kingnovel Chapter 202 Living as Someone Else's Shadow
Chapter 202 Living as Someone Else's Shadow
An emperor in a rage is unreasonable.
He had determined the logic in his mind and had already convicted the An family and the fifth prince, so he did not allow any argument and issued the death order in front of so many people.
There is not even a slight chance of easing up.
The fifth prince knew that he was going to die, so he said those words without restraint, and then decisively committed suicide by slitting his throat. He was going to die anyway, so it didn't matter whether the body was intact or not.
As the fifth prince's blood splattered on the spot, the An family was almost scared silly.
Although they placed their hopes of succession on Ye Zhaonan, they also doted on Ye Minglang since he was a child, and precisely because they could not provide him with resource support, they indulged and doted on him even more.
But the An family felt bad as they watched their grandson, whom they held in their hands, die in front of them.
Queen An Yao's expression changed from her initial panicked pleadings, to her later crying and protesting of injustice, to her current state of despair.
She stood up with a blank expression on her face, walked to Ye Minglang, hugged her son's body, and laughed crazily:
"My whole life has been a joke!"
"When I was young, everyone only knew that the eldest daughter of the An family, An Lan, was both talented and beautiful, but few people knew that I was as talented and beautiful as my elder sister. Just because you said that my elder sister wanted to be the Crown Princess, you didn't allow me to surpass her."
"Later, she died. You forced me to separate from my beloved, who had already been engaged to me, and married me to the palace as your brother-in-law's second wife. You also asked me to raise my sister's son and to carefully train her son to succeed the throne."
"My parents, my brother, and my husband all loved her! Even after her death, they wanted to give the best things to her son! And for the honor of my family and the face of the emperor, I couldn't cry, couldn't make a scene, couldn't fight, couldn't snatch! I turned myself into my sister's shadow!"
"I originally thought that having a son would be enough to comfort me in my life. I thought that after Ye Zhaonan succeeded to the throne, I would ask him to make Minglang a prince in a distant place, and let Minglang take me to live in the fiefdom."
"But I didn't expect... Hahahaha, it's all what they deserve! Whether the An family rebelled or was framed, it has nothing to do with me! Minglang, mother is here to accompany you."
After saying that, An Yao also picked up the knife on the ground and cut her neck.
The emperor was humiliated by the fifth prince and the queen successively. His inner anger did not disappear because of their deaths. Instead, he ordered his men to throw their bodies into a mass grave and not to bury them, determined to let them become wandering ghosts.
Then the emperor stood up and walked out of Duke Dingguo's mansion.
Shi Lidie followed closely behind. Before leaving the house, she took a look at the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, then turned back expressionlessly and put everything behind her.
Today's check-in for treating the emperor has not been completed yet.
Just as she was about to receive treatment, An Yao came to ask for a meeting, saying that she wanted to go back to celebrate the emperor's birthday, so her treatment was interrupted. Now she naturally followed the emperor back to the palace to continue her treatment.
On the way back, the emperor suddenly asked:
"Princess Yun'an, do you think I am cruel?"
"Your Majesty, from the perspective of a doctor, you are indeed cruel, because doctors are kind-hearted and they cure diseases and save lives, and they cannot stand killing; but from the perspective of a princess of a country, you think it is normal, and the status of imperial power cannot be shaken." Shi Lidie said.
"As expected of Princess Yun'an, even though she knows what I want to hear, what she says is not biased at all," said the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, since the matter has been decided, don't think about it anymore. Your health is important." Shi Lidie advised.
"You are really capable. If I were in this state before, I would have fainted and vomited blood when I was so angry." The emperor smiled, "Thanks to your treatment, I feel much better now."
Shi Lidie smiled and accepted the emperor's praise without any modesty.
After she entered the palace, she first treated the emperor. After a set of medicinal baths and acupuncture, the emperor fell into a deep sleep. She left Yongkang Palace and turned to go to the Xianfei Palace.
The virtuous concubine seemed to be waiting for her arrival. When she saw her, she quickly dismissed the servants and talked to her alone:
"How do you think of this game?"
"Very good." Shi Lidie said, "But it must be difficult for the queen to get so many weapons made of black iron, right?"
"My father and brother are both in the army, so they have ways to get these things." Concubine Xian smiled, "Once the Duke Dingguo's Mansion falls, Ye Zhaonan will no longer have the qualifications to fight with my son."
"Your Majesty is wrong. It is precisely because the Duke Dingguo's Mansion collapsed that Ye Zhaonan's position has become more stable." Shi Lidie shook her head and refuted Concubine Xian's words.
"What do you mean?" asked the virtuous concubine.
Shi Lidie paused and explained:
"First, even when His Majesty was furious about the An family, he did not say that he would depose the Crown Prince. This shows that the Crown Prince still holds a very high position in His Majesty's heart. At least His Majesty did not vent his anger on the Crown Prince because of the An family's affairs."
"Secondly, the decline of the prince's mother's family can prevent the foreign relatives from monopolizing power. As long as Your Majesty arranges things properly, the prince will be the most suitable candidate to succeed the throne."
"Third, your majesty is angry now. When he calms down, he may be able to see the flaws in the An family's rebellion. However, the An family members are dead. Even if he wants to regret, it is too late. He can only make up for this guilt and regret on the prince. By then, the prince will get your majesty's wholehearted trust and training."
"In this case, the fall of Duke Dingguo's Mansion may be a good thing for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"I have never thought about it from this angle. I just felt that with the Duke Dingguo's Mansion gone, Ye Zhaonan would lose his support." After hearing this, Concubine Xian murmured.
"But Your Majesty forgot that His Majesty is the one who decides everything." Shi Lidie reminded.
"Then what should we do?" asked Concubine Xian, "Does Princess Yun'an have any plan?"
"Yes." Shi Lidie nodded. "We must go all out. We must eliminate all competitors. If we eliminate Ye Zhaonan, even if the emperor feels guilty and regrets, it will be useless. It just so happens that the imperial mausoleum is not in the capital. There are many people there, and there are many opportunities to take action."
"You're right." Upon hearing this, Concubine Xian's eyes became fierce. "Since we've already overthrown the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, we don't need another one like Ye Zhaonan. We might as well send him down and reunite with the An family!"
Seeing that Concubine Xian understood what she meant, Shi Lidie nodded and left.
She left the palace and went back to the princess's residence immediately. She changed into plain clothes, put on a veil, and asked Wen Tan to prepare a very low-key carriage, and headed for a place in the capital.
In the carriage, she stroked the Xuanyi Tower token that Ye Zhaonan gave her. About an incense stick of time later, the carriage stopped.
"Princess, we're here." Wen Tan said.
This was the back alley of a brothel. It was too narrow to accommodate a large carriage, but just enough for a small carriage like this to pass through. Shi Lidie got off the carriage and knocked on the back door of the brothel.
After the door opened, she showed the token given by Ye Zhaonan and was quickly led in.
Since she was holding Ye Zhaonan's token, which was of the highest level and represented absolute status, she was not blindfolded after entering.
This group of people trust her too much. They are really not afraid that she will leak the secret.