Chapter 689: Accept, why not accept? (Seeking subscriptions, seeking monthly

Seeing that Ivan still looked dejected, Romanov walked up and rarely patted the shoulder of this great-grandson emperor, his tone carrying a trace of comfort: "Grandson, I know you feel aggrieved and unwilling, but those who achieve great things must endure what ordinary people cannot.

The infamy you bear today is to preserve the foundation of the Romanov family and to continue the national destiny of the Daluo Dynasty. A temporary humiliation counts for nothing; in the annals of history, future generations will understand your forbearance and sacrifice today!"

These words were like pouring a bowl of piping hot chicken soup for Ivan.

Ivan felt bitter in his heart; how could he not know that these were just words of comfort?

History is often written by the victors; if Daluo ultimately cannot avoid destruction, then he, Ivan, will be a sinner through the ages; if he can luckily survive this calamity, the evaluation of future generations might still have room for change.

But right now, does he have any other choice? Fight Li Chen to the death? That is exactly what Li Chen hopes to see, so he can rightfully crush Daluo completely.

"I... understand." Ivan let out a long, turbid breath, as if he had exhaled all his pride along with it.

Soon, Ivan issued an edict summoning the Third Prince, Ma Te, to the palace for an audience.

The reason for choosing Ma Te, rather than the capable and ambitious Crown Prince, was precisely because he valued his "incompetence" and "cowardice."

The Crown Prince is self-opinionated, highly capable, and arrogant; he might not be willing to bow his head to the Wu Ancestor, and might even act rashly when the situation is not stable, leading to total failure.

And Ma Te is the most inconspicuous, most mediocre, and one could even say the most spineless one among Ivan's many sons.

He is neither good at literature nor martial arts, has a timid personality, and has no opinions of his own when encountering things.

But at this moment, this "useless" trait has instead become the greatest advantage, which is that he is obedient enough and easy to control.

In order to save his life and wealth, he would absolutely bow his head to the Wu Ancestor without hesitation, and he wouldn't even mind fawning over the rebel leader Xie Ergai.

Ivan never dreamed that the throne he had painstakingly managed and fought for half his life to sit firmly on would eventually have to be passed to this son he looked down upon the most.

When Ma Te received the edict, he was living in fear in his own mansion.

Recently, the political situation has been turbulent, and his father the Emperor has a violent temper; he is afraid that one careless move will bring about a catastrophe.

When he arrived trembling at the tense Imperial Study, seeing the mess on the floor and his father the Emperor with a livid face, as well as that ancestor with a solemn expression beside him, his legs went soft, and he almost collapsed directly to the ground.

"Son... son pays... pays respects to Father Emperor, pays respects to the Ancestor!" Ma Te knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling like a leaf in the wind, his head buried extremely low, not daring to look at Ivan at all, his eyes darting around, looking completely submissive and terrified to the extreme.

Seeing his son look so unpromising, and thinking that the country was about to be handed over to such a person, a nameless fire rushed straight to Ivan's head, and he was so angry he almost spat out another mouthful of blood, wishing he could kick him out immediately.

Where is there even a hint of an emperor's appearance here?!

Romanov on the side sighed secretly at the sight, but his face revealed an unprecedented gentle expression.

He walked up and personally helped Ma Te up, his voice slowing down, like a kind elder: "Good child, don't be afraid. Get up and speak." ===== CHAPTER 690 =====