Especially when he heard the little eunuch say that Noble Consort was also outside, he had already begun to contemplate how to reap some benefits from this.
The Noble Consort was far more favored than the Empress; if she came in and cried a few tears, the Prince of Qi would likely be spared from any trouble.
The Emperor said nothing upon hearing that the Noble Consort had arrived, but Zhu Ci, standing to the side, let out a cold laugh: "No wonder Fourth Brother is so lawless and shows no respect even to Father. It turns out the Noble Consort has been spying within the palace to gather intelligence."
Hmm?
Ruan Dacheng slightly raised his eyebrows and continued to wait and see how things developed.
At this moment, the cloth strip had been removed from the Prince of Qi's mouth. Having originally intended to cry out his innocence, he heard this sentence and immediately said, "The Crown Prince is making false accusations! Imperial Father, the Crown Prince wants to drive us mother and son to our deaths!"
Zhu Yousong sat above and asked, "Crown Prince, what do you have to say?"
Zhu Ci turned and bowed respectfully, saying, "Imperial Father, Wenhua Hall holds a special status, members of the inner palace are not allowed to come here easily. Noble Consort Chen has already committed a transgression; moreover, Sun Hongji and I were intercepted by her as soon as we entered the palace. It is clear that the Noble Consort has already received the news. Yet, it has been less than half an hour since Sun Hongji sent someone into the palace to report it. How on earth did the Noble Consort receive the news and manage to come to the imperial court to obstruct me in such a short amount of time?"
After finishing this, Zhu Ci added a final remark: "Your servant can guarantee that Her Majesty the Empress is currently unaware of this matter."
Zhu Yousong's gaze sharpened upon hearing this. He ignored the Prince of Qi's cries of innocence from below and turned to say, "Let the Noble Consort enter."
Standing to the side, Ruan Dacheng clicked his tongue inwardly; this move by the Crown Prince.. felt so familiar.
Isn't this exactly the kind of tactic Grand Secretary Ma often uses?
However, Grand Secretary Ma was merely distorting right from wrong, whereas the Crown Prince's actions could be considered irrefutable evidence.
This matter was indeed a case of the Noble Consort losing her composure.
But then again, when it comes to treason, things always end in bloodshed under the current Emperor.
Although the Crown Prince narrowly escaped death, a large number of the eunuchs, palace maids, guards of the Eastern Palace were purged, resulting in a massive reshuffle throughout the entire Eastern Palace.
As a favored consort, the Noble Consort was accustomed to being arrogant and overbearing in her daily life; even bullying the Empress was nothing new, so it was only natural that she wouldn't have thought much in this moment of life-and-death impulse.
After Consort Chen entered, she abandoned her usual haughtiness in front of Zhu Ci and became weak and fragile, her watery eyes brimming with tears that seemed on the verge of falling.
What a beautiful woman, one who evokes such pitying affection.
Zhu Ci took one look and then averted his gaze.
Consort Chen sobbed, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must seek justice for us, mother and son!"
To be able to speak so clearly while sobbing was a talent not possessed by ordinary people.
Zhu Ci stood honestly to the side, remaining silent at this moment.
Those few words just now had reached the right level of intensity; unless the old Emperor favored the Noble Consort to the point of ignoring that she could know her own news at any time and in any place.
If that were truly the case, Zhu Ci might as well just accept his fate and request to abdicate, yielding the position of Crown Prince to the Prince of Qi.
Clearly, no emperor liked being monitored by others, especially one as suspicious as Zhu Yousong.
He stood up and said, "Acting on behalf of you and your son?"
The Emperor's attitude and tone were not right!
Consort Chen's thoughts raced as she sobbed, "The honor and disgrace of my son and me both depend on Your Majesty. Now that there are those who wish to drive us to our deaths, we can only ask Your Majesty to seek justice for us."
Zhu Ci lowered his eyes and looked at the ground, remaining silent.
Then, the crisp sound of a slap rang out.
Author's Note:
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Zhu Ci: I originally only intended to make a false accusation, but the Noble Consort is going to be the death of herself. *Kitty sits on the Prince of Qi's lap and punches him thump-thump. jpg*
Next update tomorrow at noon~
Chapter 10
Seeing that pleading for justice was useless, Consort Chen turned her head toward Zhu Ci and asked plaintively, "Crown Prince, how exactly have we mother and son offended Your Highness, that Your Highness would be so ruthless as to seek our deaths!"
Zhu Ci still said nothing.
Consort Chen could not get a response from him, so she could only clutch the hem of the Emperor's robe, looking up at him as she let tears stream from the corners of her eyes. "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince must have lost his mind. He says nothing, only claiming that your servant and her son are rebels. Is he truly going to sentence us to death for this?"
Zhu Yousong looked at her coldly and asked, "Who passed you the news?"
Consort Chen's heart skipped a beat as she immediately said, "It was I who heard the news in the rear palace. Being anxious for my beloved son, I rushed here in haste."
Is that so?" Zhu Yousong looked toward Sun Hongji. "Did you not secure the Prince of Qi's Mansion?
Standing to the side, Sun Hongji immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I rushed to the Prince of Qi's Mansion with my men as soon as I received the news. At that time, the guards and eunuchs of the Prince of Qi's Mansion were surrounding the Crown Prince, shouting for his blood. After I rescued the Crown Prince, I immediately arranged for someone to report to Your Majesty. From beginning to end, it took no more than fifteen minutes. I truly do not know how the inner palace managed to cause such a stir in such a short amount of time."
If what the Noble Consort says is true, then the eunuchs and maids of the harem are truly formidable; they are even faster at spreading news than the Jinyi Guard.
Zhu Yousong looked at Li Fuguo again.
Li Fuguo also bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this humble servant sent people to investigate, besides the Noble Consort, no one else in the Inner Palace knows of this matter."
Consort Chen's expression became extremely unsightly. Her eyes shifted as she immediately pointed at Zhu Ci and said, "I see. The Crown Prince.. it must have been the Crown Prince who arranged for someone to inform me, using my maternal love for my son to frame me."
After speaking, she turned to look at Zhu Ci and asked with hatred, "Why is the Crown Prince remaining silent?"
Zhu Yousong looked at Zhu Ci, his expression also very cold: "Why is the Crown Prince not speaking?"
Zhu Ci bowed and said, "This son obeys the Emperor's commands. Since the Emperor did not command this son to speak, how could this son possibly follow another's orders?"
Zhu Yousong nodded, his expression softening considerably. He turned back to the dragon throne and said, "Since you claim the Prince of Qi is committing treason, what evidence do you have?"
Only then did Zhu Ci recount the events that had occurred in the Eastern Palace.
Upon hearing this, the Prince of Qi immediately shouted, "It wasn't me, Imperial Father! He is making false accusations!"
Zhu Ci remained silent, while Zhu Yousong said irritably, "Shut his mouth!" Then he turned to look at Zhu Ci. "Why didn't you report this?"
Zhu Ci sighed and said, "Your servant did not believe it at the time; after all, the Prince of Qi is my own brother, how could he act so ruthlessly? But since the testimony and evidence all pointed toward the Prince of Qi, I went directly to the Prince of Qi's Mansion in a state of urgency to confront him. I never expected that the Prince of Qi actually harbored such malice and truly intended to execute me within the Prince of Qi's Mansion."
The Prince of Qi struggled frantically, trying to speak, but unfortunately his mouth had already been blocked. Beside him, Consort Chen was anxious as fire, yet she did not dare to speak out of turn, fearing she might provoke the Emperor's wrath even further.
Zhu Yousong asked, "What has he done?"
Zhu Ci said, "Aside from having the eunuch guards surround me, the Prince of Qi once said that once he had seized the position of Crown Prince, he would definitely tear me into ten thousand pieces. But.. the position of Crown Prince is not mine; it belongs to Imperial Father. Whomever Imperial Father chooses will be the Crown Prince. If he wants to seize the position of Crown Prince, he isn't seizing it from my hands, he is seizing it from Imperial Father's hands. Interfering in Imperial Father's great matter of succession—if that is not treason, then what is?"
Zhu Yousong was slightly stunned, upon careful thought, it seemed.. that was indeed the case.
Beside him, Ruan Dacheng's eyes instantly lit up. He rubbed his hands together inside his sleeves, preparing to go back and discuss this with the Grand Secretary; this Crown Prince might actually be able to secure his position.
What happened to the previous two Crown Princes? It was simply because they were too hardworking and showed too much initiative after ascending the throne; not only did they reorganize the Eastern Palace, but they also tried to extend their reach into the imperial court.
Although the Emperor's health had been depleted, he still considered himself young and vigorous under the maintenance of medicine; how could he possibly endure it?
The Crown Prince before him was quite sensible, but he wasn't sure about his aptitude.
Huh? Wait, if the Crown Prince has poor talent and only knows how to indulge in food, drink, entertainment to please the Emperor, isn't that the best possible outcome? After he ascends the throne, he will have no choice but to rely on them.
At this moment, there were those in the great hall who were rejoicing, those who were filled with sorrow.
At this moment, Sun Hongji felt that cooperating with this Crown Prince was truly exhilarating.
The young Crown Prince was not one to act without purpose, but when he did, he struck precisely where it hurt most, which suited him perfectly.
As for Li Fuguo, he stood to the side, showing neither joy nor sorrow. He could no longer see the future of this dynasty; perhaps.. it was time for him to leave as well.
Consort Chen rushed toward Zhu Ci like a madwoman, Zhu Ci immediately stepped back several paces, saying, "Noble Consort, show some restraint. You deliberately approached me in the imperial court just now; what is your true purpose?"
Zhu Yousong frowned and waved his hand. "Someone, drag her away, drag the Prince of Qi away as well."
Consort Chen looked at Zhu Yousong with a face full of shock: "Your Majesty? Your Majesty, I have been wronged! The Crown Prince is framing me!"
Zhu Ci said nothing, watching expressionlessly as Consort Chen and the Prince of Qi were dragged away.
Zhu Yousong looked at Sun Hongji and said, "You will preside over this case. You must investigate it thoroughly to see who else they are colluding with."
Sun Hongji immediately bowed and said, "Your servant obeys your command."
Zhu Yousong glanced at the honest-looking Zhu Ci standing there, feeling somewhat more satisfied with this new Crown Prince.
To be able to recognize that the position of Crown Prince was not his, but belonged to the Emperor—that was correct.
He said rarely gently, "You have been startled today as well. Go back and get some good rest; your Imperial Father will certainly not let you suffer any grievances."
Zhu Ci immediately bowed with an obedient expression and said, "Your son obeys the imperial decree."
When leaving Wenhua Hall, Zhu Ci and Sun Hongji left together.
Walking out of the palace gates, Sun Hongji bowed and said, "Your Highness, this official will take a step ahead to interrogate the rebels. May I ask if Your Highness has any further instructions?"
Zhu Ci held his arm and said, "It is all thanks to Commander Sun arriving in time today; otherwise, the consequences would have been unpredictable."
Having said that, he turned to Ge Xudong and instructed, "Send that Gu Embroidery Screen to Commander Sun later."
Having said that, he held Sun Hongji's hand and said, "This screen is something I recently acquired; it isn't worth much money, but it does add a touch of elegance to the room. Commander, you should take it and let the children at home play with it."
Sun Hongji felt a surge of joy in his heart. How could anything coming from the Eastern Palace be anything but good?
Not to mention that lately, the Emperor had been bestowing rewards upon the Crown Prince from time to time, sending fine goods to the Eastern Palace like flowing water.
Sun Hongji bowed and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Highness."
Zhu Ci withdrew his hand and said faintly, "Commander, please help me deliver a message to my fourth brother. Tell him that a life for a life—he had better remember those four words for his next life."
Sun Hongji was somewhat confused after hearing this. Was the Crown Prince not.. fine?
However, he didn't think much more of it; he only needed to deliver the message.
Watching Sun Hongji's retreating figure as he strode away, Zhu Ci knew that his relationship with this Jinyi Guard Commander had finally settled into a rhythm.
The October wind had already grown somewhat chilly. Zhu Ci stood there and let out a long, faint sigh. Although he felt like he was living like a villain, he had to admit that the feeling of getting immediate revenge was quite pleasant.
Unfortunately, if one wanted to achieve anything in this Hongguang Era, it would be incredibly difficult.
"Your Highness?" Ge Xudong did not understand why the Crown Prince had suddenly started sighing.
After all, this was outside Wenhua Hall, where there were many eyes and many ears.
Zhu Ci let out a breath, stepped onto the Azure Chariot, asked, "How is the investigation into that little eunuch going?"
Ge Xudong said, "The investigation is complete. His name is Chong San, fourteen years old. He has been an orphan since childhood and was taken in by others. When he was twelve, his hometown suffered from drought and locust plagues, both his adoptive parents passed away. Having no other way out, he entered the palace as a eunuch."
Zhu Ci fell silent for a long moment after hearing this, before finally letting out a sigh.
He had originally thought that if he had a good relationship with his family, he could make it up to them, but he never expected that this person was an orphan.