Chapter 50 Confiscating Property and Exile (2)
The Third Prince was summoned to the palace by the Emperor, who first asked him if he knew about Yun Jiaoyue's collusion with spies from the enemy country.
He realized that Yun Jiaoyue's innate phoenix destiny would be of great use to him, so he defended her a few times.
He lowered his eyes, appearing obedient, unaware of the disappointment and apprehension that flashed in the Emperor's eyes.
This third son is ambitious; if he were an ordinary subject, he would have had him dragged out and beheaded long ago.
Fine, I'll spare his life for the sake of him being my son, but he can't stay in the capital.
Then the Third Prince was shown the poem.
After reading it, the third prince finally understood that the emperor had been testing him. Terrified, he tore the paper to shreds, knelt down, and kowtowed, begging for mercy. "Father, I have never harbored any disloyal thoughts of usurping your throne! Please, Father, see the truth! My residence has been emptied. The perpetrators must hate me to the core and want to use you to get rid of me. Please, Father, do not fall for the villains' scheme! Please, Father, investigate thoroughly..."
The Emperor immediately dispatched the Imperial Guards to inspect the Third Prince's residence, but the messenger who returned reported that everything in the storeroom was in good condition.
"What else do you have to say?"
If the goods in the storeroom are not there, the emperor will not allow him to stay in the capital. He will instead order him to kill Yun Jiaoyue and then be sent to a fiefdom in another region.
The emperor immediately convicted him of deceiving the emperor, confiscated the property of the Third Prince's residence, and exiled him.
Out of consideration for his own son, he allowed him to bring a few servants to serve him.
After leaving the palace with the imperial edict to confiscate the property, the Third Prince, with a gloomy face, rushed straight to the backyard, to Yun Jiaoyue's Qiyue Pavilion, carrying a sword in one hand.
It was evening, and Yun Jiaoyue knew that the Third Prince was busy and had no intention of having sex with her or taking any concubines to his bedchamber. She felt a sense of balance.
Marquis Yunyang was a womanizer who spent his days indulging in his concubines in the backyard or at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. He was unambitious and mediocre, and was disliked by his mother for his entire life.
She wanted the Third Prince, who was devoted to the court, to rise to a high position and make her the most honored woman in the world.
"Bang!—" The Third Prince kicked the door open and entered.
Yun Jiaoyue was already preparing to rest when she saw him arrive. Ignoring her nightgown, she got up to greet him, "Your Highness, why have you come? Why didn't you send someone to inform me? I could have greeted you in advance..."
Seeing the Third Prince's gloomy face, she had a bad feeling.
I wonder what happened again. The smile on my face froze, and sure enough, the next moment a slap landed on my face.
"Smack!—"
"Your Highness... what have I done wrong again?" Yun Jiaoyue covered her swollen cheeks, tears streaming down her face.
The third prince held a sword to her neck. "I ask you, when did you collude with spies from the enemy country? And were you seen by my father's guards and reported to my father?"
Yun Jiaoyue was so frightened that she shook her head immediately. People can unleash limitless potential in the face of death, and she desperately tried to defend herself:
"I am innocent! I don't know any spies at all. I am His Highness's wife. I have everything: status, wealth, and honor. Why would I need them to collude with me? It would do us no good whatsoever."
Your Highness, I was wronged. After you slapped me that day, I was heartbroken and wanted to return to the Marquis's mansion.
To my surprise, my carriage was hijacked and driven into an alley. The fourth prince of Jingguo asked me for no reason if I recognized a jade pendant. I said I didn't, and he even mentioned Zuixianlou and Jinluge.
I said I hadn't been there, and they let me go. By the way, the jade pendant that man was holding was almost identical to the one with the wolf totem carved on our wedding day. I suspect someone impersonated me and conspired with them to fool both of us.
Who is the person impersonating you?
"Yun Zhaoxue! It must be her. She's changed. She's not the same as before. The Marquis's mansion has been emptied, as have the mansions of those ministers and our Prince's mansion. It's all her doing. She's trying to kill me! Your Highness, please send someone to kill her!"
"What's the use of killing her now? Father has already issued an edict to confiscate the property of the Prince Xuan's family and exile him."
"How could this happen? It's all my fault for implicating you. Your Highness, exile may not necessarily be a bad thing." Yun Jiaoyue told him about what happened in the capital in her previous life.
The third prince found it absurd.
The capital city and the border are thousands of miles apart, how could they be easily breached by the enemy?
With the Imperial Guards protecting them, how could Father Emperor and the Crown Prince possibly be captured?
"Complete fabrication!"
"If Your Highness does not believe me, I can swear that if my rebirth is a fabrication, may I, Yun Jiaoyue, be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"
I learned from my past life's memories that I was born with a phoenix destiny, and I told Your Highness at the time that I had been reborn. I also know that you killed the Prince of Zhenbei and framed the Crown Prince..."
Zhao Xuan narrowed his eyes, and a murderous intent flashed in them once again.
When Yun Jiaoyue met his gaze, she took a half step back in fright, her palms sweating profusely. She swallowed nervously and continued, "Your Highness, since exile is a foregone conclusion, why not turn the tables and avoid being captured? Once the capital is breached, the Emperor, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and others will be taken away, and then no one will be vying for your position."
"No, if I had revealed this information to my father, allowing him to make advance preparations to defend against the enemy or move the capital south, I would have saved my father and rendered a great service, and perhaps I wouldn't have been exiled."
Yun Jiaoyue, carrying memories from her past life, knew what kind of person the Emperor was.
"Your Highness, don't be silly. The Emperor is wary of your imperial bearing and fears that you will usurp his throne, which is why he exiled you. He won't believe anything you say now; he'll still think you're using this as a scheme to seize the throne."
The Third Prince dragged Yun Jiaoyue to the study to discuss matters with the strategists.
Information about her past life is very important to them.
...
Yun Zhaoxue and others were taken to prison.
He was assigned to the cell next to Xiao Xuance's.
He called out in a hoarse voice, "Mother..."
Madam Yang finally saw her third son, whom she hadn't seen for over two years, her eyes glistening with tears of emotion, "Sanlang, Sanlang..."
Xiao Xuance, still shackled, slowly got up and took two steps to the middle of the cell. He knelt down in the direction of Madam Yang and said, "Mother, it is my fault for being useless. I was unable to save Father and have implicated you."
"No, it's not your fault. Your mother knows you did your best, my good child."
No one on the eldest son's side dared to say they blamed him.
The second and third wives harbor deep hatred for those who have implicated them.
"It's all the fault of the eldest son's family! You bunch of jinxes, you've caused us to have our property confiscated and be exiled!"
"Xiao Xuance, your father committed suicide out of guilt, why didn't you go with him? You're already a cripple, why are you clinging to life? What's the use? Living will only be a burden to us, you deserve to die..."
"Going to that poor, remote, and malaria-ridden place in Lingnan is worse than death. If anything happens to us, we'll haunt you even as ghosts..."
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