The Palace. The once bustling grand hall was now solemn. The palace maids scurried about in haste, their faces still bearing traces of lingering fear.
On the dragon bed, the emperor was helped to sit up by the chief eunuch. Fatigue and drowsiness were evident on his face. His eyes were cloudy as he stared at the man kneeling on the ground.
Zheng Yuanjia was a strikingly handsome man with long, slanting eyebrows, smooth facial lines, thin lips, and star - like eyes.
However, at this moment, he no longer exuded his usual air of superiority. He knelt in front of the bed with his head bowed, lips tightly pursed and silent.
"Prince," the emperor on the bed coughed lightly twice, sighing, "It seems I'm truly at the end of my rope."
Zheng Yuanjia knew that although the emperor said so, in fact, he still clung to life and was doing everything in his power to prolong it. He had no idea when he had crossed the emperor's red line.
Apart from the emperor himself, no one knew him better than Zheng Yuanjia.
A flicker of vulnerability briefly crossed Zheng Yuanjia's face. Like a filial son, he said, "Father, you are the true dragon emperor. You will surely live a long life. You mustn't say such things."
"Humph."
The emperor let out a cold snort. His expression was unfathomable as he stared intently at Zheng Yuanjia.
All the waiting maids and eunuchs had already knelt down, burying their heads deeply, fearing that the emperor's anger might spill over onto them.
"Really?" The aged emperor looked at his son, who was on the verge of his prime years, and said coldly, "If that's the case, then why are you in such a hurry?"
"Could it be that you no longer want to be the prince and are eager to take a step further?"
Zheng Yuanjia immediately kowtowed and exclaimed loudly, "Father! How dare your son!"
"What wouldn't you dare!"
The emperor took the few sheets of paper from a palace attendant and threw them forcefully at Zheng Yuanjia's face.
The paper was thin. No matter how hard it was thrown, it couldn't cause any harm. But Zheng Yuanjia stood still, stunned. He picked up the paper and glanced at it. His face instantly turned pale.
No, how could the emperor have found out about this?
He had been extremely cautious in his actions. Moreover, no one should have detected the loopholes. How could the emperor have such evidence in his hands!
Zheng Yuanjia could hardly conceal his panic, but he still tried to calm himself down. "Father, your son was deceived by a villain. By the time I realized it, it was too late to turn back!"
It seemed that he had to find a scapegoat; otherwise, he would be in great danger this time.
Numerous names flashed through Zheng Yuanjia's mind, and finally, he stopped at an inconspicuous one.
Zheng Yuanqing, also the emperor's son, was much more pitiful. Few people paid attention to him.
If so, wouldn't it be the best choice to pin this on him? Moreover, his mother's clan was also involved, albeit only slightly, but it was an extremely important handle.
"Let's hear you out," the emperor said with a sarcastic laugh. But towards his favorite prince, he still had a bit of patience. "As the prince, who would dare to scheme against you?"
"Father! Your son was naive back then. I was inadvertently deceived by the methods proposed by the third brother. At that time, your son was in the Ministry of Works and was short of silver, so I had no choice but to..."
As Zheng Yuanjia spoke, he choked with sobs, looking extremely remorseful.
"Are you saying this has something to do with your third brother?"
The emperor's expression changed constantly. Zheng Yuanjia couldn't figure out whether the emperor would forgive him and let Zheng Yuanqing take the blame or continue to investigate.
It all depended on the emperor's whim.
Thinking like this, Zheng Yuanjia glanced at the carved dragon on the bed. His gaze faltered for a moment, and then his desire in his heart grew stronger.
This was power!
...
After receiving Zheng Yuanqing's letter, Meng Ruyi and Song Huaizhi had been waiting. It was not until he entered the city that the two invited him to a small gathering at the academy.
After months of separation, Zheng Yuanqing seemed to have grown a lot. He was tall and straight, with a handsome face. He had just gotten a bit tanned, and when he smiled, his white teeth showed.
Meng Ruyi found it amusing and almost burst out laughing. But then she saw Zheng Yuanqing take out a letter and hand it to her. "Miss Meng, this is a letter from Mr. and Mrs. Meng."
Meng Ruyi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly took the letter and said to the two of them, "I'll go and read it. You guys talk first."
Counting the time, the letter she had sent back should still be on the way. She didn't expect to receive a letter from her parents first.
Surprised, Meng Ruyi rushed into the room to read the letter.
Song Huaizhi sat there. Seeing Zheng Yuanqing's expression, he asked, "Why didn't you go back to the capital to report your mission?"
Something was off. Zheng Yuanqing was clearly distracted.
Logically speaking, after accomplishing a great task, he should be in high spirits at this moment. But now, he was inexplicably dejected. Something must have happened.
"Father is acting strangely," Zheng Yuanqing frowned and came back to his senses. Looking at Song Huaizhi, he said, "What on earth happened during my absence?"
"When I returned to the capital, I should have gone to the palace to report first. But earlier, Father sent a message, asking me to wait and not to rush into the palace."
Hearing this, Song Huaizhi also frowned. A look of solemnity crossed his face. Thinking of how the capital had been as calm as a stagnant pool in recent days, without the slightest ripple, he felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
"This is trouble," Song Huaizhi looked up at Zheng Yuanqing and said, "It may have something to do with the prince."
"What!"
Zheng Yuanqing was shocked. "Why would he pay attention to me?"
Thinking of Zheng Yuanjia, Song Huaizhi gave a half - smile, his expression cold. "He needs you to take the blame."
"Quickly check on your mother's clan," Song Huaizhi said, "The prince tampered with the flood - control dike. Now that the matter has been exposed, he will probably find someone to take the blame.
"You came back just in time. You can do him a 'favor'."
"What! The dike!" Zheng Yuanqing suddenly stood up and slapped the table. His face was uglier than ever. "He's crazy! If something goes wrong there, then..."
Zheng Yuanqing gasped sharply and said, "It's over. Those fools must have gotten involved. Otherwise, Zheng Yuanjia wouldn't be able to frame me!"
"Think of a way to extricate yourself as much as possible," Song Huaizhi sighed deeply. He hadn't expected Zheng Yuanqing to run into such a big trouble as soon as he returned to the capital. He lowered his head and fell into deep thought.
Since Zheng Yuanjia dared to frame someone, he must have made full preparations.
Zheng Yuanqing may only have one way out now, which was to sever ties with his mother's clan. But how easy was that?
It seemed that they had to quickly collect evidence against his mother's clan and then let Zheng Yuanqing play the family - affection card. Maybe there would still be a glimmer of hope.
It was really...
The more Song Huaizhi thought about it, the more headache he got. A look of contemplation involuntarily crossed his face.
It seemed that there was another big trouble on the way.
Before the two could continue discussing, Zheng Yuanqing heard his guard shout outside the door, "Your Highness, someone is looking for you!"
Zheng Yuanqing's face suddenly darkened. He exchanged a look with Song Huaizhi. After a moment of silence, he got up and opened the door.
A fair - faced, beardless man holding a whisk saw him and said, "Your Highness the Third Prince, His Majesty requests your presence."
Before Zheng Yuanqing could come to his senses, the eunuch turned to Song Huaizhi and said, "Are you Mr. Song?
"His Majesty has been curious about you for a long time. He said for you to accompany the Third Prince to have an audience with him."