"Ah!" Xu Yixing was pulled forward by inertia and almost fell on the threshold. Fortunately, Siqin helped him up quickly.
"Did I hear correctly? He just said he was going to plead for mercy on behalf of the Second Prince?"
Siqin nodded: "Yes, that's what I said."
"Hey! What the hell." Xu Yixing shook his head and walked into the inner hall. He slowly sorted things out and finally figured out the key points.
If the emperor believed that the cause of death of the eldest prince was natural rather than human, then it meant that he was just looking for someone to vent his anger on; and this person was obviously now the second prince, which meant that he felt that his second son had done something to offend him.
Considering that the second prince has been very quiet recently, it can only mean that Concubine Ying in the palace may have done something stupid again, causing the emperor to be angry.
Lu Anyuan went to plead for him now, firstly to show a small expression of brotherhood, and secondly, probably to test the emperor's true strength. Moreover, among these princes, there must be other people who went to plead together. If Lu Anyuan did not go, it would be a bit of adding insult to injury.
After figuring this out, Xu Yixing put his mind at ease. It seemed that Lu Anyuan didn't suddenly go crazy and beg for mercy from the enemy. He was very smart.
It was not until the waning moon was above the treetops that Lu Anyuan walked in lazily with red and swollen eyes.
When Xu Yixing saw this, he immediately laughed out loud: "Oh, you're crying? Look at those eyes, I hope you can cry this sadly when I die~"
"Bah!" Lu Anyuan couldn't accept this the most. She always talked about life and death without any taboos.
After washing his face with cold water and applying a light compress to his eyes, Lu Anyuan went to the bedside and started telling a story to Xu Yixing, who had already lain down and was ready to listen to it.
"You didn't see it today. I hurried as fast as I could and finally caught up with Fourth Brother before he entered the palace. We went to Father's bedroom together."
"Hehe." The Fourth Prince was Concubine Ying's nominal adopted son, so naturally he had to plead for the Second Prince.
"You don't know, when Fourth Brother saw Father, he kowtowed loudly. Before he could say anything, he knocked his head open and blood flowed out. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, I admit defeat."
Xu Yixing held onto the head of the bed and smiled. She could imagine how embarrassed Lu Anyuan must have been. He had only gone to plead with a hint of tentativeness, but met such a ruthless person who turned his fake play into reality.
"Then you didn't knock many times?"
Lu Anyuan rubbed his forehead and said, "Of course I did, but I didn't use much force."
"Then you really value your life, then what?"
"Then he burst into tears, saying how pitiful my second brother was. If he went to Qibei, he would be separated from his family and be alone in the world. I believed him."
"What did the Emperor say?"
"Then, then the emperor said that his family would be allowed to go with him." Lu Anyuan shrugged. He still remembered the astonished look in his fourth brother's eyes when his father finished speaking.
"What? So the Fourth Prince begged for mercy, but didn't keep the Second Prince, and instead took his entire family away?" This was too unbelievable.
"Yeah. I even wondered for a moment if Fourth Brother did it on purpose. It was so funny."
It's quite funny. "And then?"
"Then Fourth Brother changed his plea, saying how pitiful Concubine Ying was, and that she would not be able to bear the blow if Second Brother and his family were gone. Then Father said that Concubine Ying should practice asceticism in the Fahua Hall of the palace for six months to calm her mind."
"Wow!" This was a blatant punishment. They drove her son away and then confined her to a Buddhist temple for meditation. Xu Yixing was now certain that Concubine Ying must have done something. "Then I bet the Fourth Prince's expression must be quite interesting, right?"
"Yes, you were not in the imperial study, otherwise you would have caught this fun."
"So, when you two went to plead for mercy, all you got was the Second Prince's entire family being expelled from the capital, and Concubine Ying being confined to the Fahua Palace?"
"You can't take the credit for this. This was something that Fourth Brother asked for. It has nothing to do with me." After saying this, Lu Anyuan drank another cup of tea. There was really no end to the jokes today.
"But it shouldn't take you that long to plead for mercy. You've been in the palace all afternoon?"
"Of course not. Later, the Emperor asked us to leave. I went to the Empress Dowager's palace, and my fourth brother went to Concubine Ying's. I heard that my third brother also went to plead for my second brother, but the Emperor still drove him away. That's how it's been settled."
"If the Fourth Prince goes to Concubine Ying, won't he be scolded to death? You went to the Queen Mother to inquire about the news, right?" Xu Yixing felt a little sorry for the Second Prince. The Emperor was so heartless, he was truly a "loving father".
"Smart." Lu Anyuan brushed Yixing's nose with his hand, a smile almost overflowing on his face. "Sometimes I feel very lucky. Fortunately, my mother died early, and my aunt is not a nosy person. Otherwise, if I had a mother like Concubine Ying, she would have killed my son sooner or later."
"What did Concubine Ying really do wrong?"
"The Queen Mother said that since Concubine Ying learned of my eldest brother's death, she has been laughing every day in her palace without restraint. She also said that my eldest brother was not a good general and insisted on going to the front line to show off his prowess, which led to this misfortune. She was also very dissatisfied with my eldest brother's promotion to King Pingsong, and she even dared to blink in front of my father."
Xu Yixing sighed more and more as he listened. Concubine Ying was really too proud. Could the prince also discuss her? Even if she was an elder, you should avoid suspicion since you are not my biological mother. No wonder the emperor despised her.
"Hey, that's not right. You said she mocked the eldest prince in her own palace. How come even the Queen Mother knew about it?"
Lu Anyuan sneered: "How can there be secrets in the palace? Otherwise, why do you think father kept my second brother in the palace for so long? Isn't it just so that he can watch over him under his nose?"
Well, it seems that the saying "walls have ears" is true. I'm afraid Concubine Ying doesn't even know who has tricked her this time.
After listening to the palace jokes, Xu Yixing finally fell asleep with a heavy heart. Since the emperor was not pretending but really wanted to drive the second prince away, she and Lu Anyuan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
On February 18th, after leaving court today, all the officials did not return to their offices immediately. Instead, they all rode horses or took carriages to the south gate of Kyoto.
Today is the day when the Second Prince and his family set out south.
There was no Ten-Li Pavilion at the South Gate, so naturally there was no willow-cutting farewell ceremony. A month ago, the officials of the capital had seen off the eldest prince at the South Gate, and now they were seeing off the second prince. Everyone felt indescribably strange.
The long tent was beautifully built. Although the emperor "exiled" the second prince and his family, he asked all civil and military officials to give him a farewell party. Even the prime ministers and ministers could not understand the deep meaning of this.
Xu Yixing was standing far away. She saw the second prince get off the carriage, but he did not bring the princess with him, leaving her alone in the carriage. Even the young princes and princesses in the carriages behind did not show up.
After getting off the car, the second prince bowed to the ministers with a calm and peaceful expression on his face. Compared with those ministers who looked sad, it seemed as if he was not the one being sent away.
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