Chapter 111 The Fourth Prince.
As spring grew warmer day by day, the emperor's health gradually improved. As soon as he felt better, he couldn't wait to take back the power from Chu Heng.
"I know you've never liked these mundane matters, Fifth Brother." The Emperor sat on the dragon throne, twirling the prayer beads in his hand. "Now, I'll let you go and enjoy yourself."
Chu Heng smiled and said, "Your Majesty's good health is my wish, a blessing for the nation and all the people. Thank you for your consideration. With spring in full bloom, I also wish to take my wife and children back to Qingzhou."
The emperor was increasingly pleased. Prince Duan, who held absolute power in the court, had close ties with the court officials, which offended the emperor. He had been feeling resentful about this for quite some time.
Far from the capital, Prince Duan was powerless to influence the affairs of the court, whether he was willing or not.
The Emperor was delighted that Prince Duan was so sensible and was happy to give him face: "It's probably still quite cold to sail now, and Yang'er is still young. If he can't take it, you can set off in May."
Chu Heng smiled and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
It seems that Chu Heng is about to leave the capital, but at the same time he knows that this time he will not be able to leave.
If they set off immediately, they can naturally leave, but if they are delayed for another month or so, I fear the emperor will collapse again.
Daiyu asked doubtfully, "How can you be so sure?"
Chu Heng and Daiyu were selecting pearls and jade in the storeroom when they heard this. Chu Heng smiled faintly and said, "I asked the imperial physician. His Majesty's illness seems to have improved, but the root cause has not been eliminated. It is best for him to rest and recuperate in the future and not to overwork himself. Otherwise, if the old illness recurs, it will only be more serious each time."
"Imperial physician? Which imperial physician?" Daiyu's focus wasn't on the emperor's illness first, "The head physician?"
Chu Heng smiled and said, "The head of the Imperial Medical Academy is His Majesty's confidant. I don't have the ability to win him over, but there are many people in the Imperial Medical Academy who can take the opportunity to examine His Majesty's medical records."
Daiyu fiddled with the pearls in the box and cautioned, "Be careful not to let the Emperor find out."
"I spent all those years in the palace, I can't have learned nothing, can I?" Chu Heng put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. "The pearls are nice, they were sent from the south before the New Year, weren't they?"
Daiyu glanced at it and said, "Yang'er said the other day that the Sixth Prince's shoes are inlaid with pearls the size of longan, which were personally bestowed by the Emperor. The Fourth Prince was so angry that he was grinding his teeth, and when he complained to the people around him, he was overheard."
Chu Heng gave a strange smile: "I remember that the late emperor used pink pearls to coax his favorite concubine in his later years. How come our emperor is using them to coax his son?"
Daiyu shook her head: "The Sixth Prince is still young. His Majesty's favoritism towards him may not be a good thing."
“His Majesty prefers children who pose no threat to him.” Chu Heng clicked his tongue. “We need to get Yang’er out of the palace first. With that brainless Fourth Prince around, if he causes any more trouble, Yang’er will suffer the consequences, which would be too unlucky.”
Daiyu agreed. They didn't have much contact with the Fourth Prince, but Chu Yang saw him every day. He was also someone who liked to share things with his parents every day, so they knew the Fourth Prince quite well.
He is arrogant and brainless. He is hostile to the Prince of Duan, who is clearly not in a position to compete with him. He curses the young Sixth Prince, who is not a threat to him at all. It is not surprising that such a person would do something stupid.
However, when you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can cause problems. Before Chu Heng could even request permission to rescue Chu Yang from the Imperial Study, the palace urgently summoned Prince Duan and his wife to an audience.
Fearing it might be related to Chu Yang, Chu Heng and Daiyu urged the coachman to hurry the whole way. When they arrived at Haiyan Palace and saw Chu Yang kneeling before the emperor, the couple's hearts immediately tightened. Besides feeling sorry for their child, they were also furious with the emperor.
Suppressing his anger, Chu Heng bowed respectfully and asked, "May I ask why Your Majesty summoned my wife and me here so urgently? Has our son been disrespectful? I have no problem disciplining him, but please punish me, Your Majesty. He is just a child and doesn't know any better..."
Before he could finish speaking, the emperor smashed the teacup on the table. Fortunately, he was too weak to do so, and the cup of hot tea only fell in front of Chu Heng.
"Improper? He dared to harm my sixth prince, and he's still considered improper? I only showed him a little favoritism, and he's become so arrogant and lawless!" the emperor roared. "What a scoundrel!"
Chu Heng clenched his fist, gritted his teeth and swallowed all the curses, and lowered his head, saying, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask what wrong my son has committed?"
Chu Yang was kneeling beside his mother when his mother pressed down on his leg, and he obediently shut his mouth.
The emperor, panting heavily with anger, gripped the armrest of his chair and glared at Chu Heng and his family of three.
The Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince, who had been standing by the Emperor's side, heard this and, despite his grief, the Fourth Prince said with undisguised smugness, "Prince Duan, you may not know this, but today a eunuch serving in the Imperial Study delivered a bowl of sweet soup to Consort De's palace, saying it was a gift from the Fifth Prince to my younger brother. Consort De was not suspicious and fed the soup to my younger brother. However, after only eating half a bowl, my younger brother vomited blood. Consort De frantically summoned the imperial physician, who discovered that the bowl of sweet soup had been poisoned!"
The Fifth Prince trembled to the side, while the Emperor, enraged on his throne, could only hear the Fourth Prince's voice in the hall: "Someone plotted to harm a prince, so Consort De naturally informed His Majesty. With His Majesty's wise judgment, the results were quickly found. That bowl of sweet soup was not given to my younger brother by the Fifth Prince at all. It was Prince Duan, your heir, who impersonated my fifth brother to plot against the Sixth Prince and frame the Fifth Prince!"
After the Fourth Prince finished speaking, the hall immediately fell silent, and no one spoke again.
The emperor frowned. Seeing that Chu Heng remained silent, he said, "Prince Duan, do you have anything else to say?"
Chu Heng actually smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have a question. May I ask it?"
"What are you laughing at?" Before the emperor could speak, the fourth prince pointed at Chu Heng and said, "Your son poisoned a prince, and you disrespected His Majesty. You and your son are truly birds of a feather!"
Chu Heng glanced at the Fourth Prince. Such a fool was truly rare. He shook his head helplessly: "Your Majesty, I have no further questions."
The emperor's mind finally cleared up a bit. Logically speaking, he should have figured it out long ago. However, the combination of Chu Heng's son and poison made him recall the events of that year.
Now that Chu Heng knows the truth of what happened back then, he has every reason to instruct his son to take revenge on the emperor. Considering his own affection for Chu Yang, the emperor thinks that perhaps Chu Heng really wants to harm him!
Coupled with his growing dissatisfaction with Chu Heng in recent days, when this simple and treacherous scheme was presented to him, the emperor did not give it much thought, only thinking of punishing Prince Duan and removing this thorn in his side.
but……
The Fourth Prince was too stupid. Even the Fifth Prince noticed something was wrong and kept glancing at the Fourth Prince, who had his chin raised high and couldn't hide his smugness.
Seeing that Prince Duan had nothing to say, the Fourth Prince pressed his advantage: "Father, Prince Duan and his son plotted to murder the prince, their crime is unforgivable..."
"Shut up!" the emperor slammed his fist on the table and roared.
The fourth prince was bewildered. Why was the emperor's anger directed at him?
Chu Heng silently shook his head in his heart. The Fourth Prince wanted to kill two birds with one stone, but he got himself into trouble first.
Thinking this, Chu Heng bowed and said, "Your Majesty, although Chu Yang is still a child, he is the heir apparent of the Prince of Duan, personally appointed by Your Majesty. Since he is involved in poisoning a prince, this case should be thoroughly investigated by the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. I dare to request that the Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs be summoned to the palace!"
The fourth prince was even more bewildered. What did Prince Duan mean by this? Was he eagerly sending his son to his death?
He didn't doubt that his foolish plan had been exposed. After all, the emperor was furious, and there was plenty of evidence and witnesses. He had taken great care to make arrangements, and even if the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs came to investigate, the Fourth Prince felt that Prince Duan and his son were doomed this time.
"I thought..." The fourth prince was about to speak again when the emperor roared once more.
"Shut up!"
The Fourth Prince couldn't understand why the Emperor was so frequently getting angry at him. Was he in a fit of rage? That would be a good thing, as it meant that Prince Duan and his son were definitely doomed.
Seeing the smug smile on the Fourth Prince's face, the Emperor was filled with regret and once again questioned himself in his heart: how could he have given birth to such a foolish son!
What on earth was he thinking, this adult prince, plotting to harm a prince's heir and his younger brother who hadn't even begun his education?
However, the most important thing right now is how to get rid of Prince Duan. It is impossible to get Prince Duan and his son to confess their crimes. Just as Chu Heng said, one of them is a prince and the other is the heir of a prince. The emperor cannot close the case hastily. It must go through the Imperial Clan Court.
If they were convicted without going through the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, the emperor could imagine what outsiders would say, and even more so how future historians would judge them. The emperor, who loved power and face above all else, would absolutely not allow himself to leave such a huge handle for posterity.
If it were handled by the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, the emperor believed that the unfilial fourth son would definitely not be able to clear his name, and an investigation would reveal that he was the one behind it all. At that point, it would truly be too late to undo the damage.
Putting aside the fact that the emperor's son did such an absurd thing, which would make the emperor lose face, given that the emperor only has three sons left who are still capable, and one of them is too young and has been poisoned, he has to protect his fourth son no matter how angry he is.
Therefore, this matter must not be handled by the Imperial Clan Court under any circumstances, and it must not be spread around.
The emperor had to swallow his pride and bear the loss silently.
The emperor pinched his palms until they bled before finally uttering three words: "Get up."
The Fourth Prince couldn't believe it. What was going on? What had happened?
Chu Heng remained unmoved, only saying, "As a subject burdened with guilt, I dare not."
The emperor nearly had a heart attack. Clutching his chest, he managed to say, "After careful consideration, I feel that such a conviction is far too hasty. The prince's peril is a serious matter that must be thoroughly investigated. We cannot convict him lightly, lest the real culprit escape justice!"
The emperor grew angrier and angrier as he spoke, until he was gritting his teeth.
The fourth prince was still confused. What was going on? Where had things gone wrong?
"Your Majesty is wise."
Chu Heng then helped Daiyu and Chu Yang to their feet. Because they had been kneeling for too long, Chu Yang stumbled and almost fell to the ground when he stood up. Daiyu hugged him tightly and immediately her eyes welled up with tears.
Chu Heng was heartbroken. He half-carried Daiyu and Chu Yang to a chair and sat down. He glanced at the Emperor and the Fourth Prince, his eyes icy cold.
The emperor on the dragon throne was preoccupied with how to clean up his son's mess and was completely unaware of what was happening below.
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