usatvline Chapter 139: The Prince Who Cheated on His Father
Chapter 139: The Prince Who Cheated on His Father
In the Imperial Garden, Bai Chuxiao was walking with Emperor Wenxuan as usual, and the Crown Prince and the King of Qi were coming towards them.
"Meet the Emperor"
Emperor Wenxuan responded calmly, "Why are you here together?"
Chu Tianyou smiled and said, "I came to pay my respects to the Emperor, and I happened to run into my sixth brother at the palace gate."
Chu Tianling bowed and spoke slowly, "Father, it is inappropriate for me to stay in the capital for so long. Today I specifically request to return to my fiefdom."
Emperor Wenxuan's eyes darkened slightly, "Why did you suddenly think of going back?"
Chu Tianling smiled and said, "I originally wanted to ask for permission from the emperor with my fifth brother, but I was delayed because of sending my second sister to marry."
Chu Tianyou smiled and said, "Sixth brother, why don't you stay in the capital to accompany father?"
Emperor Wenxuan was slightly surprised. Today, the prince suddenly came to his senses.
Bai Chuxiao also smiled slightly, "Yes, the war is tense now, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi might as well stay in the capital."
Liangzhou is located in the north, and is the closest fief to the capital among the vassal kings. This shows that Emperor Wenxuan really liked this son and trusted the Wei family. Liangzhou and Bingzhou are not far away, and Wei Junyan holds the military power in the north. If Chu Tianling wants to cause trouble, it will be easier for him to besiege the capital than the Xuanjia Army...
Chu Tianling's eyes flashed with displeasure. Didn't the prince want him to go back before? Now he wants to go back but he won't let him. However, he looked embarrassed, "Father..."
Emperor Wenxuan's eyes flickered slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he spoke slowly, "Father has seen Ling'er's two requests for battle. He is a filial person. Just stay in the capital for the time being. It won't be too late to go back after the war is settled."
Chu Tianling lowered his eyes and said, "Yes." The moment he lowered his head, a strange smile appeared on his face, which soon disappeared.
The war in the northwest was getting more intense. Although Chu Tianze arrived with reinforcements in time, it was still difficult to fight against the 600,000 troops of Xiyue. Unlike Daxia, which rushed to reinforce the northwest, Xiyue had already made sufficient preparations and was obviously planning to fight a protracted war.
Several decades ago, when the world was in chaos, Huainan King Gu Songyue was young but a master of war. His fame was not inferior to that of Duke Dingguo of Daxia and General Zhuguo of Beiyan. That's why he was named a king of a different surname. Now, even if the King of Yan and Murong Yuan join forces, it will be difficult to take him down in a short time.
The capital had already become cold in November. Emperor Wenxuan had been coughing for several days due to the cold wind and his health had not improved. In addition, he was worried about the war on the border, and his health had become worse. Now he really looked like an old man.
In the imperial study, Bai Chuxiao and Cheng Song stood behind Emperor Wenxuan like door gods. It was obvious that Emperor Wenxuan really wanted her to be a bodyguard like Cheng Song.
Emperor Wenxuan threw a book aside, his face turned pale and he couldn't stop coughing.
Jinzhong quickly handed over a glass of water, looking flustered, "Your Majesty..."
Bai Chuxiao's eyes turned slightly, and after thinking for a while, she stepped forward and said with some concern, "Father, something happened at the border. No matter what, don't get angry and hurt yourself..."
Emperor Wenxuan was still furious. "Look for yourselves, what good things the prince has done, how can I not be angry? At such a critical moment at the border, not only can he not help at all, but he also caused a lot of trouble."
Then he angrily ordered, "Jinzhong, go and call that rebellious son over to me."
"Yes," Jinzhong quickly retreated.
Bai Chuxiao then picked up the memorial on the ground, took a quick look at it, and then quietly placed it on the table. The prince had been tricked by Prince An...
The prince walked in quickly, looked at Emperor Wenxuan who looked grim, and spoke cautiously, "Father..."
Emperor Wenxuan picked up a few memorials from the table and threw them at the prince, "You rebellious son, I thought you were just trying to get some gold from the mines, but I didn't expect you to be so cruel."
The prince's face changed drastically, and he quickly flipped through the pages. On it was a memorial written by the governor of Yunzhou, and an impeachment by the imperial censor: an epidemic had spread in the gold mine of Mingyue Mountain in Yunzhou, and the prince had ordered the mountain to be set on fire. Now, refugees were gathering in Yunzhou, and the people were resentful... The prince was cruel and unworthy of being the crown prince...
The prince was panicked and knelt on the ground immediately. "Father, I am really wronged. I really didn't do this. Yunzhou is the fief of the emperor's uncle. How could I have ordered him to do this?"
Emperor Wenxuan said sternly, "The magistrate of Qing County in Yunzhou said that he received orders from your prince, and all the gold mines went into your prince's pocket. There is also your correspondence as evidence. How can you explain to the court officials and the people that you are wronged?"
After he finished speaking, he couldn't help coughing again. The prince said quickly, "Father, please calm down. The dragon's health is more important..."
Emperor Wenxuan's face turned pale. "You, a rebellious son, did these troublesome things to anger me to death. How can I calm down?"
The prince couldn't help but curse in his heart. It was obvious that the old villain Prince An was using him as a pawn. He couldn't hide the trouble he had caused, and put all the blame on him. He only took half of the gold mine, and he didn't know about the rest at all. It was more unfair than Dou E. However, the evidence pointed to him, and he did take the gold mine. Now he really couldn't defend himself.
Bai Chuxiao's eyes flickered slightly, and she spoke in a deep voice, "Father, right now we should control the epidemic and appease the refugees. The war on the front is already tense, and we can't let it get any more chaotic."
Emperor Wenxuan pressed his brows and said, "You are right."
Then he glared at the crown prince fiercely and said in a deep voice, "I will keep this matter secret for you. Go to Yunzhou and calm the people as soon as possible. If you cause any more criticism, you will no longer be the crown prince."
The prince looked unhappy, "Father, I will take care of it."
Emperor Wenxuan also gradually calmed down. Looking at the prince who was about to leave, he said in a deep voice, "Wait, Princess Changning will go with the prince."
The prince was startled, "This..."
Emperor Wenxuan spoke slowly, "Okay, you go down first, and go with your brother and sister-in-law later."
Bai Chuxiao was also incredulous. What did this have to do with her? She didn't want to go at all. She knew that Prince An had an iron mine, but the sudden revelation of the gold mine was really strange. It couldn't be just to trick the prince. Besides, Lin Huai didn't send any more messages. If she went to Yunzhou now, nothing good would happen...
"Father, you also said that I am a woman, it is really inappropriate for me to handle this matter."
Emperor Wenxuan glanced at her and said, "You were able to capture the heads of enemy rebels in Bingzhou. I believe you can handle the rebellion in Yunzhou this time."
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, "Father, the identities of the Princess of Yan and the Princess of the County are not very useful in the face of public resentment, and the officials of Yunzhou will not listen to me. It is enough for the Crown Prince to go."
Emperor Wenxuan said unhappily, "Alright, I don't believe you didn't see that it was the Yunzhou group that was behind this, but now that they are all pointing to the Crown Prince, he must go there in person. I asked you to go there to secretly find out the truth, and most importantly, to protect the Crown Prince's safety."
Bai Chuxiao rolled her eyes in her heart. Was she supposed to be the prince's bodyguard? Aren't they afraid that she would kill the prince out of anger?