novelraw Chapter 691 - 680: The Cuckolded Prince
Chapter 691 - 680: The Cuckolded Prince
"Who is there?" Crown Prince Ye Zheng shouted loudly.
"Ah!" Suddenly, a scream came, but this voice did not belong to any of Ye Zheng, Lin Jingxian, Emperor Xingwu, or Consort Hui.
The palace door swung open, and from the side hall emerged an Imperial Mandate and a group of palace maid and eunuchs, their lanterns shedding light on the disgraceful scene before them.
Crown Prince Ye Zheng and Fifth Princess Consort Lin Jingxian stood disheveled in the center of the grand hall, Emperor Xingwu’s face an ashen hue, Consort Hui also displayed evident embarrassment, and the Imperial Mandates who caught them were visibly panicked.
"Father Emperor..." Ye Zheng knelt down, his face pale, while Lin Jingxian collapsed to the ground, at a loss.
"Unfilial child!" Emperor Xingwu fiercely slapped Ye Zheng, then his eyes filled with venom as he surveyed the people around, even Consort Hui, who was usually highly favored, was taken aback by his gaze.
"Lian Xi." At this moment of uncertainty among everyone, Emperor Xingwu called over his Personal Eunuch nearby.
"Your servant is here." Lian Xi dared not even breathe loudly.
"Drag these palace maids and eunuchs out for punishment, as for the others..." Emperor Xingwu’s piercing eyes swept over them.
"Spare us, Your Majesty, spare our lives! I did not see anything today, nor did I hear anything."
"I dare to assure you with the life of my entire family that I will not speak a word about today."
Emperor Xingwu closed his eyes; he did want to punish these people immediately, but outside, the courtiers were celebrating, under what pretext could he act?
"Remember what you said today," Emperor Xingwu coldly watched them, "Lian Xi, make sure you remember their faces and find out which families they belong to. If anyone dares to spread word of today’s events, execute their entire clan."
"Yes!"
"Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace!"
"I thank Your Majesty for your great grace and kindness!"
The few Imperial Mandates hurriedly knelt to express their gratitude, but only they knew what they were truly thinking.
It was the Imperial Family’s own scandal, yet they were made to bear the blame. How utterly unfair! With such a Crown Prince, why should everyone be implicated by him? If he ascends to ultimate power one day, what justice could possibly exist in this world?
But hearing Emperor Xingwu’s command, Ye Zheng and Lin Jingxian temporarily heaved a sigh of relief.
Only Consort Hui resented this; even at such a juncture, the Emperor still protected his disgraceful son, truly unbearable!
"After the feast, confine the Crown Prince to the Eastern Palace. Without my command, he is not to step out."
"The Fifth Princess Consort has shown unbearable character and has confronted Consort Hui; hereafter, she is not to enter the palace unless summoned."
"Yes," Lin Jingxian said through gritted teeth, pale-faced.
"Get out!" Emperor Xingwu roared at her. If it weren’t for her being currently married to Xiao Wu, and Xiao Wu still unaware of all this, and handling her would implicate the Crown Prince, he would have dealt with this vile woman already.
Lin Jingxian staggered away, leaving only Emperor Xingwu, Crown Prince, Consort Hui, and the eunuch Lian Xi.
Emperor Xingwu waved his hand, signaling Lian Xi to take the Crown Prince away, his eyes fixated sternly on Consort Hui.
Consort Hui was terrified by his gaze and involuntarily stepped back: "Your Majesty, I will not speak of this matter."
"It was your arrangement, wasn’t it?" Emperor Xingwu said wearily.
Consort Hui’s face stiffened: "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? How would I know that the Crown Prince and the Fifth Princess Consort would do such a thing?"
"No need to quibble anymore." Emperor Xingwu’s gaze no longer contained any indulgence, "Let me tell you directly, no matter what big mistakes the Crown Prince has made, in the end, this position can only belong to him, whatever you do is futile."
"It’s not." Consort Hui shook her head desperately, crying like rain, "It really wasn’t me, I have never harbored inappropriate thoughts, being by Your Majesty’s side is already a blessing for me, Your Majesty, I really didn’t know the Crown Prince and Fifth Princess Consort would be so bold!"
Seeing her cry so sorrowfully, Emperor Xingwu’s original suspicion was somewhat shaken. Indeed! Who could have imagined that the Crown Prince and that restless wretch Lin Jingxian would do such a thing? Was someone deliberately luring Consort Hui here?
And those Imperial Mandate women, how come they just happened to appear here?
After regaining his senses, Emperor Xingwu wanted to arrest someone for questioning, but those Imperial Mandate women had already returned to the banquet, and sending someone to interrogate them seemed improper. As for those palace maids and eunuchs, they were already out of breath. Who exactly is the person behind this?
Meanwhile, the Empress and Ye Qiu saw several Imperial Mandate women running back in panic, noticed their attendant palace maids and eunuchs were nowhere to be seen, and knew that Emperor Xingwu had suppressed the matter, they couldn’t help but sarcastically laugh.
But considering so many people witnessed the scene tonight, would it really remain silent as Emperor Xingwu hoped?
"Where have you been?" Just as Lin Jingxian settled back into her seat, Ye Qiu suddenly asked.
"Ah!" She was clearly startled, unable to even look at Ye Qiu, breathing heavily.
Ye Qiuxin sneered inside, seeing her look utterly lost and suddenly leaned in and said: "What? Caught doing something bad?"
"What are you babbling about?" Lin Jingxian retorted after calming down, confident that this matter would not be leaked, as the Emperor would not let the Crown Prince’s reputation be tarnished, so she faced Ye Qiu with courage.
"Whether I’m babbling or not, you know it yourself." Ye Qiu looked at her with a smirk, then said no more.
Lin Jingxian was preoccupied with other things, not believing that Ye Qiu would know about her relationship with the Crown Prince, thus she didn’t pay much attention, focusing entirely on the belated arrival of Emperor Xingwu and Consort Hui.
She dared not look directly at Emperor Xingwu, but when she looked at Consort Hui, she saw her casting a provocative glance, turning Lin Jingxian’s face a mix of green and white.
Why? Why is Consort Hui unharmed? Could today’s incident not have been orchestrated by her?
The courtiers noticed that after Emperor Xingwu returned, his expression had changed. Each one of them were cunning old foxes, no longer frolicking or looking around, and no one dared to ask where the Crown Prince had gone.
After this banquet, the courtiers clearly felt the atmosphere in the capital grow tenser, with soldiers constantly patrolling the streets as the Emperor seemed to be investigating something.
Meanwhile, the news of the Crown Prince and the Fifth Princess Consort’s affair spread quickly, with rumors saying that the Fifth Prince’s legitimate son and daughter were both the Crown Prince’s children, otherwise why wouldn’t these two children look like the Fifth Prince and instead share a resemblance with the Crown Prince?
The news spread convincingly and soon reached the palace. Emperor Xingwu ordered a thorough investigation, but was himself infuriated to the point of being bedridden.
In the Fifth Prince Mansion, Ye Qiu ordered the detention of Lin Jingxian, Ye Ming, and Ye Ling.
"What are you trying to do?" Lin Jingxian said fearfully, "Ming’er and Lingling are your children!"
"Are they?" Ye Qiu asked with a smile, "Then why don’t they look like me?"