Chapter 139 Everyone's rebelling, so how...
The prison is getting more and more crowded lately.
In the deepest part of the corridor, a sliver of sunlight shone through a skylight above the wall, barely illuminating a small patch of bare stone on the floor, while dust motes danced in the air.
Prince An lay on the low, rough wooden bed, listening to the distant noise and curses coming from ahead. He impatiently turned over, the straw mat creaking beneath him.
Luckily, he arrived early and managed to get a private room.
He has been living here for almost half a year now, and I wonder if Emperor Qingxi intends to imprison him for life.
Prince An curled his lip in disdain, his gaze falling on the large prison cell diagonally opposite.
The entire Heng family was imprisoned there, and every day there would be several full-blown fights, which was practically a source of amusement for him.
It's a pity that Emperor Qingxi hasn't come for a long time, otherwise Prince An would like to ask him: What is it like to be forced to abdicate and rebel by your honest and simple eldest son?
What goes around comes around.
What's the use of having many sons?
As I lay there, it was lunchtime, and unsurprisingly, the people across the street started fighting over a trivial matter again.
The Crown Prince of Heng snatched a steamed bun from Princess Rongcheng's bowl, glaring at her angrily: "How dare you eat this? If you hadn't instigated our father to force the abdication, would we have ended up like this?"
The food in the prison was served at fixed times and in fixed quantities, and it was extremely simple. Each person received a steamed bun and a bowl of clear, watery stewed cabbage with a few barely perceptible drops of oil floating on top. However, a skilled cook could make sure that you couldn't find a single bit of meat even after searching the bottom of the bowl.
The feeling of seeing something but not being able to eat it is the most tormenting, especially for someone like the Prince of Heng who is used to a life of luxury. He is constantly hungry and not eating well, which causes him inner turmoil and an inability to vent his frustration.
When will these days end?
Are they also destined to be imprisoned until death, just like Uncle Twelve on the other side?
The Crown Prince dared not lose his temper with Prince Heng, so he could only nitpick at Princess Rongcheng, blaming her for being unruly.
Princess Rongcheng didn't tolerate him either. After her steamed bun was snatched away, she retaliated by pouring cabbage soup all over the young master's head.
"What's the difference between being locked up here and being locked up in Prince Heng's mansion? At least I bet you, all you can do is rage impotently!"
The prince glared at her: "You can't even control your own man, what kind of gambling is that!"
"You're not much better. Your sister-in-law sold out our whole family to survive. Is this your virtuous and gentle princess consort?"
Princess Heng couldn't get a word in edgewise, so she could only tug at Prince Heng's sleeve.
Prince Heng, unable to contain himself any longer, roared, "Are you ever going to stop?"
The brother and sister looked at each other with eyes full of hatred.
Prince Heng can only keep them in check for a short while. By evening, they will start arguing again for various other reasons.
Prince An, propping his head up with one hand, clicked his tongue as if enjoying the spectacle, "That's it?"
He even wanted to fan the flames, thinking it would be more interesting to see them fight each other.
However, in Prince An's opinion, he quite admired this grandniece. At least she dared to think and act. Compared to her father, who was hesitant and indecisive, and her brother, who was timid and timid, Princess Rongcheng was much more spirited.
If he had such a daughter… Prince An shook his head regretfully.
Upon hearing Prince An's words, Prince Heng glared at him, too exhausted to even retort. He sat wearily on the edge of the bed, his heart filled with indifference.
Since their whole family was arrested, their father has never appeared again, nor has he sent anyone to deliver any decrees.
In the past few days, he has watched as officials who once supported him have fallen from power one after another, and the prison has become overcrowded, plunging him into utter despair.
The situation is hopeless. If you want to kill me or torture me, can you just give me a straight answer?
The wait for the second shoe to drop was unbearable; Prince Heng aged visibly, and the light in his eyes gradually faded.
Late at night, Princess Tong'an quietly came to the prison and was startled when she saw the large patch of newly sprouted white hair on his head.
She stood outside the railing, her heart filled with mixed emotions, and called out, "Big Brother!"
Prince Heng suddenly raised his head. "Why are you here?"
A faint glimmer of hope seemed to rise within him. "Did Father send you to see me?"
His voice grew louder, waking the others. The Crown Prince of Heng scrambled to his feet, rushed forward, grabbed the railing, and wept bitterly, "Auntie, save me! I really don't know anything! I beg my grandfather to investigate thoroughly and clear my name! If anyone's to be killed, kill Xiao Fei! She's the real culprit—"
Princess Tong'an glanced at him helplessly and said indifferently, "Father has agreed to the Crown Princess's divorce and return home, as well as your two children. They are still young and will not be implicated. They will still be descendants of the Xiao family."
The Crown Prince of Heng lowered his head unwillingly, his eyes filled with hatred.
This ungrateful woman ran away faster than anyone else when trouble came...
But he dared not show it in front of Princess Tong'an, and instead feigned pitifulness, "Aunt, what about me? Can my grandfather really be so heartless as to issue an order to kill us? I am also his own grandson."
Princess Heng rushed over and pleaded, "We really know we were wrong. Please, Father, forgive us this time for the sake of Consort Xian..."
Suddenly, Prince An across from them let out a sneer.
"We're all rebels, so why are we being divided into different classes?"
Who isn't a prince?
Princess Tong'an turned around, raising the lantern in her hand slightly to illuminate the unwilling look in Prince An's eyes.
"Twelfth Uncle," she said softly, "you don't want to be locked up here for the rest of your life, do you?"
Prince An raised an eyebrow slightly. "What, is he finally going to take pity on me and release me? Or exile me? To the Northwest or Lingnan?"
He looked at Princess Tong'an provocatively: "Niece, go back and ask your father if he dares to release me."
He is now like a dragon trapped in shallow waters, possessing great talent but nowhere to use it. As long as Emperor Qingxi releases him for the sake of so-called face... Prince An is confident that he can create a new world wherever he goes.
Princess Tong'an smiled and said, "There's no need to ask my father. I'm here today on orders to deal with you."
With a gentle wave of her hand, a squad of well-trained Imperial Guards appeared like ghosts from the shadows, swiftly opening the prison doors and dragging out Prince An, Prince Heng, and their entire family, their hands bound behind their backs.
The Crown Prince of Heng turned pale with fright. What did this mean? Were they going to be secretly dragged out and behead them under the cover of darkness?
He plopped down on the ground, clung to a railing, and cried out, "I won't go, I don't want to die..."
Princess Tong'an kicked him in annoyance, "Who said I was going to kill you? Get up now, or I'll really lock you up here for the rest of your life."
...If we don't kill them, then it's exile?
Who wants to die if they can live?
The Crown Prince of Heng quickly got up and forced a smile at Princess Tong'an: "Aunt, please tell me, where does Grandfather want to send us? Liaodong is too cold, and Lingnan is hot and humid with miasma... Wouldn't it be better to send us back to our hometown to guard the imperial tombs?"
Princess Tong'an glanced at him sideways: "How dare you, unfilial descendants, guard the imperial tombs? Don't disturb the peace of our ancestors."
She then went to the other end of the prison, where all the officials imprisoned were from the imperial court, including members of the Heng Prince's faction, the Yu Prince's faction, and the An Prince's faction who had previously escaped death. It was a veritable "gathering of talents".
Princess Tong'an showed no kindness to these people, coldly saying, "Don't you all want to claim credit for supporting the emperor? Father will give you a chance. Take them away!"
The group was taken out of the prison and put into a special iron carriage for transporting prisoners. They quickly left the capital under the cover of night and headed west to Zhangjiawan Wharf.
As dawn approached, several official boats stood quietly on the calm canal surface amidst a thin, bluish mist.
When Prince An and Prince Heng got out of the carriage and saw the surrounding scenery, they were both a little stunned.
...Which exile route required going to the dock and traveling by water?
The Crown Prince of Heng was smug. Did he really intend to send them back to their hometown to guard the imperial tombs?
A group of people boarded the ship in a daze, and Princess Tong'an finally arrived. Standing on the deck, she calmly said, "You will first take a ship to Suzhou, then transfer to a larger ship to leave the port and head east to the Japanese islands..."
The Crown Prince of Heng was utterly shocked and blurted out, "Grandfather is going to exile us to that godforsaken, desolate island?!"
Everyone looked completely bewildered.
They had imagined countless possible endings for themselves, but they never expected to be sent abroad!
This is worse than going to Lingnan, at least Lingnan has lychees and mangoes...
Moreover, the weather at sea is unpredictable, and those ocean-going merchant fleets face a life-or-death situation every time they set sail. If they encounter a storm or tsunami along the way, wouldn't a single wave bring them all to their deaths and drown in the sea?
The crowd began to stir, and an elderly official plopped down on the deck, wailing, "It would be better to kill me now than to suffer like this..."
With a whoosh, the Imperial Guards standing behind Princess Tong'an drew their swords in unison, the gleaming blades flashing across the sky, reflecting her resolute and cold eyes.
Princess Tong'an slowly spoke: "I will give you two paths. One is to take a ship out to sea. From then on, you will no longer be citizens of Daye. Everything you do on the island will have nothing to do with Daye. You will have no family, no support from the court. How you live will depend entirely on your own abilities..."
Prince An's eyes instantly burned with fervor, his burning ambition reignited.
He asked, "Is His Majesty really just going to set us free like this? Are there no other conditions?"
"As expected of Twelfth Uncle." Princess Tong'an smiled slightly. "The conditions are very simple: within one year, whether you steal, buy, or rob, you must send back one million catties of copper and one million catties of silver to Daye."
Prince An quickly figured it out and chuckled, "Is it because the copper mines in southern Yunnan are about to be shut down? My dear niece, are you treating your uncle like a laborer?"
"Is it that you, Uncle Twelfth, dare not, or are you unable to?" Princess Tong'an pointed to the dock. "If you shake your head, I will send someone to take you back to the Heavenly Prison right now."
Her gaze swept over the Princess of Rongcheng almost imperceptibly, with a meaningful look, "This unparalleled achievement of expanding territory and becoming a king in a foreign land can only be left to others."
The Crown Prince of Heng raised his hand. "Aunt, what is the second path you mentioned?"
He still clung to a sliver of hope that he could stay in Daye; who would want to cross the ocean?
Princess Tong'an merely glanced at the noisy officials and said expressionlessly, "The second option is for me to send you on your way right now."
The Imperial Guards all brandished their swords and took a large step forward.
The crying stopped abruptly, and the deck became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
An official rushed to Prince Heng's side and offered his advice: "His Majesty must be worried about his descendants, which is why he has given you a chance to redeem yourself. It's just a mere Japanese island, a bunch of local tyrants fighting each other. What right do they have to call themselves warlords? With so many of us by your side to assist you, Your Highness, His Majesty will surely look at you with new respect!"
When Prince Heng turned his head, he saw that Prince An had also been surrounded by a group of loyal officials, forming a new clique centered around him. This immediately stirred his competitive spirit.
"That's right, you are all well-read and capable ministers who have been through many ups and downs in the officialdom. With your support by my side, I will surely be able to open up a new world!"
Under the threat of "either go or die," everyone quickly adjusted their mindset, and with the idea of making contributions and striving to be the first, they actively discussed the local customs and political situation on the Japanese island.
Some people were looking around, saying, "...Is there an interpreter here who understands Japanese? Please help us learn it quickly on the way."
Princess Tong'an watched them go from looking dejected to full of ambition in a second, each of them rubbing their hands together, ready to make a big splash. A faint smile appeared on her lips.
Yan Yi's idea of "shifting the blame" was really clever.
The Emperor's dilemma was that he didn't want to kill his own flesh and blood, but he also didn't want his elder brother to live too comfortably. After all, his brother had led the Imperial Guards to the Emperor's presence. If he were to act arrogantly and then let it go easily, wouldn't everyone follow suit? What would become of the Emperor's authority?
Why not pack them up, put them on a ship, and throw them all across the river to cause trouble?
If luck is bad and the ship encounters a storm at sea, then consider it a divine intervention to punish the unworthy descendants on behalf of the emperor.
If they can actually make it ashore safely... with this lineup, if they can't even handle a small island, they might as well stay there and live like savages for the rest of their lives.
The ship was escorted by trusted members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard selected by Lu Sheng. Princess Tong'an gave her a few instructions and was about to disembark when she was stopped by Princess Rongcheng.
She raised an eyebrow. "Xiao Fei, why didn't you go in with them?"
Princess Rongcheng asked earnestly, "Aunt, does Grandfather really intend to send us to the other side, instead of letting the ship suddenly sink to the bottom of the sea halfway there?"
Princess Tong'an: "...If you really wanted to kill you, you wouldn't have needed to get on this ship."
"Isn't he afraid that we'll seize power over there and dominate the region?"
Princess Tong'an chuckled, "Xiao Fei, without your status as a county princess and a prince, do you think seizing power would be so easy with just a bunch of you?"
At least on the surface, Emperor Qingxi will not provide them with any assistance.
She patted the Princess of Rongcheng on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Learn more from your twelfth great-uncle. He is much more capable than your father. You don't want to be outdone by him and have to leave your hometown and live at the mercy of others, do you?"
The county magistrate of Rongcheng's eyes lit up.
Prince An... was the whetstone that their grandfather gave to their family.
“I understand.” Princess Rongcheng clenched her fist and said in a low voice, “I will let my grandfather see that I am not a fool with empty ambitions.”
This journey to the East is both a punishment and a new challenge.
Princess Rongcheng turned and headed towards the left cabin chosen by Prince An's faction.
She would listen to her aunt and humbly learn from her twelfth uncle.
As for who will emerge victorious, that will depend on their own abilities.
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Author's Note: Tong'an: Drop the burdens, drop the burdens~ Everyone go find a mine! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]
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