King Zhao died in front of the emperor.
King Zhao was so eager to die that he couldn't wait to drink the poison of crane's beak.
He left no last words, no remembrance of his life.
There is no meaning in his life anymore, and death is the ultimate relief.
As the King of Zhao gradually lost his breath and fell dead on the carpet, the emperor was stunned for a moment.
"When Imperial Concubine Xue died, she was also very happy. It seems that both mother and son were determined to die, without even a moment's hesitation."
Chen Dachang was very worried about the emperor's health. "Your Majesty, would you like to rest?"
The emperor shook his head and said, "Take the body away and send someone to properly handle the funeral."
Chen Dachang waved his hand, and immediately a eunuch came in and carried the body away.
"Call King Yan in."
The King of Yan looked haggard, with sunken cheeks and was so thin that he was unrecognizable.
He knelt on the ground, but he was not as arrogant and domineering as King Zhao.
"Your son pays homage to His Majesty the Father."
"How dare you acknowledge me as your father? You colluded with the Prince of Zhao to force the palace and rebel. You are worse than an animal."
The emperor was furious and cursed loudly.
King Yan lowered his head and said nothing.
The emperor snorted coldly and suppressed his temper, "Do you admit your guilt?"
Prince Yan smiled, but quickly stopped smiling. "I know my crime. I shouldn't have joined forces with Prince Zhao to force the palace into rebellion. But if I want to kill Concubine Li De and the young prince, I must cooperate with them. Ultimately, I don't regret the choice I made."
The emperor was furious, "Do you know that just to vent your anger, you have implicated your mother, your wife and your children?"
The King of Yan said, "As a prince, what's the point of living a life of enduring humiliation and being treated like a pig or a dog every day? It would be better to take revenge and kill those who deserve to be killed. This will make your life on earth worthwhile."
The emperor sneered, "No wonder you're hanging around with the King of Zhao. Both of you are unrepentant. Do you both think everything is my fault?"
Prince Yan raised his head. "Isn't it wrong for my father to demote my mother because of Concubine Li De? Concubine Li De had only been in the palace for two years, and my father had forgotten the old one when he had the new one.
I don't believe that my father couldn't see through such a crude frame-up. But he still went along with it and demoted my mother from Consort Xian to Consort Jie, haha, in full view of everyone.
What did my mother do wrong to deserve such treatment? I swore a vow that day that I would make Concubine Li De pay, even if it meant using any means necessary. I must teach her that she shouldn't be so arrogant. If Prince Zhao and Concubine Xue can fulfill my wishes, I will cooperate with them willingly. If your father wishes to sentence me to death, I have no complaints.
"Have you ever considered your mother, concubine, wife, and children when you did all this?"
The King of Yan lowered his head and smiled, "It doesn't matter. Living is worse than pigs and dogs, so dying is more painful."
The emperor was so angry that he almost had another stroke.
The King of Zhao was like this, and the King of Yan was like this too.
Had these two taken a drug that had driven them insane? Or had he, as a father, disgusted his sons to the point of wanting to die?
The emperor gnashed his teeth and asked, "Do you hate me so much?"
The Prince of Yan raised his head and looked at the old and frail Emperor, who was not long for death. "Hate! I have hated him for a long time. Father can dislike us princes and use all kinds of means to suppress us.
But Your Majesty, Father, shouldn't treat us like animals. No, we are worse than animals. Your Majesty, please ask all the civil and military officials: do we, the princes, have dignity in the court?
I'm afraid every court official is laughing at us behind our backs, saying we're living worse than pigs and dogs.
Only Prince Ning is so open-minded that he doesn't care about his face and lets his father do whatever he wants. But I, your son, cannot be as shameless as Prince Ning, and neither can Prince Zhao.
We are all human beings, and we all want to maintain our dignity. Father never gives us dignity, so why can't we hate him? "
The emperor pointed at the King of Yan and asked, "Is that what you think?"
"Could it be that my son is wrong?"
The Prince of Yan looked at the Emperor with a half-smile.
The emperor never expected that when death was imminent, King Zhao refused to repent, and even King Yan refused to repent.
They are not afraid of death, nor are they afraid of implicating their wives, children, and entire families.
"You alone killed a thousand people. How can a person like you, with blood on your hands, be compared to pigs and dogs?"
Prince Yan sneered, "Over the years, more than a thousand people have died because of a single word from my father. Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands. According to my father's will, wouldn't they be worse than animals..."
"You rebellious son, you even dare to slander me."
The emperor was angry, his cheek muscles twitched, his breathing became rapid, and it seemed that he was about to faint at any moment.
Chen Dachang quickly took out the pills and gave them to the emperor, "Your Majesty, calm down."
He also advised the Prince of Yan, "Prince of Yan, please apologize sincerely. Your Majesty will not be too harsh on you out of consideration for the father-son relationship."
Prince Yan smiled and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Chen. But does your father really have a father-son relationship with me?"
"There's no need to speak for this rebellious son." The emperor caught his breath and scolded Chen Dachang.
Chen Dachang was helpless. This was an unprovoked disaster for him.
The emperor pointed at the King of Yan and said, "You want to die, don't you? I will grant your wish and let you die cleanly."
The Prince of Yan remained calm as he kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Father, for granting my son's wish to die."
"Get out of here."
The emperor did not immediately order the death of the King of Yan.
No one knows what the emperor is thinking.
The bedroom became quiet, yet suffocating.
After a long time, Chen Dachang heard the emperor ask a question.
"Am I really wrong? The King of Zhao hates me, and even the King of Yan hates me. Am I really treating them worse than pigs and dogs?"
"Those words were deliberately said by Prince Zhao and Prince Yan. Your Majesty, please don't take them seriously." Chen Dachang advised softly.
The emperor shook his head. "I saw it. There is deep hatred for me in their eyes. They truly hate me. Haha... I have so many sons, and each of them hates me to some extent. What about Prince Ning? Does he hate me too?"
Chen Dachang's heart skipped a beat, and he said hastily, "Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. How could Prince Ning hate Your Majesty?"
"No, I want to verify this matter myself. Go, go and call Prince Ning."
"Your Majesty, the palace gates are locked."
"You're so long-winded. I asked you to call someone over, can't you hear me?"
Chen Dachang had no choice but to arrange for someone to invite King Ning.
Prince Ning had already walked out of the palace, but was called back, feeling a little uneasy.
The old man had just met with the King of Zhao and the King of Yan and wanted to see him. Could it be that these two people had said bad things about him in front of the old man?
Prince Ning snorted twice.
When he arrived at Xingqing Palace, before he even entered the bedroom, he started shouting, "Father, are you feeling better today? Your son listened to you and came to see you."
The emperor narrowed his eyes and stared at Prince Ning as he walked into the bedroom.
"Are you done?"
Prince Ning chuckled, "Thanks to my father, I've finished all my work for today. Has your father taken the medicine? Otherwise, I'll help you take the medicine."
The emperor waved his hand. "I met with the King of Zhao and the King of Yan. They both said I had no compassion for you and treated you like animals. Anyone who is human would hate me. Third brother, do you hate me?"
"Who's talking nonsense?" Prince Ning cried out immediately. "Father, you've been tricked. They know they're doomed, and before they die, they want to make things difficult for you, to make you feel uneasy."
The emperor frowned, "You don't hate me?"
Prince Ning started to yell, his voice as powerful as ten men. "Why should a son hate the emperor? I was born into a life of luxury, with servants at my command and a noble status. Many people envy my son, and they wish they could be born into the royal family like my son.
"The blessings I have enjoyed in my life are blessings that others cannot obtain in eight lifetimes. With such a good life, how could I possibly hate my father? All of this was given to me by you, my father! I don't know how many times I have been thankful that I was born into the royal family and don't have to worry about food."
The emperor's expression finally softened a bit, but he still had some doubts in his heart, "You really don't hate me?"
Prince Ning was exhausted. "Father, you've gotten stuck in a dead end and been victimized by those two treacherous ministers! Damn it, even on the verge of death, you're still restless and trying to stir up trouble in the palace. Father, we won't fall for their tricks. We must fight back resolutely."
The emperor snorted, "I have already ordered the death of King Zhao."
"ah!"
Prince Ning had known about this for a long time, but at this moment, he still pretended to have just learned the news and looked shocked.
"Has the emperor already ordered the death of King Zhao? Well, I'm thinking of bringing a pot of wine someday and having a drink with him as a farewell. After all, we're brothers, so let's just celebrate our brotherly love."
The emperor looked confused, "You are thoughtful."
Prince Ning, a talented singer and composer, clutched his chest and said sadly, "My son is kind-hearted! He just can't bear to see people die, especially when someone close to him gets into trouble. But the law of the land is more important than reason. Prince Zhao deserves death, and I can't possibly plead for him."
The emperor was almost amused by Prince Ning.
The shameless Prince Ning actually dared to flatter himself and claimed that he had a kind heart.
As Prince Yan said, Prince Ning is a shameless person who is open-minded and does not dwell on trivial matters.
At this moment, the emperor suddenly felt that he had a unique vision and appointed a crown prince with a broad mind.
If Prince Ning hated him as much as Prince Zhao and Prince Yan did, the emperor would be so angry that he would vomit blood. He would use his last breath to depose Prince Ning.
The emperor would never accept his successor and hated himself deep in his heart.
Seeing the emperor smile, King Ning secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as he had finally passed this hurdle.
King Zhao deserved to die. Even though he was already dead, King Ning still wanted to whip his corpse.
The King of Yan also deserves to die.
These two brothers, facing death, still tried to dig a hole for him. He almost fell into their trap.
Humph!
Fortunately, he was quick-witted and cleverly resolved the crisis.
Prince Ning began to act in a nice and flattering manner, insisting on staying and having dinner with the emperor.
The emperor disliked his noise and tried to drive him away, but he refused to leave.
In the end, he succeeded and had dinner with the emperor.
While eating, Prince Ning complained about the cooking in the imperial kitchen.
"This one doesn't have enough oil, this one doesn't have enough salt, this dish is too bland... Only this soup is barely okay."
The emperor was so angry that he shouldn't have invited Prince Ning to have dinner.
Chen Dachang laughed and explained, "Your Highness may not know this, but the Imperial Physician has instructed the Imperial Kitchen that Your Majesty's meals should be light, with as little oil and salt as possible."
Upon hearing this, Prince Ning burst into tears, "Father, what a sin! I can't even have a good meal."
“Get out!”
The emperor could no longer tolerate this and immediately drove Prince Ning out.
What a bastard, he can't even eat a meal in peace.
Prince Ning quickly rolled away.
It is tiring to accompany the emperor for dinner.
"Send someone back first and tell the kitchen to prepare a banquet. This evening, I will be having meat."
He was so miserable after eating a few mouthfuls of oil-free and salt-free food with the emperor.
King Ning decided to have a big meal when he returned to reward his stomach.
He then instructed Chang En, "Find out what kind of wine the Prince of Yan likes to drink. Prepare a pot. I will visit him at the Zongzheng Temple tomorrow."
Chang En was puzzled, "Your Highness really wants to visit Prince Yan?"
Prince Ning nodded. "I've already spoken to Fayu Huang, so of course I have to keep my word. Prince Zhao died too quickly, so I didn't have time to drink with him. As for Prince Yan, I naturally can't miss it."
Chao En took the order and prepared the wine that King Yan liked to drink the next day.
Prince Ning took advantage of the fact that it was almost noon and went to Zongzheng Temple to visit Prince Yan.
In addition to wine, there are also dishes.
It's also very thoughtful.
Everyone in the Zongzheng Temple was delighted to welcome the crown prince, Prince Ning, and they were all smiling.
Prince Ning waved his hand and said, "No need to follow me. I want to be alone with Prince Yan for a while."
Prince Ning only left Chang En to serve him.
The King of Yan lived alone in a small courtyard.
The square courtyard is narrow and cramped, not like a cage but more like a cage.
Prince Yan stood under the eaves, not afraid of the cold weather in December, and watched Prince Ning arrive indifferently.
Chang En closed the gate to block the prying eyes outside.
"Brother, brother is here to see you."
Prince Ning's face was full of smiles, and he seemed very friendly. "Look, I brought you some wine and food."
King Yan laughed sarcastically, "A beheading wine?"
"Hey, you're a good person in every way except your foul mouth. What you say is unpleasant to the ear."
Prince Yan scoffed, "You speak so sweetly. Judging from your appearance, you have successfully coaxed father again."
Prince Ning laughed heartily. "Let's not talk about that for now. Let's go inside. It's warm inside. It's freezing outside. I'm glad you can still stand it."
The King of Yan smiled, his eyes filled with sorrow. "As a prisoner, I am lucky to have a roof over my head. How dare I ask for more?"
"That's pointless."
Prince Ning walked into the room first.
Because of the arrival of Prince Ning, two more braziers were placed in the room, both filled with smokeless silver charcoal.
With the brazier, the room was indeed warm.
The King of Yan followed him into the house and said, "I am grateful to you for your kindness today."
Prince Ning picked a chair and sat down, laughing, "If you had listened to me at the beginning, you could always benefit from my help."
King Yan laughed sarcastically, "You are so hypocritical, I am afraid you will sell me out."
"That's so hurtful. I wouldn't sell anyone out, but I wouldn't sell out my own brothers. You shouldn't have chosen Prince Zhao in the first place. If you had chosen me, I would have guaranteed you your wish. It's just Concubine Li De, a mere woman. Why would you risk your life for her?"
King Yan sneered, "If I had chosen you, the grass on my grave would have been as tall as a man."
"Well, it seems you have a deep prejudice against me. No wonder you and King Zhao are so close. Even at this time, you still don't forget to flatter me in front of the emperor and try to frame me."
After going around in circles, we finally got to the point.
Prince Ning came here today, ostensibly to invite you to drink, but actually to question you.
The King of Yan had betrayed him, but he wasn't the type to remain silent when wronged. Even when the Emperor beat him, he cried out louder than his brothers, let alone something as despicable as secretly vilifying him.
King Yan chuckled softly and said with regret, "It's a pity that I didn't kill you."
Prince Ning poured wine and pushed the glass toward Prince Yan. "Do you really hate me so much? Even at this time, you're still helping Prince Zhao to betray me? Why don't you consider that if you're willing to give in, maybe I'll soften my heart and go to my father to plead for you, saving your life, your wife, and your children."
"unnecessary!"
King Yan refused coldly.
Prince Ning tutted his words. "Even ants try to survive, but you're so desperate to die. I understand Prince Zhao's eagerness to die. He's missing an arm, after all. As a prince, I understand he can't accept being disabled."
But you are different. You have hands and feet, and you didn't participate in the regicide. You only killed a woman and a little prince of unknown bloodline. You still have a glimmer of hope."
The King of Yan did not answer him, but asked, "Do you think it's interesting for me to live like this?"
Prince Ning smiled, "As long as you're alive, it's interesting. If you're dead, it's really boring."
King Yan snorted, "Tell me, what is your purpose? Don't talk to me about brotherly love, or I will spit on you."
Prince Ning laughed heartily. "That's great! Then I won't waste any more words. You submit your apology and I'll plead for mercy and ensure your survival."
"Why?"
"Because this king needs a role model, and you are the best one."
"Why don't you just tell me and let me help you improve your reputation."
"Well, it's all the same idea. How about it? This deal isn't difficult for you, is it?"
King Yan smiled coldly, "What if I don't agree?"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
There is a third
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