Chapter 62: Grand Patriarch's Long Fist, Full of Tiger-like Vigor

Zhao Guangyi was terrified beyond measure. Looking at the wine cup pushed right up to his lips, he felt as though his soul had left his body!

As the one who had poisoned the wine, he knew all too well what was inside it!

He struggled with all his might, desperate to distance himself from this deadly cup of wine that was far more terrifying than the King of Hell.

Yet, given his frail physique, how could he possibly break free?

Having already received four kicks and aching all over, he was now pinned by the neck under the single hand of his eldest brother. Like a dog whose neck was clamped in the jaws of a tiger and pressed against the ground, all his struggles were entirely in vain.

Things had turned out precisely as Zhao Kuangyin and Li Cheng had predicted: a mere Zhao Guangyi was easily subdued!

"Imperial Brother! Imperial Brother! I was wrong, Imperial Brother!"

He wept bitterly, begging for mercy over and over again.

"If this is merely a tonic, what harm is there in drinking it yourself?"

Zhao Kuangyin’s voice was icy cold.

"Imperial Brother, I... I shouldn't have been bewitched by dark impulses to commit such a subhuman act against you.

Imperial Brother, I am a beast! A thorough, utter beast!

Imperial Brother has treated me with such kindness, yet I harbored murderous intent toward him, plotting to seize the throne!

What I have done is truly worse than that of a beast!"

Confronted with the cup of poison he had prepared himself, Zhao Guangyi suffered a complete emotional collapse.

He could no longer maintain his stubborn facade or spout nonsense about it being a tonic.

For the very first time, he realized how agonizingly close death was to him!

"Imperial Brother, this... this cannot entirely be blamed on me. The throne is simply too alluring, and there is only one. Who wouldn't want to be emperor?

Before all this, Imperial Brother, you first put me in charge of Kaifeng Prefecture, and then conferred upon me the title of Prince of Jin.

Everything you did pointed to grooming me as the crown prince.

I had long since regarded myself as the crown prince.

Yet what about you, Imperial Brother?

You suddenly brought forth Risheng!

How did you expect me to feel? How did you expect the men under my command to feel?

Since you were unwilling to establish me as the crown prince, why did you give me hope?

Do you have any idea how agonizing that is?!

In committing this act today, I was indeed misled by others, bewildered and led astray under their instigation.

But looking at the root of it, Imperial Brother, can you truly say you bear no responsibility at all?

No! Your share of the responsibility is immense!

The vast majority of this blame rests squarely on you!

It was you, as the elder brother, who failed to handle these matters properly, step by step allowing things to develop to this point!"

Noticing that the pressure of Zhao Kuangyin's hand on his neck was gradually easing, and that he no longer seemed intent on forcing the poison down his throat, Zhao Guangyi’s tone grew increasingly aggressive.

He knew that at this stage, merely confessing and begging for mercy was not enough.

He had to employ other tactics to wash away his guilt.

For instance, claiming that his actions were the result of external manipulation rather than his own initiative as the mastermind.

Or perhaps, shifting a greater share of the blame onto Zhao Kuangyin himself.

Making him realize that he was the primary cause of his actions!

To awaken a sense of guilt within him.

Once such emotions took root, considering that the two of them were blood brothers, his ultimate fate might not be entirely bleak.

What he had just said was not merely an attempt to provoke Zhao Kuangyin, but also reflected his genuine inner thoughts.

He truly believed that the greatest fault for reaching this juncture lay with Zhao Kuangyin!

It was Zhao Kuangyin's unfair handling of matters that had forced him down this path!

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Kuangyin loosened his grip on his neck.

The cup of poisoned wine he had been holding in his hand was set aside.

Zhao Guangyi secretly let out a long sigh of relief.

Good! His strategy had indeed worked!

He had successfully instilled a sense of guilt in Zhao Kuangyin.

From here on, things would be much easier to handle!

With this thought in mind, just as he was about to speak further, a fist the size of a sandbag instantly magnified before his eyes!

He instinctively wanted to dodge, but how could he possibly escape in time?

The next moment, with a resounding thud, the fist struck squarely against his face.

The single punch sent him flying half a zhang away!

"You ungrateful, freezing-proof, starvation-proof bandit spawn!

You chaotic phantom, three parts human and seven parts ghost, you wretched piece of trash!

Filthy scoundrel! How do you still have the gall to utter such words?

You dare turn around and pin the blame on me?

You commit the subhuman crime of patricide against your own brother, yet you twist it to make yourself in the right!

You spineless, cuckolded wretch! How can you even open your mouth to spout such filth?!"

The anger Zhao Kuangyin had accumulated over so long finally poured out through his fists and feet.

Even after seeing him administer the poison with his own eyes, Zhao Kuangyin had still harbored a shred of lingering affection, giving him multiple chances.

Yet at this moment, the wretched beast could actually utter such reasoning—how could he possibly restrain himself?

The Emperor's Long Fist style was executed with fierce momentum, every blow landing solidly on flesh.

He cursed as he struck.

Having long since stopped using vulgar language after ascending the throne, he was now outputting a relentless stream of curses.

Had they not shared the same mother, he surely would have hurled out profanities like "son of a bitch."

With Zhao老大 completely sober, flying into a full-scale rage, and no donkeys present in the room, Zhao Guangyi, the legendary "Donkey-Cart God of War," was reduced to nothing more than a punching bag.

Zhao Guangyi was beaten until he howled, feeling as though he were on the verge of death.

At the same time, an endless wave of bewilderment and confusion swirled in his mind.

That son of a bitch Zhao Kuangyin truly had no human decency!

He was his own biological younger brother, and he had even laid his heart bare with those words.

Yet not only did he refuse to let up, but he was escalating his brutal assault!

"If you wanted the throne, you should have faced me openly with real blades and spears, defeating me in a fair fight. If you had beaten me, what would it matter if I handed the throne to you?

Instead, you mangy dog, you resorted to underhanded, despicable schemes, plotting to poison me to death!

Today, I am going to beat you to death, you wretched bandit spawn!"

Zhao Kuangyin burned with wave after wave of fury. The higher his expectations for his third younger brother had been previously, the deeper his resentment and heartbreak were now.

Within a short while, Zhao Guangyi was beaten to the ground, collapsing like a pool of mud.

At this moment, he was utterly unrecognizable, retaining none of his former elegance and poise.

His face was bruised and swollen, blood streamed from his nose, and his head had swelled to the size of a pig's head.

His opulent robes were stained with numerous splatters of blood, and one of his teeth had even been knocked loose.

"Elder Brother, I was wrong, Elder Brother! I... I truly shouldn't have committed such a beastly act!

I was blinded by dark impulses!

Imperial Brother, please spare me. We are blood brothers, born of the same mother, our blood thicker than water, our bones knit even when broken.

Putting that aside, even for the sake of our late parents and sister-in-law, you cannot treat me this way!

If... if I truly perish and our parents and sister-in-law ask how I died, and I tell them I was killed by you, Elder Brother, what would they think?

Eldest Brother, please spare me, your younger brother will never dare do it again!"

Having been thoroughly battered by Zhao Kuangyin’s Emperor's Long Fist, Zhao Guangyi suddenly became remarkably obedient.

He no longer dared to harbor any petty schemes.

Lumped on the floor, he wept bitterly as he pleaded for mercy, dragging their late parents and sister-in-law into his appeals.

Zhao Kuangyin’s halfway-raised fist paused in mid-air.

After a brief moment, he withdrew his stance, picked up a rag to wipe the blood from his hand, and tossed it aside.

"Very well, I shall give you one more chance. Let us see how you perform once you become emperor, and how you treat our fourth brother, Risheng, and Defang, before I make my final judgment!"

Zhao Kuangyin had originally intended to beat this subhuman wretch to death on the spot.

Yet upon hearing him invoke their parents and the others, his heart ultimately softened.

Of course, a large part of the reason was also due to what the young master Li had previously mentioned—that the Great Song dynasty would endure for three hundred and nineteen years, that Northern Han would be subjugated, and the Youyun Sixteen Prefectures recovered.

Those accomplishments ought to be credited to this unhuman third brother of his.

This indicated that once on the throne, he had governed rather well.

It was this realization that temporarily stayed his hand, prompting him to decide to question young master Li further before deciding.

If using such underhanded, conspiratorial methods to seize the throne allowed him to display majestic prowess externally and govern the internal affairs of the state with great competence, sparing his life was not entirely out of the question.

Hearing Zhao Kuangyin’s words, Zhao Guangyi felt as though immense joy had fallen from the heavens.

He knew his life had been saved!