Chapter 77 Assassination
The royal hunting ground is located in the western suburbs of the imperial city. There are many large prey such as tigers and bears in the inner circle. Even Chen Dingyao, who is alone, does not dare to go too deep.
During the annual autumn hunt, the prey captured were mainly small and medium-sized prey such as foxes and deer. Therefore, when Prince Yu and his personal guards appeared with a wounded black bear, it immediately caused an uproar.
Chen Dingyao raised his eyebrows and for the first time looked seriously at his eldest son, whom he regarded as a waste.
"Your son was lucky enough to capture a black bear today, and I have come to present it to your Majesty." Yu Wangchao took a step aside and fully displayed the black bear, which was more than one meter tall and had a sturdy body, in front of everyone.
There were several scars on the black bear's front and back, its skin was turned outward and still bleeding, its limbs were tied with ropes, and it was howling in pain.
"Yun Che has changed his personality recently." Chen Dingyao gave him an ambiguous look. Prince Yu's expression suddenly showed a bit of panic, but he quickly concealed it.
"I am deeply ashamed of my past misconduct and my failure to set a good example for my brothers," Prince Yu said self-reproachfully. "I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
"If you really think so, you will not be punished." Chen Dingyao waved his hand to stop the guard from following him, and walked in front of the black bear.
The black bear was almost as tall as him. When it saw him approaching, it immediately bared its fangs and growled a warning.
Seeing this, Yun Yi hesitated for a moment on the sword at his waist, then put it down.
Chen Dingyao showed no fear at all as he said, "It seems the outcome of this year's autumn hunt has already been decided."
"Thank you, father." Prince Yu showed surprise on his face and bowed quickly.
"This is what you deserve." Chen Dingyao raised his hand and turned to him and asked, "What reward do you want?"
Prince Yu hesitated for a moment, and before he could make a decision, his expression suddenly turned into one of fear.
"Father, be careful!"
Without his reminder, Chen Dingyao also sensed the bloody aura coming from behind him.
The black bear had somehow broken the rope and pounced towards Chen Dingyao, who was closest to it.
The incident happened suddenly and the guards had no time to react. Chen Dingyao subconsciously drew the sword at his waist and stabbed with his backhand.
The black bear let out a terrible roar, but its big paw still hit Chen Dingyao's right shoulder.
The sound of bones snapping was unmistakable, and blood dripped down, staining half his body red. Chen Dingyao's expression remained unchanged as he forced himself to strike the black bear once more, finally forcing it back a little.
The guards finally reacted and rushed forward to surround him. Several other guards came forward and together they killed the black bear.
After he was safe, Chen Dingyao released his strength, and the sword in his hand fell to the ground with a clang, and his right shoulder collapsed unnaturally.
When everyone saw that he was injured, they panicked and shouted for the imperial physician.
"I am late in protecting you, Your Majesty. Please forgive me." The guard commander knelt in front of him with a pale face. Such a serious dereliction of duty was enough for his whole family to suffer the consequences of slow slicing.
Chen Dingyao did not immediately convict him. Instead, he looked at Prince Yu, who was shaking like a sieve not far away.
"You brought this bear."
Prince Yu was covered in cold sweat and fell to his feet almost instantly.
"I acknowledge my guilt!" Prince Yu grabbed the hem of his clothes, his face drained of all color with fear. "Please spare my life, Father! I didn't know the black bear still had the strength to break free. I never intended to kill you, Father. Please spare my life!"
Chen Dingyao sneered and kicked him away: "Whether it was an accident or murder, you know it in your heart."
Prince Yu looked at him with eyes that seemed to see through everything, and suddenly felt as if he fell into the abyss. However, he gritted his teeth and kowtowed to him desperately to prove his innocence.
"I have always respected you. How could I have the guts to do such a thing?" His teeth chattered, his heart filled with fear. "Father, I am innocent!"
Chen Dingyao was indifferent to his confession and charged him with murdering himself.
"I hereby declare that Prince Yu has attempted to murder me and is unfaithful and unfilial. Therefore, Guo has seized his throne and demoted him to a commoner. He will be escorted back to the capital and imprisoned in Prince Yu's palace, where he will not be allowed to leave for life."
"Father!" Chen Yunche shouted in disbelief, then collapsed to the ground under his cold gaze.
Silence reigned all around, everyone was so hushed they dared not even utter a sound. The imperial physician had not yet arrived, so the guards had no choice but to tear open his clothes and use strips of cloth to urgently treat his wounds.
Chen Dingyao's expression remained calm throughout the entire process, as if it wasn't his shoulder bone that was broken. Even when the guards took Chen Yunche away, he didn't even glance at him again.
Prince Yu was completely deposed.
A quarter of an hour later, the imperial physician finally arrived. Seeing His Majesty covered in blood, he nearly collapsed in terror. It was a sudden incident; the messenger had only said His Majesty was injured, but hadn't told him how serious the injury was. If anything went wrong, His Majesty could lose his life.
The old imperial physician, with his gray beard trembling, carefully examined his wound and tried to stop the bleeding. It took a long time before the bleeding completely stopped.
Chen Dingyao's face was very pale due to excessive blood loss, but no one dared to underestimate him. At this critical juncture, they had to keep their tails between their legs and be careful not to become an opportunity for the emperor to vent his anger.
Even on the battlefield, Chen Dingyao had never been injured so badly. The moment the black bear pounced on him, his first thought was not fear, but worry.
If he died at the hands of the black bear, what would happen to Chan Zhen and his mother? Who could protect them like he did?
Although he had made all the necessary preparations, when faced with a life-or-death situation, he discovered that he could not trust anyone except himself.
Yun Yi had given up on her, and Song Ge was not her biological brother, so there was a risk that those people would betray her.
The only person who could never betray her was herself.
He must be alive. Only if he is alive can she have the greatest guarantee.
After treating the wound, the imperial physician raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
"There is no problem for now, but..." He looked up and glanced at His Majesty hesitantly.
Chen Dingyao frowned and said, "Just say it."
The imperial physician continued, "Your Majesty's injuries are too severe to allow recovery. He may suffer from chronic illness in the future."
"You did your best." Chen Dingyao did not blame him.
Your Majesty was so seriously injured that he naturally could not ride back on horseback, so the imperial physician brought a carriage with him.
Two guards helped Chen Dingyao up from the left and right, but at this moment, an arrow suddenly shot out from somewhere and went straight to his chest.
This time he failed to dodge, and the sharp arrow hit his heart.
Chen Dingyao groaned, subconsciously looked somewhere, and the next moment he could no longer control himself and fell down.
"His Majesty!"
…
"Hiss--" Zen Zhen, who was sewing clothes for Yuan Zhao, suddenly felt a sharp pain. She subconsciously put the finger with blood on it into her mouth.
The blood soon stopped, but her heart suddenly began to beat wildly, and an ominous premonition filled her heart.
Before he could think about it, Yuan Zhao, who was sleeping quietly at the head of the bed, suddenly burst into tears.
Chan Zhen quickly stood up and picked him up, coaxing him: "Zhao'er, be good. Mother is here."
However, for some reason, Yuan Zhao, who had always been well-behaved, cried so hard that he was hoarse and couldn't stop.
Chanzhen's ominous premonition grew stronger. She paced back and forth at the head of the bed restlessly, sometimes looking down at Yuan Zhao, sometimes looking up at the door. Unfortunately, it was empty and she didn't know what she was looking for.
When Luzhu heard the crying, she immediately stopped what she was doing and came over to help comfort her, taking out a stuffed doll and a small drum. However, these little toys that Yuan Zhao used to love the most did not arouse any interest in him at this moment.
"Are you hungry?" Zen Zhen was a little annoyed by the noise. "I just fed you, what's wrong?"
Lu Zhu guessed: "Does the young prince miss His Majesty?"
Chanzhen glanced at her and remembered that it was indeed His Majesty who coaxed Yuan Zhao better in the past.
"Go to Zichen Palace for me and ask Guo Kai for some underwear for His Majesty."
The clothes he left in Fengqi Palace had been locked up by her a long time ago. After a few months, the scent of him had long disappeared from them. Now he was in the hunting ground and couldn't rush back immediately. He could only find some of his clothes from Zichen Palace as a last resort.
Lu Zhu immediately ran to the Zichen Palace after receiving the order. When Guo Kai heard the purpose of her visit, he did not dare to delay at all. He quickly took out the underwear that the emperor had just used from the inner hall and asked her to take it back.
Chanzhen looked at the clothes that Luzhu had brought back, which still had the scent of clear sandalwood on them, and instantly brought back her memories.
She herself didn't like incense, but she particularly liked to snuggle in his arms and smell the sandalwood on his body.
He loved to put his arms around her waist, holding her whole body in his arms, lowering his head to kiss her while gently stroking her hair.
The sandalwood scent on him made her feel at ease.
Thinking of him, Chanzhen suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if a sharp arrow had pierced through her chest, making her feel so painful that she could hardly breathe. An inexplicable panic enveloped her, as if something was about to leave her.
"My lady, why are you crying?"
Hearing Luzhu's question, Chanzhen subconsciously raised his hand, but touched a water stain.
She shook her head blankly, not knowing why.
"Nothing." She barely suppressed her fluctuating emotions, put Yuan Zhao back into the cradle, and wrapped him tightly with clothes that carried the scent of His Majesty.
Feeling the familiar breath, Yuan Zhao's crying actually gradually weakened.
Lu Zhu smiled and said, "I was told that the young prince must be missing His Majesty."
As soon as she said this, she looked at Chan Zhen's expression nervously. She knew that things had not been going well between her queen and His Majesty recently, and she was worried that this would cause her dissatisfaction.
However, the queen's expression was not as cold as before. She just lowered her head and stared blankly at the tears on her fingertips.
Luzhu said no more.
"Am I too cruel to him?" After a long silence, Zen Zhen seemed to be talking to himself, "After all, he is Zhao Er's biological father."
He treated her badly in his previous life, but he did nothing wrong in this life.
Once this sign is born, the affection that was previously suppressed with great difficulty begins to flow out.
"I'll have a good talk with him when he comes back."
She and Yuan Zhao could not live without him after all. It was too tiring to suppress herself all the time. She didn't want to forgive him so easily, but she also didn't want to torture each other like this anymore.
Like the morning dew, the past days are filled with suffering.
If she wants to live freely, she cannot always be immersed in the pain of the past.
Wait for him to come back.
Zen Zhen gently looked at Yuan Zhao who was sleeping peacefully.
You miss him.
I have some thoughts too.
However, Zenzhen never lived to see the day when he returned safely and could have a heart-to-heart talk with him.
On September 20th, the 20th year of Zhaohua, the emperor was assassinated in the hunting ground and fell into a coma. He was still unconscious when he returned to the palace. It was a life-or-death moment.
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