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Princess and the General - Chapter 344

Published at 1st of August 2022 08:35:06 AM


Chapter 344

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Wang shi Drowns Herself (Extra)
With the second prince’s order, the eldest prince was detained in the imperial prison.

Compared to where the second prince had been detained, as someone who had committed the crime of killing father and ruler, the treatment that he received was far worse.

Everyone looked at him as if he was a stray dog or a wild rodent, and they were all too eager to beat him to death.

Even he had lost any will to fight. Since he had made that sort of choice back then, he was prepared for today’s outcome. The only thing that he felt any resentment over was that Yin Shuo had chosen to wash his hands of the matter.

In Qinghua Palace, the flowers were in full bloom.

A noble lady in palace attire collapsed at the bottom of some stairs, her red brocade dress contrasted with her pale complexion.

“Lost, my son actually lost…”

“Your Highness!”

A palace maid knelt on the ground, neither daring to step forward to help her up nor daring to say any words to comfort her.

No matter what was said, it would all be pointless. The eldest prince had already been locked up in the imperial prison, and all of the civil and military officials in court recognized his guilt. He was completely powerless.

It was likely that someone would soon remember the eldest prince’s birth mother, and someone would be sent to apprehend her.

Imperial Consort Xian lay on the cold marble with a false smile on her face. she pressed her face against the ground, “My son lost. There’s no longer any chance of him winning.”

The palace maid, who had been serving at her side for a long time, was on the verge of tears at this sight.

She did not know whether she was heartbroken for Imperial Consort Xian’s poor spirits or if she was crying because she would also be dragged down by their downfall.

Imperial Consort Xian listened to the sobbing and just stared wide-eyed, as all sorts of images drifted through her mind.

She remembered when she first entered the palace. She had been wearing a blue jacket and skirt. Standing in a group of beautiful girls, she did not stand out; however, Emperor Ning had chosen her.

He said that the moment he first saw her, he felt that she had a gentle bearing and would surely become a virtuous imperial consort.

Eventually, she would bear Emperor Ning his eldest son, and every member of the imperial harem looked at her with fear. Although the late empress occupied the central palace, she would envy her in the dead of night.

When the eldest prince was three or four years old and in good health, Emperor Ning conferred her the title of Imperial Consort Xian, making her second in the imperial harem behind only the empress.

Her luck was great. In her second year, the empress had given birth to a son, but he died of sickness not long after, and the inner palace treated Imperial Consort Xian as its leader…

These vivid memories of her and Emperor Ning behaving like a loving couple flashed through her mind. They had enjoyed so many years of peaceful harmony between them.

Now, it had been completely ruined.

Emperor Ning was dead, and her son had become a rebel. As someone who had aided him, she would not be able to avoid being implicated.

She closed her eyes, and hot tears fell to the marble floor before quickly turning to ice.

The sound of urgent footsteps came from outside, as a eunuch rushed in, “Your Highness, Your Highness! It’s bad. The imperial guards have come to arrest Your Highness!”

The palace maids in the hall were rushing about frantically, while Imperial Consort Xian suddenly opened her eyes and slowly stood up with the help of the palace maid at her side.

“Arrest me? This One is the one responsible for managing the inner palace and is the eldest prince’s birth mother. Who would dare touch this One?”

Saying this, she quickly pushed away the palace maid’s hand, lifted the hem of her dress, and then ran toward the back yard. Nobody dared to stop her, and nobody knew where she was going.

The imperial guards surged into QingHua Palace with a decree from the cabinet, “By decree of the cabinet, we have come to arrest Imperial Consort Xian, Wang shi, for aiding the eldest prince in the assassination of His Majesty!”

The palace maids trembled in fear and pointed toward the backyard, “Her Highness, s-she ran that way…”

The imperial guards immediately gave chase and searched the entirety of the backyard; however, they did not see any signs of Imperial Consort Xian.

Where could a noble lady without any martial arts training have hidden?

One of the guards saw a well in the backyard and found it a bit suspicious. Stepping forward to take a look, he immediately let out a shocked cry, “Wang shi is here. She threw herself into the well!”

The court officials had not yet dispersed, and the eldest prince’s guilt had already been determined. The only important matter left was the enthronement of the new ruler.

If it was not the eldest prince, it was the second prince. One was a ruler-killing traitor, while the other was the new ruler. There was absolutely no suspense.

Senior cabinet minister Chen cupped his hands toward the sky, “Now that the truth has come to light, His Majesty will be able to rest in peace. Right now, the most pressing matter is to enthrone the new ruler and carry out His Majesty’s funeral. That will keep His Majesty from being kept in Baohua Palace on his own!”

Everyone turned to look at the second prince. The eldest prince was now in prison, so whether it was seniority, talent, prestige, or hope, none could oppose the second prince.

There was absolutely no suspense to this.

Gu ShuBai suddenly remembered what Yu Fu had said. She said that if not for committing regicide, the eldest prince becoming the new ruler would have been the better choice.

The second prince was stupid and ignorant, being swayed by Yin Shuo with just a few words. Would this sort of person be a wise ruler?

He furrowed his brow and was dismayed at the scene unfolding at the front of the court.

While investigating Emperor Ning’s assassination, he had worked earnestly and only thought of finding the truth to allow Emperor Ning to rest in peace.

But now that he had succeeded, with the eldest prince being imprisoned and the second prince about to be enthroned, he could not feel any joy.

He looked at Gu HuaiJiang. Gu HuaiJiang’s face did not show much emotion. He had many years of experience in court and had learned long ago now to show any emotion.

Just as the officials were falling over themselves to crown the second prince the new ruler, Gu HuaiJiang cupped his hands, “For something as important as selecting a new ruler, since ancient times, military officials have not participated in political affairs. This matter shall be left to the cabinet and my lords to decide. This marquis will take these witnesses and find them suitable places to stay. I will be bidding farewell first.”

“Marquis Gu, why are you leaving like this?”

Senior cabinet minister Chen personally stepped forward to have him stay, “What is this about military officials not participating in political affairs? Aside from being a military official, Lord Marquis also holds the title of marquis and is an honorable member of this court! More importantly, if not for Lord Marquis’ efforts in the investigation into His Majesty’s assassination, we might not have been able to find the truth!”

Quite a few officials also chimed in: “That’s right. This case could not have been solved without Lord Marquis. There’s no need to refuse. How could something as important as the enthronement of a new ruler be done without Lord Marquis?

Gu HuaiJiang, however, was very resolute, “This marquis joined in the investigation into His Majesty’s assassination was a result of there being no better option. His Majesty treated this marquis very well, and this marquis had to return that favor to His Majesty. Now that the situation in court has been cleared up, the cabinet will be able to handle the enthronement of the new ruler. This marquis will be leaving first.”

After saying this, he turned and left with Gu ShuBai closely following behind him.

Both father and son had made great contributions, yet they took a step back at this critical moment. They made it hard for people to try and guess what they were thinking.

The corners of Yin Shuo’s lips curled into a sneer, while the second prince’s eyes looked uncertain. Who knew what he was feeling.

If the one who had been engaged to DanYang was Gu ShuBai, he would surely have been able to keep Gu HuaiJiang at this time. After all, his in-laws were the ones he could rely on the most.

Unfortunately, Gu ShuBai did not marry DanYang. This meant that Marquis Gu’s Manor’s army would always be a threat to him, especially after he ascended the throne.

The only person he could rely on now was his brother-in-law, the prime minister who had provided evidence against the eldest prince at a critical moment and the one who was related to him by marriage.

If not for his efforts in working undercover against the eldest prince, how could it have been so easy to get the evidence against him?

Senior cabinet minister Chen watched Gu HuaiJiang and his son depart before returning to the top of the steps and clearing his throat.

He was worried about Yin Shuo, but the second prince was the best choice to become the new ruler. This was an unchangeable truth. After much thought, he loudly said: “His Majesty did not have many sons. Discarding the patricidal and regicidal eldest prince, the second prince is the eldest prince of the remaining princes, and he is the only son born of the late empress. More importantly, with Marquis Gu personally verifying it, before His Majesty passed away, he previously mentioned appointing the second prince as the crown prince. When it comes to talent and ability, the second prince is the only one qualified to become the new ruler. What do my fellow officials think?”

The other officials agreed with this, “Good, the second prince is both talented and virtuous. It’s natural that he should become the new ruler!”

“That’s right, the second prince is the one with the noblest background of all the princes. It’s natural that this would be the case!”

“We all support the second prince becoming the new ruler. Second prince, please do not refuse and quickly ascend the throne to preside over His Majesty’s funeral!”

The second prince had not heard such complimentary words in a long time. Hearing them now, he felt comfortable and at ease.

Yin Shuo stood at his side with that same faint smile as before. Who knew what he was thinking.

Gu HuaiJiang and Gu ShuBai quickly exited the palace. Their footsteps were resolute but also extremely dejected.

Baibu Yang and the others followed them at a distance. They seemed to notice something but did not dare speak out of turn.

“Father, I feel that I still let His Majesty down and let down the citizens of Eastern Ling.”

Gu HuaiJiang suddenly stopped and turned to look at Gu ShuBai, “Foolish child, this isn’t your fault. Even if His Majesty was let down, it I, Gu HuaiJiang, who let him down. It isn’t the fault of the younger generation.”

Gu ShuBai quickly said: “No, father. When you stopped son in the hall earlier, you were right. Yin Shuo’s accusation was very effective. The second prince has already been completely swayed by him. If I had been rash at that time and brought up Yin Shuo’s guilt without any evidence, it would not be trusted by anyone.”

He paused for a moment, “But father, with this sort of person winning the second prince’s trust and becoming the new ruler’s most trusted minister, would they really not cause harm to the innocent?”





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