ushernet Chapter 266 Prince Yong
Chapter 266 Prince Yong
Qiao Qingshu sat in her room looking at the account book, calculating something with her head down.
Then a servant came to summon Xiao Zhijie, saying that the palace had summoned him.
Even though it was the middle of the night, Xiao Zhijie still hurriedly got dressed and went out.
Qiao Qingshu sat at her desk, frowning slightly.
"Why is the Emperor summoning him to the palace so late?"
Normally, if there was something to do, the Emperor would summon Xiao Zhijie to the palace during the day; there was never a precedent of summoning him to the palace in the middle of the night.
Qiao Qingshu suddenly became a little nervous. She called Wanqiu over and gave her a few instructions.
Late Autumn hurriedly went out.
When Wanqiu returned, it was already late at night.
She came in, panting, and said...
"Madam, I've heard that Prince Yong has returned."
Prince Yong is the only surviving brother of the current emperor.
In the struggle for the throne, all six princes were eyeing it covetously. The current emperor killed four of his royal brothers before he could secure his throne by stepping over countless corpses.
The only one who wasn't killed by him, Prince Yong, was able to escape because he took a sword for him during the internal strife.
As a result, Prince Yong lost a leg, and Prince Jing ascended the throne as he wished, becoming the emperor of the Southern Zhao Kingdom.
However, the current emperor is extremely suspicious. He is not at ease with Prince Yong by his side and he will not harbor any disloyal thoughts. Therefore, he exiled him to the north for several years.
Why would a forgotten Prince Yong rush back to the capital overnight?
Why summon Xiao Zhijie at this critical juncture?
Qiao Qingshu thought it over carefully and made up her mind.
By the time Xiao Zhijie returned, it was already dawn.
Qiao Qingshu stayed up all night, waiting for him at the table.
Seeing that Qiao Qingshu had stayed up all night, Xiao Zhijie felt extremely distressed and said...
"Why don't you go to sleep? I'm just going to the palace for a short trip, why do you have to guard me?"
Qiao Qingshu grabbed his hand and said urgently,
"What is the Emperor's purpose in summoning you to the palace?"
Xiao Zhijie smiled and said,
"It's just that Prince Yong has come, and the Emperor asked me to go and see him."
Now that Xiao Zhijie has made it clear that he does not want the throne, the old emperor is disheartened and plans to diligently work on the throne for several more decades. He has also begun to take in more concubines, hoping to have more children. Perhaps one of them will be able to inherit the throne.
He had intended to pass the throne to his younger brother, but after some consideration, he abandoned the idea.
During the internal strife within the royal family, he killed countless people, including Prince Yong and his biological mother, Consort Rong.
The moment he murdered his mother was witnessed by Prince Yong, but Prince Yong said nothing, his eyes filled with terror as if he had seen a ghost.
Although Prince Yong had never mentioned this matter over the years and had been extremely loyal to the emperor, this matter always lingered in the emperor's heart like a thorn.
He worried that if he really gave the throne to Prince Yong, he might suffer retaliation from Prince Yong. If that happened, how could he possibly have a good end?
Because he thought of Prince Yong and didn't know his younger brother's current situation, he needed to keep an eye on him. Therefore, he summoned Prince Yong to the palace for a chat, ostensibly to express his longing for his brother, but secretly to assess his brother's strength.
Xiao Zhijie said calmly,
“Prince Yong doesn’t seem to be in very good health. He seems to have been taking medicine all along and can’t move around much. He even fell seriously ill on his way to the capital and almost lost his life. Now His Majesty has made arrangements for Prince Yong so that he can recuperate before setting off back to the north.”
Qiao Qingshu sensed a strong sense of crisis from these words.
In his previous life, Prince Yong had done the same thing, feigning illness and weakness, and returned to the capital under the pretext of paying tribute. However, his arrival dealt a fatal blow to Xiao Chengyan, who had just ascended the throne.
He himself was framed by Prince Yong and was assassinated while on an inspection tour of Jiangnan. If it weren't for the help of Qiao Jishen and Qiao Jiye, he would probably have died in the Jiangnan water towns long ago.
This Prince Yong was no pushover.
Now that Prince Yong has returned to the capital, we really need to be vigilant.
Seeing that Xiao Zhijie's expression remained calm, he clearly had not yet realized that the arrival of the Prince of Yong was a disaster.
Xiao Zhijie then said,
"By the way, the Emperor said he would be hosting a welcome banquet for Prince Yong and invited my wife and me to go together. We will go to the palace to attend the banquet tomorrow."
In her previous life, Qiao Qingshu, as the newly crowned Empress of Nanzhao, was still somewhat inexperienced when confronting Prince Yong, and almost lost her life.
Now, facing it all again, Qiao Qingshu is much calmer; her experiences and past are a treasure.
She was absolutely confident in dealing with Prince Yong.
The palace banquet was held in the Hundred Phoenix Hall, and many civil and military officials, as well as many concubines from the harem, attended.
Qiao Qingshu looked at those unfamiliar, charming faces and felt a sense of unfamiliarity. The harem had changed so much in such a short time.
I've heard that the old emperor has already begun planning to make Consort Li his empress.
In a short period of time, it felt like two different worlds.
If the Empress could see all this from heaven, would she think that she was too impulsive back then, that her death did not move anyone and even benefited others?
Sitting next to the emperor was Consort Li, a woman of alluring beauty who was said to be a month pregnant.
The civil and military officials were all talking about it, and many even blamed the former empress for being jealous and causing chaos in the harem. If it weren't for her jealousy that led to the emperor's lack of offspring, why would he still have to work so hard to have more children at his age?
Everyone regarded the child in Consort Li's womb as the new crown prince, but Prince Yong did not think so.
Prince Yong, dressed in purple, sat coldly to the left of the emperor, his eyes icy and devoid of any warmth.
One of his legs was stiffly propped up to the side, unable to bend, like a rotten piece of wood lying under the table and chair.
Although the officials appeared respectful to Prince Yong, they were not humble in their hearts.
Some people looked down on him, saying he was spineless because his own mother was killed by the current emperor, yet he felt nothing and even risked his life to protect the emperor.
It's utterly immoral; they'd sell their mothers for wealth and survival.
Some simply looked down on him, despising him. What ability could a down-on-his-luck king, exiled to the north for many years, possibly have now?
This Prince Yong's life was not even as comfortable as that of some officials in the capital.
At this moment, the emperor raised his wine cup and said,
"This banquet is held for Prince Yong to celebrate my younger brother's return to the capital."
All the officials raised their glasses in celebration and drank together.
A false enthusiasm.
Qiao Qingshu's gaze remained fixed on Prince Yong, whose face was both indifferent and somewhat humble.
If an official came up to offer him a toast, he would always stand up to return the toast, adopting a very humble posture.
No wonder someone with such a deep mind could deceive everyone back then.
After three rounds of drinks, everyone became quite drunk, and the old emperor was helped back to his palace to rest.
The atmosphere in the hall became more relaxed, but Prince Yong still drank with his head covered and did not talk much with the people around him.
After drinking a few more cups of wine, Prince Yong picked up his cane and staggered to his feet. The eunuch beside him tried to help him up, but he shoved him away.