Zhu Ci asked, "Where to?"
Sun Hongji said, "Managing the Imperial Prison."
Zhu Ci asked, "The reason?"
Sun Hongji was somewhat surprised by the calmness of this Imperial Grandson, but he maintained a cold expression and said, "His Majesty has issued an edict: the Imperial Grandson is guilty of treason and is to be imprisoned immediately for interrogation."
Zhu Ci's gaze passed over Sun Hongji to look at Nong Liangping standing behind him, finding the man standing there calmly, watching him.
At this moment, the entire Eastern Palace had been seized by the Jinyi Guard from top to bottom, with only Nong Liangping standing there.
Zhu Ci laughed; so this was what he had been waiting for him for.
Sun Hongji was somewhat unsure why Zhu Ci was laughing, so he turned slightly and said, "Your Highness, let us go."
Zhu Ci sat steadily in his chair, looking out the window as he said, "Treason is a major case, but there is no need to rush. Let us wait a little longer."
Sun Hongji was just about to say something when a commotion erupted outside, followed by a shrill, high-pitched voice: "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived."
Hmm?
Zhu Ci was stunned for a moment. Why had the Empress come out?
However, when Sun Hongji and Nong Liangping looked over, Zhu Ci still maintained that same composed expression, as if everything were under his control.
Who dares to imprison the Crown Prince?
A young woman dressed in a jade-colored top and a deep cyan mamian skirt walked in a grand procession, accompanied by a large group of eunuchs and palace maids.
Zhu Ci could not remain seated in his chair and immediately stood up to salute the Empress: "This son greets the Empress Mother."
Ah, that term "Empress Mother" was truly awkward. Aside from her poor complexion, the woman before him didn't look very old, perhaps only in her early thirties at most, yet she already had a son who was fourteen or fifteen years old.
No, he has two older brothers before him.
Sun Hongji and the others naturally had to salute the Empress. Sun Hongji did not seem particularly fearful of the Empress, merely saying politely, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has personally issued the decree.."
And the decree?" The Empress asked, looking at Sun Hongji. "Words alone are no proof. Bring out the imperial decree and read it aloud.
Sun Hongji paused for a moment before saying, "His Majesty issued it as a verbal decree during the grand imperial assembly."
The Empress sneered, "At least before there were proper imperial decrees. Now, you dare to seize the Crown Prince without even having a decree. I think it is you who are the traitors!"
Sun Hongji's expression changed. The term "rebellion" was a sacred taboo of the current Emperor; anyone who touched it was a dead man.
Sun Hongji's tone grew heavier: "Does Your Ladyship truly intend to obstruct the Jinyi Guard from conducting their investigation?"
The Empress stood there, her back straight, tilting her head slightly as she said, "My words remain the same: bring me the Imperial Decree."
Zhu Ci stood in place, beginning to contemplate how to resolve the current situation.
He really didn't expect the Empress to come, but it didn't seem to have a significant impact.
Just at that moment, an eunuch arrived with a large group of young eunuchs, walking in a grand procession, said, "Wait a moment."
Sun Hongji turned to look, frowned immediately, then bowed his head in greeting: "Commander Chen."
Cangong? The Eastern Depot?
Zhu Ci stood in place, looking left and right, clicked his tongue in his heart.
The Eastern Palace, which had been like a deserted cold palace, was finally becoming lively.
This kind of commotion is a bit overwhelming.
The commotion was quite significant; both the Jinyi Guard and the Eastern Depot were present, the Empress was here as well.
Chen Cangong bowed to the Empress and Zhu Ci: "Greetings, Empress, greetings, Crown Prince."
The Empress said in a strained voice, "No need for formalities."
Zhu Ci could tell that the Empress was extremely nervous at this moment; her straight back and high chin silently spoke of how this poor woman, even as an Empress, possessed no real power.
Chen Cangong said to Zhu Ci, "Your Highness, would you care to accompany this eunuch on a trip?"
"Where to?" After Zhu Ci asked, he felt that the frequency of this question appearing today was strangely high.
Before Chen Cangong could answer, Sun Hongji said in a heavy voice, "Surely Chen Cangong doesn't intend to take His Highness to the factory prison?"
Chen Cangong didn't even spare him a glance, maintaining his humble and polite attitude as he said, "His Majesty has issued an edict, summoning the Crown Prince to Wuying Hall."
At this moment, a grand court assembly should be underway in Wuying Hall.
Sun Hongji's eyebrows twitched. "What are the terms of the decree?"
He had just received the oral decree to arrest the Crown Prince, so why was he suddenly being told to go to Wuying Hall? He had already offended both the Crown Prince and the Empress; if the Crown Prince survived today, he might not survive his own life.
Chen Cangong asked unhurriedly, "Does Commander Sun dare to question whether I have issued a false imperial decree? If there are doubts, we might as well go to Wuying Hall together to meet the Emperor."
Sun Hongji's eyes flickered: "Very well."
It was merely an audience with the Emperor; once the Emperor had raised suspicions, he would not change his mind easily. The previous evidence of treason against the two Crown Princes was extremely tenuous, practically based on mere personal conviction, yet were they not still deposed and died in seclusion?
If the Emperor says you are a traitor, then you are a traitor.
Zhu Ci straightened his clothes and said, "Since Imperial Father has summoned me, then let us go."
After finishing his words, he turned his head toward the Empress and said soothingly, "Rest easy for now, Mother."
It was so much that he didn't dare say more, fearing that a single extra word would reveal his true nature.
Even now, he still hadn't figured out the Empress's true intentions, nor was he clear on the actual nature of the relationship between the Empress and the original owner of this body.
The Empress was naturally worried, but since the Commander of the Eastern Depot had arrived and had even sent the Crown Prince to Wuying Hall, she could do nothing else even if she was concerned. Just like a moment ago, she had only stepped forward in her capacity as Empress to buy time.
The Empress raised her hand to stroke Zhu Ci's face and sighed, "You.. must be careful."
Zhu Ci did not dare to meet her gaze, giving a low response before turning to walk out. He stopped his steps when he reached Nong Liangping's side.
He raised his hand to help Nong Liangping smooth out the wrinkles on his shoulder, smiling as he said, "Nong companion, please wait patiently in the Eastern Palace."
Nong Liangping's eyes were calm and emotionless as he lowered his head slightly and said softly, "Take care, Your Highness."
Zhu Ci said nothing more and turned to stride out of the Eastern Palace.
Nong Liangping looked up at Zhu Ci's retreating figure, frowning slightly.
The other party looked extremely confident, but he could not imagine how Zhu Ci could possibly turn the tables.
The Emperor was highly suspicious; once he suspected something, he would never grant an opportunity, so why did he let the Crown Prince go to Wuying Hall?
Just as Nong Liangping was feeling confused, the Empress walked over, looked at him coldly, said, "You ungrateful wretch."
Nong Liangping's eyes instantly filled with pain. He looked at the Empress and said through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty, he.. he isn't really.."
The Empress finally showed a hint of emotion; her eyes reddened slightly as she tried to suppress her voice and said, "I want my son to live! He is all the son I have left!"
Nong Liangping was momentarily stunned, then lowered his head, his shoulders slumping.
What happened in the Eastern Palace was no longer within Zhu Ci's concerns; right now, he was dealing with that old geezer sitting on the dragon throne.
The eunuch by the old man's side, Li Fuguo, was reading out his crimes. Zhu Ci knelt below, listening calmly, but he could not help but drift off into thought.
Sigh, fortunately, I was only the Crown Prince for seven days. The list of crimes, when tallied up, was just the same few things over and over again—nothing more than the three charges of hoarding maps, colluding with the Jinyi Guard, suspected involvement in witchcraft.
Nong Liangping's strikes were indeed fast, precise, ruthless; anyone would be left battered by these three charges.
In theory, he shouldn't have had the opportunity to come to Wuying Hall to defend himself, but there are always exceptions.
Take the charge of colluding with the Jinyi Guard, for instance; it was because he would occasionally chat with the Eastern Palace Guards.
But did Nong Liangping really think he was just chatting? He was passing on information.
Those Eastern Palace Guards he selected—their names remained the same, but whether they were the same people or not, no one knew.
Moreover, he had only selected a few dozen people; the rest had very complex backgrounds, but there were certainly spies among them.
Zhu Ci did not say it explicitly, but the news leaked out was that he dared not associate with either the Donglin Party or the Grand Secretary's faction.
The reasoning was simple; his first two brothers were deposed just for being a little too close to the court officials, so how could he dare?
If these two sides wanted to win him over, they would necessarily have to speak up for him when trouble arose.
However, all of this was built on the premise that two crown princes had been deposed in the last three months, it looked as though a third was about to be deposed as well.
Deposing a Crown Prince was not something the Emperor could resolve simply by issuing an order, the court officials were also unwilling to see Crown Princes deposed every few days.
The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue were pained by the expense; establishing a Crown Prince was no small cost, if this money could be saved, wouldn't it simply end up in their own pockets?
The Donglin Party and the Grand Secretary's faction were also very vexed. Everyone had finally managed to establish good relations with their next boss and was preparing to invest; the plans were drawn up, even the initial investments had begun, but then—crack.. the Crown Prince was deposed, even the personnel they had planted in the Eastern Palace had suffered significant losses.
The Crown Prince committed treason, so his subordinates must also be part of the treasonous faction; no one will be spared!
Replacing the Crown Prince means having to rearrange everything all over again. Let him rearrange it if he wants, but the result is a failure once more. This is already the third time; even an Emperor cannot escape the rule of three!
The Emperor didn't care about those officials; they were too busy worrying about their own subordinates!
Of course, Zhu Ci admitted that he was gambling, but he simply had too few cards to play, so he had no choice but to gamble.
As it turned out, he had gambled correctly this time.
After Li Fuguo finished speaking, he looked at Zhu Ci with a very complex expression, filled with sympathy, regret, even a hint of disillusionment.
The Emperor, Zhu Yousong, who had been silent until now, looked coldly at Zhu Ci and asked, "Rebellious son, what more do you have to say?"
Zhu Ci looked bewildered and terrified. "Father Emperor, please judge fairly. Your son has never harbored any disloyal thoughts. These.. these are merely new games I wanted to have the Eastern Palace Guards play with me."
What kind of game? You're still making excuses!" Zhu Yousong slammed the armrest of the dragon throne. "You all heard him; this rebellious son shows no remorse. Guards, seize..
Your Majesty!
Gao Hongtu and Ma Shiying shouted in unison, after shouting, the two men exchanged a glance before turning their heads away again.
Zhu Yousong had no choice but to pause his orders; since the heads of the two major factions in the imperial court had spoken out together, he had to take it seriously.
Author's Note:
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Zhu Ci: That was close, I almost got returned for no reason within seven days. *Cat sitting upright in a grandmaster's chair. jpg*
Next update tomorrow at 12:00 PM~
Chapter 6