PFC Chapter 230: The Death of the 3rd Prince
Chapter 230: The Death of the 3rd Prince
Emperor Jinyang's eyes dimmed. He knew that his mother was partial to her, but he didn't expect her to be so partial.
"Mother...if my son hadn't been fostered by Concubine De when he was young, would you love him more today?"
"You are the emperor, the whole world belongs to you, why do you need my love?"
After saying this, he turned his head away and no longer looked at Emperor Jinyang.
"I wish you good health, mother. I still have many government affairs to attend to, so I will take my leave first..."
Seeing him about to leave, the Queen Mother immediately turned her head, stretched out her hand in his direction and shouted:
"Emperor! Majesty cannot be established through killing; only benevolence and virtue can win the hearts of the people. As the Son of Heaven, if you harm your brothers out of personal grudges, wouldn't that chill the hearts of the people? Moreover, if your brother can reform himself, wouldn't that also demonstrate your virtue as an elder brother?"
"Mother, what are you doing with my dignity when you say this? Mother, please stop talking. I will not kill him. He can escape death, but he cannot escape punishment for his crimes. Mother, take good care of yourself. I am leaving now."
"emperor!"
Emperor Jinyang flicked his sleeves and walked out of Shoukang Palace with a gloomy look.
Zhong Yunhai, who was following behind, could sense that the Jinyang Emperor was on the verge of a rage. He had been with the Emperor for a long time and naturally understood his temperament. So he just followed quietly, remaining silent.
"Zhong Yunhai, how is Xu Qinglan?"
"Your Majesty..." Ruiyunxuan replied, saying that Miss Xu is doing well."
"Well... I'll go see her."
Zhong Yunhai got the message, flicked his whisk and shouted to the group of people:
"Set up Ruiyunxuan."
On the other side, after the emperor had left, the concubines began to whisper to each other and talk about the woman in Ruiyunxuan.
"I heard that the woman is already in her twenties... A young eunuch saw her and said she looked like a man..."
"Ah? Then why wasn't his rank sealed?"
"How dare we guess what the Emperor is thinking... Let's keep our mouths shut..."
Ming Zhaoyi was overwhelmed by the noise of these women. She stood up, bowed before Concubine Zhen, and said:
"Your Highness, I am not feeling well. Could you please return to the palace and rest for two hours before coming back?"
Concubine Zhen nodded with a smile and waved her hand to signal her to go back.
Ming Zhaoyi performed an awkward kneeling salute, then turned and walked out of Shoukang Palace.
"Your Majesty, she is so disrespectful. How can she go back when you are still here?" A woman in pink palace dress said dissatisfiedly.
Concubine Zhen waved her hands impatiently: "Alright, alright, Rong Zhaoyi, don't you know Ming Zhaoyi's temper? The Emperor is happy to pamper her, so just say less."
"You are so broad-minded, Madam. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to stand her behavior."
Everyone talked at once, successfully arousing Concubine Zhen's impatience.
"The Empress Dowager is still ill. Aren't you afraid of disturbing her by making such loud noises? If anything happens to the Empress Dowager, I will not be as affectionate as you sisters."
Now, everyone quieted down and there was complete silence.
Concubine Zhen sighed. Although she said that the empress dowager had caught a cold, only the emperor dared to tell her the exact condition.
Whenever Prince Qi made a mistake, this mother would not only not intervene, but she also liked to put pressure on the emperor. Now that such a big thing had happened, the queen mother knew that the previous methods were no longer effective, so she had to resort to pretending to be sick.
Although the Emperor is a cold-blooded man, I wonder what His Majesty is feeling now after being treated this way by his own mother...
"Cai Qing, come here."
"My lady, I am here. Do you have any instructions?"
Concubine Zhen waved her hand, asked her to come closer, and whispered a few words into her ear.
"Yes, my dear, I will go right away."
At this time, the emperor also arrived at Ruiyunxuan, which was originally the warm palace where the previous emperor handled government affairs.
However, it is quite far from the Qinzheng Hall, so it was rarely used after Emperor Jinyang ascended the throne.
Now that Xu Qinglan is not feeling well, it is just right for her to stay in Ruiyunxuan.
At this time, Xu Qingzhao was reading a book. The little palace maid came in and said that the emperor was coming soon. She put down the book and walked to the door to greet him.
"Come in, it's cold outside."
"Yes."
After entering the room, the palace maid served tea. Emperor Jinyang picked up the book she had just been reading and asked casually:
"Tao Te Ching? Do you have any insights? Tell me about it."
"Your Majesty, Qing Lan really likes this line: 'Those who oppose are the movement of the Tao, and those who are weak are the use of the Tao. All things in the world are born from existence, and existence is born from non-existence.'"
"Do you know what this means?" There was no emotion in Emperor Jinyang's tone.
"The essence of the Dao lies in its reversal. The birth and death of all things follow this principle. Reversal does not mean going against the Dao, but rather conforming to nature, which repeats itself endlessly. For example, the alternation of sun and moon, the alternation of day and night, spring bringing forth life, summer growing, autumn harvesting, and winter storing—all these are the reversals of the Dao. Similarly, the extreme of strength must inevitably weaken, and the extreme of prosperity decline—these are also signs of the reversal of the Dao. Therefore, we know that all affairs in the world operate according to this Dao; those who follow it prosper, those who go against it perish. Thus, the sages observe the movement of heaven and earth, understand the true meaning of the Dao, and know how to advance and retreat, survive and perish without losing their integrity. This is all because they understand the reversal of the Dao."
Xu Qingzhao finished this long speech politely and with a smile, then picked up the tea and took a sip.
"You are a clever girl..."
"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your praise. Qing Lan does not deserve it."
"Your Majesty... News has come from the Third Prince's Mansion..." Zhong Yunhai came in and knelt down and said.
Emperor Jinyang frowned and said unhappily:
"Isn't he fine in the mansion? What happened?"
Zhong Yunhai trembled and dared not speak, and only when the Jinyang Emperor pressed him did he say:
"Your Majesty... Please accept my condolences... The Third Prince has passed away... in the palace..."
silence.
Deathly silence.
After a long while, he sighed and said, "I... asked the Palace Department to arrange the funeral ceremony... Can we find out how he died?"
"Your Majesty, as soon as the incident happened, the Third Prince's wife went to the palace to look for Concubine Zhen, but they haven't investigated yet..."
Emperor Jinyang suddenly flew into a rage, slamming the table and angrily saying:
"Go check! My son, a prince, is gone just like that, and there's no one to find out! He'll be buried with my son!"
"Yes... I'll go right away..." After saying that, Zhong Yunhai ran away in shame.
Xu Qingzhao, who was standing by, had already seen through the old man's tricks and knelt down when he got angry.
But she noticed that there was already a dead look in the emperor's eyes when he came in...which meant that he knew about his son's death earlier than anyone else.
He knew about it but pretended not to know, and even pretended to investigate... It seemed that he wanted to catch all of the Third Prince's followers in one fell swoop.
As expected, the death of the Third Prince immediately caused a great uproar in the palace. When the concubines with children in the palace heard that the Third Prince had passed away, their minds became active.
The most active among them is the second prince.
In his eyes, the Third Prince was sinister, the Fourth Prince was a wimp, the Fifth Prince was a sickly child, and the Sixth Prince was just a child...
My father is old, and now that the third prince is dead, the throne of the world will definitely fall on him.
So he rushed to the palace, but not to the Qinzheng Hall, but to the Zhongcui Palace.
That is the residence of the second prince's mother, Concubine Xian.