Dragon Palace
The Emperor sat upright on the towering Dragon Throne, the Empress knelt on the ground in the front, followed by the third and fourth princes. In the hall, the sound of Concubine Qing being slapped suddenly rang out, and everyone else fell silent.
"Madam Siya, take her out and abandon her to the cold palace." The emperor frowned, his face showing impatience, and waved his hand. Madam Siya led several maids forward, lifted Concubine Qing and dragged her out. Concubine Qing cried incessantly all the way, her voice gradually fading away.
The queen bowed her head and obeyed, but the corners of her mouth rose slightly, revealing a barely perceptible sense of pride.
The emperor caught a glimpse of the queen's expression and threw the evidence in his hand about the love between the third prince and the fourth prince to the queen.
"What's there to be proud of? Look at what your son has done, and you still have the nerve to laugh."
The emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, his hands tightly gripping the armrests, his knuckles turning white from excessive force, while the empress slumped on the ground, her face ashen.
"Your Majesty...what should we do?" the Queen asked with a trembling voice.
The emperor has calmed down:
"This matter must not be spread outside, otherwise where will the dignity of the royal family be?"
The queen nodded hurriedly: "Your Majesty, don't worry. I will keep the secret strictly. But what should we do with the third and fourth princes?" The queen was panicked and didn't know how to respond.
The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "The third prince and the fourth prince are confined to their respective residences from now on. They are not allowed to go out without my permission." The queen hurriedly agreed.
At this moment, the Third Prince, who had been kneeling in the back, mustered up the courage to speak: "Father, I am willing to bear all consequences, but I beg you not to embarrass my fourth brother."
The Fourth Prince also said anxiously, "Father, this matter was initiated by me and has nothing to do with Third Brother."
The emperor's eyes widened in anger as he shouted, "How dare you talk back! Shut up!"
The queen knelt down with a plop:
"Your Majesty, punish the third prince severely. He has committed a heinous crime by colluding with the rebels of Dong Jinguo. Please make a decision quickly." The emperor narrowed his eyes and glanced at the queen. The queen wanted to protect the fourth prince. Well, the fourth prince was her only son. If he did such a stupid thing, she could only save one.
The kneeling Fourth Prince was in despair:
"Your Majesty, all the mistakes are my fault. Please forgive him. If he dies, I will not be able to live." The Fourth Prince pleaded with tears in his eyes.
The Queen quickly stood up and reached out to cover the Fourth Prince's mouth: "What nonsense are you talking about? Don't make His Majesty angry again."
The emperor roared with his eyes wide open:
"I will not tolerate such acts that go against moral principles. I will severely punish you to uphold the dignity of the imperial family."
The queen quickly knelt down and kowtowed:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. The fourth elder is young and ignorant. I hope Your Majesty will be magnanimous."
The emperor, seeing this, felt extremely annoyed and snorted coldly, saying, "There's no need to argue any further. I've made up my mind. The Third Prince has been stripped of his title, demoted to a commoner, and exiled to Lingnan for colluding with the rebels."
The Fourth Prince was implicated, but considering his youth and his willingness to admit his mistakes, he is to be granted the title of Prince of Li and the fiefdom of Ningguta. He will depart for his fiefdom tomorrow and will never be allowed to return to the capital. This is my decree."
The Third Prince's eyes flushed red, but he simply nodded silently: "Your son obeys your command."
The Fourth Prince roared, "Father, I wish to be exiled with my third brother."
The Queen was shocked and anxious, and hurriedly grabbed the Fourth Prince and said, "Stop talking nonsense."
The emperor turned away and said, "This matter has been decided. If there is any objection, severe punishment will be imposed." After that, he strode out of Longchen Palace.
The queen sat dejectedly on the ground, and the third and fourth princes also collapsed to the ground powerlessly.
One is in Lingnan and the other is in Ningguta. Unless something unexpected happens, they may never meet again in this life.
Eunuch Guo hurried forward to help the two princes up:
"Second Master, His Majesty has issued an order, ordering the Third Prince to depart for Lingnan immediately. There is a group of exiles heading to Lingnan today."
The Third and Fourth Princes exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with reluctance and pain. Holding back his tears, the Third Prince said to the Fourth Prince, "Fourth brother, go to your fiefdom and don't act recklessly again."
The Fourth Prince held the Third Prince's hand tightly and burst into tears: "Third brother, I will miss you."
The Third Prince slowly pried open the Fourth Prince's hand, turned around and left with Eunuch Guo. The Fourth Prince looked at his back and stood up to catch up.
The Queen forced herself to stand up, dragged the Fourth Prince to her side, and said sternly, "Alright, stop doing ridiculous things. This is the order of His Majesty and cannot be changed."
The Queen turned and slapped the Fourth Prince: "Do you know what you are doing? You are the Emperor's only legitimate son. All my years of painstaking planning have been ruined. It will be difficult for us mother and son to see each other again in the future. How could you be so foolish? You will never be able to reach this supreme position."
The Queen no longer cared about him and staggered back to Fengyi Palace.
The emperor's decree was spread soon. The happiest ones were the eldest prince and the fifth prince. Two opponents were eliminated at once. The second prince didn't care. He just wanted to join the army and was not interested in the throne.
The ministers were all stunned. What had happened? Both princes were exiled. Although the fourth prince was crowned a king, the title "Li Wang" was not very pleasant, and his fiefdom, Ningguta, was a bitterly cold place.
There was a sudden buzz of discussion in the court, and several veteran ministers stood up to plead for the two princes, but the emperor had made up his mind. He just glanced at everyone coldly, and those ministers who were pleading did not dare to say anything more.
The eldest and fifth princes pretended to feel sorry for their younger brothers, but secretly began to plot how to further expand their power. The second prince continued to do as he pleased, packing his bags to go to the military camp for training.
The Fourth Prince returned to his mansion in a daze. He knew that he was powerless to change the current situation and could only obey his father's order and go to Ningguta.
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