Zhao Huan was deeply distressed. He had never expected the prince to say such words to him. It turned out that he had always regarded him as his role model. However, his father was truly incompetent, careless and unremarkable, lacking the steadiness and aura of an emperor.
"Chen'er, rest assured and recuperate. I hope you get better soon. The Song Dynasty belongs to us, father and son. You are free to tread on the sky and the earth. After your mother gives birth to the prince, I will take you and your son out for an outing. We will go to the south of the Yangtze River, visit West Lake, and climb Mount Tai."
Zhao Chen was fascinated and said, "Father, you are the emperor. You are destined to work hard for this world and for our ancestors. Even if you want to go out for fun, you must first investigate the people's sentiments."
Zhao Huan sighed inwardly: The prince cares about the people much better than I do.
"Chen'er, you are right. I will do this. You rest first. I will go back first."
"Father, take care."
Zhao Huan bid farewell to the prince, and when he reached the door, the prince stopped him and said, "Father,
Zhao Huan turned around and looked at him. The prince held the edge of the bed and said, "Be nice to your mother. She is your wife."
Zhao Huan smiled and nodded: "I know."
The father and son smiled at each other.
Zhao Huan felt as if a piece of lead was pressing on his heart, and he came to the Wende Hall with a heavy heart.
"Zheng Xian, please investigate for me. Why did the prince fall into the water while boating on the lake?"
Zheng Xian bowed and said, "I'll do it right away."
Zhao Huan said coldly, "Capture all the eunuchs who played with the Crown Prince that day and bring them to justice! I would rather kill a thousand innocent people than let even one go!"
Zheng Xian felt a chill in his heart: "As you wish."
The prince's illness had been kept secret from the queen because she was about to give birth and Zhao Huan was afraid that she would worry, so he did not tell her.
The crown prince was seriously ill, and the ministers suggested that Zhao Huan take a concubine to bring good luck. Zhao Huan decided to take Nangong Lian'er as his concubine.
There is no need to elaborate on the details of the consorting. Nangong Lian'er was canonized as a noble lady and moved to Yanzhi Pavilion.
There were just some minor incidents on the wedding night. Zhao Huan was just about to have some fun on his wedding night, but he received an urgent report from the Hu Yasi that there was some clue in the case of the prince falling into the water.
Zhao Huan hurried to Wende Hall, where Zheng Xian and Wang Dabao had been waiting for a long time.
"Tell me, what progress has been made in the case?"
Zheng Xian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have followed your instructions and apprehended all those involved with the Crown Prince that day. We have interrogated seventeen people, three of whom died in the torture chamber. Finally, we interrogated a eunuch named Liu Rui, and he confessed. It turns out someone orchestrated the Crown Prince's fall into the water that day."
"What!" Zhao Huan was shocked. "Who is so bold?"
"The current Grand Secretary Liang Shuhang."
"Is it him?" Zhao Huan was slightly surprised. Liang Shuhang was someone he had little contact with. He hadn't seen him speak often during court. "Why would he want to harm the crown prince?"
Zheng Xian shook his head: "I don't know about this either. I have imposed 26 punishments on Liu Rui. He should not be lying."
Zheng Xian said it lightly, but Zhao Huan knew that each of these twenty-six punishments would make people live a life worse than death.
"What about Liang Shuhang? Have you found him?" Zhao Huan asked.
Zheng Xian looked uneasy and hurriedly bowed, saying, "When I took people to Liang Shuhang's house, his entire family had already committed suicide by taking poison."
Zhao Huan was secretly horrified. Who could be so bold? They were plotting to murder the crown prince. Would he be next? The crown prince had always been kind, yet he had also been targeted? What was the mastermind behind this?
Zhao Huan said fiercely, "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! There's no way Liang Shuhang didn't have someone behind the scenes, we must find out who's behind this."
"I obey your order." Zheng Xian wiped his sweat. Liang Shuhang was dead, his entire family had taken poison. The clues stopped here. Where should we start the investigation?
Zhao Huan never thought about who would benefit most from his death. That was naturally Zhao Ji, so when the assassination happened in the royal hunting grounds, the first person he suspected was his father.
But the result was unexpected: it was Zhao Gou, the Prince of Kang, who wanted to take over the crown prince's position while he was still young.
Who would benefit most from harming the crown prince? The only ones who were pregnant were Zhu Lian and Tang Wan'er. Zhu Lian couldn't be the one, so could it be Tang Wan'er?
Zhao Huan's hair stood on end at the thought. The struggle for imperial power was so terrifying. Tang Wan'er, how could she be so cruel? No, Zhao Huan suddenly remembered. Tang Wan'er was just a palace maid, powerless. She couldn't possibly have had any contact with Grand Secretary Liang Shuhang. Who could it be?
Zhao Huan racked his brains but couldn't come up with a clue. He was in his prime, and the queen and concubines were all pregnant. The throne of crown prince must be his own son.
If anyone dared to rebel, it was impossible. The Palace Guards, the Cavalry, the Infantry, the Tiger Guards, the Imperial Dragon Guards, the Yue Family Army stationed outside, and Zong Ze's Northwest Army—they were all his diehards. Even if someone had second thoughts, it was impossible for the other armies to join in the rebellion.
Who on earth has such a deep hatred for the prince that he wants to kill him?
Grand Secretary Zhang Han was at home playing chess with his good friend Shan Wenhao. The two of them argued fiercely in the pavilion in the backyard.
"You didn't even tell me beforehand that you were going to eat horse food. Wait a minute." Shan Wenhao grabbed Zhang Han's arm with a red face and thick neck.
Zhang Han argued: "You old thing, I ate your horse and I told you so, and you still want me to eat it? How can you be so shameless?"
"That won't do either. You're eating without even saying hello. You can't do that."
Zhang Han clutched his chessboard: "Roll, roll, roll, roll, once I've won, I've won. No regrets."
These two people are good friends. Shan Wenhao can't beat him at chess, so he plays tricks on him.
While the two were arguing, a group of people suddenly rushed in from outside. They were the officials from the Hu Yasi.
Zhang Han was startled: "Everyone?"
What these officials fear most now is Hu Yasi, and they no longer dare to go against him as before.
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