Chapter 122 The Sickly and Tyrannical Crown Prince 20
The emperor's suppression of information was undoubtedly a way to protect himself from the Empress and the Crown Prince.
Especially his unscrupulous crown prince, once he finds out, he'll probably cause a scene again.
Xie Rong wasn't angry; the smile on his face didn't reach his eyes. "My cousin is all-powerful; with him by my side, I have nothing to worry about."
Whenever he raises his eyes, his smile unconsciously becomes sweet.
Xue Feibai stared blankly, unaware of the coldness in his words, and instead pondered.
Since you know he's more useful than this slave, why bother fooling around with a slave every day?
"Your Highness should make plans as soon as possible..." Xue Feibai said.
Xie Rong turned his head and saw the man who hadn't spoken a word staring straight at him, not knowing how long he had been staring.
He ignored Xue Feibai's words and said to Lu Yuanju, "Come here."
Lu Yuanju leaned close and bit his fingertip as if no one else was around.
Xie Rong curled the corners of her lips, patted his face lightly, and glanced at Xue Feibai's ashen face. "You naughty dog I raised always bites me like this."
My cousin, like my mother, is always nagging and likes to talk to me. He gets annoyed by it and insists on doing the opposite.
"My cousin has never owned a dog and doesn't know the joy of training a puppy, even I know that," Xie Rong said smugly.
"..." Xue Feibai's voice was hoarse, "If Your Highness wants to keep a dog, you can always find a respectable family..."
"A respectable family?" Xie Rong tilted his head, feigning innocence, and asked, "Like my cousin?"
Xie Rong was still angry that Xue Feibai had barged in so aggressively and ruined his plans.
He asked the question deliberately with a retaliatory tone.
"..." Xue Feibai suddenly turned his face away from him, his ear tips gradually turning red.
"Can."
Xie Rong asked, "What?"
Xue Feibai, his neck flushed, said, "This is fine, Your Majesty."
"Cousin, you're joking," Xie Rong said, patting Lu Yuanju's head. "If I really asked you to be my little dog, Uncle and Mother would be angry."
Xue Feibai opened his lips, but remained speechless.
“A respectable family might not be able to save face, but I can,” Lu Yuanju said, staring at Xie Rong meaningfully, “I can do anything.”
Xie Rong laughed, "You're the most despicable."
Xue Feibai stood to the side, his hands clenched silently at his sides, like an outsider.
...
The emperor attended court during the day and favored his concubines at night, his face seemingly radiant. Even the old ministers in the court couldn't help but wonder which imperial physician was so skilled.
Xie Rong also took the opportunity to make a scene in the Imperial Study, complaining that his father only cared about his own enjoyment and forgot about him, the Crown Prince who was also seriously ill.
It was already the height of summer, and the emperor, who was afraid of the heat, placed ice blocks in the palace to cool off.
Although Xie Rong was also hot, he couldn't stand the cold and started coughing genuinely.
He harbored a deep resentment.
That damned palace servant, knowing he's unwell, still fanned him with a cool breeze!
Seeing his condition, the emperor comforted him, saying, "My son is too weak. It would be best for him to return to the Eastern Palace to recuperate. There is no need for you to worry about the affairs of the court now."
Xie Rong looked at his increasingly cloudy eyes and smiled, "Your subject hopes that Your Majesty will live to be a hundred years old."
The emperor laughed heartily, but his laughter abruptly stopped as he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Father?!" Xie Rong strode forward to support him, suppressing his joy and feigning concern, "Father, what's wrong?"
The emperor coughed up another mouthful of blood, his eyes widened, and he was speechless. He died in Xie Rong's arms.
...
Chaos reigned in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, with concubines, princes, and princesses kneeling on the ground, sobbing all around.
Xie Rong knelt at the front, staring down at the bloodstains on his clothes, his face displeased.
His newly made clothes.
But he'll soon have a new dragon robe, so who would care about this one?
Xie Rong curled up the corners of her mouth again and, imitating others, wiped away her tears with her sleeve.
After examining the deceased emperor's body, the imperial physician said, "Your Majesty's sudden death was likely due to the accidental ingestion of a potent medicine. I wonder if Your Majesty has taken any medicine during this period?"
The emperor's personal eunuch immediately exclaimed, "The Longevity Vine! It must be the Longevity Vine!"
...
Lu Yuanju was chopping wood in the East Palace when a group of imperial guards suddenly broke in and arrested him.
The Imperial Guards made way for him, and Lu Yuanju looked up to see the Crown Prince, dressed in mourning clothes, with a cold expression, walking up to him.
“I took pity on my father’s kindness and took in you prisoners of war from the north. Who knew you would harbor such evil intentions and cause the death of my father? You deserve to die,” Xie Rong said, his heterochromatic eyes meeting Xie Rong’s. His eyes were as bright and captivating as when they were entwined on the bed. “Take him away and hand him over to the Ministry of Justice for punishment.”
Ye Fengyao, the commander of the Imperial Guard, hurriedly responded and waved his hand, and Lu Yuanju and the other prisoners of war from the northern frontier were taken away and thrown into the Ministry of Justice's prison.
Xie Rong straightened the dragon robe he had secretly put on under the mourning linen.
No one can take his things away anymore.
He is the rightful heir, and all of this should rightfully belong to him.
[Host, what about the protagonist's pain level?]
"What's the rush? I'll go see him in prison when I'm tired of being emperor," Xie Rong had already instructed the Ministry of Justice to spare Lu Yuanju's life.
The emperor's coffin remained in the palace for seven days.
Seven days later, the new emperor ascended the throne.
The Ministry of Justice prison.
The Empress Dowager's procession was so imposing that the officials guarding the prison could not stop them and had to follow behind.
"I wonder what brings Your Majesty the Empress Dowager to the Ministry of Justice prison?" The official from the Ministry of Justice smiled obsequiously, glancing at Empress Dowager Xue and then at General Xue beside her.
The late emperor died suddenly, and now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, the Xue family has risen in status and can't afford to offend anyone.
Even if someone harbored ulterior motives before the new emperor ascended the throne, they could not conceive of them under the suppression of the Xue family army and the Imperial Guard.
"Where are the prisoners of war from the northern frontier that were brought in?" Xue Feibai asked coldly.
The Ministry of Justice official understood and led the way, stopping in front of the innermost cell and opening the cell door.
Sitting in the corner of the cell was a burly man. Even though he was wearing prison clothes and his limbs were chained and locked in the corner, his head was lowered and he leaned against the wall as if he was dozing. The menacing aura he exuded made people want to stay away.
“Aunt, watch your step,” Xue Feibai said, stepping through the prison gate first. Empress Dowager Xue lifted her robes and stepped in slowly.
"Is this the slave you were talking about?" Although these slaves were initially sent to the Eastern Palace by Empress Dowager Xue to amuse her son, she never took them seriously.
Even if her sons had served her, it was an honor for them.
“When His Majesty was in the Eastern Palace, his health was not good, but this Ah Chou repeatedly urged His Majesty to waste his energy and indulge in sensual pleasures. I have advised him many times, but His Majesty listened to his slander and became distant from me,” Xue Feibai said softly. “Even though these prisoners of war from the northern frontier killed the late Emperor, His Majesty specifically instructed the Ministry of Justice not to harm them.”
"His Majesty truly adores him."
Empress Dowager Xue glanced at him in surprise.
In her memory, her nephew was upright and polite, and such jealous words were not something Xue Feibai would say.
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