Chapter 199: Ambition
Ye Shuo was stunned for a moment.
The Sixth Prince paused, then bowed to the First Prince: “Big Brother.”
Seeing this, the eldest prince could not help but sneer: “I don’t deserve your courtesy.”
The Sixth Prince said calmly, “Big Brother, you are too kind. I am really scared.”
The eldest prince: “Humph!”
He kept saying he was terrified, but in his heart he was thinking about how to kill himself!
Then the eldest prince looked at Ye Shuo who was standing beside him: “The imperial concubine has found a good brother for you.” Hearing that he and Xiao Jiu were in trouble, he came over.
He is loyal.Ye Shuo: “?”
I just don’t know if the Sixth Prince had the ability he has now when he was with the Imperial Concubine.
Just as Ye Shuo was stunned, the eldest prince flicked his sleeves and left.
After a while, Ye Shuo couldn’t help but turn his head and ask, “What does he mean?”
Also, Xiao Ming is now quite capable. He dares to challenge the eldest prince openly, which is totally different from his previous style.
Under Ye Shuo’s surprised eyes, the Sixth Prince couldn’t hold it in any longer and couldn’t help but clear his cough.
Then, Ye Shuo understood why the eldest prince was deeply resentful of the sixth prince but did not take any unnecessary action.
During the month when his stepfather was missing, the eldest prince had his own army and was in a position of power, so it was naturally impossible for him to just sit there and wait.
It was fine in the first few days after the news came, but later on, the eldest prince’s small actions became more frequent, and the atmosphere in Shangjing City became even more subtle. The eldest prince wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to control Shangjing and ascend to that position.
The Sixth Prince who stayed behind naturally saw this, and joined forces with He Xiang and other civil officials to resist the attack of the First Prince.
Almost all the civil officials united together, and even the eldest prince did not dare to face his edge, so there is peace now. When the eldest prince sees him again, how can he not be annoyed? How can he not hate him?
In short, the Sixth Prince has made great progress.
If it hadn’t been for this incident, the eldest prince wouldn’t have known that his younger brother was hiding so deeply.
After hearing this, Ye Shuo couldn’t come back to his senses for a long time. When he looked up again, the look he gave the Sixth Prince could not be described as pure surprise, but rather shock.
Is this still the poor little Xiao Ming he knows?
The Sixth Prince was such a calm person, but he felt a little embarrassed when he was looked at by him.
Ye Shuo touched his chin unconsciously and said, “Doesn’t this mean… that I can walk around freely in Shangjing City in the future?”
From now on you can’t call him Xiao Ming anymore. I guess you have to call him Sixth Brother.
The Sixth Prince was speechless when he heard this. It was as if he could not walk around the capital city without him.
It was just that Xiaojiu was happy for himself sincerely without any impurities, which made the Sixth Prince feel comforted.
Over the years, there is a reason why my father would choose to go to Qiuwu Palace whenever he was tired.
After so many years, the Sixth Prince finally became as high-spirited and vigorous as the other princes.
When they were about to part, the Sixth Prince’s eyes inadvertently passed over Yao Zhi, and he couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.
Xiaojiu…is probably the most casual one among all the brothers. He is really out of tune.
It’s better this way. After all, Xiaojiu and I will never be completely opposed to each other like I and my other brothers.
Similarly, Ye Shuo was also very moved that the Sixth Prince came to “rescue” him after hearing the sound.
As for whether there are other factors behind it… I can only say that people can’t live too clearly. Sometimes it’s enough to be almost clear. It’s not a bad thing to be a little confused.
Soon, Ye Shuo separated from the Sixth Prince.
Ye Shuo arranged for Ye Xun to live in the yard next to his own.
“Just live here peacefully. If you have any problems, just come to me or the housekeeper.”
The boy who had just lost his father was the most vulnerable and needed guidance from others. Ye Shuo patiently gave him advice.
Under the warm orange light, the young man’s eyebrows were unusually gentle at the moment. How could anyone who witnessed this scene not be moved?
Yao Zhi’s eyes were confused, and she didn’t dare to stay any longer, and left almost as if she was escaping.
The next morning, Ye Shuo went into the palace without much hesitation.
He returned in a hurry yesterday and only visited his mother and Jianjian. He hasn’t been back for more than two years, so he must go and see Zhao Chongrong and the others, and by the way, thank the three of them for taking care of Qiuwu Palace.
When Xu Chongyi saw Ye Shuo, dhe immediately shouted in surprise: “Ah!”
“Why did you come back? When did you come back? Come in, come in.”
After examining it carefully, Xu Chongyi couldn’t help but say, “It’s thinner than before.”
“Maybe it’s because I have a lot of things to worry about recently, so I’ve lost some weight.” Ye Shuo paused, then answered vaguely.
Soon Li Chongyuan also came over after hearing the news. The two of them observed Ye Shuo over and over again. They entered the palace much earlier than Concubine Rong, and their age was similar to that of Emperor Jingwen. They were not as young as they were before, so naturally they became more talkative.
Ye Shuo was sandwiched between the two people, like a puppet that was powerless to resist.
After finally breaking free, Ye Shuo looked around, but did not see Zhao Chongrong, so he subconsciously asked, “Where is Empress Zhao? Why can’t I see her?”
The moment the words fell, Xu Chongyi and Li Chongyuan suddenly became quiet.
Ye Shuo suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.
Under the urging of the young man’s eyes, Xu Chongyi couldn’t help but sigh: “Sister Zhao has been ill since the beginning of autumn, and she hasn’t recovered until now.”
Being healthy and successful is extremely rare. Birth, ageing, sickness and death are the norm in life. When you reach a certain age, all kinds of illnesses will follow and it is difficult to avoid them.
Besides, Zhao Chongren herself was not a very open-minded person. If she had not had these two children by her side to accompany her and ease the depression a little, the problems hidden in her heart would have erupted long ago and would not have waited until today.
Ye Shuo’s heart tightened, and he stood up immediately: “I’ll go see Empress Zhao.”
Xu Chongyi thought about it and finally nodded.
When Ye Shuo knocked on the door of Shulanzhai and entered the main hall of Shulanzhai, the person who came into his sight was Zhao Chongrong, who looked sick.
Zhao Chongrong’s face was pale. She leaned on the edge of the bed and forced herself to drink the medicine brought by the palace maid. The originally pretty and pleasant woman was no longer as beautiful as she used to be, and looked a little withered and dying.
Sometimes, time can be really cruel.
Seeing this scene, Ye Shuo couldn’t help feeling a little sad.
Noticing the movement at the door, Zhao Chongrong initially thought it was two good friends. At this time, Jianjian was still studying in the study room, and she had no contact with other concubines, so they were the only ones who could come here.
“Didn’t I say to stop coming here to avoid getting sick? Ahem.”
Zhao Chongrong couldn’t help coughing twice, and when she looked up, she saw a tall and graceful figure.
Over the past two years, Ye Shuo had gradually lost his original immaturity. For a moment, Zhao Chongrong almost didn’t recognize him.
When she recognized it was him, Zhao Chongrong suddenly became happy: “When did you come back?”
After reacting, Zhao Chongrong waved his hands hurriedly: “Quick, quick, quick, get out, what if the disease is passed?”
She was very happy that Ye Shuo came to see her for the first time after he came back.
“Don’t worry, I’m in good health.” After saying this, he sat down without caring about Zhao Chongrong’s refusal.
Zhao Chongrong couldn’t help but look at Xu Chongyi and Li Chongyuan, only to find that they were in the same situation, chatting with her as usual.
If I can find a few people like this, my life in this palace will be worthwhile.
There were tears in Zhao Chongrong’s eyes, but she was afraid that they would worry, so she pretended to lower her head to eat candied fruit while no one was paying attention, and quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve.
But how could Ye Shuo and the others not see it? They just pretended not to know.
Around noon, Jianjian also came over. Jianjian first habitually glanced at the flowerpot next to her and saw that there was no medicine soup in it. Then she heard that Empress Xu and the others saw Empress Zhao drink the medicine with their own eyes, and only then did she feel relieved.
Zhao Chongrong felt a little embarrassed as she was already old and had to be taken care of by a little kid.
Jian Jian said, “So what if you are old? Won’t you still act like a child?”
It turned out that Zhao Chongrong felt that these decoctions were useless. She hadn’t seen any improvement after drinking so many of them. Plus, the medicine was bitter, so she poured the whole bowl into the flowerpot in a fit of anger.
After Jianjian found out, this is what happened.
Zhao Chongrong couldn’t help but argue: “It was only that one time.”
But it didn’t work this time.
Jianjian couldn’t help but sigh: “You have to take the medicine on time, then the disease can be cured.”
Zhao Chongrong had no hope at first. Over the years, she had seen too many people in the palace, many of whom died of a cold. Zhao Chongrong didn’t think she would be the lucky one, but…
Looking at the undisguised worry in so many people’s eyes, Zhao Chongrong gradually felt a sense of energy in her heart.
When Ye Shuo and others left, Zhao Chongrong was obviously in much better spirits than before.
Ye Shuo specifically asked Jian Jian and found out that Empress Zhao had caught a cold in the early autumn, which caused evil wind to enter her body. In addition, she had accidentally lost her daughter that year, which injured her body, so it took so long for her to recover.
Ye Shuo was anxious here but couldn’t do anything. He could only try his best to help find some precious medicinal herbs and spend more time with her.
After what happened, Ye Shuo’s mood was naturally not very good.
Even though he has lived two lives and knows that with the passage of time, people will gradually begin to lose things after reaching a certain age, but he still prays that this day will come later and later.
After returning home, before Ye Shuo could calm down, he heard that the matter he had been investigating for so many days had finally made some progress.
The assassination was indeed not instigated by the crown prince. Rather, the prefects of Yeling and Xianghu saw that Emperor Jingwen was coming with great force and was killing and beheading people wherever he went. They knew that when the emperor arrived, it would be their own death. Even the crown prince could not save them, so the two prefects were desperate and actually came up with the idea of treason.
Since there is no doubt that I will die, I might as well give it a try. There might be a chance of a turning point.
There is no other reason, and it is not instructed by others. The answer is that simple.
But what Ye Shuo didn’t understand was, when his step-father was well prepared, how could the two prefects have such great abilities and how did they collude with such a large group of assassins.
It is precisely because the number and quality of the assassins are completely beyond the ability of a mere prefect that he suspects the crown prince’s involvement.
Now it has been confirmed that it was not done by the crown prince. When the crown prince was in Bingzhou, he did not move at all, so who else could it be?
However, before Ye Shuo could think about it carefully, during the morning court session the next day, another piece of news that shocked countless people came –
In front of all the civil and military officials, the Seventh Prince revealed how the Second Prince had someone conceal the truth and replaced a letter.
No, it’s not a swap, but the order of the words in the original letter was changed, so that two different meanings are presented.
“I hope your Majesty will understand.”
As he spoke, the Seventh Prince lowered his head and respectfully raised above his head the thing he had obtained with all his strength.