Chapter 103 Questioning What They Upheld
The Empress and the Crown Prince ultimately parted on bad terms.
To outsiders, the mother and son were usually seen as a loving and filial pair, but this afternoon they confronted each other glaringly in the Kunyi Palace. The Crown Prince was initially calm and composed, but when the Empress mentioned the late Crown Prince Yu, he completely erupted.
"Does Mother think that what you have lost is only your elder brother, your only son?"
In an instant, the main hall fell silent. In the deathly silence, Shen Yujiao could clearly hear her own heartbeat. The Empress, as the person involved, might not yet understand the weight of Jiang Chen's words, but she could empathize with them.
Perhaps no one in this world can understand the struggle and tearing feeling she and Jiang Chen experienced in being reborn in someone else's body. Crown Prince Chen and Jiang Chen, Shen Yujiao and her, all seemed to be originally one but never merged.
She wanted to help Shen Yujiao break free from the shackles of fate, and Jiang Chen also wanted to vindicate Crown Prince Chen.
"Does Mother Empress want me to merely remain in the position of Crown Prince for a long time, or does she want me to become the true Crown Prince of Great Xia? If I am only the Crown Prince because I am of the bloodline of the royal family and the Jiang family, then Mother Empress should take advantage of her youth and give birth to another legitimate son!"
"How dare you!"
The Empress was so angry that she slapped him across the face again, but the harder she hit him, the more excited Jiang Chen became.
"Since I fail to meet the expectations of my father and mother in every way, why make me the crown prince? There is Prince Huan, Prince Han, and Prince Tai, yet the court still appointed me as the heir apparent. I have already complied with the wishes of my father and mother, so why are they still dissatisfied!"
"You know your brothers are eyeing you covetously! Born into royalty, who wouldn't want to fight for and seize the supreme throne? The palace is a cannibalistic cage, and you—"
"I don't want to!"
His usually composed tone suddenly erupted, and the veins at Jiang Chen's temples bulged. He gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "More dangerous than the palace is the Eastern Palace; more difficult than being the emperor is being the crown prince! Your two sons, one died young, and the other..."
The words "follow in her footsteps" were ultimately left unuttered in the face of the Empress's devastated expression.
"...On the eve of my wedding, I was assassinated and almost never woke up from my dream. If it weren't for my good fortune and my brother's protection in heaven, I might never have seen my mother again, and you wouldn't have had to repeat these words to me."
"What do you mean?!"
“During the month of wedding preparations, I was poisoned and should never wake up again, but I saw my brother in a dream. He said that his regret in this life was that he could not see the Great Xia Dynasty peaceful and prosperous, with calm seas and clear rivers. This prosperous land is not only unclear now, but has been almost completely corrupted. Mother, even for the sake of my brother’s last wish, you should not stop me.”
"The people of Great Xia number in the millions. My sacrifice is nothing. If Li Lu is not eliminated, he will be the greatest threat to Great Xia's future. Today, I will risk losing my position as Crown Prince to make Li Lu confess his crimes and submit to the law!"
“In the court, there are often powerful ministers and loyal ministers, but pure ministers are rare. The He family is full of such pure ministers and good generals. To exterminate the He family is tantamount to cutting off the arm of the Great Xia. Not to mention the future, just consider that the war in the northern frontier has already begun, yet the court cannot find a single trustworthy and capable general. This is certainly due to the strength of the Northern Di, but how can it be said that the Great Xia has nothing to do with it?”
“In the past, no matter where the frontier was, there were always loyal ministers and good generals to guard it. Even if foreign tribes invaded, the army could defend it with one heart. But Li Lu’s actions and the consequences he caused have chilled the hearts of the generals of the Great Xia! For soldiers, guarding the frontier is nothing. The soldiers on the frontier are passionate and hard to lose their temper. What really chills their hearts is the heart of the king.”
"What about the crown prince position? What about the royal family? If the day truly comes when no one dares to fight to the death, no one is willing to fight for their country, then the Great Xia will cease to exist. If the country is gone, what is there to talk about when there is no crown prince?"
Jiang Chen glanced at the Empress, who had already lost all reaction, and couldn't help but sigh. He slowly got up, walked to Shen Yujiao, took her hand, and pulled her towards the outside of the palace.
"Now that Mother is fully recovered, there is no need for the Crown Princess to continue managing palace affairs for you. In the end, it is inconvenient for the Crown Princess to do anything about the affairs of the inner palace. If Mother really needs someone to help, it would be better to promote Yong'an to stay by her side."
Having said that, without waiting for the Empress's reaction, he pulled Shen Yujiao out of Kunyi Palace. The doors were opened one after another, and after a brief pause, they were closed again, one after another, like an endless cage.
"call--"
As soon as Jiang Chen came out of Kunyi Palace, the first thing he did was stand in the bright sun and take a deep breath. Shen Yujiao stood beside him and looked at him breathing with his eyes closed. For some reason, she laughed. Jiang Chen was taken aback when he heard her voice, and then he laughed along with her.
Perhaps because the palace had been so oppressive for too long, the palace servants walking along the corridor were all holding their breath and dared not speak. When they suddenly heard the two of them laughing loudly in the corridor, they couldn't help but turn their heads to look.
At first, they were inexplicably amused and started laughing, but as they laughed, they seemed unable to stop until they were out of breath. Only then did they help each other walk to the palace wall and stand against it.
Shen Yujiao leaned against the wall, one hand firmly held by Jiang Chen, the other pressed against her abdomen as she struggled to sit up. She looked up at the clear blue sky, let out a long breath, as if releasing all the pent-up emotions she had been suppressing for days. Facing the dazzling sunlight, she squinted slightly and asked softly, "Did Prince Yu really appear in your dream?"
Jiang Chen scoffed upon hearing this: "What kind of dream is this? If anyone should be sending a dream, it should be Crown Prince Chen. Come to think of it... I've never dreamed of him like you have."
Thinking of Miss Shen, Shen Yujiao unconsciously thought of the bracelet. She lowered her head slightly and asked, "Are you still going to see the Emperor?"
"Yes, of course I'll go. You should go back to your residence first. You've had a hard time in the palace these past few days."
“It won’t make a difference if we wait a little longer,” Shen Yujiao squeezed his large, dry hand, then turned and smiled sweetly, “I’ll wait for you at the palace gate, and we’ll go home together.”
Looking at her smile, Jiang Chen felt an overwhelming tenderness welling up in his heart. He couldn't help but rest his forehead against hers, closing his eyes to savor the warmth of the moment: "Okay, let's go home together."
What makes heroes advance fearlessly on the battlefield is never their hard armor, but the waiting of their loved ones. For this steadfast commitment, victory is assured.
Because of what had happened in the Qian Yuan Palace, Feng Xu instinctively wanted to avoid Jiang Chen when he saw him again. However, having been in the palace for many years, he would not break any taboos in this matter. So he braced himself and stepped forward to greet the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, I am well. His Majesty has just woken up and, upon learning that Your Highness requested an audience, specially sent this old servant to wait here."
"Is Father Emperor willing to see me?"
"Your Highness, this way please."
The heavy palace doors were slowly opened. Unlike the Kunyi Palace, the Qianyuan Palace was almost completely shrouded in curtains to keep the emperor from seeing the light of day, as the emperor was recuperating. After the doors behind him were closed again, the entire palace seemed to have fallen into night early. Passing through layers of curtains and partitions, Jiang Chen finally saw the emperor.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well."
The emperor, dressed in a dragon robe, sat upright on the bed. Although he appeared somewhat weak, he was not as seriously ill as Feng Xu had described. He was not surprised to see the crown prince and even smiled.
"Even the Empress couldn't stop you."
"Your Majesty is the mother of the nation, the mother of the people of Great Xia. I am the Crown Prince, the heir apparent to the people. I plead for the people, so why does Your Majesty obstruct me?"
"To plead for the people..." the emperor repeated softly, then looked at the crown prince with a hint of amusement: "Is it for the people, or for the He family?"
"For the He family, and for the people, the He family are also citizens of our Great Xia."
Upon hearing this, the emperor stared at Jiang Chen for a long time before shaking his head with a faint smile: "Originally, because of Li Lu's matter, I thought you had developed the ruthlessness of a ruler, but for you to say these words today, you are still too merciful."
"What kind of ruler is he if he is not benevolent? Your subject is foolish and asks Your Majesty for guidance."
"Enough, I'm not in the mood to talk to you about this. We both know why you came here today. Now that you've entered the hall, I'll give you an answer: I've made the biggest concession I can regarding Li Lu."
Jiang Chen raised his head and stared intently at the emperor. Their eyes met, and both saw scrutiny in each other's eyes. Jiang Chen was certain that the emperor was serious, so he replied, "In that case, I will also make it clear to Father: I will not rest until Li Lu dismounts."
"How will you not give up?" The emperor's tone carried a hint of threat.
"Father, if your reforms to the army fail year after year, and you have to rely on the Ministry of Revenue to divert funds from the national treasury to cover the losses... if the people of Great Xia find out about this, then the royal family..."
"How dare you!"
Jiang Chen revealed what everyone had been keeping secret, causing the Emperor to show a rare look of exasperation. Jiang Chen continued, "And then there were the expenses incurred by Consort Yao and her family in previous years. Although they were supposedly bestowed from your private treasury, how much of that was actually..."
"presumptuous!"
The emperor suddenly stood up, seemingly wanting to take action against the crown prince. He paced back and forth for a moment, then asked Jiang Chen, "Do you still want to be the crown prince?"
"Whether I want to be the crown prince or not is not important. What is important is to fulfill my duties in this position. I may not sit on the throne, but I must get rid of Li Lu!"
"Do you think I wouldn't dare to depose you?"
"If Father Emperor intended to depose me, why did you establish me as emperor in the first place?" Jiang Chen no longer backed down, but faced the emperor directly: "If Li Lu is not eliminated, what will be the hidden dangers in the future? Do I need to remind you?"
The emperor nearly laughed in anger at his questioning. He pointed at Jiang Chen and asked, "Do you know what it means to overturn the case against the He family?"
What else could it be but your face and the imperial court's face?
Jiang Chen shook his head, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Father, do you know what it means to not overturn the case against the He family?"
The emperor seemed taken aback by the question, and was somewhat stunned. Jiang Chen saw this and continued, "The war in the northern frontier is already critical, but the Great Xia is no match for the Northern Di army. As long as the injustice against the He family is not resolved, the generals in the court will no longer be willing to fight to the death. If there are no good generals to guard the country's borders, how long do you think the prosperity of Xia capital can be maintained?"
"What? Do you think that overturning the verdict against the He family will defeat the Northern Di?"
"able!"
The emperor had no idea where his confidence came from. He sat back down on the edge of the bed and asked, "On what grounds? On He Zhiju?"
"Yes, thanks to He Zhiju, thanks to your son, and thanks to the musketeer cavalry battalion."
"What did you say!"
"Your Majesty, your son and He Zhiju have trained an entire musketeer cavalry battalion."
This was a variable the emperor had never anticipated. He clenched his fists, unable to believe that the Crown Prince had trained an entire battalion of muskets in less than a year! Upon hearing this sudden news, his throat bobbed as if in struggle. Seeing this, Jiang Chen opportunely added fuel to the fire:
“Father, I understand that you have high expectations for the Xia army. However, in recent years, the surrounding tribes have invaded many times. In addition, you are not comfortable entrusting military power to generals, which has led to the Xia army accumulating problems. But I have a method that I would like to try by joining the army. If you trust me, Father, you may use the northern frontier battlefield as a test.”
“Father, the loyalty of soldiers never diminishes because of the king’s suspicion. They are loyal to the king and love the country. They are loyal and respectful not only to the king, but also to the people of Great Xia. He Zhiju has repeatedly asked to return to the front line in the north, but I have suppressed him. I know that you will not let the tiger return to the mountain, but you do not know how much power He Zhiju can exert if he is in the army.”
“Father, no one can boost morale in the northern frontier. The only thing that can reignite the soldiers’ passion is your trust and respect for them. To exonerate the He family is to rebuild the Great Xia’s defenses and reshape its backbone.”
Hearing his words, the emperor hesitated even more. Seeing that his attitude had softened, Jiang Chen kowtowed solemnly, his tone firm:
"If Your Majesty is willing to punish Li Lu and exonerate the He family from their unjust case, I hereby pledge that I will lead my troops north the day after Li Lu is executed. If I fail to defeat the enemy, I will willingly abdicate and yield the throne to a more worthy successor."
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