coobybook Chapter 127 Dark under the lamp
Chapter 127 Dark under the lamp
"Tell the imperial physicians to take good care of Father Emperor and to do whatever it takes to get him through the New Year."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After Eunuch Xia Jing finished answering, seeing that the Crown Prince had nothing else to say, he silently withdrew. As soon as he left, He Lingyi stopped playing chess and spoke directly.
"The Sixth Prince has passed away; Your Highness should go and pay your respects."
"What's the point of watching? A child who isn't even loved by his mother is destined to die in the harem. Even if I went to see him, it would only prolong his suffering. It's better to just stand by and watch."
A child whom even his mother doesn't love?
What do you mean?
"Your Highness is saying that the Sixth Prince's cold was deliberately caused by Consort Tong?"
"It's more than just a cold. My sixth brother was originally unable to give birth. It was Consort Tong who used a secret technique to induce labor and brought him into this world early. After that, she raised several strong young boys in the palace to prolong his life at any time. So the fact that he is alive today is already a blessing that others have exchanged their lives for. But Consort Tong is a restless person who wants to use his health for her own purposes. Naturally, there will be no good outcome."
This was the first time He Lingyi had ever heard of such royal secrets.
A life for a life? So, is the Sixth Prince's medicine made from the blood and essence of those children?
She had heard of such evil arts before, and had almost become one of its test subjects!
After her mother died in her previous life, her third younger brother, born to her aunt, had a congenital heart palpitation problem. At that time, she listened to a quack doctor from another place who said that she could exchange hearts and give her healthy heart to her third younger brother so that he could live a healthy life.
He Lingyi could never forget the way her scumbag father and aunt looked at her back then. They didn't seem like family at all; they looked more like animals waiting to be slaughtered!
If the evil doctor hadn't disappeared without a trace, she probably wouldn't have even been able to preserve her complete body.
The thought of this made any remaining goodwill she had towards the Sixth Prince vanish.
Although he was also an innocent child, what about the other children?
Wouldn't they be even more innocent?
So he sighed softly and said...
"The Sixth Prince is burdened with sins, and living is a torment for him. It's better that he's gone, at least he'll have a chance to be reborn into an ordinary family in his next life and live a long and fulfilling life."
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince placed his chess piece.
At this point, He Lingyi had lost everything.
"It's all fate, but what the Crown Prince will face next is a bloody storm instigated by those with ulterior motives. Are you prepared?"
"Now that she is the Crown Princess, she should walk hand in hand with His Highness."
He Lingyi's affirmative answer did not make the Crown Prince very happy.
After all, she was only acting out of a sense of duty as the Crown Princess, rather than truly standing shoulder to shoulder with someone she shared a deep understanding with to face the storms together.
But soon, he calmed himself down. Standing together was better than being on opposite sides, so a gentle smile appeared in his eyes.
He Lingyi was preoccupied with how to deal with what was to come, so she did not see the Crown Prince's expression.
As expected, a great uproar ensued in the following days.
First, there were rumors that the Sixth Prince's death was suspicious and innocent. Then, people spread the story of Consort Tong stopping the carriage but being refused. The implication was that the Eastern Palace was cold-hearted and indifferent, which led to the Sixth Prince's violent death.
Moreover, the death of the sixth prince was like adding insult to injury for the old emperor.
He fell seriously ill and never recovered, while the Crown Prince became increasingly powerful and influential, even going so far as to perform the sacrificial ceremony for Heaven on his behalf at the beginning of the year.
The conversation has two sides, and people are standing in two teams.
The ministers who had long served under the Crown Prince were naturally happy to see this change of dynasty, but those ministers who had other ideas in mind certainly did not want the Crown Prince to succeed to the throne smoothly. Therefore, some of them loosened their grip and extended their reach to other regions.
In just over ten days, the spies in the Eastern Palace intercepted nearly twenty secret letters.
Some were sent to the struggling vassal kings in various regions, some to generals who held military power, and some even sent messages to retired civil officials. Among these, one handwritten letter caught the attention of the Crown Prince.
"It's actually King Li?"
In the courtroom, He Lingyi carefully read through Chi Yunjing's handwritten letter. After confirming that the handwriting was correct, she kept recalling everything that had happened in her past and present lives.
The Prince of Hengzhou, a man who had never caught her eye.
So much so that she couldn't recall much crucial information, and then she heard the Crown Prince recount his story.
“Prince Li is the youngest uncle of the Emperor. He has long since distanced himself from the power struggles of the court. When the Emperor ascended the throne, he was still an infant. In order to demonstrate his benevolence, he was granted Hengzhou as his fief. Over the years, I have never heard of him overstepping his bounds. If it weren’t for this letter from Minister Chi, I would never have imagined that there was such a person in the royal family. It’s true that it’s the blind spot right under your nose!”
The Crown Prince has been overseeing the country for quite some time now.
Moreover, he was quite concerned about the entrenched power of the royal family, so he investigated every member of the royal family on the register, but Prince Li was the one who slipped through the net.
The message that arrived contained only a few sentences.
It is said that King Le was always humble and introspective, and very kind to the people of his fiefdom. Although he did not have any great achievements in his rule, he also did not make any major mistakes.
Most importantly, there are no rare mines or resources in Hengzhou, so it doesn't have much of an impact, and therefore the Crown Prince doesn't care much about it.
The fact that Chi Yunjing would write a letter to him by hand has made everyone in the Eastern Palace wary.
A prince who truly doesn't care about power wouldn't arrange for someone to secretly inquire about everything in the capital, so when this letter was intercepted, not only He Lingyi but even the Crown Prince was somewhat surprised.
"It seems that Minister Chi is backed by Prince Li. But if he has really been planning this for many years, Minister Chi is probably just one of his many people. Does Your Highness want to make an example of someone to lure them into a trap, or do you want to investigate quietly and catch them all in one fell swoop?"
"King Li is hiding so deeply, he must have put a lot of thought into the people he has planted in the capital. The more inconspicuous they are, the more suspicious they are. I have been wondering why most of my brothers and sisters have died young over the years. Is it because Heaven does not bless Father Emperor and his offspring are not prosperous, or is there some other reason? Now it seems that King Li is probably behind it all."
The crown prince thought about it carefully and realized that he had survived thanks to his mother.
They watched him like he was their own eyes, never letting their guard down for a moment. After he turned eight, he moved out of the palace to live, surrounded by his mother's confidants, which allowed him to grow up smoothly.
But the other siblings weren't so lucky.
Only a handful survived, and countless others perished under various circumstances.
Therefore, there must be someone in the harem of the King of Li who is well hidden and has access to all the princes and princesses so that he can kill them one by one!