Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1197 - 179: The Li Family Must Die (2)

Before leaving, Lady Liang repeatedly reminded him not to quarrel or fight with Prince Wei.

As Zhao Yao just stepped out of Kunde Hall, he saw Sun Doudou waiting at the door.

Sun Doudou first saluted Zhao Yao, then respectfully said, "Prince Han, Lord Wei is waiting for you at the palace gate."

"Little Mr. Sun, are you now serving my eighth brother?"

Speaking of this matter, Sun Doudou’s heart felt bitter.

"I don’t know what Lord Wei values in me." He really doesn’t want to serve the moody and ruthless Lord Wei. He lives in constant fear every day, afraid of accidentally upsetting Lord Wei and losing his head.

Looking at Sun Doudou’s expression as if about to cry, Zhao Yao felt very sympathetic.

"Did you say that my eighth brother is waiting for me at the palace gate?"

"Lord Wei has been waiting at the palace gate for a while now."

"Why doesn’t my eighth brother come into the palace to find me?"

"It is late, and according to the regulations, one cannot enter the palace, so Lord Wei is waiting for you at the palace gate."

"Regulations?" Zhao Yao found it somewhat amusing, "Now that the eighth brother is acting as regent, he can go wherever he wants, enter the palace whenever he wants, why adhere to such regulations."

"Prince Han, though Lord Wei is regent, he has never stayed overnight in the Imperial Palace nor entered after dark." Sun Doudou did not understand this either.

After listening, Zhao Yao smiled meaningfully, "The eighth brother really adheres to rules, huh."

Sun Doudou couldn’t tell whether Zhao Yao was praising or mocking Lord Wei, so he dared not reply.

"How have you been lately?" Zhao Yao asked with concern.

Hearing this concern, Sun Doudou was filled with gratitude, eyes slightly red, he said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, I’m doing quite well." Aside from fearing Lord Wei, there wasn’t anything bad.

"Your master is still serving my father, so just focus on serving the eighth brother well."

"Your Highness, I only serve Lord Wei when he comes into the palace." Sun Doudou was worried that Lord Wei might harm his master while regent, but fortunately, Lord Wei hadn’t touched his master, nor had he driven him away, allowing him to continue serving the emperor.

"The eighth brother has high standards for himself and others. Since he chose you to serve, you must have extraordinary qualities, so just serve him with ease."

In his heart, Sun Doudou bitterly thought: I wish I had no extraordinary qualities.

"Rest assured, Your Highness, I will do my utmost to serve."

Zhao Yao said no more and followed Sun Doudou to the palace gate.

Upon seeing Zhao Yao come out, Yu Hai immediately reported to Lord Wei.

Lord Wei, sitting in the carriage resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes, got out of the carriage, then jumped down and walked toward Zhao Yao.

Watching Prince Wei approach, Zhao Yao’s mood was very complicated. He walked forward expressionlessly.

Prince Wei stopped in front of Zhao Yao, saw his cold expression and silence, not surprised at all.

"I’ve prepared food for you, let’s go back and eat, discuss matters after the meal."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao felt his built-up anger dissipate greatly.

The two brothers got into the carriage and sat facing each other.

Prince Wei looked at Zhao Yao, who was intentionally not speaking to him, with amused affection, "Returning this time, aren’t you planning to say a word to me?"

Zhao Yao grumpily replied, "I fear I can’t speak two sentences before wanting to hit you."

Upon hearing such straightforward words, Prince Wei wasn’t angered but chuckled instead, "For Princess Consort Chu you want to hit me?"

Zhao Yao did not expect Prince Wei to say it so directly, and with such a nonchalant tone, his anger flared up instantly.

"Why did you kill them? Fourth brother has already lost to you, his family, including the Li Family, poses no threat, why did you kill them?"

"No threat?" Facing Zhao Yao’s questioning, Prince Wei calmly replied, "Are you sure there’s no threat? If I hadn’t promised you not to kill the fourth, he would have died long ago. By not killing the fourth, I must kill those around him, ensuring he never has the chance for a comeback."

"What could fourth sister-in-law do to you?"

"They can seek revenge against me." Prince Wei said coldly, "Li Family holds high esteem among scholars nationwide, as long as the fourth is alive, they have a chance to help him rise again, so I must kill them to eliminate any future threats."

"You..."

"Tenth brother, if you were in my position, would you spare them?"

Zhao Yao replied without hesitation, "I would."

Prince Wei’s gaze grew sharp as he looked at Zhao Yao, his tone stern and pressing, "Would you really let them go?"

Zhao Yao insisted, "I would."

"You wouldn’t." Prince Wei said confidently, "You would kill them like I did, ensuring they pose no threat."

"I would..."

Prince Wei interrupted Zhao Yao, "Tenth brother, do not lie in front of me."

"You already mentioned Li Family’s importance among scholars, yet you want to kill them, did you consider the consequences of that?" Zhao Yao no longer wrestles with whether he would or wouldn’t, "If you kill the Li Family, you will offend scholars nationwide, do you realize?"

Prince Wei said with indifference, "So what?"

"Have you thought about the future of scholars if you kill the Li Family?" Zhao Yao angrily retorted, "Killing Li Family is tantamount to extinguishing scholars’ passion nationwide."

Prince Wei was unconcerned, "Do you think all scholars nationwide are noble? As long as I offer high positions and salaries, there are plenty who want to study and become officials. Do you think there are many who study solely for the sake of knowledge? They study for positions, glory, power, status, for wealth, without the Li Family, the number of scholars won’t decrease."

"Precisely because Li Family is important to scholars nationwide, they must die!"

"Li Family didn’t commit treason deserving of execution," Zhao Yao argued, "You can’t utterly destroy the Li Family."

Prince Wei’s voice was icy, "If I say they did, then they did."

"This is an injustice!"

Prince Wei retorted, "So what if it is?"

Zhao Yao was furious with Prince Wei’s casual tone, shouting angrily, "The Li Family had two or three hundred lives, yet you..."

Prince Wei interrupted Zhao Yao once again, "Even if it’s two or three thousand lives, I don’t care, the Li Family must die!"