ebookland Chapter 573 The Young Swordsman's Tale: Underworld Chapter 19
Chapter 573 The Young Swordsman's Tale: Underworld Chapter 19
Chapter 573 The Young Swordsman's Tale: Underworld Chapter 19
Xiao Ruojin naturally saw through his true nature, but when she transmigrated, Xiao Yong was already ten years old, and his personality was basically set and difficult to change.
Therefore, he had long since excluded him from the list of heirs and planned to send him to his fiefdom in two years, which could be considered as fulfilling his last fatherly duty to the original owner.
only,,,
No one expected that his act of kindness would cause so much trouble.
Xiao Ruojin was somewhat disinterested and unwilling to look at Xiao Yong anymore. She flipped through the imperial edict drafted by the Imperial Edict Office, decisively stamped it with the imperial seal, and then threw it in front of Xiao Yong.
With trembling hands, Xiao Yong picked up the imperial edict and carefully noticed a few words on it:
"...My son, Xiao Yong... has acted rebelliously, disregarded etiquette and laws, and repeatedly violated the constitution...I consider our blood ties and cannot bear to execute him...I hereby demote him to a commoner, strip him of all royal privileges, and confine him to the Imperial Clan Court for life..."
Xiao Yong collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, as if struck by lightning, unable to recover for a long time.
Before the imperial edict was issued, he still held a sliver of hope, believing that there was still room for maneuver.
Moreover, he didn't believe that Xiao Ruojin would really demote him to a commoner, thinking that this was just a way for his father to scare him.
That's why I was able to be so assertive just now, venting my frustrations without restraint.
In his view, although his behavior was inappropriate, it was far less serious than treason or other major crimes, and it did not cause any irreparable damage, so why should he be demoted to a commoner?
Only now, seeing the imperial edict with his own eyes, did he realize that Xiao Ruojin was not bluffing him; it was all true.
Xiao Yong was utterly devastated, as if his entire world was collapsing. Gone was his previous bravado; he knelt on the ground, kowtowing and weeping, "Father, I know I was wrong. I beg you to rescind your decree. Father, you loved me the most before..."
Xiao Ruojin's eyes were cold and she remained unmoved.
boom--
The hall was suddenly pushed open forcefully, and Xiao Ruofeng strode into the hall, ignoring Li Ruiyin's obstruction. He glanced at Xiao Yong, who was still kowtowing in a sorry state, and said, "Brother, Yong'er was misled this time. He doesn't deserve to be punished like this because of me."
"Shut up." Xiao Ruojin waved her hand to interrupt him, then pointed at Xiao Yong and said firmly, "Li Ruiyin, send the person to the Imperial Clan Court."
"This servant obeys the decree." Li Ruiyin bowed to receive the decree, summoned the guards at the door, and, ignoring Xiao Yong's struggles, ruthlessly took him away.
The imperial edict quickly reached the Ministry of Personnel, instantly causing a huge uproar in the imperial court and the inner palace.
When Consort Shu, Xiao Yong's birth mother, learned of this, she was shocked and almost fainted. She couldn't understand what her son had done to be demoted to a commoner.
Heartbroken, she had no choice but to pull herself together and go to Pingqing Palace to remove her hairpin and apologize, admitting that she had failed in raising her son.
Along the way, they also encountered the Empress, who was dressed in plain clothes and had a solemn expression.
Upon seeing Xiao Ruojin, the two immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
The Empress spoke first: "Your Majesty, as the mistress of the harem, in charge of the concubines, and the legal mother of all the princes and princesses, I cannot shirk my responsibility now that the eldest prince has made a mistake. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
Consort Shu burst into tears, choking out, "Your Majesty, I have failed to live up to Your Majesty's trust and have neglected my duty of guidance, causing Yong'er to commit a grave mistake. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
Xiao Ruojin sighed and helped the two of them up: "You two have lived in the deep palace for a long time. The princes have always been taught by me. It is my fault for failing to educate my son. What does it have to do with you?"
Consort Shu was surprised by his words and burst into tears: "Your Majesty is busy with state affairs every day. It is all my fault. I failed to educate Yong'er well."
Xiao Ruojin gently shook her head, knowing in her heart that Consort Shu was an extremely virtuous woman, gentle in nature, and usually very respectful to the Empress, adhering to palace rules and regulations, making her a model concubine.
However, as Xiao Yong's biological mother, she could not completely remain uninvolved at this time.
So Xiao Ruojin symbolically stripped Consort Shu of her title, but did not change her rank, and then sent her and the Empress back to their respective palaces.
However, while he was lenient towards the harem, he showed no mercy to the court, swiftly dealing with the officials involved in Xiao Yong's affair one by one.
After this incident, Xiao Ruojin no longer hesitated and directly took the sixth prince, Xiao Chuhe, to her side for upbringing.
Although not explicitly stated, those with discerning eyes around could guess that this sixth prince was likely the future crown prince.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Mingguan raised his hand to his forehead, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Although, Xiao Se has left a deep impression on me, I still hope that the future crown prince will be Xiao Yu."
Emperor Xiaokang was somewhat speechless: "Good heavens, do you want Xiao Ruojin to raise herself on her own? Besides, Yi Wenjun has already changed her name and married Ye Dingzhi. Do you still want Xiao Ruojin to do something absurd like a king stealing a subject's wife? This is simply ridiculous!"
Emperor Mingguan knew his idea was impractical, so he could only sigh helplessly and give up the idea.
"It's remarkable that Xiao Ruojin was so decisive. After realizing the seriousness of the matter, she directly reduced her own son to a commoner and imprisoned him for life." Xiao Yi nodded in agreement.
"From a father's perspective, when his son makes a mistake, the father should naturally do everything he can to help him. But Xiao Ruojin's status is different; he is the emperor."
As the ruler of a country, he must consider the interests of the entire nation and must not let personal feelings interfere with the stability of the country.
Therefore, although his choice was cruel, it was necessary.
Emperor Xiaokang and Emperor Mingguan nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ruofeng watched the scene on the big screen where 'Xiao Ruojin' reprimanded Xiao Yong with teary eyes, his heart filled with emotion.
He never imagined that his parallel world self would hold such a high position in 'Xiao Ruojin's' heart, even surpassing that of her biological son.
But the thought of Xiao Ruofeng suffocating when he thought about how Xiao Ruojin, out of suspicion, deliberately made Xiao Yong compete with him for power, and allowed Xiao Yong to put cold things in his food, and finally had him executed, made him feel suffocated.
The stark contrast between his painful past and the tender scene before him made his feelings even more complicated.
Xiao Ruofeng couldn't help but think to himself, "How wonderful it would be if I lived in a parallel world."
Xiao Ruojin herself was also shocked by Xiao Ruojin's words.
Seeing the trust and support her younger brother Xiao Ruofeng showed in this parallel world, Xiao Ruojin felt confused and kept comparing her own world with this parallel world.
Despite his suspicions about his younger brother, 'Xiao Ruojin' showed him complete trust.