Chapter 191 Chapter 191 is the only genuine version...
There were many carriages leaving the mansion, and once they passed by, others would definitely give way. Gu Zhizhuo thought it was too troublesome, so he asked Chongjiu not to leave yet.
She lowered the curtains of the carriage to block out the noise outside.
Xie Yingchen stared at the imperial edict, his heart beating slightly faster.
At the very beginning, he also had resentment, blaming his grandfather for not believing in his father and forcing his parents to death.
Later, my great-grandfather also died, dying of grief over the death of his parents.
The resentment in Xie Yingchen's heart also turned into suspicion at that time. He wondered if his grandfather had other reasons and that forcing his parents to death was not his intention.
"My grandfather appointed Prince Rong as his successor. There's a will and an oral order, so everything is legitimate."
Prince Rong is the successor monarch.
And he has become an embarrassing existence.
"The state doesn't establish a young ruler. I wasn't even of age at the time, and my father was the deposed crown prince. Enthroning me wouldn't be enough to reassure the people. And among the emperor's uncles, only Prince Rong was the most suitable."
Xie Yingchen couldn't help but exert a little force with his fingers, and a shallow crease appeared on the imperial edict.
It was not until the failure of Changfeng that Xie Yingchen realized the truth.
Since the emperor's grandfather had no choice, he would definitely leave a way to save his life after he woke up.
Prince Jin was cautious and even managed to hide the broken ink for so many years. If the emperor's grandfather really had another will, it must be in Prince Jin's hands.
"Young Master." Gu Zhizhuo moved a seat and sat next to him, raising his eyebrows. "Look, look."
A brisk voice blew away the gloom in his heart. Xie Yingchen replied, "Okay," with the warmth in his eyes almost overflowing. He slowly unfolded the imperial edict, holding both ends in his hands, and placed it on his knees so that Gu Zhizhuo could also read it.
His eyes swept over the first line. The imperial edict was written by the late emperor himself. When he wrote it, he was already at the end of his strength, and his brushstrokes were weak. There were also some bloodstains on the front of the imperial edict. It was almost imaginable that he was coughing up blood, even vomiting blood, while writing, and he finished the imperial edict with great difficulty.
Xie Yingchen felt relieved.
"Royal grandfather..."
He closed his eyes, then rolled up the imperial edict and looked at the bloodstains on it. He had the same thought as Gu Zhizhuo - it couldn't be concealed.
Given the cautious nature of King Jin, once he learned that Xie Jing had been to Zhuangzi, he would definitely go back.
No matter how thoroughly you clean up, he will definitely find out if such an important thing is missing.
Xie Yingchen slowly rubbed his thumb over the dragon pattern on the surface of the imperial edict, thinking.
"Sir." Gu Zhizhuo grabbed his sleeve, his eyes sparkling as he said, "Tell me again, is Prince Jin still alive?"
“Alive.”
Xie Yingchen devoted a fraction of his attention to pondering how to deal with the will, leaving the remaining ninety percent to her. Hearing her question, he said, "The doctor the Prince of Jin hired is quite capable. The bleeding has stopped."
"Most of Xie Qiyun's flesh and blood had melted, and when he was buried, he was only half a skeleton."
Xie Yingchen understood her worries and told her in detail about Xie Qiyun's miserable appearance. Gu Zhizhuo was delighted and said happily, "Serves him right." It was a pity that she didn't see it with her own eyes.
"Don't look at it. It's a dirty eye. It's ugly."
Gu Zhizhuo leaned over his shoulder and smiled, "Master is right. Heaven is fair. No one can escape karma."
She looked up at him and said, "Sir, tell me, how much ambition does the King of Jin still have?"
She was so close to him that he could clearly see the fine hairs on her cheek.
The two people's auras blended together and their minds were connected.
Xie Yingchen put down the imperial edict and said, "Chongjiu, go inside and call out the Prince of Jin."
Chongjiu went to obey the order.
This carriage was decorated by Gu Zhizhuo himself. She opened a small cabinet with familiarity. Inside was a small red clay stove with a small pot of porridge simmering on it.
Xie Yingchen had a weak spleen and stomach, so Gu Zhizhuo specifically instructed that porridge should be kept simmering in the carriage. She specially prepared medicine bags to cook with the porridge just for situations like today when there was no time to eat.
After waiting for hours with no food, even a healthy person would have a stomachache, let alone a young master. The Prince of Jin's Mansion was truly dishonest.
Gu Zhizhuo served him a bowl and said, "Young Master, eat quickly."
She gave two more bowls to Chongjiu and Qingmei outside, and the last bowl was for herself, and the small casserole was empty.
The porridge had been simmering for the whole morning. When it went down my throat, my slightly tight stomach felt much more comfortable.
Xie Yingchen praised: "It's delicious."
“I didn’t cook it.”
“You served it.”
Gu Zhizhuo smiled and said cheerfully, "Next time, let them make red date porridge. It's sweet and delicious too."
Xie Yingchen put down the bowl and took out a candied golden date to feed her.
The candied date was placed against his lips. Gu Zhizhuo opened his mouth and took a bite. The sweetness with the fragrance of flowers filled his lips and teeth.
"sweet."
Xie Yingchen used his fingertips to wipe away the remaining icing sugar from the corners of her mouth and placed a kiss on her lips, as if it was a feather caress that left her lips immediately, and it seemed to still carry the sweetness of candied dates.
"Mm, sweet." His eyes seemed to contain honey, with a hint of temptation, "very sweet."
It’s so sweet that I want to have another bite.
Gu Zhizhuo picked up some candied dates and gave them to him. The dates were still in his mouth and he hadn't swallowed them when Chongjiu came with Prince Jin.
Prince Jin's face was pale, his hands were tied with white cotton cloth, his legs were weak and powerless, and when he walked, it was as if he was floating on water.
"Sir, the King of Jin is here."
After Chongjiu finished his report, he waited for a moment, then lifted the curtain of the carriage and made a gesture of invitation.
"Your Majesty, please."
A strong medicinal fragrance wafts into my nose.
The two people in the carriage were eating porridge, each with a bowl, eating slowly. Even when he saw him get on the carriage, Xie Yingchen just raised his eyes slightly and nodded for him to sit down.
The medicinal aroma comes from the porridge, which is not unpleasant and emits a faint fragrance.
Prince Jin felt a surge of depression, his internal organs aching, but the aroma of the medicine washed into his nose, and even that pain faded considerably. He glanced at Gu Zhizhuo, assuming she had made the medicine. Thinking about it, without her, Xie Yingchen wouldn't have made it this far.
Before the curtain was lowered, Gu Zhizhuo called out, "Chongjiu, this bowl is yours."
Chongjiu naturally took the bowl of porridge on the small table, sat on the citron and started eating.
With the curtains drawn, the carriage was still spacious even with three people sitting in it.
"It is I who am here, and I am sorry for not greeting you well."
Prince Jin sat down and said with a forced smile, "If you let Your Highness come to my house, you have to prepare your own porridge."
After eating the last mouthful of porridge, Xie Yingchen skillfully put away the two people's bowls and put them back in the drawer on the second layer of the small table. He took out the teapot and slowly added tea leaves and dried flower petals into the tea bowls, three parts of tea leaves and one part of flower petals.
The Prince of Jin stared at him intently. Seeing that he ignored his sarcasm, he finally took the initiative to ask, "I wonder what your Highness wants me to do."
"I still have to prepare funeral rites for my son. If there is nothing else, I would like to take my leave."
"Uncle Wang, please stay."
Xie Yingchen said calmly, "I got a little gadget today, and I'd like to ask Uncle Wang to appraise it for me."
Gadgets?
King Jin was puzzled.
Gu Zhizhuo placed the rolled-up imperial edict on the small table.
This is it! Prince Jin's pupils suddenly shrank, and he subconsciously reached out to grab it, but Gu Zhizhuo slapped the back of his hand.
Bang!
The crisp sound made King Jin shudder, and his mind suddenly became clear. He felt as if he was standing in the snow, and a shivering chill rose up his spine.
There is no mistake. This imperial edict has been with him for so many years that he even remembers the distribution of the bloodstains on it clearly. There is no mistake.
Why is it in Xie Yingchen's hands!
What happened to Zhuangzi? Why didn't anyone come to report it to him?
His mind was full of thoughts and he couldn't make sense of them for a while. In an instant, he even had an idea - to get rid of Xie Yingchen.
Xie Yingchen is in his house now, and he can be killed without anyone knowing.
However, just as this thought was lingering in my mind, it was interrupted by a faint cold snort.
When he raised his eyes, he met a pair of phoenix eyes full of murderous intent.
The Prince of Jin suppressed his frantic heartbeat and feigned composure, saying, "I do not know what Your Highness intends."
"Your Highness is a smart man. There's no need to beat around the bush with me."
"This isn't a courtroom, Your Highness, there's no need to bother clarifying anything. No matter how much you say, if you don't believe it yourself, how can I expect you to believe it?"
Prince Jin: “…”
The water on the small stove boiled. Xie Yingchen picked up the small silver kettle and filled the tea bowl with water. The elegant floral fragrance wafted away.
"Your Highness." Gu Zhizhuo held his chin with one hand and asked with a smile, "Are you wondering why it appeared here?"
King Jin did not speak.
Gu Zhizhuo said to himself, "Ji Nanke ran away. His Royal Highness the Third Prince was extremely worried and chased her back to the capital."
"They were both running, one chasing. They accidentally ran into a small farm, and when they started arguing, the farm manager was terrified." She exaggerated, "Chongjiu saw that no one was in the house, and fearing a thief might have gotten in, he kindly went to help watch the house. He accidentally discovered a secret room, and then accidentally found this."
"oops."
"Your Majesty, do you think this is good luck?"
Prince Jin felt a tightness in his chest.
What about being afraid of thieves, what about showing him the house, what about accidentally discovering it... Prince Jin was almost laughing because of her anger.
He could almost recreate the scene at that time.
Xie Jing is useless. He is always fighting for a woman and has no idea what is more important. This gives Xie Yingchen an opportunity to take advantage of him!
Pushing him and the Prince Jin's Mansion into a dead end.
He had an inexplicable sadness.
Gu Zhizhuo sighed, "Ah, Your Majesty, what's the point of you being so busy? I really feel tired for you."
This sigh was like a sharp thorn that pierced the heart of King Jin.
Xie Jing is a person who cannot be helped. Not only does he have poor qualifications, but he also lacks ambition.
This bastard, Lord Cheng'en, wouldn't be satisfied even if he were cut into pieces, and he'd make me worry about his family's prosperity and wealth? Pah!
As for the emperor... he was weak and incompetent, and had not been able to hold on to the position for six years. As soon as Xie Yingchen came back, he was forced to the point of being almost under house arrest.
Who else could he do this for?!
princess?
The princess had only one son, Yun'er. Now that Yun'er is gone, the princess has heart palpitations, and Doctor Hua says she's afraid he won't survive.
For the title?
He wasn't stupid. It was Xie Sheng who pushed Yun'er, causing her to fall. Yun'er was already so ill, how long could she live? Xie Sheng couldn't even wait a month and acted in public. He was even more cruel, but also very stupid. Even if this title fell into his hands, he wouldn't be able to keep it. Among those old foxes in the court, who could Xie Sheng, a fool, be able to outwit?
Thinking of this, a wave of despair welled up in my heart, stronger than any other time before.
"Cough cough cough."
"Can I still be saved?" King Jin asked without any hope, stroking the wound on the back of his hand.
"There's no hope." Gu Zhizhuo said calmly, "Your Highness, you will surely die."
"It's all death anyway, so why should I bother with this? It's a waste of time and effort."
Prince Jin laughed.
He understood Xie Yingchen's intention in looking for him.
It’s nothing more than two words - orthodoxy.
This will is in Xie Yingchen's hands, but if Xie Yingchen takes it out in the court and makes it public, it would be a very bad idea.
Now the one sitting on the throne is his own uncle. He relied on the imperial edict to force his own uncle to abdicate, which may be seen as a case of using the candlelight and the axe sound to manipulate the emperor.
The deposed crown prince was deposed for usurping the throne.
Therefore, Xie Yingchen not only wanted the throne, but also wanted to announce to the world that the lineage of the deposed prince was the orthodox one.
"Death is different from death." Gu Zhizhuo lightly touched the wound on the back of his hand with the palm of his hand, and King Jin shrank back in fear.
Gu Zhizhuo: "Changfeng died of old age and decay. Xie Qiyun died with his skin torn and flesh torn apart, with no bones or flesh left..."
Prince Jin clenched his sleeves.
"As for you, my lord, you will shed every drop of blood in your body."
The back of Prince Jin's hand was tense, and the wound that had not healed opened again, and blood spread on the white cotton cloth.
"You will live until you die as a mummy."
Prince Jin had witnessed the tragic deaths of Changfeng and Yun'er, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
After a while, he said, "If it's just for pleasure, I can come here myself."
It's not that difficult to stab yourself.
Gu Zhizhuo leaned back, picked up the tea bowl, and gently blew away the rose petals floating on it, allowing the fragrance of tea and flowers to blend together.
Xie Yingchen spoke gently, as if chatting casually, "Your Highness is a member of the royal family, so this crime will not bring disaster to the three clans. I heard that Your Highness's Princess Anyang gave birth to a little granddaughter just last month."
After a beating, he will be given a sweet date. He will fight for this sweet date.
"If Princess Anyang can no longer survive in her husband's family, I will allow her to divorce and start her own family with her children and dowry."
Prince Jin raised his head suddenly. The bad things that had been happening one after another in recent days made him look nearly ten years older. His well-maintained face was full of old age.
He had difficulty in having children and only had one daughter, who was already married.
The Great Qi Law does not extend to married women. But if her parents are convicted, how many married women will have a good ending in their husband's family? If his Anyang can divorce, the dowry alone will be enough to support her for the rest of her life.
Xie Yingchen grasped his weak spot.
Xie Yingchen smiled and said, "Your Highness, you can think about it again. I am not in a hurry."
He is not in a hurry.
It doesn’t matter whether you agree or not. You are just one of his options, not the only one.
One step forward means death.
One step back means death.
When Xie Yingchen received this will, he knew that death was the only thing waiting for him.
He stood up.
Because the carriage was of limited height, Prince Jin could only bend his waist slightly.
He adjusted his movements, knelt in the carriage, and bent down deeply, his forehead resting on Xie Yingchen's feet.
This kneeling meant that he had completely lost.
What is lost is the lives of the entire family.
"minister."
"As you wish."
Xie Yingchen looked down at him condescendingly.
No one called out.
Another quarter of an hour later, Prince Jin got off the carriage. His back was soaked and his inner clothes were sticking to his body.
He was really scared.
He put his hand to his forehead, and after a while, he let out a bitter laugh and slowly walked back.
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