HCB Chapter 224 After a long silence, a decision was finally made.
Chapter 224 After a long silence, a decision was finally made.
The eldest prince, Pei Wuyou, and the second prince, Pei Wuju, received some incriminating information about the crown prince from an unknown source, and both were somewhat suspicious.
They were afraid that the Crown Prince had deliberately released the information to mislead them.
But once the opportunity is missed, it's gone forever.
If we can't seize this opportunity to eliminate the crown prince, then things will become much more difficult later.
So they immediately sent their trusted subordinates to investigate some of the matters at the higher-ups to see if they were true. If they were true, then the crown prince was doomed.
……
Pei Wuyang followed Xie Zhao into the palace.
After hearing Xie Zhao's report, Emperor Xiangwu's face turned extremely gloomy.
The Crown Prince's imprisonment of the Marquis's daughter was foolish, but his possession of a foreign imperial seal was a much bigger problem.
In particular, the legendary Cloud Dragon Jade Seal is said to be able to command all beasts. What was the Crown Prince's intention in keeping it?
"You unfilial son, kneel down!" Emperor Xiangwu's chest heaved, and a strange flush rose to his face.
The little eunuch following behind the crown prince felt a jolt in his heart.
Oh no, if the Emperor is angered to death by the Crown Prince, then the Crown Prince's good days will truly be over.
Pei Wuyang also noticed that something was wrong with his father, so he obediently knelt down.
"Speak, what exactly do you want to do?" Emperor Xiangwu slammed his hand on the imperial desk, shattering it, and gold-lacquered wood chips fell onto the blue bricks.
His body swayed precariously, and the chief eunuch Wei Ran behind him quickly handed him a golden pill.
Emperor Xiangwu quickly took the medicine, the flush on his face subsided, and he gradually regained his composure.
Wei Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But he was very worried. The emperor was taking the elixir more and more frequently, and he didn't know how long this condition could last.
"Your Majesty, I was simply confused for a moment. I was so fond of the daughter of the Marquis of Jing'an that I made such a mistake by bringing her back to the Crown Prince's residence. After all, the Empress Dowager does not agree to me marrying her as a concubine, so I had no choice but to resort to this tactic." Pei Wuyang began to make excuses.
Emperor Xiangwu glared at him and demanded, "You scoundrel! I'm asking about the Imperial Seal. Since you obtained it long ago, why didn't you send it to the palace? Are you planning to use it to start a rebellion?"
"Your Majesty, I am innocent! That was merely a replica of the Cloud Dragon Jade Seal. I have not yet investigated it thoroughly, how could I dare to bring it to trouble Your Majesty?" Pei Wuyang kowtowed repeatedly.
"Father loves his son the most, how could his son dare to deceive you? You must not believe Xie Zhao's one-sided story. Today he dared to barge into the Crown Prince's residence without permission, tomorrow he could barge into your bedside. You must punish this guy severely."
He complained about Xie Zhao right in front of him.
Xie Zhao immediately knelt down: "The situation was urgent at the time, so I had no choice but to enter the Crown Prince's residence directly. On the contrary, Crown Prince Yun Chi injured so many guards of the Crown Prince's residence and the Hidden Lin Guard without giving us a word. He should give us an explanation."
The crown prince shifted the blame to him, and he shifted the blame to Yun Chubai.
Anyway, the emperor's memory isn't good these days. If he goes around in circles a few times and no one reminds him, he'll forget.
As expected, Emperor Xiangwu was furious when he heard him mention this matter.
"This is outrageous! They've come to Xiangguo as guests, yet they dare to be so arrogant. Go and invite Crown Prince Yunchi here, and let them give us an explanation!" Emperor Xiangwu roared in fury.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey." Xie Zhao took the opportunity to slip away.
Pei Wuyang was dumbfounded.
That bastard Xie Zhao, how could he just leave so shamelessly?
"Father..." He was trying to persuade Emperor Xiangwu to call Xie Zhao back when he saw him covering his head and groaning softly.
"Father, are you alright?" He stood up and quickly stepped forward.
"What could possibly be wrong with me? If anything is wrong, it's because of you, my unfilial son. If you don't resolve the matter of the Imperial Seal, you might as well resign as Crown Prince." Emperor Xiangwu shoved him aside and stormed out of the Imperial Study.
Pei Wuyang's expression shifted unpredictably.
The Emperor actually had the idea of not making him the Crown Prince?
Should he make his move sooner? Pei Wuyang pondered.
……
Just as Emperor Xiangwu was about to go to the alchemy room to meditate and calm his mind, Wei Ran came to announce that Marquis Jing'an had arrived.
Seeing Emperor Xiangwu's surprise, Wei Ran hurriedly reminded him, "He's probably here for his daughter, Yu Ruowei. The Crown Prince has imprisoned his daughter."
Emperor Xiangwu then remembered this matter.
His head felt even more painful.
But since this matter concerned the Crown Prince, he had to endure his discomfort and receive the Marquis of Jing'an.
"Your Majesty, you must do me justice!" With Yu Ningyao's reminder, Yu Kangping began to complain as soon as he arrived.
He started crying, tears streaming down his face.
First, he talked about how much he loved his daughter Yu Ruowei. Then he talked about how frightened Yu Ruowei was after the Crown Prince imprisoned her, and how she was now constantly in tears and afraid of people. Finally, he concluded that since his biological daughter could not be found, the adopted daughter he was raising as his own was probably not long for life either.
The Emperor must stand up for him.
His wailing and roaring annoyed Emperor Xiangwu, who then bestowed upon him sixty acres of tax-exempt land and ten thousand taels of silver to silence him.
Upon hearing of this reward, Yu Kangping burst into tears and then hiccuped.
He's currently lacking land and silver, so the Emperor's reward is truly a blessing.
He happily thanked the person and went home.
……
Pei Wuyang was imprisoned in the Crown Prince's residence, and the officials who followed him engaged in heated debates with other ministers in the court.
The followers of the eldest and second princes were not idle either; they all demanded that the crown prince be deposed.
Every other day, officials from the factions of the First Prince and the Second Prince would produce a piece of evidence that was detrimental to the Crown Prince.
The more the eldest and second princes listened, the more familiar these pieces of evidence seemed. How come they all had them? Who could have sent them?
After the two met privately, they discovered that the handwriting on the incriminating document was exactly the same, indicating that it was indeed sent by the same person.
Although we don't know who it is, the other party must really want the Crown Prince dead.
The two immediately reached an agreement: to bring the crown prince down first.
So they sent people separately to verify the remaining evidence, and found that it was all true. As a result, the two factions joined forces to launch an attack.
The eldest and second princes didn't know, but Pei Wuji guessed.
Those pieces of evidence must have been provided by Yu Ningyao.
His obsession with Yu Ningyao grew stronger.
He regretted it deeply; if he had known Yu Ningyao had approached him back then, he would have agreed to cooperate with her.
Such a woman must never be allowed to become a weapon in someone else's hand.
He did not participate in the storm of the "deposed crown prince"; he quietly pondered how to legally and legitimately bring Yu Ningyao back home.
He must not repeat the mistakes the Crown Prince has made.
……
In the imperial court, calls to depose the crown prince grew louder and louder.
The Empress was so angry that she vomited blood.
She had pinned all her hopes on her son, only to have him cause such a huge commotion over a woman.
No matter how the Empress and the Crown Prince's ministers tried to defend him, they couldn't withstand the evidence presented to the Emperor.
Emperor Xiangwu remained silent for a long time before finally making a decision.