Chapter 170 A Cup of Poisoned Wine

The emperor knew that the Marquis of Jinyang meant to comfort him when he said that, and sighed and said, "We all hope that each of our children will be outstanding, and even if they are not outstanding, they will not do anything rebellious. But they are also living, breathing people with their own thoughts."

The emperor sighed again, and the Marquis of Jinyang followed suit, "Every family has good-for-nothing children. Take the Duke of Chu, for example. He was such a wise man, yet his son..."

He seemed to think it best not to say anything, and the emperor nodded. He also had some knowledge of what Jiang Chengye and Jiang Jiarong were like. Then the Marquis of Jinyang said again:

"Fortunately, the Duke of Chu's mansion produced Jiang Yu, otherwise the Duke of Chu's mansion might have been ruined by that Jiang Chengye."

Marquis Jinyang's words were not casual; he was thinking from the Duke of Chu's perspective. Given Jiang Chengye's condition and the fact that Jiang Jiamu was reportedly in poor health, the title of Duke of Chu should likely be given to Jiang Yu. Of course, he also hoped that Jiang Yu would be the next Duke of Chu.

Li Zhengze had allied himself with Jiang Yu, and if Jiang Yu prospered, his son Li Zhengze would prosper as well. Therefore, he wanted to remind the emperor that Jiang Chengye was incompetent. This could also be seen as paving the way for the Duke of Chu to depose Jiang Chengye's heir apparent.

The emperor didn't think too much about what he said, but he felt a sense of sympathy for the Duke of Chu, as they both had a good-for-nothing son.

"Your son seems to want to turn over a new leaf now," the emperor said to the Marquis of Jinyang. "Let him work hard with Jiang Yu to investigate the case. I will definitely reward him when the case is closed."

"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty." Marquis Jinyang immediately knelt down and kowtowed. The emperor waved for him to rise, and the two chatted about other things before Marquis Jinyang left the study.

The December weather was bitterly cold, yet he felt a warmth in his heart. He had originally prepared himself to raise his grandson, but now it seemed his son could still be salvaged. He could finally have a good New Year.

He returned to his residence and listened to Li Zhengze recount the tasks Jiang Yu had arranged for him. The Marquis of Jinyang immediately made the arrangements and then earnestly said to Li Zhengze, "I see that you have made a lot of progress these past few days. Work hard under Jiang Yu's guidance, and you may achieve great things in the future."

This was the first time Li Zhengze had been praised by his biological father since he came of age, and he was so moved that he almost shed tears. "Dad, I will definitely do my best."

Marquis Jinyang patted him on the shoulder approvingly, "Yes, get to work."

Li Zheng nodded heavily and then quickly left. Marquis Jinyang turned around and started humming a little tune. He never expected that his son would have a turning point, let alone that this turning point would be Jiang Yu.

........

After the Marquis of Jinyang left, the emperor sat there for a long time, then said to Zhao Fuquan, "Go to the prison, I'm going to see the boss."

Zhao Fuquan acknowledged and quickly went to make the arrangements. Half an hour later, the Emperor appeared outside Prince Kang's cell. Upon seeing him, Prince Kang immediately knelt down, "Your subject greets Your Majesty, sob sob sob..."

He began to sob. The emperor ordered the prison cell to be opened, then went inside and sat down on the chair prepared by the eunuch, looking at his eldest son kneeling on the ground, sobbing.

In just a few days, he had lost a lot of weight and his former gentle demeanor was gone. The emperor was somewhat soft-hearted, but he still said, "The Marquis of Jinyang has investigated Tang Boyang, and the result is... Tang Boyang did not bewitch you; you were using each other."

Prince Kang raised his head, tears streaming down his face, and looked at the emperor, saying, "Father, I was bewitched. I beg you to spare my life."

The emperor looked at him in silence, and the more silent the Prince Kang became, the more anxious he became. He knew that the more silent the emperor was, the more it meant that he would take his life.

He spent seven days in that cell, and during those seven days, no one came to visit him. His mother also hanged herself. He didn't have many solid connections to begin with, and now he was completely alone.

In seven days, he went from being anxious to feeling lost, and now he's completely broken down. Yes, he's broken down. He doesn't know how to change his situation, or rather, he's doomed.

Looking at the silent emperor, he said with tears in his eyes, "Father, do you know how old your son is this year? 36 years old. Your son is 36 years old, but your father is still in good health. If you live another 10 or 20 years, I will be over 50 years old."

The emperor suddenly realized how ridiculous it was that he had been so soft-hearted. This was his own son, and he was now blaming his good health for blocking his path.

"So you planned to force me to abdicate and take my life?" The emperor's voice was calm, but the calmer he was, the more his anger was revealed.

"Your son has no choice, this is all I can do. As a prince, who wouldn't want to ascend to that throne in the future? But Father, you've blocked my path." Prince Kang no longer cared about his own life or death, saying whatever came to mind.

The emperor's hand gripping the chair bulged with veins. "I'm blocking your way! So, you think I deserve to die and should have abdicated the throne long ago, is that it?"

The emperor could no longer contain his anger. He stood up, looked down at Prince Kang, and roared, "Good, good, this is my good son."

He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them, his expression had returned to calm. "Remove Qin Jingchen's title of Prince and demote him to a commoner. Give him a cup of poisoned wine."

After saying this, the emperor strode away. Prince Kang stood there stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, "I knew this day would come, but how would I know if I succeeded if I didn't try? Hahaha..."

The emperor, who hadn't yet left the dungeon, heard his words and his face showed both anger and sorrow. He closed his eyes again and strode out of the dungeon.

Upon returning to the palace, he went directly to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace. The Empress Dowager was not in good spirits either; upon seeing him, she sighed deeply and asked, "Have you investigated everything?"

The Emperor sat opposite the Empress Dowager, nodded, and then fell silent. The Empress Dowager felt another pang of sorrow and asked, "What was your decision?"

The Emperor looked up at the Empress Dowager and asked, "Mother, I believe I have never mistreated any of them. Even with the sixth prince, although I was wary of him, I never mistreated him. Not to mention the eldest prince, he was my first son. Haven't I given him enough love? Why has he turned out like this?"

"Alas," the Empress Dowager sighed again, "among the princes, how many don't want to be emperor?"

"Why has He'an never had that thought?" the emperor asked.

“How many He’an are there in this world? Alright,” the Empress Dowager said, “Let’s establish a crown prince after this matter is over.”

"Establish a crown prince," the emperor murmured, then said, "Very well, establish a crown prince."

The emperor understood perfectly well that even if he established a crown prince, his sons would still fight each other to the death.

This is royalty.