HLnovel Chapter 440 World 759
Chapter 440 World 759
"Does it look like it?" The eldest prince leaned against the door frame and chuckled. "I arranged it on purpose."
Looking through the open door behind him, the study was completely empty, except for wine jars; it was clear that everything, whether useful or not, had been moved out.
No one can say for sure whether there is any evidence in the study that can directly accuse the eldest prince.
The eldest prince staggered forward a couple of steps, then leaned against a pillar under the eaves: "Shou Kang, you've come at the right time. We're out of wine. Have someone bring me some more."
The smell of alcohol on his breath made Yin Yin frown: "Go and make some hangover soup for His Highness."
“I don’t want hangover soup,” the eldest prince shouted. “I want wine, wine is what makes people drunk.”
"The fact that you can say that means you've drunk so much but are still sober," Yin Yin paused, "and even if you drink more, it probably won't make any difference."
“How can it be meaningless?” the eldest prince laughed. “When I’m drunk, I will always be the Crown Prince. No, I can be whatever I want. I can be the Crown Prince or the Emperor.”
The eldest prince spread his arms wide: "I possess the whole world, and everyone submits to my rule."
Yin Yin didn't want to hear his self-deceiving words: "His Majesty ordered people to send the Fifth Prince back to the Imperial Mausoleum in the capital for burial. It should arrive in a few days. Don't you want to go and see him off?"
The eldest prince was somewhat stunned, then slowly slid down the pillar and sat on the ground.
After a long silence, he covered his face and let out a sob: "Fifth brother, I'm sorry, I'm the one who's sorry!"
"Fifth brother, I didn't mean to kill you!"
The eldest prince prostrated himself on the ground and wept bitterly, but Yin Yin subconsciously felt that he was being too exaggerated, to the point of being somewhat fake.
Perhaps it was Yin Yin's unmoved state that made the eldest prince unable to continue crying. His voice gradually stopped, but he did not get up. Instead, he pretended to be snoring in his sleep.
Yin Yin's eyes were somewhat cold. She came to see for herself because she was afraid that the eldest prince might commit suicide in a moment of despair. But now it seemed that as long as he could live, the eldest prince would not die no matter who died. His desire to live was almost overflowing.
She called in two Mingjing Hall guards who were standing outside: "Carry His Highness inside, and leave two more people inside to keep an eye on him."
After giving her instructions, Yinyin turned and left.
Unfortunately, she has to stay at the First Prince's residence for the next few days, otherwise, if something really happens, it will be difficult to explain to the Emperor.
However, Yin Yin's stay here was not in vain. Perhaps because she spent a lot of time with Ping Ying, Yin Yin discovered that Ping Ying was quite different from the other princesses and noblewomen of the royal family. She had a lot of resilience and was very capable of taking on responsibilities.
Upon closer reflection, it becomes understandable. After all, the eldest prince resented that his wife's family couldn't provide him with any support, and he disliked that Pingying wasn't a son. He didn't have the emperor's eldest grandson, so his behavior was somewhat akin to favoring his concubine over his wife.
If it weren't for Pingying's help at such a young age, and the fact that the emperor only recognized the eldest prince's wife as his daughter-in-law, who knows what the situation would be like now.
With nothing much to do at home, Yinyin decided to give Pingying a few words of advice, hoping she would take them to heart and have a better life in the future.
Ten days later, the Fifth Prince and his family were sent to the capital. The emperor bestowed the title of Prince upon the Fifth Prince's eldest son and ordered the family to reside in the capital permanently.
On the other hand, the emperor dragged the eldest prince out to pay respects to the fifth prince, and then imprisoned him directly.
The evidence against the First Prince for harming the Fifth Prince has been found to be complete and detailed, including numerous witness testimonies, so the First Prince no longer needs to live in his residence.
Yinyin no longer had to stay at the First Prince's residence and was finally able to go home.
But by the afternoon of the following day, Yin Yin heard some seemingly outrageous news.
"Princess, the eldest prince is dead."
"What did you say?" Yin Yin was still somewhat incredulous. "How could he possibly be dead?"
The steward who came to deliver the message confirmed to her, "It was sent by Eunuch Wu from the palace. He said that His Majesty was so angry after hearing the news that his hands were trembling. Neither His Highness the Crown Prince nor our Marquis could calm him down. He requests that you come to the palace immediately!"
Yinyin didn't dare to delay. She told Liu Cheng and hurried to the palace.
In the palace, the imperial physician had arrived before Yin Yin, but Yin Yin still couldn't tell that the emperor was in good condition.
She quickly stepped forward and used her internal energy to pat the emperor's back and press the acupoints on his hands. After a while, the emperor finally felt a little better.
“That rebellious son,” the emperor said through gritted teeth, closing his eyes. “Demote him to a commoner, expel him from the clan. A mere commoner, just roll him up in a mat and bury him in a pit dug outside the city. Don’t waste money on a coffin.”
Grandpa Wu hesitated for a moment, and Yinyin gestured to him to go out first, but not to do anything.
Then, Yin Yin advised the emperor, "Father, please rest for a while. You were very angry just now, and you can't keep going like this."
The Empress and the Crown Prince shared the same opinion, but the Emperor was so angry that his liver ached and he couldn't sleep.
Yinyin offered, "Then let me massage your head, maybe you'll fall asleep in a bit."
Once the emperor agreed, Yinyin gently massaged his acupoints for a while. After the emperor closed his eyes, she pressed his sleeping acupoint.
The emperor fainted and fell asleep passively, which could be considered as falling asleep.
The Empress and the Crown Prince breathed a sigh of relief and said to Yin Yin, "No wonder His Majesty is angry; the eldest son is truly a scoundrel."
"His Majesty was angry, but he hadn't actually figured out how to deal with him. The eldest son kept saying that His Majesty wanted to kill him, so he committed suicide first, so that the whole world would know that he was forced to his death by His Majesty."
After hearing this, Yin Yin also felt a headache coming on. What kind of mess was this? The eldest prince died, which was easy and clean, but the mess left behind still needed to be handled by the living.
The emperor didn't sleep for very long. When he woke up, he was in much better condition, but he still didn't change his mind. At most, he added a thin coffin for the eldest prince.
When it came to the eldest prince's family, he simply gave them several acres of land so they could be self-sufficient.
No one dared to offer any advice at this time, and after the emperor had been so angry, his health quickly deteriorated.
A person's signs of aging cannot be hidden, but now, with the emperor old and the crown prince still young, even the once peaceful neighboring countries are starting to stir.
The emperor put the empress in charge of the palace and the capital's defenses, and then handed the military tally to Yin Yin again, instructing her: "Return soon."