Chapter 296 Father and Son, Monarch and Subject

Chapter 296: Father and Son, Monarch and Subject

The grand ceremony for the appointment of the National Preceptor was being prepared in an orderly manner, but Emperor Jingping's mood was ruined by the Crown Prince's visit.

"I want to appoint Master Miaoqing as the National Preceptor. Do I need the Crown Prince's permission now?"

"I didn't mean that, Father."

"No? Then why are you holding up the plans for the Immortal Ascent Tower?" Mentioning this made Emperor Jingping's blood boil.

He'd only been sick a few months, and after putting the Crown Prince in charge, he already dared to go against me. What would happen if he remained ill? Would that brat run the show all by himself?

His eyes turned even colder as this thought crossed his mind.

The Crown Prince bowed with his hands folded, missing the cold glint in his father's eyes.

"Father, after the lavish funeral for Honored Consort and now the ceremony for the National Preceptor, the national treasury has been heavily drained. Meanwhile, floods are hitting the south and they're desperate for relief money. If we pour money into the Immortal Ascent Tower now, the treasury can't take it, and if war breaks out—"

"That's enough!" Emperor Jingping snapped at the Crown Prince, looking at him not like a father but like a man spotting a thief.

"Are you saying I don't give a damn about the disasters or war, that I just want to have fun, and that I'm not as wise as you, my good son?"

He'd heard the whispers praising the Crown Prince for a long time. But since this was his legitimate eldest son, the Crown Prince he'd chosen himself, he'd let it slide. But this brat dares to treat him like this?

"Honored Consort accompanied me for so many years and brought me much joy. Though she never held the title of Empress, she was effectively my Empress. She died a tragic death while watching lanterns with me on Lantern Festival. Was I wrong to give her a grand funeral?"

Bringing up Honored Consort Yu made Emperor Jingping even angrier.

He'd ordered a lavish funeral not just out of love and grief, but also from a guilty secret and a deep fear he couldn't tell anyone.

He'd loved her deeply, but when she was hit by a poisoned arrow, he ran away first without helping her. Later, when he wanted to see his beloved again and lifted the fur blanket, he was scared stiff by her purple face.

From that moment on, he knew without a doubt: he was terrified of dying—desperately terrified—and he wanted to live forever.

"You're complaining about the money for the National Preceptor ceremony? Master Miaoqing's pills cured me. He's earned the post. I want a big ceremony to thank him. Or don't you want me to get better?"

The Crown Prince knelt, a deep sense of injustice choking him, tears welling up in his eyes: "I've never thought that, Father. I wouldn't dare question the funeral or the ceremony. But big disasters usually bring big plagues. Relief needs a ton of money. I beg you, Father, think about putting off the Immortal Ascent Tower—"

"How dare you!" Emperor Jingping slammed the table, his face purple with rage. "You're just regent, not the ruler of Great Xia! I get it—you just want to make my life miserable! Guards! Take the Crown Prince back to the Eastern Palace. He is not to leave without my personal order!"

"Father—" The Crown Prince knelt, looking up at the furious face, feeling only distance and strangeness.

Two eunuchs stepped forward, one on each side, to support the Crown Prince.

"I'll take my leave now, Father." The Crown Prince shook off the eunuchs, gave a deep kowtow, then stood and walked out.

Emperor Jingping's anger wouldn't die down, and he kept muttering, "Unfilial brat! That unfilial brat!"

If the other princes weren't so young, I'd strip this brat of his title!

At that, a thought hit Emperor Jingping: With Master Miaoqing around, even if he couldn't live forever, he could at least last a hundred or two hundred years. So what if the other kids were young? That brat couldn't boss him around!

But the thought faded fast, and his mind turned to living longer—which meant he couldn't do without Master Miaoqing.

"Send for Master Miaoqing to come to the palace."

As Master Miaoqing was being summoned, Xue Quan brought Xue Han the news of the Crown Prince's house arrest.

"Your father knows that privately the Crown Prince is very close to you. You should have reminded the Crown Prince to be more filial to His Majesty and less assertive."

At this point, Xue Quan had no choice but to hope that the Crown Prince would ascend the throne smoothly. At least the adopted son had ties of friendship with the Crown Prince, and if his own past mistakes were ever investigated, there might be some leniency. If another prince took the throne, there would be no hope.

"Your son understands."

Xue Han then arranged to meet with Qiu Heng and told her that the Crown Prince had been stripped of his regency powers and confined to the Eastern Palace.

Qiu Heng held her teacup and murmured, "So that's how it is."

She had earlier speculated that the biggest variable in the fact that Emperor Jingping had not died from the miraculous pills as originally intended was that the Crown Prince was still alive.

"The Crown Prince was acting as regent. If His Majesty had died, the Crown Prince would have unquestionably succeeded. So Master Miaoqing and those behind him needed His Majesty to recover. Only His Majesty could strip the Crown Prince of everything."

Xue Han looked grave: "His Majesty is taking potent, debilitating drugs. That means they will move quickly against the Crown Prince..."

First, the regency was revoked; next, house arrest. What comes next?

The Crown Prince would likely face a storm designed to destroy his status as heir.

"If something happens to the Crown Prince and then His Majesty dies, the greatest beneficiaries—" Qiu Heng tightened her grip on the teacup as two faces surfaced in her mind.

A dying emperor on the brink of collapse, clinging desperately to survival; a young prince full of curiosity, living in luxury and growing up.

They were the same person: Emperor Longxing, and also the Fifth Prince.

"After the Crown Prince, the oldest prince is the Fifth Prince," Xue Han analyzed calmly. "But the Fifth Prince's mother, Consort Shu, comes from a family of decent status but little influence."

For any family with ambition for that throne, gathering allies was necessary no matter how cautious, but Xue Han, who controlled the Imperial City Bureau, had found nothing unusual about Consort Shu's family.

"What about Prince Fu?" Qiu Heng asked.

She had been pondering why Xue Han had killed Prince Fu.

Back when she was far from this vortex, she couldn't understand. But now, peeling back the layers, despite the fog, the truth was gradually emerging.

If Xue Quan's offering of the drugs involved Prince Fu's hand, then Xue Han, realizing the truth, killing Prince Fu to avenge his father, made sense.

In the original timeline, if Prince Fu hadn't died and Emperor Jingping had passed away, could the young Fifth Prince have smoothly ascended the throne? Even if he did, who would hold real power?

Throughout history, regents were not uncommon. If Prince Fu served as regent for a few years, consolidated his power, a single abdication edict could make him the new ruler of Great Xia.

"Prince Fu has a good reputation in court. If something happens to both the Crown Prince and His Majesty, Prince Fu's chances are not negligible." Xue Han stood up. "The most important thing now is to protect the Crown Prince. I will go to the Eastern Palace immediately."