Chapter 254 Prince Ning pleads for mercy
The court was silent.
“Brother…I was momentarily blinded by greed, and I am at your mercy, Your Majesty.” The Seventh Prince knelt on the ground, readily admitting his guilt, his attitude one of sincere remorse.
His plot to murder his elder brother had been officially approved by Emperor Hongren, and even his adoptive mother's family had been dealt with. The new emperor, upon ascending the throne, wanted to settle scores, combining all the previous methods, leaving the Seventh Prince with no choice but to accept it. He knew he could never recover from this. After struggling for several days, he was mentally prepared.
The seventh prince knelt as if he had lost his parents, waiting for his fate, but the flames of ambition lurked in his downcast eyes.
He never gives up.
The Third Prince set a good example for him.
So what if he's demoted to a commoner? With the right strategy, he can always rise again. Even his elder brother, the Crown Prince, serves as a good example. Even with an emperor above him, he still managed to accumulate his own power…
Qi Chengming turned his gaze towards the Imperial Clan Court: "According to the law, what should be done?"
The Imperial Clan Commander stepped forward and solemnly reported, "Having repeatedly plotted against His Majesty, he shall be stripped of his title and reduced to a commoner, and imprisoned for the rest of his life."
Qi Chengming nodded. These were the words he had been waiting for. He immediately ordered the Seventh Prince to be placed under house arrest and also pointed at the Imperial Clan Court: "The Imperial Clan Court should take the three commoners as a warning and not let so many idle people sneak in again."
“…Yes!” Even Uncle Zongren couldn’t help but wipe away his sweat.
The seventh prince, disappointed, clenched his fists and was dragged away without a word, his heart filled with resentment.
He's not even as good as the Third Commoner! The Third Commoner had concubines and children when he was imprisoned, but what about him? He's also reached the age where people should be admitted to the prison. But he's locked up all alone! His new foster mother, Consort Zhen, was too busy distancing herself from him after the incident to care about such trivial matters.
Although he's a cripple, he has no descendants to carry on the family line...
As the Seventh Prince was dragged away, Qi Chengming watched intently, not missing a single expression on his face. The young man's face was deathly pale, but not ashen; he was deep in thought, his lips pressed tightly together.
One of Qi Chengming's goals today is to demote the original male lead, the Seventh Prince, to a commoner and make it public in front of the court officials.
but--!
Qi Chengming would never spend money to support the original male lead for nothing.
After observing him for so long, he knew that the original male lead, the Seventh Prince, was a man of great ambition and unwavering determination. This manifested in his relentless pursuit of a way to rise above his circumstances, regardless of his background or situation. Releasing such a person would be unreasonable, and there was a fear that he might cause trouble in secret. Locking him up, however, would be a waste of the national treasury's resources.
Furthermore, Qi Chengming did not feel that imprisoning the Seventh Prince was the greatest punishment for him.
This kid's mind works like a whirlwind; he's always coming up with all sorts of wicked ideas. Leaving him locked up alone is like watching him brew up some big scheme.
Qi Chengming plans to freeload off the original male lead's labor.
The Imperial Clan Court is short of clothes and food; it's just enough to ensure that commoners can live normally. What do you want? Come and work hard with your own brains and hands to earn it.
Thinking of this, Qi Chengming felt much better.
He glanced at Xiao Dezi with a knowing look.
Xiao Dezi was taken aback.
Zhao Fuman, who was standing to the side acting as a muralist, saw that he was still unfamiliar with the process and stepped forward impatiently, saying, "The grand ceremony is over!"
The long-prepared ceremonial music then began, announcing the end of this dramatic coronation ceremony.
Qi Chengming rose from his throne and left first. Xiao Dezi followed sullenly behind, while Xiao Chengzi, who was also a beat slower to react, nudged him with his shoulder and whispered, his eyes full of determination: "...Next time, we can't let him beat us to it again!"
Xiao Dezi nodded emphatically, extremely indignant.
The two personal eunuchs exchanged a glance, their ambitions ignited.
They were all rightfully the emperor's chief eunuchs! How could they allow Zhao Fuman, who had lost his power, to still be above them?!
Qi Chengming arrived at the side hall, and almost as soon as he entered, Xiao Chengzi behind him paused and came over to report: "Prince Ning and the Third Princess, along with their husbands, request an audience. Grand Secretary Mu and Grand Tutor Wu also request an audience."
"Let Prince Ning and the others in." Qi Chengming knew that Prince Ning and the Third Princess would come to plead for them privately, so he agreed on the spot. As for the others, he would leave them for later.
Today, during his coronation ceremony, he raised three issues for reckoning: the culprit, Consort Rong, and her faction are dead; the Seventh Prince has been demoted to a commoner awaiting further exploitation. Only the matter of the late Empress remains unclear.
Prince Ning hurried in and immediately knelt down. Instead of pleading for mercy, he poured out a string of words: "Your Majesty, it is my fault that I have not found an opportunity to tell you. Father Emperor secretly said that day that after Your Majesty ascends the throne, my position as the eldest son will be in danger. Father Emperor will become my backer so that Your Majesty will have something to worry about."
Actually, what my father said was even more outrageous.
You've seen what happened to your elder brother; he committed treason and forcibly usurped the throne. In my heart, the only heir should be you; you are my true son…
The aged voice of Emperor Hongren echoed in Prince Ning's ears, bringing not ecstasy but trepidation.
This is tantamount to Emperor Hongren openly wanting to support the sixth prince, his legitimate son, and just waiting for Qi Chengming to ascend the throne so he could secretly cause him some trouble.
Still not giving up, old Deng.
Qi Chengming smirked, though he wasn't surprised at all. The surveillance cameras in the side hall hadn't been removed yet.
"..." When Prince Ning saw that his younger brother showed no surprise at all, his heart sank completely. He knelt on the ground and continued to plead, "Your Majesty, I did not agree to your words—my sister and I had a tacit understanding with you, and we would never cause trouble for you!"
"And what about the late Empress?" Qi Chengming asked him in return, his eyes full of understanding.
On the night Emperor Hongren wrote the abdication edict, Qi Chengming only briefly left Emperor Hongren and Prince Ning alone for a short time. His surveillance was immediately triggered, and he caught Lao Deng trying to incite his sixth brother.
Qi Chengming was also curious to see if Prince Ning would be tempted by the emperor's personal support and encouragement.
The truth is that Prince Ning's face was deathly pale, and he was indeed filled with fear.
He secretly allied with the new emperor, paving a path for himself. Forget wealth and glory, at least his life was secure. Why would he bother playing games with the retired emperor, something that could cost his entire family their lives?
However, after the palace servants in the Empress's palace who cared about Prince Ning summoned him, Qi Chengming did not receive any further information from Prince Ning for the next three days.
Is this a sign of wavering?
That's why I asked that question earlier.
"...Mother Empress..." Prince Ning was filled with remorse and speechless, but he tried to explain, "Mother Empress was the one who advised me to come and tell my brother! This has nothing to do with Mother Empress."
Upon returning home, he immediately told his mother about the matter. His mother earnestly urged him to tell his elder brother everything, making it clear to him. She also mentioned the possible fate that awaited her, suggesting that she would likely not fare well, and warned Prince Ning not to act rashly in the future.
When Prince Ning turned back as he left, he saw a woman sitting in the dimly lit hall, smiling gently and lovingly at him. Her demeanor was so elegant and noble, yet she seemed inexplicably lonely, as if she were mourning the palace that was about to become a tomb... The darkness almost swallowed up that familiar face.
At that moment, Prince Ning felt a chill run down his spine.
Why would Prince Ning agree to this?
Instead, he hesitated.
Previously, Prince Ning had no choice; even protecting himself was difficult, and he worried day and night about his mother's crimes. Choosing either his father or his elder brother as crown prince would put him at risk of being used against his mother. But now the situation is different…
On one hand, he told the new emperor that his mother would be punished. On the other hand, his father secretly bewitched him, implying that he was willing to forgive his mother's past transgressions for his sake...
Prince Ning was deeply moved, yet tormented by conflicting emotions. Reason told him his mother was right; he had taken the first ninety-nine steps, and this final push was all that remained to secure a bright future. But… but if there were even the slightest possibility of saving his mother—
How could Prince Ning so easily abandon his mother?
He finally admitted that he was indeed an indecisive and mediocre person, struggling and hesitating in agony for three days without making a move. Then, on the eve of his elder brother's coronation ceremony—
The Emperor's methods struck head-on, instantly shattering Prince Ning's soul.
My brother not only wants to punish our mother now and refuse to acknowledge her status as Empress Dowager, but also wants to strip her of her former Empress title?!
Prince Ning prostrated himself on the ground, completely disregarding his dignity. He knew perfectly well that these actions today were a warning from his elder brother, the Emperor. How could he and his father dare to contend with his elder brother?!
The Prince of Ning, terrified, pleaded desperately, "Your Majesty, it was all my fault. It has nothing to do with Mother... Please, Your Majesty, be lenient with Mother!"
Not recognizing her as Empress Dowager and abolishing her title as Empress would be far too humiliating for a country's Empress.
If Prince Ning had even a shred of courage, he should have been enraged by today's events and completely sided with his father, secretly opposing his elder brother. But he was truly terrified. His elder brother knew everything, and his elder brother could do anything; his elder brother was specifically targeting his Achilles' heel, trying to prevent him from harboring any disloyalty…
Qi Chengming looked helplessly at the boy on the ground, who was trembling and shaking with fear. He interrupted the Prince of Ning's imagination: "You're overthinking it. Your affairs are your own, and the late Empress's crimes are her own."
No matter how long Prince Ning struggles and hesitates, or which side he ultimately chooses, Qi Chengming cannot change his accountability for the Empress today, nor can he bestow upon her the title of Empress Dowager.
"Don't forget, I've already shown some respect to the late Empress." Qi Chengming glanced suggestively towards the harem.
While Zhao Fuman and Cui Anshi were investigating intelligence these past few days, under Qi Chengming's instruction, they also investigated another matter—the Empress's plot to harm the imperial offspring. In addition to the eldest and second princesses, who had personally committed these acts, the late Empress also played a role in the premature deaths of the fourth and fifth princes.
It wasn't anything major; it was simply a matter of the imperial physician arriving a little later when the prince caught a chill, or keeping the windows open a little longer until he recovered—small, insignificant measures like that. The prince, whose health wasn't very strong, simply couldn't withstand it. The empress wouldn't do anything more.
Emperor Hongren had previously become suspicious of the Empress and investigated the matter for a long time. In the original storyline, the Empress's entire clan would later be implicated—this was the very secret about the Empress that Qi Chengming had always known.
These past events in the imperial harem actually had nothing to do with Qi Chengming, but—
Consort Xue, whose entire clan had sided with Qi Chengming, also contributed manpower and resources during this palace coup.
She was a high-ranking concubine in the imperial harem who had no children, and was once the head of the four concubines, with the title of "Virtuous." At that time, she did have children—both the eldest princess who died young and the fifth prince who died young were born to her. There was also Consort Ye, the mother of the second princess, who not only lost her daughter but was also implicated and became a commoner.
From the perspective of Prince Ning and the Third Princess, the late Empress was indeed a loving mother, but she was not innocent.
Qi Chengming originally intended to punish the late Empress.
...The only difference is the charge.
"..." Prince Ning collapsed to the ground, speechless and speechless.
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