The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan-Chapter 648 - 646 Taking Back What I Deserve (Second Update)

"Is there any danger?" Qiu Qianyun asked as she loosened his belt.

"No," Li Rui gripped Qiu Qianyun’s hand, "once I figure out what’s happening, I will send someone to report that I am safe."

"Okay."

"Also, have Junjun hold his ground. Before we clear up what’s happened, tell him not to act recklessly."

"Okay, I have noted it down."

Li Rui donned his court attire and mounted the carriage inside the palace, speeding towards the Imperial Palace.

The carriage swayed, and Li Rui opened the note that a Palace Servant had slipped into his hand as they helped him into the carriage.

The note held only two words: "Accomplished."

The lavish carriage passed through one Palace Gate after another, ultimately stopping at the Emperor’s bedchamber.

Many officials and royal relatives were already waiting in the grand hall of the palace.

Several officials bowed to Li Rui upon his arrival, "Prince Rui, the Emperor has been waiting for you for a long time."

Li Rui was puzzled, "Waiting for me?"

"You are not aware yet..."

Li Mu’s personal attendant approached and respectfully said, "Prince Rui, please come this way."

Li Rui followed the attendant towards the inner hall.

Once they were away from others, the attendant spoke, "Prince Rui, during your absence, many things happened. For some unknown reason, the Emperor suffered a stroke and hasn’t been able to get up. His consciousness is sometimes muddled and sometimes clear. Whenever he is lucid, he insists on seeing you."

"Upon learning of your return to Chang’an today, they dispatched someone early in the morning to wait at your residence. I apologize for my negligence in failing to instruct them to explain the reasons to you."

Li Rui asked with concern, "Eunuch, has the Emperor’s health improved recently?"

The attendant shook his head.

"Do you know why the Emperor wishes to see me?"

The attendant shook his head again, "I do not know."

Li Rui stopped asking and let the attendant lead him into the Emperor’s bedchamber.

Inside the vast bedchamber, curtains fluttered, and the setting was richly and exquisitely adorned.

Heart-wrenching coughs followed one after another,

clashing starkly with the room’s opulence.

Amidst the coughing, maid and Palace Servants’ voices could be heard.

"The Emperor is vomiting blood again!"

"Quickly, call for the Imperial Physician!"

A Palace Servant was about to dash out,

"Don’t—let anyone go!"

A frail and weak voice arrived, followed by a rapid succession of coughs.

The person on the bed, with crooked eyes and mouth, was coughing so hard that his face and neck were flushed red.

Those dark, dull eyes focused on the approaching person.

Li Rui hurriedly quickened his pace to the bedside and knelt down, "Your Majesty, take care of your health."

Under the urgency of the situation, Li Mu’s cough worsened as he extended a hand toward Li Rui.

Li Rui immediately grasped his hand, "Your Majesty, your servant is here. Is there anything you wish to tell your servant?"

Li Mu tried to shake off Li Rui’s hand, but Li Rui held on tightly, making it impossible for him to pull away.

It gave an impression of deep brotherly affection.

It took a while for Li Mu’s coughing to subside.

He then raised his other hand, gesturing slightly.

The Chief of the Palace Servants waved his hand, and the Palace Attendants respectfully withdrew.

The door was closed from the outside.

At the moment the door shut, Li Rui let his hand fall, and his face, previously filled with concern and reverence, now held nothing but cold indifference.

Li Mu suppressed his cough and still flushed red, "What? Finally dropping the act?"

Li Rui stood up, his gaze falling on the frail, haggard figure on the bed, who had aged beyond recognition in just a few months.

"I am merely taking back what I deserve."

As the legitimate eldest son, the throne should have been his.

Back when the factional struggles were fierce, Li Mu’s mother, Consort Xue, leveraging the immense power of her family, sought to ascend to the position of Empress.

At that time, the current Empress—Li Rui’s biological mother—naturally became a thorn in the side of the Xue clan.

Seeing the dangerous situation with no way out, Li Rui’s biological mother had no choice but to entrust the Palace Attendants to take Li Rui out of the palace.

All she hoped was that he would be fortunate enough to survive.

Had it not been for those Palace Attendants’ self-sacrifice in taking him out of the palace, letting him stay hidden in the remote countryside, he probably wouldn’t have survived to this day.

Only a few days after he was taken out of the palace, his biological mother died under mysterious circumstances.

Li Mu watched him coldly. "So you knew your identity since you lived in hiding in the countryside. That meeting with the Emperor’s followers wasn’t by chance after all."

Li Rui scoffed coldly, "What are the chances for so many coincidences in this world?" ƒreewebɳovel.com

Li Mu spat out a mouthful of blood and coughed several times before finally calming down.

It turned out he had always been living within the schemes of Li Rui.

"You hid it well. Watching your own family being bullied over and over, especially your daughter, whom you dubbed ’the apple of your eye,’ suffering for years and eventually being forced to marry a barbarian. Did you not feel a trace of compassion then?"

Li Rui spoke indifferently, "As my daughter, she should endure these hardships."

Moreover, those who achieve great things must go through trials.

"You truly are heartless," Li Mu remarked sarcastically.

Li Rui sneered. If he weren’t heartless, how could he have survived up to now?

It was these people who forced him into this, and now they used morality to accuse him, which was truly laughable.

"Heartless? You eradicated your opponents, with countless deaths on your hands. After you ascended the throne, you allowed corruption to prevail, exploiting the common people and leading to their suffering. You say I’m heartless? The decline of Houtang, losing its status as the supreme ruler, is all thanks to you, and your many deaths could not atone for your sins."

Li Mu’s face turned from red to pale, his mouth twisted in distortion, "At least I wouldn’t let my daughter suffer these things."

"You dare say you didn’t think of using your own daughter to foster diplomatic relations?"

Li Mu’s complexion turned ugly, and he fell silent before saying:

"Even if I abdicate the throne to you, with so many princes and grandsons under me, do you think you can stabilize the realm?"

"The matters hereinafter are no longer your concern," Li Rui said coldly.

"Yes, your schemes run deep. Going to Khitan was just to make way to act against me and then gain a favorable reputation, wasn’t it?"

Li Rui was tired of arguing with him.

"The abdication decree has been written for you, indistinguishable from your handwriting. You have two paths before you. One is to abdicate in public, ensuring the safety of those you care about. The other way is rejecting my demand, and all those you care about will die with you, while I ascend the throne with the decree already prepared."

"No matter which path, the result will be the same, but the choice you make will differ for you."

Li Mu hesitated momentarily, "I wish to see Concubine Rou."

Since the incident, he had not seen her again, undoubtedly controlled by Li Rui’s people.

While he indulged in the pleasures of women, the power dynamics within the Imperial Palace had gradually shifted to Li Rui’s favor.

In his lifetime, Li Mu had many women, so many that he could barely remember them all.

But as death approached, there was only one woman he remembered, one woman he longed for.

When trouble arose, the cries of Qin Rou still rang in his ears, the only woman who had truly cared for him.

He was willing to abdicate, wanting to protect some people, including Qin Rou.