Chapter 198: Defeat is inevitable
There was a light on in the study, and the incense burner was lit with calming sandalwood.
Prince An sat on a chair behind the desk, his eyes closed, his expression calm, as if he was waiting for something.
There was a knock on the study door.
Prince An opened his eyes, and the light of the candle was reflected in his tranquil pupils, as if submerged in a calm deep pool, with a faint flash of light.
"Your Highness." The voice of Shopkeeper Hao sounded outside the door, with a hint of urgency in his tone.
"Come in." Prince An replied.
Manager Hao pushed open the door and walked in with a hurried pace, his expression still calm. After walking in, he reported, "I just received news from the palace. The Third Prince was defeated and executed on the spot."
Hearing the last two words, a trace of astonishment flashed across An Wang Qingning's face. His pupils dimmed slightly, and after a moment of silence, he asked two words, "Who is it?"
Shopkeeper Hao replied, "Marquis Jin'an."
Prince An wasn't surprised or shocked when he heard these three words. A faint smile crossed Qingning's face, and he said with a hint of regret, "It seems we were all wrong. He had planned to kill the Third Prince before he entered the palace. The Third Prince probably didn't expect to die at his hands before he died."
"I was careless and didn't prepare a perfect response plan." Shopkeeper Hao knelt down and said, "I have already arranged for everyone to be prepared. Now we should charge into the palace and fight with all our might. There is still a chance of turning the situation around."
Prince An said, "Even the wisest man can make mistakes. Now that defeat is certain, why risk our lives any longer?" He stood up and walked to the window, turning his back to Shopkeeper Hao and said, "Take Mother away. You will take good care of her from now on."
Shopkeeper Hao was surprised, a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind. Prince An had never mentioned his mother to him before, and he would never ask, as if it was an unspoken taboo between the two. But now Prince An took the initiative to bring it up, asking him to take Concubine Qing away. Shopkeeper Hao had a bad feeling in his heart and pleaded, "If Your Highness doesn't leave, the Queen won't leave either. Since Your Highness trusts me, just give me a year and I will help Your Highness return to the capital."
"No need, I'm tired." Prince An turned around, walked over to help Manager Hao up, and spoke to people in a kind tone for the first time, "My mother once told me that if she could choose again, she would not enter the palace again." Concubine Qing did not say the latter sentence at that time, but now Prince An said it for her. Manager Hao was stunned when he heard it, as if a thunderbolt had struck his heart.
In fact, he has been regretting all these years. He wished he could be braver at the beginning. He fell in love with the girl at first sight, but he didn't even have the courage to say to her, "I'll take you away."
When Qi Wuhan went to pick up Concubine Qing and bring her back to the palace, he was the one hiding behind the tree and watching the carriage go away.
Over the years, Concubine Qing had never known of his existence, let alone that he had become Prince An's advisor.
Prince An chose to stand on Prince Rui's side, so he helped Prince Rui plan. Now that Prince An said he was tired, he also respected this choice.
"Your Highness, what are you going to do next?" asked Manager Hao.
Prince An replied, "Father won't kill me. I will go to the palace to apologize to him. But before I go," his eyes turned cold, with a hint of cold hostility in them, "I have something else to do."
…
The dim light of the lantern shone on the cold pebbles, flickering.
Prince An walked deep into the backyard carrying a lantern and stopped outside the gate of a remote courtyard. The gate was closed and the copper ring on the door was rusted, looking like it had been abandoned for a long time.
He pulled the copper ring and knocked on the door. After a while, a pair of eyes peeked out from the crack of the door, and then he opened the door, revealing a pair of gloomy and turbid eyes.
Prince An took out a purse from his sleeve and threw it to the other party, "You can leave now."
Shock, doubt, bewilderment... and joy flashed across his gloomy and turbid eyes. He took a tentative step toward the door, and seeing that Prince An didn't care about him, he ran out of the yard happily after confirming that he was really free again. The next moment, with a whoosh, an arrow pierced his chest from behind, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
"You... lied to me..."
"You were going to die anyway, but I let you live ten more years." Prince An turned and left with a cold expression.
Immediately, two guards came over and carried the man away.
The other party was originally a death row prisoner, but was rescued by King An on the condition that he would guard the door for him, and he did so for ten years.
Prince An would come over occasionally and would leave the house after a short while.
Once, driven by curiosity, he secretly poked a hole in the window to see what King An was doing in the house. He accidentally discovered the entrance to the basement. After King An left, he sneaked in and turned the mechanism on the wall, and entered the basement through the entrance on the wall. When he saw what was inside, he was so scared that he fainted. After waking up, he was so scared that he crawled out using his hands and feet, and never dared to approach that room again.
When the dim light of the lantern illuminated the dark basement, a large porcelain jar suddenly appeared in the center of the basement.
As the light slowly moved over, it gradually illuminated a head.
The rest was put into jars.
There was a strange fishy fragrance floating in the air, and there was a rustling sound inside the jar.
Prince An took off the lampshade, picked up the candle inside and brought it close to the mouth of the altar. The fire suddenly burned up. When he turned to leave, he heard a faint hoarse sound, and a very faint, but extremely distorted smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
After coming out, he turned the mechanism on the wall and closed the basement door.
When he opened the door and walked out of the house, he looked up and saw the bright moon in the night sky, which was like clear water washing away all the filth on his body. He looked at the bright moon, and a cold tear slid down from the corner of his eye.
He took a deep breath, as if he had taken off all the shackles on his body, and walked out into the bright moonlight.
…
The next day, when Zheng Qian'er woke up, she felt something was wrong. Then she found something on the table, which was a divorce certificate with Prince An's seal on it.
She was shocked and confused. She went to find Prince An to ask for clarification without even putting on makeup. From the housekeeper who hurried over, she learned that Prince Rui had forced the emperor to abdicate last night and was executed on the spot. Prince An went to the palace to apologize before dawn and didn't know if he would be able to come back. He left this divorce letter to sever ties with her.
Zheng Qian'er didn't believe it and wanted to go to the palace to find Prince An to ask for an explanation. She fainted from anger. When she woke up, she found her mother sitting by the bed. At first she thought it was an illusion, but then she found out it wasn't. She thought the housekeeper must have sent her back while she was unconscious. She wanted to go to the palace to find Prince An, but Madam Zheng stopped her. Madam Zheng's eyes were red from crying, and she had to persuade her to stay.
"Your father has already gone to the palace. You will know the news when he returns."
…
After Lord Zheng returned, Zheng Qian'er learned that the emperor had ordered Prince An to be demoted to a commoner and sentenced to guard the imperial mausoleum, and he was never allowed to return to Beijing for the rest of his life.
She collapsed to the ground, feeling so upset that she couldn't even cry. Mrs. Zheng advised her to be more positive and just be happy that she was still alive.
That night, Zheng Qianer made a resolute decision.
The next morning, Prince An was escorted out of the capital. When he reached the city gate, he suddenly heard a voice calling "Your Highness." He turned around and saw Zheng Qian'er hurriedly running towards him with a bundle on her back. His expression changed slightly. When she ran up to him, she said to him breathlessly, "Your Highness... I'll go with you..."
He replied indifferently: "No need, I am no longer His Highness."
"I want to go, you can't drive me away." As she said that, she took out the divorce papers from her bosom and tore them up in front of him.
"Life is tough there. No one will wash your clothes or cook for you. You'll want to come back after just a few days."
"Then I'll learn how to do laundry and cook. Anyway, the divorce papers have been torn up, so you have to be responsible for me."
…
On the city wall, Qi Wuhan and Jiang Lan watched the escort team go away and disappear.
Jiang Lan wanted to say goodbye to Zheng Qianer, but she didn't know what to say when they met. It would be better to just watch her go to avoid embarrassment for both of them.
The wind blew on the city wall, and it was chilly.
Qi Wuhan gathered her cloak closer and touched her hand, which felt a little cold. He covered her hand in his palm to warm it up. After it warmed up a little, he whispered, "Go back." Jiang Lan nodded and said "hmm". When she turned around and saw the palace in the distance, she felt lonely.
"How is your Majesty's health?" Jiang Lan asked as they went down the city wall.
Qi Wuhan replied: "I'm afraid it will be in the next few days."
A cold wind blew, bringing a biting chill.
Qi Wuhan held Jiang Lan's hand tightly, and with his other hand he lifted his cloak to block the wind for her.
......
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