Chapter 454 The Truth (Second Update)
The Dragon Shadow Guards wouldn't attack people who didn't know martial arts, but Long Yi... was a fake Dragon Shadow Guard who had wandered in.
In other words, he will not abide by the rules set by the late emperor for the Dragon Shadow Guard.
This scene was truly shocking; not even the birds in the entire Imperial Garden dared to chirp!
At this moment, inside the Imperial Study, the Emperor was still unaware of the dramatic changes in the Imperial Garden. He recounted the actions of Prince Ning to Princess Xinyang.
The emperor was also puzzled as to why the word "explain" was used.
She's the younger sister, not the older sister. Let's just shut him up!
Finally, the emperor blamed his son for killing Princess Xinyang's son, and he felt guilty and ashamed.
The emperor initially did not mention the conflict between Prince Ning and the Crown Prince. He only said that the fire four years ago was not an accident, but was caused by Prince Ning. He felt ashamed and guilty as the father for raising such a son.
"How did Your Majesty know it was Prince Ning?" Princess Xinyang asked.
"This..." The emperor opened his mouth and said, "I have interrogated his subordinates, and they have confessed to framing Aheng."
Princess Xinyang asked in confusion, "Why would Your Majesty go to investigate Prince Ning for no reason?"
This was because Prince Ning had a conflict with the Crown Prince and almost killed him. He followed the clues and found out Prince Ning's feelings for Wen Linlang, and then followed the clues to find out what happened four years ago.
No, your focus seems a bit off.
A hint of resentment flashed in His Majesty's eyes, as he was unwilling to expose his family's dirty laundry.
Princess Xinyang just looked at the emperor quietly, without any intention of going around in the details. The emperor was confused. "Don't you care about the cause of your own son's death? Why do you care about my son's messy affairs?"
Left with no other choice, the emperor had to reveal that he had discovered the Prince of Ning murdering his brother at the inn.
Princess Xinyang was still completely bewildered: "Just because he wanted to kill the Crown Prince, His Majesty suspects that he also killed Xiao Heng? If one person is bad, then all the bad things are his fault?"
Emperor: ...Really, if we don't talk about this, we can still be like brother and sister.
Wait, why aren't you wondering why Prince Ning murdered the Crown Prince now?
Is your focus always so unpredictable?
Forget it, so be it. It's shameful enough that your own son killed his brother. There's hardly any face left to lose.
The emperor then recounted the entire entanglement between Prince Ning and the Crown Princess.
Princess Xinyang said "Oh": "So, the Crown Prince caught them in the act?"
Emperor: Could you please shift your focus even a little further?!
"Well, I guess so," the emperor said vaguely.
Princess Xinyang remained silent.
Seeing her silence, the Emperor was at a loss for words to comfort her. After a moment's hesitation, he sighed and said, "I am very sorry and saddened by what happened to Aheng. Prince Ning committed an unforgivable crime. It is my fault as his father for failing to raise him properly. I cannot shirk my responsibility. I do not expect your forgiveness, but I hope you will stop torturing yourself. You have always believed that you did not take good care of Aheng, which led to his death in the fire. Now the truth is out. Someone... it was my son who did it intentionally. It is my fault, it is Prince Ning's fault, not yours."
These were the Emperor's heartfelt words. Princess Xinyang had been devastated since Xiao Heng's death and had even left the capital, a place of sorrow. Although the Emperor's relationship with Princess Xinyang was not as close as his relationship with Princess Ning'an, she was still a younger sister who was closer to him than the other princesses.
He hoped she wouldn't be too sad.
"Your Majesty, may I see Prince Ning?" Princess Xinyang suddenly asked.
The emperor was taken aback.
It seemed reasonable for the victim's family to request to see the murderer, and the emperor had no reason to refuse.
"I... will strip him of his princely status, banish him from the capital, and exile him to a desolate and cold land. If..." The emperor didn't say a word, but a wave of pain rolled through his chest. This was his own son, the eldest son he had raised with his own hands. How could he just give him up like that? Who could bear to do that?
However, it was precisely because he had experienced the pain of losing his son that he could better understand the hurt Princess Xinyang had suffered, and he could not bring himself to ask Princess Xinyang to forgive Prince Ning.
Even if Princess Xinyang were to draw her sword and kill Prince Ning, what could he say?
Are you saying that Prince Ning is allowed to kill her son, but she's not allowed to avenge him?
The emperor's eyes reddened, and he said with suppressed emotion, "I will have Eunuch Wei take you there."
Princess Xinyang stood up, bowed slightly to the emperor, and, led by Eunuch Wei, went to the side hall where Prince Ning was imprisoned.
In the dark side hall, Prince Ning was disheveled and filthy, with a faint blue ring around the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were indifferent and dull.
“Princess, please.” Eunuch Wei stood outside the door and gestured to Princess Xinyang.
Princess Xinyang stepped inside.
Yu Jin followed behind her, intending to go along as well.
"You wait outside," Princess Xinyang said to Yu Jin.
Yu Jin paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."
Yu Jin and Eunuch Wei waited outside.
Watching Princess Xinyang walk towards Prince Ning in the corner, Eunuch Wei wanted to remind her not to get too close, but he swallowed his words.
If Prince Ning is truly unafraid of death, then he should take Princess Xinyang hostage. If he does that, then when Marquis Xuanping holds him accountable, even His Majesty won't be able to save Prince Ning's life.
Prince Ning sat on the ground in the corner, his back against the wall, his face shrouded in shadow.
He closed his eyes slightly, whether he didn't hear the footsteps of the person approaching, or he heard them but didn't care.
Princess Xinyang stopped in front of him, looking down at Prince Ning: "Who are those people?"
Prince Ning had been confined to Huaqing Palace for the past few days until he was completely numb. He ignored everyone, including this palace servant who had suddenly come to question him.
But when he heard the familiar voice, he instinctively opened his eyes and then saw Princess Xinyang's icy face.
Princess Xinyang's face was half bathed in sunlight and half shrouded in shadow, giving her a somewhat cold and sinister appearance.
Prince Ning can ignore anyone, but he cannot ignore Princess Xinyang.
His gaze lingered on Princess Xinyang's face for a moment, then he lowered his eyes: "I don't understand what my aunt is saying."
"Don't understand? Fine, then your aunt will explain it to you in detail until you understand. Anyway, your aunt has plenty of time." Princess Xinyang sat down in the chair opposite him, looking at him from afar. "Do you really have the guts to kill Xiao Heng?"
Prince Ning smiled faintly: "It seems that my aunt knows everything. Do you think I have the guts not to kill them all? Is my aunt here to interrogate me? Kill me or torture me, it's up to you, Aunt."
Princess Xinyang stared at him intently: "You killed Xiao Heng, and then what? Just to benefit the Crown Prince?"
Prince Ning said, "I originally intended to take her as a concubine."
Princess Xinyang sneered: "Is that so? Can you?"
Naturally... no.
My maternal grandfather will not agree, nor will Empress Dowager Zhuang and His Majesty.
Unlike the Crown Prince, he would rather give up the position of Crown Prince than not marry Wen Linlang. Empress Xiao could not persuade her son, so she had to persuade His Majesty and Marquis Xuanping to agree to the marriage.
From the very beginning, he understood that killing Xiao Heng would be futile; Wen Linlang and he would forever remain hidden in the shadows.
Princess Xinyang analyzed for him, "You did indeed harbor murderous intentions towards Xiao Heng, but to kill my and Marquis Xuanping's most beloved eldest son for a shady relationship, Qin Chuhan, it's not that your aunt underestimates you, but you don't have the courage, nor are you that stupid. Unless—"
At this point, Princess Xinyang paused, and Prince Ning's fingers tightened.
Princess Xinyang said, "Unless you know that he is not my and Marquis Xuanping's legitimate son, but just an illegitimate son used to impersonate the legitimate son, and an illegitimate son that I wish I could get rid of as soon as possible."
Marquis Xuanping was a womanizer by nature, and she had two sons born out of wedlock, but that was with her consent.
As for whether she had any illegitimate children outside, she didn't care. But Xiao Heng was someone she had exchanged her son's life for.
Once she learns the truth, Xiao Heng's life or death will no longer be her concern.
Moreover, it might even lead Marquis Xuanping to believe that she was behind it, which would allow Prince Ning to easily disappear from this conspiracy.
"Who told you about Xiao Heng's background?" Princess Xinyang asked, staring intently at him.
Prince Ning was still reeling from Princess Xinyang's shock that she had seen through everything. After a long while, he turned his face away and said, "It was from an investigation."
Princess Xinyang scoffed, "Why are you investigating Xiao Heng's background for no reason?"
Prince Ning was speechless.
Princess Xinyang said calmly, "Don't say you found out by accident. There aren't that many accidents in the world, and you don't have that kind of luck."
Prince Ning suddenly remembered what Grand Tutor Zhuang had reminded him of: "In the royal family, you can look down on anyone, but don't look down on Princess Xinyang. She is a princess who has never suffered in silence, even without the protection of her mother."
“I don’t know,” said Prince Ning.
"I don't know what that means?" Princess Xinyang frowned.
Prince Ning thought for a moment and said, “That’s right. I don’t know who those people are, but they know me. They initially approached me pretending to be loyal to me and become my advisors. They did get me some very useful information, so I began to value and trust them. A few months later, they said they had found a clue that could bring down Marquis Xuanping. I was very tempted because Marquis Xuanping was Empress Xiao and the Crown Prince’s biggest supporter. If I could bring him down, I would be one step closer to the position of Crown Prince.”
Friendly reminder: The values of the characters in this article do not represent the values of the author.
(End of this chapter)
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