Chapter 107 Chapter 107 "I have never felt that I owe Jiulang...
Purple Palace.
The heavy palace door slowly closed with a muffled sound.
The saint did not speak, but after a long while, he rubbed his brows, with an undisguised look of fatigue on his face, and his voice softened.
"sit."
"After kneeling for so long, I'm sure my body must be tired."
The eunuch quietly brought in a rosewood armchair and placed it under the throne.
Princess Shoukang did not sit down as she was told.
"Your Majesty, you have dismissed your attendants and left me here alone. What do you want to say?"
"What do you want to say?" The saint repeated her words, his expression unremarkable.
Suddenly, he leaned forward and stared at Princess Shoukang without blinking: "I want Sanlang to stay in the palace..."
"Royal brother!" Princess Shoukang interrupted him, looking up and gazing at the man on the dragon throne. "When Sanlang was born, you promised me that he would remain in the palace and be raised by you personally, but that he would always be solely responsible for assisting Jiulang."
"I did promise you." The Saint sneered, "But so what?"
Princess Shoukang straightened her back and looked at her brother on the high throne with a cold gaze: "Zhiyan's surname is Xie! Not Xiao!"
The sage remained silent. His slightly bent knuckles rapped heavily on the armrests of the dragon throne. Finally, he spoke, his voice still calm: "Awu, what do you think his surname would be if the Xie family disappeared?"
Princess Shoukang's pupils suddenly shrank, and the blood color on her face faded in an instant.
"Are you threatening me with the Xie family?"
The saint smiled, covered his lips and coughed: "That's not a threat."
"When Sanlang was born, you begged me to spare Xie Huaiqian's life. I shouldn't have been soft-hearted."
At this point, a hint of extremely cold scorn flashed across the saint's eyes. "As for his surname Xie? So what? I don't care what his surname is."
The almost cold gaze that fell showed the indifference of the superior who disregarded the rules as nothing.
"I need a successor who is outstanding enough to shoulder the responsibility of governing this vast country."
"If you hadn't risked your life, spilled your blood in the palace, and insisted on giving birth to him and recording him in the Xie family tree... Sanlang would have returned to his roots long ago."
"Unlike now, no matter how close he is to me, he only calls me 'uncle'."
"You're crazy!" Princess Shoukang's face suddenly turned pale. She stared at her brother, who shared the same blood, sitting on the Dragon Throne in disbelief. Her voice rose with anger, even taking on a sharp edge. "Jiulang is still alive. He's your child."
The brother and sister looked at each other, their emotions changing unpredictably under the dim light.
"I know Jiulang is still alive."
This man, hailed as the most sage and diligent monarch of the Great Yan Dynasty in less than a hundred years, remained unmoved by Princess Shoukang's questioning. His deep, pool-like eyes gazed downward, as if calmly stating a fact: "But he is ultimately not as good as Zhiyan."
Princess Shoukang trembled all over and took a small step back.
Her eyes widened, filled with incomprehensible horror: "Where does the emperor intend to place Jiulang?"
"And what about those unborn grandchildren in the Eastern Palace? Are you trying to force the Crown Princess, who is already pregnant, to death?"
"Zhiyan is a human being, not an object that the emperor wants but cannot obtain."
"Have you ever asked him if he really wants the kingdom of Dayan?"
"What's more..." Princess Shoukang fell silent suddenly. She didn't want to anger him because of this. Although they both knew that Xie Zhiyan could not be his child, her brother had already gone crazy.
"What's more?" The saint sneered, his calm eyes carrying a cruel tone. It was not out of disappointment in the prince, but a kind of indifference that was almost paranoid.
It was as if the legitimate son who was struggling on the brink of life and death was not his own flesh and blood, but just a defective product that failed to meet his expectations.
"I have never felt that I owe Jiulang."
The sage stood up and approached step by step. His voice was calm, with no hint of joy or dislike, and even a hint of fatigue: "I also had high hopes for him, gave him the title of Crown Prince, and placed the country before his eyes."
"It was Jiulang himself..."
He paused slightly, his eyes passing over the flickering candlelight in the hall. He seemed dazed for a moment, but then he resumed his cold tone, "He himself is the one who cannot bear my expectations."
"And my kingdom needs an heir who is strong, calm, and... like me."
The Saint had already walked up to Princess Shoukang, looking at his already shaky sister with indifference, and said without question: "I have ten thousand ways to force you to submit."
"Awu, don't force me."
"In recent years, in order to avoid me, you would rather stay away from Chang'an and take refuge in Tianchang Temple."
"But so what? I would rather risk the wrath of the world."
"All of this depends on whether I want to or not, not whether I want to or not."
"Sanlang was personally raised by me. He is the most suitable successor. Even you cannot refute it."
"You're crazy." Princess Shoukang murmured to herself, feeling a chill coming over her.
She didn't know from which day on, the close relationship between them as siblings became so unethical in his eyes.
As an emperor who holds the power of life and death over the world, her half-brother actually harbors such a shocking obsession deep in his heart.
"I'm crazy."
"Ever since the day my father passed away and arranged for you to marry Xie, I've gone mad."
"You are my sister, who was raised by me personally. Why would you marry a rough warrior like Xie Huaiqian?"
"I wanted him dead, but he lived longer than anyone else. Whenever I think of him at night, I wish I could destroy the Xie family."
"Let me go." Princess Shoukang pushed him and made him stagger, her fear and disgust barely concealed.
The Saint took a step back, his eyes still gazing at her as if to devour her. "I have given everything I have, just to have a healthy and strong heir, one who can break the curse that has plagued the Xiao royal family for centuries, with most male heirs dying young and weak!"
"I want this vast country to continue and the country to be forever strong!"
"What's wrong with that?"
He sneered, his eyes grim, as if he had made some kind of decision.
On a bone-chilled autumn night, someone knocked on the door of the harem of the Zichen Palace, and the sound of a eunuch kneeling and kowtowing could be heard.
"His Majesty."
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...I'm afraid..."
The East Palace is brightly lit.
Xie Zhiyan was led directly to the prince's bedroom by the eunuch, while Sheng Puzhu went to the side hall.
Crown Princess Wei Yuanning was surrounded by a group of maids and palace servants, leaning back on a soft couch. Her belly was bulging, her face was as pale as paper, and she was tightly clutching the handkerchief in her hand.
"Bozhu."
"It's my fault...Jiulang."
Seeing Sheng Puju coming forward, Wei Yuanning grabbed her wrist with astonishing force as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw.
"Your Highness." Sheng Puzhu was shocked. Regardless of their status difference, she covered her mouth tightly. "You must not say that. If the Saint and the Empress hear this, what will they think of you?"
"What's more, you are pregnant with His Highness's child."
The two clasped hands were equally cold and trembling. Tears instantly burst out of Wei Yuanning's eyes, but she bit her lips tightly and dared not cry out loud.
She waved her hand to let the palace servants withdraw, took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, "The mooncake was sent by Princess Changning herself."
"I saw it was so exquisitely made, so I asked the palace maid to take it out and place it on a white jade plate. Even if you don't eat it, it will be interesting to look at it."
Sheng Puzhu moved her lips. She wanted to ask why the things sent into the palace were not inspected.
Wei Yuanning said hoarsely, "Princess Changning stayed in the Eastern Palace for half an hour. During that time, she even asked a palace maid to take a mooncake and casually ate half of it. If she really knew it was poisoned, she wouldn't have acted so naturally."
Wei Yuanning was shaking all over when he said this: "So when Jiulang came back later, I saw that he looked a little tired, so I thought of giving him some sweets to comfort him."
"I just handed him a piece with my own hands...with my own hands."
"Although I don't believe Changning would harm me, but...but Jiulang's life and death are uncertain now, I really hate him."
"I hate her, and I hate myself."
"I just can't understand who is so vicious. The mooncakes were clearly meant for me and my unborn child, but in the end..."
Wei Yuanning could no longer speak. She clutched Sheng Puju's hand tightly and cried silently until she almost fainted.
"The situation is unclear right now, and everyone is a suspect."
Sheng Puzhu took a deep breath, and the old face of Prince An flashed through her mind, but she knew very well that this matter was of great importance, and she must not say a word without any evidence.
In the bedroom of the Eastern Palace, Crown Prince Xiao Changsui lay under a bright yellow brocade quilt, his lips an almost transparent pale blue.
"Your Highness." Xie Zhiyan's eyes were deep.
"Sanlang, you're here." Prince Xiao Changsui opened his eyes with difficulty. His once clear eyes were now dull and lifeless.
He was breathing heavily, his eyes half closed, and it took him a long time to see the figure in front of him: "I may not be able to make it."
"This poison is too strong. It doesn't want me to live at all."
Xiao Changsui forced an extremely weak smile, his breath barely tasting as he said, "Actually, I don't regret it. If I hadn't eaten that moon ball, my wife might have been the one to get poisoned."
"Unfortunately, I'm afraid I won't be able to see the baby being born."
Xie Zhiyan knelt down on one knee, held Xiao Changsui's hand tightly, and did not interrupt.
Xiao Changsui's eyes began to drift away. He rested for a moment, gathering his last bit of strength, and raised his eyes again, his voice filled with regret.
"Sanlang...in the next life..."
"In my next life, I just want to be... a carefree, wealthy, only son."
"Just like you, Saburo, you've been so high-spirited since childhood, which is amazing, and you also have a healthy body."
"I don't want to study anymore. I want to learn martial arts. Aye can carry me on his shoulders..."
"Sanlang, thank you for all these years." Xiao Changsui didn't know where he got the strength from. He suddenly raised his head and said in a very low and intermittent voice, "Please let Heyin come back. I'm worried about her. Who says women are inferior to men..."
"Tell her to come back. I left a letter for her."
Xie Zhiyan looked away and nodded slowly: "I know."
He still remembered the first time he met Xiao Changsui that year, when they were both children.
If you don't study well, you will be punished. If you write the wrong words, you will be punished. The teacher is strict, but he always protects the prince secretly.
So many years have passed. The young man who was once predicted by the imperial physician that he might not live to see adulthood has worked hard for so long. Xie Zhiyan thought that if he could find Master Yundeng, his fate would turn around.
But in the end, it was still a huge joke on them.
The bedroom was dead silent. Xie Zhiyan remained kneeling, his back stiff, his eyes bloodshot.
"Go and call the Crown Princess."
"yes."
Sheng Puzhu persuaded Wei Yuanning to drink half a cup of ginseng soup, and then watched over her for a quarter of an hour.
The eunuch's stumbling footsteps broke the rare tranquility: "Your Highness, Your Highness, please come in and speak."
Upon hearing this, Sheng Puzhu stood up suddenly and his face turned pale.
This sudden summons made her almost immediately guess the worst possible scenario - the prince might really be dying.
Wei Yuanning could hardly stand and had to rely on Sheng Puzhu and the nanny beside him to support him.
"Yuan Ning."
"You're here."
Xiao Changsui lay on the couch, his face pale, but the eyes looking at her were still gentle.
He was breathing weakly, and tried to force a smile: "Don't cry..."
Wei Yuanning's tears burst out in an instant. Regardless of her pregnant belly, she threw herself in front of the couch, tightly holding the prince's cold hand, and sobbed.
Xiao Changsui's mouth twitched, and he stared at his wife's demure face reluctantly, his eyes filled with guilt and reluctance. "I'm sorry, Yuanning, I'm afraid I have to break my promise to you."
"I can't be a wise ruler."
"You can't live much longer."
"And you are the only one in this life that I have...done."
Wei Yuanning thought of the palace banquet on the day when the engagement was confirmed.
There was noise and congratulations everywhere. Xiao Changsui found an excuse and quietly took her to a secluded lake.
He released the lotus lantern and made a wish. At that time, he was so nervous that he blushed even when holding her hand, and his eyes were surprisingly bright.
The Taihu stone was very high, the night wind was very cool, but her uneasy heart was hot.
Who could have imagined that from the glorious covenant to the farewell of life and death, only two short years passed.
The immense grief was like a tide, drowning Wei Yuanning.
She leaned over the couch, her shoulders shaking violently, but she bit her lips tightly and dared not cry out.
"Where's the Emperor?"
"Why doesn't Father come?"
Xiao Changsui endured the pain and tried his best to swallow back the blood rising in his throat. His eyes, which were no longer able to focus, struggled to turn towards the palace gate.
He gasped, each word coming out with difficulty, and he repeated softly, "Father...why...why didn't you come?"
"Father... he is ultimately disappointed in me..."
Before he finished speaking, the hand that had been raised with great effort finally fell down with powerlessness.
Xiao Changsui's eyes gradually lost their luster.
There was a moment of dead silence in the bedroom, and then crying followed.
Amidst the sorrowful sounds, a bright yellow figure strode through the palace gate.
Across the huge crowd, the saint looked at the lifeless body on the couch, and his breathing suddenly became rapid.
He closed his eyes and said nothing.
Perhaps, apart from Princess Shoukang, no one noticed that under the cold mask of imperial power, the saint's upright body shook almost imperceptibly, and then he stabilized it with his strong willpower.
He didn't take another step forward, but just watched from afar, with a moment of daze in the depths of his eyes.
That night, the East Palace was brightly lit and the bells of the prince's funeral rang.
That night, Princess Shoukang was placed under house arrest in the palace on the pretext of presiding over the crown prince's funeral. Xie Huaiqian, who was supposed to be in mourning in Boling, quietly appeared in the study of Xie Zhiyan in the Jingguo Mansion late one night. The lights were on and the doors and windows were closed until dawn.
When the crown prince passed away, the national funeral ceremony was grand and complicated, and no mistakes or omissions were allowed.
The mourning hall was set up in the main hall of the East Palace, with white curtains and white banners. All civil and military officials, as well as ladies from both the inner and outer courts, were required to take turns entering the palace according to their rank to kneel, cry and keep vigil.
From dawn to dusk, the crying continued.
Mourning is an extremely tiring thing. Many people's faces turn pale and they just hold on with their last breath.
The prince's funeral was not over until twenty-seven days later.
Early morning.
The heavy atmosphere had not yet dissipated when some censors stepped forward and petitioned the emperor to put the country first and decide on the issue of appointing a crown prince as soon as possible to reassure the people of the country.
However, even though the memorial was submitted, the minds of all the civil and military officials in the court were clear.
The Crown Prince passed away suddenly, and the Saint no longer had any adult and healthy prince to be appointed as the heir.
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