In the dark, damp prison, Chu Yansheng was beaten so badly that not a single patch of skin on his body was a good scar. While unconscious, he had the same dream as before. Upon waking, Chu Yansheng went completely mad, convinced he was the chosen one and would surely ascend the throne!
He firmly believed that his father, Prince Yu, would find a way to rescue him! Once he was out, he would surely find a way to turn the tide, become the crown prince, and ascend the throne smoothly as soon as the emperor died!
After waiting and waiting for several days, Prince Yu finally arrived!
He was simply dressed in prison clothes and brought in by guards; he was locked in the cell next to Chu Yansheng's.
Chu Yansheng panicked and kept asking Prince Yu, "Father, why did you come in too?!"
Prince Yu looked as if he had aged twenty or thirty years, his white hair hanging sloppily in front of and behind him, and he remained silent.
The jailer chuckled, "Prince Yu was secretly manufacturing weapons with the intention of rebelling. The Emperor confiscated Prince Yu's mansion. Now there is no Prince Yu or his heir; all that remains are two prisoners in the Imperial Prison!"
The jailer swaggered away, leaving Chu Yansheng stunned.
"How could this be! Father! Didn't you keep this a secret? How could the Emperor know?!"
The Prince of Yu was also puzzled as to why the emperor suddenly suspected him, but he was not in the mood to talk.
"I want to see Yun Chaoxi! Someone come quick! I want to see Yun Chaoxi!" Chu Yansheng shouted.
"What's all the noise about! Consort Zhao is in the palace, how can you just see her whenever you want?!" The jailer who had just left came back and impatiently lashed out with his whip.
Chu Yansheng was whipped, but he did not dodge. He only wanted to see Yun Chaoxi. The jailer thought about it and reported the matter to his superior, who then reported it to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, Chu Yansheng in the imperial prison keeps demanding to see Consort Zhao."
Chu Xiao waved his hand, dismissing the servants, then suddenly pulled Yun Chaoxi into his arms, gently biting her earlobe, and asked in a sour tone, "Xi'er, do you want to see him?"
"I won't go. I have nothing to do with him anymore. No, we never had anything to do. I have nothing to say to him."
Chu Xiao felt a little happier, but was still jealous that Yun Chaoxi had genuinely liked Chu Yansheng in the past, and couldn't help but say the opposite, "Is it because you're afraid of seeing him covered in injuries and feeling bad?"
Yun Chaoxi asked, "...Is the Emperor jealous?"
"I didn't!" Chu Xiao quickly retorted. Why would a dignified emperor like himself be jealous of a prisoner?
"Really not going?"
Yun Chaoxi shook her head firmly. If she really went, who knows what kind of suspicions this man would have, which would only cause more trouble.
Chu Xiao was satisfied. He didn't want Yun Chaoxi to see Chu Yansheng, but he himself wanted to go and see what it was about Chu Yansheng that made him so popular with Yun Chaoxi, and what he wanted to see Yun Chaoxi for.
Taking advantage of Yun Chaoxi's midday rest, Chu Xiao changed his clothes and headed to the Imperial Prison.
The Vice Minister of Justice led him to Chu Yansheng's cell. "Your Majesty, Chu Yansheng is here."
Chu Xiao glanced down at the man who was covered in injuries, thin as a skeleton, and looked listless. A slight sneer appeared on his lips. Chu Yansheng was nothing special. Xi'er had poor judgment before.
Chu Yansheng thought it was Yun Chaoxi who had arrived. He slowly raised his head and saw that it was the emperor. He immediately knelt down in front of Chu Xiao and said, "Your Majesty, my family has been wronged! I have no intention of rebelling! Those weapons... those weapons were all made for Your Majesty and were intended to be added to the national treasury!"
Chu Xiao wondered to himself, was Chu Yansheng really stupid, or did he really think Chu Yansheng was stupid?
"I heard that you wished to see my beloved concubine before you died? If you have anything to say, please tell me, and I will certainly convey it to you."
"Before...before death?"
The Vice Minister of Justice spoke up at the opportune moment, "The evidence of the Prince Yu's family's treason is conclusive. His Majesty has already decreed that the entire family will be executed in ten days!"
Chu Yansheng, his strength completely drained, collapsed onto the cold ground, trembling all over. After a long while, when he looked up again, his eyes were filled with hatred as he stared at Chu Xiao.
"Why? You stole my wife! Let me tell you, Yun Chaoxi should have been my wife! I should be the emperor! The Prime Minister's Mansion and the General's Mansion should be my allies!"
He appeared to be insane, as if he were trapped in some kind of illusion.
"It shouldn't be like this. Yun Chaoxi loves me, so why would she be willing to enter the palace to become a concubine for a childless and short-lived man like you! In my dream, she was clearly my wife, who cherished and respected me all her life, while you are about to die. I'll wait... I'll wait!"
"If you die, I will be the emperor!"
"Xi'er, Xi'er, I'm sorry. Are you blaming me? Blaming me for divorcing you and falling in love with someone else? I shouldn't have wronged you. Why did you abandon me? I'll change, okay?"
Chu Yansheng's words were incoherent, sometimes shouting wildly, sometimes crying and admitting his mistakes.
Chu Xiao narrowed his eyes, and the atmosphere around him suddenly became heavy.
The Vice Minister of Justice was dumbfounded. Had Chu Yansheng gone mad? What utter nonsense was he spouting!
He broke out in a cold sweat. What if the emperor killed him to silence him if he heard about this?
Suddenly, Chu Xiao drew the sword from the Vice Minister of Justice and plunged it into Chu Yansheng's abdomen, coldly uttering a few words, "It's better not to have dreams you shouldn't have."
He drew his sword and stabbed Chu Yansheng several more times until Chu Yansheng collapsed to the ground. Only then did Chu Xiao discard the blood-stained sword and turn to leave.
"The bodies were dumped in the burial grounds."
The Vice Minister of Justice was drenched in cold sweat. "Yes."
On the way back, Chu Xiao's mind was filled with Chu Yansheng's nonsense. He didn't believe in ghosts or gods, but the Empress Dowager did, often whispering in his ear about past lives, reincarnation, and karma, and if...
The more Chu Xiao tried to stop the thought, the more uncontrollably he found himself thinking about it.
Yun Chaoxi, at the tender age of 18, unexpectedly entered the palace, suddenly took a liking to him, and even suddenly suspected that the well-hidden Prince Yu's mansion was plotting a rebellion.
If it was a dream, she and Chu Yansheng had the same dream...
If it wasn't a dream?
Back in the palace, they paused on their way to Zhaoyang Palace and instead headed towards Zichen Palace.
Since Chu Xiao and Yun Chaoxi consummated their marriage, Chu Xiao moved all his belongings to Zhaoyang Palace, leaving Zichen Palace empty for a long time.
"Someone, bring me some wine."
The palace maid bowed her head in response and served the wine.
Chu Xiao then drank it without any expression on his face.
As dusk approached, no matter how much Eunuch Liu tried to persuade him, he couldn't stop him and had no choice but to go to Zhaoyang Palace.
"Your Majesty, please go and see the Emperor. For some reason, after returning from the Imperial Prison, the Emperor has been drinking alone in the Zichen Palace. I can't persuade him to stop."
Yun Chaoxi, "..."
What's wrong with this man? He used to be completely unyielding, but now he's jealous, has a terrible temper, and causes all sorts of trouble. He wouldn't let her go to the imperial prison, but instead he secretly went to see Chu Yansheng, getting himself into a huge mess and coming back to cause trouble.
Luckily, she has a good temperament; otherwise, no one could stand it.
What triggered him today?
"Come with me to take a look."
...
Inside Consort Xian's Lexian Palace.
A young woman whose appearance bore a striking resemblance to Yun Chaoxi knelt on the ground.
Consort Xian lifted her chin and looked at her. "Did you remember what I just said?"
The woman bowed down, saying, "This servant will remember."
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