bayedsolid Chapter 261 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (161)
Chapter 261 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (161)
"Why?"
"Your Highness, please reconsider. This might be a trap set by the two of them to lure you in!"
Some people are worried.
A few days ago, they were caught searching for something in the palace, and then nothing came of it. It's unclear what happened or what they confessed to.
Isn't this all a bit too coincidental? Did the Emperor really pass away on New Year's Day?
"Judging by the days, Father Emperor should be nearing his end." Ji Shuling gritted his teeth. He actually hoped that his father could hold on for a few more days so that he could make more thorough preparations.
But time waits for no one. If we are cowardly and dare not act now, wouldn't we be handing over the throne to someone else?
Ji Shuling has fought for this for so many years, and even if he has to go all out, he will never give up for nothing!
The people below tried to persuade him to no avail; Ji Shuling was adamant. Everyone was terrified, but now that things had come to this, they were already on the Second Prince's ship and could only do their best to keep it from sinking!
"Go tell the An family that they can begin..." the Second Prince ordered in a sinister tone.
No one in the An family was in the mood to celebrate the New Year. Ever since Madam Chen learned what her husband had done, she had been sighing all day long and had no desire to even compete with the women in the courtyard.
Master An stopped visiting the women and instead stayed in the main house, worrying about his troubles.
"It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, would our family be in this state now? Our heads are hanging by a thread, and we could fall off any day now!" Chen wiped away her tears and complained.
"You old bastard, it's one thing to have your head chopped off, but if it affects your son... you... sob sob sob!" No matter how much Madam Chen complained, Master An remained silent, looking as gloomy as a taciturn man.
"Alright! It's so unlucky for you to cry like this during the New Year!" Annoyed by the scolding, Master An cursed in frustration, which prompted Madam Chen to complain again, and the atmosphere in the room became heavy.
Even the young master of the An family noticed the unusual atmosphere at home and dared not make a fuss, spending his days holed up in his own courtyard.
As long as the Emperor is alive, they can continue their affair. Originally, Master An was still a little scared of how Master An Er looked after returning from attending to the Emperor's illness, but now, thinking about going to the palace on the second day of the Lunar New Year to pray for the Emperor, he felt a little impatient.
But unexpectedly... this blessing doesn't need to be prayed for!
He was restless at home, and finally, the huge rock hanging from the roof beam finally came crashing down!
Upon seeing the person who had come to his residence, Master An's legs went weak upon hearing his words: "Such a heavy responsibility... truly not something a useless person like me can shoulder!"
"Master An, you don't need to belittle yourself. Right now, no one but you can shoulder this heavy responsibility!" The man sneered and patted Master An on the back in a feignedly friendly manner.
"His Highness the Second Prince has treated you well, and now it's time for you to repay him. His Highness the Second Prince will not mistreat those who have been with him. Whether you live a good life from now on or suffer misfortune now, you should think it over carefully!"
Master An thought to himself, "Where have I not treated you well?"
He threatened to put me in the same boat as him, making me live in constant fear, and I haven't gained anything from it. Now, I might lose my life...
But he didn't dare to say.
He was filled with regret. One wrong step led to another. After all that commotion, even if he hadn't reconciled with the Crown Prince, given his status as his uncle, he shouldn't have lost his life. Now…
"Your Majesty... how is Your Majesty now?" Master An asked, mustering his courage.
The man smirked: "What do you think? Did you get to see the Emperor in the palace on the second day of the Lunar New Year?"
Master An understood, and everything went black before his eyes. He managed to stand up by holding onto a nearby table.
"So you'd better be sensible." The man said this as a final remark, then turned and left, leaving Master An alone to calm himself down.
"I...I had no other choice." Master An raised his hand to cover his face.
"Master, can't we really send our son out of the capital first...?" Madam Chen asked cautiously.
"Fool! Do you think he can get out now! If he leaves the capital today, you'll be seeing his corpse tomorrow!" Master An kicked over a tea table and cursed, panting heavily.
"We have no choice but to follow his arrangements."
On the third day of the month, there was still no news from the palace in the morning.
In the afternoon, the eldest patriarch of the An family, the Empress's maternal family, knelt at the palace gate in court attire, requesting an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, please don't make another mistake!" he shouted.
"The Emperor is unwilling to pass the throne to you, and you... you cannot do such a treasonous thing! I am a subject in the court, but in terms of seniority, I am also your uncle. I do not want to see you go astray and do such a heinous thing!" After saying this, he kowtowed heavily.
"Your Highness, I already know that you forced the Empress to search for the Emperor's Imperial Seal for you. Don't be foolish! Don't disregard human ethics and be disloyal and unfilial!"
His shouts were chilling, each word a terrifying tale; what he said was utterly appalling.
"Your Majesty—please stop indulging the First Prince! Your Majesty—the Third Prince—" His voice grew louder and louder, calling out to everyone in the palace, sparing no one.
This commotion quickly reached everyone's ears, and the court officials, who were anxiously waiting at home, rushed over.
Standing before the tightly closed palace gates, their expressions solemn and tense, most people dared not utter a word, waiting to see how things would unfold.
The palace gates remained closed, as if leaving Lord An to perform in the freezing cold. Lord An shouted until his voice was hoarse and his whole body trembled.
His pitiful appearance and the words he kept repeating told everyone: His Highness the Crown Prince had imprisoned and controlled the Emperor, forcing him to write an edict of succession.
Because the emperor refused to write it, he now keeps the palace gates closed in order to forge an imperial edict.
"Father!" When the Second Prince arrived, snowflakes fell like goose feathers from the leaden sky. He knelt at the palace gate, his robes billowing, and cried out in a mournful voice, "I ask for nothing else but that Father be well! Eldest brother, what have you done to Father!"
Everyone around understood that the Emperor was probably in bad shape, otherwise why would the palace be under such strict lockdown at this time?
No one took sides, and no one spoke. Everyone had witnessed the long-standing struggle between the Second Prince and the First Prince. With the situation still unclear, none of them dared to make a move.
The prince's faction of ministers knelt down and shouted in unison, while the others stood silently to the side. This strange and bizarre scene unfolded in the bitter cold.
The palace gates remained closed, which suited Ji Shuling perfectly. If they were opened, he would have no further room to maneuver.
The fact that the palace gates remained closed confirmed his suspicions; Ji Shuqin and Ji Shumin were probably as anxious as ants on a hot pan right now…
After all that fuss, Ji Shuling was completely chilled by the cold wind. His knees, which were covered in knee pads, were almost numb from kneeling on the ground. But he didn't feel cold at all. The thought in his mind was so intense that he was completely oblivious to the cold!
Supported by several officials, Ji Shuling rose and gazed deeply at the palace gate: "If my eldest brother and third brother cannot give me an answer, if they cannot let me personally confirm Father's safety, I will not give up—"
"What people do is seen by Heaven. This country should never be occupied by disloyal, unfilial, unrighteous, or immoral people!"
After saying this, he turned and got into the carriage and left.
Soon, everyone found out.
The eldest son of the An family learned from the Empress how the eldest prince forced the Emperor to write an edict of succession and how he forced the Emperor to remain in public in order to seize power and suppress the second prince.
Although he was the eldest prince's uncle and the empress's brother, the head of the An family simply could not tolerate it, which is why he exposed him with resentment, to prevent others from being deceived by the eldest prince's benevolent facade.
His act of sacrificing his own family for the greater good is truly awe-inspiring.
Some neutral people... have gradually come to believe it.
He and the Second Prince spoke with absolute certainty that the First Prince had closed the palace gates and there had been no news of him since. Wasn't that... wasn't that making it impossible to convince and respond to everyone?
The Second Prince seems to make more sense...
In the middle of the night on the third day of the lunar new year, His Highness the Second Prince, under the pretext of loyalty to the emperor and protection of the emperor, ordered martial law to be declared in the imperial city and the garrison to assemble.
Keen observers noticed that not only were there troops guarding the capital, but also about twenty miles away from the capital, there were already signs of troops in full armor, looking ready to fight.
These troops appeared as if they had appeared out of nowhere, gathering around the capital. In the pitch-black night, they stood like ghosts in formation, pointing their sharp swords toward the imperial city.
"Support the Second Prince's ascension to the throne!"
"Support the Second Prince's ascension to the throne!"
These low shouts echoed continuously among the soldiers, completely different from the "escort" the Second Prince spoke of.
"General... if we fail, it's a capital offense! Troops are rising up near the capital..."
If the second prince cannot ascend the throne, the new emperor will absolutely not tolerate it.
"Have you lost all your courage now? Aren't you General An's old subordinates? The eldest master of the An family is now on the side of the Second Prince. The First Prince's fate is sealed. Only those who can mobilize troops and fight can win the world. How could the First Prince, who grew up in a remote mountain temple, have such courage?" The leading general glared and scolded those around him.
The people around him wore armor, but their expressions still showed some fear and hesitation.
He was indeed a former subordinate of General An. Almost half of the people here today were former subordinates of General An, and they had all been incited by Master An.
After General An passed away, his soldiers were scattered to various places. Since no younger generation of the An family had taken over General An's mantle, the An family's soldiers also left or dispersed.
Many of them followed General Zhuang to guard the border, while many others remained in the capital. However, they had not been given important positions for many years. The emperor favored the Zhuang family, but it was already difficult for military officers to rise to prominence. Their mediocre lives in the capital caused many of them to feel dissatisfied.
Incited by Master An, if the Second Prince ascends the throne, it will be a meritorious act of supporting the emperor. Their status in the court will certainly be extraordinary. Every emperor has his ministers. After the Second Prince ascends the throne, they will definitely be able to suppress the Zhuang family army!
Of course, Master An wouldn't tell them the truth. He told them the lies he had made up. He dared not say that he was the one who first became estranged from the First Prince and the Third Prince, and was then threatened by the Second Prince.
Even now, he was still uneasy, because besieging the capital with troops would definitely be fatal.
When are we going to make our move?
"Awaiting His Highness the Second Prince's orders!" The one in the lead was one of the Second Prince's trusted confidants in court.
Many military officers were dissatisfied with the landlord, and the second prince believed that military officers were always easy to manipulate; to win them over, all he needed to do was coax them into becoming arrogant and complacent...
By the fourth day of the month, the people of the capital already knew that a major change had occurred in the palace.
Just a few days ago, people were celebrating the Lunar New Year with great joy and decorations, but now the streets are deserted, with hardly a soul in sight.
Everyone has retreated to their homes, afraid that venturing out might inadvertently cause trouble...
It has been countless years since the capital has been so filled with such alarm and fear.
Only the city guards remained on the streets, their figures patrolling on horseback.
The second prince arrived at the palace gate again. This time, he was dressed in fine clothes. He no longer asked to enter the palace, but pointed at the palace gate and said, "Go back and tell Ji Shuqin that if he doesn't give me, the court, and the people an explanation by sunset, I will drag him out and question him properly!"
He left with his head held high, feeling that Ji Shuqin must be in a panic at this moment, otherwise why would he be hiding in the palace and not daring to show his face? He felt relieved, thinking that he had all the advantages of timing, location, and popular support, and that the throne was still within his grasp.
As the sun set, the army approached the capital's gates, causing widespread panic and tears, with people at a loss for what to do.
The second prince led the city guards and civil and military officials outside the palace, intending to capture the palace guards and rush inside.
This commotion has left even those who support the Crown Prince at a loss for what to do.
Just before they were about to take action, the palace gates suddenly swung open to both sides.
Everyone was shocked and didn't know what was going on.
Two rows of guards stood at the palace gate, and Decheng stepped out from the middle, respectfully holding a bright yellow imperial edict in his hands.
The second prince's expression changed.
"The imperial edict arrives——"
Before he could speak, De Cheng interrupted him in a high-pitched voice. The Second Prince swallowed his words, for he was, after all, acting in the name of loyalty to the emperor and protecting him. In front of so many people, he couldn't very well ignore what the imperial edict said.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have reigned for over thirty years, relying on the blessings of Heaven and Earth and the blessings of the ancestral temples, and have never failed my ancestors in serving the nation. Now that my time is drawing near, I hereby pass the throne to my eldest son. My eldest son is benevolent and filial, respectful and virtuous, considerate of his ministers and kind to the common people, and his conduct is quite similar to mine, which pleases me greatly. I wish him to be diligent day and night, without rest, to govern the country with utmost care, and to protect the nation. This is my final wish. So be it!"
After he finished speaking, there was silence all around.
"Impossible! He must have forced Father to issue the imperial decree!" Ji Shuling's face was grim as he strode forward.
"Your Highness, please be careful with your words!"
"Father's Imperial Seal—"
Before he could finish speaking, the Second Prince suddenly choked up. It was too dark, and only when he got closer could he see that the imperial edict clearly bore the Emperor's national seal.
How can it be!
He had already planted his connections. Ji Shuqin, like him, was unable to find his father's imperial seal, which is why things had been delayed until now!