Chapter 5 He refused to kill Yunzhu
Wang Jun was born into the Zuo Du Wang clan, a noble family that had lived in Yunzhou for generations.
In her generation, her father was a capable general of Prince Huan, and her elder brother served as the Right Guard Chief in Prince Huan's palace.
On this day, Xiao Mingzhang went to the training ground to watch the soldiers practice, accompanied by Wang Jun's elder brother Wang Xingchen and Yu Jingsi's elder brother Yu Zhouling.
The three of them arrived at the training ground together and saw the soldiers standing in neat rows, facing Prince Huan, Xiao Shao, conducting the most basic drills.
They all stood still and watched for a while.
On this trip to Jinling, in addition to the attendants and guards who were always by his side, Wang Xingchen and Yuzhou Mausoleum were also personally requested by Xiao Mingzhang to be taken along.
These two men were his right-hand men, having grown up with him since childhood. Calling them his confidants wouldn't be an exaggeration.
However, even trusted confidants sometimes disagree.
The soldiers of Prince Huan's mansion were highly skilled, far surpassing even some of the armies in Jinling. Since they arrived at the training ground, the soldiers before them moved in perfect unison, each move precise down to the last step, without a single mistake.
Wang Xingchen sighed, "Your Highness must have put in so much effort to train such an army..."
The seemingly complimentary words were actually full of regret.
Yu Zhouling glanced at him and immediately said, "Your Highness has gone to great lengths, so we should naturally not disappoint you. In the future, we should do our best to protect Yunzhou for Your Highness. Whatever Your Highness and the Crown Prince ask us to do, we will do!"
Wang Xingchen squinted and glared at the Yuzhou Mausoleum.
There was no evasion in Yu Zhouling's eyes; he was completely open and honest.
Wang Xingchen was so angry that he stopped saying a word.
He went to observe Xiao Mingzhang's reaction.
Since entering the training ground, Xiao Mingzhang had not uttered a word. Wang Xingchen saw that he had his lips tightly pressed together and his expression was serious, wondering if he had heard his conversation with Yu Zhouling.
Yes, Wang Xingchen said those words today intentionally for Xiao Mingzhang to hear.
Their trip to Jinling was not in vain; at least it let Wang Xingchen know that their Huanwang Mansion had not completely lost the possibility of taking over the Eastern Palace.
As long as Xiao Mingzhang is willing...
—
Xiao Mingzhang stood outside the training ground for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, his face covered in dust from the sandstorm stirred up by the soldiers, before he finally set off to go to his father.
Prince Huan, Xiao Shao, got up early to train his troops, leaving an hour earlier than Xiao Mingzhang.
Upon seeing Xiao Mingzhang approach, Xiao Mingzhang bowed, and he and his son nodded slightly before continuing their training.
Only after the training ceremony was completely over and the soldiers began to rest did Xiao Shao turn around and enter his tent.
Xiao Mingzhang followed behind him.
Xiao Mingzhang had assumed the tent would be empty, but upon entering, he found two people who had arrived at the training ground sometime earlier and were already waiting in the tent.
"Mr. Yan, Mr. Lou."
"Your Highness."
These two men were none other than Yan Qian and Lou Kongcheng, advisors to Prince Huan.
The two men rose and bowed to Xiao Mingzhang, then stood before him.
Xiao Mingzhang asked, "What a coincidence that you two gentlemen are here today to watch the military training?"
Yan Qian and Lou Kongcheng exchanged a glance, and Yan Qian spoke first: "Your Highness, I have come here today specifically to see you!"
Lou Kongcheng immediately replied, "I am Lou too!"
Xiao Mingzhang's brow twitched slightly, but he remained expressionless and asked again, "Oh? You want to see me? Do you two gentlemen have something important to discuss?"
"important!"
"It is indeed important!"
The two men, like actors performing a duet, exchanged words in front of Xiao Mingzhang.
Xiao Mingzhang was somewhat reluctant to hear what they were about to say, but he knew that since they were in this tent at this time, he had no choice but to listen to what they had to say.
Because this was no longer simply their idea, but his father's idea.
Xiao Mingzhang glanced at his father, who sat silently at the head of the table, and smiled slightly as Yan Qian said, "Your Highness, Your Highness just returned from Jinling yesterday. I shouldn't be in such a hurry to tell you these things, but time waits for no one. May I ask Your Highness, do you still want to compete for the position of Crown Prince?"
"..."
His question was too direct.
Xiao Mingzhang wanted to smile again, but he didn't know how to make himself smile again.
He said to Yan Qian, "Mr. Yan, please speak frankly."
Yan Qian then proceeded without any politeness, saying, "Your Highness must have seen the situation in the capital during your visit. Your Highness, His Majesty is now old, and the position of Crown Prince remains vacant. Originally, our Prince Huan's Mansion should be the one everyone hopes to have..."
He stopped abruptly, paused, and then continued, "From this point on, the assistance we receive in the capital will be greatly reduced! We know that Your Highness is benevolent and cares for the people; as long as the world is at peace and the seas are calm, it doesn't matter who the ruler of the land is. But Your Highness, having come to the capital this time and considered the overall situation, do you really think that the one in the capital who is so favored by the Emperor will be a blessing for our country in the future?"
"…………"
A strategist is one who speaks what ordinary people cannot.
Yan Qian's words made it impossible for Xiao Mingzhang to pretend to be uninvolved any longer.
He finally focused his mind completely and looked at Yan Qian.
The person Yan Qian mentioned, who had received great favor from the emperor, was someone they all knew without needing to elaborate.
The eleventh son of the current emperor, Xiao Mingzhang's uncle, Prince Yi, Xiao Jing.
Unlike the Huan Prince's family, who suffered a tragic arranged marriage, Yi Prince Xiao Jing's birth mother was Consort He, who was the emperor's most beloved concubine before her death.
Consort He died in childbirth. Xiao Jing, her only child and the one she risked her life to protect, received the emperor's most blatant favoritism for more than twenty years after her death.
Legend has it that the emperor took him under his wing from a young age and personally taught him to read;
Legend has it that the emperor took him under his wing from a young age and personally taught him riding and archery;
Legend has it that the emperor would occasionally bring his young son along when he was reviewing memorials in the imperial study. He allowed the son to see his memorials and to draw all sorts of incomprehensible things on them...
Xiao Mingzhang grew up in Yunzhou and knew very little about the affairs of Jinling. He didn't know how much of these rumors were true and how much was false. He only knew that, as far back as he could remember, although the eleventh prince was favored, there was never much talk in the court or among the people about the emperor's intention to have Prince Yi succeed to the throne.
It wasn't until recent years, when his grandfather arranged a marriage for him with a member of a different ethnic group and began to suppress other imperial uncles and princely families, that people in the court and the public slowly began to realize that the emperor was paving the way for the eleventh prince to succeed to the throne.
After all, his other brothers were suffering all sorts of punishments, but he was completely unaffected. Even though he had long since come of age, he was allowed to live in Jinling without having to go to his fiefdom, simply because the emperor was reluctant to part with him. What a great deal of love and indulgence this was!
The eleventh prince is now the main target of currying favor among the court officials.
However, Xiao Mingzhang's impression of this imperial uncle after returning from his trip to Jinling was not very good.
...
Seeing that Xiao Mingzhang's eyes had begun to soften slightly, Yan Qian pressed his advantage: "Your Highness has been well-versed in history since childhood, possessing vast knowledge of the past and present. You must understand that to become an extraordinary person, one must sometimes do extraordinary things. Back then, how glorious was the Huan Prince's Mansion, with tens of thousands of elite soldiers and countless retainers flocking to it. Now, if Your Highness is willing, I dare to guarantee that the number of people in the world willing to follow the Huan Prince's Mansion again will be even greater than before!"
Why is it worse than before?
Is it because everyone knows he was willing to abandon his wife for the throne, and everyone is willing to follow a person with no conscience or moral bottom line?
What if I don't want to?
Yan Qian had reached the height of his enthusiasm when Xiao Mingzhang's words froze him back to reality.
He stared blankly at Xiao Mingzhang, then at Xiao Shao at the head of the table, somewhat shocked by Xiao Mingzhang's decisiveness.
Xiao Mingzhang lowered his eyes. Since things had come to this point, there was no point in continuing to play games with these people.
He stopped looking at Yan Qian and Lou Kongcheng, and turned to face his father with all his might.
He realized he understood why his father had summoned him to the drill ground today.
Although Xiao Mingzhang was forced to marry a princess from the Western Regions as his heir apparent, and the Huan Prince's Mansion lost much support and assistance as a result, the solution to this predicament was actually known to everyone from the beginning—
That means killing Yunzhu.
If Mu Yunzhu disappears, then the Crown Princess from another race in the Huan Prince's mansion will also cease to exist, right?
Therefore, from the very beginning of the marriage arrangement, many people suggested to Xiao Mingzhang that after the Crown Princess arrived, they should have her die on her wedding night, or even skip the wedding altogether and have her die at the post station... but he rejected them all.
Because he felt that although he longed for the throne and the position of Crown Prince, he should at least maintain a certain level of conscience in order to be qualified to actually sit in those positions.
If he has lost even the most basic conscience, he will despise himself and everyone who helped him rise to power.
Since he explicitly denied it, very few people have mentioned it to him again in the past two years.
However, in the past two years, many of the advisors in Prince Huan's mansion have either left or scattered, leaving very few behind.
After all, no one wants to follow a lord who has no future ascension to the throne.
During his trip to Jinling, Xiao Mingzhang did realize that among the emperor's many sons, only his father was the most suitable to succeed to the throne and become the next emperor.
But if the price was Yunzhu's life, he thought he still wouldn't be willing, regardless of whether they had feelings for each other.
"Father, I understand your intentions today completely. But please forgive me, my father. Yunzhu is my wife, and we are related by marriage. She is innocent. Yes, I want to see you ascend the throne, become the Crown Prince, and eventually the Emperor. But if the price is for me to abandon Yunzhu and kill her with my own hands, then please forgive me, my father. I simply cannot do it. I am a heartless person..."
With a whoosh—
Before Xiao Mingzhang could finish speaking, a long whip resembling a silver-tailed snake was lashed out and slammed into his cheek.
The entire camp was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
He already knew.
Prince Huan, Xiao Shao, was sitting at the head of the table. He thought to himself that he had long known that Xiao Mingzhang had his own principles and that it would not be easy to persuade him to fulfill his ambitions.
But when he actually heard his rejection, he couldn't help but feel furious.
This time, he specially took him out to Jinling for three whole months, just to let him see the world outside and let him know that the only people most suitable to sit on the throne and govern this country are him and his son.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Mingzhang remained as unambitious as ever.
"Get out!"
King Huan remained silent for a long time, and finally, in a deep voice, drove away his only son.
A note from the author:
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Sorry I'm late again, sob sob. I stayed up all night to finally finish writing. There have been a lot of things going on at home lately, so sometimes I feel helpless, but I promise I'll try my best to update every day! I should be able to update regularly and consistently by the end of next week!
My comment section is so quiet, waaaaah! My little cuties, please let me see your enthusiastic hands!
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