The crowd, reluctant to leave, slowed their pace and waited outside.
Shortly after, they saw the Crown Prince being supported out by palace servants, heading towards the Eastern Palace.
The Crown Princess pursed her lips and silently followed.
Immediately after, Prince Lu emerged and obediently knelt on the stone steps.
The crowd’s lips twitched, nearly bursting into laughter.
Princess Lu approached with a dark expression, gritting her teeth as she whispered, “Did you eat too much?”
Did he think the Emperor was a fool, unaware of his deliberate actions?
Prince Lu glared at Princess Lu and muttered, “Woman, is that how you speak to your husband?”
He had gone to great lengths to expose the Crown Prince on the spot, and she dared to call him idle?
Princess Lu knelt beside Prince Lu with a stern face, angrily saying, “Father Emperor just finished speaking about brotherly love and mutual support, and you immediately pulled down the Crown Prince’s trousers. Isn’t this showing your opposition to the Crown Prince? How do you expect Father Emperor to view you?”
Prince Lu dismissively pursed his lips, “I’m already a Prince, how else could he view me? Enough, why are you kneeling here? Hurry back to the mansion and tend to the children. Women truly have long hair but short sight!”
He had risked punishment to expose the Crown Prince, further worsening the Father Emperor’s impression of him. This might even prompt Father Emperor to make up his mind about deposing the Crown Prince. Thinking of it this way, it was worth it.
What’s a little kneeling? His knees were calloused!
Prince Qi returned to his mansion, laughing heartily.
“I didn’t expect Fifth Brother to get involved, but it made Father Emperor even more disillusioned with the Crown Prince.”
Princess Qi expressed some concern, “Your Highness, could Prince Lu also have that intention…”
Prince Qi smiled dismissively, “It doesn’t matter. The Fifth Brother is brave but lacks wisdom. Father Emperor won’t favor him.”
Princess Qi nodded, “Your Highness, do you think Father Emperor has given up on the Crown Prince this time?”
Prince Qi took a sip of tea, a faint smile on his lips, “Based on my understanding of Father Emperor, he should have given up. If Father Emperor still had hopes for the Crown Prince, he wouldn’t be too weary even to get angry. This indifference shows he has completely abandoned the Crown Prince.”
Princess Qi’s face lit up, “Does this mean Father Emperor intends to depose the Crown Prince a second time?”
Prince Qi set his teacup on the table with a cold expression, “This is not enough.”
“Your Highness—”
Prince Qi’s eyes were filled with coldness, “The imperial heart is unfathomable. The Crown Prince was previously deposed but reinstated. Who knows if he might rise again after being deposed a second time?”
“You mean—”
Prince Qi calmly stated, “Only the dead cannot rise again.”
Princess Qi frowned, “From my observation, even if Father Emperor intends to choose a new heir, he wouldn’t take the Crown Prince’s life.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Prince Qi smiled meaningfully.
The Crown Prince was escorted back to the Eastern Palace by palace servants, utterly despondent. He grabbed the Crown Princess’s wrist and asked, “Has Father Emperor become unable to forgive me?”
The Crown Princess stared at her wrist, which the Crown Prince was painfully gripping, and said flatly, “I don’t know.”
At this point, how could this man still not understand? If Father Emperor had even a glimmer of hope for him, he wouldn’t be too weary to even scold him.
The Crown Prince released the Crown Princess’s hand angrily, “Don’t know, don’t know, what do you know then? All you know is how to curry favor with Father Emperor by bringing Chun’er along, but have you considered what would happen to you if something were to happen to me?”
The Crown Princess looked at the Crown Prince and sighed softly, unusually agreeing with his words, “Your Highness is correct. We are a family. If things go badly for you, naturally, Chun’er and I won’t fare well either. So, I implore Your Highness to think of Chun’er before taking any action.”
“I don’t need you to tell me that!” The Crown Prince, unable to vent his inner turmoil, left after dropping these words.
The next day, the Crown Prince couldn’t even approach the Hall of Mental Cultivation before being asked to return by palace servants.
“His Majesty has excused Your Highness from paying respects. Your Highness need not come in the future.”
The Crown Prince was stunned. He returned to the Eastern Palace and wandered into the garden, eventually sitting down, unaware of how long he had been walking.
Beneath him was soft grass, surrounded by the faint, cool fragrance of flowers.
The Crown Prince covered his face, overwhelmed by despair.
What should he do?
Suddenly, low murmurs could be heard through the flowers and trees.
“If His Highness is deposed again, what will happen to us?”
The Crown Prince clenched his fists, wishing he could drag out the person who said this and beat them severely.
It was bad enough for outsiders to think this way, but even his palace people were saying such things.
He was still the Crown Prince!
“Don’t speak nonsense. The Crown Prince was only recently reinstated, how could he be deposed again?”
“Nonsense? Don’t you know the Emperor’s attitude towards the Crown Prince?”
“The Emperor doesn’t seem to be angry with His Highness—”
“That’s precisely what’s worrying.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. The heir apparent concerns the eternal legacy of our Great Zhou. How could the Emperor not take it seriously? Now he can’t even be bothered to get angry at the Crown Prince. It’s clear he has that intention…”
“You mean to depose the Crown Prince a second time—”
“Lower your voice!” The person who spoke earlier hissed, “We can’t meddle in the affairs of the nobles, but we’re all people of the Eastern Palace. If the Crown Prince is deposed, I’m afraid none of us will have a good outcome. Just think about what happened to those people before.”
“What should we do then? Look for another way out?”
“Another way out? Heh, once you’re branded as part of the Eastern Palace, what other way out is there? Our fates are tied to the Crown Prince’s – we rise or fall together.”
“If only His Highness could ascend to the throne.”
“Are you trying to get us killed? How dare you say such things!”
“We’re just talking quietly among ourselves. No one heard us. I just think it’s a pity. His Highness has been Crown Prince for over thirty years, and he’s so close—”
The person from before sighed, lamenting, “It’s fate. If only the Crown Prince had the Empress to protect him from childhood…”
The Crown Prince’s fist tightened, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
The voices faded, replaced by the sound of retreating footsteps.
Throughout it all, the Crown Prince didn’t reveal himself.
In the past, with his temperament, he would have surely dragged those two out for a severe punishment. But now, he no longer had the heart for it.
They were right. Father Emperor couldn’t even be bothered to get angry with him anymore, surely he had made up his mind to depose him.
Deposed twice… he had become a laughingstock in history!
The Crown Prince’s feet felt unsteady as he stumbled into his study and began poring over historical records.
As he flipped through volume after volume, the fates of deposed crown princes made his blood run cold.
He even discovered something: among those who were named Crown Prince at birth, very few successfully ascended the throne. Eight or nine out of ten met tragic ends.
The Crown Prince suddenly slammed his fist on the desk.
No, he refused to meet such a fate!
But what could he do?
The Crown Prince suddenly recalled the overheard conversation.
“If only His Highness could ascend to the throne.”
“His Highness has been Crown Prince for over thirty years, and he’s so close—”
The Crown Prince’s heart began to race.
What if he were to ascend the throne?
Rather than living in constant fear of being deposed by Father Emperor, if he became Emperor, who could depose him then?
Yes, he had to ascend the throne and become Emperor before Father Emperor could depose him!
The Crown Prince placed his hand over his heart, where a thought was swirling: To ascend the throne, Father Emperor must die!