Chapter 800 Meeting
Jiang Fenghua discovered something very interesting: Xie Kang and the Empress Dowager were both very insistent on who should be emperor, stubbornly believing that Xie Kang was the only suitable candidate. Ironically, Emperor Huijing spent half his life on the throne.
Perhaps the Holy Ancestor Emperor told Xie Kang about his intention to depose the Crown Prince and establish Xie Kang as the Crown Prince, but in the end, he did not succeed. This became a lifelong knot in their hearts, so they remembered it for their entire lives and believed that the throne was theirs.
Sometimes luck plays a big role. Xie Kangruo was not destined to be emperor. Even if the Holy Ancestor Emperor wanted him to be emperor, he could not become one.
Jiang Fenghua said, "Prince Kang wanted the late emperor dead, but instead of killing him while he was alive, he had an affair with one of his concubines and fathered a daughter. Is Prince Kang seeking revenge on the late emperor by having his concubines because he couldn't kill him?"
Xie Kang didn't want to talk about who was right and who was wrong with Chang Mingxiu. He and Chang Mingxiu were in love at first, but fate played a trick on them. They were not wrong. The one who was wrong was Xie Jing.
Consort Chang also appeared before them. "We did nothing wrong. The ones who were wrong were Empress Dowager Cheng and the late Emperor. They separated me and A-Kang. I did not want to give birth to the late Emperor's child. I should have strangled that child as soon as he was born. I hate him."
Xie Shang sneered: "If Xie Yang heard these words from Consort Chang, I wonder how heartbroken he would be."
Born into royalty, they held a noble status, yet they never experienced genuine love and care from their parents. Aside from exploitation, they felt no affection whatsoever.
In Xie Shang's mind, Consort Chang should be given poisoned wine and a white silk noose.
At this moment, Xie Yang also appeared at the entrance of the government office. He knelt on the ground, holding a sword above his head with both hands, and shouted loudly, "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to forgive my mother. I am willing to die in her place."
The Empress Dowager had already told him everything. He was the late Emperor's son, but his mother and Prince Kang had a secret affair. He knew that the Emperor had sent them away to lure out Prince Kang.
"Your Majesty..." Xie Yang kowtowed heavily, his forehead bleeding but he didn't feel the pain. His mother had lived in the West Palace her whole life, she had suffered enough. He was willing to take the blame for their rebellion and be executed.
The sound reached the underground palace, and Consort Chang's heart sank. Why was Yang'er here?
Xie Shang said, "It seems that the Empress Dowager has told him everything. I wonder how the Empress Dowager fabricated your story for Xie Yang. You two are deeply in love, and the Emperor is a heinous criminal."
Xie Shang pointed in the direction of Prince Kang and said coldly, "Father's biggest mistake was that he was concerned about the bond between brothers and the bond between mother and son and did not kill you directly. The one who is truly rebellious is you, Xie Kang."
Jiang Fenghua saw the ruthlessness in Xie Shang's eyes and the kingly aura emanating from him: "You've kept your grandfather's portrait all this time. He can't possibly come back and pass the throne to you. Do you think that just because you're emperor, you can govern the Great Zhou Kingdom? Will the Great Zhou be any better under your rule? Do you really think your father doesn't know about the situation in the Northwest? You've married the daughter of a local native as your queen and are cultivating relationships everywhere. Do you think they'll risk their lives to help you rebel? If it were that easy, I suspect you would have already stormed Shengjing. You wouldn't have run to a distant vassal state to try and get their help, would you?"
He only realized how difficult it was to be an emperor after he became emperor himself. He had to do everything personally and share the burdens. In his memory, his father had never neglected state affairs, and he also had his own way of managing his officials.
“Uncle Kang, stop!” Xie Shang took the portrait of the Holy Ancestor Emperor. “If the Imperial Grandfather knew that you were colluding with foreign traitors to seize the Xie family’s throne and to tear the Great Zhou apart, he would definitely not recognize you as his son.”
Xie Kang stared at the portrait. If the vassal state really occupied the Southern Kingdom and attacked the Great Zhou from the Southern Kingdom, the border would also be engulfed in war.
At that time, Xie Shang would be at a loss and in a panic. Unfortunately, he was too lucky to see through the vassal state's intentions, which made the Southern Kingdom directly become the territory of the Great Zhou and forced the vassal state to leave the Southern Kingdom. The Southern Kingdom's coastal area was directly guarded by the Great Zhou army.
At that time, he thought that if Xie Jing were still on the throne, the Southern Kingdom would definitely be conquered by the vassal states, and they would march straight into the border of the Great Zhou.
Xie Kang asked, "When did you start to doubt me?"
"From the moment I learned that Xie Yun was your son, I suspected that you would not stay in the Northwest and continue to be the Prince of Kang. So I sent people to the Northwest to investigate and issued an imperial edict to allow you to enter the capital openly. I only suspected, I had no evidence. Of course, Uncle Prince Kang was also very careful. The Empress Dowager suddenly came back and caused trouble in the harem. These are all just appearances. Her purpose was to cover for you."
Xie Shang continued, "It's a pity that the Empress Dowager was also unlucky. She encountered the Empress, who was relentless towards her. You also instigated Xie Yang to rebel. Of course, he wouldn't dare to rebel, but Consort Chang is his mother, and he will definitely listen to her. She has instilled hatred for the Empress Dowager in Xie Yang's mind since he was a child. Xie Yang is indeed timid, but he knows who in the palace treats him sincerely and who treats him falsely. You wanted to use Xie Yang as a puppet to deal with me, but he accidentally killed Shu Xue, disrupting your plans."
Xie Shang didn't get along with any of the princes, except for the timid and cowardly fourth prince, with whom he had no animosity or hatred.
Xie Kang said, "So you deliberately issued an imperial decree ordering me to return to Shengjing, and never intended to let me leave."
Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "If Uncle Kang is willing to stay in Shengjing to enjoy his old age, I will not disobey my father's decree and will treat Uncle Kang well."
My father made another mistake: he let go of an enemy he knew was threatening his throne. He constantly claimed there was no kinship within the royal family, yet he always considered the interests of his Uncle Kang.
Xie Kang said, "Don't think that just because you're telling me this, I'll let you leave. Even if all your men are outside, they can't save the Emperor and Empress."
Xie Shang remained calm and composed, his eyes clear and fearless. "I can immediately send someone to invite Cao De back to the capital. He has served Father Emperor for decades. Perhaps only Chief Eunuch Cao knows best about the grudges between Uncle Kang and Father Emperor."
Cao De has already left the palace and returned to his hometown to enjoy his old age. He served the late emperor his whole life, which can be considered a fulfillment of his duties. With each new emperor comes a new set of officials. Cao De served the late emperor, so he will not continue to serve the current emperor. They each have their own trusted confidants.
Xie Kang knew Cao De.
Chang Shun saw that Prince Kang seemed somewhat wavering. Prince Kang often stared blankly at the portrait of the Holy Ancestor Emperor. He didn't know why Prince Kang often sighed, and even held a pair of tiger dolls in his hand, looking at them intently. Now he finally knew the reason.
His eyes darted around, wondering if Prince Kang was planning to let the emperor go.
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