kingnovel Chapter 2293 You dare not kill this king!
Chapter 2293 You dare not kill this king!
Upon hearing this, Chu Xuan was slightly taken aback, and then a bizarre, sarcastic, and insane smile appeared on his lips.
A hoarse, low laugh, like a broken bellows, came from his throat. The laugh gradually grew louder and eventually turned into an undisguised, provocative maniacal laugh:
"Hahaha... Acknowledge your guilt? What crime have I committed? My dear brother, no, my Emperor!"
He stopped laughing, his eyes suddenly turning sharp as knives as he stared intently at Chu Ning. His voice rose with excitement, cracking slightly:
"The late emperor had eighteen sons, and you and I were both among them! You, Chu Ning, were the youngest, and also an illegitimate child!"
"Why? Why was it you who ultimately sat on that dragon throne, receiving the homage of all the officials and wielding power over the entire land?"
"Is it because you are more virtuous and filial than your elder brothers? Or is it simply because... Father became senile in his later years, and you and those opportunistic courtiers used every means to deceive His Majesty?"
Chu Xuan became increasingly agitated as he spoke, the shackles rattling as he struggled, and an unnatural blush rising on his face.
"This throne has never been born to belong to anyone! It is there, and it belongs to the powerful, the cunning, and the ambitious!"
"You, Chu Ning, were able to obtain it through cunning means back then. Why can't I, this king, use the same means to obtain it today?"
"I did the same thing you did back then! It's just that this time, I was out of luck and made a mistake, and lost to you!"
"The victor is king, the loser is villain; this has always been the case! How can there be any talk of guilt?"
His remarks completely tore away the veil of sentimentality and etiquette within the royal court, exposing the most naked and cruel essence of the power struggle to the public.
A cold glint flashed in Feng Mulan's eyes, and her hands clenched tightly.
Generals Zhao Yu and Ma Chao looked angry. Xue Huaide frowned.
Su Tingmei gently closed her eyes, as if she couldn't bear to hear it.
Chu Ning's expression did not change much despite Chu Xuan's arrogant words, but her eyes grew even colder.
He waited until Chu Xuan finished speaking before coldly opening his own mouth, his voice still steady, yet containing a thunderous rage:
"This is sophistry and a distortion of the truth! My succession to the throne is ordained by the late emperor's will, supported by all officials, and is the consensus of the people. It is perfectly legitimate!"
"Since I ascended the throne, I have been diligent in governing and caring for the people, purifying the court, defending against the northern barbarians, and comforting the common people. I have no shame before the country and the ancestors of the Chu clan! How dare you, a traitor, presume to compare yourself to me?"
He took a step forward, his imposing aura surging, and shouted sharply, "And you, Chu Xuan!"
"As a prince, instead of serving the country and stabilizing the royal family, he secretly colluded with Helian Hui of the Northern Desert Scorpion Clan for his own selfish desires, promising to cede territory as a reward, thus inviting the iron hooves of foreign tribes to trample on the land of our Great Chu!"
"This led to the sudden outbreak of war in the northern frontier, nearly devastating the Jianghuai region, with countless soldiers shedding their blood on the battlefield and the people being displaced!"
"This is treason! This is collusion with the enemy! This is a heinous crime of betraying our ancestors and bringing chaos to the world! The evidence is irrefutable, how dare you try to deny it?!"
Facing Chu Ning's angry rebuke, Chu Xuan showed no fear. Instead, he let out another arrogant sneer, a twisted and obsessive smile:
"Treason? Collusion with the enemy? Hahaha! Chu Ning, why do you speak so grandly? History is written by the victors!"
"If I, Chu Xuan, am victorious today, I will be the one leading the army into Jianghuai and sitting atop this city tower!"
"Then, Helian Hui will be my ally in helping me purge the court of corrupt officials and quell the national crisis!"
"They are the righteous army that helped me set things right! And you, all of you—"
His frantic gaze swept over Chu Ning, Feng Mulan, Xue Huaide, and the others:
"They are the treacherous and rebellious elements who are obstructing my succession to the throne and wreaking havoc on the court! They are the targets I must eliminate!"
"At that time, in the historians' records, I will be seen as a wise ruler who obeyed the Mandate of Heaven and eliminated the tyrannical emperor! How can there be any talk of colluding with foreign enemies?"
"It's nothing more than using some tricks and borrowing some external forces! Throughout history, who hasn't achieved great things by doing the same thing?!"
His extreme utilitarian rhetoric—that the victor is justice and history can be dressed up as one pleases—is ruthless and thorough, completely abandoning any moral and ethical constraints.
Judging heroes solely by success or failure, and merely seeking justification for their own ambitions.
This is not only an attempt to exonerate himself, but also a subversive attack on the legitimacy of Chu Ning's rule.
Chu Ning was finally enraged by his shameless and stubborn remarks.
The imperial majesty he had always maintained cracked; anger burned fiercely in his eyes, and veins bulged on his forehead. He abruptly flicked his sleeve, his voice as cold as ice tearing silk:
"Now that you are imprisoned, defeated, and captured, how dare you still spout such nonsense, distort the truth, and try to whitewash your crimes of treason and patricide?"
"Chu Xuan, do you really think that I wouldn't dare to kill you? That I wouldn't kill you?"
The final question, filled with chilling killing intent, was like a drawn sword, aimed directly at Chu Xuan.
Facing Chu Ning's murderous gaze, Chu Xuan not only did not back down, but instead laughed loudly.
The laughter was filled with desperate madness and utter disdain, as well as a kind of reckless exhilaration.
"Kill me? Hahaha! Chu Ning, my good brother! Haven't you spilled enough blood on your hands?"
"You know best in your heart how your brothers, who once had the potential to become the heir apparent, died one by one before and after Father's passing!"
"You were able to ascend the throne by stepping over their corpses, so what does killing one more of me matter?"
"It's nothing more than adding another stain of your brother's blood to your path to becoming emperor! Kill me if you want! Why bother with this hypocritical act and waste your breath?"
He abruptly stopped laughing, staring intently at Chu Ning, each word like a curse:
"I am right here! I await my fate! Do as you please!"
"Let the whole world see how kindly you, this benevolent emperor, treat your own blood-related elder brother!"
Upon hearing this, a deathly silence fell over the city wall.
Chu Xuan's words were like a poisoned dagger, not only exposing the bloodiest and darkest wounds in the royal power struggle, but also forcing Chu Ning into an extremely awkward and dangerous situation.
Especially when a rebellion has just been quelled and there is a need to stabilize public sentiment.
Killing him solidifies his reputation for being cruel, ungrateful, and harming his brothers.
If they are not executed, the law of the land will not tolerate it; how can the heinous crime of treason be revealed to the world?
Moreover, Chu Xuan is so arrogant and reckless that keeping him around would only bring trouble.
All eyes were on Chu Ning, awaiting his decision.
Feng Mulan's hands were already clenched into fists, Zhao Yu held his breath, Xue Huaide lowered his eyes and remained silent, and Su Tingmei slowly opened her eyes, looking at the two brothers with complicated emotions.
Chu Ning's face was ashen, his chest heaving slightly. He stared at his brother, who was madly provoking him, seeking death but trying to drag him down with him, and a storm gathered in his eyes.
The night wind howled, and the torchlight cast his long, trembling shadow on the ancient city wall bricks.