bestfiction Chapter 91 Not as good as the predecessors
Chapter 91 Not as good as the predecessors
Prince Jing was displeased. "Why can't you just say what you mean? Xie Bohuai, what on earth are you doing?"
He had long disliked Xie Bohuai. Whenever his father had any problems, he would turn to Xie Bohuai, trusting him even more than they did.
The Crown Prince also said, "Yes, Lord Xie, at a time like this, you shouldn't keep us in suspense. There are no outsiders here, so please explain things clearly to avoid us from suspecting anything."
Xie Bohuai did not respond to their words, but instead looked at the Emperor.
After a moment, the emperor waved his hand, signaling the others to leave.
"Father! You can't believe Xie Bohuai's one-sided story!" Prince Jing knelt down and kowtowed, his voice ringing out, "Xie Bohuai is a tyrannical and cruel man; he's just putting on an act for you!"
Prince Cheng also knelt down, "Please, Father Emperor, allow us to stay!"
The Crown Prince followed closely behind, while only Prince Duan and Prince Xian remained unmoved. They looked at Xie Bohuai and voluntarily withdrew.
At this moment, the emperor's face darkened. "I told you to leave. Did you not hear me, or do you simply disregard my words?"
"Your subject dares not, but..."
"But what? Is it because you, Prince Jing, feel guilty?" The Emperor threw down the inkstone in his hand and began to cough violently.
At this point, Princess Longyu stood up first. "Sixth brother, you should just go out and listen to me, lest you upset Father Emperor again. Father Emperor is a wise ruler; he can certainly distinguish right from wrong. He doesn't need you to say anything more. Or perhaps, you really have something to hide?"
"You!" Prince Jing glared at Princess Longyu. "You little brat, Longyu, don't think I'm afraid of you. We'll wait and see who's really up to no good."
Prince Jing stormed off in anger, followed closely by Princess Longyu. The Crown Prince and Prince Cheng exchanged a glance and also left.
Only Xie Bohuai and the emperor's eunuch remained in the tent. Outside the tent, Prince Jing cursed, "What a Xie Bohuai! I'll see how long he can be so arrogant!"
Prince Cheng told him not to be angry, "How can I not be angry? Even after all this, Father still only trusts Xie Bohuai. We are his real sons!"
Princess Longyu sneered, "Why is Sixth Brother in such a panic? You really are brainless. Xie Bohuai is just giving us face. The Town Government Office is investigating a case, and they're bound to find something out. Can you guarantee that all of you are completely innocent?"
Everyone has done something shameful. If Xie Bohuai were to reveal it in public, wouldn't others be exploited if they heard it?
Princess Longyu saw things clearly: Xie Bohuai had always been favored by the Emperor because he always put the Emperor first. The Emperor certainly didn't want them to hold each other's secrets, otherwise things would inevitably descend into chaos.
Unfortunately, Prince Jing couldn't see through it all. When Princess Longyu scolded him for being brainless, he immediately got angry, "Who are you calling brainless? No matter what, I'm still better than you. You keep men all day long. You call it teaching in the princess's mansion, but what kind of teaching do you teach? Lewd poems and stale lyrics!"
"Sixth Brother, don't speak recklessly without evidence, lest I sue you for being unruly. I am a princess of this dynasty, representing its dignity. By speaking of me like that, aren't you just talking about yourself?" Princess Longyu lowered her expression.
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, the Crown Prince stepped in and said, "Stop arguing, you don't even know what Xie Bohuai and Father Emperor were talking about. Why are you fighting amongst yourselves? Don't you know that Father Emperor hates it when we brothers and sisters quarrel?"
With the Crown Prince's intervention, Prince Jing immediately shut up, walked to the wooden stake, and punched it several times.
The Crown Prince then looked at Princess Longyu and said, “Longyu, why do you say such things about your sixth brother? He is just worried and confused. We are all close relatives, and we should all live in harmony.”
“Yes, we’re all family.” Princess Longyu said sarcastically.
If they were truly close relatives, why didn't anyone say a word in her defense when she was being married off?
The Crown Prince is so hypocritical.
Princess Longyu walked to the side, looking into the tent, also speculating about what had happened.
Granny Jiang whispered, "Master Xie has not found the young lady and has been soaking in the cold river water all night. This old servant thinks Master Xie will not give up easily."
"Xie Bohuai will definitely not give up, but so what? With this incident, Wan Ning's death is perfectly logical. I just don't know which spy is among my entourage who knows that I killed Zhao Yun." Princess Longyu thought and thought, and realized that it was time to replace the people around her.
"How could this happen?" Granny Jiang hadn't gone in with them, so she didn't know about it. Her heart raced. "What did the Emperor say?"
“Father certainly won’t believe it. After all, arresting someone requires witnesses and evidence. If there were evidence, Fourth Prince would have already taken my life, not waited until now.” Princess Longyu finished speaking and glanced at her brothers. “The Crown Prince is the most cunning and the most uneasy. Prince Duan seems low-key, but he was quite dashing in his youth. Prince Xian is a treacherous villain who never initiates trouble, but actually has the most ulterior motives. Prince Jing is a fool; if someone stirs up trouble, he immediately jumps on the bandwagon. As for Seventh Prince…”
Princess Longyu couldn't quite figure out her youngest brother. She had always thought that Prince Cheng, being young, didn't have many schemes. But today, Prince Cheng's constant provocations made her wonder.
Just then, a palace attendant came out and summoned the Crown Prince inside.
The crown prince's right eyelid twitched repeatedly. "May I ask, sir, why did Father summon me...?"
"You'll find out once you go in," the eunuch said, not daring to say more. "This is His Majesty's will; please don't keep him waiting."
As soon as the Crown Prince entered, Prince Jing muttered again, "Fifth Brother, why do you think Father Emperor called for the Crown Prince?"
The wise prince said he didn't know, "Sixth brother, don't worry, just wait quietly."
At this moment, Prince Hui spoke up, "Could it be that this matter was arranged by the Crown Prince?" He had long coveted the Eastern Palace and had been openly and secretly fighting with the Crown Prince. If it really was the Crown Prince, then he would truly applaud Xie Bohuai.
He had barely finished speaking when he noticed everyone looking at him, so he quickly said, "I was just guessing, why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Fourth brother, don't speak carelessly." The Prince Duan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, and sighed quietly as he looked towards the tent.
Good heavens, things are about to change in the capital.
In the years that followed, when people talked about that year, they sighed with emotion. No one could have imagined that so many major events would happen in just a few days.
The longer the prince went inside, the more nervous the people outside became. No one knew what was going on inside, let alone when they would be called.
The crown prince inside was covered in sweat. He knelt on the ground, and the emperor looked at him, speechless for a long time.
When the Crown Prince passed away, the Emperor was deeply shocked. The son he had painstakingly raised was gone. He was a well-regarded Crown Prince, praised by everyone for his scholarship and benevolence; no one in the court dared to challenge him.
Later, when it came to choosing a crown prince, the emperor pondered for several nights, fearing that a power struggle would break out, so he chose the third son born to the empress.
Over the years, the Emperor has put a lot of effort into raising the Crown Prince, but he can't help but compare him to his predecessors and lament that he is not as good as them.
Seeing the Crown Prince kneeling on the ground, trembling, the Emperor finally gritted his teeth and asked after a long while, "Why are you in such a hurry?"