The ministers were all ashamed of what Xuanyuan Zhi said.
Who's trying to kill whom?!
Isn't it because the Third Prince and the Second Prince are afraid that the Holy King will be directly appointed as the Crown Prince by the Emperor upon his return due to his outstanding achievements in the North that they have caused so much trouble?
The Third Prince poisoned the Emperor with a curse and sent the Imperial Guards to the North to kill the Holy King. He kept saying that the Holy King was plotting a rebellion, but in fact, he himself wanted to kill the Emperor and usurp the throne!
As for this Second Prince, he is no better than the Third Prince. He actually colluded with foreign enemies, betrayed the national conditions of Eastern Chu, and brought in the Northern Rong to invade. How can someone who would sell out his own country for his own selfish desires be worthy of being the crown prince? He probably doesn't even deserve to be a prince!
Seeing that Xuanyuan Zhi still had the nerve to cry foul, Tuoba Xiong mocked, "The princes of Eastern Chu have such cowardice, daring to do things but not daring to admit them, and even trying to smear others. Do such people deserve to be princes of a country? I think the princes of Eastern Chu are all making a fool of themselves. They are not as good as the Holy King, who leads troops to fight the enemy, leads the army to provide disaster relief, guards the border, and protects the people. He is a capable person with courage, wisdom, and brains!"
Normally, Tuoba Xiongcai wouldn't bother with the affairs of Dongchu, but this time Xuanyuan Zhi sent assassins to hunt him down, and Xuanyuan Zhan sent people to protect him, so he came out to testify against Xuanyuan Zhi.
He had no intention of returning alive after being captured and brought to Dongchu, but he would rather die than die at the hands of Xuanyuan Zhi. He couldn't stand such humiliation!
Upon seeing Tuoba Xiong speak up for Xuanyuan Zhan, Xuanyuan Zhi immediately cried out as if he had seized a handle, "Father, did you hear that? He keeps praising Xuanyuan Zhan and slandering your son. He's in cahoots with Xuanyuan Zhan! Your son can see that it's clearly Xuanyuan Zhan who's colluding with the Northern Rong. This is Xuanyuan Zhan cooperating with the Northern Rong to destroy our Eastern Chu! Father, you must wake up! Don't be fooled by Xuanyuan Zhan, or our Eastern Chu kingdom will fall into the hands of the Northern Rong!"
Xuan Yuanzhi's words made Tuoba Xiong roll his eyes. He looked at Xuan Yuanpeng with sarcasm: "It seems that this prince of Dong Chu has no brains. If Xuan Yuanzhan really cooperated with me, could he destroy the 100,000 troops of Tianqiong? Do you know what those 100,000 troops mean to me? That's 80% of Tianqiong's military strength! Would I sacrifice 80% of my own troops to cooperate with Xuan Yuanzhan and pull off a conspiracy? Would I have to offer my own life to fulfill Xuan Yuanzhan's grand ambitions? Am I some great philanthropist? Or is Xuan Yuanzhan some kind of father of mine that I would give everything to achieve his goals!"
Tuoba Xiong's self-deprecating words made all the officials present feel ashamed for Xuanyuan Zhi.
The Second Prince can even say such nonsensical things; I really don't know what he's thinking.
The Holy King led his troops in the North to repel the Northern Rong army and wipe out countless Northern Rong soldiers. In this Heaven alone, 100,000 soldiers died, not to mention other Northern Rong tribes.
I heard that the Holy King has imprisoned all the leaders of the Northern Rong. They are still in the northern prison. If the Holy King really allied with Tuoba Xiong, then Tuoba Xiong is going to use the power of the entire Northern Rong to put the Holy King on the throne. Wouldn't that be contrary to what Tuoba Xiong said? The Holy King is his father or grandfather. It's impossible for him to do everything he can to help him!
This Second Prince must be desperate, resorting to such fabricated words.
Xuanyuan Peng was also quite angry at Xuanyuan Zhi's nonsensical words, and shouted angrily: "Second brother, you have really disappointed me. I originally intended to spare your life because you are my bloodline, even if you really did commit this treason. But who knew you would be so incorrigible and still slander Zhan'er with conclusive evidence. Then you can't blame me!"
After Xuanyuan Peng finished speaking, he looked at Xuanyuan Zhi one last time with heartache and shouted, "Guards! Xuanyuan Zhi has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. He has been demoted to a commoner. Take him to the Meridian Gate and behead him as a warning to the public!"
Xuanyuan Zhi raised his eyes in disbelief, as if he simply couldn't believe that Xuanyuan Peng would do this to him: "Father, I am your own son! You can't treat me like this!"
Upon hearing that Xuan Yuanpeng intended to behead Xuan Yuanzhi, Xuan Yuanduo was startled, and even Xuan Yuanzhan's expression turned serious.
Xuanyuan Duo glanced at Xuanyuan Zhi, then looked anxiously at Xuanyuan Peng: "Father, Second Brother definitely knows he was wrong. Please give Second Brother another chance!"
Xuanyuan Duo has been completely bewildered since he first learned that Xuanyuan Yu was from a peasant family.
He never imagined that the third son was not his father's biological son, but a child that Consort Su had taken from a peasant family. Ironically, the three of them had been cursing Xuan Yuanzhan as a bastard every day, but it turned out that Xuan Yuanzhan was their father's biological son, while the third son was a peasant boy with no blood relation to them.
Of course, he didn't know about the Second Brother's alliance with the Northern Rong and betrayal of Eastern Chu. The Second Brother had previously vowed that he wouldn't let Xuan Yuanzhan return to the capital easily, and that was probably the plan he was thinking of.
The second prince is truly foolish. How could he commit such a treasonous act? This is no longer a simple matter of brothers vying for the throne; it has risen to the level of national righteousness. As princes, they absolutely cannot do such a thing!
Now that the third prince is about to be torn apart by five horses, he didn't dare plead for him. Firstly, because the third prince wasn't his biological brother; once the blood ties were severed, everything seemed different. Secondly, he felt humiliated. All these years, as the eldest prince, he had been forced to follow the third prince like a grandson because of his mother's lack of influence, obeying his every command. In the end, the third prince was just a peasant boy with no royal blood, while he, the proper prince, had spent his life as a peasant boy's lackey. How could he not feel humiliated?
Now that his second son was also to be beheaded by their father, he had no choice but to speak up. Although he was unaware of his second son's treasonous act, he, along with his second and third sons, had conspired to obstruct Xuan Yuanzhan's return to the capital and frame him. Now that his second and third sons were about to be executed, if he did not plead for his second son, his own fate might also be tragic.
After pleading with Xuanyuan Peng, Xuanyuan Duo winked at Xuanyuan Zhi: "Second son, quickly apologize to Father and beg for mercy."
At this point, he still won't admit his mistake. The deed is done, the evidence is conclusive, and there's no use in denying it anymore. Besides, the Emperor already favors Xuanyuan Zhan, so he's even less likely to believe him now.
Xuanyuan Zhi felt a sense of despair. He knew his father was truly enraged, and he didn't want to be beheaded.
Just as Xuanyuan Zhi was about to confess his guilt in hopes of a lighter sentence, a eunuch rushed in: "Your Majesty, Consort Liang and Grand Tutor Liang request an audience."
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