As a prince, horsemanship, and archery were fundamental skills, and Prince Qi possessed at least this much reflexive ability.
He hurriedly dodged to the side as the white object grazed his cheek and flew past, smashing against the wall with a loud bang before shattering into pieces.
Prince Qi’s back was instantly drenched in cold sweat. Though his cheek wasn’t injured, it felt as if it was burning with pain. The feeling was heart-piercing and bone-corroding.
Prince Qi fell to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling as he said, “Father Emperor, please calm your anger. This son doesn’t know how he has angered Father Emperor. Please don’t harm your health with such anger.”
Thinking back to that instant just now, his heart plummeted into an icy abyss. If it had hit his face and marred his appearance— Prince Qi shuddered at the thought.
What on earth had happened to make his father, known for his good temper, so furious?
“You don’t know how you’ve angered me?” Emperor Jingming strode around the dragon desk to Prince Qi’s front. He kicked out while scolding, “Scheming against the Empress Dowager, scheming against your brothers, scheming against me… Yuzhang, you truly are my good son!”
Prince Qi dared not dodge and even forgot to dodge. His entire being was already bound by immense terror, unable to move.
His mind buzzed, blank with shock.
What did the Father Emperor say?
Scheming against the Empress Dowager— could it be that Father Emperor had seen through the truth of today’s events?
Enduring Emperor Jingming’s violent beating, Prince Qi’s thoughts nearly froze in his shock.
Pan Hai, hiding in the corner, couldn’t bear to watch. Neither could Han Ran, also hiding in the corner.
Tsk tsk, Prince Qi was too pitiful.
Pan Hai and Han Ran exchanged a glance, each with their thoughts.
Pan Hai mused that he indeed hadn’t misjudged — Prince Yan wasn’t some weakling, but an eagle. Prince Qi hadn’t just failed to steal a chicken and lost the rice he baited it with; he had failed to recognize his brother was a large-tailed eagle. With such poor judgment, no wonder he hadn’t even had time to enjoy the taste of victory before meeting with great misfortune.
Meanwhile, Han Ran silently made up his mind: Prince Qi would surely hate him for appearing here today. Since that was the case, he might as well go all the way and follow Prince Yan in crushing Prince Qi beyond recovery. That would be taking responsibility for himself and his entire family.
The only two onlookers had let their thoughts wander far, while the beating continued.
Prince Qi, having regained some of his senses, pleaded, “Father Emperor, please quell your anger, please calm down—”
Emperor Jingming had finally tired from the beating. Panting, he questioned, “Yuzhang, it’s fine for you to have some small schemes, but did you ever worry about the Empress Dowager’s health at all?”
Prince Qi finally had a chance to speak properly. Prostrate on the ground, he wept, “Father Emperor, this son truly doesn’t understand what you’re saying—”
Emperor Jingming sneered, “You don’t understand? Then do you know Zhao, the Supervising Secretary from the Ministry of Personnel, and Zhang, the Chief Usher from the Court of State Ceremonial?”
Prince Qi’s body stiffened, and he couldn’t help but look at Han Ran standing in the corner.
Han Ran kept his eyes lowered, not meeting Prince Qi’s gaze.
Prince Qi instantly felt a chill spread through his body.
Had today’s events been caught by the Jinlin Guard?
“Father Emperor, this son has no dealings with such minor officials…” Prince Qi decided to deny everything to the end.
He couldn’t admit it. Once he did, he feared he would never be able to recover.
Emperor Jingming stared at Prince Qi, deep disappointment in his eyes.
“No dealings with minor officials? Then do you also have no dealings with Assistant Minister Li from the Ministry of Personnel and Junior Minister Chen from the Court of State Ceremonial?”
Prince Qi trembled in shock.
Emperor Jingming’s voice was filled with anger and disappointment: “Yuzhang, do you think my Jinlin Guard are all good-for-nothings who couldn’t uncover your devious schemes?”
Han Ran in the corner thought to himself, “…So I should thank Prince Yan’s men for impersonating our Jinlin Guard?”
Thinking of Yu Jin’s threats, Han Ran had been full of anger, but at this moment, he inexplicably felt a hint of gratitude rise within him.
No, this wouldn’t do. Even if their actions benefited him, threatening him like that was too insulting.
He couldn’t be so cheap!
Han Ran silently reminded himself, resisting that inexplicable feeling of gratitude.
Meanwhile, hearing Emperor Jingming’s words, Prince Qi finally gave up on quibbling and collapsed to the ground, begging for forgiveness: “This son was momentarily confused. I beg Father Emperor for mercy—”
Pan Hai couldn’t help but shake his head.
Prince Qi’s mentality was poor, too fragile. The Emperor hadn’t even asked about Assistant Minister Li and Junior Minister Chen yet, and he had already confessed.
If it were Prince Yan instead—
Thinking of that face that often wore a casual smile, Pan Hai’s mouth twitched.
Prince Yan was the type who wouldn’t shed a tear even if he saw his coffin. How could he possibly be intimidated by the Emperor?
As Emperor Jingming heard Prince Qi’s admission, his heart turned completely cold.
His outburst just now, though born of anger, was also meant to test his fourth son. If the fourth had denied it to his death, he might have wavered a bit.
He hadn’t expected it to truly be his fourth son’s doing.
These wretches never failed to “disappoint” him!
The more Emperor Jingming thought about it, the colder his heart grew. His face was covered in an icy frost as he asked, “Why did you do this?”
Prince Qi, prostrate on the ground, said in a trembling voice, “Seventh Brother has repeatedly defied me. This son was just momentarily unable to control his anger—”
“Unable to control your anger, so you use the Empress Dowager’s health as a pawn? Have dogs eaten your benevolence, righteousness, and filial piety?” Emperor Jingming interrupted Prince Qi with a harsh rebuke.
If it had been any other son, Emperor Jingming might not have been so furious. But Prince Qi was different.
For so many years, Prince Qi had always been modest and courteous, well-behaved. Though the Emperor wasn’t particularly close to this son, whenever he thought of him, he felt he caused no trouble.
But now, he had a deep sense of being fooled.
This feeling, intertwined with his anger at the Empress Dowager being schemed against, multiplied his fury.
“This son was wrong. This son was momentarily confused—” Prince Qi repeatedly begged for forgiveness, his heart already filled with despair.
Although the Jinlin Guard monitored the words and actions of officials, they hadn’t cast a net over heaven and earth. The Jinlin Guards responsible for Fude Temple had been slacking off today. How could they have stumbled upon this?
Prince Qi couldn’t understand. He only felt that heaven was unfair, never willing to bestow luck upon him.
Emperor Jingming glanced at Prince Qi, then turned his back, saying coldly, “Yuzhang, from now on, unless summoned, you need not come to the palace. Stay in your prince’s mansion and reflect well on your actions.”
Prince Qi was greatly alarmed and cried out, “Father Emperor—”
“What? Is leaving you some face not enough? Do you want me to announce your deeds to the whole world?”
Prince Qi’s face changed dramatically. He dared not make another sound and allowed the palace servants to escort him out. He left the imperial palace in a daze.
For a time, the Vermilion Bird District was in a state of anxiety.
What was going on? First, the Seventh Prince was summoned to the palace, with rumors spreading that he had been scolded by the Emperor. Then the Fourth Prince was summoned, returning as if he had lost ten thousand taels of silver.
The various princely households speculated but didn’t know the inside story.
A few days later, Junior Minister Chen from the Court of State Ceremonial was impeached by the censors for favoring a concubine and mistreating his wife, resulting in his dismissal from office.
Soon after this storm passed, Right Assistant Minister Li from the Ministry of Personnel was imprisoned for accepting bribes to secure positions for others.
With Junior Minister Chen and Assistant Minister Li meeting with misfortune one after another, and recalling Prince Qi’s dazed departure from the imperial palace not long ago, the court officials silently formed their guesses.
In an instant, the officials who had originally supported Prince Qi all became as docile as quails, with none daring to be high-profile. Some even quietly changed their minds, deciding to distance themselves from Prince Qi.
Prince Qi’s years of effort in gathering support had been largely nullified in the blink of an eye.