20demayo Chapter 417 It’s all because of you!
Chapter 417 It’s all because of you!
Although the official explanation was that His Highness the Crown Prince had been misled by the abbot of Wuxiang Temple because of his Buddhist faith, he had done many things that harmed the Emperor.
The abbot was the instigator.
However, by early May, the case was officially closed, and all those involved were punished, but the crown prince was not spared either.
The Emperor deposed the Crown Prince, enfeoffed him as the Prince of Xian, and relocated him outside the palace; the Crown Prince's residence became the Prince of Xian's residence. Furthermore, the Crown Prince was stripped of all his official positions in the court and was no longer allowed to participate in any political affairs.
He even issued an order that the wise prince should not leave the capital unless there was a reason.
This is a form of house arrest.
The princelings suffered greatly as a result, with most important officials being dismissed or demoted. Even those who retained their official positions were effectively stripped of their power.
The current crown prince—no, the wise prince.
The wise king and his followers have all fallen apart. The title of Duke of Zuo still exists, but he no longer holds any official positions.
He tried to contact the wise prince repeatedly, but the prince was depressed and would basically ignore him even when they met.
The Duke of Zuo was furious. He found the Wise King on the pleasure boat and threw a cup of wine in his face.
"Look at yourself! What kind of state do you look in now? Did your mother risk her life to give birth to you just to see you so dejected?"
The wise prince had wine splashed all over his face. If it were before, he would have been furious, but now he didn't even have the mind to be angry. He just stared blankly at the Duke of Zuo.
The Duke of Zuo was even angrier: "You... how did you become like this? Can't you even cheer up after a little setback?"
The wise prince laughed heartily: "Uncle, how do you think I can pull myself together? I am no longer the crown prince, and the power in my hands has basically been taken back by the emperor. I am at my limit, what can I do?"
The Duke of Zuo lowered his voice: "Your Highness, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. His Majesty only has one son!"
"He still has two sons guarding the imperial tombs! He can send those two sons back anytime he wants to get rid of me!"
The Duke of Zuo was furious and flung his sleeves, saying, "I never knew Your Highness was such a piece of rotten wood!"
The wise king ignored him and turned to look for the beauties on the pleasure boat.
"Where are my beauties? Uncle, where have you put all my beauties? Summon them here. I'm already in this state. If I don't seek pleasure, what's the point of living?"
"You...you...you're hopeless!"
Seeing that he was drunk, the Duke of Zuo felt contempt for him, but he still thought that, judging from the current situation, the emperor had no intention of bringing back the other two sons from the imperial tomb.
He patiently tried to persuade him.
"Your Highness should indeed lie low for now, but you shouldn't do nothing. Once you've been wrong, you'll be wiser. Perhaps Your Highness should think about why you failed this time."
After saying this, Duke Zuo didn't want to argue any further and turned to leave.
Why did it fail?
For a moment, the wise king looked bewildered, and the image of Sheng Tong's burned face and Song Yin's words about Sheng Tong's strange behavior resurfaced in his mind.
Sheng Tong was a fake, but when did the Emperor discover his actions and replace Sheng Tong?
Was Father Emperor doing this on purpose from the beginning, just to test him? Or did he discover his actions halfway through and then turn the tables on him?
The wise king thought about it carefully.
No, after the Empress Dowager passed away, the Emperor's grief seemed genuine, and he did indeed fall ill. At that time, he did not yet have that much power, and he often went to the Zichen Palace to attend to the Emperor's illness, which showed his condition.
Later, due to his busy schedule with state affairs, he had no time to pay attention to his father, and was unaware of when his father had recovered and how he had learned of his every move.
How did Father find out about his actions? Did someone inform on him?
Gui Shan! It must be Gui Shan.
The wise king's eyes narrowed, revealing his hatred.
He remembered that back then, Gui Shan often advised him not to go to worship Buddha so often when he had free time, but to spend more time accompanying the emperor at the Zichen Palace. Seeing that he wouldn't listen, Gui Shan would go there every two or three days.
It wasn't until he wanted to select nine women to enter the Eastern Palace, but this was disrupted by the imperial decree of marriage issued by his father, that he stopped Gui Shan from going to the Zichen Palace.
The Prince Xian believed that it was Gui Shan who discovered his secret and went to inform his father and Consort Wan, which made his father wary of him.
He was furious and went straight to Gui Shan at the Prince Xian's residence, slapping her to the ground.
Gui Shan was caught off guard, feeling a burning pain in her cheeks and a metallic taste of blood in her mouth.
"Your Highness, why did you hit me?"
The wise king gripped Gui Shan's neck: "Gui Shan, I trust you so much, why do you oppose me?"
When he gets angry and takes action, no one can stop him.
Gui Shan was nervous, but she knew she had to protect herself, so she quickly said, "Your Highness, I am one with you. My heart for you is as clear as the sun and the moon!"
"What a testament to the sun and moon! If it weren't for you, how could I have suffered such a crushing defeat?"
Although the wise prince said that, upon hearing the phrase that they were one, he ultimately felt it was true. Gui Shan was his legal wife, and betraying her would not benefit her at all.
But his doubts remained. He felt that Gui Shan might not have done it on purpose, but rather that her overconfidence had ruined his plans.
So the wise king released Gui Shan's neck, but his fists kept hitting Gui Shan.
Gui Shan was in excruciating pain and could only protect her head, curling up on the ground and begging for mercy.
But her sorrow only fueled the king's tyranny, making him even more ruthless.
"Foolish woman, I thought you were still somewhat useful, but now I realize you are utterly useless! If it weren't for you, how could I have ended up in this state? You deserve to die, you deserve to die!"
Without Song Yin's help, Gui Shan curled up on the ground, feeling as if she was about to die.
Fortunately, the Prince Xian had drunk too much today and was quite drunk. His fists were not as strong as usual, and his body was particularly weak due to his revelry. His eyesight was also poor, and several times when he swung his fists, he missed Gui Shan and instead pounded the ground, hurting himself badly.
The fight didn't last long before the wise king grew impatient, got up, and stumbled out.
Only then did the old woman dare to come forward, tears streaming down her face, to help Gui Shan up, and she repeatedly called for the doctor.
"Your Highness... even if the Prince was angry, he shouldn't have used such force, Your Highness..."
Gui Shan was weak and powerless. The doctor prescribed medicine, and the maidservant helped her change her clothes and apply medicine to her wounds. She was in great pain, but she clenched her teeth tightly to keep from crying out.
She brought all of this on herself, but she can't wallow in self-pity.
Just then, Zuo He arrived.
The old nanny said displeasedly, "Why wasn't anyone informed that the Left Consort was entering the main courtyard?"
Zuo He's face was full of smugness. She raised her eyebrows and looked at the disheveled Gui Shan, saying, "I heard that you were in trouble, sister. I knew you were too busy to send word. Oh dear, how did you get so badly injured? The prince is too heartless."
Her tone was full of schadenfreude.
"A woman is useless, that's why her husband treats her like this, tsk tsk tsk."