Xue Gui was confined alone in a side room of the Ciyuan Hall.
Prince Chen didn't have many capable men at his disposal; he only controlled the Ciyuan Palace and a few palace gates. However, the others weren't of much importance. The three most important people in the entire palace were now in his hands, and he also had the edict of succession. As long as he killed the Crown Prince and Xue Gui, his father would only have him as his sole son, and even if the emperor was unwilling, he would have no choice but to pass the throne to him.
Thinking of this, King Chen was almost bursting with excitement.
So what if he's disfigured and can't have children? In the end, isn't he still the winner?
He walked into the side room with a smug smile, already plotting how to torment Xue Gui today. His younger brother was the least handsome and talented of the emperor's three children. He had assumed that was just how he was born, but he never expected that the one who hunted geese all day would be the one who got pecked in the eye by the goose. This seemingly honest and unassuming man actually harbored ambitions and even tried to steal the position that belonged to him.
These past few times, he locked people in the side room, making them suffer the same pain he had endured.
Wasn't Xue Gui taking advantage of his misfortune to seize the opportunity? Then let him taste the suffering he had endured.
Prince Chen entered the room and selected a suitable steel whip from the table outside before stepping into the inner room. But as soon as he entered, his face darkened. The iron chains binding Xue Gui lay limply by the window, and Xue Gui, who should have been imprisoned there, was nowhere to be seen.
The iron chain was not thin. Xue Gui had been tortured into a cripple and on the verge of death by him these past few days, but he had no chance of escaping on his own.
Someone helped him!
Has news from the palace leaked out?
Prince Chen's eyes widened in fury. He turned and went out, lashing his arm with the steel whip at the guard: "Where is Xue Gui?"
The guard then realized that the person was missing. He rushed in to check and was immediately horrified. He knelt down and begged for forgiveness.
Prince Chen was furious, but his remaining rationality told him that he could not delay any longer. If Xue Gui was really rescued, the news of his imprisonment of the emperor and empress would soon spread. At that time, the imperial guards who rescued him would surround the palace, and he would have no way to escape.
After grinding his teeth and pondering for a long time, Prince Chen ordered the two of them to go to the palace to deliver a letter to him. He then summoned his trusted advisors, and after the two discussed the matter in the Ciyuan Hall, Prince Chen immediately drafted an edict ordering the death of the crown prince. After the imperial seal was affixed, he ordered his men to quickly send it to the imperial mausoleum to take the crown prince's life.
He then forced Emperor Cheng'an to summon all civil and military officials to the palace for an audience, and summoned members of the imperial family and noblewomen to the palace in the name of the empress.
His men were not enough to fight against the Imperial Guard, but they were enough to massacre the palace before anyone could react.
*
"How is the situation in the palace now?"
Xue Shen and Shen Youying set off for the capital the next day, but they were not in a hurry. It was as if they were unaware of the situation in the palace. They just happened to be returning to the capital at this time and leisurely traveled back.
They stopped in a town near Longquan Village. The Lantern Festival had just passed, and the town was still decorated with all sorts of lanterns, the festive atmosphere of the New Year still lingering.
Xue Shen stopped at a very famous teahouse in town, ordered a private room, and was enjoying the teahouse's specialty tea and snacks with Shen Youying, while the scout reported the latest news from the side.
"After Prince Shou was rescued, Prince Chen, in the name of the Emperor and Empress, summoned all civil and military officials and their wives to the palace."
"What about Prince Shou?" Xue Shen asked.
Since falling ill, Prince Chen has become increasingly twisted. After Xue Gui fell into his hands, he disfigured him and castrated him himself. It was only by chance that he survived. If it weren't for the people arranged by Xue Shen to rescue him, he would probably be dead by now.
The scout hesitated upon hearing this: "After Prince Shou was rescued, the secret guards were ordered to send him back to Prince Shou's residence. As the prince had predicted, he did indeed have his confidants send messages to several high-ranking officials in the court... However, we did not expect that he would even include the deposed crown prince. We did not have time to stop him, and the deposed crown prince should already know the news."
Xue Shen's expression hardened slightly.
He hesitated before setting the trap, wondering whether he should involve Xue Heng.
After all, if Prince Chen and Prince Shou fight to the death, and Emperor Cheng'an is left with only Xue Heng as his son, then he will inevitably have no choice but to reinstate a crown prince.
However, after much deliberation, he kept recalling the days when he studied and practiced martial arts with Xue Heng in his youth, and also the tragic death of the Crown Princess. In the end, he did not involve Xue Heng in his scheme.
But man proposes, God disposes. Xue Gui, that fool, actually became smart for once when the time came and knew to bring in the Crown Prince to deal with Prince Chen.
Xue Shen fell silent for a long while before saying, "Keep an eye on it, and report back when you have any news."
Upon hearing this, the scout withdrew.
Xue Shen spun his wheelchair to the railing and silently gazed at the distant green hills and black tiles.
When the scouts reported earlier, they didn't hide it from Shen Youying. As she listened to the arrangements, she had a vague idea in her mind. When she heard that Xue Heng, who was guarding the imperial tomb, was also involved, something suddenly flashed through her mind.
She walked to Xue Shen's side and stood quietly with him for a moment before whispering, "My elder brother has been dragged into this. What are Your Highness's plans?"
Xue Shen turned to look at her, and after a long while said, "My plan will not change."
Shen Youying's heart sank, as if a huge boulder was weighing on her chest. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then she remembered the tragic past that Xue Shen had mentioned. Although he hadn't said who the real culprit was, Shen Youying had more or less guessed.
She knelt down, took Xue Shen's clenched fist in her hand, and said softly, "If my elder brother knew, he might not argue. Why didn't Your Highness tell him directly?"
She could tell that the brotherly relationship between the Crown Prince and Xue Shen had never been mixed with anything else.
Xue Shen grasped her hand in return, touched her cheek, and said in a low voice, "I have been planning this for many years. I am not the only one involved; there are countless officials, subordinates, and their families who have secretly pledged allegiance to me and served me. There can be no room for error."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "Moreover, when the rumors were rampant, my elder brother went to confront the emperor."
When Xue Shen mentioned Emperor Cheng'an, he made almost no attempt to hide his disgust.
Shen Youying's eyes widened slightly as she listened to him continue, "The emperor reprimanded him, and my elder brother, feeling distressed, came to me to ask if those rumors were true."
Xue Shen's brows furrowed slightly: "I told him no. I also advised him not to let rumors cause him to become estranged from the emperor. I don't know if he believed me or not, but in the end he didn't mention it again. And those rumors gradually dissipated as the emperor intentionally suppressed them and as time passed."
Shen Youying was taken aback; she had only just learned of this past between the two brothers.
She opened her mouth, then hesitated, "My older brother..."
In the end, however, he didn't say it.
Everyone has selfish desires. No matter how close Xue Heng and Xue Shen are, the Emperor is ultimately his biological father, to whom he shares a blood tie.
Shen Youying didn't know whether Xue Heng stopped mentioning the matter because he genuinely believed Xue Shen's story or was simply deceiving himself and unwilling to investigate further.
And what were Xue Shen's feelings after realizing Xue Heng's choice...?
Shen Youying sighed and pressed her face against Xue Shen's palm, offering him silent comfort.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
