Chapter 49 An Urgent Report from Marquis Wu'an! ...
For several days in a row, Emperor Jinghui did not receive the Crown Prince's gift of the zither.
He even deliberately found fault with the Crown Prince during the morning court session, reprimanding him a few times. The Crown Prince, as always, humbly admitted his mistake. Even some ministers felt that he was being a bit nitpicky and came out to speak up for the Crown Prince.
"Zheng Rui," Emperor Jinghui asked, frowning as he sat in his study, "has that zither been delivered to the Crown Prince yet?"
"It has been handed over; Miss Yao personally delivered it to His Highness," Eunuch Zheng replied. "However, the zither has not been taken out since it was put into the Eastern Palace."
Emperor Jinghui: "How can he remain so calm after I have scolded him so much?"
Eunuch Zheng: "This..."
Emperor Jinghui: "Could it be that he discovered something unusual about the zither?"
Eunuch Zheng: "That's unlikely. The zither has already been repaired by the best craftsmen, and new patterns have been specially painted on the surface to prevent the repair marks from being visible. It changed hands several times before finally reaching the Yao family, and no one noticed anything wrong during that time. Perhaps, Your Highness doesn't intend to curry favor with His Majesty by giving gifts?"
Emperor Jinghui: "Has the Crown Prince made any unusual moves recently?"
Eunuch Zheng: "I heard that she was unwilling to marry Miss Yao, and was reprimanded by the Empress, but she still insisted on not marrying her."
Emperor Jinghui snorted coldly.
He had always suspected that the Yao family had secretly helped the Crown Prince seize power in his previous life, and he had intended to eliminate them all at once. However, the Crown Prince's reluctance to finalize the marriage was really irritating to him.
"Let's go see what kind of rebellion he's planning." Emperor Jinghui threw down his brush and stood up.
Eunuch Zheng was startled and followed behind with a bitter expression.
How did this get involved with rebellion?
For so many days, he still couldn't see where the Crown Prince's disloyalty lay. That was His Majesty's own son, whom he had personally taught and raised, whom he had doted on since childhood. How could the relationship between father and son have turned out like this without warning? Even resorting to framing someone—what on earth had happened?!
But he dared not ask, and could only follow his master's orders.
Emperor Jinghui arrived at the Eastern Palace.
Upon hearing the sound, the crown prince came to greet him and bowed, saying, "Father."
Emperor Jinghui cut to the chase: "I heard you refuse to marry Miss Yao?"
The Crown Prince said, "Father, please forgive me. I have no objection to Miss Yao, but after our horoscopes were matched, I discovered that our horoscopes are not compatible..."
"Nonsense!" Emperor Jinghui frowned. "Your birth charts are clearly compatible with hers!"
"...It has been discovered that her birth chart is incompatible with that of the Empress Dowager." The Crown Prince continued, "If she were to marry into the Eastern Palace, she might offend the Empress Dowager, which could potentially cause chaos. I hope Father Emperor will understand."
"You'll make up anything to avoid marrying her!" Emperor Jinghui roared. "If you won't marry her, who do you plan to marry?"
The Crown Prince calmly said, "Miss Yao's birth chart is indeed incompatible with the Empress Dowager's. Father Emperor can have someone else verify it."
Emperor Jinghui stared at him, sensing that something was amiss.
Why is he so calm all of a sudden? He panicked and didn't know what to do after I told him to "get out" earlier. Could it be that he's been getting used to being yelled at so much lately?
Emperor Jinghui then asked, "Have you been practicing the zither recently?"
The crown prince lowered his eyes and sneered inwardly.
The old man couldn't hold back any longer. He could endure humiliation and lie low under his nose for five years, but he couldn't wait even a moment longer.
"No." The Crown Prince looked ashamed. "Recently, my mind has been in turmoil, so I haven't practiced the zither, lest I ruin the artistic conception of the music."
"Why is it so messy?" Emperor Jinghui asked displeasedly. "Do you feel that I am mistreating you?"
"Your subject dares not, Your Majesty's strict demands are a sign of your high hopes for me," the Crown Prince said. "Your subject will certainly do your utmost to share Your Majesty's burdens."
"Settle your marriage first, then talk about sharing my burdens!" Emperor Jinghui sat down angrily. "I haven't listened to the zither in a long time. Let me hear just how rusty your skills have become!"
The prince agreed and sent someone to fetch the zither.
A palace maid quickly arrived carrying a zither. Emperor Jinghui glanced at it and asked, "Is there nothing else?"
The Crown Prince instructed, "If Father does not like this one, bring all the other zithers here so that Father can take a look."
The Crown Prince learned to play the zither merely to please the Emperor; he had little interest in the instrument himself. The Eastern Palace discarded a number of the zithers the Crown Prince used in his childhood, and now only three remain in existence.
Emperor Jinghui narrowed his eyes slightly: "That's all?"
The palace attendant nervously replied, "That's all, Your Majesty."
All three were fine instruments, but none of them were what he wanted to see.
Emperor Jinghui's gaze swept over the Crown Prince with a deep look. After a moment of silence, he spoke: "I heard that Miss Yao seems to have gifted you a zither?"
The crown prince scoffed inwardly.
The old man couldn't keep his thoughts to himself. Now he knows that the Yao family gave it to him. If he were to take out the zither directly, would the old man not give him a chance to explain and just interrogate and detain him?
However, it's pointless to argue. At worst, they can just detain the Yao family as well, which is something only an old man would do.
“Miss Yao did indeed gift me a zither,” the Crown Prince said. “Unfortunately, when I got up to use the bathroom that night, I accidentally knocked over the candle without realizing it. By the time I discovered the fire, half of the zither was already charred and unusable.”
Emperor Jinghui suddenly widened his eyes: "Is that so?"
"That is indeed true," the Crown Prince said. "If Father does not believe it, he can ask the other palace servants who were on duty that night."
“Your Majesty, what Your Highness said is indeed true,” explained Eunuch Cao, who served the Crown Prince. “That night, I was on night duty. After Your Highness got up to use the restroom, I suddenly heard Your Highness scream from inside. I rushed into the room to see what was happening and found that a candle had overturned, igniting the tablecloth and starting a fire. Although the fire wasn’t large, it still damaged the table and the zither on it. The items were unusable and had to be discarded.”
"Lost?" Emperor Jinghui took a deep breath. "Where did you lose it?"
Eunuch Cao hesitated, "I...I just had the palace servants responsible for cleaning the East Palace every day dispose of it along with other miscellaneous items. Several days have passed, and I truly don't know where it is. If Your Majesty wishes to find it..."
"No need," Emperor Jinghui said coldly. "I was just asking casually."
Even if we find it, what good will it do? Not to mention that the zither is already burnt, the fact that it has passed through so many hands has already greatly reduced the Crown Prince's suspicion of committing the crime.
But how could such a coincidence happen? Is the Crown Prince so careless that he would knock over a candlestick? And why did the knocked-over candlestick burn not anything else, but the table where the zither was placed? Why was he so close to the zither in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?
Emperor Jinghui stared at the Crown Prince with suspicion.
The crown prince, however, remained respectfully bowing his head throughout, showing no sign of suspicion.
Emperor Jinghui, his face grim, rose with a flick of his sleeve: "Enough. I just remembered I have state affairs to attend to and no time to listen to the zither. But if you don't want to marry Miss Yao, why did you take her zither? I've said my piece. You'd better think carefully about what you've done."
Having said that, he walked quickly out of the East Palace with his hands behind his back.
"Father, please take care." The Crown Prince bowed and then stood up, a slight sneer playing on his lips.
Back in his study, Emperor Jinghui became increasingly uneasy, his mind filled with doubts and a sense of unease.
He asked Eunuch Zheng, "What was the relationship between the Crown Prince and Miss Yao like on the day they met?"
Eunuch Zheng replied, "The relationship seems to be good, and they have talked quite a bit."
"What did they say?"
"I don't know then," said Eunuch Zheng. "After all, he is His Highness. Although the guards have the duty to protect him, they cannot get too close and overhear His Highness's private affairs."
"Did anything unusual happen during that time?"
“This…” Eunuch Zheng hesitated for a moment.
Emperor Jinghui suddenly raised his eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on Eunuch Zheng: "Speak!"
Eunuch Zheng said, "It can't really be called unusual, it's just... just a little incident... when the Crown Prince and Miss Yao were walking on the Shuishi Bridge, they bumped into..." He swallowed hard, "...the Lady of Wu'an Marquis and the Marquis of Wu'an's mother..."
"What?!" Emperor Jinghui was first shocked, then furious. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "Why didn't you tell me sooner!"
"Your Majesty, please investigate!" Eunuch Zheng hurriedly knelt down. "It really was just a chance encounter! The Lady of Wu'an Marquis accidentally tripped and fell, and His Highness the Crown Prince happened to be passing by and helped her up. Then the Lady of Wu'an Marquis left immediately. Perhaps she guessed His Highness's identity, because she didn't even respond when Miss Yao called her!"
Emperor Jinghui: "You worthless wretch! Who told you to keep it a secret!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty didn't ask..." Eunuch Zheng said, trembling.
In truth, Eunuch Zheng harbored a selfish motive. The chance encounter between the Empress Dowager Wu'an, whom His Majesty had recently fallen for but could not have, and the Crown Prince, whom His Majesty had recently disliked, would surely become a thorn in Emperor Jinghui's side. He really didn't want to cause any more trouble, so he took it upon himself to keep it a secret, but who knew that he would have to tell the truth today.
Emperor Jinghui gritted his teeth: "And then?"
"No, that's all..." Eunuch Zheng whispered. "Our people followed His Highness the Crown Prince, not Lady Wu'an. After that, His Highness the Crown Prince continued to visit the common people with Miss Yao, and there was nothing else special about it."
Emperor Jinghui slammed his fist on the table.
How did he still end up running into Su Jun!
I just don't know if this beast has any more ill intentions this time. If he has... then that would explain why he is so determined not to marry Yao Biyue.
But even if he had designs on it, why would it be such a coincidence that the zither was burned? Did he know there was something wrong with the zither? But how could he have known? He's not—
Emperor Jinghui suddenly paused.
Wait, how dare he be so sure that the Crown Prince wasn't reborn?
If the crown prince was also reborn, then the burning of the zither would have an explanation.
But how could he be reborn? If he was reborn, when was it? Why didn't anyone notice anything unusual? And how could this wretch be so submissive, harboring such hatred for his father? Most importantly, he hasn't shown any affection for Su Jun whatsoever! How did he manage to hold back?!
Emperor Jinghui felt a chill run down his spine.
Am I overthinking things, or is there really such a possibility?
No, no, he couldn't afford to lose his composure. Regardless of whether the Crown Prince had truly been reborn, he was determined to eliminate him. Since roundabout methods were prone to unforeseen complications, he might as well make a swift and decisive move and poison the Crown Prince directly as well.
Wait, that's still not appropriate. If the Crown Prince dies suddenly, the Empress will certainly not let it go and will investigate thoroughly. But if the Empress and the Crown Prince die suddenly together, it will cause an uproar throughout the court, and the situation will be difficult to control.
We still need to proceed with caution.
Just then, an urgent report came from outside: "Your Majesty! Marquis Wu'an has sent an urgent report!"
Emperor Jinghui seemed to have been struck by a knock, abruptly returning to reality. He composed himself and said in a deep voice, "Summon them."
An official carrying a memorial rushed into the imperial study, and Eunuch Zheng quickly went down to take it and presented it to Emperor Jinghui.
Emperor Jinghui unfolded the memorial, quickly scanned it, and involuntarily pursed his lips.
Eunuch Zheng glanced sideways at the rows of people, and his eye twitched.
The Marquis of Wu'an's report mentioned two things. First, he inquired during his journey to the border and found that there had been no recent disturbances by foreign tribes, which reassured the emperor.
The second incident occurred when soldiers from the Northwest, during their routine patrols, discovered a massive boulder unearthed in a dried-up riverbed. The words "Heavenly Blessing" were faintly visible on the stone. The soldiers revered it as a divine miracle and rushed to find Marquis Wu'an to inquire about its course of action. Marquis Wu'an, still en route and not yet at his camp, upon learning of this miracle, dared not act rashly. He instead sent a special urgent memorial to the emperor, requesting that the campaign to exterminate the foreign tribes be temporarily postponed, and that the emperor be diverted to escort the divine stone back to the capital for all to admire.
Eunuch Zheng quietly observed Emperor Jinghui and saw him resting his head on his hand with a deep gaze, seemingly lost in thought.
Eunuch Zheng thought to himself, "There's nothing wrong with the border anyway. Once Marquis Wu'an arrives in the Northwest, he'll naturally realize that the imperial edict's claim of foreign invasion is pure nonsense. But even so, His Majesty still ordered Marquis Wu'an to eliminate the threat completely. Logically, Marquis Wu'an should still be fighting in the Northwest."
Now a divine stone has suddenly appeared. We don't know if it's real or fake. If it's real, then there's nothing to say. If it's fake, could it be that Marquis Wu'an doesn't want to waste resources on war and wants to give His Majesty a way out, to persuade His Majesty to back down?
...It couldn't be that Lady Wu'an secretly sent someone to deliver a message, crying to Marquis Wu'an about her ordeal, and thus summoned him back, could it? Hmm, probably not, she couldn't have run that fast.
“Zheng Rui,” Emperor Jinghui suddenly spoke.
Eunuch Zheng straightened up and said solemnly, "This old servant is here."
"Draft an imperial edict." Emperor Jinghui took a deep breath and said, word by word, "In the northwest border region, a divine stone has fallen from the sky, its power shaking all directions and causing foreign tribes to tremble with fear, daring not to invade again. This is an auspicious omen for peace and stability. I hereby order the Marquis of Wu'an to escort the divine stone back to the capital. I also order the Crown Prince to lead all officials to choose an auspicious day to welcome the divine stone and enshrine it in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, to offer sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, and our ancestors."
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Author's note: There will be another update at 18:00.
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