Chapter 40: Deposed as a Commoner
The lights in the Palace of Heavenly Purity remained on all night.
The strong smell of medicine mixed with the smell of blood filled every corner of the warm room.
Several top imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital took turns giving acupuncture, administering medicine, and performing massage. They placed slices of the thousand-year-old ginseng treasured in the warehouse under Cui Xiao's tongue, and used secret methods to brew a life-saving decoction, which they poured down his throat spoonful by spoonful, prying open his tightly clenched teeth.
Emperor Liu Jin was like a stone sculpture rooted beside the couch, refusing to eat or drink or sleep. His bloodshot eyes stared at Cui Xiao's paper-pale face, as if he wanted to pass his vitality to him.
Time passed by minute by minute in the suffocating wait.
Just when Lian Fu'an was almost in despair and was about to comfort His Majesty and express his grief, at the darkest moment before dawn, Doctor Zhang's fingers suddenly trembled!
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty!"
Doctor Zhang's voice was filled with incredible ecstasy and sobs.
"Pulse... pulse! Cui Bandu's pulse... although still weak, but... but it has stabilized! It's no longer scattered and desperate! There... there is a turning point!"
This sound was like the sound of nature! The emperor's stiff body shook violently, and he almost fell to the bed, his trembling hands carefully reaching out to Cui Xiao's nose.
Although it is still weak, that faint breath is like a spring breeze blowing across the frozen lake, bringing a touch of warmth of life!
"Good! Good! Good!"
Liu Chen said "good" three times in a row, his voice was hoarse but filled with ecstasy of surviving a disaster, and tears instantly welled up in his eyes.
He turned around suddenly and said to the imperial physicians who were kneeling on the ground,
"Reward! Everyone in the Imperial Hospital will be rewarded handsomely! Continue treating me! No matter the cost! Make sure he wakes up! Make sure he's the same as before!"
This is no longer an order, but more like a father's humblest and most urgent prayer.
Outside the warm room, Liu Cong, who had been waiting like a trapped beast, also caught a glimpse of a turning point from the expressions of the imperial doctors who came in and out and the faint, suppressed but hopeful movements coming from inside.
When a young eunuch came out to report the news and whispered, "The pulse of the tutor has stabilized," Liu Cong's extremely tense nerves suddenly relaxed.
A huge sour taste rushed to the tip of his nose, and he leaned hard against the cold pillar to avoid collapsing.
Ah Xiao... survived! As long as he survived, that's all!
However, this ecstasy and joy only lasted a short moment. It was followed by deeper doubts and a chilling chill.
The emperor's reaction... was too much! His concern for Xiao had already gone beyond the boundaries of caring for a minister, or even a study companion for an ordinary prince!
It was a near-collapse-yet-ecstatic outpouring of fatherly love! Liu Cong's heart suddenly sank...
At the same moment when Cui Xiao's life was pulled back from the gates of hell, the emperor's anger finally found an outlet, like a volcano that had been accumulating for a long time, erupting!
The target is directly pointed at the culprit - the eldest prince Liu Jue!
At dawn, a harsh imperial edict as sharp as an icy blade was delivered by Fu'an himself to Liu Xuan, who had just woken up and was still dreaming.
"By the Will of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: The eldest son, Liu Jue, has a violent and violent nature and refuses to change despite repeated admonitions! Despite his position as a prince, he has failed to cultivate his moral character and instead, exploits his power to bully others with cruel and ruthless tactics!
Now, within the confines of the palace, he has framed a minister, abused private punishment, and nearly killed someone! The despicable nature of his actions and the viciousness of his heart are truly appalling and a disgrace to the royal family!
I have repeated admonishments for him, even though we are father and son, but he is stubborn and has only gotten worse! I can no longer tolerate this!"
"Command, effective immediately, Liu Jue, the eldest son of the Emperor, is stripped of his title and demoted to a commoner! All his ceremonial guards, fiefdoms, and salaries are confiscated! He is immediately expelled from the palace and confined to the imperial estate outside the capital, and is not allowed to leave without an imperial decree!
All eunuchs in Gyeongbokgung Palace implicated in the incident will be beaten to death! The rest of the palace maids and eunuchs will be sent to the laundry department and enslaved forever! This is my decree!
After the imperial edict was read, the entire Gyeongbokgung Palace was silent, and you could hear a pin drop.
The smugness and laziness on Liu Jue's face froze in an instant, and then turned into a deathly pale color!
He collapsed to the ground as if his bones had been pulled out, staring at the bright yellow imperial edict in Fu'an's hand in disbelief, as if it were a spell to take his life!
"Commoner...commoner?! No! Impossible! Father! Father would never do this to me! I am a prince! I am the eldest prince!"
Liu Jue roared like a dying beast and struggled to grab the imperial edict.
"Fu'an! You old eunuch! You forged the imperial edict! I want to see the emperor! I want to see the emperor!"
Fuan had no expression on his face, only cold disgust in his eyes.
"Commoner Liu Jue, please accept the order."
He waved his hand, and the guards behind him, who were as fierce as wolves and tigers, immediately stepped forward and mercilessly lifted up Liu Xuan, who was limp as mud and crying and struggling.
"No! Let me go! I am a prince! Father! I know I am wrong! Father, please spare my life--!"
Liu Xuan's shrill cries echoed in the palace in the early morning, full of despair and unwillingness.
He couldn't understand why his father was so angry and even demoted him to a commoner because he had just beaten a study companion of questionable identity!
This punishment is hundreds or thousands of times more severe than the one that put his third brother under house arrest when he was poisoned!
The old eunuch who was his confidant felt dizzy and fainted when he heard the words "the executioner will beat him to death with a stick".
The other palace maids and eunuchs were terrified and cried for mercy, but they were dragged away mercilessly by the guards. What awaited them was the hard labor in the dark laundry department.
This decree was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly causing huge waves inside and outside the court!
When the Second Prince Liu Cong learned the contents of the decree, his first reaction was delight! Liu Jue, that beast, deserved it!
Demoting him to a commoner and imprisoning him for life would be more satisfying than killing him directly! Let him experience the feeling of falling from the clouds to the mire, a life worse than death!
However, after the pleasure, there was deeper doubt and awe.
The emperor's punishment... was too severe! It was beyond reason! Even if Ah Xiao was the true son of the Marquis of Weiyuan, even if he was deeply loved by the emperor, at the end of the day, he was still a subject!
And Liu Jue was a prince! A member of the imperial clan! According to ancestral rules, if a prince broke the law, unless it was a serious crime of treason, the most he would suffer was imprisonment, demotion, and salary deduction.
This direct demotion to a commoner, deprivation of everything, and exile and confinement is unprecedented in this dynasty! This is almost equivalent to severing all of Liu Jue's political life and completely plunging him into the dust!
Is the emperor trying to vent his anger on Xiao? But this anger is too harsh and too disregarding of the royal family's dignity!
Unless... unless Ah Xiao's identity is far more than just a prince of a marquisate! Is he... the emperor's biological son?
An indescribable wave of mixed emotions washed over him. If Xiao was truly his father's biological son, then wouldn't his unacceptable love for him become coveting his brother?
He was gripped by a great sense of loss and an absurd feeling of being teased by fate.
But at the same time, thinking that Xiao can get the protection of his father and stay away from harm, it seems... this may not be a bad thing?
As long as he is alive, safe and happy... Liu Cong's eyes darkened and he forced himself to suppress his surging emotions.
And the court was in an uproar!
"Demoted to a commoner?! Is this... Your Majesty's action... too harsh?"
"Although His Highness was wrong, framing his subjects and abusing private punishment, no one was killed... and his status is noble. Such a severe punishment would hurt His Majesty's fatherly heart and damage the dignity of the royal family!"
"Yes! Cui Xiao's identity is in doubt, and whether he is the real prince or not has yet to be determined. Your Majesty has punished the prince so severely for a study companion. This is truly... unheard of!"
"Could it be...could it be that there's something else behind Cui Xiao's identity? Otherwise, why would His Majesty be so furious?"
"Be careful with your words! Be careful with your words! How can you make rash assumptions about royal affairs?"
The ministers were talking about it, with shock, confusion, fear, doubt and all kinds of emotions mixed together.
Some upright old ministers tried to make a petition to persuade the emperor, saying that the punishment was too severe and would damage the dignity of the royal family.
There were also officials with a keen sense of smell who vaguely sensed the unusual information behind the emperor's attitude and began to re-evaluate the weight of Cui Xiao in the emperor's heart, as well as the deeper secrets that might be involved in the entire case of the true and false prince of Weiyuan Marquis Mansion.
When Weiyuan Hou Cui Yan received the news in his mansion, he was stunned and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat!
The emperor actually demoted the eldest prince to a commoner for Cui Xiao?! This... this was beyond his comprehension!
He had previously worried that the emperor would vent his anger on the Marquis' Mansion because of the true and false prince case. Now it seems that the emperor's protection of Cui Xiao has reached an unbelievable level!
This wasn't just because I admired his talent! Could it be that... that most terrifying speculation about Cui Xiao's biological father... was true?!
Cui Yan felt dizzy and had mixed feelings.
There was relief that Cui Xiao was out of danger, guilt towards Hu Qing, and deep worry about the future fate of the Marquis' Mansion.
The center of this storm seems to have shifted from the real and fake prince to the young man he raised for fifteen years and whose identity is now a mystery.
And their Weiyuan Marquis Mansion is just a small boat in the huge waves that may capsize at any time.
Inside the warm room of the Qianqing Palace, the atmosphere was still solemn, but it was no longer one of desperate suffocation, but rather cautious guarding.
Cui Xiao was still unconscious, but his breathing had become much steadier and a hint of color had returned to his face.
Emperor Liu Chen finally agreed to take a rest on the soft couch next to him after being persuaded by Fu'an, but his eyes never left the young man on the sickbed.
He dismissed most of the palace servants, leaving only Doctor Zhang and two of his most trusted old eunuchs.
The warm room was so quiet that only Cui Xiao's faint breathing and the ticking of the night watchman could be heard.
Liu Jin looked at Cui Xiao's furrowed brows while he was sleeping, and imagined the pain he was enduring, feeling heartbroken.
He stretched out his hand and very gently brushed away the hair on the boy's forehead that was wet with cold sweat. His movements were more gentle and cautious than ever before.
At this moment, he was not an emperor high above everyone else, but just a father full of guilt who had lost and regained his lost possessions.
Liu Jin's voice was low and hoarse, full of fatigue and fear.
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Everyone who was on duty in the nursery back then, I'll find them for me, even if I have to dig deep underground! And... everyone who was near that courtyard on the day that Weiyuan Marquis' wife gave birth!
I want to know who was so audacious as to switch my son and make him wander around and suffer so much!
By the end of his words, his voice was icy cold and filled with murderous intent.
"Yes! I obey your command! The Neijiang Factory is fully investigating and I believe we will find a clue soon!"
Fu An bowed in response, a cold glint in his eyes. He knew that a bloody storm sweeping across the palace and beyond was about to be set off by the young man on the couch.
Liu Jin's gaze returned to Cui Xiao's face again, his eyes filled with pain, pity and a great sense of relief at having lost something and regained it.
He gently held Cui Xiao's cold hand that was exposed outside the quilt, trying to warm it with his own temperature.
"Child... my child..." He called silently in his heart, his voice choked with sobs, "Wake up quickly... see father... father... I'm sorry..."
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