Prince Xiao naturally wouldn't let Chu Yan leave. He immediately summoned the guards of the palace to surround Chu Yan, but Chu Yan was already prepared.
When Xiao Wang's men surrounded her, Chu's father and second brother brought a team of guards borrowed from the Crown Prince's residence to pick up Chu Yan.
With Chu's father backing him up, Prince Xiao naturally could no longer defy him and could only watch with resentment as Chu Yan left the palace with a generous dowry.
What exactly happened?
Why did my mother make me sign the divorce papers behind my back?
Looking at Chu Yan's heartless back, King Xiao was still very unwilling.
In order to find out the truth, he rushed to the palace immediately after returning home and before he even had a cup of hot tea.
"Mother, when did you make me sign the divorce papers?"
With bloodshot eyes, Prince Xiao questioned Consort Zhang.
Seeing Prince Xiao's expression, Consort Zhang naturally understood that he knew the truth.
She looked at him helplessly and said, "My son, your mother has no choice. It's because your mother is incompetent that I can only ask Chu Yan to save you. But she will only help me ask the Crown Princess if she agrees to a divorce."
Anyway, the Chu family isn't helping you anymore. It's good that you're out now. From now on, your mother will work with you to find you another capable princess."
"Who gave you permission to act on your own? This time, my coming out wasn't even thanks to Chu Yan's help!"
When King Xiao learned the reason, he was furious.
He and his mother have been tricked!
"What? This...isn't it because Chu Yan begged the Crown Prince and the others that they pleaded for you?"
Consort Zhang asked, somewhat bewildered, after hearing what Prince Xiao said.
Prince Xiao took a deep breath, his eyes bloodshot with frustration and anger. "The Crown Prince made a deal with me, that's why he agreed to release me! Mother, you've been deceived!"
"That Chu Yan! She... she actually dared to lie to me!"
Consort Zhang was furious, her fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
She never expected to be tricked. If she had known that Prince Xiao and the Crown Prince had made a deal, how could she have agreed to Chu Yan's request?
They've really lost both the sesame seeds and the watermelon!
The mother and son blamed and resented each other for a while before King Xiao left the palace, feeling depressed.
"Chu Yan, I will not let you go!"
As King Xiao walked out of the palace, he looked up at the dark sky and muttered to himself.
Don't think that just because they're divorced, Chu Yan can completely escape him.
*
The following day, Xiao Ye personally handed over the evidence of Xiao Churen's forming of cliques and engaging in corrupt practices to King Xiao.
King Xiao looked at the evidence and couldn't help but sneer.
"Your Highness, are you aware of the deal between my mother and Chu Yan?"
Chu Yan and Su Liluo have such a good relationship, he doesn't believe that Su Liluo and the others don't know about this.
"That's right."
Xiao Ye raised an eyebrow and admitted it without any hesitation.
King Xiao's face immediately contorted with anger, veins bulging, as he glared at him furiously.
"You've all conspired to make fun of me, Your Highness! You're utterly unethical!"
"When have you ever spoken of morality to me? It's all about the victor and the vanquished; can you still refuse now?"
Xiao Ye remained unmoved and said sarcastically.
On the road to dealing with the enemy, he still talked about morality with them. I wonder if King Xiao had spent a lot of time in prison and ruined his brain.
Now that he has grasped the secret of Prince Xiao, even if Prince Xiao knows the truth, he can only obediently do as he is told.
Therefore, during the court session, King Xiao proceeded with his original plan and had his men submit evidence of Xiao Churen's alleged factionalism and corruption.
When Emperor Wenjian saw the impeachments, his face turned ashen, and he understood that these people were Xiao Wang's men.
The fact that King Xiao immediately ordered the impeachment of King Chu upon his return shows that he was a narrow-minded person who could not tolerate his brothers.
Therefore, Emperor Wenjian still harbored some resentment towards Prince Xiao.
However, given the overwhelming evidence, he could not ignore it at all; in fact, Xiao Churen's extent of forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices far exceeded his expectations.
He not only won over a third of the officials in the court, but also had military generals serving him in the border regions, which greatly displeased Emperor Wenjian.
Emperor Wenjian was furious and immediately demoted Xiao Churen from Prince of Chu to Prince of Chu County.
Xiao Churen was so angry that he vomited blood and knelt on the ground, desperately trying to explain.
"Father, I am innocent! All this evidence is fabricated. I have never had any dealings with these officials. Someone must be holding a grudge against me and deliberately framed me!"
"Framed? You believed that months ago. Do you think anyone could predict the future? If you hadn't done all this, how would anyone have gotten the evidence?"
Emperor Wenjian said with a sense of disappointment and frustration.
It has been a long-standing tradition for princes and nobles to form cliques and have their own supporters; as long as it doesn't go too far, the authorities can turn a blind eye.
However, the King of Chu was being far too arrogant!
The King of Chu was even punished by himself during this time. The fact that he was able to win over so many officials shows just how much he did behind the scenes.
And the Liu family, the maternal grandfather of the King of Chu, actually became local tyrants in Jiangnan!
This enraged Emperor Wenjian even more, and he immediately ordered that Xiao Ye be given the authority to send people to investigate the Liu family in Jiangnan.
As for Prince Xiao, Emperor Wenjian ignored him and ordered him to return to his residence and stay at home for a month.
In this battle, both King Xiao and King Chu suffered heavy losses, but Xiao Ye left an impression on Emperor Wenjian as a kind and generous man who loved his brothers.
Xiao Churen never expected that he would be suddenly demoted to a county prince. He was greatly shocked and left the palace.
When Xiao Churen arrived at the palace gate, he saw Prince Xiao and the Crown Prince talking. He suddenly realized that it was all Xiao Ye's scheme.
"Your Highness, did you orchestrate all of this? You've used both Prince Xiao and me?"
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
