Chapter 714 The Secret of the Prince’s Death
After reading the last memorial on the table, Nangong Yue shook her head. "The princes have all requested to return to the capital to attend the funeral, but not a single one has congratulated the Crown Princess. They don't really care about our father at all. It's clear that they can't wait to return and seize the throne."
At this time, the eunuch came to report: "Your Highness, the Second Princess requests an audience."
Nangong Yue smiled tiredly: "It's just right for her to review all my memorials."
Hu Xiner came in from outside, but she was accompanied by an unexpected person - Yin Li.
"I've found evidence of the prophetic painting," Hu Xin'er said. "This magic pen was given to me by Yin Li. He must know whether this painting has any chance of coming true."
Upon hearing this, the other people in the hall showed somewhat strange expressions. They all felt that Hu Xin'er was being unreasonable. Who would take a painting they imagined as real evidence and demand that troops be sent?
Yin Li waved her fan and said, "This pen does have many abilities that ordinary people cannot imagine. Since Xin'er has seen these images, it means that these images may happen in the future."
"Ever since I heard Xin'er's guess, I have sent the Shadow Guard to investigate this matter. I don't know what the situation is now." Nangong Yue pondered.
At this moment, a figure descended from the beam. It was Shadow One, the leader of the Shadow Guards. "Your Highness, the men in Jizhou have sent word that the deposed Crown Prince has rebelled and said..."
"And what did you say?" Nangong Yue was shocked when she heard that.
Ying Yi reported: "The deposed Crown Prince said that you framed him and caused his downfall, and that you poisoned His Majesty. He is now raising an army not to rebel, but to return to the capital and seek justice for His Majesty!"
Hearing this, Nangong Yue's anger could hardly be contained. "How could he confuse right and wrong so much! He was clearly the one who intended to rebel and nearly killed me, yet now he's so high-soundingly saying he wants to come back and avenge Father? If he didn't know he has no conscience, would Father have died so early?"
She felt that her father died so early, half of which was because he was angered by the deposed crown prince.
At this time, the Duke also hurried into the palace to ask for an audience. He came because of the deposed prince's rebellion. Before he even entered the door, he heard the noise inside.
"I'm sure Your Highness already knows this," he said solemnly. "I wonder what Your Highness plans to do?"
"What does the Duke think?" Nangong Yue didn't know what to do. After all, she had just started to get involved in government affairs, and many things required her to rely on the Duke to make decisions.
Especially for matters related to rebellion, she had no experience in leading troops and didn't know what to do.
The Duke thought for a moment and said, "The best approach at this point is of course to send troops to quell the rebellion, but the Seven Princes are now eyeing us covetously. If I lead my troops out of the city, there's no guarantee the Seven Princes won't fight among themselves and take the Imperial City."
"They can't be that stupid, right?" Nangong Yue sighed. "Even if the deposed crown prince has no power now, with his scheming and tactics, he can easily kill these seven useless princes in seconds."
"Indeed, although the deposed crown prince is short of troops, he can still use conspiracy and trickery to disintegrate the alliance of the seven kings and reap the benefits." Mu Qing said suddenly.
Nangong Yue thought of those useless brothers and shook her head. "In fact, even if the deposed prince didn't take action, my seven brothers would definitely fight to the death after they took the imperial city. By then, both sides would be injured and would be even more defeated than the deposed prince."
Although the deposed crown prince has now declined, his former glory in the court is still deeply imprinted in the hearts of the ministers. How much he was loved by the emperor and how much he won the hearts of the people have now become the cornerstone of his comeback.
"The late emperor wholeheartedly paved the way for the dethronement of the crown prince. It would not be surprising if he had raised a large army deep in the mountains." The Duke was the one who understood the current situation best.
He took out a map from his sleeve and unfolded it.
"Jizhou is a martial country with many barbaric tribes. It has always been a place plagued by banditry. I guess the deposed prince raised troops in Jizhou and pretended to be a bandit, so he was able to start an army so quickly." He pointed to the area of Jizhou, worried.
Nangong Yue said sullenly, "No wonder we couldn't catch him. If I had known earlier, I should have let him die, so that he wouldn't go out and harm the people of the world."
The other three said in unison: "How can you say that?"
Nangong Yue was stunned. She was exhausted from forcing herself to deal with the attacks in the court these days, so she said such discouraging words.
But she didn't expect that not only her best friend Hu Xin'er spoke to her, but even the usually serious Duke said that she couldn't die.
Her fingers sank into her hair, scratching at it irritably. "Don't comfort me, Duke. I know I'm a bit useless. It was all because of my stupidity that I gave the deposed Crown Prince the opportunity to escape."
In fact, if you think about it, it is not impossible for those royal brothers to succeed to the throne. If she is not there, the emperor will have to choose someone else to succeed to the throne, and the burden of the country will not be handed over to her, a woman. Then there will be less criticism in the court.
With the assistance of the Duke, the emperor's younger brothers are bound to achieve great things, which is good for the country and the people.
The Duke said in a deep voice, "Your Highness must not be so discouraged. You are the most suitable person to be the emperor among all the princes."
His words were simple but firm.
Although she didn't know why the Duke suddenly encouraged Nangong Yue, Hu Xin'er also agreed, "Yes, Yue'er, think about it carefully. His Majesty was so kind when he was alive. If any of your brothers were talented, or had a gentle and intelligent nature, how could he not favor them?"
Yin Li said silently: "There are some smart ones, but weren't they assassinated by the prince?"
"What?" Everyone looked sideways.
Yin Li waved her fan calmly, "Your Majesty has a total of thirteen princes, five of whom died young for various reasons, most of whom suffered from heart disease. And yet, those who suffered from heart disease were all noble and intelligent princes who could have shaken the position of Crown Prince. Doesn't this explain the problem?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Heart disease is a common occurrence in our family." The eldest princess thought he was going to say something earth-shattering. She patted her chest and said speechlessly, "Don't you know that heart disease is hereditary?"
"If heart disease is common among the royal family, then is it also common among ministers?" Yin Li was most displeased when someone argued with him. He glanced at her and said, "Why don't you count for yourself? Since the crown prince came to power, how many people in the court have died of heart disease or other unexplained illnesses?"
Nangong Yue was frightened, but the Duke said dissatisfiedly: "Don't bully His Highness for not knowing the situation in the court!"
He felt that Yin Li was exaggerating.
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