Prince Rong was so excited that he wanted to overthrow Prince Ming and gain merit in front of the emperor. For a moment, he did not even notice the emperor's impatience.
He suddenly stood up, lifted his robe, and knelt down. The emperor was frightened and asked sternly, "What are you doing?"
His bunch of bad sons would never do such a big gift unless there was something wrong. If they did, it would definitely be something bad.
Countless speculations had already flashed through the emperor's mind, but what Prince Rong said next was something he never expected.
"Father, I have come here today to expose my uncle. I suspect he is deliberately feigning madness and stupidity, but is actually biding his time, waiting for an opportunity to usurp the throne!"
Prince Rong spoke each word with great force, and every word struck the emperor's heart.
"What did you say?"
The emperor suddenly jumped up from his chair, his expression filled with fear and dread, which eventually turned into anger. "Tell me again, how do you know he's pretending?"
Prince Rong was not afraid at all when facing the emperor who suddenly became furious. He exaggerated what Lan Yuning had said to him and told the emperor what she had said.
After hearing this, the emperor sat back in his chair in a daze, frowning and muttering, "Even so, I can't..."
"Father." Prince Rong interrupted the emperor. Under normal circumstances, this would be extremely disrespectful, but now the emperor had no intention of making a fuss.
"Whether it's true or not, we'll know once we try. But in this case, it's better to believe it than not. If a momentary oversight leads to disaster in the future, the gain will be worth the loss! Therefore, after learning of this matter, I came to report it to your father as soon as possible, hoping that your father would be prepared. If Uncle Ming really has evil intentions, your father will not be caught off guard."
He spoke sincerely, as if he was really a good son who was helping his father share his worries.
The emperor fell silent, and countless scenes came to his mind. He remembered the graceful demeanor of the wise king in the past, the late emperor who praised him for having the style of his ancestors, and the serious tutor who also said that he was a rare gentleman in the world. If he did not fail in his ambition to rise to the top in the future, he would surely achieve great things and leave his name in history.
Someone else might feel intimidated by such praise, but that person was the Ninth Prince, a world-renowned Ming King. He just smiled and accepted it calmly. Such self-confidence was enough to make countless people feel ashamed.
Would such a person really be devastated by those blows?
Perhaps, he was really pretending, biding his time and waiting for a fatal blow.
As for who to kill...it's obvious, isn't it?
The emperor suddenly felt very cold and shivered.
He gripped the armrests of the chair and came to his senses. He slowly swept his eyes across the spacious and ancient imperial study, then looked at Prince Rong kneeling on the ground. He made a decision in an instant.
"You're right," the emperor said in a deep voice. "It's better to believe it than not. Please withdraw first. I don't need you to get involved in this matter. The conversation between you and me today must not be known to any third party. Do you understand?"
Prince Rong raised his head and met the emperor's dark eyes, then nodded, "Yes, I understand."
The emperor nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand for him to leave.
After Prince Rong left, he summoned Li Jian and gave him some instructions. Li Jian looked up in surprise, then knelt down again after a moment and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured that I will do my duty. If I make any mistakes, I will take my own life to apologize."
…
On October 20th, the emperor held a grand family banquet in the palace and invited all the princes to come in for a chat.
The excuse is: I want to see these brothers and sons.
Lan Shuang smiled when she heard this. "It sounds better than singing, but who would believe it? When did he start to value family so much?"
"It's just the Hongmen Banquet. I guess Lan Yuning said something to Prince Rong. Didn't Prince Rong go to the palace to meet the emperor a few days ago? He even secretly spied on him in the imperial study for half an hour."
Ming Wang wrote as he spoke, and he didn't seem flustered at all.
Lan Shuang lowered her fan, leaned back on the couch, and asked, "Is the painting finished? Can I move?"
The Ming King nodded: "Okay."
Upon hearing this, Lan Shuang immediately got up from the bed, walked behind Ming Wang and looked down at his painting.
The beauty in the painting is lying on the couch in purple clothes, her body is exquisitely slender, and the folding fan in her hand casually covers half of her face. It seems that she heard someone calling her, and she slightly turned her head to look over here, her eyes full of smiles, her red lips slightly raised, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Lan Shuang stared at him for a long time, "Is this me?"
Ming Wang was amused by her serious tone: "What else?"
He gently drew the beauty's eyebrows, then stopped writing and turned to stare at Lan Shuang again: "Doesn't it look like it?"
Lan Shuang shook her head slightly: "How can I be so beautiful? You painted me like an immortal."
After finishing the last stroke, Ming Wang put the brush back and gently touched the tip of Lan Shuang's nose with his finger. "This is you. You are so beautiful in my eyes."
Lan Shuang fanned Ming Wang's hand and glared at him, "I think you are a lover who sees beauty in everything."
Ming Wang laughed easily, and then laughed louder and louder.
Lan Shuang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Is it really that funny?"
Ming Wang smiled and shook his head, took a step back, lost his balance and fell into the armchair.
Lan Shuang: “???”
Yunfu happened to drift in from outside, muttering, "Hey, I heard you guys are going to the palace for a banquet today. Do you want me to prepare some antidote for you in advance—Ah!"
The last sentence broke in his voice. Lan Shuang turned around in confusion. Yun Fu stood at the door awkwardly. "Hey, I should have knocked earlier. I didn't expect the princess to be here too. I'm sorry."
It sounded like they were doing something in there.
Lan Shuang put down her fan and revealed her full face: "Young Master Yun, please come in. I'm just talking to the prince."
"Oh, I see."
Yun Fu walked in leisurely and closed the door. However, as he approached, his eyes fell on Lan Shuang's face, and he couldn't help laughing.
Lan Shuang: “…”
Even if she was slow to react, she realized that there was something on her face.
She frowned and turned to look at Ming Wang, and saw that Ming Wang was quietly getting up and preparing to run, his guilty conscience was too obvious.
Lan Shuang grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back, "Still want to run? Stretch out your hands."
The Ming King smiled awkwardly: "I didn't mean it."
Lan Shuang smiled kindly: "Hand."
Ming Wang pursed his lips and stretched out his right hand. He had accidentally got some ink on his right hand while painting. It had no effect when he was holding the pen, but it had rubbed against Lan Shuang's nose when he touched it just now.
Lan Shuang suddenly felt her vision go dark. She hurriedly looked for something in the room that could reflect her. Yun Fu kindly handed her his small mirror and said, "Here, you're welcome."
Lan Shuang: “…”
She looked down at the exquisitely crafted small bronze mirror that was handed to her. Not only was it engraved with intricate patterns, but there were also several gems embedded in the handle.
As showy as its owner.
So the question is, why do you, a grown man, carry a small bronze mirror with you all day long?!
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