Chapter 149: My Prince Rong's Mansion Accepted
After coming out of Shen Jiasui's room, there was no sign of anything unusual on Zhao Huaizhen's face.
The two maids followed and saw their princess wave goodbye to Miss Shen as usual, and then get on the carriage.
When they returned to Prince Rong's mansion, it was already time for dinner. Zhao Huaizhen was still chatting and laughing while eating dinner, and then he insisted on going to Prince Rong's study to get a few books to read.
Prince Rong responded without hesitation and personally accompanied his daughter to the study. Naturally, no outsiders were allowed to enter.
Prince Rong had a smile on his face as he admired the books he had collected over the years, including many precious and rare copies.
"What does Zhener want to see?"
After Prince Rong asked, he did not hear Zhao Huaizhen's answer for a long time. He turned his head and saw his daughter standing in the candlelight with tears streaming down her face.
Prince Rong's heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward and asked in a hurry: "Zhen'er, what's wrong?"
Zhao Huaizhen tried hard to hold back his tears, tightly grasped Prince Rong's sleeve, and said in a trembling voice: "Father, something happened."
She tried her best to lower her voice and told him everything Shen Jiasui had said today, as well as her own guesses.
However, to Zhao Huaizhen's surprise, she did not see any surprise on her father's face.
At this moment, Zhao Huaizhen seemed to have thought of something. He took a step back in fear, widened his eyes and asked:
"Father, could it be that... could it be that even you..."
At this moment, Zhao Huaizhen felt dizzy and even bitter in his heart.
If...if even my father was the driving force behind that day, then the entire Prince Rong's Mansion would have taken sides long ago. Jiasui really...trusted the wrong person.
She felt that her future was uncertain and she felt sorry for Shen Jiasui. Her heart was burning with anger and she couldn't even cry.
When Prince Rong saw his daughter's distraught look, he could not help but sigh and shook his head with bitter eyes.
"Zhen'er, it's not what you think. Father didn't get involved in what happened that day."
Zhao Huaizhen raised his eyes suddenly when he heard this, and a glimmer of hope finally flashed in his eyes, but he quickly came to his senses.
"So, father, the reason why you are not surprised at all is because you already knew what my brother did?"
Prince Rong nodded and sat down on the chair behind him, as if most of his strength had been drained away.
"Zhen'er, why do you think Miss Shen asked you to come back to discuss this with her father?"
"She must have guessed that the king has seen through Zhang'er's actions."
"Although most of this Prince's Palace has been handed over to Zhang'er to manage, don't forget that father is the owner of the Palace."
"Even if we can't find out at the beginning, after a long time, will father still not be able to find any clues?"
When Zhao Huaizhen heard this, he was anxious and puzzled, "Since Dad has already noticed what my brother did, why doesn't he——"
At this point, Zhao Huaizhen was also choked.
She suddenly understood her father's dilemma.
What happened on the day of the flower viewing banquet was a foregone conclusion. Fortunately, no major mistake was made and the emperor did not pursue the matter further. Everything was calm and peaceful.
If I push my brother out now, wouldn't that be courting death?
So, my father chose to turn a deaf and dumb.
But the passing of geese leaves traces, the passing of wind leaves sounds, and the traces of what has been done cannot be erased.
Jiang Xun was well-known for his boldness and carefulness in investigating cases. He chose to get to the bottom of the matter and finally caught his brother.
Thinking of this, Zhao Huaizhen was terrified and asked quickly, "Father, could it be that my brother really... surrendered to Prince Xiang?"
Prince Rong shook his head, a trace of sadness on his face, "How dare your brother, he just--"
Knock knock knock——
At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the study door, which frightened Zhao Huaizhen so much that he shuddered and felt a chill almost rushing to his head.
Until a very familiar voice came from outside the door: "Father, may I come in?"
Zhao Huaizhen turned around suddenly and saw that his brother had pushed the door open after receiving the response.
"elder brother......"
Zhao Huaizhen was confused and shouted helplessly.
When Zhao Huaizhang approached, he saw Zhao Huaizhen's red eyes at a glance.
His eyes were gentle and he gently rubbed Zhao Huaizhen's head.
When they were having dinner together, no matter how Zhen'er disguised herself, as her brother who lived with her day and night, how could he not notice that something was wrong with her?
Prince Rong's eyes became hot when he saw his two children loving each other, but he said in a deep voice:
"Zhang'er, your sister knows everything."
Zhao Huaizhang had already guessed it.
Zhao Huaizhen hurriedly grabbed Zhao Huaizhang's hand and asked in a trembling voice, "Brother, what's going on?"
Zhao Huaizhang had a bitter look on his face and admitted his fault first, "Zhen'er, it's my fault. I just... can't accept it."
Few people knew the secret back then.
At that time, Prince Rong was still Prince Rong, the son of the late emperor’s favorite Concubine Chen.
After the crown prince was deposed for being immoral, Prince Rong became the late emperor's favorite candidate for succession.
But later, the late emperor became seriously ill. The concubine, who had a deep affection for the late emperor, became overly worried and also fell ill.
When Prince Rong was serving in the imperial court, Concubine Chen suddenly fell seriously ill. Prince Rong ignored everything and rushed to see his mother for the last time.
As a result, just as the Concubine Chen died, news came that the late emperor had passed away. He left a will to pass the throne to Prince An, the current emperor.
Thinking about it now, it seems very strange.
Prince An ascended the throne and became Emperor Sheng. Although he named Prince Rong as a prince and granted him a fiefdom, he kept Prince Rong in the capital and kept him under his nose on the grounds that he was reluctant to separate from his family.
The knife was always hanging over his head. Only Prince Rong knew how terrified and cautious he had been all these years.
As the eldest son of Prince Rong, the older Zhao Huaizhang gets, the more he understands how difficult his father's life is.
Moreover, among so many royal family members and nobles, he was the only one, the Prince of Rong, who had never been granted the privilege of entering the officialdom. He was completely excluded from the court and lived a mediocre life.
Whenever he thought of it, he couldn't express the resentment in his heart. If he hadn't made a wrong move, it would have been his father who ascended the throne, and he would have been the prince, or even the crown prince!
On the day of the flower-viewing banquet, he did realize that someone was setting up a trap in Prince Rong's mansion.
The princes were killing each other. From his point of view, he would naturally be happy to see it happen, so he chose to stand by and watch, and even opened the door to convenience at certain moments.
He thought that he was in the palace's territory, with an overview of the overall situation and everything under control. He could reveal their plans to each other without causing any big mistakes that would affect the palace, and make them both suffer losses.
But what he didn't expect was that King Xiang's scheming and methods were far beyond his imagination.
When he discovered that Prince Xiang was also drugged, he instinctively placed his suspicion on Prince Rui.
But it was this misjudgment that distracted him and gave Prince Xiang an opportunity to take advantage of, and he almost killed the Crown Princess.
He was even used by King Xiang, and the "chance encounter" in the changing room allowed King Xiang to stay out of the matter and escape perfectly.
His stupidity and arrogance almost caused Prince Rong's Mansion to suffer a great loss. He thought that everything was over, but Prince Xiang found him afterwards and directly pointed out his thoughts.
And his actions in fanning the flames in the palace also became a handle for Prince Xiang to control him.
On the day of the welcoming banquet in the Imperial Garden, the reason why Jiang Xun's parents arrived so timely was that he was forced to do so by King Xiang with the secret of the flower-viewing banquet.
That day, Prince Xiang only had to sit still at the table, and the unknown Prince Rong had already helped him settle everything.
Zhao Huaizhang and Prince Xiang were unaware that it was this plot against the Anyang Marquis and his wife that allowed Jiang Xun to follow the clues and trace it back to Zhao Huaizhang, and then completely understand the truth of the flower-viewing banquet that day.
Otherwise, just like how Prince Xiang used Chinese medicine to get rid of suspicion, Prince Rong's Mansion almost suffered a disaster because of the Crown Princess' misfortune, and ordinary people would never suspect Prince Rong's son Zhao Huaizhang.
Zhao Huaizhen was dumbfounded after hearing this series of coincidences and found it very absurd.
If Jiasui had not confessed to her this time, she would still have been kept in the dark, and their Prince Rong Mansion would have been completely controlled and driven by Prince Xiang because of her brother's mistake!
This time, Prince Xiang only wanted his brother to lead the Anyang Marquis and his wife to the Imperial Garden. What if they killed people or set fire to something next time, or if they helped him seize the throne?
Thinking of this, Zhao Huaizhen was furious, but he didn't dare to speak loudly at this time. He could only walk closer to Zhao Huaizhang, gritted his teeth and whispered: "Brother, you also know that chess is only one move away!"
"If our Prince Rong's Mansion has the strength and military power, and you are unwilling to do so, and you want to fight and rebel, I, your sister, will not be afraid to follow you in rebelling against the will of heaven even if my head is tied to my waist."
"But we have nothing!"
"Brother, in this world, there are winners and losers, and sometimes you just have to admit it."
"Knowing how to admit defeat and compromise at the right time is what a wise man does and it is the mind of a real man!"
"If you have no power to fight back and are still unwilling to give in, then you are being too ambitious and will bring disaster to our palace!"
"Father has been trembling with fear for so many years, just to ensure that you and I have the luxury of living today. Brother, you really made a completely wrong move!"
When Zhao Huaizhen said this, tears were already streaming down his face.
Zhao Huaizhang stared at his sister who was so close to him. His brows were first filled with shock, then with emotion, and finally with a relieved smile.
He raised his hand and stroked Zhao Huaizhen's head again, his voice gentle and soft.
"Zhen'er, after my brother was forced to plot against the Anyang Marquis and his wife in the Imperial Garden, he felt that he had been completely led by Prince Xiang. He was in great pain and confessed everything to our father."
"Father and Zhen'er said almost the same thing at that time."
"Brother is really no match for Zhen'er. He is too obsessed and too proud. He can't see things as clearly as Zhen'er."
"A big mistake has already been made, but we cannot make the same mistake again. Brother should shoulder the responsibility of being a prince, make up for the loss, and maintain the stability of Prince Rong's mansion."
When Zhao Huaizhen heard this, she immediately had a bad premonition. Her heart suddenly tightened and she shook her head with a pale face.
"Brother, don't say such things. There must be something else——"
At this point, Zhao Huaizhen was suddenly stunned.
Because she suddenly remembered what Jiasui said in the afternoon -
"Huaizhen, don't be afraid. Go back and discuss it with Prince Rong. This matter is not that bad. There is even a win-win solution."
"But for you, me, and Prince Rong's Mansion, this is a big gamble."
A win-win solution...
Jiasui would never do something without a purpose, there must be a way!
Thinking of this, Zhao Huaizhen suddenly turned back to look at Prince Xiang Rong and whispered, "Father!"
Prince Rong had obviously been thinking deeply about this conversation between the brother and sister for a long time.
He looked up at the voice and said calmly and steadily:
"Zhen'er, please send a message back to Miss Shen."
"This gamble has been accepted by Prince Rong’s Mansion."
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