Chapter 97: You Are the Ruler, I Am Not Your Subject

  "Tonight, before you leave, go see your... father!"

  Upon hearing this, Chen Ye's whole body shook, and the pain that appeared in his eyes was too much... Father!

  "After I return from the imperial palace, I will go bid farewell to Father." Only after a long while did Chen Ye let out a deep breath.

  "Are you going to the palace?"

  Old Master Chen smiled coldly, as if he was thinking of something, and said: "Alright, go to the imperial palace and meet with the emperor in person. Being injured so severely that you almost died is just a saying, it's far from enough."

  Chen Ye suddenly laughed and said, "He can give me an explanation, he has already considered it a great concession. I plan to enter the palace, not to let the Emperor say something to me, but there are some things I want to tell him. Before leaving, I also want to bid farewell to Ling'er!"

  "Alright, alright, you go quickly, once you enter the imperial palace, don't hurry back, have a good chat with Xuan Ling."

  The old man's eyebrows opened and he smiled, as if in his heart, he had already decided that Xuan Ling was going to be his granddaughter-in-law. Chen Ye couldn't help but smile, and then headed out of the Wang Manor.

  Just a few steps away, he suddenly thought of something and turned back abruptly, his expression becoming extremely solemn. "Grandfather, promise me one thing."

  "What?" Seeing Chen Ye's change in expression, Old Man Chen hastily asked.

  "Grandfather, in the years to come, before I return, no matter what reason the Emperor gives, do not agree to let our Chen family members lead troops into battle!"

  Old Man Chen furrowed his brow, not quite understanding what this meant.

  "Grandpa, I don't have a way to explain it to you right now, just do what I say and it'll be fine."

  Chen Ye really couldn't explain it. Although he said there was a dream ahead, Chen Ye still couldn't use this dream to tell the old man why he couldn't agree.

  That matter gave the imperial family enough excuse to destroy the Chen family. Chen Ye believed that as long as everything was said beforehand, with Old Master's cleverness, it would definitely not happen again, and that was enough, no need to explain anything further.

  ．．．．．

  Behind the Golden Hall of the Imperial Palace, inside the imperial study!

  Looking at Chen Ye, the emperor's expression was slightly solemn. He hadn't expected that this person would dare to come alone to the imperial palace to see him. Wasn't he afraid that he would take advantage of this opportunity to kill him?

  "Come here, Ye Er, what's the matter?" The emperor smiled slightly, his mouth curling up.

  It's no wonder he's a high-and-mighty emperor, in the face of the main character who was killed, it can be treated as if nothing had happened.

  "Let's not beat around the bush, we both know why I'm here today. And you don't need to put on a polite or condescending attitude either, it's unnecessary. That will only make people more disgusted."

  "How dare you be so presumptuous in front of Your Majesty!"

  The emperor's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and the old eunuch under his desk suddenly let out a loud, shrill cry that pierced the air.

  "Get out!"

  In the twinkling of an eye, a sharp gleam flashed out from within his body, transforming into a substantial blade that slashed down at the old eunuch with lightning speed.

  Pong!

  The old eunuch let out a low grunt and his body heavily crashed against the wall.

  "This young master is talking to the emperor, do you have a share in interrupting?" Chen Ye patted his palm and laughed: "He can't hear what we're saying now, so we can say some things that others don't know."

  "Huh?" The emperor raised an eyebrow, seemingly unbothered by Chen Ye's impertinence, and calmly asked: "I don't know, what do you want to say to me?"

  "It's not what I want to say, since I'm here, you should understand, it's what you want to say to me." Chen Ye smiled and replied.

  The emperor's calm face gradually changed, and the gaze in his eyes also became slightly stern: "When discussing the ranking of the Imperial Capital Junyan List with Mr. Yun that year, I said to put you in first place. Mr. Yun had a different opinion, saying that your age was the youngest, it would make people see at a glance, this list is intentionally made like this, and it won't put you in a position where you are in the limelight. But I told him, you deserve it."

  "It turns out that my judgment was correct, you are indeed worthy of it!"

  Since the night of the winter solstice, after practicing and cultivating, until today, everything I've experienced, every single thing, is indeed as the Emperor said, he deserves to be ranked first on the Imperial Capital's Junyan List!

  He smiled at night and didn't say anything, continuing to listen.

  The emperor continued: "At the beginning of my reign, I had not yet figured out how to deal with the Chen family. After all, the relationship between our two families is well-known, and Chen Zhong is also famous throughout the land, so it's not easy to make a move."

  "But gradually I discovered that, not to mention distant places, even in this imperial court, it seems like there are two emperors. All decisions, even if they are my own ideas, seem to need to go through Chen Zhong's approval before they can be promulgated."

  "I am worried, I feel even more sorrowful. If things continue like this, will my empire eventually belong to the Chen family?" The emperor's eyes were vacant for a moment before he coldly said: "Even if Chen Zhong doesn't have such thoughts, what about Chen Shun and others? Will they not have such thoughts? And I may be a deterrent while I am alive, but what if I am no longer around?"

  "With Chen Zhong's cultivation, his lifespan is bound to surpass mine... I worry that if I am still so incompetent in front of Chen Zhong, won't my children truly become puppets? After three generations, will the Great Huá Dynasty still be the Great Huá Dynasty of my Mù family?"

  "But what I hate even more..."

  The emperor smiled and said, "Chen Zhong is the brother of Sheng Zhu Gong. The two of them were born together and died together, and they jointly created this great river and mountain. When I was still young, I thought that since Sheng Zhu Gong had such a good brother like Chen Zhong, then I also wanted to have a good brother like him."

  "Moreover, considering the relationship between our two families, I treat Chen Shun, Chen Li and even your father as if they were my own brothers. I hope to continue the friendship of the previous generation!"

  "But I was wrong!"

  The emperor's eyes gleamed with a fierce light, and he said coldly: "I thought that if I treated them sincerely, they would also respond to me with sincerity. However, in front of me, they never regarded me as the future ruler of this country. Moreover, everything I meant, they all considered inappropriate, either telling Chen Zhong to instruct me, or letting Chen Zhong use his seniority to lecture me!"

  "At last, I finally understand that I am the Son of Heaven, the supreme ruler of the nine regions. I don't need any brothers and from these people's eyes, I see what it means to be a superior ruler!"

  "If you don't treat me as a human being, then why should I spare your family?"

  The emperor sneered and said, "Zhen Ye, the way things have developed up to now has nothing to do with me. It's all your fault, Zhen family. How ridiculous that others don't understand the situation and still think I'm being heartless and unkind."

  "So you're still feeling wronged?" Chen Ye said with a faint smile.

  Looking up at the Emperor, Chen Ye's laughter grew even louder: "You want to have a good brother, but I'd like to ask you, do you really want a good brother or just a loyal servant who only listens to your orders?"

  "What is brotherhood? I ask you, do you understand? It seems that with a brain like yours, it's also impossible to comprehend."

  The Emperor's face darkened, and he immediately shouted in anger: "Chen Ye, you dare to be so presumptuous!"

  "Alright, stop spouting nonsense. I came here today to let everyone in the Imperial City know that no matter who dares to touch a member of the Chen family, they will have to pay an equal price, even if it's the imperial family."

  The night of the day before yesterday, the sound of words was slightly paused, and the endless killing intent burst out violently!

  "There's another thing, I want to get justice for Ling'er!"