Chapter 426: Xie Shi'an's Scheme
"Prince Shun is not here. If you have no other matters, Lord Yun, please return."
Xie Shi'an stepped forward first and had Yun Ze escorted out.
Prince Cheng turned his head, glaring at him angrily.
"Your Highness, do not be impatient," Xie Shi'an spoke unhurriedly. "The court dares not kill Consort Yuan. She will not be in any life-threatening danger, rest assured."
"I am about to storm the palace! How could the court possibly spare my mother?" Prince Cheng took a deep breath. "Someone, go call Yun Ze back..."
"Wait." Xie Shi'an stopped him. "If the court kills Consort Yuan, wouldn't that be more advantageous for Your Highness?"
Prince Cheng narrowed his eyes. "How so?"
"Your Highness is not storming the palace, but rather bestowing Sweet Dew upon the common people. That is why you have tirelessly journeyed from Ningzhou all the way to the capital. These common people followed voluntarily—how can this be called rebellion?" Xie Shi'an spoke slowly. "Now Your Highness holds extremely high prestige among the people. If the court kills your birth mother at this time, it would enrage the entire populace. Surely more and more commoners will follow Your Highness. Currently, we only have two hundred thousand followers. If that number reaches three hundred thousand, we can completely trample the imperial city!"
"But..."
Prince Cheng still wanted to rescue his mother first.
He had been raised by his mother since childhood, coddled in her palms, afraid he might fall or get hurt. When he left for his fief, the person he missed most was his mother.
No matter how legitimate his pretext, he knew in his heart that what he was about to do was treasonous.
The court would certainly make an example of his mother.
"Those who achieve great things must not be constrained by such attachments," Xie Shi'an said. "Now Prince Shun is also in our hands. Like Your Highness, he is of legitimate imperial bloodline. With both Your Highnesses joining forces in this great undertaking, our efforts will yield twice the result with half the effort!"
Prince Cheng remained silent for a long time.
After about half an hour, he finally said, "Bring Old Seventh in."
Before long, two guards escorted a young man inside.
The youth was in a wretched state—his hair disheveled, face smudged with dirt, but his eyes brimming with fury.
He angrily rebuked, "Sixth Imperial Brother, you have truly gone mad! You actually poisoned the common people to fabricate a plague, then created some so-called Heavenly Maiden, using Sweet Dew to deceive them! Do you realize what you are doing? This is rebellion!"
"So what if it is rebellion? Why should I remain a prince of the fiefdom my whole life while Chu Hongyu, a mere Imperial Grandson, gets to sit on that throne!" Prince Cheng's eyes turned sinister. "All five of my elder imperial brothers are gone, which makes me the most legitimate and lawful successor! That throne rightfully belongs to me! What is wrong with reclaiming what is mine!"
"Father Emperor's decree commanded the Imperial Grandson to ascend the throne—that is the truth!" Prince Shun was boiling with rage. "Sixth Imperial Brother, you have been bewitched! By all of you people!"
He pointed at the dozen or so Counselors nearby, flames practically shooting from his eyes.
"Prince Shun, there is no need for such anger. Calm yourself." Xie Shi'an poured a cup of tea and offered it to Prince Shun.
But it was knocked over with a swipe.Tea splashed on his clothes, yet Xie Shi'an showed no trace of annoyance. He smiled and said, "If Your Highness Prince Shun persists in futile resistance, there is only one path left for you—death. And it won't be just you; your mother Consort Shu and your maternal grandfather's Zheng Family will all accompany you to the grave. But if you comply obediently, once Prince Cheng ascends the throne, you will be granted the most honorable title in the realm, and the Zheng Family will rise to prominence alongside you. How does that sound?"
"You...!" Prince Shun's eyes widened. "I've seen you before! Back then, you were the Second Prince's counselor—I spotted you at the Gongxi Royal Mansion!"
His impression of Xie Shi'an was profound, not because Xie Shi'an was missing an eye, but because this man was remarkably young, merely two or three years older than himself. At that time, he had enjoyed the Second Prince's utmost trust and favor... Never could he have imagined that the one who once served the Second Prince would now become the Sixth Prince's most influential confidant.
"Back then, you incited the Second Prince to rebel, and now you're instigating the Sixth Prince to treason! What are your true intentions?"
Prince Shun grabbed the nearest object and hurled it at Xie Shi'an's face. The tent held only a desk with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. He seized the inkstone and threw it with force, but Xie Shi'an dodged, and the inkstone struck his shoulder instead.
Xie Shi'an's expression instantly darkened.
In the past, he had often been humiliated without the ability to retaliate.
But now...
He curled his lips into a cold smile. "It seems Your Highness Prince Shun has yet to grasp the current situation. Guards, drag him away and give him twenty strokes of the rod first."
"Yes!"
Two guards entered and hauled Prince Shun out.
Xie Shi'an turned to Prince Cheng. "We must quicken our pace. There are too many people on the road, and complications may arise. Starting tomorrow, we'll travel through the night as well."
Prince Cheng, who deferred to Xie Shi'an in all matters, nodded. "As you say."
When he had first arrived in Ningzhou as a feudal prince, free from constraints, he indulged in daily feasting and revelry, relishing his liberty.
But trouble soon followed. Local powerful families in Ningzhou began causing him difficulties, seizing tax revenues rightfully his. As a feudal prince, he lived worse than his subordinates, sparking his discontent. He clashed with these influential clans.
The outcome was his marginalization—he became a prince in title only, stripped of real power.
In his despair and helplessness, Xie Shi'an arrived. He devised strategies, executing a series of plots that compelled the powerful families to voluntarily surrender the taxes to the princely mansion... It was Xie Shi'an who enabled him to fully control Ningzhou City.
And it was Xie Shi'an who conceived a brilliant plan, persuading so many commoners to willingly follow him.
These people, bringing their families and own provisions, required no military supplies or pay from him. Merely bestowing a little Sweet Dew each day ensured their unwavering loyalty...
The next morning, when the Heavenly Maiden bestowed the Sweet Dew, she announced the accelerated journey to reach the capital as soon as possible. No one voiced any objection.
Over two hundred thousand civilians advanced toward the capital at a rapid pace.
Simultaneously, those sent to investigate clues returned to the capital."Reporting to the Empress Dowager, we have investigated Changgan County and found that all the well water in the county has issues..." The official took out a water flask and poured a cup of water. "The water quality is visibly abnormal. I had physicians examine it—it's poisoned. Those who consume this poison develop red eyes, which matches the symptoms of the previous plague..."
Yun Chu nodded. "Aside from the water, is there any other evidence?"
"All the corpses in Changgan County have been burned, and many houses were reduced to ashes as well. No other evidence could be found..." The official sighed. "At great expense, I managed to purchase a remaining batch of Sweet Dew water. Besides containing the antidote, this Sweet Dew also includes an ingredient that can temporarily cloud one's mind and impair judgment. I dare to speculate that Cheng Wang used this ingredient to control the common people..."
Yun Chu lowered her gaze.
The fact that these common people were being controlled by drugs made the situation more complicated than she had anticipated.
She spoke: "Have the imperial physicians prepare the antidote first."
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