"Greetings to the Emperor Emeritus!"

Zong Sibo hurried to kneel and bow.

The new emperor rose from the dragon throne and bowed. "Greetings to Father Emperor. What brings Father Emperor here?"

"What, is the imperial study closed now that this emperor has abdicated?"

The new emperor frowned slightly. "That isn't what your child meant!"

The Xuan Emperor clasped his hands behind his back and turned his gaze on Zong Sibo. "Leave us!" he said, his voice low and heavy.

Zong Sibo glanced at the new emperor without thinking.

The new emperor hesitated for a moment too, then gave a slight nod.

Zong Sibo said respectfully, "This old subject takes his leave!"

Once Zong Sibo had withdrawn, the Xuan Emperor turned to the new emperor. He was weary, and his eyes were full of anger and disappointment.

"This emperor asks you: do you mean to let the realm of the Great Xuan, won by our ancestors, fall to pieces?"

The new emperor stiffened. "Father Emperor, your child is the Emperor of the Great Xuan now. How could the realm of the Great Xuan possibly be allowed to fall to pieces?"

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing? Yangzhou City lost, Chongzhou occupied, the granaries at Beilin Pass plundered... Two of the Great Xuan's eighteen prefectures are gone already, the border defenses broken, and the enemy is camped on the Great Xuan's own soil. How do you mean to deal with it?"

The new emperor's brows drew tight. He had ordered the news kept quiet. How did Father Emperor know?

It seemed the people around him couldn't be trusted. They were all Father Emperor's men.

The new emperor's voice was low and heavy. "Your child can deal with these matters. Father Emperor doesn't need to trouble himself!"

"This emperor doesn't need to trouble himself? If this emperor stays out of it any longer, the other states will have eaten the Great Xuan up bite by bite... A realm of ten thousand li, won with the blood of our ancestors and countless soldiers, is about to become other countries' land."

"Father Emperor, your child…