Ping Zhao Lu

Chapter 175 Your Majesty must always be by my side

"Snapped!"

The clear and loud sound echoed in the air, catching people off guard.

Just as Chu Yunyi finished speaking, an unexpected slap hit him hard in the face.

Chu Yunyi's eyes widened, he covered his face with his hands and looked at the man who hit him in disbelief, then raised his lips and said jokingly, "What? Did I say something wrong? Or did I hit a sore spot?"

Chu Yunxiao's eyes turned cold, his face filled with anger. "He deserved to die, but you, you killed your mother, brother, sister, and wife. These are crimes that are beyond the reach of heaven. How dare you accuse me of this?"

"They were innocent, yet you brutally attacked them and even sympathized with someone who deserved death?" Chu Yunxiao's words pierced his heart. "You are truly no different from the late emperor. You hurt others for your own selfish desires, even your closest relatives."

These words hit Chu Yunyi's heart like a hammer, causing him to lose control of his emotions again. He retorted loudly and excitedly, "Shut up! What do you know?"

Chu Yunyi roared like a madman, "Everything you have now should have belonged to me! If you hadn't interfered, I would have been the one to rule the Eastern Palace! Father has already drafted the decree!"

"Humph, didn't you just win a battle? Didn't you just annihilate those two insignificant, insignificant countries? What's there to be proud of? Anyone else could easily win!"

Chu Yunyi was filled with resentment.

"Those pedantic old ministers are so clueless! Just because of this small victory, they've been bribed by you! They're all vying to recommend you to the Emperor as the Crown Prince!"

"If my father hadn't been soft-hearted and listened to those old guys, I would be sitting in this position now!"

Chu Yunyi became more and more angry as he spoke, and his hands unconsciously clenched into fists.

"You stole everything from me!"

"You are a member of the royal family, what right do you have?!"

Chu Yunyi was indignant.

Chu Yunxiao just watched him go crazy quietly.

After a long while, just when Chu Yunyi was about to be exhausted, Chu Yunxiao finally slowly opened his mouth and said in an extremely calm tone: "Is this why you hate me?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Yunyi's expression froze. He stared straight at Chu Yunxiao, not concealing his inner emotions. He replied bluntly, "So what? I just can't stand you! How can a member of the royal family get all this!"

Chu Yunxiao sneered: "It's a pity that the royal family you mentioned is also your closest relative who is connected by blood, and I am your brother who is of the same clan and origin!"

Chu Yunyi froze on the spot when he heard that, "You...what nonsense are you talking about! You were clearly raised by the late queen..." However, as soon as he said that, Chu Yunyi's heart suddenly skipped a beat, as if he realized something important.

Recalling the past, Chu Yunyi's memories gradually became clearer.

Indeed, the late queen always seemed to be particularly fond of this third brother. That kind of favor even exceeded the ordinary love for an adopted son, and she treated him just like her own flesh and blood.

Thinking of this, Chu Yunyi raised his head involuntarily and looked at Chu Yunxiao's face carefully again.

There is actually a certain resemblance between her eyebrows and the late queen...

Chu Yunyi was stunned into silence.

Is there really a...

Such a strange thing!

Chu Yunyi was confused.

Not only him, but everyone present was stunned, and each one had a complicated expression.

Chu Yunxiao didn't care. He stood tall and straight, walking towards the cell door. When he reached the door, he stopped, turned to look at Chu Yunyi behind him, and slowly said, "Even though we were in this situation today, Fourth Brother never intended to take your life. He even begged me to spare your life before."

At this point, Chu Yunxiao sneered, "Of course, I didn't agree."

"After all, you don't even want to let your fourth brother go."

Chu Yunxiao raised his right hand and waved it gently, signaling the guard beside him to hand the cup of poisoned wine that had been prepared long ago to Chu Yunyi.

"This is the greatest concession I can make. It will prevent you from howling like ghosts when you are torn to pieces by a chariot, and disturbing Fourth Brother's peace."

After saying that, Chu Yunxiao no longer looked at Chu Yunyi's expression at this moment, and walked out of the cell without looking back.

After leaving the prison, Chu Yunxiao glanced at the guards and ordered: "Don't spare any of those who slipped through the net."

"Yes."

The guards were ordered to retreat.

At this time, raindrops suddenly fell from the sky.

Seeing this, Zhao Dequan hurriedly opened the umbrella in his hand, stepped forward quickly, and carefully raised it above his head to shield the emperor from the wind and rain.

Chu Yunxiao didn't care about the sudden rain. He slowly raised his hand and caught the raindrops.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression seeming a little more relaxed than before. Then, he turned his head and instructed Zhao Dequan beside him, "Winter is almost here. Let's send the Queen Mother to the Nanyue Palace to avoid the cold."

Zhao Dequan was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but then he came to his senses and nodded in agreement. Then, as if remembering something, he frowned and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty has been away from court for some time, and the memorials from Duke Jin impeaching General Wei have piled up like a mountain... The Queen has summoned me to inquire about Your Majesty's opinion..."

Chu Yunxiao frowned, "It just so happens that the matter of Wei Xian fabricating his achievements and colluding with the leaders of the border regions can be resolved at the same time."

As he spoke, his eyes turned cold. "Propagate my decree. Wei Xian has deceived the emperor and colluded with foreign enemies. His behavior is abhorrent. To maintain the order of the court and deter treacherous evildoers, I order the court to arrest him immediately and bring him to justice. He will be severely punished according to the law to set things right. Anyone who resists will be considered an accomplice and punished together with him."

Zhao Dequan: "I obey your order."

Chu Yunxiao: "In addition, Fu Chuoren is dismissed from his position as Grand Marshal, and his entire family is exiled to Lingzhou. They are not allowed to return to the capital without a summons."

Chu Yunxiao's expression was stern, and his tone suddenly changed. He then issued an order: "All personnel of the Imperial Pharmacy, including Liu Fengyu, will be beaten to death. From now on, the Imperial Pharmacy will be merged with the Imperial Food Bureau, with only six bureaus and twenty-four departments."

*

A few days later, Zhuang Yan, Shang Jiu and others finally returned to Beijing. Unfortunately, it was the seventh day after Prince Huai's death.

When they learned that so many changes had happened in the capital during this period, the joy they should have felt about returning to the capital disappeared in an instant.

The two of them walked slowly and with heavy steps towards the mourning hall in Xiaohua Hall.

At this time, the mourning hall was full of people.

From time to time, bursts of sobbing could be heard from the crowd, and the entire mourning hall was filled with a solemn and depressing atmosphere.

Everyone continued to worship and burn paper.

Zhuang Yan looked at Shang Jiu with a heavy expression.

Shang Jiu took a deep breath, stepped forward, and joined the group of people paying homage and mourning.

Zhuang Yan followed closely behind.

When they walked to the front of the mourning hall, they saw Xu Zhouye and Shi'an lowering their heads, gently comforting the little prince who was crying like a tearful man.

This scene made them feel very sad.

Everyone knows that the Crown Prince and his fourth uncle have an extremely deep relationship.

In the entire royal family, apart from the emperor and the empress, only Prince Huai treated the prince like his own son and showed great care and concern.

Now that Prince Huai has passed away suddenly, it is a heavy blow to the young Chu Heyuan.

He couldn't bear it and was frowning all day long. He even had no expectations for his upcoming birthday.

On his birthdays in the past, no matter how busy the Fourth Prince was, he would come to his side in person to offer his blessings, and he would give him all kinds of rare gifts and try his best to please him.

However, on this year's birthday, his beloved Fourth Uncle was no longer alive...

The more Chu Heyuan thought about it, the more sad he became, and his eyes became red and swollen like peaches.

Pei Xian also had red and swollen eyes.

To him, Prince Huai was not only a sworn brother, but also his adopted father.

If Prince Huai had not saved his life on the battlefield that year, how could he have the opportunity to pay tribute here today?

Naturally, everyone present was heartbroken by the death of Prince Huai.

Most people were reserved and did not show too much sadness.

In fact, I have been sad for several days and am almost numb at this moment.

After Chu Yunxiao burned the last stack of paper money, he stood up with a solemn expression and stared at Chu Yunzheng's tablet and coffin with sad eyes.

I stood there quietly for a long time.

Until everyone left one after another.

Only after there were only a few people left in the mourning hall did Chu Yunxiao slowly leave.

As soon as he turned around, he saw that his queen and the prince were still kneeling beside him, their faces filled with grief.

At this time, Xu Zhouye put his arm around Chu Heyuan's shoulders and patted him gently. His face was pale and beads of sweat were sliding down his forehead.

Seeing this, Chu Yunxiao hurried forward, helped the two up, and said in a deep voice, "Let's go back first."

Chu Heyuan shook his head firmly, his eyes reddening, and his voice choked slightly as he said, "Father, I am fine. Today is the seventh day after Fourth Uncle's death. I wish to see him off for the last time. I hope Your Majesty will agree to let me stay."

Seeing the Crown Prince so determined, Chu Yunxiao felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He knew the child's stubbornness very well, so he could only respond: "If you can't hold on any longer, then go back. If your Fourth Uncle saw you like this, he would only be sad."

Hearing that his father agreed to let him stay, Chu Heyuan lowered his head slightly and responded in a low voice: "Your son understands. Thank you for your concern. Please escort my father back to the palace to rest first."

Chu Yunxiao nodded, then took Xu Zhouye's hand and left this sad place together.

……

A month later, the Queen Mother died of illness in the Nanyue Palace.

Other ministers who were very close to the Empress Dowager, were corrupt and abused their power, and took human lives lightly were either dismissed, exiled, or beheaded. None of them escaped.

Late at night, Xu Zhouye, wearing only a single layer of clothing, sat alone in front of the railing, his eyes filled with thoughts.

Chu Yunxiao put a coat on her from behind, then took her into his arms, leaned forward, and said in a deep voice, "Why are you not sleeping in the middle of the night, blowing in the cold wind?"

Xu Zhouye's breath stagnated, and after a moment of silence, he absentmindedly pushed Chu Yunxiao's head away and said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, what do you think... if a person were to live his life again, what would the price be?"

He could never get over the death of Prince Huai.

The feeling of guilt follows me like a shadow every night, lingering in my heart.

"What nonsense are you talking about again?" Chu Yunxiao frowned and tightened his grip around his waist. "I'm right beside you, so don't let your imagination run wild, okay?"

Xu Zhouye was startled, took his hand, clasped it with his, and gently placed it on his chest, feeling the real beating heart.

All of this is not false.

In this case, we should look forward, right?

Thinking of this, Xu Zhouye gripped Chu Yunxiao's hand a little tighter. He raised his lips slightly and replied softly, "Then Your Majesty, please stay by my side at all times."