With sharp eyes, he slowly turned to the bedside, and Emperor Youning locked his eyes with Shen Xihe: "Is the crown prince still alive?"
Shen Xihe's eyelashes drooped slightly, his expression unchanged: "If Your Majesty has no intention of appointing another crown prince, there will be no crown prince in this world."
Emperor Youning's eyelids trembled slightly under the candlelight. He looked at Shen Xihe with a gaze as deep as a cold pond, bottomless but filled with a chilling light: "When did he know his life story?"
This was a firm tone, confirming that Xiao Huayong already knew his life experience.
It seems that Emperor Youning has thought about a lot of things in the past few months. Some things are easy to see clues when he looks back from a perspective beyond his own position.
Shen Xihe was silent for a moment, and did not evade the question again. Instead, he said, "In fact, another person is more suitable to answer His Majesty on my behalf, isn't it?"
"You really already know everything." Emperor Youning's eyes showed such understanding, "You are so brave, did you calculate that I would definitely follow your plan?"
"No, Your Majesty has been on the throne for more than 20 years. He has been able to fight with King Qian all the way to the supreme position. It is definitely not luck that counts." Shen Xihe spoke softly, not hurriedly, "Your Majesty has wisdom, decisiveness, courage, and the wisdom of an emperor.
How can I predict your Majesty's every word and action? All I can predict is your Majesty's kindness."
"Benevolence?" Emperor Youning laughed, his voice tinged with the coolness of the evening breeze. "I thought that in your eyes, I was just a tyrannical ruler who was willing to kill his brother to seize the throne, destroy virtuous ministers, and be jealous of good generals for the sake of power."
Looking directly at Emperor Youning with her clear and bright eyes, Shen Xihe and the emperor looked at each other calmly, leaving aside the distinction between superior and inferior. She opened her lips and said, "Your Majesty and I are at opposite ends of the power spectrum that cannot coexist, but in my heart, Your Majesty is worthy of being the king."
In Shen Xihe's heart, Emperor Youning was a qualified emperor. He was not lustful, cruel and dictatorial, extravagant, or disruptive to the government.
"You can evaluate me like this because I haven't taken down the Shen family yet." Emperor Youning didn't care.
Shen Xihe shook his head slightly: "Even if the Shen family is defeated, I will still look at Your Majesty in this way. Your Majesty is worthy of the people and is a rare wise ruler."
"A wise ruler?" Emperor Youning murmured these two words, a little dazed.
Everyone said that he cared about his face, wanted to become an unrivaled monarch, wanted to be praised and admired by the people of the world, and attached great importance to the emperor's achievements. But who knew that he did not come to the throne smoothly? In the first few years after he ascended the throne, many capable ministers and generals would mention his brother, who was both a wise and brave man, when they were dissatisfied. They would think that if his brother had ascended the throne, the situation today would definitely not be like this.
He tried hard to be a good emperor, and tried hard not to ask for the throne, to ensure peace and prosperity for the country. He rebuilt the country that had been squandered and trampled upon by the previous emperor. What he sought was not merit, not praise from descendants, nor a name that would last forever, but just to have a clear conscience.
There were many things that Shen Xihe, who had once stood in the fog, had never seen through. Only today did she understand, and she looked at Emperor Youning with more sincere respect: "Your Majesty, if His Royal Highness Prince Qian had ascended the throne back then, this day might not have come."
Emperor Youning suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Shen Xihe. The light in his eyes was as sharp as a blade, as if he wanted to penetrate her and see whether she was true or false: "What did you say!"