HLnovel Chapter 116: Brothers Killing Each Other at a Young Age
Chapter 116: Brothers Killing Each Other at a Young Age
“His leg problem is not congenital”
Xiao Lingche looked at Ye Qingge and his expression became serious.
“Is it man-made?”
Ye Qingge asked in a low voice
"Um"
Xiao Lingche nodded, looking into the distance, as if recalling the past.
He didn't receive much love and care since he was young. His own life was hard to describe, so how could he have time to care about others?
It was just that the incident with his fifth brother had a huge impact on him at the time. Fortunately, he was able to survive. He remembered that his father was so angry that he scolded all of the princes one by one.
The fifth brother was the legitimate son of the queen and had been loved since childhood. His father was also extremely partial to him and he was made the crown prince when he was born. This aroused the jealousy of the other palaces.
He particularly remembered that day, a sunny day in March after the rain, when his fifth brother was playing in the Imperial Garden. He happened to pass by and saw the eldest prince and Prince Rui hiding behind the rockery and acting suspiciously. He didn't know what they were doing.
Although he was fostered in the palace of Concubine Shu, everyone knew that his mother was just a lowly palace maid, so the princes looked down on him and were unwilling to play with him.
He was not close to them, so he pretended not to see the two sneaking around. He went to the study to catch up on his homework, as he had missed the previous day's homework due to horseback riding practice.
Not long after, a palace servant came to report that the prince was injured and asked him to go back quickly.
The emperor was furious and summoned all the people from the palace to find out the truth.
He didn't know that the situation would be so serious. At that time, his fifth brother was still lying in bed unconscious. He only heard the doctor come to report
"Your Majesty, this is bad. The poison has already invaded the prince's leg bones. I'm afraid..."
The imperial physician was a little hesitant to speak, fearing that the emperor would blame him.
The emperor saw that he was hesitant to speak and shouted anxiously
"What are you afraid of? Tell me now!"
The doctor was so frightened that he fell to the ground
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to walk anymore.”
"What? Tell me again."
The emperor was so angry that he fell down on the dragon throne. If the prince couldn't walk, how could he be the king of a country in the future? Ye'er was his proudest child.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I have tried my best to treat the prince, but the poison is too strong. I am lucky to be able to save his life."
The doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead while speaking, his body trembling.
"Check, check for me!!"
Who is so bold as to murder his son? He will kill all his clans!
They all knelt in the Qianqing Palace, waiting to find out the truth. After several inquiries, a young eunuch suddenly pointed at Xiao Lingche and said,
"When the Crown Prince was playing in the Imperial Garden, I saw the Fifth Prince passing by."
Everyone looked at him. At this moment, Xiao Lingche felt funny in his heart. Oh, so they were waiting for him here.
The emperor also looked at him. He seldom paid attention to the third brother. Could it be that because of this, he was jealous of Ye'er and did something to hurt Ye'er?
Xiao Lingche looked at the emperor's eyes, which clearly showed that he was the murderer. Fortunately, he no longer had much expectations for his father, nor did he have much affection for him.
So he doesn't care, but if you want to wrongly accuse him, it is impossible.
He knelt straight and calmly told the story of how he saw the eldest prince and Prince Rui hiding behind the rockery when he passed by the Imperial Garden. Then he said that he did pass by the Imperial Garden, but he went directly to the study.
The emperor looked at the eldest and second princes kneeling beside him.
After all, they were just children. When they heard someone pointing at them, they became nervous and did not dare to look up at the emperor.
The mothers and concubines beside them each protected their sons
"You're talking nonsense. We didn't go to the Imperial Garden at all."
The eldest prince pointed at him angrily. He didn't expect that the third prince actually saw them.
"Yes, Third Brother, what evidence do you have that you saw Han'er in the Imperial Garden? Don't slander me."
Concubine Lan also scolded Xiao Lingche dissatisfiedly and held Prince Rui in her arms.
Oh, what a deep love between mother and son!
His mother, Concubine Shu, was supposed to be here too, but she had just given birth and was still very weak, so the emperor allowed her to stay in his palace.
Seeing Xiao Lingche was isolated and helpless, everyone began to point the finger at him.
He was calm and didn't seem scared at all.
"You want evidence, fine."
He turned to look at the emperor
"Father, the evidence is on their shoes. This morning, there was a spring rain, and the soil around the rockery in the Imperial Garden is soft and moist. Anyone who has been there will definitely have mud on their shoes. Just look for mud on their shoes, and you'll know who's lying!"
What? The eldest prince and Prince Rui were panicked. Before they could run back to their own palace, they were called over by their father. They had no time to change their shoes. Besides, they had not thought of this.
At this moment, they just wanted to wipe the mud off their shoes with their sleeves, but the emperor did not give them the opportunity.
"Someone, check the shoes of the eldest and second princes!"
Eunuch Xu beside the emperor shook off the dust and came over to check it himself. After looking for a few seconds, he bowed to the emperor and said
"There is indeed some mud on the shoes of the Emperor, the First Prince, and the Second Prince."
The emperor was so angry that he threw a cup of teacup over
"You two are so brave!!"
Concubine Lan saw that the teacup was about to hit her son's head, so she quickly used her body to protect him. The teacup hit her back and then fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
She endured the pain, turned unwillingly and said to her father
"There's mud on their shoes because they just went to the riding stables. Your Majesty, you can't conclude that they did it just based on that."
The eldest prince's mother, Lipin, also said
"Yes, Your Majesty, you must investigate thoroughly before making a conclusion."
Xiao Lingche snorted in his heart, he stood up and walked towards the eldest prince
"You, what do you want to do?"
The eldest prince looked at him and was a little confused.
Xiao Lingche bent down and took a bamboo leaf from his shoe.
"Your Majesty, please look! This is a bamboo leaf I took off my brother's shoe. As everyone knows, the only bamboo planted in the entire Imperial Garden is behind the rockery. I'd like to ask, brother, are there any bamboos in the riding arena?"
The eldest prince looked at him in shock. He tried to grab the bamboo leaf, but Xiao Lingche dodged it.
The emperor saw his actions, what else is there to not understand?
Xiao Lingche continued
"If I'm not mistaken, there are still your footprints behind the rockery. Father can send someone to compare them."
Although the truth was almost the same, the emperor still sent someone to take off the shoes of the two men for comparison.
After a while, the palace maid who had left came back.
"Your Majesty, the Third Prince is right. There are indeed footprints behind the rockery, and the shoes of the First and Second Princes are the same size."
At this time, the eldest prince and King Rui fell to the ground.
"Hmph, what else do you two have to explain?"
The emperor asked
As the emperor, he really didn't expect that they would start killing each other at such a young age. What would happen to them when they grow up?
But what happened just now made him re-evaluate the third brother who was calm in the face of danger.