boyutpedia Chapter 385 The Young Singer's Journey 54
Chapter 385 The Young Singer's Journey 54
Inside the main hall, after a moment of silence, Emperor Mingde finally waved his hand, signaling the surrounding palace servants to leave.
After all the palace servants had left, leaving only Jin Xuan and Emperor Mingde,
Jin Xuan then slowly spoke: "Your Majesty, during my thorough investigation into the fire at the imperial mausoleum, I unexpectedly learned that when Prince Yong'an was being demoted to Qingzhou, Prince Bai secretly ordered the Angry Sword Immortal to intercept and kill him en route."
"Snapped!"
Emperor Mingde's face instantly turned ashen. He slammed his hands on the table and roared in anger:
"How dare you!"
Jin Xuan didn't even dare to raise his head, and said with a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, everything I have said is true. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may order someone to continue investigating this matter."
Emperor Mingde stared intently at Jin Xuan, feeling an unnamed rage raging within him. He slammed the teacup on the table to the ground, scattering tea shards everywhere.
"Bastard!"
"Rebel!"
How could he?
How dare he?
Xiao Chong was the eldest of Emperor Mingde's many sons. He was sensible, kind, and resourceful. He was the son whom Emperor Mingde valued most besides Xiao Se.
Compared to Xiao Yu, who wore his ambition on his sleeve but pretended to be carefree and unrestrained, Emperor Mingde appreciated Xiao Chongyao more.
In Emperor Mingde's eyes, Xiao Chong was kind and gentle, and loved his younger brother. Although he was blind, this suited his taste perfectly.
After all, a blind man is destined to be ineligible for the throne and therefore poses no threat to Xiao Se.
Therefore, during the four years that Xiao Se was away from the court, Emperor Mingde relied heavily on him, hoping that he could be a wise king and loyally assist Xiao Se after Xiao Se ascended the throne.
But to everyone's surprise, this 'benevolent' son turned out to be the most cunning, ruthless, and decisive one. He actually managed to secretly send the Angry Sword Immortal to ambush Xiao Se halfway through his demotion, hoping to eliminate any future troubles.
He had initially thought that the ambush was solely Zhuo Qing's doing, never imagining that Xiao Chong was also involved.
He truly is his good son.
He acted with such decisiveness and meticulousness.
If Jinxuan hadn't accidentally learned of this, she would probably have remained in the dark forever.
As Jin Xuan listened to Emperor Mingde's string of curses, he thought to himself: Prince Yong'an is His Majesty's most beloved son. Now that His Majesty knows that Prince Bai once ordered the interception and killing of Prince Yong'an, Prince Bai will probably be in serious trouble even if he doesn't die.
It's unclear how the Red King found out about this.
Jin Xuan was puzzled, but he dared not relax his guard in the slightest. He knelt on the ground in fear and trepidation, repeatedly saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!"
But at this moment, how could Emperor Mingde possibly calm his anger?
He was like a raging lion, radiating a surging fury, or a volcano about to erupt, determined to devour everything around him.
Xiao Se had argued forcefully for Xiao Ruofeng's case in order to quell the unrest in Tianqi City as soon as possible.
He could only reluctantly demote his most beloved son to a commoner for the time being, thinking that he would recall him once the court situation stabilized.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Se was ambushed on his way to Qingzhou.
Everyone around Xiao Se, whether they were his eunuch companions, personal guards, or other trusted confidants, died in that ambush.
Xiao Se himself was also seriously injured in the ambush, his hidden meridians were damaged, and a generation of genius fell.
Emperor Mingde regretted countless times that if he hadn't banished his son from Tianqi City, perhaps those treacherous villains wouldn't have had the opportunity to take advantage of him, and Xiao Se wouldn't have suffered such a great calamity for no reason.
But he never expected that, in addition to Zhuo Qing, whom he had already ordered to die, Yan Zhantian, the Furious Sword Immortal, was also involved in this ambush, and was even acting on the orders of the White King.
Emperor Mingde was furious, his chest heaving with blood and qi, as if it were about to burst out of his chest.
But then, a surge of intense heartache welled up inside him, a pain that almost suffocated him.
Xiao Se was seriously injured, which was painful for him, but what pained him even more was that one of his sons had actually killed another son in order to fight for the throne.
For a father, such fratricide is undoubtedly the cruelest torture in the world.
Is the scene of brothers fighting and bloodshed in front of the Pingqing Palace going to be repeated in this dynasty?
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Emperor Mingde felt a chill run down his spine.
He allowed his princes to fight and compete because only in this way could he select the best successor.
But he never intended for his sons to kill each other.
Although the struggle for power has always been accompanied by bloodshed.
However, Emperor Mingde always harbored a glimmer of hope.
Because he already had a most outstanding son, a most outstanding heir, Xiao Chuhe, who could surpass many princes in both strategy and cultivation.
Even though the princes used all sorts of tricks, in the end they were nothing more than a few small stones on Xiao Chuhe's path to power, while he himself was there to protect and escort him.
Therefore, Emperor Mingde believed that the power transition between himself and Xiao Chuhe would be the most stable one in the Northern Li.
But unexpectedly, it still came to this.
Emperor Mingde considered himself a qualified emperor, believing he had everything under heaven under his control.
However, the harsh reality dealt him a heavy blow, causing him to fall from the peak to the bottom.
At that moment, Emperor Mingde felt all his strength drain away in an instant. His flushed face quickly faded, replaced by a deathly pale complexion. Cold sweat poured down his forehead like a continuous drizzle.
He clutched his chest with difficulty, a metallic taste rising in his throat, yet he forced himself to endure it. His finger trembled as he pointed at Jin Xuan, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hoarseness and despair: "I ask you, the Crimson King... did he also participate in the ambush of the Prince of Yong'an?"
"Your Majesty, I have not yet found any connection between the Crimson King and this matter," Jin Xuan shook his head.
Emperor Mingde nodded slightly, about to continue speaking, when suddenly he spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed weakly onto the dragon throne, unconscious.
"His Majesty--"
Jin Xuan's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly got up to help Emperor Mingde.
"Someone! Quickly summon the imperial physician!"
Hearing the strange noise from inside the palace, the palace servants outside rushed in and, upon seeing Emperor Mingde's current appearance, all turned ashen-faced.
In an instant, chaos erupted within the Pingqing Palace.
……
Upon learning that Emperor Mingde had summoned the imperial physician, Long Xie was extremely anxious and immediately wanted to report the news to Xiao Yu.
He stood at the door of the study and called softly, "Your Highness."
The room was quiet; there was no sound.
Long Xie was puzzled, so he raised his voice slightly and called out again, "Your Highness?"
However, he was met with silence.
Long Xie frowned even more deeply. After hesitating for a moment, he finally made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and pushed open the door.
The room was empty; Xiao Yu was nowhere to be seen.
He paused for a moment, then quickly left the room, gently closed the door, and quietly stood guard at the entrance.