outlining this story, I hoped to make a breakthrough and not just write a simple, sugary sweet tale. As for whether I succeeded or not, that's up to the readers to decide^^. Of course, these are all minor matters.

My greatest wish is for everyone to like this story, to like Qi Xiao and Bairen, and to like the various characters in the story. If reading it can bring joy to everyone, that would be my greatest desire. I also hope that after reading it, the readers will gain positive energy, knowing that good will be rewarded and evil will be punished, that no matter how dissatisfied one is with their fate, as long as they persist, are willing to love and still believe in love, they will see the clouds part and the moon appear^^.

I wish all readers good health, happy families, and to be filled with positive energy every day.

Thank you all for your continued support.

*bows*

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Okay, now that the grandiose words are out of the way (……), let me address some of the things readers have been asking about recently. First is about the extras. Haha, you girls probably guessed that I would come to an abrupt end, so you mentioned the extras many times before. Of course there will be extras!

After all, it's been a long time since our crown prince held Bairen as he fell asleep^^.

There will definitely be extras, and most importantly, I still need to give closure to several important characters in the story, such as the Emperor, Princess Dunsu, Princess Roujia, Princess Kangtai, and so on.

The second issue is about the new story. I'm not sure when I will start a new one, and I haven't decided on the subject matter yet. I currently have two outlines that I quite like, one is a modern BL and the other is still a historical BL. I won't reveal the modern one for now.

The historical one is a rebirth story where the bottom is a mute. In his previous life, he loved the top for a lifetime but never confessed (he couldn't speak and was illiterate; before he died, he wanted to gesture to the top, but unfortunately the top didn't understand sign language and wasn't paying attention), and then the top is reborn, and so on and so forth. It's very clichéd, but I like it so much~ I'm so excited~

I haven't decided which one to write yet, but the main theme will still be warm and sweet, with occasional tearjerkers that will definitely be moving^^. If you're interested, you can bookmark it first and you'll know when it updates~ Mwah mwah. Oh right, I'm also shamelessly asking for a like (covers face~).