"Wait!" Prince An roared hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the ministers outside the door. "Didn't you all hear it? He's not the rightful emperor! The one who should have been emperor was Prince Rong! He usurped the throne, he's the one who deserves to die! My father, Prince Rong is the rightful emperor!"
Prince An struggled in the hands of the guards while roaring loudly.
The wound in his abdomen caused him excruciating pain, but the impending punishment of being thrown into prison left him no time to care about the wound.
If these ministers cannot speak up for him, then he is truly finished.
But to his surprise, not a single minister stood up to plead for him; their faces showed not even the slightest hesitation.
Upon closer inspection, none of these ministers were familiar faces; they were mostly neutral individuals who had not taken sides.
Seeing their silence, he grew even angrier. "Let me go! Are you deaf? Didn't you hear what I said? Qi Heng's rise to power is illegitimate. My father should be the emperor, and I should be the emperor!"
At this moment, a minister knelt down first, and solemnly declared in a loud voice: "His Highness Prince An harbors treacherous intentions and plots to assassinate the emperor. The evidence is irrefutable. We beseech Your Majesty to render a severe judgment!"
Prince An was completely dumbfounded.
When one person sets an example, the rest follow suit.
"His Highness Prince An harbors treacherous intentions and plots to assassinate the emperor. The evidence against him is irrefutable. We beseech Your Majesty to render a severe judgment!"
Prince An was filled with resentment and rage, his furious appearance resembling that of a rabid beast that had lost its mind. "You bunch of fools! I am the rightful heir! If my grandfather knew this in the afterlife, he wouldn't let you treacherous officials get away with it!"
The emperor's eyes were icy as he looked at the kneeling court officials, then at Prince An being dragged away, and calmly said:
“Gag him, drag him to the prison, and execute him on a chosen day.”
Prince An was stunned for a moment, then burst into an even more frenzied roar: "Qi Heng! You dare to kill me, I will never let you go, even in death! I will never let you go, even in death!"
However, the ministers wholeheartedly approved of the emperor's actions, exclaiming, "Your Majesty is wise!"
The emperor waved his hand, indicating that they could leave.
He put his arm around Gu Jiangli and sat down on the edge of the bed. The Empress Dowager asked anxiously, "Is everything alright? I've already summoned Physician Lin; he should be here soon."
The Emperor looked at Gu Jiangli with tenderness and concern, his back to the Empress Dowager, and said, "I'm fine. I'll have Physician Lin take a look at Consort Yun later."
Gu Jiangli's gaze remained fixed on the wound on the emperor's chest.
Blood was still seeping from there; Prince An had just stuck a long sword into that spot.
She couldn't help but say worriedly, "Let Physician Lin bandage it up."
The emperor smiled with relief: "It's alright. That sword was just an unsharpened, extendable sword. It looks serious, but it's just a minor cut. It'll be fine after a good night's sleep."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jiangli stopped insisting.
Today's events were all planned; the sword was fake, and the injured and dead palace servants around us were also fake.
Everything was done so that Prince An's true colors would be revealed when his plan was about to succeed.
It would be best to make him confess his evil deeds himself, and then let the court officials brought by the Empress Dowager hear it all clearly.
If there's anything that seems real, it's when the emperor went mad and brandished his long sword. It certainly didn't seem like acting; it seemed like he was genuinely having a fit.
Gu Jiangli could sense that the emperor at that time didn't even recognize her at first.
If she hadn't regained her senses at the crucial moment, she might have been injured by that fake longsword.
The emperor seemed to sense her worry, gently hugged her, and patted her shoulder to comfort her, saying, "I'm really alright. Did I hurt you back then?"
"Of course not."
"That's good."
The emperor breathed a sigh of relief and said, "When Prince An came, I smelled a strange odor, and then I started to lose control. It seems that there was something else on him that could drive people mad. Fortunately... he never had the chance to harm me again."
"Yes, Your Majesty can rest assured now."
The emperor held her even tighter, saying, "With you here, I feel at ease."
————
A few days later.
News of Prince An's attempt to assassinate the emperor spread throughout Tianyuan.
At the same time, Gu Jiangli heard that the officials in the court had been reshuffled. Although the emperor did not say it explicitly, she guessed that most of those who resigned were probably henchmen of Prince An.
This is for the best; Prince An's power has crumbled and can no longer cause any trouble.
However, Prince An was still unconvinced and would clamor in the prison every day to see the emperor, uttering obscene and vulgar words.
The emperor initially didn't want to pay any attention to Prince An, but later, for some reason, he suddenly had the idea of going to the imperial prison to see Prince An.
Gu Jiangli did not stop him and went to the prison with him.
However, she did not go to see Prince An with the emperor, but instead obtained permission from him to go see the legendary Ning Song.
The prison was dark and damp, and always smelled musty.
Gu Jiangli frowned unconsciously after entering the prison.
It seemed all the cells were the same, she couldn't help but think to herself.
The jailer led her forward, but stopped after a few steps.
Inside the iron bars, a disheveled man sat alone, his prison clothes filthy and tattered. If the jailer hadn't introduced him to her, she would never have associated the man before her with the legendary Ning Song.
The jailer brought her a chair, and she sat down outside the iron bars.
Ning Song probably saw her, but he wasn't surprised or taken aback at all.
He calmly brushed aside the messy hair in front of his eyes, stood up respectfully, and then knelt down to give her a deep bow.
"This guilty subject, Ning Song, pays his respects to Consort Yun."
Now, Gu Jiangli became somewhat curious. "You've never seen me before, so how do you know I'm Consort Yun?"
Ning Song remained calm and replied, "The only woman who, after entering the imperial prison, would sit in a chair and speak with me, besides the Empress Dowager, would probably be Consort Yun, who is deeply favored by His Majesty."
Gu Jiangli's gaze towards him held a newfound scrutiny.
This prison is filled with condemned prisoners. Ning Song's fate is sealed, yet he remains calm and composed, demonstrating his extraordinary character.
They are either certain they won't die, or they've long since become indifferent to life and death.
Gu Jiangli still prefers the latter option.
Thinking of this, she smiled slightly, "If Lord Ning can see through my identity so easily, can he also see through the purpose of my visit?"
Ning Song did not rise, but remained kneeling on the ground, calmly saying, "I know, but Consort Yun need not ask further. Regardless of my answer, the outcome is already predetermined. In that case, does the answer you seek still matter?"
"Indeed, it's not important anymore. I'm just very curious about Lord Ning's reasons for choosing Prince An."
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