Chapter 155 Disbelief
The prison was damp, cold, and eerily quiet, with barely any light penetrating it; only the ever-burning candlelight illuminated the path.
When Chu Mingheng met the Prince of Wei, he had already been subjected to some punishments. It was his own mouth that refused to stop, insisting on saying things he shouldn't have. In this light, he had only brought trouble upon himself.
With his hair disheveled, King Wei was forced to kneel before Chu Mingheng. When he raised his head, his sinister and venomous eyes were revealed.
"What do you want to say?" Chu Mingheng glanced at him casually, his gaze no different from looking at a blade of grass or a cup of tea.
Prince Wei grew up in luxury and privilege, so how did he end up in this situation? But he is not in dire straits yet, as he still has a trump card – he has a private army he keeps in Shuozhou. Shuozhou is far away, so even if Chu Mingheng finds out and tries to wipe them out, it will be too late. By then, his private army will have already headed west, bringing the forces of the foreign tribes back to the capital, catching Chu Mingheng off guard!
So the King of Wei glared at Chu Mingheng, opened his mouth and smiled: "Don't be too arrogant. No matter what, I am the rightful King of Wei, issued by the Emperor's decree. How can you kill me?"
Chu Mingheng thought he would have something nice to say, but it turned out to be just a bunch of nonsense.
Seeing his reaction, Chu Mingheng chuckled and told him, "The late emperor could establish you, and I can depose you. Your title of Prince Wei is truly illegitimate, after all, your mother, who brought disaster to the harem, is the greatest sin."
When the Wen clan was mentioned, King Wei's expression turned slightly ferocious and full of disdain.
He remembered something, looked at Chu Mingheng, and said meaningfully, "Aren't you curious about how that empty imperial edict came about?"
Speaking of this, Chen Kang'an, standing behind His Majesty, was truly terrified. Whether it was an imperial edict or not, that was a matter for the late Emperor.
Chu Mingheng waited expressionlessly for what he would say.
"Although Father Emperor ordered the execution of Lady Wen, before that, Lady Wen, my birth mother, was the most favored woman in the entire palace. Do you really think Father Emperor knew nothing about this? What a joke!"
"That imperial edict was bestowed upon Lady Wen by my father! Even if he knew that my birth mother was not a good woman, he still gave her this life-saving talisman!"
"What do you think your mother is? What do you think Empress Dowager Jingwen is? Hahahaha—my birth mother is the one who is most favored by the Emperor. Poor mother, she still thinks the Emperor has feelings for her. Hahahaha—poor woman!!"
"And you, you're a pathetic wretch too."
As King Wei finished speaking, he laughed arrogantly and looked at Chu Mingheng with disdain.
Chen Kang'an stood behind, trembling and not daring to utter a sound. The matter concerned the late emperor and the current emperor, and everything was in complete chaos. Prince Wei was truly courting death, daring to say such things to provoke the emperor even in this situation...
As Chu Mingheng listened to these words, he calmly scrutinized the Prince of Wei. Seeing that the Prince's expression gradually became more composed, he then spoke: "Do you know why I was able to smoothly ascend the throne from the position of Crown Prince?"
King Wei Yiling remained silent.
“That’s because I never trust anyone else,” Chu Mingheng sighed. “I never trusted the late emperor either.”
King Wei's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at Chu Mingheng. He said he didn't believe the late emperor—when did he begin to disbelieve him? Or had he never believed him at all?
"Impossible..." King Wei murmured, seemingly incredulous that his son, at such a young age, possessed such profound shrewdness.
"Rest assured, I will reunite you with your birth mother in the underworld. Before that, there is one more thing I need to tell you, so that you won't worry all day long and still have any hope of survival."
Chu Mingheng has always been ruthless and leaves no room for maneuver. Naturally, he was even more determined to nip the idea of the Prince of Wei in the bud.
"I have ordered the execution of all the private soldiers you raised in Shuozhou. They were all loyal soldiers, and I believe they will be loyal to you even in the afterlife."
Wh...what?
King Wei didn't react immediately. It wasn't until he saw Chu Mingheng get up to leave that he realized his only chance to turn things around was gone.
Chu Mingheng walked to the gate, and the Prince of Wei behind him suddenly struggled to get up, shouting, "Chu Mingheng! You have harmed your brothers—you are a disgrace to the throne! When we are down in the underworld, I will join with our ancestors to sue you, this unkind and cruel ruler—"
"Chu Mingheng—"
The sound gradually faded away.
Chu Mingheng did not stop for a moment. His expression remained unchanged, as if he did not take the King of Wei's words to heart at all.
When they left the prison, it was already dark outside.
Chu Mingheng paused, then asked the person behind him, "What time is it?"
Chen Kang'an immediately replied, "Your Majesty, it is almost 7 PM."
"Yes, let's go back to Yilan Palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Once on the imperial carriage, Chu Mingheng gently touched his forehead and asked someone to stop.
"His Majesty?"
That inexplicable headache started to overwhelm his thoughts again.
Chu Mingheng ordered his men to change course and go to the Imperial Study.
Chen Kang'an was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "Your Majesty, over at Yilan Palace... Her Highness has probably already ordered dinner."
"Go and tell her that you are busy with matters before the Emperor and that the Consort need not wait." Chu Mingheng's voice carried a hint of weariness, but his tone left no room for argument.
"Yes, Your Majesty..." Chen Kang'an gave a look to a eunuch behind him, signaling him to go to Yilan Palace to report.
Before the young eunuch could even get up, His Majesty said, "Go and make sure to explain to the Consort that I was too busy with other matters to come."
ah?
Chen Kang'an was puzzled, but since His Majesty had said so, he could only reply "Yes" and hurriedly headed towards Yilan Palace.
Inside Yilan Palace, the evening meal had already been served, but His Majesty had not yet arrived. The palace servants below, recalling the commotion in the palace when His Majesty left earlier, felt increasingly uncertain.
Has His Majesty had another falling out with the Empress?
Lan Wu herself wasn't in a hurry. She listened with great interest to Aunt Danshan telling her about Chu Mingheng's childhood in the palace, and she didn't even know what time it was.
Only after hearing a palace servant report that someone had arrived before the Emperor did he look over.
Seeing Chen Kang'an walk in, but not Chu Mingheng, she immediately guessed what Chu Mingheng was thinking.
"Your Majesty is busy with state affairs. He just went to the Imperial Prison and is now rushing to the Imperial Study. His Majesty has instructed that Your Majesty should have your meal first and not wait for him."
Lan Wu was somewhat annoyed and bluntly exposed Chu Mingheng's intentions: "Your Majesty is avoiding me."
Oh dear, Chen Kang'an's expression changed; he dared not listen to those words.
He bowed even more and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, what makes you say that? His Majesty is truly busy with state affairs..."
Lan Wu gave a soft chuckle, glanced at the sky, and said slowly, "Since Your Majesty is busy with state affairs, I will not disturb you any longer."
"Lianxi, once Eunuch Chen leaves, close the palace gates and don't let anyone in. The night wind is cold, and I'm afraid I'll catch a chill."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
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