kingnovel Chapter 445 The Wise Prince Leaves the Capital
Chapter 445 The Wise Prince Leaves the Capital
Prince Ning did not turn around. He quickly stood up and made arrangements: "Lord He, I'm afraid I need you to arrange guards immediately to ensure the safety of the imperial city and His Majesty's safety!"
Commander He realized what was happening and looked at his younger sister, who was still standing there holding her sword.
He gritted his teeth, knelt down, and said, "Your Majesty, I obey your command!"
He turned and left.
Prince Ning then looked at Governor Cheng: "Lord Cheng, I am about to arrest Prince Xian, but Prince Xian's power is not to be underestimated. With my abilities, I may not be able to contend with him. I wonder if you, Lord Cheng, would be willing to join me in fighting against Prince Xian?"
Governor Cheng was stunned, unsure of what to do. He didn't answer immediately, but hesitated and looked at Feng Ziheng.
After a long pause, he finally said, "What does the Crown Prince think...?"
Feng Ziheng smiled slightly, cupped his hands, and said, "I am a civil official and have no ability to oppose the wise prince. However, with the passing of the late emperor and the enthronement of the new emperor, there are still many matters to be dealt with. Your Majesty, please allow me to return to the cabinet first and have the Ministry of Rites arrange the late emperor's burial and Your Majesty's enthronement ceremony as soon as possible."
The younger sister looked at him approvingly; Feng Ziheng truly knew how to assess the situation.
"allow."
Feng Ziheng also left.
Seeing that two of the four officials had left, and the remaining one was still inviting him to join forces against the Wise King, Governor Cheng stared wide-eyed, completely at a loss as to what to do.
The younger sister waved her hand and said, "The coronation ceremony has not yet taken place. I am still the Empress. You should all go about your duties first. The grand ceremony can be held after I am enthroned."
Governor Cheng gritted his teeth and squeezed out a "Yes" before following Prince Ning out.
After everyone left, the younger sister collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at Kuang Tiansong's corpse on the ground.
She seemed to have used all her strength; all the fear and dread in her heart surged up at this moment, and tears fell.
She murmured, "Your Majesty... why did you leave such a huge mess for me?"
No one answered; her Majesty was gone.
After some time, Eunuch Wu stepped forward and said softly, "Your Majesty, it is getting late, and there are still many things to attend to tomorrow. Please go to the palace to rest first. This place... I will have it cleaned up."
The ground was covered in Kuang Tiansong's blood. He had been dead for an hour, and his eyes were still wide open, as if he was unwilling or regretful.
But nobody cared.
The younger sister was helped up by Eunuch Wu and walked inside. Looking back, she saw the guards carrying Kuang Tiansong's body out, while the palace maids were cleaning up the bloodstains.
In an instant, the bloodstains seemed to have been completely cleaned up.
……
Inside the Prince Xian's residence, the Prince Xian and his advisors waited anxiously.
They deduced that the Emperor was seriously ill and tried various ways to win over Kuang Tiansong, but Kuang Tiansong was too cunning and had made perfect arrangements for his family.
In the end, it was an aide who accidentally discovered that the widow left behind by Kuang Tiansong had a four-year-old child.
It should be noted that Kuang Tiansong's elder brother has been gone for eight years, and his widow has not remarried, having left Beijing and returned to her hometown long ago.
Why are you still in Kyoto and raising a four-year-old child?
After much investigation, it was discovered that the child's biological father was Kuang Tiansong.
He had an affair with his widowed sister-in-law and had a child with her, which he then raised outside the home.
If this matter were to be exposed, Kuang Tiansong's political career would be over, and there would be absolutely no chance for him to rise again.
Threatening with his widowed sister-in-law and children, Kuang Tiansong indeed compromised.
Inform Prince Xian that the Emperor is seriously ill and plans to establish Prince Chen's youngest son as his heir, to be raised under the Empress's care. After Prince Xian is sent away, the heir will be named Crown Prince and will inherit the throne in the future.
The news was partly true and partly false, and in order to save his life, Kuang Tiansong could not possibly tell the wise king the whole truth.
But even this half was enough to break the wise king.
He never imagined that his father, the emperor, would actually abandon him. His father treated him like his second and third brothers, discarding him as if he were trash.
But why?
He was formerly the crown prince, and his birth mother was his father's first wife.
How could Father treat him like this?
The wise prince was filled with hatred and wanted to immediately enter the palace to question his father.
It was his advisors who persuaded him to stop, and he decided to first wipe out the entire Prince Chen's mansion.
The message was to tell the Emperor that the Wise Prince would not sit idly by and wait for his doom.
The wise prince paced back and forth in his study, then stepped out and looked toward the palace, murmuring to himself.
Why hasn't Kuang Tiansong come out yet?
After the heir died, Kuang Tiansong went to the palace to report the situation and never left the palace.
The wise prince wanted to wait for Kuang Tiansong to tell him what his father’s attitude was before he could make arrangements for the next step.
But in reality, he had already made up his mind that he would enter the palace and force his father to abdicate.
Now that things have come to this, he has no other choice but to fight to the death.
The aide whispered, "Your Highness, the loss of the heir is a serious matter. The Emperor has to consider the matter of re-establishing an heir and investigate the truth behind the tragedy at the Prince Chen's residence. It's impossible to have a result so quickly."
“When something happened at the Prince Chen’s residence, Father didn’t even need to investigate; he definitely knew it was me. His hesitation is simply because he’s considering how to deal with me.”
The wise king's gaze was cold as he raised his hand and spoke.
"Instead of making him think about how to deal with me, I'd rather I demand an explanation myself. I'll lead my troops into the palace!"
The wise king's former private army has been wiped out, and now less than a hundred men remain.
However, the emperor was so enraged that he failed to appoint another heir, and Commander He of the Imperial Guards certainly dared not act rashly.
A wise king can naturally advance unimpeded.
Unfortunately, no sooner had he left the study than his attendant rushed over in a panic.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Your Highness, the Prince's residence is surrounded!"
Prince Xian was taken aback, his eyes widening as he asked, "Who dares to surround Prince Xian's residence!"
The attendant hurriedly said, "It was Commander Cheng of the Capital Garrison who brought the men. Also, His Highness Prince Ning has come, saying he has been ordered to investigate the case."
The wise prince frowned: "Didn't Kuang Tiansong say that Father Emperor was seriously ill and beyond medical help, and that if he were to suffer any further shocks, he might not make it? How come he still has the energy to arrange so many things?"
The advisors, disregarding all else, quickly pulled the Prince aside and advised, "Your Highness, as long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback. You should try to leave first and lay low for a while!"
The wise king pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Fortunately, I was prepared. As long as I leave the capital, there are two of my troops in the suburbs, which can naturally protect me as I leave."
The aide asked, "But now that the palace is surrounded, how will Your Highness leave the capital?"
"Take the secret passage."
The wise prince ordered craftsmen to dig a secret passage leading to the outskirts of the capital from his palace. Furthermore, to ensure safety, all the craftsmen who knew of the passage were slaughtered.
Only the two most trusted guards knew the location of the secret passage and where it led.
However, to prevent evildoers from entering, the wise king designed the secret passages as a maze. If outsiders strayed and did not follow the correct route, they would be injured by the traps inside.
The wise king personally retrieved the map of the secret passage and fled there with his advisors and others.