The fifty sticks did not kill King Chen. After all, he was the emperor's son, and the guards did not dare to kill him. If the emperor softened his heart in the future and felt guilty about his son, whoever took action today would be implicated.
After the fifty sticks were beaten, King Chen lay on the ground like a dead fish. His whole body looked like he had just been fished out of bloody water. He was dripping with cold sweat, his hair was messy, and he was in a miserable state.
"Where are the guards in Prince Chen's palace?" Rong Cang turned his head and ordered expressionlessly, "Send Prince Chen back to the palace and ask the doctor to take a look at him."
Four guards came over with their heads lowered. Two of them held King Chen's shoulders on the left and right, while the other two carried King Chen's legs and walked out without saying a word.
Jiang Ying stood up and staggered because of the weakness under her feet. Fortunately, she held on to the wall in time to stabilize her body.
The excitement in the front hall could be vaguely heard, but Jiang Ying only felt a chill that ran through her body, so cold that she shivered.
She understands better than anyone else that from now on, such excitement will no longer be possible for her, nor for Prince Chen's Palace.
They lost, really lost.
"Chu Yunfei, you won." She smiled lowly, sadly and full of sarcasm, and with bone-crushing hatred, "You won, but you will not be the winner forever."
Chu Yunfei's face was calm and unfazed.
"Do you think you are a winner? Dreaming!" Jiang Ying looked at her with hatred, "You just defeated me now. You will have more opponents in the future. When the prince succeeds to the throne, he will have three palaces and six courtyards. , you fight one by one, and I’ll see if you can have the last laugh.”
"I will keep your life and let you see the final result." Rong Cang came over, put his arm around Chu Yunfei's shoulders, and ordered everyone around him, "Send Princess Chen back to the palace. Until all the truth comes out, no one is allowed to They took one step outside the palace."
"yes!"
…
Back in the palace, Emperor Mu was still furious. After thinking for a long time, he coldly ordered: "Concubine Gu has no way to teach her son. From now on, she will be thrown into the cold palace and left to fend for herself. No one in the palace is allowed to see her."
"yes."
"King Chen refuses to change despite repeated admonitions and has failed in his moral conduct. He is therefore demoted to a commoner. From then on, he is imprisoned in the palace and ponders over his mistakes behind closed doors!"
Yang Dexi responded: "Yes."
"Go ahead and tell me that no one is allowed to publicize what happened today." Emperor Mu frowned, "Let Rong Cang and Qi Jin pay attention, and punish those who deserve it, and arrest those who deserve it."
Yang Dexi bowed: "I understand."
Emperor Mu closed his eyes, stood up and pushed away the memorial in front of him: "Show me in Shuhuang Palace."
Yang Dexi quickly ordered people to prepare: "The emperor has an edict to drive to Shuhuang Palace!"
…
Returning to Shuhuang Palace, the queen leaned on the phoenix couch with lingering fear, her eyebrows gloomy: "Ah Cai, what do you think of today's events?"
A Cai has served in the palace for many years, and is very keen and perceptive. He can understand the master's thoughts best, and because he is a member of the palace, he can better understand the purpose of some maids' actions.
"The pregnancy of King Chen's side concubine is beyond everyone's expectation." A Cai lowered his eyes, with deep thought on his eyebrows, "If the person behind the scenes is plotting against His Highness the Crown Prince and the side concubine, then this matter will definitely not be caused by King Chen. No man would take the initiative to cuckold himself, not to mention that his concubine is still pregnant with his child."
The queen nodded slowly: "At this time, if Mrs. Xu can give birth to a son, it will be very beneficial to King Chen's situation. He really has no reason to do this."
At least in the eyes of a prince, if he has a son by his side, he might be able to regain his father's affection.
"If this person just wants to frame the prince, then there is no need to use King Chen's concubine as a pawn, because the concubine is the royal family's wife after all. This kind of thing is a scandal within a scandal. Once it gets bigger, the emperor's anger can be imagined." Cai sighed, "My slave said something unpleasant. If it were just the prince and an ordinary maid, it would not be so full of flaws, because it is not uncommon for a maid to invite favors in front of the prince. No one would have thought that this was a conspiracy against the prince. The plan is actually safer.”
After a pause, "But the drawback of this plan is that it is not too serious in nature. The most the emperor can do is reprimand the prince, saying that he ignores the occasion and has corrupt personal ethics, and then pulls the maid who seduced the prince to death with a cane, and the matter is settled."
The queen hummed: "So what you're saying is that this person deliberately made the situation serious, not only ruining the prince's reputation, but also involving the concubine of Prince Chen, making it a scandal for a brother to humiliate his brother and sister-in-law?"
"This is the most likely possibility." A Cai nodded, "This incident also resulted in the death of the child in the belly of King Chen's concubine."
The queen's heart trembled.
Yes, the child in the concubine's belly is gone.
Could this be the result that the master wanted?
Whose interests are hindered by the child of King Chen’s concubine?
"The Emperor has arrived!"
The queen came to her senses and quickly stood up and went out to greet the emperor: "I, my concubine, see the emperor, long live, long live, long live!"
Emperor Mu climbed up the steps and quickly helped the queen up: "I have no intention of reviewing the memorial, so I came to talk to you."
The queen raised her eyes to look at him, and saw that his face was ugly, and his brows and eyes were still covered with a haze of lingering anger. She couldn't help but sigh softly: "I am also upset about this matter."
After entering the palace gate, Emperor Mu walked directly to the main seat and sat down. His face was covered with frost, and his voice was bone-chilling: "I always feel that there is something fishy about this matter."
The queen sat down next to him and nodded slightly: "I am also analyzing it. Today's insidious and dirty tricks are obviously aimed at the prince, and I am still afraid."
Emperor Mu didn't say anything, it was indeed sinister.
If Rong Cang is really tricked, even if everyone knows that he was framed, so many people will be present, and his reputation will inevitably be damaged.
Besides, who dares to completely believe that he is innocent before there is concrete evidence?
"I originally wanted to wait until Rong Cang's position as crown prince is secure, and then slowly clean up King Chen's party." Emperor Mu picked up the tea cup, his eyebrows were gloomy and displeased, "I didn't expect that they would be jumping around like this when they were about to die. Huan, I will never spare them lightly this time."
The queen said nothing.
A Cai put a cup of tea in Emperor Mu's hand, and then stood respectfully beside the queen.
Emperor Mu took a sip of tea: "The Queen just said that she was also analyzing it, but what conclusion did she draw?"
"I'm not sure yet." The queen slowly shook her head, "But King Chen should be excluded. I believe he was also plotted against."
Emperor Mu frowned and remained silent.
"Not long after the seventh prince established his government, the manpower in the government was not enough. Most of the people who went to help today were people transferred from the palace, but did the emperor notice? When we arrived at the south courtyard, the nun who was kneeling outside kept saying "Fang" The person who is messing around here is the prince, and she is from Prince Chen's palace."
Emperor Mu was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true."
"This shows that the conspiracy is indeed aimed at the prince, but it has developed beyond their control." The queen said calmly, "If Prince Chen is excluded from this matter, then the remaining person can only be Princess Chen."
"Princess Chen?" Emperor Mu was startled and raised his eyes to look at the queen, "How can a woman like her be so bold?"
"Your Majesty, don't underestimate a woman's ability." The Queen said calmly, "A dog will jump over a wall in a hurry, let alone a human being?"
Emperor Mu didn't say anything, but there was a huge wave in his eyes.
"I just listened to Ah Cai's analysis and suddenly thought of this." The queen said calmly, "The child in the concubine's belly is gone. Is this the result that Princess Chen wants?"
