The second prince was extremely displeased to be reprimanded by his father, but after all, he was his father, and he had always feared his father's authority since childhood. At this moment, he was somewhat trembling with fear...
However, he had already made all the arrangements, so how could he let Li Zhu off so easily? He didn't believe that Li Zhu could escape unscathed after this series of moves. Moreover, once Li Zhu lost his position as crown prince, the suppression from the Jiang family would plunge him into an abyss of no return...
Led by the Emperor and the Second Prince, the group stormed into Li Zhu's Eastern Palace without any hindrance. The eunuchs and palace maids were terrified. They had never seen such a scene before. They thought to themselves, "It's over. The Crown Prince's rebellion must have been discovered. We servants will be implicated and beheaded in no time. This is the tragedy of being a servant. When the master dies, the servants will suffer as well!"
Bang!
The door to the Crown Prince's palace was kicked open. One would expect to see a rather unseemly scene of men tilling the fields and women weaving, but the palace was completely empty...
"Is this the Crown Prince you were talking about returning to visit Consort Ming? Where is he?"
The emperor looked at the second prince angrily and asked!
The Second Prince inwardly cursed Consort Ming, thinking she was incredibly unreliable. Wasn't the plan to drug the Crown Prince, then bring the Emperor to catch them in the act, thus bringing down the Crown Prince? Where had they both gone…?
"Father, look, these are the clothes for the Crown Prince and Consort Ming..."
Suddenly, the second prince seemed to see a lifeline and pointed to the clothes next to the screen, shouting loudly!
The emperor looked at the second prince with suspicion. Could this kid be using his own wife to frame the crown prince? If so, this guy is far too ruthless…
"His Majesty…"
Eunuch Tang handed the light gauze and the crown prince's clothes from the ground to the emperor.
The emperor held the two garments in his hands, lost in thought. The fact that their clothes were undressed together spoke volumes. He then looked at the kneeling eunuch, Wei, and asked...
"Eunuch Wei, where is the Crown Prince?"
Eunuch Wei was also panicked. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew about Consort Ming's presence in the Eastern Palace. He simply didn't know where she was now. Overwhelmed with fear, Eunuch Wei buried his head in his arms and replied in a trembling voice.
"Your Majesty, this servant...does not know..."
Upon hearing Eunuch Wei's words, the emperor was clearly displeased. As Li Zhu's personal eunuch, the fact that he didn't know Li Zhu's whereabouts was itself a dereliction of duty...
"Where is the Marquis?"
"Your Majesty, this servant does not know..."
"Eunuch Wei replied in a still trembling voice!"
The emperor gave the second prince a deep look, which made the guilty second prince subconsciously lower his head, not daring to meet his father's gaze!
"I remember you had a master by your side named Changsun Lang, right? Where is he?"
Upon hearing his father's words, the Second Prince's expression changed. This eldest grandson was his secret, but he hadn't expected that even this couldn't escape his father's notice. His connections were truly extensive...
"Father, he...he..."
The second prince stammered, unable to speak, because it was Changsun Lang who led the Marquis away, which was really hard to explain!
Where did he go? Do you know who he is?
The emperor looked at the second prince with some annoyance and scolded him!
"Father, please calm your anger. He... he went to challenge the Marquis..."
The second prince eventually told the truth, but he only said that Changsun Lang went to challenge the Marquis, without saying that he went to lure the Marquis away!
"Hmph! Now that he's your man, keep a close eye on him. If any of the women in the harem fall victim to his cruelty, don't blame me for being ruthless..."
The emperor said coldly!
Hearing his father's words, the Second Prince secretly groaned. His relationship with the Grand Prince was merely one of cooperation; whether the Grand Prince could command him depended entirely on his father's mood. After all, the Grand Prince's strength had reached a point where he could do whatever he wanted. As long as he didn't court death, he could definitely run rampant with his power if he was careful...
However, there's a folk rhyme that goes like this: "A pear blossom overshadows a crabapple, the dashing swordsman Changsun Lang!"
The other party is a complete womanizer who goes out to harass girls whenever he has nothing to do. How can he control him?
"Father, I will send Changsun Lang back to the manor immediately..."
The second prince immediately sent someone to summon Changsun Lang back to his residence!
"snort!"
The emperor snorted coldly, giving the second prince a warning, and then looked at Eunuch Wei and said...
"Go and find out where the Crown Prince and Consort Ming are..."
"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will go immediately..."
Eunuch Wei scrambled out of the palace and then sent people to search for the Crown Prince and Consort Ming!
"Eunuch Tang..."
"Your servant is here!"
"You stay here and wait for the Crown Prince and Consort Ming to return. I'll head back to the palace first. If nothing unusual happens, tell the Crown Prince not to miss tonight's banquet. The envoys from Liao and Baiyue came specifically for him; it would be impolite if he weren't there..."
"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will obey your orders!"
"Second son, you stay here with Eunuch Tang. If what you say is true, I will handle it myself..."
The emperor then gave instructions to the second prince!
"Yes, Father!"
After giving his orders, the emperor turned and left, leaving no trace of the person, let alone catching them in the act. He had already shown leniency by not pursuing the second prince's crime of deceiving the emperor; he simply didn't have the patience to wait there…
On the way back, the Marquis appeared on the carriage. The emperor, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and coldly questioned him.
"I entrusted you with the task of protecting the Crown Prince, but where is he?"
"Your Majesty, this servant deserves to die. His Highness the Crown Prince ordered me to deal with Changsun Lang, which is why I went and entangled with him, thus affecting Your Majesty's plans. This servant deserves to die a thousand deaths. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Hmph! I'll let it go today, but you're never allowed to leave the Crown Prince's side again. If you encounter any danger, you'll have to answer to me with your head..."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Go back, find the Crown Prince, find out where he is, and remember to report back..."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The conversation between the two came to an abrupt end, and the Marquis headed towards the Eastern Palace…
Those inside the Eastern Palace thought everything was fine after the Emperor left, but the fact that Eunuch Tang and the Second Prince remained left them uneasy, though they had no idea what had happened…
The Eastern Palace was unusually quiet. Even Wang Yanzhang showed a worried expression, because the Second Prince had gone to great lengths this time, clearly determined to achieve his goal. This meant that Li Zhu's chances of survival were slim...
For some reason, thinking about this made him worry about the Crown Prince's safety. He was startled by his own thought and quickly banished the dangerous idea from his mind...
The area below the passage was pitch black...
The two had just landed when they heard rustling sounds, and the instant Li Zhu's foot touched the ground, they heard an angry roar.
"You stepped on me, it hurts so much..."
This caused Li Zhu to slip and fall to the ground…
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