kingnovel Chapter 217 The winner and the loser
Chapter 217 The winner and the loser
The next day, Emperor Jingde brought his men to Prince Jing's Mansion for the second time.
Looking at the collapsed houses, broken walls and charred charcoal on the ground, Princess Jing and her children knelt on the ground crying bitterly, Emperor Jingde could not help but feel sad.
"Father! This is the relic that His Highness clutched tightly in his hand when he died."
Princess Jing cried like a tearful person, her face looked haggard and several wrinkles appeared overnight. She presented a piece of something that had been burnt black.
Emperor Jingde took it with trembling hands, and suddenly felt dizzy.
This is a brush made from the hair shaved off when Prince Jing was one month old. Every royal child has one.
Shun Dajian, who was standing next to him, quickly supported him and hurriedly asked someone to bring a chair for Emperor Jingde to sit down.
"Your Majesty, take care of yourself!"
Shun Dajian was horrified.
Prince Jing committed suicide by burning himself in such a decisive and familiar way. It was like stabbing the emperor's heart with a knife.
You know, the eldest prince Li Qian died in the same way.
"So, yesterday was the last time he saw me."
Although Emperor Jingde hated Prince Jing for betraying him, he still couldn't help feeling heartbroken when he saw the ruins that were so visually impactful.
Prince Jing was his most cherished son after Li Qian. Over the years, he had placed great hopes on Prince Jing. But now he was dead.
"Your Majesty, this is His Highness's suicide note."
Princess Jing took out another letter from her bosom.
When Emperor Jingde opened it, he felt his blood rushing to his head.
It turned out to be a letter written in blood, which accused Pei Heng of abusing his power and joining forces with court officials to force Prince Jing to death in order to pave the way for Prince Kang.
The sadness in my heart instantly turned into anger.
Seeing how many expressions Emperor Jingde had on his face during this short time, Shun Dajian was extremely anxious. He turned to the young eunuch accompanying him and said:
"Quick, go to the General's Mansion and ask Dr. Fei to come."
Emperor Jingde had just recovered from a serious illness and could not withstand such a series of stimulations.
"No!"
Emperor Jingde looked pale and stood up shakily.
"Don't go!"
He spat out a few words from his chest in grief and anger.
Prince Jing was right to remind us not to rely on Pei Heng for everything. Pei Heng had already achieved great success, and he was able to persuade the court officials who were constantly fighting among their own factions to stop fighting and unite against Prince Jing. Now, did he still have to rely on his people to take care of his health?
Yangyang Daqi, is there no one left?
And that extremely lethal repeating crossbow! Pei Heng created such a weapon, what if he had other intentions in the future?
We have to guard against it!
Upon hearing this, Shun Dajian was stunned and dared not say anything more.
But in my heart I was thinking, Prince Jing’s move was extremely vicious!
The news that Prince Jing set himself on fire spread throughout Shengjing City.
In the general's mansion.
The family sat together to listen to the news, and Su Li frowned in thought.
She tried hard to recall the plot of the original novel, but she couldn't imagine such a scene. In the original novel, the Marquis of Jinyuan was confiscated and exiled, Prince Jing was imprisoned, the imperial concubine was banished to the cold palace, and the Duke of Qing was demoted to commoners. Prince Jing's followers were either killed or scattered, and no one had a good ending.
No self-immolation! No self-immolation!
She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "This butterfly effect is really powerful. The plot of the book has now been completely changed."
Beside him, Pei Heng was still listening to the servant's report:
"The Emperor has issued an edict. Duke Qing is dismissed from his post. Tan Taiting is dismissed from his post, his property confiscated, and demoted to a commoner. The rest of the implicated individuals have all been demoted three ranks."
"Gone?" Su Li asked anxiously.
The servant shook his head: "No more."
Seeing his wife still frowning, Pei Heng waved his hand and asked them to leave first. After they left, he turned around and asked:
"what happened?"
Su Li was stunned for a moment and shook her head, "Nothing."
Perhaps in this world, this is the fate of Prince Jing.
Pei Heng sighed softly and said:
"Prince Jing set himself on fire, which made the Emperor show leniency to others. Otherwise, who knows how many people would have died before the New Year."
This is true.
There were already signs before Prince Jing set the fire.
But now, the emperor has issued an order to stop the investigation of the Ministry of Justice. Even the affairs of the eldest prince are no longer being investigated, as if he wants to keep the peace.
When the couple thought of this, they looked at each other and then at Huan Ge'er.
Huan Ge'er saluted expressionlessly.
"Mom, Dad, I still have homework to do, so I'll go back first."
Prince Jing used his life to easily atone for the blood feud between his father and mother?
He is not willing!
The image of his mother, whose face turned pale from being soaked in the river water, appeared before him again.
Huan Ge'er had a sullen face and walked faster and faster.
Looking at his son's fiery back, Su Li sighed:
"Not to mention him, I can't figure it out either. There are so many lives lost in the First Prince's mansion, and in the Empress's family, are they just going to let it go like this?"
Pei Heng hugged her and said helplessly: "This is the emperor."
As an emperor, there are too many things to weigh, and it cannot be judged by the simplest love, hate, and resentment.
But all he wanted was the truth and justice for Li Qian!
Prince Su was also indignant.
He was in Concubine Jiang's palace. He put down the teacup in his hand and said angrily:
"Father is truly senile! He just casually let this matter go unsolved with the life of Prince Jing. What about the grievances of my eldest brother? What about the grievances of the Empress's family? And what about Brother Huan?"
Princess Jiang glanced at her son and poured tea into his cup.
"What kind of person is your father? After all these years, don't you understand? Before he became a father, he was first an emperor."
"As the emperor, he has to consider the balance and the overall situation. In his eyes, even if Qian'er was wronged, that happened ten years ago, and times have changed. But the current case of Prince Jing has far-reaching implications. If it is handled strictly, half of the court will be wiped out. How can the court function normally?"
"I do not care!"
Prince Su raised his head and drank from his cup. "My eldest brother cannot bear this unclear injustice for the rest of his life. Brother Huan cannot live his whole life in such an unclear way either. He is the flesh and blood of our Li family. I want him to recognize his ancestors and let everyone in the world know that he is my eldest brother's son."
Princess Jiang looked at her son who was filled with indignation.
She was very pleased that her son had a righteous character and did not lose himself by deliberately currying favor for power.
But now is not a good time to give advice.
"Son, your father can no longer be counted on. Right now, Mother and Brother Huan can only rely on you. When you have the final say in everything in the future, you will be able to truly protect the people you want to protect."
Princess Jiang took the opportunity to motivate the baby.
Prince Su paused after hearing this, and after a long while, he replied sullenly, "I understand."
Seeing that his attitude had finally softened, Concubine Jiang said:
"Eunuch Shun told your mother that your father has been deliberating for many days and has decided to let General Lin take command of the capital camp."
"Didn't Mother offer any advice to persuade Father? General Pei has done nothing wrong after all!"
"I have said so. But your father insisted on doing so, so I cannot say anything more. However, your father did retain General Pei's title, but this move was only to silence the world's gossip."
After all, Pei Heng's achievements are witnessed by everyone in the world.
It is really unacceptable to take away the military power and reduce the title.
"Son, after this battle, the various forces in the court have been reshuffled. Whether you are willing or not, you will have to face the coming storm."
Next, it was his battle with King Kang.
The success or failure depends on this one move.