Chapter 119 Crazy and Vicious
Jiang Huaijin knelt and walked to the dragon bed.
"Your son is here."
The emperor looked at Gao Dezhong.
"Show the Crown Prince everything Shangguan Jue gave me."
Jiang Huaijin's hands couldn't stop shaking as he took the secret letters and agreements from Gao Dezhong.
The emperor, who saw his every move, was heartbroken.
"What else does the prince have to say?"
Jiang Huaijin was visibly panicked.
"It was my own fault that I made this mistake due to my momentary confusion. I beg Your Majesty to give me another chance!"
At the same time, Jiang Hanyu took a few steps forward.
"Father, I discovered someone abducting and trafficking women and forcing them into prostitution while on my way to Qiangzhou a few days ago. After careful investigation, I discovered that the Crown Prince is closely involved."
"These are the testimonies of the madam and thugs of Wanxianglou in Yanbo City, as well as the testimony and evidence from local officials in Yanbo City."
The emperor slowly flipped through the testimony presented by Jiang Hanyu, his fingertips trembling slightly on the edge of the page.
"Yanbo City Wanxiang Tower... kidnapping and trafficking women... forcing women of good character into prostitution... the youngest was only a little over ten years old..."
With every sentence he recited, his voice became deeper, and in the end it was almost squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Prince, do you recognize these?"
The gilded dragon pillar reflected the cold candlelight, making the prince's face look pale.
He knelt at the foot of the imperial steps, his forehead resting on the cold gold brick, his brocade robe already soaked with cold sweat.
"Your Majesty, please understand! This is a frame-up by Prince Rui! How could this son of yours..."
"frame?"
Jiang Hanyu sneered and then handed over the account book that he had been holding in his hand.
"Father, this is the account book I found in the secret room of Wanxiang Tower. It clearly records the number of women trafficked in Wanxiang Tower over the years, and also..."
He paused.
"A certificate signed by the prince himself."
The emperor opened it and saw the private seal of the Eastern Palace on the account book.
"Bang!"
The emperor threw the account book to the ground, shocking everyone in Zhaoyang Palace into silence.
"Yes! My good prince!"
The emperor sat up.
"I had no idea that the prince I personally appointed was secretly doing such beastly things! Those women, the youngest was only a little over ten years old! They also have parents and brothers, and are also the people of Dafeng! How dare you..."
Jiang Huaijin's face turned pale as death, and he suddenly pointed at Jiang Hanyu.
"It's Prince Rui! He forged all of this! Father, he has long coveted the throne of crown prince and has long been eager to defeat his son and replace him..."
"shut up!"
The emperor shouted loudly and threw the signed documents of the Yanbo City prefect and other officials at Jiang Huaijin's face.
Papers were scattered all over the ground like flying snowflakes, and every page was filled with Jiang Huaijin's crimes.
He clenched his fists, his majesty revealing deep disappointment.
"What about these? The blood letter from the local magistrate, are you saying it's a forgery too?!"
Jiang Huaijin was struck by lightning when he heard this and kowtowed frantically.
"Father! I know I was wrong! Please give me another chance, Father!"
The hall was dead silent.
The emperor took a deep breath.
"Prince, you disappoint me so much."
Jiang Huaijin, who guessed that they were going to destroy him, suddenly laughed wildly, broke free from the guards' restraints, and staggered to his feet.
His crown was askew, and his bloodshot eyes stared intently at the emperor on the dragon couch.
"Hahahaha... The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit! The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit!"
"Father, do you know why I have come to this point?"
His eyes were red and his voice was hoarse like sandpaper.
"Everyone in the court, both civil and military, praises King Rui for his military prowess, both literary and military, and his combined talent and virtue! The Grand Tutor says he's 'as benevolent and virtuous as the ancient sages,' and the generals praise him for his 'military genius!'"
Having said that, Jiang Huaijin staggered forward a few steps, his blood-stained fingertips pointing directly at the silent King Rui.
"My dear brother, do you know how I've been through all these years? Every time we attend a court meeting, you always come up with a perfect strategy; every time we go on a campaign, you always return victorious! Even those pedantic scholars write poems praising your virtue!"
"Do you know why King Kang wants to poison you? It's because you're too outstanding and dazzling!"
After he finished speaking, he suddenly turned around to face the dragon couch, and his voice suddenly rose.
"And you, Father!"
"I just lost a battle, and you're so disappointed in me! From then on, you never let me set foot in the military camp again! Even the civil and military officials in the court are secretly saying that I'm not as good as my second brother at leading the troops - isn't this what father forced me to do?!"
"Also, Father, do you know what military morale means to a prince?!"
The emperor was shaking with anger.
"You still have the nerve to mention that battle?!"
"Su Lin knelt before the army for three days, earnestly admonishing you, but you refused to listen. You even relied on your position as crown prince to force him to follow your battle plan! Two hundred thousand elite soldiers! All of them were lost outside the Great Wall because of your stubbornness!"
"Do you know that after that battle, our Dafeng has still not recovered! Do you know how many soldiers' wives and children are still receiving pensions?"
"I don't let you hold military power anymore, not to suppress you, but because I don't want you to kill more soldiers! They also have parents, wives and children!"
"You unfilial son! Not only do you not realize your mistakes, but you're still blaming me?!"
The emperor became more and more angry as he spoke, and suddenly got off the dragon bed, his dragon robe fluttering like raging waves.
"After that battle, memorials from all over the court, both civil and military, pleading for your removal piled up like a mountain! But even so, I never considered changing the crown prince! I suppressed all the impeachments, and in the end, I only sentenced you to three months of confinement!"
He pointed at the prince's nose, his voice trembling with anger.
"Not only are you now blaming me, you're also becoming even more deranged!"
Jiang Huaijin seemed not to hear and continued to mutter to himself.
"Prince Rui is so outstanding... so outstanding that everyone has forgotten... I am the crown prince... I am..."
His voice gradually died away, and suddenly he broke into a shrill laugh.
"This kingdom should have been mine! I'm the eldest son! I'm the rightful heir!"
The candlelight in the hall flickered, illuminating his distorted face, and his voice was filled with deep resentment.
"Father, my maternal grandfather and uncle both died for their country! And Prince Rui's mother, who is of humble origin, and her maternal family have made no contribution to Dafeng! You cannot depose me and give the throne to Prince Rui!"
Seeing Jiang Huaijin was so unrepentant, the emperor was furious.
"Unfilial son! Unfilial son! Even now, you haven't shown the slightest regret!"
After he finished speaking, the emperor no longer looked at him, turned around, picked up the pen, and drafted the edict himself.
"The edict said:
"Crown Prince Jiang Huaijin is unworthy of his position, his behavior is perverse, he has colluded with treacherous officials, and has persecuted the people, causing widespread public outrage and bringing shame to the nation. I depose him from his position as crown prince, strip him of his golden seal and sash, demote him to a commoner, and confine him for life as a warning to others! I decree this!"
When the edict was completed, the emperor stamped it heavily with his jade seal. The ink was like blood and was shocking to the eyes.
The guard stepped forward, tore off Jiang Huaijin's crown, and stripped off Jiang Huaijin's python robe.
Jiang Huaijin, who had fallen from the altar, acted like a madman and screamed at the top of his lungs.
"No! No! I am the crown prince! I am the future emperor! You slaves are not allowed to touch me!"
Jiang Huaijin roared crazily and struggled to pounce on the emperor, but was held down by the guards and dragged out of the hall.
As the deposed crown prince's shrill roar gradually faded away, one could hear a pin drop in the hall.
Soon, the deathly silence in the hall was broken by a rustling sound.
The empress knelt at the emperor's feet with tears in her eyes.
"Your Majesty! Jin'er was just confused for a moment. Please give Jin'er another chance, Your Majesty!"
She gripped the hem of the dragon robe tightly with her ten fingers, and her carefully maintained nails scratched the brocade, making a sound of tearing silk.
"Your Majesty! Jin'er is your eldest son!"
The heartbroken emperor closed his eyes and said nothing, but his dragon robe was rustling as it was pulled.
The queen raised her tear-stained face, and the pearls on her phoenix crown fell onto the gold bricks, making a crisp cracking sound.
"Have you forgotten? When Jin'er was little, she went to the imperial study every day to grind ink for you..."
“That’s enough!”
The emperor suddenly pulled back his clothes, and the queen fell heavily to the ground.
"He has done so many things that anger heaven and man, none of which can be forgiven!"
The queen suddenly uttered a shrill sneer, and her carefully drawn eyebrows and eyes twisted horribly.
"Since His Majesty is unwilling to let us live, mother and son, then we will go to hell together!"
After she finished speaking, the queen suddenly pulled out the golden phoenix hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into the emperor's heart.
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