Isolated town in northern border region

Xiao Lie didn't interrupt him, but simply picked up the teacup and put it down again, as if waiting for him to continue.

Seeing that he did not object, Xu De's voice became more steady.

"But when I arrived in the capital, I found that the people there had eyes full of worship and hope."

"They want you to ascend the throne and bring them good days..."

"But they are different from the people of northern Xinjiang!"

"Although you helped pave the roads for the people of northern Xinjiang, it is they who walk on them!"

"The people of the capital are praying to gods and Buddhas, hoping that you, this bodhisattva, will bring them good days."

He looked up at Xiao Lie.

"This is different!"

"You want to turn all the people in the world into something like the northern frontier?!"

"To split the dragon throne with a sword is to eradicate the root of the problem!"

Xiao Lie chuckled, his laughter filled with ease and the relief of being understood.

"Xu De, if you are not a good doctor, you will surely be a good prime minister."

He stood up, walked to the rockery, bent down, picked up a piece of gravel, and placed it on a newly sprouting blade of grass.

"Look, this green grass is like the people, with a stone pressing down on their heads."

"This stone represents noble families and imperial power, but ultimately, it is something that divides people into different classes."

"Ordinary people are human beings too. Why should they be born to be oppressed?"

"Why is it that no matter how hard they try their whole lives, they can't turn their lives around?"

He released his grip; the stone remained still, but a small blade of grass had already peeked out from the edge.

"What I need to do is move this rock."

"The first step in moving things... is to smash the biggest rock—the Xiao family!"

Rapid breathing could be heard from the corridor.

Jiang Min stood a few steps away, leaning against a pillar, her face pale.

"Your Highness! You've gone mad!"

Her voice was trembling.

Xiao Lie turned around.

"When did I go mad?"

Jiang Min walked quickly to him and grabbed his arm.

"Splitting the dragon throne with a knife! Do you know what you're doing?"

"You've shattered the imperial dignity, and you've shattered the Xiao family's privileges!"

"But without imperial power, without authority, without privileges, why should those common people listen to you?"

"They won't thank you; they'll just fight and grab like madmen! That's human nature!"

"If this continues, the world will descend into chaos!"

Xiao Lie did not pull his hand away from hers, but simply looked down at her.

"Min'er, you're right, people's hearts... are indeed not pure and good."

Jiang Min was stunned, as if she had only managed to utter half a breath before it was blocked.

Xiao Lie looked at her.

"But have you ever considered how the world has been in chaos throughout history?"

Jiang Min narrowed her eyes, thinking of Xiao Lie's answer.

Xiao Lie patted Jiang Min's hand.

"There may be wicked people among the common people, but throughout history, rebellions have always stemmed from a desperate need to survive!"

"Think again, who... made it impossible for them to survive?"

"Land annexation, exorbitant taxes, natural disasters and man-made calamities... why should all of these burdens fall on the shoulders of ordinary people?"

"Do you remember Yongzhou? The whole family worked hard just to have a bite to eat and avoid starvation!"

"Even after all this, the powerful families still want to exploit us!"

"If one day someone can pull me down from that position, it means I've become senile..."

"Perhaps by then, I had lost my original intentions... At that time, I should have died!"

"The Xiao family has ruled the country for hundreds of years, turning themselves into a stone that weighs down on the people."

"I don't want to be that stone."

"All I want is for this world to return to how it was meant to be..."

"Those who work hard will reap great rewards; those who strategize well will govern a country; those who are good at commanding an army will lead an army; those who gain without working will be utterly eliminated!"

Jiang Min kept her eyes tightly closed, but her mind was already filled with thoughts of Xiao Lie's future.

"Your Highness!"

"Your path makes you an enemy of the entire world!"

Xiao Lie smiled.

"Even if the whole world becomes my enemy, it doesn't matter; even if I lose, it doesn't matter!"

"At least, it paved the way for those who came after!"

He gently withdrew his hand from hers, turned around, and picked up the Taiping knife from the stone table.

"Get some exercise, I feel restless all day, it's making me itchy."

Jiang Min stood there, watching his back, her fingers slowly clenching her sleeves, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't speak.

Bisu stood up from beside the stone table, holding the scabbard in both hands and standing to the side.

"What the prince does must be right!"

"Bisu will follow the Prince for the rest of her life!"

She didn't explain any reasoning, but there was no hesitation in her tone.

The next morning, the square outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple was filled with people.

Officials lined up in orderly ranks, the ceremonial guards were neat and orderly, and the dragon flags fluttered in the morning breeze.

The time for the succession ceremony has arrived, but the King of the Northern Frontier has not yet appeared.

Emperor Xiao Mu of Chu stood in front of the main gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, wearing a newly made dragon robe. Behind him stood the priests of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the officials of rites who held the edict of succession. All eyes were on the direction of the palace gate.

When the sun rose from behind the eaves, Xiao Lie finally appeared.

He wasn't wearing a dragon robe or a python robe, but only a dark-colored close-fitting outfit, with a Taiping sword at his waist, and his boots were covered in mud from the previous night's dew.

Several eunuchs followed behind him, carrying dragon robes and golden crowns. The eunuchs jogged after him, and some knelt down to hold the dragon robes above their heads.

"Your Highness! Please change! The time for the ceremony has arrived..."

Xiao Lie stopped and glanced at them.

"Step back, I will not wear it."

The eunuchs were deathly pale, and some of them had begun to tremble.

"Your Highness! I know you are kind-hearted and will not make things difficult for me."

"If we fail to serve His Highness well during this succession ceremony, we will all lose our lives!"

Xiao Lie bent down and helped the one at the front up.

"Don't be afraid."

"From now on, your life and death will not be decided by anyone else's words."

"Those who don't want to return to the palace can go home. The gold thread on this dragon robe and the jade on the crown can be taken off and used as travel expenses. That's enough for you to live a good life for the rest of your lives."

He took the dragon robe from the eunuch, placed it on the stone steps beside him, and did not turn back.

In the square in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, when the officials saw Xiao Lie's attire, their expressions of surprise and confusion spread like ripples from the front layer to the back.

Someone whispered.

"The King of the Northern Frontier isn't wearing a dragon robe..."

Someone responded.

"He wasn't even wearing a python robe!"

Xiao Mu stood there watching Xiao Lie approach step by step. Xiao Lie's face was as white as paper, but the corners of his mouth were twitching slightly.

Xiao Lie climbed the steps of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, walked up to Xiao Mu, did not bow or kneel, but simply stood there and glanced at him.

Then he turned around and faced the assembled civil and military officials.

Xiao Lie's voice was incredibly loud, and every word clearly reached everyone's ears.

"The throne? Xiao Lie, I decline, I will not accept it!"

After saying that, Xiao Lie pushed open the gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and knelt down in front of the ancestral tablets of the Xiao family.

"Our ancestors are above!"

"Xiao Mu, a descendant of the Xiao family, is an unworthy man who has brought disaster to the country and its people!"

"Today, Xiao Lie, on behalf of tens of thousands of people of Great Chu, deposes Emperor Xiao Mu!"

Xiao Mu's personally planned succession ceremony was turned into a ceremony to depose the emperor by Xiao Lie!

Xiao Mu trembled all over outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, his blood surging, and he collapsed to the ground.

But before Xiao Mu could speak, Xiao Lie's voice came again.

"From this day forward, the Great Chu will have no more imperial throne! No more royal family!"

"Fathers and ancestors of the Xiao family, your unworthy descendant Xiao Lie..."

"From this day forward, the succession to the throne is severed!"