sjar Chapter 122 Punishment
Chapter 122 Punishment
The prince: "Father, please calm down."
Xiao Cheng: "Father, please calm down. My eldest brother didn't mean that. He just...he just..."
"He is just what?" Emperor Jian'an was furious. "He just has no regard for the emperor or his father. Otherwise, how dare he speak to me like this!"
There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart. Xiao Su stopped arguing and knelt on the ground without saying a word.
Seeing his expression, Emperor Jian'an sneered, "You are a stubborn person. Come, pass on the decree. From now on, all the duties of the eldest prince will be relieved and he will be dismissed from his post at home. He is not allowed to step out of the courtyard!"
"Thank you, sir." Xiao Su responded coldly, stood up and turned away without hesitation.
Seeing him like this, Emperor Jian'an was even more furious. He looked at the Crown Prince and Xiao Cheng with no good look, "What are you still kneeling here for? Get out of here!"
Upon seeing this, the prince and Xiao Cheng also stood up and left.
After they all left, Ji An handed Emperor Jian'an some hot tea to cool him down. "Your Majesty, anger is harmful to your health. Have a cup of tea to cool down your anger."
Emperor Jian'an took a sip of tea, then slammed the cup heavily on the table. To calm down? To calm down?
These two are both troublesome, how can I calm down my anger? "
"The princes are still young, and they must have done many things wrong. Your Majesty needs to discipline them more." Jian said with his head lowered.
"Discipline? I think they all have big ideas."
The letter from the border only said that one of the captured spies said that he secretly heard the leaders Gong Yikun and Wang Qiliang calling the master behind them "Your Highness", but he didn't know which Highness it was.
They subsequently interrogated Gong Yikun and Wang Qiliang, but unfortunately, they were too tight-lipped and didn't get anything valuable out of them.
Before calling the prince and the other two, Emperor Jian'an suspected Xiao Su of being the prince mentioned in the letter, but seeing his performance just now, he became uncertain again.
In fact, there was no absolute evidence for this matter. He called them here just to trick them, but obviously, this method did not work.
The prince, Xiao Su, Xiao Cheng, and Emperor Jian'an all looked deep. Who were they? Or was it no one?
It couldn't be anyone. Emperor Jian'an picked up the memorial on the table. The handwriting on it was very majestic and he recognized it as written by Jing Zhi at a glance.
Jingzhi lived in the palace when he was young, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he was taught by Jingzhi himself, so he recognized who wrote the words at a glance.
Based on his understanding of Jing Zhi, since he wrote this in the memorial, he would definitely not be making a fuss. Emperor Jian'an looked at the memorial in his hand with a frown. Perhaps he already knew who the person was, but just deliberately did not write it down.
After all, since it involves the royal family, it is not surprising that he is cautious.
This matter could be a big deal or a small one. After all, those spies were caught for nothing, and they had no other evidence except the spies' confessions. Even if it was clearly stated who did it, that person could back out and deny anything.
So it’s better not to write it clearly and let him worry about it.
As he watched, Emperor Jian'an raised his lips and cursed inwardly, "This stinky boy is plotting against me."
Ji An, who was standing by, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw His Majesty smile.
……
After leaving the hall, the prince and Xiao Cheng left together. When they reached the palace alley, the prince suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at Xiao Cheng behind him.
"You have always been close to Xiao Su. Was it him who did the spy thing?"
The prince thought from the beginning that it was Xiao Su who did it. After all, he knew that it was not him who did it. Xiao Cheng was a prince who had nothing and only had a title. How could he have done it? Then the only one left was Xiao Su.
But Xiao Su's expression and tone just now didn't sound fake.
"Royal brother, this..." Xiao Cheng's eyes wandered, and he looked guilty and didn't dare to look the prince in the eye. "I believe this matter has nothing to do with my eldest brother. My eldest brother would never do this."
"Oh? It has nothing to do with him, so it was you and me who did it?" The prince looked at Xiao Cheng's expression and didn't believe him at all. His guilty conscience was too obvious.
"Royal brother, that's not what I meant." Xiao Cheng said hurriedly.
But the prince didn't want to listen anymore, so he turned around and walked away. It didn't matter anymore. That person wasn't him, so he had a clear conscience.
"Royal brother..." Xiao Cheng stood there and watched the prince's figure getting farther and farther away until he disappeared at the end of the palace road.
He then put away the expression on his face, and his whole temperament changed at once, and he seemed to stand taller.
The eunuch who followed him closely was not at all surprised by his change. It was obvious that he knew his true nature.
"Let's go, go back."
Xiao Cheng walked slowly on the long palace road. He finally let go of the worry that had been hanging in his heart since Gong Yikun and others were arrested.
Fortunately, they were smart and did not reveal their identities, otherwise today would have been a bad ending.
Even though Xiao Su had the support of the imperial concubine's family, he still ended up being dismissed from his post and imprisoned. Xiao Su could be considered as making a scapegoat for himself. If he was the one exposed this time, I'm afraid his fate would be even worse than Xiao Su's.
……
What happened in the palace soon spread to the front court and the harem.
After hearing the news, Concubine Wang hurried to the imperial study without even getting dressed, wanting to meet Emperor Jian'an.
Emperor Jian'an didn't know why she came, so he asked Ji'an to go out and tell her that he didn't want to see anyone now.
Concubine Wang was extremely anxious. How could her son, who had just come out for a trip, end up being dismissed from his post and imprisoned? She couldn't just go back like that.
So Concubine Wang knelt down in front of the door and said to Ji An, "Eunuch Ji, I won't make it difficult for you. Go in and tell His Majesty that if he doesn't want to see me, I will kneel here forever."
Jian: Isn’t this not difficult?
Although he had some complaints in his heart, Ji'an had seen all kinds of situations since he had reached his current position.
"My Lady, why are you doing this? His Majesty is very angry right now. You won't get any good words even if you go in. Why don't you wait until His Majesty calms down before you come back?"
Ji'an felt that Concubine Wang's action would have no effect on His Majesty. His Majesty was never a man who would be controlled by a woman, even the beautiful Concubine Wang.
He has served His Majesty for so many years and knows best that he actually has no feelings for the concubines in the harem and that they are just acting according to circumstances.
Concubine Wang knew that what Ji'an said was right, but as a mother, how could she watch her son suffer and do nothing?
"Eunuch Ji, please go and report to His Majesty." After saying this, Concubine Wang knelt on the spot and said no more.
Seeing this, Ji An flicked his whisk and turned into the hall.
"Have they left?" Emperor Jian'an was reviewing today's memorials.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is kneeling outside the door. She said that if Your Majesty does not see her, she will kneel outside the door until you see her."