Chapter 114 The Sickly and Tyrannical Crown Prince 12
The second son was chopping firewood outside, glancing at Lu Yuanju's departing figure as he chopped, and muttered, "Actually, I don't think that little prince is as bad as the rumors say."
"It's just a matter of warming the bed, Brother Lu, you're making a big fuss over nothing. The first time I went to Chongming Palace to fight that beast for the ball, the little prince saw that I couldn't win, and he even smiled at me to encourage me."
Besides, the order to send troops to the north was issued by that dog of an emperor. Just because that dog of an emperor used the excuse of the young crown prince's serious illness, are we going to hold a grudge against a sickly brat who is younger than us?
The third son was also chopping wood, since the crown prince was weak and hot water was the most frequently used item in the Eastern Palace.
She didn't say anything after hearing what he said.
...
As Lu Yuanju walked outside the sleeping quarters, he could hear the sounds of things being smashed and cursed even through the door.
At this hour, it's easy to know why His Highness the Crown Prince is angry.
It's nothing more than what happened during the morning court session.
Clearly, smashing things wasn't enough to vent his anger, so he needed to be called over.
As Lu Yuanju stepped into the main hall, the cursing became even clearer.
"That bastard Xie Yan actually dared to dream of going to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices!"
Lu Yuanju listened for a few more sentences and roughly understood.
It turned out that the Fifth Prince had offered to take on the task of going to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship the ancestors on behalf of the Crown Prince, citing the Crown Prince's poor health.
"I've endured enough," Xie Rong said, his eyes reddening as he caught a glimpse of the man entering. "A Chou, you're my slave, you'll share my burdens, right?"
Lu Yuanju thought of many ways to share the burden.
For example, he could be used as a tool to vent his anger and be beaten by Xie Rong, or he could be asked to think of a way to frame and retaliate against the Fifth Prince.
But he never expected that Xie Rong had become so audacious as to order him to go directly to Consort De's palace and capture the Fifth Prince.
"You say you're the most powerful warrior from the north, prove it to me," Xie Rong said, sitting in his armchair. He slowly crushed the pearls that had rolled on the ground with his foot, his pale fingers toying with a jade thumb ring. "Either capture him and I'll let him taste what it's like to offend me today, or you can take his place and crawl out of here with your last breath."
Lu Yuanju wasn't foolish enough to suffer for the royal family of a Celestial Empire.
He naturally chose the first option.
The palace was heavily guarded, but in Lu Yuanju's eyes, they were nothing more than a bunch of good-for-nothings.
Amidst Consort De's shocked and furious voice, he bound the Fifth Prince, stepped over the fallen guards, and dragged him back to the East Palace.
Xie Rong was clearly pleased. He patted his head and said, "Well done, here's your reward."
Lu Yuanju caught it, looked down and saw it was a half-eaten orange.
He hesitated before taking a bite, the sour and bitter taste instantly numbing his tongue. He couldn't help but frown.
Looking up, I saw the Crown Prince using a whip to discipline the Fifth Prince, who had tried to usurp his position at the morning court session.
"Xie Rong, how dare you treat me like this? Aren't you afraid of angering Father Emperor?!" the Fifth Prince roared.
“I fear nothing,” Xie Rong said, folding his whip in half and striking the Fifth Prince’s face with a cold smile in his eyes. “I only know that I cannot tolerate any imperfections in my eyes.”
"Didn't you say that I'm too weak to endure the hardship of worshipping ancestors at the Imperial Ancestral Temple? Then I'll break your legs and make you crawl to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship ancestors, so you can suffer. Anyway, I can't take it, but you can."
Xie Rong turned around, sat back in the armchair, and said, propping his chin up with his hand, "Break his legs."
Several eunuchs dared not disobey him and stepped forward with long sticks in their hands.
Only the Fifth Prince's screams could be heard from the bedchamber.
However, after only a quarter of an hour, the screams stopped, and the Fifth Prince fainted.
"Your Highness..."
Xie Rong said coldly, "If I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of? Continue."
Today in the court, the officials respect his status as the crown prince, but when it comes to politics, they ignore him.
He never tolerated being humiliated, nor did he make an example of someone to scare the others. They really thought Xie Rong was a good-natured person who accepted everything passively.
An hour later, the Fifth Prince's leg was a bloody mess.
The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall, followed by the sound of the hall door being kicked open.
Xie Rong didn't even lift his eyelids. "Why has Father come?"
"You unfilial son!" The emperor was furious. "How dare you be so cruel as to not even spare your own brother?"
"Your Majesty!" the Empress said displeasedly, "I heard everything that happened in court today. It was the Fifth Prince who overstepped his bounds first. My son is already weak. If he suffers a mental illness because of this, who will he turn to for justice?"
"Consort De, is this how you usually instigate the Fifth Prince to offend the Crown Prince?"
Consort De paused in her sobbing and looked at the Emperor. "Your Majesty...Your Majesty, you must do justice for me!"
"Empress, look at him! Does he have any manners of a crown prince? Today he dared to harm his elder brother; tomorrow he'll probably kill his father!" The emperor's anger hadn't subsided. "I'm doing this all for his own good. If I don't teach him a lesson, who knows how arrogant he'll become in the future!"
"What does Your Majesty wish to do?" the Empress asked coldly.
"In my opinion, it would be better to first revoke his crown prince seal and have him confine himself to the Eastern Palace for three months to reflect on his actions. After three months, if he can—"
"Your Majesty, perhaps you drank too much at Consort De's place today and your mind is muddled?" the Empress interrupted him. "The Fifth Prince spoke rudely, and when the Crown Prince reprimanded him, he only used a little too much force. Why should he stay behind closed doors and reflect on his mistakes?"
"Your Majesty, you..." The Emperor's face darkened.
The Empress, with her dignified bearing, walked to Xie Rong's side and patted her shoulder reassuringly. A peace charm engraved with the character "Xue" hung from her waist. "Since Consort De is also here, please apologize to my son on behalf of your Fifth Prince, and we can consider this matter over."
"Your Majesty..." Consort De cried.
"Fine, then you shall listen to the Empress." The Emperor turned and left.
Consort De apologized with resentment and helped the unconscious Fifth Prince away.
The Empress dismissed the crowd and then sighed.
"Even Mother thinks I'm wrong?" Xie Rong's eyes still held a hint of hostility. "They all want to take my throne."
"Your mother and uncle will risk their lives to protect your position as crown prince," the Empress said, looking down at his pale complexion. She couldn't bear to say anything, no matter how harsh her words were. She simply patted his head and said softly, "Rest early. Your health is the most important thing."
The Queen left.
Xie Rong was still sitting in the armchair when Lu Yuanju, as usual, brought over a basin of hot water, knelt down to wash his feet, and suddenly heard him chuckle foolishly.
"Actually, I called you here just now because I wanted to take my anger out on you."
Lu Yuanju paused in the hand that was gripping his toes.
"If your leg is broken, how can you stay by my side and avenge the northern frontier?" Xie Rong said casually.
Lu Yuanju felt a chill run down his spine, and in that instant, he belatedly realized something.
Xie Rong broke the Fifth Prince's leg, and the "monkey" he used as a warning to others was neither a court official nor one of the other princes.
Instead, he remained a detached observer of everything.
Under Xie Rong's cold and amused scrutiny, Lu Yuanju lowered his head and obediently kissed his snow-white instep, "This servant dares not."
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