AWB Chapter 301 Send him back!
Chapter 301 Send him back!
The moment the Crown Prince uttered these words, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
Even those who were unaware of the old case involving Duke Rong dared not mention it in the palace, all because Consort Rong had died a tragic death.
He set the entire palace ablaze and committed suicide by self-immolation in front of His Majesty.
From then on, Consort Rong became a taboo in the palace, and her daughter, the Ninth Princess, became virtually invisible. There were so many concubines in the palace without children; sometimes even princesses were raised by other concubines for support. But no one dared to raise the Ninth Princess.
Apart from when the late Empress was alive, when someone would be arranged to take care of her, other people rarely mentioned the Ninth Princess, not even in front of His Majesty, let alone in private.
At a palace banquet like today, even several imperial relatives brought their families, but the Ninth Princess was conspicuously absent. Everyone seemed to have long accepted this fact. Sometimes, when large palace banquets were held, the Ninth Princess would arrive, but she would always remain hidden in a corner, out of the Emperor's sight. At smaller family banquets, the Ninth Princess had never appeared.
For a moment, everyone fell silent, no one daring to provoke His Majesty.
The emperor had a gloomy face, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
The Crown Prince spoke again: "I request that Your Majesty reopen the Chenzhou massacre case and the old case of the Duke of Rong."
The emperor suddenly raised his head, his gaze sharp as he looked at the crown prince, his voice cold and stern: "Crown Prince!"
"Father, I have finished compiling the case files. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission to reopen the investigation into the truth behind the Chenzhou massacre and the suspicious points surrounding the Duke of Rong's treason." The Crown Prince met the Emperor's gaze without flinching.
The emperor smashed the porcelain cup in his hand at the crown prince's feet. "What truth is there? What doubts are there? The massacre of Chenzhou was caused by Rong Che's rash advance, which led to the capture and death of 100,000 soldiers and the slaughter of tens of thousands of civilians. Rong Che's crimes are unforgivable! Tell me, what doubts are there?!"
"You were young back then, what did you know? You want to reopen an old case based on just a few old files? Did you have nothing better to do? In that case, go back to the East Palace and think carefully about what you should and shouldn't do!"
"Guards! The Crown Prince is unwell. Send him back!"
The emperor gave a cold shout, not giving anyone a chance to react, and raised his hand to order someone to send the crown prince away.
He was told to return to the Eastern Palace, but everyone could tell that His Majesty intended to place the Crown Prince under house arrest.
His Majesty has always been indulgent towards the Crown Prince, and he would never even raise his voice to him normally. The fact that he lost his temper so much today shows that the Crown Prince has really hit a nerve with him.
The guards immediately surrounded the crown prince, wanting to push his wheelchair forward, but the crown prince raised his hand, and the guards hesitated and dared not go forward.
"The letters confiscated from the Duke of Rong's residence back then said that the Duke of Rong colluded with Helian Rui, the Left Wise King of Great Yan, to cause the defeat at Chenzhou. The evidence was conclusive. Now, Father Emperor says that the Duke of Rong was greedy for merit and acted rashly, which led to the defeat. Then why did the Duke of Rong send people to break through the siege to seek help from Jinzhou after Chenzhou was besieged? Chenzhou was besieged for ten days and ten nights, while Jinzhou is only a three- to five-day journey from Chenzhou. Why did the reinforcements not arrive for so long?" The Crown Prince questioned, word by word: "What was the Governor of Jinzhou back then, now the Duke of Xiao, doing at that time?"
"Nonsense! Who told you there was any request for help! Utter nonsense!" The emperor was furious and roared at the guards, "What are you all standing there for? Send the Crown Prince back!"
The guards dared not hesitate any longer, stepped forward, grabbed the prince's wheelchair, and forcibly pushed him away.
"Your Majesty, I have found the former members of the Rong family army. They beat the drum to appeal for justice and accuse Xiao Guogong of missing the opportunity in the Chenzhou case, which led to the massacre of Chenzhou. His crime is unforgivable." The Crown Prince's voice faded into the distance.
Consort Xiao, however, turned pale and was momentarily unable to bear it, instinctively glancing at the Third Prince.
The Third Prince wasn't much better off. He originally thought that the Crown Prince was just digging a hole for himself by bringing up this old matter and annoying his father. He never expected that the Crown Prince would take a shortcut and actually involve the Xiao family.
The current Duke Xiao, who is also the Third Prince's maternal uncle, was the governor of Jinzhou in the past, in charge of the troop movements in Jinzhou.
Several states in the north have garrisons stationed there to defend against the southward invasion of the Northern Yan. Among them, Jinzhou and Fengzhou have the largest number of troops. The Duke of Rong was stationed in Fengzhou, commanding 100,000 troops. He was invincible and successively recovered several states in the north, including Chenzhou.
Jinzhou had 30,000 permanent troops and was closest to Chenzhou. If the rescue had been timely, even if Chenzhou had been defeated, it would not have been possible for all 100,000 troops to be lost and the entire city's inhabitants to be massacred.
At the time, everyone was only focused on the defeat at Chenzhou, and no one ever mentioned that they needed to ask for reinforcements.
Even the Third Prince was unaware of the inside story.
If this is true, the Xiao family is likely to be in big trouble.
The Third Prince forced himself to remain calm and secretly glanced at the Emperor.
The emperor was already furious. As soon as the crown prince left, he swept all the cups and saucers off the table and got up to leave.
Consort Xiao could no longer contain herself. Ignoring the presence of so many people, she stood up and walked over to the terrified Sixth Princess, slapping her across the face. "Useless! Guards, take her back and lock her up. No one is to release her without my order!"
The Sixth Princess was already dumbfounded when the Emperor got angry. Now, she was awakened by the slap and was so frightened that she was completely at a loss. She cried and grabbed Consort Xiao's skirt, begging for mercy, but Consort Xiao pulled her away and left without looking back.
Everyone quickly followed and left.
Something big is about to happen in the capital.
……
Xue Wanyue followed the palace maid back to the palace, but as soon as she stepped into the palace gate, a palace maid hurriedly ran over and whispered a few words in her ear.
Xue Wanyue replied, "I understand."
About fifteen minutes later, Xue Wanyue entered a side hall next to Consort Xiao's Zhongcui Palace, where the Third Prince was sitting and waiting for her.
Xue Wanyue stepped forward and gently bowed to the Third Prince, saying, "Greetings, Third Prince."
The Third Prince looked up at her. After not seeing her for a few days, she seemed to have grown up, and she looked more and more like the figure in his memory.
He stared at her for a while, then his gaze turned cold.
Xue Wanyue obediently knelt down.
The Third Prince placed his hand on her chin. "Shouldn't I call you Mother Consort now, hmm?"
Xue Wanyue bit her lip, "Wanyue wouldn't dare."
"Dare not?" The Third Prince chuckled. "I think you're quite daring. Tell me, who instructed you to mention the Ninth Princess? Have I never told you before that after entering the palace, you should remember your identity and what you should and shouldn't say?"
Xue Wanyue trembled, looking at the Third Prince in fear. "I, I, I thought, I thought the Sixth Princess was, Your Highness's sister. Your Highness couldn't bear to see her go to a place like the Southwest, so, that's why he suggested marrying another princess. I didn't think that much..."
"Ninth Princess, what happened to the Ninth Princess? Is it... is it something that can't be mentioned? Didn't you tell me before that as long as I ignored her, it would be fine?"