Chapter 185: How Did Such a Fool Come to Be?

Chapter 185: How Did Such a Fool Come to Be?

Imperial Censor Li was known for his efficiency. Returning home, he promptly composed a memorial and hastened to the palace with it in hand. Reaching the Imperial Study, he informed the eunuch on duty that he had urgent matters to report to the Emperor.

The eunuch grimaced upon seeing him; it wasn't just Li's presence that caused discomfort but that of all imperial censors. Their arrivals invariably preceded troublesome news, which would invariably lead to the Emperor's ire, the brunt of which would be borne by the eunuchs themselves.

Yet they had no choice but to announce the visitors, a task fraught with frustration.

"Please wait here, Lord Li," one eunuch bowed and entered the Imperial Study, cautiously interrupting the Emperor during a brief respite from reviewing memorials. "Your Majesty, Imperial Censor Li is here, claiming urgent matters that require your audience."

The Emperor's brows furrowed at the mention, his disdain for the incessant pestering of the imperial censors apparent. Nonetheless, aspiring to be a wise and just ruler, he suppressed his whims. With visible impatience, he gestured, "Let him in."

The eunuch returned, and soon, Imperial Censor Li entered. Holding a memorial, he knelt and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, your humble servant has urgent matters to report."

The Emperor, seated behind his desk, glanced at him indifferently. "Present it," he commanded.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be some trivial nuisance.

Li rose, handing the memorial to the senior eunuch, Jiao Kangsheng, who in turn presented it to the Emperor. The Emperor's frown deepened as he read, his irritation flaring with each line until, with a snap, he flung the memorial to the floor, exclaiming angrily at Li, "What in the world is this about? Explain yourself."

Li knelt again, recounting his encounter with Xiao Yuming at the teahouse, not omitting a single detail, and concluded, "I deemed the matter of grave importance, Your Majesty, and rushed to seek an audience without delay."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor, seething, hurled his teacup to the ground, roaring, "I still reign, and he is not yet the Crown Prince, yet he dares commit such heinous treason!"

"Summon the Commander of the Imperial Guards," the Emperor commanded, taking a deep breath, his rage subsiding slightly.

Jiao hurriedly relayed the order, and shortly, the Commander of the Imperial Guards appeared. The Emperor instructed, "Seal the Second Prince's residence and bring Li Jingming to me in chains."

With the command received, the Commander hastened away, internally muttering about the foolish act the Second Prince must have committed this time.

The Second Prince's Residence

The Second Prince was lounging with a beauty, sipping wine, intermittently inquiring of a nearby eunuch, "Has Huang Wenyao returned yet?"

The eunuch shook his head, "It seems the task remains unfinished."

The Second Prince snorted with laughter, "No rush. With a pie falling from the sky, I refuse to believe he wouldn't want a piece."

He erupted into laughter, boasting, "This time, I'll incite internal strife within the Yongning Marquisate. Even the cunning old Duke Tang won't be able to pin this on me, ha ha ha…"

The thought of the Marquisate of Yongning in chaos filled him with such delight that he felt as if he could soar.

Just then, a young eunuch stumbled in, falling to his knees before the Second Prince, his words coming out in an anxious rush: “Your Highness, it’s terrible—the Imperial Guards, the Imperial Guards have surrounded the prince’s mansion completely!”

The Second Prince thought he must be hallucinating. He asked, “What did you say?”

The young eunuch repeated himself, trembling, “The Imperial Guards have completely surrounded the prince’s mansion.”

The Second Prince leapt to his feet, “Who gave them the audacity?”

“Your Highness,” a gruff voice called from outside. Then the commander of the Imperial Guards strode in, his demeanor grave as he declared, “By His Majesty’s command, I am here to take the Second Prince to the palace.”

With a gesture of his hand, his men rushed forward, seizing the Second Prince and binding him tightly with ropes.

“Insolence! Release me at once,” the Second Prince struggled violently, but the ropes were bound in such a way that the more he struggled, the tighter they got.

Seeing this, the commander of the Imperial Guards said, “Your Highness, I am simply following orders. I hope you will cooperate.”

With another wave of his hand, he turned and strode toward the exit. His men looked at the Second Prince and said, “Your Highness, we are just carrying out orders. You can speak to His Majesty when you see him.”

The Second Prince glared at them through gritted teeth, “Just you wait, all of you. I will have your entire families executed.”

The subordinates trembled in fear, knowing they were but following the Emperor’s command, silently praying that the Second Prince would never rise again.

The prince’s mansion wasn’t far from the Imperial Palace, and it wasn’t long before they arrived.

Tied up with ropes, the Second Prince stepped into the imperial study and knelt down before the Emperor, “Father, what wrong have I committed?”

The Emperor scoffed coldly, “What wrong have you committed? You have done nothing wrong. It’s my mistake, for not having abdicated the throne to you sooner.”

The Emperor rose and walked aside, pointing to a chair behind the desk, “Come, Li Jingming, take your seat here.”

“Father!” The Second Prince quickly bowed his head to the ground, crying out in protest, “Father, who has slandered me? I have never harbored such thoughts.”

“Ha! You never harbored such thoughts? Then tell me, who was it that proposed transferring the title of the Marquis of Yongning to someone else? Who?” The Emperor’s voice grew hoarse from yelling, but only in this way could he vent the rage in his heart.

Recently, he had felt his health declining. No one is unafraid of death, and he was no exception. What he hadn’t expected was that his beloved son would begin to usurp his authority before he had even passed.

The Second Prince could never have imagined that the words he had instructed Huang Wenyao to convey to Xiao Yiyuan would reach the Emperor so quickly. Shocked, he looked at the Emperor, at a loss for words. Seeing his foolish expression, the Emperor wished he could stuff him back into Consort Liang's womb and remake him.

Neither he nor the noble consort Liang were fools, so how did they give birth to such an idiot?

The emperor raised his hand and pointed at the Second Prince, "By order, the Second Prince Li Jingming is to be confined to his residence, not to step outside his princely mansion."

The Second Prince slumped to the ground like a deflated ball. Being confined meant he could no longer be involved in external affairs, let alone matters of the court. This also meant he had to withdraw from the struggle for the throne.

No, this can't be, he can't reconcile himself to this!

"Father Emperor, I haven’t, I really haven’t!" The Second Prince cried out in despair, prostrated on the ground.

The emperor sneered again, "Li Jingming, dare you claim you've never dreamed of becoming the Emperor? Dare you claim you've never coveted the throne beneath my seat?"

"I haven’t, I really haven’t." The Second Prince continued to weep. He didn’t know how to defend himself, nor did he understand how things had turned out this way. He was supposed to have had a sure win!

"Drag him out."

"Your Majesty, it is the fault of your consort for failing to teach our son. Please punish me instead."

Noble Consort Liang suddenly burst in from outside, throwing herself at the Emperor's feet, her tears falling like rain.

PS: I was out today and couldn’t upload from home. I used my mobile phone instead, which resulted in this error. What I uploaded just now was written a long time ago and was stored with the current book, resulting in a mix-up.

Sorry about that!