Chapter 269: Refusal

At this moment, in the imperial study, the Emperor stared at a stack of letters on the desk for a long while, then shifted his gaze to Mo Junyan.

"All these years..."

"Father Emperor, perhaps you should first look at what's inside!"

Mo Junyan turned his head aside; he was too lazy to listen to his father emperor play the emotional card.

He opened the letters and, upon seeing the shocking contents, the Emperor clenched his fists, veins bulging on the backs of his hands, and shouted angrily, "How could this be! How could this be!"

"Father Emperor, why must you be so agitated?" Mo Junyan smiled faintly. "Having sat on the throne for so many years, aren't you aware of the scheming in the court? In my humble opinion, for you to become Daqi's Emperor, your calculations are no fewer than anyone's; why put on a show here?"

Hearing this, the Emperor's complexion suddenly turned sour.

"I..."

"Today I give you these items not to watch you perform here, but to remind you that I will not let any of the names appearing on them go unpunished."

"Second son, what do you mean?"

"They caused my maternal family to perish, forced my mother to kill herself, and now seek to doom me. Do you think I would let them live?" Mo Junyan lifted his eyes slightly, his gaze full of murderous intent, which sent a shiver of fear through the Emperor.

"Since the court cannot catch them, I will deal with them my own way, but I ask Father Emperor to turn a blind eye and not stop me." He tapped his hand, and the wheelchair turned. "Rest assured, I have no desire for the throne; better to be free now than to be an Emperor who cannot even protect his beloved woman. Such an Emperor is too pathetic."

Ignoring the Emperor's barely restrained fury, Mo Junyan walked straight out of the imperial study.

As the door closed, the Emperor's anger, which had been about to erupt, gradually faded; looking at the letter in his hand, a slight smile curled his lips, and a flash of wild joy crossed his eyes.

"I knew it; this stinky kid will not disappoint me."

"These old things should have been eliminated long ago; waiting until now to act—I even thought the second son was a fool."

"A fool has nothing to inherit my throne!"

He took out one of the letters, read its contents, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Come forward."

"Your servant is here."

"Have Chi Zhongshan enter the palace secretly."

"Understood."

Suddenly summoned by the Emperor, Chi Zhongshan couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Now that the Chi Family has long been away from the court, why would the Emperor summon him at this time and ask him to enter the palace covertly?

Passing through a secret passage, Chi Zhongshan arrived in the imperial study.

"Commoner Chi Zhongshan, requesting audience with the Emperor."

"Stand down." The Emperor surveyed him from head to toe, smiled lightly and said, "I didn't expect this old fellow to grow younger; you're near sixty, yet you look almost like me. Could it be you've taken some extraordinary elixir?"

"Your Majesty, you flatter me; I'm already an old man, how could I be compared with you?"

"How have you been in Nanpu these years?"

"Thanks to Your Majesty, all is well."

The Emperor nodded, "Then that's good."

"May I ask, Emperor, why you sent me here?"

"Nothing in particular; I heard the Chi Family was returning to the capital, and having not seen you for a long time, I sent you over to take a look."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern."

"I suppose you've already heard about today's court affairs."

Chi Zhongshan's body tensed; what had the Emperor already guessed?

"Commoner..."

"No need to rush to shake off; Xie Yuwei is your student, and today he volunteered to investigate the tragic case of the Bai Family and the Situ Family from back then, presumably at your behest."

Upon hearing this, Chi Zhongshan knelt straight down: "Your Majesty, my younger sister died a tragic death; more than a decade has passed, and I have not slept a single night. Until my daughter's vengeance is avenged, I cannot rest even in death."

"You are now a mere commoner, secretly meddling in court affairs; do you know the crime?"

"I know my crime, but I have no regrets; if I can avenge my sister, I would gladly give up this old life."

The Emperor glanced at him, waved his hand and said, "Rise, rise!"

Hearing that tone, Chi Zhongshan's anxious heart slowly eased.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Your love for your daughter is deep; I, as a father, can understand. Yet you broke the rules first, and I cannot pretend nothing happened." The Emperor smiled briefly, then said softly, "If you exchange something, I will act as if I know nothing."

"Exchange?"

Chi Zhongshan thought for a moment, then loudly said, "I, the commoner, am willing to trade half my fortune for..."

"What half a fortune? Do you really think I could care about that little property of yours? Who am I? I am the Emperor! Wealth of the four seas! How could I covet your meager assets?"

Chi Zhongshan: "..."

"Do you truly not covet it?"

"Why doesn't he believe it?"

When the Chi Family left Daqi, they had expended a great deal.

"Aside from these, I truly have no idea what to exchange with the Emperor."

"It must be your Chi Family's treasure!"

"Chi Family's treasure?"

"I am foolish; please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

The Emperor smiled and said, "I want your Chi Family's prized jewel, your granddaughter, Chi Nan Yi."

"Chi Nan Yi?"

"Chi Nan Yi!!"

Chi Zhongshan: "!!!"

Emperor, this is not about coveting the Chi Family's assets; this is about wanting Chi Nan Yi's life!

"Emperor, this humble commoner wishes to offer all the family's assets, only asking that you spare Chi Nan Yi."

The Emperor, upon hearing, slightly raised his eyebrows, his tone suddenly turned cold: "What do you mean? How is it that your granddaughter's marriage into the imperial family has embarrassed you?"

"Emperor, Chi Nan Yi is naturally mischievous and disobedient, not suitable to enter the palace as a consort. This humble commoner is willing to offset with the entire Chi Family's assets; I beg you to spare Chi Nan Yi a way of life."

"Enter the palace as a consort? Why a consort? Do you think I intend to take her as a wife?"

The Emperor's voice was extremely loud; even outside the imperial study it could be heard clearly.

Li Gonggong whispered: "Since the noble consort passed away, the Emperor has not selected a maiden since."

Chi Zhongshan blinked: "So the Emperor's meaning is…"

The Emperor gave him a glance, thinking to himself, if I truly intended to take Chi Nan Yi as a consort, that stinky second son would surely tear this old bone of mine apart.

"Prince Li is handsome and bright, his battle merits are illustrious, he comes from a distinguished family, and matches your granddaughter perfectly. Am I correct?"

Prince Li?

Chi Zhongshan blinked; if it's Prince Li, then it's acceptable.

Emperor…

"What else?" the Emperor said impatiently: "What else? If I cannot, if my son cannot? Tell me, in Daqi, who else can enter the eyes of this old fool?"

The Emperor's raging, thunderous outburst made Chi Zhongshan's heart jump.

"This humble commoner does not mean that," he said softly: "Emperor, after the matter of my younger daughter, I only wish my family's children to live peacefully through this life, not to live under conspiracies and calculations; I beg your gracious approval."