Before leaving the Eastern Palace, he remained cautious and summoned a young eunuch to whisper a few words to him. The young eunuch acknowledged him and then turned and ran out of the Eastern Palace in a flash.
Zhu Ci's sudden visit caught the Prince of Qi by surprise. He looked at Zhu Ci warily and asked, "The Crown Prince has arrived so suddenly; may I ask what business brings you here?"
Zhu Ci walked around a circle and said, "This Prince of Qi's Mansion of yours is truly excellent. This vase is quite good, that bonsai is quite good, this screen.. if I am not mistaken, it is Gu embroidery, isn't it? It is quite exquisite; I like it very much. Carry them away, carry them all away for me."
How dare you!" the Prince of Qi immediately waved his hand. "Let's see who dares to move them.
Zhu Ci immediately stepped in front of him and said with a smile, "Move!"
The Prince of Qi wanted to say something more, but seeing Zhu Ci raise his hand, he immediately recalled his previous experience of being forced to drink Hangover Soup, which made him unable to help but take two steps back.
And just as the Fengzheng within his mansion was about to say something, he saw the Crown Prince cast a casual glance at him and say, "Do you wish to keep company with Nong Liangping?"
The Fengzheng of Prince of Qi's Mansion felt a sudden chill in his heart and turned to look at his young master.
The Prince of Qi let out a cold laugh. "What right do you have.."
I may not have the status, but in the eyes of my Imperial Father, there is no room for even a grain of sand.
He cast a perfunctory glance and asked with some surprise, "How is it that you don't even have a self-striking clock here?"
The Prince of Qi's expression froze. Self-striking clocks all came from the West, there were hardly even a few in the Imperial Palace; how could he possibly have one here?
Could it be.. the Eastern Palace has one?
Considering the recent rumors that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace has been deeply favored by the Emperor, could they all be true?
How could that be? Just before, they were planning to depose the Crown Prince, so how has he suddenly become the Emperor's favorite son?
The Prince of Qi was somewhat incredulous. His third brother had always been taciturn and was not favored by the Emperor; even appointing him as Crown Prince was merely a temporary measure. How could it.. suddenly turn out like this?
Seeing that he remained silent, Zhu Ci gave him a disdainful glance and looked at the hourglass, saying, "Although it's not accurate enough, it'll have to do. There isn't much time left; hurry up and move them. Once they are moved, I must go to pay my respects to Father the Emperor."
The Prince of Qi's teeth were clenched so hard they felt like they might shatter.
The Emperor has many children, from the past until now, he has never been seen to show favoritism toward any of them; as for showing affection to someone's associates, that is even more impossible.
The women around their Imperial Father were like flowing water; he had never been seen to favor any of them for more than a year.
If it weren't for the fact that the position of Empress cannot be easily changed, this Empress would likely have been replaced long ago. After all, several consorts had already been replaced before her.
Therefore, the Prince of Qi's mother had always coveted the position of Empress; now that the Crown Prince was favored, the Empress's position had become even more secure.
How could that be allowed?
The Prince of Qi told himself that he must endure for the time being; now that the Crown Prince was in power, he was acting so arrogant, but he would inevitably run into a hard obstacle sooner or later.
So he could only watch with a dark expression as the Crown Prince carried the things away, began contemplating how to immediately find someone to spread rumors to ruin the Crown Prince's reputation.
Everything from being decadent and extravagant, to being indifferent to his siblings, to being arrogant and conceited—whatever could ruin him, they would use it.
As a result, before he could even take action, the Crown Prince visited the Prince of Qi's Mansion for three consecutive days; every time he had just finished having things tidied up, those fine goods would be carried away.
The reason the Prince of Qi dared to go directly to the Eastern Palace to mock and ridicule him back then was because he was not a man who could endure such things.
So on the third day, he finally snapped.
When Zhu Ci had his favorite set of hand carvings taken away, he finally couldn't hold back and threw a punch.
Author's Note:
----------------------
Zhu Ci: They were the ones who made the first move! [Cat extends its claws and kicks a porcelain vase. jpg]
The next update will be tomorrow at noon~
Chapter 9
Zhu Ci had been paying close attention to the Prince of Qi's condition for a long time.
Perhaps it was because he had been designing too many games lately; he had even mentally assigned a rage bar to the Prince of Qi.
He would gauge the level of the anger bar by the other's gaze, expression, body language.
When he felt it was about time, he began to guard against the Prince of Qi taking action.
Of course, the Prince of Qi might also have his subordinates act, but Zhu Ci did not come out without anyone; he brought twenty Eastern Palace Guards.
As long as the Prince of Qi is in his right mind, he shouldn't let his subordinates take action.
As for now.. brothers fighting each other is nothing, since their own father doesn't care anyway.
Unfortunately, the Prince of Qi's combat prowess wasn't much better than the original owner's. Given his father's character, hoping for his son to be self-disciplined and strong was nothing more than a pipe dream.
Zhu Ci had nearly met a disastrous end when he first transmigrated, all because this wretched body was so soft and weak. After half a month of training, there wasn't much of a change, but it was enough to deal with the Prince of Qi.
Zhu Ci sidestepped the punch he swung, as the Prince of Qi stumbled forward a couple of steps because he couldn't control his body, Zhu Ci used the same old trick and kicked him in the back of the knee.
This time, the Prince of Qi fell straight to his knees. Before he could react, Zhu Ci threw his entire weight onto him, targeting only the most painful areas that were difficult to detect. He didn't just use his fists; instead, he clenched his right hand, pressing his thumb and middle finger together to form a slight protrusion, striking those areas with his knuckles.
As he fought, he kept a watchful eye, knowing that the Fengzheng of Prince of Qi's Mansion and the guards would certainly come to intervene.
However, it was unexpected that the young eunuchs brought by Ge Xudong possessed quite extraordinary combat capabilities; those guards were actually no match for them.
The regular selected guards were actually no match for the eunuch.
Zhu Ci was left speechless, but looking again at the guards under his command.. none of them were much better. However, since he had personally selected this batch of guards, their physiques were much better, allowing him to suppress them.
This meant he could beat the Prince of Qi even more recklessly and without hesitation.
The Prince of Qi was beaten so badly that he cried out in pain; as the intensity of the pain continued to rise, he began to shout and curse.
Zhu Ci listened, feeling that the Prince of Qi's vocabulary for insults was still far too limited; he had experienced the fighting spirit of the common people, this was nothing compared to that.
Moreover, the Prince of Qi was careful not to attack the Emperor or the Empress; it was only when the Prince of Qi's consciousness became blurred from the pain that he could no longer control himself and began cursing uncontrollably.
“Zhu Ci, once I ascend to the position of Crown Prince, I will surely tear you into ten thousand pieces!”
Zhu Ci shook his hands and panted as he asked, "Oh? You think you can become the Crown Prince?"
Sigh, this constitution is still lacking; he even exhausted himself just from beating someone up.
The Prince of Qi's consciousness blurred from the pain as he shouted for help while babbling incoherently, "Once I seize the position of Crown Prince, I.. I will ensure you die a horrible death!"
Zhu Ci stopped and shouted, "You actually harbor thoughts of treason! Guards, seize the Prince of Qi.. no, seize this rebel! He shall enter the palace with me to face the Emperor!"
The noisy Prince of Qi's Mansion fell silent for a moment. Upon hearing this, the Fengzheng of the Prince of Qi's Mansion trembled and immediately shouted, "Guards, come quickly! Seize the Crown Prince!"
The Prince of Qi could be charged with any crime, but it could never be treason.
If they were charged with treason, everyone in the Prince of Qi's Mansion would be executed along with him; even dreaming of a quick death would be a luxury.
Zhu Ci immediately pulled the Prince of Qi in front of him, pushing him forward as he shouted, "Who dares!"
Ge Xudong was also quick-witted; he immediately arranged for an agile young eunuch to climb over the wall to find the Jinyi Guard, while simultaneously leading men to protect the Crown Prince's rear.
Due to the presence of the Prince of Qi, both the mansion's guards and eunuchs were hesitant to act, but the mansion was crowded after all, they could not escape in a short amount of time.
Just as the Fengzheng of Prince of Qi's Mansion was contemplating how to handle the situation, he suddenly heard the sound of noisy footsteps and clashing armor.
He turned his head and saw the Jinyi Guard Commander Sun Hongji walking over.
The Fengzheng of Prince of Qi's Mansion was utterly shocked. How could the Jinyi Guard have arrived so quickly?
He instinctively looked toward Zhu Ci, when he saw a smile appear on the Crown Prince's face, he suddenly realized: the other party had come prepared.
Fengzheng still wanted to struggle, but before he could say anything, he heard Ge Xudong shout, "Commander Sun, you have arrived at just the right time. The Prince of Qi harbors treasonous intentions and, upon being discovered, attempted to harm the Crown Prince to silence him. Quickly seize him and bring him to the Emperor along with the Crown Prince."
Sun Hongji had been somewhat hesitant, but upon hearing the words "treason," he knew that even if the Prince of Qi did not die, he would suffer immensely, unless he also possessed the ability to turn a crisis into safety like the Crown Prince.
However.. the only person in this dynasty who could survive under an accusation of treason is the current Crown Prince.
Even if he compared the current level of favor between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi, he would have waved his hand without hesitation to have the Prince of Qi seized and the Prince of Qi's Mansion surrounded and strictly guarded, forbidding anyone from escaping.
The Prince of Qi kept shouting, "This is slander! Sun Hongji, how dare you treat this Prince like this! I will never let you off!"
You're finished.
Zhu Ci thought to himself that if he said that, Sun Hongji would risk his life to suppress him.
If one were to speak truly, the Emperor's concubines and children combined might not even hold as much of the Emperor's trust as Sun Hongji.
Zhu Ci immediately had someone gag the Prince of Qi, then he straightened his robes and said, "I have caused the Commander to laugh at me. Thanks to your timely rescue, you shall be credited with the primary merit in this case of treason. Come with me to see the Emperor."
Sun Hongji's eyes flashed as he caught the underlying meaning in the Crown Prince's words. He immediately stepped aside and bowed, saying, "After you, Your Highness."
Since it was an audience with the Emperor, one naturally had to first send someone to the Imperial Palace to report to him.
Even though Zhu Ci's status had recently reached a level where he could see the Emperor at will, he still could not simply go without giving prior notice.
Since it concerned treason, the Emperor could not possibly refuse to meet him.
However, as they were heading toward Wenhua Hall, they happened to run into Noble Consort Chen.
Noble Consort Chen must have already received the news; she took a step forward to block Zhu Ci and said coldly, "The Crown Prince is quite bold to dare slander my son."
Zhu Ci glanced at her and said, "Whether it is slander or not, go explain it before Imperial Father."
Consort Chen refused to make way. "The Crown Prince should think twice, unless you.."
She had only spoken halfway when Zhu Ci suddenly took several steps back and shouted, "Noble Consort, please show some self-respect!"
Consort Chen reacted immediately upon hearing this and was nearly fuming with rage, but before she could say anything, Zhu Ci had already bypassed her and her attendants and headed straight for Wenhua Hall.
A palace maid beside Consort Chen walked over and asked softly, "Your Ladyship, what should we do now?"
Consort Chen gave a cold snort. "Send someone to inform Grand Secretary Gao that the Crown Prince has suddenly launched an attack; tell them to be prepared."
After speaking, Consort Chen also headed toward Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Ci and Sun Hongji had already escorted the Prince of Qi to Wenhua Hall. At this moment, the state of Wenhua Hall was somewhat better than before; at least the Emperor's clothing was somewhat neat, though a pile of game props was scattered across the imperial desk.
And today, the one accompanying him in play was Ruan Dacheng.
Zhu Ci's relationship with Ruan Dacheng was also quite good; after all, this man was also a legitimate jinshi graduate.
However, his political talent was only fully demonstrated in the aspect of opportunism; on the other hand, he possessed quite a bit of talent for opera.
Ruan Dacheng naturally knew the situation, but he did not step forward rashly; the treason case was too dangerous. Once involved, one would either become completely invincible or be swept into the vortex.
In Ruan Dacheng's view, the Crown Prince was somewhat lacking in intelligence.
If you want to accuse him of treason, you must gather sufficient evidence. Right now, you have no evidence at all; how do you expect to win? Aren't you afraid of being counter-accused? It is not a good sign for the Crown Prince to be so reckless just as his position has finally become stable.