Chapter 364: No Turning Back
Prince Chenliu felt complicated as he looked at his face that looked so much like his own when he was young, and his temples wet with sweat.
The reason why he favored Qiu Lei was, on the one hand, because Qiu Lei was very similar to him when he was young, and on the other hand, because Qiu Lei had poor health when he was a child.
Qiu Lei was a premature baby. He was sick when he was born and the doctor said he would probably not live long.
Prince Chenliu was worried that his second son would die young, so he brought him by his side and raised him personally.
Feelings develop gradually as we get along with each other.
He spent more time with his second son than with his other two sons combined, so naturally his feelings for him were deeper than for his other two sons.
He knew Qiu Lei's character. Qiu Lei was arrogant and conceited. He had been domineering since childhood and would definitely not be willing to be inferior to others. That was why he wanted to give Qiu Lei the position of crown prince.
However, he did not expect that after submitting the petition to confer the title of Crown Prince, it had never been approved.
And the prince happened to arrive in Chenliu County at this time.
Prince Chenliu was unsure of the emperor's intentions, so he could only wait and see what the prince wanted to do.
Prince Chenliu collected his thoughts and said softly, "I heard that you provoked the crown prince at the welcoming banquet?"
Qiu Lei recalled the time when he lost to the prince, and he couldn't help but feel a little irritated. He snorted, "It's not a provocation, I just wanted to have a fight with him."
"You should be nicer to the prince. Even if you can't please him, at least you can't offend him."
Qiu Lei was impatient to hear this, he said: "I know, don't worry about these things, just focus on recuperating now."
Prince Chenliu then turned to talk about another matter.
"Do you know about Rongji's situation?"
Qiu Lei was puzzled: "What do you know? Wasn't Rong Ji sent away because she was sick?"
Prince Chenliu looked at him steadily and said nothing.
Qiu Lei felt a little guilty when being looked at. He avoided his father's sight and whispered, "Father, why are you looking at me like that? If you have anything to say, just say it directly."
Prince Chenliu: "This is the only time Rongji's incident happened. I don't want to see something like this happen again."
Qiu Lei exploded when he heard this.
He jumped up and shouted, "Father, what do you mean by that? Do you suspect I have done something wrong?"
Prince Chenliu: "I don't care what you did. This is the end of it. I have sent Rong Ji away, and I have already appeased A Sheng. Please don't do anything unnecessary."
His eyes seemed to be able to see through everything, and he saw clearly the twists and turns in Qiu Lei's mind.
Qiu Lei felt a little panicked.
But the more panicked he became, the louder his voice became: "Whether you believe it or not, I didn't do anything. Don't listen to other people's instigation!"
Prince Chenliu wanted to say something, but at this moment he suddenly started coughing, and his face became increasingly uglier.
Seeing this, Qiu Lei didn't bother to get angry and hurriedly patted him on the back to calm him down.
When the coughing gradually stopped, Prince Chenliu spoke again, his voice trembling slightly: "I will do my best to help you fight for the position of Crown Prince. Don't... don't do those things again. After all, they are your brothers."
Qiu Lei curled his lips: "I know."
Prince Chenliu: "And the maidservant beside you cannot stay any longer."
"Well, I'll send her away."
Prince Chenliu gave him a few more instructions, his face showing fatigue.
Qiu Lei helped him lie down, covered him with a blanket, and whispered, "Have a good rest. I'll come back to see you later."
Prince Chenliu no longer had the strength to speak and could only hum softly.
As soon as Qiu Lei returned to his room, he asked someone to call the maid who served him over.
That afternoon, the maid was too ashamed to face anyone after being discovered stealing her master's things, so she hanged herself in her room.
The body was secretly taken away at night, and few people in the palace knew about it.
The next day, Qiu Lei went to the training ground as usual.
In the cold winter, he was wearing only a single piece of clothing, standing straight, drawing the bow and arrow, aiming at the target in front of him.
As soon as his fingers loosened, the arrow flew out of the string, pierced through the air, and slammed into the target.
The arrow hit the center of the circle exactly.
The generals next to him immediately applauded and cheered.
"The second young master's archery skills are getting better and better!"
Qiu Lei shot several arrows in succession, but unfortunately the next few arrows failed to hit the bull's eye, but they were very close to the bull's eye.
This made Qiu Lei feel a little annoyed.
He threw away his bow and arrow and asked coldly, "How is Qiu Yuan doing recently?"
Although Qiu Yuan is his elder brother, he always calls him by his first name in private.
Qiu Lei had no intention of respecting this seemingly generous brother. His father had already decided to give him the position of Crown Prince, but Qiu Yuan still wanted to compete with him for the position.
The general beside him said truthfully: "The eldest master has been very quiet recently, and everything is no different from usual."
Qiu Lei asked, "Didn't he go to see the prince?"
The general shook his head and said, "No, the eldest son seldom goes out recently. On the contrary, the third son often goes to see the crown prince. I heard that the crown prince entrusted the construction of the mausoleum to the third son. I guess the third son is trusted by the crown prince."
Qiu Lei sneered: "I really underestimated him. He actually clung to the prince's thigh."
The general said cautiously, "What if the Crown Prince supports the Third Young Master to be the Crown Prince? Wouldn't that mean you would have another powerful enemy?"
Qiu Lei's face darkened: "Keep having people keep an eye on Qiu Sheng."
“Here!”
Qiu Lei was very upset. In his opinion, Qiu Sheng was the most useless of the three brothers. It should be easy to get rid of Qiu Sheng, so he used Rong Ji to set a trap, wanting to ruin Qiu Sheng's reputation and make him lose the qualification to compete for the crown prince.
But the result was beyond his expectations.
Not only did Qiu Sheng not fall for it, but he also took the opportunity to curry favor with the prince.
Originally, Qiu Lei only needed to concentrate on dealing with Qiu Yuan, but now he had to be distracted and guard against Qiu Sheng. Before he could deal with one enemy, another one appeared.
Moreover, Rong Ji's affairs have been known by Prince Chenliu, who will definitely have people keep an eye on him, so he cannot take any action against Qiu Sheng in the short term.
As a result, his situation became even more passive.
The more Qiu Lei thought about it, the more annoyed he became. He simply stopped thinking about it and called a few people to go to the training ground for a martial arts competition.
He wanted to vent all his frustration on the competition.
Inside the Chenliu Palace.
Qiu Yuan was making tea. He poured the hot tea into the cup and pushed it across the table.
"Sir, Rongji's plan has failed."
The man in green picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said with a faint smile: "It doesn't matter, even if Rong Ji is not here, it won't affect the overall situation."
Qiu Yuan obviously trusted the young man in green very much. Hearing this, he relaxed a little, but there was still a hint of gloom between his brows.
The man in green seemed to see what he was thinking and said leisurely.
"If you can't bear to do it, you can stop at any time. Everything is up to you."
Qiu Yuan stared at the steaming teacup in front of him and suddenly smiled.
"Now that I have taken the first step, I will not look back."
(End of this chapter)
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