Chapter 855: Gu Jian’s identity revealed
"Father!"
The Fourth Prince rushed into the dragon tent with several guards. Seeing the Emperor leisurely playing chess with Gu Jian in the tent, he was stunned.
The emperor glanced at the fourth prince and knew that his son had not been in a hurry to communicate privately with the ministers after he fell into a coma. He also saw that the anxiety on his face did not seem fake, and his expression was not good.
"Stand aside."
Knowing that the emperor was fine, the Fourth Prince breathed a sigh of relief, sent the guards out of the tent, and stood aside.
For him, who has no chance of becoming emperor, the best thing for the Fourth Prince's Mansion is for his father to live long.
The Fourth Prince glanced at the Third Prince who was kneeling on the ground trembling with fear, and shook his head in his heart. He used to think that his Third Brother was very smart, but judging from what he did today, he was extremely stupid.
With just one glance, the Fourth Prince shifted his gaze away from the Third Prince and looked at Gu Jian who was playing chess with the Emperor.
Looking at Prince Ping standing behind Gu Jian with the demeanor of a junior, the Fourth Prince felt very surprised.
It seems that Yang Di's sister's master has an extraordinary identity.
Just then, someone else rushed into the tent.
"emperor!"
Wu Jingyi, Yang Chenghua, and several other ministers, protected by their respective servants, entered the tent. Seeing the emperor safe and sound, they all breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down to apologize, "Your Majesty, please forgive us for being late in protecting you."
The emperor glanced at them and said, "Fortunately, there are still a few people who remember to come and protect me." After saying that, he did not call them up and continued to play chess with Gu Jian.
Yang Chenghua and others all lowered their heads.
The noise outside the tent grew quieter. As daylight approached, Wei Qi walked in. "Your Majesty, all those plotting rebellion have been apprehended. Only Duke Cheng'en and a group of men have escaped deep into the enclosure."
Emperor: "Are all the ministers alright?"
Wei Qi: "Except for a few adults who were accidentally injured while running around, everyone else is fine."
The Emperor: "Issue this decree: Duke Cheng'en and the Third Prince have committed treason and raised an army. From this day forward, the Duke Cheng'en and the Third Prince's residences are under siege. No one is allowed to leave the residences. Anyone who disrespects will be killed without mercy."
Upon hearing this, the third prince collapsed to the ground.
Not long after Wei Qi received the order and left, the eldest prince and several others also entered the tent.
Seeing the emperor still having the energy to play chess, the eldest princes knelt down hurriedly: "Father, please forgive me. Your sons and I are late in rescuing you."
The emperor didn't even glance at the eldest prince.
Even if the third brother instigated the previous tent-breaking incident, if the older brothers didn't have the intention, they wouldn't have been easily instigated.
Humph, they are all starting to set their sights on the throne!
When the day broke, people were already kneeling outside the dragon tent.
The mutiny by Duke Cheng'en and the Third Prince last night was so sudden that everyone was only thinking about escaping and didn't even think about rescuing the emperor.
Now that the mutiny has been suppressed, everyone has regained their sanity and is shocked to realize the huge mistake they have made. They immediately kneel outside the dragon tent.
The officials looked at each other, all feeling relieved.
Fortunately, there are many people.
The law does not punish the masses, so the emperor should not hold them accountable.
At this time, the officials still had something to understand.
The Emperor should have known about the rebellion plotted by Duke Cheng'en and the Third Prince long ago and should have been on guard.
"We should have followed Prime Minister Yang and the others to rescue the emperor." Some officials regretted in their hearts that it was a pity that such a good opportunity to show up in front of the emperor was missed!
The emperor knew that the officials were kneeling outside to apologize, so he said nothing. He took the porridge made of rice flowers and slowly ate it with Gu Jian and Prince Ping.
Daohua served a bowl to the Fourth Prince, and she ignored the others.
At the beginning of the Si hour (9:00), Xiao Yeyang returned with his men.
"Your Majesty, Duke Cheng'en and his men fled deep into the enclosure and were killed by a tiger."
When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.
A look of surprise crossed the emperor's face: "Is he dead?"
Xiao Yeyang nodded and said, "When I arrived with my men, half of Lord Cheng'en's body had been eaten by a tiger."
The emperor frowned: "Where are the people around him?"
Xiao Yeyang quickly glanced at Gu Jian, who was resting with his eyes closed. "Almost all of them are dead. Only two are still alive. They were brought back by me."
Yang Chenghua glanced at the silent emperor and said loudly, "Your Majesty, Duke Cheng'en braved the wrath of the world and committed treason. Now he has died in the mouth of a wild beast. This is God's punishment for him."
Wu Jingyi reacted and immediately agreed.
The other adults followed suit.
Finally, the emperor sighed deeply and said, "Although Duke Cheng'en was disloyal, I cannot be unkind. I will bring his body back to the Jiang family."
Yang Chenghua and others immediately shouted: "Your Majesty is wise!"
The Emperor: "Alright, pack up and get ready to go back to the palace."
The return carriage was quickly arranged. When everyone saw the emperor personally helping Gu Jian onto the carriage and calling him "uncle", they were all shocked.
The eldest prince and his companions were stunned where they stood.
"What uncle?"
Daohua passed by them and replied, "Of course he's my uncle!"
Hearing this, the eldest prince and the others looked at each other in confusion. They had met Gu Jian several times, but every time they met, he seemed to be disrespectful.
"We shouldn't have offended that old man, right?"
The eldest princes were extremely upset. Seeing how their father treated the old man, he seemed to be very respectful. Was it too late for them to try to please him now?
"The third one killed us!"
The eldest prince cursed in regret. At this moment, he was regretting it so much. He shouldn't have listened to the instigation of the third prince. He wanted to break into the tent and capture Xiao Yeyang last night.
Now, that old man is the master of Xiao Yeyang's wife. What happened yesterday will definitely make Xiao Yeyang and his wife hold a grudge. It will be difficult for them to please the old man!
At this time, several guards escorted the third prince out of the tent and directly put him on the carriage.
The Second Prince saw this and murmured, "Third Prince, it's over."
The eldest prince and the others were silent.
The return to the city from the autumn hunt was much quieter than when they came here, but the quietness was only on the surface. Everyone was hiding in their own carriages and quietly discussing what happened during this trip.
In the carriage of Earl Zhaode's Mansion, Mrs. Han was talking to Han Xinman with a sigh on her face.
"How come Yan Yiyi is so lucky? Her master is actually the emperor's uncle! No wonder the Yan family is not well-known, but she was able to marry the prince of the palace as his wife. I didn't expect that she has such a powerful backer behind her."
"I used to think it would be difficult for her to gain a foothold after marrying into the palace, but after seeing Prince Ping's attitude towards that old man, Yan Yiyi will probably be able to walk sideways in the palace."
Han Xinman also sighed: "Yeah, how come she is so lucky?"
Madam Han: "Before, I thought the Yan family came from a humble background, so even if they came to the capital, I didn't think much of them. But now, with such a relationship with the emperor's uncle's family, the Yan family is really going to be different."
In the past, during banquets and gatherings, she could intentionally or unintentionally suppress Yan Li, but now it is no longer possible.
As she spoke, Madam Han glanced at her eldest daughter and advised, "I'll call your second sister home later, and you two sisters can have a good talk. You can't continue to be angry with her."
Han Xinman nodded dejectedly. What she was most dissatisfied with was that although she had married better than her second sister, her life was not as comfortable as hers.
In the past, she had the support of her mother and grandmother, so she could suppress her second sister. But now her second sister has a sister-in-law who is the Crown Prince's Consort in the palace. If she wants to get to know the royal family, she has to bow to her. It's really disgusting to think about it.
The women in other carriages were also saying similar things, especially those who had previously looked down on Daohua for her low status and her unworthiness of Xiao Yeyang. Now they were all silent.
In the carriage at Prince Yong's mansion, the old Princess Yong looked at her husband and said, "No wonder you always go to Four Seasons Villa. Did you already know the identity of that person?"
Old Prince Yong smiled and agreed.
Princess Yong sighed, "I used to think it was Princess Shengping who climbed up to Yeyang and made the Yan family what it is today. Now that I think about it, it's not clear who made whom successful."
Old Prince Yong: "Yan Yatou and Ye Yang didn't make each other successful, but they made each other successful. Without Ye Yang, the Yan family might have risen to prominence, but it's unknown when. And without Yan Yatou, with Ye Yang's ability, he could still be valued by the emperor, but the friendship we have today would never be like this."
Just because he had been filial and observed the rules by Gu's side, Xiao Yeyang held such a high position in the emperor's heart that not even the other royal children, let alone the princes, could compare to him.
Princess Yong nodded in agreement.
In another carriage, Princess Huijia was also sighing: "I didn't expect that Princess Shengping would have such good fortune." Although she married into Prince Ping's mansion and had Ye Yang's favor, how long could a man's favor last? Having a strong backer was the foundation for her to gain a foothold in the palace.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
