novelraw Chapter 696 - 685: The Cuckolded Prince
Chapter 696 - 685: The Cuckolded Prince
Hearing Ye Qiu mention that there is physical evidence, everyone involuntarily shifted their gaze towards him.
Ultimately, it is the Fifth Prince who is the most pitiable today. Just think, the Princess Consort whom he had cherished for many years has always remained chaste for another, the twins whom he cautiously guarded turn out not to be his own sons, and he does not even have a legitimate son despite being in his twenties.
However, everyone started to speculate whether the Fifth Prince had known about the infidelity of the Fifth Princess Consort long ago, otherwise why has he not designated a Princely Heir or Commandery Princess yet? Instead, he continues to engage in socializing with his illegitimate son.
Although he often used the excuse of the poor health of his legitimate children, having a Princess Consort who cheated, he probably was not unaware; he might have been waiting to gather evidence for a fatal blow.
However, he probably never imagined that the person his Princess Consort was having an affair with would be his own brother. It is truly the biggest joke under heaven.
"Xiao Wu, what physical evidence do you have?" Empress Liu looked at Ye Qiu with eyes full of sympathy.
"There are two pieces of evidence, the first being the twins borne by Lin Jingxian."
"Xiao Wu, even though the twins don’t resemble you much, it’s also not unheard of for children to look like their mother rather than their father. You and the Crown Prince are brothers, so a blood test is inconclusive. How can one make a judgment based on this?" asked the Empress, troubled, while other ministers nodded in agreement.
"Both Lin Jingxian and I have straight ears, yet the twins have curved lower ears, identical to the Crown Prince and the late Empress. Can this not be taken as evidence? I have looked through medical books and never found that straight ears produce curved ears."
"Xiao Wu." The Empress spoke gently, "However, there are plenty in the world with curved ears, this cannot definitively prove that the person is the Crown Prince!"
"Crown Prince, won’t you admit it?" Ye Qiu asked Ye Zheng.
"Why should I admit to something I never did?" Ye Zheng retorted coldly.
"Fine, since the Second Prince won’t admit, since those twins aren’t my children anyway, I’ll deal with them when I return," Ye Qiu said annoyed.
Hearing this, Lin Jingxian immediately started to struggle violently, making muffled cries.
"So, you are ready to admit?" Ye Qiu signaled to the servants to free Lin Jingxian’s mouth.
"Your Highness, Ming’er and Lingling are innocent, you can deal with me however you like, please kindly spare their lives," Lin Jingxian pleaded as she crawled towards Ye Qiu.
"Only if you tell who the real father is, considering they have called me ’Father’ a few times, I will spare their lives," Ye Qiu said coldly.
Lin Jingxian merely cried and shook her head, then kowtowed to Ye Qiu pleading for mercy.
"Fine, since you’ve chosen to protect that father, don’t blame me for being ruthless," Ye Qiu said fiercely.
Lin Jingxian cried louder, yet still said nothing.
"Empress Mother, I mentioned earlier there are two pieces of physical evidence. Since Lin Jingxian refuses to divulge who the father of the children is, I am forced to present the other piece of evidence," Ye Qiu said.
"Oh? What’s that?" The crowd perked up.
The Crown Prince’s heart was filled with unease, while Lin Jingxian stopped crying abruptly for a moment.
"That is the wallet which is still hanging on the Crown Prince right now." Ye Qiu pointed straight towards Crown Prince Ye Zheng’s waist, and everyone’s gaze followed.
It was a very ordinary sky-blue wallet, embroidered with green bamboo. Such craftsmanship is typically the work of the Palace Bureau, so how could it be evidence?
"Would Your Highness the Crown Prince dare to take it off and let everyone have a look?"
"You..." The Crown Prince’s face darkened, "How could something on my person be casually viewed by others?"
His demeanor was strong, but his words just made him seem defensive. If it really was the Palace Bureau’s craftsmanship, why not dare to take it off?
"Crown Prince, to prove your innocence, better to take it off," the Empress said coldly.
"I do not agree." He was still resisting.
Crown Princess Consort Shen Xiu had already closed her eyes by now. Others might not know, but how could she not know? As his wife, she had embroidered wallets for him, which the Crown Prince had kept away as too precious, usually wearing this sky-blue green bamboo wallet and another glazed lamp wallet, claiming he was used to them. It turned out this wallet had a story.
Ha! A husband of seven years, and yet his heart has always harbored someone else, and that person was even his brother’s wife. Truly a jest and a shame for all under heaven.
"If Second Prince is unwilling to take it out, let your younger brother do it. Second Prince, you wouldn’t want to be slandered, would you?" Just then, the Seventh Prince Ye Kai, who had been silent, spoke up and walked over without heeding the Crown Prince’s resistance.
"How dare you!" Ye Zheng shouted coldly, "I am the Crown Prince, and also your elder brother; this is insolence."
"Today, even if it is insolence, I shall clarify things. Second brother, you better take it out yourself. It’s just a wallet, what’s the big deal?"
"Crown Prince, Seventh Prince is right, take it out," the Empress said.
"Exactly, it’s just a wallet. If there’s nothing suspicious, isn’t that the perfect proof of Your Highness’s innocence?"
"Even if there is something inside, could it really be used as evidence?" The Crown Prince was pushed into a corner.
"It wouldn’t matter if there was something else, but what if the wallet was embroidered by Lin Jingxian herself, and even has the character ’Jingxian’ stitched inside?" Ye Qiu asked him, "Second brother, don’t tell me you have a concubine named ’Jingxian’ hidden in your backyard. I’ve checked already, there’s no one by that name."
"Lin Jingxian comes from Jiangnan and once studied Suzhou embroidery under a master. Although she tried to mimic it, only that master could recognize if it was indeed her work. I have also brought that embroidery master from Jiangnan so the Palace Bureau and the master could verify it together!" Ye Qiu articulated his point logically, convincing the audience even more.
"Seventh and Ten, go take the wallet hanging from the Crown Prince’s waist, and have the Palace Bureau confirm if it’s their craftsmanship," Empress Liu commanded after Ye Qiu finished speaking.
"Let go! You have some nerve; I want to see Father Emperor." Ye Zheng panicked, attempting to rush to the rear hall.
Regrettably, how could he alone compete against the Seventh and Tenth Princes? The wallet was quickly taken down, and his intention to see Emperor Xingwu was blocked by Empress Liu under the excuse of His Majesty’s severe illness.
After the wallet was brought down, the Empress opened it and indeed, a ’Jingxian’ character was embroidered inside. She looked at the Crown Prince with deep disappointment, then passed the wallet to the various ministers to see.
With both material and personal evidence found, no matter how the Crown Prince argued, it was futile.
Today, in the presence of so many ministers and relatives, even if Emperor Xingwu were overly indulgent towards him, he no longer deserved to sit as Crown Prince. Dongchen Country would never want a Crown Prince of corrupted morals. If he were to ascend to the throne, wouldn’t the whole court become corrupted?