Chapter 38
In the imperial study, Emperor Zhaoming's face turned extremely ugly after hearing Empress Li's testimony.
Earlier, several other ministers jointly submitted a memorial, headed by Lord Fan, collecting more evidence of Zhao Congyun's clique. Now even the old case of Xinghualou has been turned up, with witnesses and evidence all present. A room full of people are waiting in front of the emperor, waiting for Emperor Zhaoming to deal with Prince Jia.
In other words, force Emperor Zhaoming to take action.
Emperor Zhaoming saw what everyone was thinking, frowned, and repeatedly looked through the confession, reluctant to express his opinion.
Empress Li glanced at the ministers. After a moment, an elder stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is merciful, but Prince Kejia's rebellious intentions are obvious. If he is not severely punished, he will become a serious threat in the future! Brotherly love is hard to break, but Your Majesty, please put the country first!"
Everyone nodded in agreement, but one person said, "I believe Your Majesty's hesitation is not entirely due to concern for his brothers, but rather due to long-term considerations."
He paused, then mustered his courage and said, "Although Your Majesty is now in the prime of life, he has no children... If you consider the royal bloodline, it would make sense to temporarily preserve Prince Jia."
Upon hearing this, Lord Fan angrily declared, "Minister Pei's words are treasonous! Your Majesty is in good health, and having a prince is only a matter of time... If we indulge this traitor's ambition, where will the dignity of our country and the ancestral laws be?"
Queen Li wept and bowed deeply. "It is my incompetence that has failed Your Majesty's grace. I have not been able to bear a son or daughter in all these years. But please rest assured, Your Majesty. No matter what, the royal bloodline will not be cut off..."
Emperor Zhaoming heard the hidden meaning and asked, "What do you mean, Queen?"
A hint of joy appeared on Empress Li's face: "I have just learned that Concubine Zheng is two months pregnant!"
Emperor Zhaoming was stunned: "...really?"
"Several imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital have examined this, and it's absolutely true! I congratulate Your Majesty!"
Emperor Zhaoming paused, then suddenly burst into laughter. Everyone thought that he was very pleased, and followed his lead to congratulate him and smile apologetically. However, as they laughed, they felt something was wrong, and Emperor Zhaoming's laughter did not stop for a long time.
The ministers looked at each other, feeling very nervous, and really couldn't guess the emperor's intention.
Finally, Emperor Zhaoming finally stopped smiling and said, "I want to thank Lord Fan... Concubine Zheng is truly your good niece!"
Lord Fan said in a panic, "It is only natural for the Concubine to serve Your Majesty. How dare I take credit for it?"
Emperor Zhaoming stared at him intently, his gaze uncertain. Just when Lord Fan almost thought the emperor was about to attack him, he suddenly shouted, "Go and bring Prince Jia here!"
*
Zhao Congyun is very different today.
He seldom communicated with those present. On ordinary days, when they met in the court, he would not even exchange glances. But today, when he entered the imperial study with the Qilin Guard, he looked at each person carefully.
Everyone felt a chill down their spine, except Lord Fan and Queen Li, who remained calm.
Emperor Zhaoming walked slowly up to Zhao Congyun, threw several memorials along with the charges against Xinghua Tower to him, and then said nothing.
Zhao Congyun read very carefully. After a long time, he piled the memorials neatly on the ground and raised his eyes quietly.
Emperor Zhaoming looked down at him and said, "I just learned...I am going to have a child."
Zhao Congyun's pupils shrank slightly: "Your Majesty, I congratulate you."
Emperor Zhaoming asked, "Do you know what this means?"
Zhao Congyun was silent for a moment, then he leaned forward and bowed, saying, "I am willing to take all the blame... I will leave it to you, my brother the Emperor."
Emperor Zhaoming suddenly stretched out his large hands and grasped Zhao Congyun's shoulders forcefully: "...You won't make any excuses?"
Zhao Congyun had been sick and injured for several days, and he had been unable to sleep or eat well after being imprisoned, so he lost a lot of weight. Emperor Zhaoming felt that the shoulders under his palms were bony and sharp, which made him feel sad.
Zhao Congyun smiled faintly and shook his head slightly.
Emperor Zhaoming appeared to be overcome with grief, yet also seemed to have reached a cold and decisive conclusion. He turned and said in a deep voice, "Issue this decree... Prince Jia has formed a clique for personal gain and deceived the emperor... Effective immediately, he will be demoted to a commoner and exiled to the frontier. He may not leave without an imperial decree."
Queen Li and Lord Fan exchanged a secret glance and silently accepted the order. The others were silent.
Zhao Congyun kowtowed heavily towards Emperor Zhaoming's back, his voice trembling slightly. "I obey your order... Please, my royal brother... take care of yourself!"
Emperor Zhaoming waved his sleeves and was speechless.
It's lonely at the top. The last bit of warmth on this king's road was finally cut off by him. From then on, he was in the opposite direction of the world, and all that was left for him was the eternal silence of the mountains and rivers.
*
After walking out of the imperial study, Lord Fan deliberately lagged behind by two steps, just in time to catch up with Empress Li's phoenix sedan chair passing by.
Empress Li signaled her attendants to leave and whispered, "Now that His Majesty is unwilling to execute that evildoer... what should you and I do?"
Lord Fan advised, "It's not easy to force Your Majesty to this point. You must not act rashly at this moment. If you continue to speak, Your Majesty will probably become suspicious of you and me. As for exile to the frontier..." He smiled coldly, "The road ahead is long. There's no need to worry about not having the opportunity to act. What's the rush?"
Empress Li nodded stiffly, "When I think of him still being alive, I feel like the trouble is still here, and I feel very uneasy."
Lord Fan said, "Leave this matter to me. You just focus on taking good care of the baby in the imperial concubine's womb... That's our real bargaining chip for the future!"
Empress Li sneered, "Now, I'm afraid the only thing you have eyes for is this unborn child."
Mr. Fan ignored her and only warned, "That girl from Xinghua Tower...get rid of her as soon as possible."
Queen Li's eyes flashed with impatience: "I know."
As they were talking, they arrived at the corner of the long street. Lord Fan went out of the palace to the left, and the phoenix sedan chair slowly drove to the right towards Kunning Palace.
Halfway through the journey, Empress Li pondered Lord Fan's words and suddenly changed her mind, saying, "Let's go to the inner prison."
Xing'er is imprisoned in the inner prison.
Seeing Empress Li, Xing'er didn't see any smugness on her face. Her heart sank slightly. "What? Zhao Congyun isn't dead?"
Queen Li said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you. His Majesty is only willing to exile him to the frontier."
Xing Er frowned: "Then how do we deal with him next?"
Queen Li chuckled: "You don't need to worry about that."
Xing Er gritted her teeth and said angrily, "We agreed... I'll only help you if you let the Emperor kill him personally. If you wanted to take his life so easily, I would have done it myself long ago!"
Empress Li glanced at her with disdain: "Before, I allowed you to kill those people, but now you are so arrogant that you are ordering me around..."
As she spoke, she fiddled with her nails and noticed a patch of color had been rubbed off the tip of her little finger. She suddenly felt irritated. "I'm going to take Zhao Congyun's life back sooner or later. Before that, you should go to Huangquan Road and wait for him."
Xing Er sneered: "What? You want to kill me now? That's a bit hasty."
"What else... do I have to wait for you to attack me first?" Queen Li snorted, "Mother-child Gu... I'm truly flattered that such a precious Gu insect is used on me!"
"You know?" Xing'er asked, "Then why do you dare to kill me?"
"Not only do I know, I'm going to return it to you!" Queen Li took out a miniature copper pocket box from her sleeve, opened it and handed it to Xing'er. Inside was a shriveled young Gu.
It was the seed poison that Xing'er secretly planted in her.
"You...how did you do that?!" Xing'er's face changed. "Impossible! No one in the world can cure this poison!"
"In this world..." Queen Li murmured this word, poured the poisonous insect on the ground, raised her foot and crushed it hard. The poisonous insect that was said to be incurable by anyone was immediately crushed into powder.
She said proudly: "I have the help of gods...Okay, I don't want to waste time talking to you." She clapped her hands behind her, and a man walked out silently from the shadows. The man was wearing black clothes and a mask, and a dagger in his hand flashed with cold light.
"Send her on her way."
The man nodded silently and gradually approached Xing'er. Xing'er was prepared and threw something at her, and a strange fragrance filled the room.
Queen Li covered her mouth and nose and retreated hurriedly, but the mysterious man did not dodge, as if he was unaware of the powder. In front of Xing'er's surprised eyes, he clamped her neck like lightning and broke it open without hesitation.
Snap...
The crisp sound of bones breaking was heard in the prison. Xing'er immediately started bleeding from all seven orifices, her head tilted to the side. Before she could even utter a word, she turned into a corpse.
Queen Li covered her mouth in shock, and suddenly felt an indescribable fear - this mute killer sent by Lord Fan, although extremely powerful, was like a puppet, without any emotions, and only knew to obey orders... Would this person do the same to her one day?
She gathered herself and ordered in a trembling voice, "Clean up this place, and then leave the palace... Lord Fan needs you to go to the border."
The man nodded and bent down to drag Xing'er's body, but suddenly his ears twitched and he stopped dead in his tracks.
Queen Li was startled: "What are you going to do?"
The man stood up straight, his eyes passing through Queen Li and falling on the outside of the inner prison gate. A line of startled magpies were circling in the gloomy sky.
Empress Li followed his gaze and asked in confusion, "Magpies often fly around the palace, and this has always been considered a good omen in our dynasty. What's wrong?"
The man was silent for a moment, then made a gesture to her. Empress Li was slightly startled, then she remembered that Lord Fan had asked her to remember this gesture.
It means that something went wrong.
*
Zhao Congyun did not leave the palace, but went to Kunning Palace first.
After the maid passed the message, a figure came out hurriedly after a while. It was Li Pingru.
She was out of breath, and it was not until she saw Zhao Congyun's tall and graceful figure that she remembered her lost manners. She quickened her pace while tidying herself up.
"Your Highness... they said... you were looking for me?" Li Pingru had the impression that Zhao Congyun had never taken the initiative to look for her. She was both happy and flustered.
"Follow me out of the palace immediately." Zhao Congyun said directly.
"Ah?" Li Pingru exclaimed in surprise, "Did the Emperor allow His Majesty to return home? You...came specially to pick me up?"
She tried to act like a reserved lady. "I also need to tell my aunt that she gave me some gifts earlier. I'll take them with me later..."
But Zhao Congyun grabbed her and said, "It's too late! Let's go now!"
"Why..." Li Pingru staggered and struggled subconsciously.
Zhao Congyun held her tightly, his brows and eyes covered with a layer of frost. "I don't have time to mess around with you! You and I are husband and wife, even if it's in name only, we still have feelings for each other... If you trust me, don't ask anything, and don't say anything. I will explain everything to you after we leave the palace!"
Li Pingru was stunned by the sharpness in his eyes. She immediately closed her mouth and nodded vigorously.
Zhao Congyun's expression eased a little, but he didn't let go. He strode along the nearest road out of the palace. Li Pingru almost had to jog to barely keep up.
Zhao Congyun ran straight to the corner of a corridor and suddenly stopped. A group of palace servants hurried past in front of him, and there was a figure among them that looked particularly familiar.
He watched the group silently.
As if sensing his gaze, the figure paused, clearly two steps behind the others. For a moment, it seemed as if it was about to turn back, but in the end, it hurried a few steps, caught up with the others, and disappeared on the other side of the palace wall.
"Is there anyone in there whom the prince knows?" Li Pingru asked curiously.
Zhao Congyun's throat moved and he sighed softly, "...Let's go."
After they left the palace, the red gate slowly closed. Li Pingru asked in confusion, "It's not usually closed at this time... Why is it so early today?"
Zhao Congyun did not answer her.
He turned around for the last time and saw a strong wind suddenly blowing in a certain direction of the palace, startling a flock of magpies.
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