Chapter 138: Finale (Part 1)
The second prince was surprised when he received the news from the eldest princess.
In his previous life, after the Emperor of Southern Qi passed away, he went to the capital to attend the funeral. He was well prepared. He took advantage of the fact that Yuan Yi had not yet held his coronation ceremony to force the emperor to abdicate and seize the throne.
However, many things in this life are very different from those in his previous life. While he was reflecting on his mistakes, he made full preparations for going to Beijing to meet the emperor and brought enough people with him just in case.
His staff member Yu Jingyi asked: "My Lord, what should we do now?"
The second prince let out a breath and said, "Then don't blame me for being cruel!" On the one hand, he ordered his troops to march day and night, and on the other hand, he sent people to the capital to contact Yuan Heng and officials of the Wan family in the capital to prepare for the big event.
For ordinary people, the passage of time is like a deep stream, the rising and setting of the sun, slow and imperceptible. But for the Crown Prince, who is the regent, he is in dire straits every moment. There are court officials forming cliques for personal gain, and vassal kings eyeing him covetously. There are also thousands of important matters waiting for him to decide. He is really overwhelmed.
Under this circumstance, there were huge differences among the officials of the Eastern Palace on how to deal with Yuan Lang.
In the evening, officials from the Eastern Palace gathered with the Crown Prince to discuss important matters.
The Prince's Grand Tutor Weng Xianhe advocated the strategy of "killing the Prince of Xiang on the spot once he enters the capital to avoid future troubles", while the Prince's Secretary Yan Zicheng strongly opposed it: "The Prince of Xiang came to the capital by order, at least he should be allowed to meet Your Majesty, or the Imperial Cavalry Department should arrest and investigate him, and give an explanation to the people of the world. Otherwise, wouldn't it be said that Your Highness had not yet... killed his own flesh and blood, wouldn't it damage Your Highness's reputation?"
Weng Xianhe sneered: "What a scholar says! In a matter of life and death, it is better to strike first. Why should we explain it to the world?"
Yan Zicheng argued with reason, but Weng Xianhe refused to give in, and the two of them quarreled fiercely in front of the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince was only a 17-year-old boy. Even if he was the regent, he had old ministers to deal with him. He was still learning how to govern a country. In the face of such a situation, he could only appease both sides: "Stop arguing, both of you!"
Weng Xianhe was old and had such a bad temper. He also felt that the Crown Prince had a reputation for intelligence, but he was still inexperienced. Was the old minister taking advantage of his age? In addition, his attitude was somewhat disgusting, and he couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, are you really unwilling to listen to the old minister's words?"
Yuan Yi's self-esteem as a young man would not allow him to be looked down upon by his subjects. Moreover, he had been very sensitive recently. Faced with mountains of memorials, he was often terrified, fearing that he would make a mistake and fail to convince the public. The more he demanded perfection from himself, the more uneasy he became, but he managed to conceal it well.
He didn't want to be forced to express his opinion by the old minister. Yan Zicheng had assisted the late Crown Prince Yuan Qi for many years and had watched Yuan Yi grow up. He understood the temper of young people to some extent. Moreover, Weng Xianhe's attitude was somewhat disrespectful. The official of the Eastern Palace couldn't help but get angry: "Grand Master Weng, are you forcing His Highness?"
Seeing this, Weng Xianhe said angrily, "I have already reported my suggestion to Your Highness. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."
He left the East Palace and turned around to look. The sky was full of rosy clouds, which made the East Palace look like a palace in the fairyland, magnificent and gorgeous. However, he was unaware that the setting sun would become like a ferocious beast that could devour everything in the world.
Weng Xianhe tactfully left. At dusk, Yan Zicheng was still discussing the arrest of the King of Xiang with Yuan Yi. He suggested, "To be on the safe side, why don't you send someone to invite Manager Tang to come and discuss it together? According to the King of Xiang's pace, he will arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
Before the messenger left, they heard a commotion outside. A palace servant came in hurriedly to report, "Your Highness, His Highness the Prince of Xiang wants to see you."
Yuan Yi was shocked: "So fast?"
Yan Zicheng: "...outside?"
The palace servant said, "Someone has brought His Royal Highness the Prince of Xiang here." The fact that the Prince of Xiang secretly sent someone to induce the Emperor to take a large amount of elixir was a royal secret and was not made public, so the palace servant did not know the reason and smiled and reported, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Xiang said that he had not seen the Crown Prince for a long time, so he came directly here."
"That's not right, Your Highness. Logically, the Prince of Xiang can't be so fast." He began to feel something was wrong.
Before he finished speaking, footsteps were heard outside, and Yuan Lang's voice was heard in the courtyard: "Yier, it's been a long time since we last met, and the emperor's uncle missed you very much, so he came to see you first."
Yuan Yi hurriedly went out to greet him: "Second uncle?"
But seeing Yuan Lang coming in, exhausted, followed by four guards, he smiled gently as usual, looked at him affectionately, walked closer, patted him on the shoulder twice, and said affectionately: "Yier has become a father now, he has grown taller and stronger."
Yan Zicheng and Yuan Yi exchanged a look of doubt and suspicion. The next second, he watched as the dagger in Zhao Kui's sleeve, who was beside Prince Xiang, flashed with a cold light and stabbed fiercely into Yuan Yi's chest.
"Your Highness..." Yan Zicheng never expected that the Prince of Xiang would be so cruel. He was talking and laughing about his longing for her one moment, and then he raised his knife against her the next moment.
Yuan Yi lowered his head, staring in disbelief at the wound on his chest that was oozing blood. For a moment, he felt an endless amount of regret in his heart - how great it would have been if he had listened to Prime Minister Weng's advice.
However, it was too late. He slowly fell backwards. In his sight was Yan Zicheng's panicked, self-blaming and remorseful face, and the expressionless face of Prince Xiang. His voice came near and far: "Yier, don't blame your uncle for being cruel. Find a good family in your next life, and don't be reborn in the royal family!" There were also the panicked voices of the East Palace guards and the sounds of weapons clashing that came from afar, as if the Prince Xiang had brought them in to kill.
His son Hao was only a few months old.
Reluctantly, he slowly closed his eyes.
※※※
When the Prince of Xiang entered the capital, he sent someone to deliver the message to the Grand Princess.
She had packed everything long ago and sat by the window for the entire afternoon, counting the time.
Hearing that the King of Xiang had gone to the East Palace first, Yuan Heng stood up and said, "Let's go into the palace."
She had not entered the palace for a long time under the pretext of recuperating from illness, but her influence was still there. She didn't even need to take out her badge to enter the palace. As long as she saw the face of the Grand Duke, she would be let in.
In the Qingliang Palace, the eunuch knelt on the footstool and massaged his legs and feet according to the method taught by the imperial physician.
Not long after Tang Ying entered the palace, she heard the eunuch on duty outside come to report that the Grand Princess wanted to see her.
The Emperor of Southern Qi showed a look of delight and quickly ordered the palace servants to invite Yuan Heng in.
Yuan Heng stepped into the inner hall and knelt down to pay respect to the Southern Qi Emperor. The Southern Qi Emperor's words were a little unclear, but he was still trying to express himself clearly: "My sister, please don't be polite. Please stand up quickly."
The sister and brother have not seen each other for a long time. The sister lost her only son and was left alone; the brother lost his heir, was plotted against by his beloved son, and half of his body was paralyzed. Looking at each other, they could find the shadows of life's frost, wind, sword and rain on each other's faces, and they couldn't help sighing in their hearts - it turned out that he (she) was not having an easy time either.
The emperor offered him a seat, and the eunuch Liu San brought an embroidered cushion over. Yuan Heng then sat down gracefully: "I heard that your majesty was ill. I was not feeling well these days, so I took some time out to come to the palace to visit you today. Is your majesty feeling better?"
The Southern Qi Emperor seemed very happy to see Yuan Heng. He had rarely dealt with state affairs recently, so he had plenty of time to reminisce about the past. When he saw Yuan Heng, he thought of his childhood and said emotionally, "My sister's health is the most important thing. It's not a big deal for me. I just need to rest for a few days."
Yuan Heng sneered: "Your Majesty, are you still hiding this from me? How come I heard that your health is not good, but someone instigated you to take an excessive amount of golden elixir ."
The Southern Qi Emperor glanced at Tang Ying fiercely. She knew what the Emperor was thinking by observing his expression and said quickly, "Your Majesty, you have forgotten that the Grand Princess and I have always been at odds."
Yuan Heng would never let her off easily: "Master Tang, have you forgotten that it was you who sent someone close to you to report this matter to me? Why don't you admit it in front of His Majesty?"
The Southern Qi Emperor's expression changed, and the way he looked at Tang Ying was very different, with a hint of suspicion.
"Really?" Tang Ying seemed to be unaware that the Southern Qi Emperor was suspicious again, and confronted Yuan Heng frankly: "I don't know who I sent to pass the message to the Grand Princess. Please tell me the name, so that I can investigate it thoroughly and clear my name."
Yuan Heng seemed to have good intentions: "Royal brother, please don't blame Tang, she was kind-hearted and worried about your majesty's health, so she sent someone to pass the message to my sister."
Tang Ying: “…” I didn’t expect that the Grand Princess had been dormant for two years, but her ability to confuse right and wrong had improved a lot.
"Your Majesty, you may not know that yesterday I found a traitor in the Imperial Cavalry Department. She is loyal to the Grand Princess ." Fortunately, she was prepared: "This woman is Hongyu from the Anbu. Last night, I asked Chunniang from the Inner Prison to interrogate her overnight and got her confession in the afternoon. According to her confession, she defected to the Grand Princess during the winter hunt in the thirteenth year and had a private affair with His Royal Highness the Prince of Xiang. I just came in to report this to Your Majesty."
Tang Ying smiled slightly: "It was this woman who passed the message to Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess. She has been detained in the inner prison, waiting for Your Majesty's instructions."
The Southern Qi Emperor's face suddenly turned ugly.
"Master Tang is very eloquent." Yuan Heng chuckled, "You do know a lot of things, but I wonder if Your Majesty knows them too?"
Emperor of Southern Qi: "What do you know?" Before he could get an answer, he heard a commotion outside. Someone stumbled in and shouted, "Oh no! Prince Xiang killed the Crown Prince—"
"Prince Xiang killed the Crown Prince?" The Emperor of Southern Qi still couldn't believe it: "Hasn't Prince Xiang entered the capital yet?" He quickly turned his head to look at Tang Ying, who was the sharpest knife in his hand and the source of all information.
The girl, who he thought was loyal to him, smiled brightly and said, "Yes, the King of Xiang has just arrived in Beijing, and I haven't had time to report to Your Majesty yet." She also asked in surprise, "The King of Xiang is so quick, has he killed the Crown Prince?" He made a timely comment, "He is truly a man without ruthlessness!"
The Emperor of Southern Qi almost wanted to roar, but he still remembered the consequences of his anger last time, so he suppressed his extreme anger and asked: "Where are the people from the Forbidden Cavalry Division? Didn't you send anyone to protect the Crown Prince?" The last sentence was almost spoken with gritted teeth.
"Oh, I heard that His Royal Highness the Prince of Xiang was going to Beijing, so I found an excuse to withdraw the people from the Imperial Cavalry Division from the East Palace." The girl said nonchalantly, as if she was doing something very ordinary.
