The Zhennan Prince’s residence, Empress Lu, the Lu family—all of these were his sources of support. Yet he never consulted with these people when doing anything, always acting on his own, frighteningly and laughably obstinate and stubborn.
Someone knocked on the door outside the hall with a series of raps. The Crown Prince glanced at Princess Rongcheng and called out loudly to enter. San Bao scurried in like a wisp of smoke, but hesitated somewhat as he glanced at Princess Rongcheng, wanting to speak but stopping short.
The Crown Prince pulled his lips into a smile, coughed a few times, and told him to speak. “There’s nothing to avoid. Whatever you have to say, just say it directly.”
San Bao responded with an affirmative and said in a low voice, “Your Highness, the Imperial Guard has already gone to Chen Dezhong’s home to confiscate his property.”
Another property confiscation. These past few years, people in the capital suffered misfortune every year. Princess Rongcheng glanced at the Crown Prince—among these cases, many families broken and people dead were caused by the Crown Prince or couldn’t be separated from him. She closed her eyes and said nothing.
The Crown Prince didn’t wait for her to express any opinion either. In front of her, this time no longer concealing or hiding, he raised his chin to signal San Bao to continue. “Everything’s been handled properly? There aren’t any errors or omissions, are there?”
How could Chen Dezhong have truly embezzled so much money? Even if they sold his entire Chen residence, they probably couldn’t produce several hundred thousand taels of silver. The Crown Prince had temporarily stuffed him with many land deeds, property deeds, gold, silver, famous paintings and such—after all, even if putting on a show, it had to be done thoroughly. He actually knew, like Empress Lu did, that Emperor Jianzhang had thoroughly become suspicious this time. Chen Dezhong was merely giving him a way out on the surface, providing Emperor Jianzhang with a reason to let him off. What truly made Emperor Jianzhang softhearted was Empress Lu’s words. The Crown Prince knew this, which made him especially furious—the events of that year had always been a thorn lodged in his heart and throat. One touch would make the wound fester, making him recall the embarrassment and helplessness of being abandoned. Now he still had to rely on this matter that had kept him living in the shadow of nightmares for so many years to escape punishment, which made him feel all the blood in his body rushing upward even more.
San Bao bent his waist even lower and nodded. “It’s already been done. The land deeds and property deeds are all under other people’s names. Chen Dezhong knows what to say himself. The Imperial Guard confiscated Chen Dezhong’s property and only took Chen Dezhong away. The rest of the Chen family members are all detained in the Ministry of Justice prison, awaiting His Majesty’s judgment.”
Chen Dezhong was taking the blame for him. With Emperor Jianzhang’s temperament, since he clearly knew Chen Dezhong was wronged, he probably wouldn’t strike a fatal blow at Chen Dezhong this time. The Crown Prince didn’t care much at all and waved his hand without speaking.
San Bao didn’t withdraw though. He glanced at Princess Rongcheng, hesitated somewhat, but still braced himself to say, “His Highness the Crown Prince’s Grandson specifically sent someone to smooth things over at the Ministry of Justice prison. Chen Dezhong’s daughter-in-law just gave birth and hasn’t completed her month of confinement yet. His Highness the Crown Prince’s Grandson specifically had someone give them a separate cell and permitted other Chen family clan members to enter and visit to care for them.” Having finished these words, he felt his neck growing cold, his entire person unable to help wanting to tremble. If not for Princess Rongcheng still sitting here, he would have long ago been so frightened his legs went weak and he couldn’t stand.
The Crown Prince didn’t speak for a very long time. Only after a long while did he laugh once—that laughter didn’t make people feel comfortable at all, only uneasy. He suddenly coughed for a while, even coughing up some bloody foam that splattered on his handkerchief. After gasping for rough breaths for a while, he told San Bao to withdraw. Turning back to look at Princess Rongcheng, he pulled his lips into a smile. “No wonder you all like him. This set of winning people’s hearts—he does it much more smoothly than I, his father, do.”
Princess Rongcheng hadn’t expected him to think this way. For a moment she only felt disbelief, feeling it wasn’t worth it for her mother and feeling chilled for Zhou Weizhao. She couldn’t help raising her voice to interrupt him. “Elder Brother!” Her earlier worry because the Crown Prince coughed up blood had now completely transformed into anger. She couldn’t help her eyes reddening. “How can you think this way?!”
She looked at the Crown Prince, her eyes brewing with tremendous disappointment. “Weizhao is your son, and Mother is your mother! For your sake, Mother even brought up the events of that year to mention them again to Father Emperor. Weizhao even more so swallows his bitterness. The Yangquan affair, the Tianshui Town affair—he clearly knew it was Consort Fan’s doing, clearly knew you refused to deal with Consort Fan, yet still helped you suppress it, tightly concealing it without revealing a single word to Father Emperor. Now that you’ve gotten into trouble, he’s also racking his brains to make amends for you, afraid your officials will have their hearts chilled. How can you not recognize good people’s hearts?! He is your son, your legitimate son!”
The Crown Prince was somewhat numb. He didn’t even lift his eyelids, putting the remaining tea to his lips and drinking it all in one go. Finally suppressing that metallic sweetness that had already risen to his throat again, he opened his mouth, his tone full of mockery and disdain. “You say yourself he’s my legitimate son. You say yourself he fears chilling the hearts of Eastern Palace officials. He is the Crown Prince’s Grandson. If not for me, this Crown Prince, what Crown Prince’s Grandson would he be?! What do you mean for my sake? He’s doing this for himself. As for Mother…” His ice-cold fingers tapped on the table, each tap making people’s hearts sink. “Mother, even just for the sake of her good niece and good grandson, wouldn’t let me, this puppet, suffer misfortune.”
Princess Rongcheng simply couldn’t believe the Crown Prince would think this way. She stood up and swept away the teacup in the Crown Prince’s hand with one motion, pressing her lips as she looked at him. “What puppet?!”
She didn’t wait for the Crown Prince to respond, only feeling extremely angry. “All these people are wholeheartedly planning for you, constantly wiping your ass for you. Can’t you feel it at all?! How can you twist everyone’s good intentions like this?! Elder Brother, when did you become so paranoid and dark?”
The Crown Prince ignored her, his tone ice-cold with some mockery. “Back with the Yangzhou affair, he went to find Chief Minister Chang ahead of time. Chief Minister Chang drafted the list and thoroughly eliminated my people clean as a whistle. This was also for my good? And this time—this time he indulged Song Number Six to run before Mother to sow discord, making Dongping’s status awkward now. This is also for my good?!”
“Could it not be?!” Princess Rongcheng laughed in extreme anger. “If not for Weizhao going to find Chief Minister Chang in time, when your list was submitted, do you think Father Emperor would have fulfilled your wishes?! Who are you taking for a fool?! If not for him, do you think Father Emperor would have tolerated you until now… You’ve simply been possessed by demons… How can you think of your own son so badly?”
The Crown Prince tilted his head and laughed lazily once, looking like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. “You’re all clever people—I’m the only fool.”
Princess Rongcheng was so angry she had no solution. She only felt the Crown Prince was imperviously stubborn and infuriating. She retreated several steps back and gave a cold laugh.
The last bit of faint hope in her heart before coming was now gone. The light in her eyes dimmed bit by bit.