Chapter 121 Father, Your Majesty, I Resist
The imperial physician replied cautiously, "The pulse indicates that it is present, but the time is too short to be certain."
He paused, then added, "The princess must have been quite frightened today—"
"So, it seems like we almost lost both the baby and the toddler?" Yan Jinyue blurted out. "That was a close call!"
Emperor Zhaode's face turned terrifyingly cold in an instant.
Yan Jinyue shrank back, not daring to say anything more.
Emperor Zhaode looked at the imperial physician: "Do you need some medicine to prevent miscarriage?"
"The princess is a little emotionally unstable, but fortunately, the pregnancy pulse is not very obvious yet, so there should be no major problems," the imperial physician said cautiously. "If Your Majesty is still worried, this old minister will go to the Prince of Yan's residence in three days to take the princess's pulse again. In another ten days to half a month, we will be able to confirm whether she is really pregnant."
If an ordinary woman is pregnant, it takes forty days to become apparent. The experienced imperial physicians can detect pregnancy a few days earlier, but the pulse is not very clear in the early stages and needs to be combined with other symptoms for diagnosis.
In the early stages of pregnancy, other symptoms may not be very obvious, and symptoms such as drowsiness, picky eating, or loss of appetite may appear after a period of time.
Emperor Zhaode asked, "When will the Princess Consort of Yan wake up?"
The imperial physician took a bottle from his medicine chest, uncorked it, and placed it under Chu Yunjin's nose.
Chu Yunjin suddenly sneezed and then slowly woke up.
Opening her eyes, she turned her gaze somewhat blankly. When she saw Emperor Zhaode, she was startled and immediately stood up. Because the movement was too sudden and fast, her body swayed involuntarily.
"Your Highness, be careful." Adele caught her just in time.
Emperor Zhaode's lips twitched: "Can't you slow down a bit?"
Chu Yunjin lowered her eyes silently.
"Alright, you can rest here for a while." Emperor Zhaode was worried about her going back now. "Jinyue, you stay with the Princess Consort of Yan and help her relax."
"Yes, Father."
Emperor Zhaode turned and walked out.
Princess Ning'an came in to check on Chu Yunjin, told her to rest well, and then went out and quickly took her leave.
When the Prince of Jin was brought over, his face was bruised and swollen.
Emperor Zhaode stared at his face for a long time, his expression shifting between light and dark.
Just as Prince Jin felt guilty under his gaze and was about to speak, Emperor Zhaode turned his head and asked the Imperial Guards what was going on.
The Imperial Guard Commander replied, "After we left the palace, we went to the Prince of Jin's residence. The servants there said that His Highness was not at home. So we took our men to the Duke of Dingguo's residence. We found His Highness the injured Prince of Jin in a pavilion in the back garden of the Duke of Dingguo's residence, near the lotus lake."
The Prince of Jin knelt on the ground, his face stiff and pale, looking utterly disheveled.
Pei Zhilan, who was brought along, turned pale and trembled with fear.
"Yan Heng," Emperor Zhaode said coldly, looking at him, "do you have any further explanation?"
The Prince of Jin lowered his head and said, "Your subject does not understand what Your Majesty means."
What happened to the injury on your face?
"Your Majesty, I have been attacked by a villain—"
"Today's flower viewing banquet at the Duke of Dingguo's mansion is for women only. Are you one of the guests?"
The King of Jin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your subject is not right."
"Who invited you?" Emperor Zhaode asked, his voice gradually turning cold. "Pei Zhilan?"
"Your Majesty! I am innocent!" Pei Zhilan was both shocked and frightened, kowtowing repeatedly and crying out her innocence, "I don't know what happened, please, Your Majesty, investigate thoroughly!"
Emperor Zhaode coldly said, "Do you only tell the truth if I send you all to the imperial prison and hand you over to King Ming for interrogation?"
Pei Zhilan froze abruptly, her whole body turning cold.
As if he had made a desperate decision, the Prince of Jin raised his head, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness: "Your subject has lost everything! Father, your subject is not convinced!"
Emperor Zhaode looked at him coldly.
"Why does my fourth brother get everything, while I get nothing?" Prince Jin gritted his teeth, as if he had suddenly lost his mind, only concerned with venting his dissatisfaction. "He holds the reins of the military, and with a single command, all directions bow down. How powerful he is! He clearly made a pledge in court, saying that he wouldn't compete for the throne if he held military power, yet Father still paves the way for him at every turn. I just can't understand why! Why, even though he has military power, does Father still make him temporarily in charge of the Six Ministries? If Father likes him so much, he should just make him the crown prince. Why does he have to suppress me again and again—"
Bang!
Emperor Zhaode was furious and kicked him to the ground.
Yan Jinyue and Chu Yunjin, who were waiting in the side hall, were startled.
The two, still shaken, exchanged a glance, then pursed their lips and remained silent.
"You're not convinced? What makes you think you're not convinced?" Emperor Zhaode's voice was like ice. "You also want to command troops? Fine, when Yan Cang returns from the southern border, I'll let you join the army. If you can earn people's trust with your own abilities, if you can firmly guard the borders of Yong Dynasty, if you can calmly deal with provocations from enemy countries and win battle after battle, I can also let you command troops!"
Emperor Zhaode sneered: "Why let Yan Cang take charge of the Six Ministries? Because he doesn't have your selfish motives! That Xue Ziying from Nanzhao..."
Thinking of that woman, Emperor Zhaode couldn't help but grit his teeth: "Yan Heng, did you already know her identity? When Pei Yi'an ordered someone to bring her back from the border and send her to your palace, you knew her identity was suspicious, yet you still had her sent to Wen Heyun. You knew all along what kind of person Wen Heyun was, so why did you do that?!"
The Prince of Jin turned pale and lowered his head without uttering a word.
"If it were your fourth brother, he would never have given an innocent woman to a sadistic beast!" Emperor Zhaode's face was ashen, and he grew angrier as he spoke. "If it were your fourth brother, he would have made the right decision the moment he learned Xue Ziying's identity!"
“Pei Yi’an is a traitor who has colluded with the enemy. Don’t tell me you didn’t know. If it were your fourth brother, even if Pei Yi’an was his confidant, he would not have hesitated to punish him first! But what about you? You only care about winning over military officers and don’t care at all what those officers have done.”
“Yan Heng, you only care about your own interests. You only care about what you want and don’t consider the big picture at all. You don’t care about the country and the people. You only care about whether you can achieve your goal. That’s the difference between you and Yan Cang!”
The Prince of Jin turned pale and clenched his fists tightly.
Is this how his father evaluates him?
He was worthless in his father's eyes, while Yan Cang was better than him in every way.
"I originally intended to turn a blind eye and assume you knew nothing about Xue Ziying's matter, but since you don't want to behave yourself, I have no choice but to proceed according to the law," Emperor Zhaode coldly ordered. "Yan Yang."
"Your subject is here."
"Take Yan Heng away for questioning," Emperor Zhaode ordered. "If he is willing to speak properly, then question him properly. If he is not willing to speak properly, then question him in your own way."
Yan Yang sighed silently: "Yes."
He raised his hand, and two guards from the town government came in and took Prince Jin away.
Prince Jin looked up at Emperor Zhaode with a mocking expression: "So, in Father's heart, I am so insignificant?"
After Emperor Zhaode unleashed a torrent of abuse, his anger still lingered: "Go to the imperial prison and reflect on what you have done. Whether it was good or bad, you can judge for yourself."
The guards of the town government took him away.
Emperor Zhaode turned to look at Pei Zhilan, who was still kneeling on the ground, and asked indifferently, "Pei Zhilan, when did you and Prince Jin get together?"
"I am innocent!"
"You also want to go to the imperial prison?"
Pei Zhilan shuddered violently: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
Emperor Zhaode suddenly shouted: "Tell me the truth!"
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