Chapter 389: Cut Him a Few Times for Zhen

He spoke in a mocking tone, not knowing if he was mocking himself or mocking Wei Xikang.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!"

"I seemed to have been forgotten by everyone, left in the capital, doing nothing, yet being scrutinized by you, by Father, by all the civil and military officials with the eyes of a 'second son of the empress' every moment, an awkward prince!"

"Big brother, you were busy learning how to govern the country and bring peace to the world, busy making friends with virtuous officials, busy establishing your reputation as a wise and benevolent Crown Prince."

"Did you ever think about your second brother for a moment?"

"Did you ever ask Father to enfeoff me as a king early, so that I could also have a piece of my own world and do my best to be a wealthy and idle king?"

Wei Xikang's lips moved, wanting to say something, but found himself speechless.

During that period, he was immersed in Father's careful teaching and the responsibility of the "Crown Prince," and indeed... never put the matter of his brother's enfeoffment to heart, and even subconsciously felt that it was common sense for brothers to be in the capital.

"You never thought about it, right?"

Wei Xi Yuan looked at his speechless appearance and suddenly laughed out loud.

"My good big brother! You are always so benevolent, so... naive! You thought Father forgot?"

"What... do you mean?" Wei Xikang's heart sank, and a sense of foreboding surged up.

"What do I mean?"

Wei Xi Yuan stood up and faced Wei Xikang, saying word by word: "My Crown Prince brother, have you never thought about it?"

"Father is a man of great strategy, how deep is his mind!"

"The reason he never enfeoffed me as a king, kept me in the capital, indulged and even... secretly acquiesced to my making friends with some officials, was to make me a whetstone

He paused, then continued: "Father Emperor intends to use me, to use me, his own second son, to sharpen you!

To force you to understand that the path of an emperor is always either you die or I perish! There is no such thing as brotherly love and respect!

He wants you to personally, when I 'rebel,' cleanly and efficiently dispose of me!

To use your own younger brother's blood to sacrifice the flag for your future path as emperor!

To let you thoroughly understand what is called cold-bloodedness, what is called ruthlessness, and what is called the Imperial Family!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Xikang's face turned deathly pale in an instant; he widened his eyes, his mind in complete chaos.

Those teachings from the Father Emperor in the past that seemed benevolent but were actually profound, those instructions about "a ruler must be decisive when necessary," that hidden dissatisfaction with him being overly lenient...

Countless details were connected by these words from Wei Xi Yuan at this moment, leaving him unable to refute!

Father Emperor... was this his plan all along?

To take his two most beloved sons, place one in the light to be raised as the successor, and place the other in the dark to serve as a whetstone?

"No... impossible... Father Emperor, he..." Wei Xikang muttered to himself, his left hand subconsciously gripping his empty right sleeve.

"Impossible?"

Wei Xi Yuan sneered, "Those scholar-gentry are thousand-year-old foxes; why do you think they joined forces to find me?"

Then Wei Xi Yuan's gaze turned dim, "So... from the very beginning, I had no choice!

I did not want to be your whetstone, did not want to be that sacrificial offering destined to be sacrificed.

I want that position, I want to master my own destiny, even if... in the end, it is proven that I am unworthy, I will still stir this pool of water into a complete mess!

Look! Big Brother, us brothers, and this Da Qian empire, what have they all become in the end?

Haha... Hahaha... Is this the result the Father Emperor wanted?

Is this... the Imperial Family?"

With every word from Wei Xi Yuan, Wei Xikang could not even open his mouth; at this moment, his mind was filled with nothing but chaos.

He could not understand how a person with such talent and strategy as the Father Emperor could do such a thing!

Yet, Wei Xi Yuan's words left him unable to refute, because these were the facts!

Wei Xikang stood frozen in place, remembering his younger brother following behind him in his youth, calling out "Big Brother" in a crisp voice, yet the person who turned them into this... was actually the Father Emperor?!

Father Emperor... why calculate like this?

If not for this, how could the two brothers have become like this?

Wei Xi Yuan looked at his elder brother's despondent appearance, and the last bit of pleasure in his eyes gradually dissipated, leaving only endless exhaustion.

He stopped looking at Wei Xikang, slowly turning his bound body to cast his gaze toward Jiang Jinshi.

"Jiang Jinshi..." Wei Xi Yuan's voice returned to calm, "I know that falling into your hands means there is no chance of survival, and I disdain to wag my tail and beg for pity from you."

He paused, a trace of hatred flashing in his eyes, but this hatred seemed no longer directed solely at Jiang Jinshi: "To tell the truth, what I hate even more is Wei Wenlie, that uncle of mine!"

These words caused everyone in the hall to glance over slightly.

Wei Xi Yuan spoke to himself, not caring whether Jiang Jinshi answered: "My final choice to attack you instead of him was merely because I felt...

This vast empire, rather than falling into the hands of an 'insurgent' like you with an unknown background, it would be better...

It would be better to let it rot in the hands of those surnamed Wei! At least... at least the ancestral temple might still survive, at least... this world, in name, still belongs to the Wei family!"

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes still filled with stubbornness: "But this does not mean I do not hate him! I wish I could eat his flesh and peel his skin! That I am defeated by your hand today is my own incompetence.

Jiang Jinshi, if you are still a man of character, when you face that fellow in the future, do me a favor... and slash him a few more times!"

After saying this, Wei Xi Yuan straightened his back and said to Jiang Jinshi, word by word:

"Give me... a sword."

Han Xiao and the others looked at Jiang Jinshi; Wei Xikang looked at his younger brother with a complex expression, his lips trembling, but he could not make a sound.

Jiang Jinshi and Wei Xi Yuan locked eyes; he did not see any pleading in the other's eyes, only a kind of final spirit and pride belonging to an emperor.

He could form cliques and launch a palace coup, and he could pretend to be dissolute and lawless to seek an opportunity, but he absolutely could not live as a prisoner in a state of lingering death.

The silence lasted for a while before Jiang Jinshi slowly spoke: "Very well! But before that, you should see someone else!"

"Who?"

Wei Xi Yuan was stunned, not knowing who else would want to see him!

Even Wei Xikang was confused; besides himself, who else in Beijiang knew Wei Xi Yuan?

Jiang Jinshi looked at Wang Hou: "Bring the person here!"

Wang Hou acknowledged the order and then turned to leave.

Everyone looked at each other, none speaking, not understanding who the person coming was.

Soon, Wang Hou returned, bringing an old man wearing prison clothes with a head full of snow-white hair!

The old man's body was covered in filth and bloodstains, and there were dried bloodstains on his fingertips; it was clear he had been subjected to severe torture!

Behind Wang Hou was another person, who was actually Shen Mo, whom Jiang Jinshi had brought back when he went down to Jiangnan, the former lecturer of the Dong Gong!

Jiang Jinshi said to Wei Xi Yuan: "I didn't want to meddle in your family affairs, but seeing that you still have some integrity, I will let you die with clarity!"

Wei Xi Yuan was just wondering when he saw Wang Hou grab the old man's hair and pull it up, letting everyone see the other's face clearly!

"Yuan Lineage of Divination and Calculation?"