Prince Chen was unjustly blamed and reprimanded by the emperor, which immediately made his rebellious nature resurface.
However, when he met Emperor Cheng'an's gaze, he dared not lash out and could only force himself to endure it, saying reluctantly, "Your subject did not say anything. At that time, I did not even enter the inner palace, so Prince Qin may not have heard it. If we go to apologize in such a grand manner now, what if he did not hear it at all? Wouldn't that be counterproductive?"
There was one more thing he didn't dare say: he was the rightful heir to the throne, while the Prince of Qin was nothing but a cripple. Yet, because the late emperor had entrusted him with this responsibility, his father treated the Prince of Qin better than his own son.
Otherwise, how could there be a story about a prince bowing down and apologizing to someone?
He roughly understood his father's concerns, but in his view, reputation was the least important thing. If he became emperor, he would definitely target Xue Shen first.
A sinister glint flashed in King Chen's eyes, but he concealed it well.
Emperor Cheng'an said, "Then you should take generous gifts to visit Prince Qin. After all, his old illness relapsed because he was trying to save me."
Prince Chen could only reluctantly agree and returned to his Siwu Palace first.
Having just been turned away by Xue Shen, he was naturally not foolish enough to immediately send the other side to the King of Qin. He first summoned Zhou Qing to inquire about the imperial guards in the hunting grounds.
He thought about it and felt that the matter was really strange.
Zhou Qing arrived a quarter of an hour later and saw Prince Chen standing by the window with a displeased expression. He advised, "Your Highness, please don't take His Majesty's reprimand to heart. His Majesty's harsh words are only because he loves you deeply."
Prince Chen shook his head and said, "What about those Imperial Guards who deserted their posts? Why did you say, Uncle, that I ordered the Imperial Guards to search for the White Tiger's tracks?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing looked astonished: "I was ordered by His Majesty to investigate how Baihu broke into the martial arts arena. I happened to find those few Imperial Guards. They looked nervous and guilty. After I questioned them, they said that the message came from someone from Prince Chen's mansion. I then asked them about their appearance and name, and they said that they were Zhou Tao, one of His Highness's men."
“Zhou Tao?” King Chen shook his head: “That’s even more impossible. I never asked him to pass on such a message.”
The matter was suspicious in every way, so Prince Chen summoned Zhou Tao for questioning, and sure enough, Zhou Tao had not sent any message to the Imperial Guards.
Zhou Qing then realized what was happening: "Was this a frame-up? It's my fault too, His Majesty was in a hurry and I didn't have time to check the information with him. But this wasn't a big deal, and His Majesty wouldn't blame Your Highness for it... What is the culprit's motive?"
Everything has a purpose, but the framing and slander by the person behind the scenes could not do anything to King Chen.
"No matter what, we should remain vigilant." Chen Wang couldn't think of a reason, so he could only say to Zhou Qing, "If there's a problem with the defense of the hunting grounds, you can take advantage of the deployment to check on any suspicious people."
Unexpectedly, Zhou Qing's expression turned solemn upon hearing this, and he said, "After His Highness left, the Emperor summoned me again. He entrusted the deployment and mobilization of the Imperial Guards in the hunting grounds to Zhang Qian, the Deputy Commander of the Palace Guard."
Zhang Qian, the deputy commander of the Palace Guard, is a man of the Crown Prince.
Chen Wang understood almost immediately, and said with a gloomy expression, "Uncle just said he couldn't figure out the purpose of the person behind the scenes, but now the fox's tail has been revealed?"
"Framing me was just a side effect; the real purpose was to let the White Tiger into the training ground. Regardless of whether the White Tiger caused any trouble, my uncle would inevitably be punished. However, Father Emperor has always trusted and relied on my uncle. If Father Emperor hadn't been alarmed, he might not have punished my uncle. So the Crown Prince framed me for the Imperial Guard incident. As long as he times it right and creates a time gap, when my uncle finds out that the Imperial Guard's dereliction of duty is related to me, he will definitely cover for me when he reports it. That way, even if we figure it out later, we won't be able to go back on our word."
"Father is also very suspicious. Because of our uncle-nephew relationship, he will definitely think more deeply and suspect that my uncle is using his power to benefit me... At this time, according to Father's nature, he will punish me severely as a warning no matter what."
"My older brother is truly cunning and calculating, he has us both figured out perfectly. Everyone says he is upright and honest, but I think he is the one with the most scheming mind."
King Chen clapped his hands with a sinister smile.
Zhou Qing was still somewhat skeptical, and frowned, saying, "It might not be the Crown Prince; perhaps someone else is stirring things up."
Prince Chen countered, "Besides the Crown Prince, who else has a direct conflict of interest with me?"
Zhou Qing was speechless for a moment.
Seeing that he couldn't answer, Prince Chen summoned his secret guards and instructed them to keep a close eye on the Crown Prince's movements.
*
The first day of the hunt was forced to stop because the white tiger broke into the training ground.
The following day, Emperor Cheng'an personally visited the martial arts arena again and ordered the hunting grounds to be reopened.
Xue Shen was absent this time due to illness. On the training ground, the Crown Prince, Prince Chen, and Prince Shou, who was usually not present, rode their horses to the front. After Emperor Cheng'an finished his words of encouragement, the young men prepared to enter.
Because of what happened yesterday, Prince Chen was still holding a grudge.
He recalled his father's words yesterday that he was inferior to the Crown Prince, and his eyes turned cold as he looked provocatively at the Crown Prince who was about to enter: "The White Tiger has already been shot dead by the King of Qin, and it's difficult to find any other wild beasts in the forest for the time being. But since it's a hunt, there has to be a prize to keep things interesting. How about the three of us brothers have a contest?"
Xue Heng frowned, having no intention of competing with him. However, with everyone watching, and Prince Chen taking the initiative to challenge him, he, as the crown prince, could not easily show weakness.
"How do you want to compete?"
"How about we have someone catch a deer and release it into the hunting grounds, tying a red rope to its antlers? Whoever catches the deer will win, what do you think?"
Xue Heng nodded: "Alright." He then looked at the late Prince Shou: "What does Third Brother think?"
Prince Shou scratched his head and chuckled, "Anything is fine with me."
Seeing this, Prince Chen said, "Since there are winners and losers, there must be stakes." He glanced at the Crown Prince, then smiled and pointed to his waist, "I've had my eye on this sword of yours for a long time. If I win this time, how about I borrow it to admire for a few days?"
The sword at Xue Heng's waist was forged by a famous craftsman at the request of Emperor Cheng'an.
At that time, Xue Heng was only ten years old and was sent to be raised by the late Empress Zhu. He practiced martial arts with Xue Shen every day. At that time, the relationship between the father and son was still good. Xue Heng coveted Xue Shen's fine sword, so he mentioned in a letter to his father that he wanted a good sword.
When Emperor Cheng'an, who was busy fighting on all sides, saw his son's letter, he actually found a famous craftsman to forge a precious sword for him.
This sword had been with Xue Heng for many years, and even when his relationship with Emperor Cheng'an was no longer what it used to be, he always kept it with him.
But now, Prince Chen casually says he wants to borrow the sword to admire it.
Xue Heng's expression darkened slightly, and for the first time, a stern look appeared on his face: "This sword has extraordinary significance for me. If you really like it, I can lend it to you for a couple of days to admire. But you shouldn't think of using it as a wager."
Seeing this, Prince Chen laughed even more arrogantly: "Brother, are you afraid?" He laughed and said, "If you feel it's not enough, how about this? If you win, lend me this sword for two days, and I will return it intact after two days. If I lose, you can take whatever you want from my residence, how about that?"
His words were so magnanimous that it made it seem as if Xue Heng couldn't accept defeat.
Xue Heng gripped the hilt of his sword with his right hand and gave him a cold look: "Since you want to compete, then let's have a match. But this time I won't let you win."
King Chen said arrogantly, "Brother, you don't need to give in to me. Just show me your true skills."
He then gestured to the eunuch to release the deer, which was tied with a red rope, into the hunting grounds.
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