Chapter 478 But... what if Jiang Yu has any intention of taking over this empire?
Although it was already autumn, the midday sun was still quite intense. The emperor, sitting in his sedan chair, felt no warmth from the blazing sun; instead, he felt icy cold all over.
His most trusted minister, his beloved younger brother whom he had raised and cherished for many years, was secretly plotting against him right under his nose...
Before the word "flirting" could even fully form in his mind, he pressed the button. But the feeling of betrayal swept through his entire body, making it impossible for him to suppress his anger.
He turned his head, his gaze shooting like an arrow towards his younger brother, whom he had raised himself, walking beside the sedan chair. Sensing his gaze, the younger brother grinned at him, his white teeth particularly dazzling at that moment.
Unable to contain his anger any longer, he pointed at Prince Rui and roared, "Get out of here and go to the back!"
"Yes," Prince Rui replied, walking towards the back. The Emperor's anger, however, did not diminish; in fact, it intensified. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily.
Prince Rui, walking behind, appeared calm, but his inner rage was no less than the Emperor's. Although he was somewhat prepared for his affair with Jiang Yu to be exposed, now that it had actually happened, he felt like tearing the Prince of Lingnan to pieces.
They soon arrived at the Imperial Study. The Emperor alighted from his sedan chair, followed by Prince Rui. Looking up, they saw Prince An standing in the corridor. Upon seeing them, Prince An immediately came over and bowed.
The emperor looked at him with deep eyes, "You knew all along?"
Prince An was taken aback, then looked completely bewildered. Seeing this, the Emperor's anger subsided slightly, but he still let out a heavy snort and strode into the Imperial Study. Prince Rui followed, and without a word, lifted his robe and knelt on the ground. Prince An, who was about to step in, hesitated for a moment, then withdrew his foot and stood at the doorway.
He roughly guessed what it was about, and felt that given the relationship between the emperor and Prince Rui, his presence would likely not alleviate the emperor's anger.
Inside the imperial study, the Emperor stood before Prince Rui, his anger subsiding as he looked at the prince kneeling obediently before him. He raised his hand, pointed at him, and asked, "What exactly happened?"
Prince Rui raised his head and looked at the emperor earnestly, saying, "It is I who admire her, and it is I who have been relentlessly pursuing her."
The words "relentless pursuit" struck the emperor's heart. His finger trembled as he pointed at Prince Rui, stammering, "You...you...you..."
He felt like the little cabbage he had carefully nurtured for years had suddenly told him that he was actually a pig who had stolen someone else's cabbage. How could he accept that?
“But my brother and she have never overstepped their bounds when they are out together, let alone... embraced each other.”
Prince Rui's words rang out again, but the emperor was preoccupied with the fact that his prized possession had been taken advantage of. He completely ignored them. His finger trembled as he pointed at Prince Rui and said, "Of all the women in the capital, in the entire Daqian region, why did you insist on choosing one for divorce..."
“Your Majesty,” Prince Rui interrupted him, “that wasn’t her fault. And I’m glad she got divorced, otherwise I wouldn’t have had the chance to… relentlessly pursue her.”
"You...you...you..." The emperor was so angry he couldn't speak. He turned around, picked up a teacup, and smashed it on the ground. Prince Rui knelt there with his head down, his lips pressed together in silence.
The emperor, leaning on the table, was panting heavily. After a while, he closed his eyes, softened his voice, and said in a coaxing tone, "You must break off your relationship with her..."
“Father.” The voice of Prince An outside the door interrupted the emperor’s words. The emperor’s sharp gaze swept over him. Prince An clenched his fist and stepped into the imperial study. He knelt beside Prince Rui and said, “Father, I think... we have probably fallen into someone’s trap.”
The room fell silent for a moment. The emperor's mind, still clouded by rage, cleared somewhat, but his face remained terrifyingly grim. He stared intently at Prince An, "Continue."
"Yes." Prince An glanced at Prince Rui beside him and said, "Your subject heard Eunuch Zhao recount what happened, and just now I heard my uncle say that he and the Duke of Chu have never overstepped their bounds when they were out. Why would the eldest daughter of the Yan family say that she saw my uncle and the Duke of Chu embracing?"
The Emperor narrowed his eyes, his somewhat aged hands clasped together. At this moment, Prince An's voice rang out again, "Leaving aside whether it's reasonable for Consort Shu's niece, the Second Miss Xiang, to disregard her own reputation and the Xiang family's honor by publicly giving her uncle a purse, I've heard that the Eldest Miss Yan was also carefully raised from a young age."
Would a meticulously raised noblewoman really be so impulsive as to disregard her family's peril and publicly expose the affair between a prince and a duke of the highest rank?
He paused for a moment, then concluded: "Miss Yan must have had a purpose, and given the current situation, what would be the consequences if you suspected the Duke of Chu?"
A silence fell over the room, and the emperor's eyes grew even more somber. He leaned on the table and walked to a chair, sitting down with his eyelids drooping in silence.
He had been blinded by anger and hadn't thought things through, but now the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Prince An was right. The Duke of Chu was the key to dealing with the Prince of Lingnan. At this crucial juncture, if their affair caused a rift with the Duke of Chu, the Prince of Lingnan would have an opening to exploit.
He lifted his eyelids and saw the unusual memorial Jiang Yu had sent yesterday. His hand gently stroked the plain silk scroll, caressing it lightly, as if Jiang Yu's voice was ringing in his ears, "This is the grand undertaking of a prosperous era many years from now!"
His fingers tapped gently on the plain silk that bore the weight of his grand ambitions, his gaze sweeping over the two kneeling figures before him. He lingered for a moment on his younger brother, whom he had raised with his own hands, before turning his attention to his son, whom he had neglected for years and who had later become his tool.
The two grew up together, their bond is undeniable. But will it remain so in the future? No one can give a definite answer.
His gaze returned to the plain silk beneath his hand. His brother, his son—who would rule the land in the future—was unimportant compared to the grand scale of their "prosperous era." After all, this empire belonged to the Qin family.
But... what if Jiang Yu has designs on this empire?
His hand, gripping the plain silk, tightened; the smooth texture now felt somewhat prickly. He wanted to protect the Qin family's empire, and he also desired a prosperous and flourishing era.
His gaze then fell upon his younger brother, whom he had raised himself. His features were a perfect blend of the late emperor's and his mother's best features, exquisite in every way. The image of the late emperor placing him, still an infant, into his arms was vivid in his mind:
"This child lost his mother at birth, and I am also nearing my end. I entrust him and the empire to you. You must promise me that you will not let him suffer any injustice. As for whether he will become a pillar of the court or live a life of leisure, that is up to you. I hope he can live a peaceful and prosperous life."
The Emperor withdrew his gaze from Prince Rui, suppressed the dangerous thoughts that had just arisen, and said wearily, "Get up, all of you. Leave. Let me have some peace and quiet."
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