Chapter 41 Holding Her Hand
The carved window opened, and a gust of cold wind rushed in. Consort Yu on the bed became a little more awake, hurriedly grabbed her clothes, and knelt on the ground, shivering.
The heir of the Marquis of Ningde was filled with both hatred and pain, regretting that he had stumbled today. He had clearly laid a trap, meticulously planning every step, even including Jiang Qingci, the daughter of the Marquis of Wuning, whom he had carefully chosen from a high-ranking noblewoman—
She was the legitimate daughter of a marquis, and her father and brothers were loyal ministers and generals under the Crown Prince. Her husband was also one of the Nine Ministers, and he was highly respected among civil officials.
The moment the Crown Prince steps into the side hall, he can be easily accused of adultery. How could the Marquis of Wuning and his son still be loyal to him? The memorial in the hands of the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs will further ruin his reputation, making him a target of public scorn.
But he didn't realize at what step he went wrong, and not only was he betrayed, but he also implicated Consort Yu...
The heir of the Marquis of Ningde knelt before Emperor Chunming and said in a pained voice, "Even if I had a hundred lives, I would not dare to have an affair with Your Majesty's concubines in the Chaoyang Palace during the grand banquet for the officials tonight. The incense in the palace was laced with aphrodisiac beforehand, and both I and Consort Yu were drugged and that's why we are in this state... I beg Your Majesty to see the truth!"
The Crown Prince suddenly spoke up at this moment: "Are you really afraid? On the 21st day of the second month of the 15th year of Zhenning, His Majesty offered sacrifices to the sun at the Altar of the Rising Sun. Where were you and Consort Yu that day?"
These words struck her like a thunderbolt. Consort Yu's face turned deathly pale, her previously empty and unfocused pupils suddenly contracted, and her body began to tremble involuntarily.
The heir of the Marquis of Ningde, who had just been arguing, was now completely shocked, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.
The fifteenth year of Zhenning...
A thought vaguely formed in Emperor Chunming's mind, but he dared not delve deeper into it. He asked in a deep voice, "What exactly happened?"
The Crown Prince kindly reminded him, "Your Majesty probably doesn't remember, but Consort Yu was diagnosed with her pregnancy in May of the fifteenth year of Zhenning."
Emperor Chunming's heart trembled slightly, and a surge of anger welled up in his eyes, almost causing him to lose his footing.
The Crown Prince gave a wink, and Qin Ge immediately brought Zhu Wu, Xie Huaichuan's personal attendant, into the palace.
The Crown Prince said, "Tell me the truth about what happened that day."
The cotton cloth in Zhu Wu's mouth was ripped off, and he immediately began to tremble as he testified: "In the spring equinox of the fifteenth year of Zhenning, His Majesty offered sacrifices to the sun at the Altar of the Rising Sun. The Empress, along with the concubines, went to Longzong Temple to pray for the Eighth Prince and chant sutras. At that time, Consort Yu was still a Noble Lady. Because she caught a cold, she stayed in the palace. The young master was worried about her and, avoiding a crowded time, secretly sneaked into Baohua Palace..."
"What nonsense are you spouting!" The heir of the Marquis of Ningde immediately flew into a rage. "Your Majesty! My personal attendant has already been bribed. How can his words be trusted!"
Emperor Chunming gritted his teeth so hard they almost ground to powder, staring intently at Zhu Wu: "Continue!"
Zhu Wucai dared to continue: "At the end of March, Consort Yu secretly sent a message to the young master, saying that her period was delayed and she dared not ask the imperial physician to examine her pulse. Only then did the young master bribe Zhou Xingyan, the imperial physician of the Imperial Hospital, to postpone Consort Yu's pregnancy by one month."
"He hit it on the first try! This young master is truly amazing."
The people in the hall had different thoughts: some were burning with anger, some were panicked and terrified, some were intimidated by the emperor's wrath, and some were thinking about how to escape. Only this voice seemed extremely abrupt.
Yun Kui was still lost in thought when she suddenly met the Crown Prince's deep gaze, which startled her so much that she stumbled.
"No way, he really knows what I'm thinking!"
She shrank back and continued to peer into the hall.
Tang Fugui, who was by Emperor Chunming's side, said cautiously, "It is true that Consort Yu gave birth to the Ninth Prince before she was nine months pregnant."
Consort Yu trembled all over, knelt forward, and tightly grasped the hem of Emperor Chunming's robe, sobbing, "Your Majesty, please believe me, Shou'er is your child, he is your child..."
Emperor Chunming's eyes were as cold as ice, devoid of any warmth.
He also recalled that when Consort Yu was pregnant, her belly was very large, and the Ninth Prince weighed seven pounds at birth. Zhou Xingyan said that this was due to Consort Yu's strong appetite during her pregnancy.
At the time, he was immersed in the joy of having a son, thinking that the eighth prince who had died young had come back to find him. He had almost no doubts and spoiled his youngest son, who was born fair and chubby, to the bone. He even named him "Shou" (meaning longevity), hoping that he would be healthy and live a long life.
The happier Emperor Chunming was then, the angrier he was now, wishing he could tear the adulterous couple to pieces!
He suppressed his emotions, then suddenly remembered: "Zhou Xingyan seems to have met with some accident and is already dead?"
The Crown Prince said, "Zhou Xingyan was in charge of all the cases of Consort Yu from her pregnancy to childbirth. However, after the Ninth Prince was born, he died when his carriage fell off a cliff on his way back to his hometown to observe mourning for his parents."
The heir of the Marquis of Ningde roared, "He died in an accident, what does it have to do with me?"
Zhu Wu spoke tremblingly, "On the way back to his hometown, it was the young master who sent men to intercept and kill Physician Zhou, thus creating this accident..."
The heir of the Marquis of Ningde glared at him, "You've been by my side for ten years, and I've treated you well. Why would you betray me?"
The Crown Prince smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if the young master refuses to admit it, I still have someone else."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Ge carried the chubby little boy who was struggling wildly into the hall.
Upon hearing the child's cries, Consort Yu and the heir of the Marquis of Ningde looked up almost simultaneously, their faces showing the same fear and panic.
"Mother! Father!" the Ninth Prince cried out.
He was watching the palace lanterns in the Imperial Garden when he was suddenly grabbed and taken into the palace. He saw the Crown Prince and the guards who had taken him on horseback before. The Ninth Prince was so frightened that he burst into tears and begged his father and mother for help.
However, his father, who usually had a loving face, was now ashen-faced, and his eyes were filled with indifference and aloofness.
The usually glamorous mother was now kneeling on the ground, her face streaked with tears, looking utterly disheveled.
Why, why is this happening?
Ignoring the Ninth Prince's crying and struggles, the Crown Prince's sharp eyes suddenly turned to the woman kneeling on the ground, "Consort Yu."
Consort Yu raised her head with tears in her eyes. When she felt those cold, oppressive eyes looking down at her, she couldn't help but shrink back, feeling a chill seep into her very bones.
The Crown Prince's voice was extremely calm and cold: "Your illicit affair with another man is an unforgivable crime. However, the child is innocent. The Ninth Prince has only recognized His Majesty as his father since he was born, and His Majesty has truly loved him for five years. If you are willing to tell the truth, I will advise His Majesty to send the Ninth Prince to an estate far away from the capital so that he can grow up safely. Otherwise, even if His Majesty wants to protect him, I will never allow anyone to confuse the royal bloodline. You should know my methods."
Consort Yu trembled violently, her eyes filled with despair: "No, no, Shou'er is indeed His Majesty's bloodline..."
The Crown Prince smiled, but his deep, fierce eyes were filled with bloodthirsty killing intent. Every word he spoke was chilling: "A grown man is enough to be subjected to three thousand cuts in a slow slicing. The Ninth Prince is so young. I have never tried it. I wonder how many cuts it would take to kill him?"
Upon hearing this, almost everyone in the hall gasped in shock.
Consort Yu slumped down, her mental defenses collapsing almost instantly.
Yun Kui's heart also clenched.
"Your Highness..."
The crown prince's face was cold and indifferent, devoid of any warmth in his eyes.
Consort Yu's face was filled with despair, as if a drowning person had grabbed onto a piece of driftwood. She suddenly knelt down before the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, he is innocent! He's just a child! No, no, I'll tell you everything..."
In a moment of panic, the heir of the Marquis of Ningde grabbed her frail shoulders. "Your Highness, don't believe him! He's deceiving you!"
The Ninth Prince couldn't understand what they were saying, nor did he know why he was going to die. His father's eyes were so cold, and his mother was crying with tears streaming down her face. What was going on?
He ran up and grabbed Consort Yu's arm: "Mother, why must Shou'er die? Shou'er doesn't want to die! What happened?"
Consort Yu cried her heart out; every word the Crown Prince spoke felt like a sharp blade, cutting into her heart with every drop of blood.
She knew she was doomed, Xie Huaichuan was doomed, and countless others would lose their lives because of it, but she couldn't abandon her child, even if there was only the slightest chance...
She broke free from Xie Huaichuan's grasp and knelt before Emperor Chunming, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Majesty, I know my mistake, I will accept whatever punishment you may give me! But Shou'er is someone you have doted on, please spare his life, please don't kill him, he's only five years old..."
Emperor Chunming kicked her hand away violently, his chest burning as if on fire: "You harlot, you really have been having an affair behind my back!"
He had lost his mind, spun around twice on the spot, grabbed a knife from a guard's hand, and swung it at Consort Yu's neck.
Yun Kui was so frightened that she quickly looked away.
The sound of a blade slicing through flesh reached my ears.
When she opened her eyes again, all she saw was blood splattered all over the ground, followed by a sharp, piercing cry from a woman who seemed on the verge of collapse.
"Huaichuan!"
Xie Huaichuan took the blow for Consort Yu.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Chunming closed his eyes tightly.
Xie Huaichuan shielded her from a knife, and Consort Yu even called him by his full name!
Is there anything else he doesn't understand?
Xie Huaichuan was filled with resentment and unwillingness, his face contorted with pain and anger, but the last look he gave Consort Yu before he died was tender.
Consort Yu touched her hands, which were covered in blood. She held Xie Huaichuan's blood-soaked body, her whole body trembling. Her painful, empty eyes suddenly revealed a resolute meaning.
She stroked the Ninth Prince's head, her gaze finally settling on the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, please keep your word..."
Before Yun Kui could react, she was pulled behind her by a warm and strong hand.
She heard another dull thud as a blade pierced flesh, saw blood everywhere through the crack, and heard the Ninth Prince's heart-wrenching screams.
"Mother! Mother! Mother, don't die!"
Consort Yu also went with Xie Huaichuan.
The Ninth Prince's shrill cries filled her ears, and the room reeked of blood; the blood had almost reached her toes.
She witnessed another death.
Yun Kui's face was pale, and her heart trembled slightly.
Although she didn't know the two people, she often saw them in her dreams. Two living people died right in front of her. She even discovered the Ninth Prince's background in her dreams.
It cannot be said that Consort Yu and the heir of the Marquis of Ningde were completely unrelated to her.
Yun Kui's hands and feet felt cold, and she suddenly felt very afraid to stay here.
Emperor Chunming stared intently at the two people before him, his usually gentle and refined face almost contorted with rage. "What a pair of despicable lovers, bound together by life and death, inseparable and shameless!"
The Ninth Prince knelt on the ground, weeping helplessly, his entire body stained red with blood. His small, chubby body turned around, and he shook his legs violently, crying, "Father! Father! Why did Mother die? Why didn't you save Mother!"
Emperor Chunming watched the farce with a cold eye, his eyes filled with chilling intent.
His favorite concubine was having an affair, his most trusted confidant was committing adultery, and even his youngest son, whom he had raised for five years and loved the most, was not his biological child!
His imperial dignity was ruthlessly trampled on, how could he possibly remain calm!
And those people inside the hall, they're all probably just watching him make a fool of himself!
Emperor Chunming clenched his fist, his eyes filled with murderous intent: "Send out the order to seal off the side hall immediately. No one is to be allowed to divulge what happened today! All palace servants who saw or heard this will be executed on the spot..."
"Your Majesty," Emperor Chunming was interrupted by the Crown Prince before he could finish speaking, "The show is over. How to deal with them is Your Majesty's business. As for my people, I will take them with me first."
Emperor Chunming could no longer maintain his composure; the anger in his heart was like a flood that had burst its banks, completely engulfing his reason.
Today he has lost all face and is humiliated; it was all the Crown Prince's scheme!
No one in the world dared to confront the emperor's wrath, except for the crown prince, who dared to turn a blind eye to the emperor's order to silence him and leave with his own people.
By the time Yun Kui realized what was happening, her icy fingers were already firmly grasped by the man's warm palm.
A tingling, numb sensation came from her palm, a strange feeling of being enveloped. She stared blankly as he led her away from the eye of the storm.
As far as I can remember, His Highness the Crown Prince has never held her hand.
She always followed him closely, eagerly trailing behind him.
"Is it going to be a slap followed by a sweet treat?"
"You specifically brought me here to see this. This is the consequence of having an affair. If I dare to meet with the guards again, His Highness the Crown Prince will surely make sure my blood is spilled on the spot!"
Yun Kui was terrified, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Crown Prince: "..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
