Chapter 388
Pei Zhuo pulled the person out, and immediately a foul odor hit them in the face.
Everyone's expressions became subtle, but Murong Rui stood up without a care and clapped his hands. "Just as you think. Let alone bathing, even these clothes on this prince's back are from a month ago."
An old wet nurse to the side shed tears, saying, "My lords, please forgive him. Ever since the Emperor placed our Empress under house arrest, he would occasionally come over to beat her. The injuries on the Second Prince have not yet healed, and he simply cannot withstand the Emperor's wrath. Therefore, every time he came, the Empress would hide him under the phoenix bed. Only by doing this could he barely keep his life..."
In such an environment, it was good enough to just stay alive. Who had the time to care about food and clothing?
The ministers remembered how he had been stabbed clean through by the Emperor previously. Seeing his scruffy beard now, they felt a wave of pity.
Yan Zheng stepped forward and cupped his hands slightly. "Second Prince, the tyrant is unbenevolent. We subjects respectfully welcome the Second Prince to succeed the throne."
Murong Rui's eyes flashed, but he seemed to not hear the second half of the sentence. "Tyrant? Haha, well scolded! Is this tyrant dead?"
An uproar ensued. Gu Sun reprimanded in shock, "Your Highness, speak cautiously! No matter what, the Emperor is your biological father. The word 'tyrant'... must absolutely not be mentioned!"
Great Xia revered filial piety. Especially for a future emperor, there could not be the slightest flaw in his moral conduct.
But Murong Rui acted as if he didn't care at all, laughing heartily. "Biological father? When he wanted my life with a sword, why didn't he think I was his son? Now that he has fallen, he suddenly remembers I'm his son? Dream on!"
The ministers looked at each other at a loss. Murong Rui seemed to greatly appreciate Yan Zheng, and declared loudly, "Since you are here to welcome this prince to the throne, then this prince is the Crown Prince. I now order you to withdraw from Kunning Palace. I want to speak with Chief Grand Secretary Yan alone!"
As soon as the words fell, Gu Sun subconsciously said, "Second Prince, you must not! What if..."
He shot a wary glance at Yan Zheng. What if he stabbed him to death with a sword? Then the Murong family would truly have no successor!
But Murong Rui waved his large hand. "My mind is made up, all of you withdraw!" After saying that, he walked up to Empress Pei, crouched down, and said softly, "Mother, Rui'er will go out for a while and be right back, alright?"
Empress Pei nervously grabbed his hand. "It's dangerous outside! Rui'er won't leave!"
A glint of moisture flashed in Murong Rui's eyes. He gently patted her hand. "Mother, rest assured, Rui'er won't leave. Rui'er will always stay with Mother." After speaking, he strode toward the inner room.
Chu Ruoyan glanced at Yan Zheng, who gave her a reassuring look and followed inside.
Sandalwood incense burned inside the hall.
Murong Rui took a deep sniff for quite a while before saying, "Yan Zheng, I know what you came for, and I am also very clear that the Murong family's fate is sealed. Even if I am still alive, it is impossible to snatch anything back from your hands."
Yan Zheng looked at him quietly, seemingly a bit surprised that such a young prince could see through all this.
Murong Rui smiled bitterly. "If it were in the past, I definitely wouldn't have seen through it. But over these past two months, hiding in Kunning Palace every day in fear, I've gotten used to seeing all sorts of faces, and instead, I've come to understand a lot... Yan Zheng, it's just the two of us here, so I will speak frankly with you. The abdication edict you want, I can give it, but I have a condition."
Yan Zheng raised an eyebrow, only to hear him say, "You must marry my cousin Pei Bingqing and crown her as Empress."
Hearing this condition again, the man couldn't hold back a scoff. "Did you and your maternal grandfather collude on this?"
"Grandfather also brought up this condition?" Murong Rui was taken aback, a hint of bitterness showing on his face. "Right, the old man is far-sighted and saw early on that you have the bearing of an emperor. For the sake of the Pei family's century-long legacy, he should have brought up this condition..."
But this also meant that his grandfather didn't think highly of him.
Yan Zheng's expression faded. "There is no need to mention it. I can do without the abdication edict."
Murong Rui was stunned again. Seeing him turn and leave without looking back, he hurriedly chased after him. "Think clearly! If I don't abdicate, even if you ascend the throne, it won't be justifiable! Besides, it's just crowning an empress. Once you take the throne, you will have three thousand beauties in your harem. Even if you want to crown County Princess Changle as an Imperial Noble Consort, no one will care. The Pei family just wants a title..."
His footsteps came to a sudden halt. Yan Zheng turned his head and gave him a rather strange look. "Does Your Highness not know that the reason this subject raised an army was also to give her a title?"
Murong Rui's eyes widened, looking at him in disbelief.
By the time he recovered his senses, the man had almost walked out of the hall. He hastily called out, "Noble Consort, is a Noble Consort acceptable? I know you and the Princess have a deep marital bond. How about this, just a Noble Consort. As long as it can protect my mother's maiden family from falling, I can agree to it!"
But this time, Yan Zheng didn't even turn his head, striding out of the hall.
Murong Rui didn't expect him to not even give him a chance to negotiate and just leave straight away. It wasn't until Pei Zhuo came looking for him that he gritted his teeth and said, "Youngest Uncle, do you think Third Yan is crazy? I only asked him to take Cousin Pei Bingqing as a Noble Consort, and he refused. Could it be that when he ascends the throne in the future, he truly intends to have only one person in his three thousand-strong harem?"
Pei Zhuo paused for a moment but said, "Of course! Having married County Princess Changle, he is already the most blessed person in the world. Why would he take anyone else?"
Murong Rui was so frustrated he felt like a mouthful of blood was stuck in his throat. He then saw his youngest uncle pat his shoulder earnestly. "Rui'er, although you are a prince, we cannot do things that ruin other people's marriages! Youngest Uncle knows you are doing this for the good of the Pei family, but the glory of a family shouldn't be pinned on women in the first place. Besides, look at your mother. Even if she is as noble as the Empress, so what? When the dog emperor laid hands on her, did he ever hesitate for a moment?"
Murong Rui looked at him in a daze, seemingly understanding yet not quite understanding. "Youngest Uncle means, we still have to rely on ourselves?"
"Yes! The true foundation of a great aristocratic family should be us men! In the past, out of fear of the dog emperor's suspicion, Father made all the sons except Seventh Brother resign from their official posts. This step was wrong! Just imagine, if we held official positions in the court, would Murong Feng dare to treat Second Sister like this? At the end of the day, it's still because we are useless and cannot protect the women in our family!"
Murong Rui suddenly realized. "I understand, Youngest Uncle. I will go out and abdicate right now!"
It wasn't that he lacked ambition, nor was it that he didn't want to ascend to the great throne, but the prerequisite for all of this was keeping his life.
Circumstances were stronger than people. Having reached the situation today, only by abdicating could he possibly preserve his own life, as well as his mother's!