The fourth prince was only fourteen years old. In terms of weight and strength, he was no match for Liang Chaozong.
Liang Chaozong swung him hard and threw him to the ground, and he slid forward five or six meters.
There was a dull thud as the Fourth Prince bumped into the cabinet in the corner of the room.
Looking at the Fourth Prince again, he seemed to have lost consciousness and fell to the ground with blood all over his forehead.
"Chengyue, what's wrong with you?" Concubine Xian struggled to get up and crawled to her son's side.
She held her son in her arms and rocked him, but the Fourth Prince did not respond.
The "bang" sound just now seemed to bring Liang Chaozong back to his sanity from his frenzied state. He suppressed his distorted expression and came to the fourth prince to check.
After reaching out to check his breath, Liang Chaozong took a breath of cold air.
…
Late that night, a tall eunuch almost carried the Fourth Prince out of the Fanyin Temple and put him into a carriage, claiming that the Fourth Prince was dizzy and feeling very unwell.
But the palace maids and eunuchs guarding Xiande Palace waited for the whole night but did not see the Fourth Prince return to the palace.
In the middle of the night, the leader of the secret guards, Ying Chen, came to report to Emperor Mingxi that the fourth prince had been killed.
"What did you say? The Fourth Prince is dead?" Xia Zhengqi stared in disbelief at Ying Chen who came to report the news.
"Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. The Fourth Prince is indeed dead. I have personally examined his body. His forehead bone is shattered, and he was stabbed in the chest. His two attendants were also killed by a single blow to the chest."
For a moment, Xia Zhengqi was so shocked that he couldn't recover.
Ying Chen continued, "The secret guards saw the Fourth Prince being carried into a carriage by an unfamiliar eunuch late at night. Judging from his condition, he seemed to have lost consciousness."
"When the carriage was halfway there, the unfamiliar eunuch suddenly jumped out and stabbed two of the attendants to death one by one. He then used his Qinggong skills to escape."
"The secret guards were unable to catch up, and when they went to check inside the carriage, they found that the Fourth Prince was already dead."
"However, the secret guards discovered that the unfamiliar eunuch looked very similar to the imperial merchant Liang Xin."
Xia Zhengqi frowned, as if he had thought of something: "Could it be them..."
For a moment, Xia Zhengqi was at a loss. He really wanted to hear his daughter's opinion, so he pulled Xia Miaoyuan out of bed early in the morning and took her to court.
In the Golden Palace, the Jingzhao Yin's face was pale and he looked as if he had lost his parents.
He stepped forward and said in a trembling voice, "Last night at midnight, the Fourth Prince was attacked by a gang of thugs on the road. He died instantly. Your Majesty, please advise on how to handle this matter."
"What? The prince was assassinated!"
"How could such a thing happen under the feet of the emperor?"
"Who is so bold?"
"How can this be tolerated? The prince was assassinated when he left home. Wouldn't we, the ministers, be in even greater danger?"
The court was in an uproar in an instant.
Minister of Works Niu Baijin burst into tears immediately: "My Yue'er, my darling grandson!"
"Ahhh! You're only fourteen. Isn't this asking your grandfather to send you off?"
Niu Baijin cried bitterly, and two young eunuchs hurried over to support him.
"Ahhh! Yue'er, how do you let your mother live?"
Niu Baijin cried while glancing at Xia Zhengqi out of the corner of his eye.
Xia Miaoyuan was dozing off in Emperor Mingxi's arms, but upon hearing the news that the Fourth Prince had been assassinated, he immediately shuddered and became completely awake.
[What? The Fourth Prince died? And at such a special time.]
Xia Miaoyuan looked at Emperor Mingxi suspiciously, "Could it be that Dad discovered that the Fourth Prince was not his biological son and killed him himself to get rid of the bastard?"
[Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect Daddy's methods to be so cruel! ]
Xia Zhengqi's face was full of black lines: Can you think of your father in a worse way?
"Tell me, how should we investigate this matter? I am so sad to see my son die young at an old age. I have no idea what to do." When Xia Zhengqi said the last sentence, his tone was difficult and there was a hint of tears in his voice.
"Yes, Your Majesty is so pitiful! The Fourth Prince is only in his teens."
"The saddest thing in the world is when the elderly die before their children!"
The civil and military officials were moved by the scene and became sentimental. Some of them were easily moved and burst into tears.
Niu Baijingang had just stopped crying, but seeing Xia Zhengqi's grief, he burst into tears again.
For a moment, the court was as chaotic as a vegetable market.
Niu Baijin's crying and the ministers' discussions came one after another.
Xia Miaoyuan covered his ears and continued to think, "No, no, it couldn't have been Daddy who did this. If the Emperor wanted to get rid of the Fourth Prince, he would have done it more covertly."
For example, if someone poisoned someone, they could just say they died suddenly from an acute illness. No one would know. Why stage an assassination? Wouldn't that just bring trouble upon yourself?
When Xia Zhengqi heard this, he nodded slightly in approval.
Well, this is my baby daughter, her IQ is totally up to par.
Xia Miaoyuan's eyes darted around. "Oh right, could it be that Liang Chaozong suspected the Fourth Prince of tampering with the fake picture? So he killed him?"
[Although this speculation is too bold, judging by the description in the book, Liang Chaozong is indeed capable of such a cold-blooded and ruthless act.]
In his later years, he became almost insane in his pursuit of national restoration, his methods ruthless and merciless, slaying anyone who stood in his way. After ascending the throne, he was dubbed the Dark Tyrant.
Hearing this, Xia Zhengqi's heart tightened and he couldn't help but sigh. This heavenly book was really bizarre. It actually recommended a cruel person like Liang Chaozong as the chosen son of heaven.
At this time, the Minister of Personnel, Yan Wenjing, spoke up: "I believe that the Fourth Prince has met with a tragic accident. There are two major priorities at this time. One is to deal with the Fourth Prince's funeral, and the other is to investigate the case and bring the real culprit to justice."
Niu Baijin stopped crying and said, "Master Yan is absolutely right. The most urgent thing is to bring Concubine Xian back to the palace and arrange the funeral for the Fourth Prince."
"How could the Fourth Prince's biological mother not be present at his funeral?"
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