Happy Spring Every Year

Chapter 253: A Dog I Raised

Emperor Sheng said this and really stretched out his hand towards Jiang Xun.

Jiang Xun looked up and replied "yes", then stood up, walked around the jade table, and knelt beside the dragon throne.

He lowered his eyebrows and placed three fingers on Emperor Sheng's pulse. He frowned slightly, looking focused, as if he was really taking the pulse carefully.

Emperor Sheng looked at Jiang Xun for a long time, then he raised his lips and said:

"I remember that you used to wear dark clothes. Since when did you start to like these bright and light clothes?"

"Everyone else follows their heart, but you've always been calm and reserved. But now, it's like the sun is rising after the clouds have broken. It seems that even your mind has become more open."

"Such a change, but is it because... you finally found love and formed a family?"

Jiang Xun raised his eyelids and looked up, but he said, "Your Majesty, I just took your pulse and found it to be strong and tense."

"This pulse is like touching a string under the finger, tense and urgent, and the pulse beats rapidly, like the urging of a drum, which is a sign of anger attacking the heart."

"Your Majesty's health concerns the people of the world. I hope Your Majesty will remain calm and composed, so that your qi and blood can flow smoothly and your body can be healthy."

As Jiang Xun spoke, he withdrew his hand from taking the pulse and bowed respectfully to Emperor Sheng.

"Rage?"

Emperor Sheng repeated it lightly, and then nodded slightly.

"Yes, the second brother really made me very angry just now."

The tone was so casual, as if what happened in the hall just now was not a fight between father and son, but just an ordinary quarrel.

Jiang Xun lowered his head and did not respond.

Emperor Sheng waited for a while and suddenly lost his patience.

How could he forget that Jiang Xun was more patient than ordinary people and was used to dealing with all kinds of changes with the same attitude.

"The second son is useless, and the third son's reputation is ruined. It seems that the position of crown prince... still has to be given to Ye'er."

"Xiuzhi, what do you think?"

Jiang Xun, whose name was called, could no longer remain silent. He bowed his head and said respectfully:

"Your Majesty's thoughts and concerns must be profound and comprehensive. As a humble servant, my words carry little weight, and I fear I may have failed in my duties. I dare not presume to discuss matters concerning the crown prince."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Sheng couldn't help but sneer, "Xiuzhi, ah Xiuzhi, you really say the most respectful words, but do the most rebellious things!"

At the end of his words, Emperor Sheng suddenly slammed the table and was about to stand up.

But he had just been filled with rage, and he stood up in a hurry, his whole body swaying, and he sat back down exhausted, feeling his vision going dark.

"Your Majesty!"

Jiang Xun let out a low cry.

Emperor Sheng propped up his forehead with his hand, his eyes gleaming fiercely like a knife or a sword, and he forced himself to look at Jiang Xun.

But for some reason, there seemed to be a thin layer of mist in front of his eyes, and he could only vaguely see Jiang Xun's outline in the light and dark.

Emperor Sheng felt a panic in his heart, and a trace of fear quietly grew.

Everyone said he was in the prime of life, but he was already in his mid-fifties, and only he knew the subtle changes in his body.

But as an emperor, he has always been arrogant and strong-willed. How could he allow Jiang Xun to see anything unusual?

He also thought that today he and Zhao Huailang and his son had killed each other and behaved in a disgraceful manner in front of the court officials, and Jiang Xun was definitely not unrelated.

Emperor Sheng gritted his teeth and shouted in anger,

"Jiang Xun, how dare you..."

"How dare you collude with the teacher to plot against me and the position of crown prince! In the future, will you also plot against the throne and my Zhao family's kingdom?"

"I have treated you well, bestowed upon you an official position, rewarded you with honor, and granted you endless wealth and splendor, yet you are so heartless and ruthless as to commit such a heinous act!"

"Jiang Xun, don't forget, you are just a dog I raised!"

After saying this, Emperor Sheng gripped the armrests on both sides of the dragon throne tightly with his hands like iron clamps, his face flushed purple and his eyes widened.

Ho ho ho——

For a moment, the only sound in the hall was Emperor Sheng's heavy and rapid breathing.

Just now, Zhao Huailang fell to the ground and could not get up. The severance of the relationship between father and son was like a sharp blade that pierced deeply into Emperor Sheng's heart.

When Emperor Sheng guessed that all this was most likely planned by Old Lin and Jiang Xun was in charge, he became furious.

Zhao Huailang's red eyes and hoarse shouting just now seemed to still echo in his ears -

Wife and children are separated, and relatives and friends desert each other! The palace is full of tears and blood, and the emperor and his ministers are at odds!

But he is the ruler of the world and the king of a country. Anyone who rebels against him should be put to death by slow slicing to serve as a warning to others!

Emperor Sheng was just feeling his head buzzing when suddenly a very peaceful voice came into his ears from the chaos.

"Your Majesty, I have always known...

Jiang Xun spoke calmly, standing beside the jade table. With his coat off, his back looked even straighter.

Emperor Sheng was stunned and didn't even react for a moment. What did Jiang Xun mean by "knowing it well"?

When his mood calmed down a little, his vision gradually became clear, and he saw Jiang Xun's thin lips opening and closing, and he mentioned an old story.

"Your Majesty, it was Your Majesty who, taking advantage of the Crown Prince's birthday last year, schemed to trick my humble mother into practicing witchcraft, wasn't it?"

"I have inquired about the desperado who disguised himself as a monk and deceived my mother. He was thrown into a mass grave on a straw mat the very night he was imprisoned."

"And the scapegoat, Duke Chongguo..."

"Duke Chongguo relied on the late emperor's favor and was proud of his seniority. He often acted arrogantly and took advantage of his seniority in front of His Majesty. His Majesty was dissatisfied with this and had long considered making a move on him."

"Otherwise, my humble servant's investigation into the case of the Chongguo Duke's grandson forcibly abducting a commoner woman would not have gone so smoothly."

"On the night of the witchcraft case, Your Majesty cleverly plotted, first spreading rumors, then luring Duke Chong into the palace and making him the scapegoat. Wasn't it because he knew full well that this humble official would never be able to find the true mastermind behind the conspiracy?"

"That night, His Majesty asked me if I doubted you. I replied: I dare not make any rash judgments."

"This is not something I just casually say, but I... have truly doubted Your Majesty."

"But I don't want to believe that Your Majesty would use the Crown Prince's birthday to plot a conspiracy, until..."

Jiang Xun had no intention of involving Zhao Huaixiang any further, so he stopped talking.

On the second day of February, when he was praying at Zhoushan, he asked Prince Xiang about it. Prince Xiang denied that he had done it and smiled meaningfully at that time.

Because Prince Xiang has already seen the emperor's true attitude towards him.

All the honors and favors he received, and the fact that he was the only one in the court who called him by his given name, were just to hold him high and make him a touchstone for the two princes.

But secretly, the emperor wanted to control, suppress and even destroy him.

He was already feeling guilty towards his mother, Lady Anyang.

If his mother really died in this witchcraft case because of someone else's conspiracy against him, he couldn't imagine how guilty and self-blaming he would be and how he would be unable to extricate himself.

The emperor wants him to have flaws, to have a heart disease, to feel guilty for the rest of his life, to be unable to untie the knot in his heart, to isolate himself and become like a walking corpse.

In this way, when necessary, after he has been fully utilized, he can be given a fatal blow without any effort.

So, he said he knew in his heart that the emperor had never treated him as a human being.

That night, Sui Sui arrived in time and not only saved his mother, but also saved him "from the edge of the cliff", and then led him step by step, walking a path that was completely different from his previous life.

The emperor just asked him why he changed into light-colored clothes.

Because I like it every year.

Also because he has been illuminated by the years.