As Xiao Lin finished speaking, shouts of battle echoed throughout the Mingzheng Hall.
Zhao Lin led the Northern Border Army in a fierce battle against the personal guards brought by King Li and King Ye.
In the end, it naturally ended in victory for the Northern Army.
King Li was forced onto the dragon throne.
He plopped down on it, his eyes trembling as he looked at Xiao Lin in terror.
He clutched the dragon head on the armrest of the throne, muttering, "This throne should have been mine! If only I had acted before you! If only I had killed you when you were young! You wouldn't be so arrogant! You're just a child born of a madwoman... What right do you have to become emperor?"
"He's clearly a lowly dog; when he was a puppy, he was only fit to carry my shoes!"
Xiao Lin stood before him, holding a long sword. Behind him, the floor of the Mingzheng Hall was littered with the corpses of the Prince Li's personal guards.
Blood flowed.
He looked coldly at the heavily injured Prince Li.
He raised his longsword and plunged it deep into the other man's chest, saying this.
"The victor is king, the loser is villain."
"Third Brother, you lost."
Then, he grabbed King Li by the collar and threw him down the steps.
The bodies rolled down and joined the corpses of the Royal Guard.
They come as kings, but after they die they are nothing more than a pile of immobile flesh and blood.
King Li's mistake was underestimating Xiao Lin and overestimating himself.
They deserve to die.
After taking one last look at the pile of corpses, Xiao Lin lifted his robes, planted his long sword on the ground, and naturally sat down on the blood-stained dragon throne.
As he took his seat, led by Liu An and Zhao Lin, the civil and military officials below the steps knelt down and shouted, "Your subjects respectfully welcome the new emperor!"
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Those pedantic courtiers who had come with Prince Li and Prince Ye were so terrified by the bloody scene that their legs went weak. They were afraid that Xiao Lin would become murderous again and kill all of them who dared to block his way, just as he had said.
They hurriedly knelt down, and even when Liu An and the others raised their heads, they remained with their foreheads on the ground, not daring to get up.
"Why don't you gentlemen dare to raise your heads and speak?" Xiao Lin rested one hand on the armrest of the dragon throne, lazily looking at the group, but his voice carried an undeniable pressure.
"We are guilty of a capital offense! We dare not speak such nonsense!"
"What are you saying, gentlemen? You haven't done anything wrong, so why would I sentence you to death?"
Upon hearing this, the court officials looked up in surprise and found Xiao Lin smiling at them.
However, it's impossible to know how genuine that smile was.
They looked up, and Xiao Lin recognized that among them were historians and Grand Secretaries of the Hanlin Academy.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and continued, "You gentlemen should have heard what I just said."
"I don't care how historians and civil officials judge me, but no one dislikes hearing good things. Even though I am the emperor, I am not immune to such sentiments."
"Therefore, I hand the pen to you gentlemen. As for what will be written, that is entirely up to you."
Chapter 10
The villain was resurrected for the fourth time (10)
Upon hearing this, the ministers immediately understood Xiao Lin's meaning.
His pupils trembled, and he knelt down again, saying...
"We are deeply grateful for Your Majesty's gracious favor, and we will certainly live up to your mission!"
Xiao Lin's smile deepened, and he raised his hand to dismiss their formalities.
He stood up and walked down the steps, calling out, "Lord Zhao Mingcheng!"
Minister of Rites Zhao Mingcheng quickly stepped forward and replied, "Your subject is here!"
Xiao Lin said calmly, "We can begin preparations for my coronation ceremony."
Zhao Mingcheng's heart tightened, and a glint flashed in his eyes: "Yes! Your subject will prepare immediately!"
Previously, Xiao Lin had killed Emperor Xiao Sheng without hesitation. Now, after making such a bold statement, he has swiftly and decisively eliminated the two major obstacles, Prince Li and Prince Ye.
He rose to fame in two battles.
It was enough to intimidate all the court officials.
After all, everyone now understood that Xiao Lin's ascension to the throne was a foregone conclusion.
Anyone who goes against him is risking their own life.
The honest officials who cared deeply for the people were filled with excitement, thinking of following Xiao Lin to accomplish great things.
The corrupt officials who had embezzled public funds quickly hid their tails and played the role of opportunists, eagerly currying favor with Xiao Lin, fearing that Xiao Lin would investigate them.
The court remained turbulent, but on the surface, things had finally calmed down.
After leaving the Mingzheng Hall, Yu Tang crawled out of Xiao Lin's arms and reached out to rub his face against the man's.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your hard work."
Upon seeing the small Yu Tang, Xiao Lin's fierce aura and killing intent dissipated.
He asked Yu Tang, "What is the general's opinion of my actions?"
“Killing one’s father and one’s relatives—few rulers in history have ever done that, yet I have.” He sighed softly, his voice tinged with bewilderment, and said, “General, will you hate me for this?”
“No…” Yu Tang held Xiao Lin’s fingers very seriously and said, “Your Majesty, if you don’t do this, you will be letting down the hearts of those soldiers who died.”
"Then the throne should be yours, and only you can bring blessings and prosperity to the people."
Emperor Xiao Sheng was incompetent and tyrannical, and Prince Li and Prince Ye were both useless, sheltered fools. An emperor must possess both magnanimity and kindness, but also courage and decisiveness!
At this point, Yu Tang released Xiao Lin's fingers and knelt on one knee. Just like a long time ago, he spoke to Xiao Lin.
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, only you can become the emperor of Xiao Kingdom!"
"I only wish to follow you by your side, even if it means going through fire and water!"
Xiao Lin was slightly taken aback.
Looking at Yu Tang like this, I held back for a while, but finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
“General, although I’m touched by what you said, but…” He rubbed Yu Tang’s face with his thumb, covered his mouth with his other hand, his eyes sparkling, “but the way you look is just… just too… too cute… I can’t help but laugh…”
Xiao Jin laughed too: [Hahaha! I think so too! I really want to pinch it!]
Yu Tang scolded Xiao Jin with a gloomy face, then looked at Xiao Lin, who was completely captivated by his cuteness, and could only helplessly relax.
She plopped down in the man's palm, and said in a defiant tone, "Fine, Your Majesty, laugh if you want to. It's good if it makes you happy."
Xiao Lin was so charmed by him that he forgot what he wanted to say and just leaned in to give Yu Tang a series of kisses.
Yu Tang was terrified that Xiao Lin would swallow him whole, and he was filled with fear the whole time.
Xiao Lin breathed a sigh of relief after he had kissed her enough.
As he wiped his face, he said, “Your Majesty, we have had a long and arduous journey. Now that we have accomplished our important task, it is time for us to rest.”
"You need to change out of your blood-stained clothes; you can't sleep with blood on your clothes."
Xiao Lin deliberately asked, "So, General, you mean you can't wait to bathe and rest with me?"
Before Yu Tang could react, Xiao Lin pulled him into his arms again: "General, you don't need to answer. I know that's what you're thinking."
"Let's go, let's go to Baiyu Pond together."
The White Jade Pool is a bathing pool in the palace made entirely of white jade, exuding an atmosphere of extravagance and decadence.
After Xiao Lin had someone clean it up, he poured in hot water.
He then took Yu Tang out of his arms and placed him on a chair by the pool, and began to change his blood-stained robes in front of Yu Tang.
Yu Tang reasonably suspected that Xiao Lin did it on purpose.
Just like back when the two of them were in the North, this kid was up in the middle of the night and suddenly pinned him down, saying seductively, "Would you be my beloved?"
Deliberately seduce him!
The heavy outer robe slipped off, revealing the inner garment and underpants.
His fair, jade-like skin was exposed, and the scars on it did not detract from the beauty of Xiao Lin's figure.
It even gives it a decadent yet alluring quality.
Yu Tang felt inexplicably thirsty while watching.
Xiao Lin took off the wooden hairpin that Yu Tang had given him and carefully placed it on the chair along with the sachet that Yu Tang had given him.
Yu Tang cursed himself for being a sucker for good looks, then touched the sachet and said, "I didn't have a chance to ask His Majesty before, is this sachet useful?"
Xiao Lin picked up the bathrobe prepared for him by the palace maid and loosely draped it over his body. When he heard Yu Tang's question, his fingers paused slightly.
Then he said, "Is the general asking about its calming effect?"
"Um……"
“Actually…” Xiao Lin said with a dejected expression, “Ever since the general gave me this sachet and left, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep.”
In short, it brought silence to the room.
Yu Tang also felt sad.
He said, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry, I was just being presumptuous."
I shouldn't have lied to you.
"General, what are you saying?" Xiao Lin saw that his eyebrows were furrowed, his small face was scrunched up like a bun, and his eyes were red.
She immediately softened and couldn't help but feel sorry for herself.
He quickly picked up Yu Tang and said with a smile, "I'm not saying this to complain about the general, I just want to tell the general."
"I actually guessed what you were going to do that day."