Chapter 212 Suspicion (3)
After she left, Ji Yushu shook his head and said as he walked into the house, "She is really an even more unpredictable woman than Miss Shaoyao. At least Miss Shaoyao would be happy if she was given pearls, but this one...would she be happier if she was given a head?" He shuddered and hurried into the house.
…
In the palace.
In the emperor's study, memorials piled high on his desk. Emperor Wenhui sat at the table, spread out before him, but he didn't even glance at them. He was already in his prime, about to enter his sixties. Though still energetic, his temples were beginning to show a hint of gray. Life is a cycle. There was a time when he was young and full of vigor and ambition, and even though he was still full of ambition, the way people looked at him was that of an aging tiger.
There will always be a new tiger to take his place.
At this moment, Emperor Wenhui's face was gloomy. As he grew older, he became increasingly thin, and his skin seemed to be clinging to his bones due to its looseness, giving him a strange appearance of old age. He spoke in a hoarse voice, and one could vaguely hear the surging anger in it.
"Did Old Eleven really kill an identical assassin?"
The two men in black standing before him said, "Your Majesty, yes, the captured individuals have been tortured. Furthermore, a close aide of His Highness who was captured in the Prince's residence also personally admitted that the Prince had executed a masked guard a few days ago."
Emperor Wenhui closed his eyes, then suddenly raised his hand, sending the paperweight on the table flying and shattering into pieces on the ground. After a moment, he sneered, "Eleventh Brother, I underestimated him!"
The palace had many spies: concubines, ministers, and even the empress. These spies were all about survival; whoever got the most information had the upper hand. The emperor was no exception; only when he had eyes everywhere could he sit on the throne more securely.
After initially learning from his informant that Prince Yu had killed an identical assassin, Emperor Wenhui remained skeptical. The royal family's sentiments were so cold, and he ascended the throne by stepping on the corpses of his brothers. He spared Prince Yu, then the eleventh child, because he remembered that perilous night when Prince Yu had risked his life, blood-soaked, to save his own.
Emperor Wenhui often thought that his kindness to Prince Yu over the years wasn't just due to the favor of a leg, but also indirectly demonstrated that Emperor Wenhui still had a sense of gratitude. Ascending the throne, everyone's feelings towards him were no longer pure, even his sons, who harbored ulterior motives. But Prince Yu reminded Emperor Wenhui that there was still someone in the world who would risk his own life to protect him—a close relative.
However, now, it seemed like a huge joke. It seemed as if the scene was all a play arranged by this "close brother". Emperor Wenhui even suspected that the leg that Prince Yu had lost was fake.
What exactly did Prince Yu want? A plot to usurp the throne? History records countless instances of rebellious schemes, all of which were based on careful planning and a desire to turn against the emperor. Emperor Wenhui felt only anger and humiliation at having been deceived.
When someone you trust betrays you, trust is withdrawn, and not only that, suspicion grows. The royal family has always been suspicious. They didn't doubt Prince Yu before because of his sincerity. Now that sincerity has become false, the seeds of suspicion within the royal family have grown into towering trees that no one can shake.
"Send people to guard Prince Yu's mansion. I want to see what tricks he wants to play!"
Eunuch Gao lowered his head, his eyes fixed on his nose, his nose on his nose, and he stared at his toes in silence, as if he had not heard the emperor's anger at all. But in his heart he sighed softly: "These are troubled times, these are troubled times."
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