Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 681 The Black Pot
As the crown prince, the third prince had to consider issues of filial piety and brotherhood, so he couldn't say bad things to the second prince who obviously had no feelings for him. The fourth prince, this naughty child, noticed that his father seemed quite sad, so knowing that he could easily say the wrong thing, he wisely kept his mouth shut. But Zhu Ying didn't have this concern.
Being clear about what she loves and hates has always been her greatest principle in dealing with people. Even if she is really the daughter of the emperor and Concubine Yu, the second prince has a grudge against her. She doesn't want to pretend to shed tears and share the emperor's sadness. She is not a good son like the third prince!
After she broke through this window paper, she saw that the father and son in front of her all had stiff faces, so she immediately softened her tone and said, "The Second Prince has been against me since he was a child, but he can't beat me in a fight, can't argue with me, and I can crush his schemes with my strength, so he is the only one who has let me down, but I have never let him down! And what about you, Your Majesty, have you let him down?"
"It's not like you didn't want to teach them yourself, but weren't you always blocked by the Queen... the deposed Queen? Not to mention the Third and Fourth Princes, who would have feelings for their brother who always bullied and despised them? The Emperor just heard the news, and probably thinks that you were too harsh on the Second Prince, and even the First Prince, but what about the people who were harmed by them?"
"Oh, the eldest prince did harm a bunch of people in Cangzhou, but the second prince just made trouble in his own territory. At most, he killed a few servants and abused Lu Sanlang's current wife in the street, causing a lot of farces. At most, he wanted to reconcile with the deposed queen, but he made a joke of poisoning Kunning Palace. But if there was no suspicion between mother and son, how could it have come to this?"
"To be honest, the more innocent people are the ones on that ship who might have been buried with him!"
"shut up!"
Hearing the emperor's roar, the Third Prince, who was just shocked by Zhu Ying's bold words, shuddered. He hurriedly added another hand and pressed the back of the emperor's hand, and urged him bitterly: "Father, Sister Yingying has always been so straightforward. Please don't blame her. She has no ill intentions!"
The fourth prince also reacted and quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, father, sister Yingying was bullied by the eldest and second brothers together. If she wasn't so strong, she would have been bullied badly! She is just telling the truth, father, please don't be angry!"
Seeing that the two brothers were trying their best to speak up for him, Zhu Ying suddenly showed a sarcastic smile on his face, and then he knelt down and saluted casually, saying: "If the emperor is not happy with what I said, I will admit the blame and punishment later, but I didn't say anything wrong, so I will never admit it! It's late at night, and I have to go to court tomorrow, so please don't stay up late and tire yourself out. What's more..."
She stood up, glanced at the two little guys who were nervous as if they were afraid that she would continue to say something shocking, and waved her hand and said, "Besides, the Third and Fourth Princes have a lot of schoolwork now. Going to bed late and getting up late is not good for their health, and even worse for their schoolwork! Besides, they are the ones who are really worried about you. I'm leaving now!"
Seeing Zhu Ying turning around and walking out while talking to herself , the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were completely dumbfounded. They didn't know whether they should stop her or let her go.
The fourth prince was always impulsive. He wanted to chase Zhu Ying as soon as he let go, but he was grabbed by the collar after running a step. He turned around in anger and found that it was not his third brother, but his father. He immediately stood still. But when Zhu Ying left the door, he couldn't help but take two steps back and asked in a low voice: "Are you really going to let Sister Yingying leave like this?"
"Your father was almost scolded by her, and you want to bring her back and let me continue to be scolded?"
The emperor glared at the naughty child with a stern face. Seeing that the child was silent, he loosened his hand and let her run to hide behind the third prince. He then said unhappily, "When my aunt entered the palace before, she made me speechless. Now Yingying is better than me and scolds me again! Once you enter the Zhu family, you behave like a Zhu family member!"
The Third Prince found that the Emperor did not seem as angry as he thought. He could not help but muster up the courage to say, "Father, some of what Sister Yingying said just now is not without reason. This matter needs to be investigated, but we must get a result as soon as possible. Otherwise, someone will definitely talk nonsense and slander your reputation."
"I don't have a good reputation to begin with." The emperor laughed at himself. "When I was still the crown prince, I was known for being naughty. I can't compare to your diligence, studious, gentle and politeness now. So, my reputation doesn't matter, but yours cannot be damaged. I even thought about admitting that it was me who sank the ship halfway..."
"Father!" This time it was the Third Prince who cried out in shock . His face was so pale that his teeth were chattering. After a long while, he shouted, "Father, how could you think like that! I have only been the Crown Prince for a few days and don't care about my reputation. But Father, as the Son of Heaven, how could you tarnish your own reputation? Besides, what would the family members of the captain and the sailors on that ship think!"
"Yes, I was thinking of those innocent victims, and then I realized that I couldn't take the blame... I didn't do it in the first place, why should I take the blame!"
The emperor smiled and rubbed the third prince's head hard twice. Seeing the fourth prince sticking his head out from behind the third prince, raising his thumb and shaking it, he didn't know whether he was praising him as his father or the third prince as his brother. He couldn't help but laugh.
"But I have already made up my mind. I will announce the death of your second brother and tell the world that he is dead."
When he said this, the emperor's expression turned cold, and his eyes were also cold: "Since he didn't do anything good when he was alive, let's not stir up trouble now because of the unknown life and death. If someone really rescues him and sends him to the capital, then I can naturally go back on my word. But if someone uses his name to cause trouble in the future..."
"Then anyone pretending to be a prince will be killed without mercy!"
Facing his father's murderous tone, the Fourth Prince shuddered, but the Third Prince couldn't help but ask, "But if the Emperor says that Second Brother...Second Brother is dead, why would anyone send him to the capital? What if he goes to the government to ask for help..."
Hearing the word "death" in a very low voice, as if thinking that it was unlucky to say so, the emperor looked at his prince with both anger and amusement, but shook his head and said, "If the shipwreck was an accident, then his chances of survival are slim. If the shipwreck was a conspiracy, then there are two possibilities."
"The first possibility is that someone wants to kill him, then there is absolutely no way he can survive. In the deadly environment at sea, even a good swimmer would have to rely on luck to survive, let alone him? It can be said that he is almost dead."
"As for the second possibility, if they made such a big fuss to save him, then they will certainly rescue him. After rescuing him, they will never send him to the capital. No matter if he is a mountain king, a bandit, or a rebellion, there will always be corresponding news at that time. I will take the lead and say that the person is dead, so that the local government and the garrison will have fewer concerns when they are clearing or suppressing in the future!"
This time, the Third Prince felt a genuine chill all over his body. If it weren't for the Fourth Prince pressing down on his shoulders, he would have felt a little unstable standing if he had never been well protected by his father. He would have been bullied by his stepmother and two brothers. He suddenly understood what his father had said to him, what Zhang Shou had said to him.
He also understood more clearly what they meant when they kept reminding him to treat his fourth brother well.
It turns out that sometimes, even if you don't commit suicide, there are still many malicious eyes staring at you, and many malicious black hands ready to reach out at any time! If the second prince really falls into the hands of these people, then he might as well die !
The emperor said something next. The third prince was already a little confused and just responded passively most of the time. Only when he was leaving did he become a little startled. But because the fourth prince pulled him, he did not say much in the end. Only when he walked out of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace and the cold wind blew on his face did he finally wake up.
The emperor saw the changes in the third prince, but he did not continue to knock or remind him. He sighed softly after the two brothers left and sat on the throne. After a long time, he heard Hua Qi's voice: "Your Majesty, after the Madam Tai and Madam Zhao Guo went to see the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother went to Xian'an Palace to see Concubine Jing."
The emperor did not have a strong reaction to such an unexpected incident. He sneered listlessly, "The Queen Mother is not going to order the death of Concubine Jing to clean up the mess for me, right?"
He had only said this casually, but when he found that Hua Qi did not answer, he immediately became angry again. But before he could ask a question, Hua Qi had already repeated the last words that the Queen Mother said to Concubine Jing before she left. At this point, the Emperor immediately sighed deeply and helplessly.
The Queen Mother may just be casually pushing the blame onto the Queen and the eldest prince, or there may really be relevant evidence, but at this point, there is no point in investigating whether it is true or not.
Since he deposed the empress and expelled the son, or more accurately, abandoned the eldest and enthroned the youngest, he had no other choice. Just like the wise words of the old lady, since he did not regret enthroning the third prince, facing this sudden incident , his reaction could only be one.
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and said word by word, "I remember that I had previously instructed Chu Kuan to look through the books to see what the ceremony for conferring the title of Imperial Noble Consort was. I think that with his initiative, he should have looked through the relevant books. There is almost no difference between the crown and clothing of a Noble Consort and an Imperial Noble Consort. As long as all the ceremonies are in accordance with etiquette, the ceremony for conferring the title of Hefei can be held another day."
Previously, the emperor decided not to appoint a new queen, and even let the news spread. In the end, he promoted two concubines. Hua Qi naturally knew that the emperor was not willing to cite the ancient custom that a son is honored by his mother, and a mother is honored by her son.
But at this critical moment, the emperor suddenly decided to confer the title of Imperial Noble Consort on Consort He. This was clearly to stop the gossips and no longer to prioritize his own likes and dislikes. After all, Consort He was not really favored.
"I will go to Ciqing Palace immediately." After agreeing solemnly, Hua Qi said in a deep voice, "When the Second Prince set out from Tianjin, he indeed had only one ship. It is said that the ship was a 2,000-ton sea-going ship with a good reputation and could carry many people. There was also a small boat on board just in case. There were a total of 60 soldiers sent by the Zhenhai Camp on board, and the captain and sailors numbered over 40."
"Including the various attendants, there are probably about 100 to 200 people on board. I am not very clear about the exact number, and Eunuch Chu probably knows better, but this matter is mainly entrusted to the Zhenhai Camp. After all, the Linhai Camp has had two incidents."
The emperor did not ask any more questions about Hua Qi's explanation, but waved his hand slightly, as if to signal someone to do it immediately. After the person disappeared quietly, the emperor laughed twice.
He almost thought that his mother had planned everything out, eradicating the hidden dangers for him and then putting the blame on the deposed queen. But he thought again, if the queen mother really wanted to do this, then the deposed queen and the eldest and second princes would probably all die in the palace at once, and there would be no hidden dangers left. He felt that he seemed to be overthinking.
But he really couldn't forget that when his father took his last breath, he was still crying loudly in shock, but his mother had already wiped her tears and went out to arrange everything. Later, when she was handling state affairs, her methods were both flexible and tough, which was dazzling, as if she had expected this day.
"The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop... I want to see what kind of evil spirits and monsters they are!"
That night, from Duke Zhao’s mansion to the palace, countless people stayed awake all night, but this did not include Zhang Shou, who had successfully made so many people depressed today.
It is always best to sleep in the morning on a cold day. When Ah Liu woke him up, he was inevitably a little grumpy. After washing up, Ah Liu dragged him outside to stretch his body and practice sword dance for a quarter of an hour. Although he felt that he would never be able to become a swordsman in his life, let alone beat Zhu Ying, it did not stop him from trying to hide a self-defense method.
After breakfast, they dressed up and went to see Wu. When Zhang Shou and Ah Liu went out to get on the car, they unexpectedly found snow in the air. There was a row of people standing in the snow under the wall in front of their house. There was one every few steps. A rough estimate was that there were at least 20 or 30 people. Judging from their attire, they seemed to be from the Ruiqi Battalion.
Seeing Zhang Shou turning his head to look at him, Ah Liu said simply and clearly: "They said they were following orders. I have nothing else to say."
Thinking about the fact that there seemed to be no signs yesterday, Zhang Shou was immediately suspicious, but then he thought about the fact that no one came up to stop him from leaving, so he thought about it and told the doorman, "Go back and ask them if they need hot soup and breakfast. If they do, send them over. If they can't because of their strict rules, then forget it."
After saying this, Zhang Shou immediately took Ah Liu to the car and sat down, then closed his eyes and rested. Who cares what they do? He just thinks they are here to help him guard his house. If you don't do bad things, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door. Having a few free gatekeepers is a good deal for him anyway!
