The Second Master of the Red Chamber

After sending Su Keguang and Jie Jun away, Jia Lian was just about to go back to the camp to have a nap.

He has not had any rest since yesterday.

Of course, it wasn't just him. Most people in the entire Tiewang Mountain had probably endured for two days.

Suddenly, there was a movement from the north, and everyone spontaneously made way for the main road. Then they saw four sturdy soldiers, escorted by a large group of troops, carrying a stretcher and heading straight towards the palace.

The noble Third Prince was actually leaning on the stretcher covered with white cloth, crying as he walked, looking very sad.

"Father, father..."

Before arriving at the palace, he was stopped by the imperial guards. The third prince then fell to the ground and cried bitterly, beating his chest and stamping his feet as if his mother had died.

Such a commotion naturally attracted attention from all sides.

As people gathered, they quickly guessed the truth based on the situation and started talking about it.

The palace seemed to have received the news and asked the guards to make way.

The third prince then carried the crown prince's body into the palace crying as before.

Then he soon saw Emperor Ning Kang.

Emperor Ning Kang no longer had the indifference and calmness he had before. He walked out of the bedroom and tremblingly walked towards the third prince.

His eyes easily fell on the shocking white cloth.

The Third Prince knelt down and grabbed the trouser leg of Emperor Ning Kang, crying, "Father, Father! I am guilty. I have failed to bring my eldest brother back despite your trust. I deserve to die, I deserve to die..."

The Third Prince's crying made Emperor Ning Kang tremble.

He kicked the third prince away, walked to the stretcher, and suddenly removed the white cloth covering it.

The familiar, but extremely pale face he saw made his heart stop for a moment.

He just stared blankly down at his first child, and for the first time, he began to question in his heart whether it was right or wrong for him to force the emperor to abdicate.

The Third Prince, who was thrown aside by Emperor Ning Kang, looked at his hunched back with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

But he did not hesitate at all. He crawled to the side of Emperor Ning Kang again, kowtowed in front of the prince's body, and said sadly: "Your son was ordered by your father to capture... no, to invite him back. Finally, I found him at the foot of the northern mountain.
I originally wanted to persuade him to come back and apologize to you, father. After all, he is the crown prince, your eldest son. No matter how big a mistake he makes, you will definitely choose to forgive him.

However, my eldest brother didn't listen to me at all. He led hundreds of elite soldiers under his command and broke through the defense line at the foot of the mountain and headed northeast...

Based on the direction my eldest brother fled, I guessed that he wanted to go to Shanhaiguan to mobilize troops. After all, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan was once my eldest brother's riding and archery teacher, and they had a master-disciple relationship.

I dare not neglect it and hurriedly lead the troops to chase after them..."

The third prince, with tears in his eyes, recounted the whole story in a halting and awkward manner.

"Finally, in a forest about ten miles away from the foot of the mountain, I caught up with my eldest brother's men.

I still wanted to persuade him to turn back in time, but my eldest brother did not come out to answer me, and the guards under his command were all fearless and valiant... Woo woo woo, how could I have known at that time that in order to get rid of my pursuit, my eldest brother actually disguised himself as a guard and broke out in different directions.

When I finally caught up with the man wearing my eldest brother's yellow robe, I was shocked to find that he was not my eldest brother at all.

Before I could figure out what to do next, my officers and soldiers came to report, saying, "Say..."

"They said that my eldest brother was accidentally killed by a stray arrow...

Father, Father, I have done something wrong. I know my crime. Please punish me severely. Even if I have to pay for my eldest brother’s life, I will have no regrets..."

The Third Prince's voice was so loud that at least the ministers and generals around him heard it.

Except for a few exceptions, most people did not feel much about the death of the prince.

First of all, because of a series of actions taken by the Crown Prince before, their originally good situation had been put into an unfavorable situation.

Until now, Emperor Ning Kang and his capable ministers are still racking their brains to discuss how to deal with the upcoming troubles.

Therefore, in their eyes, the prince was not a qualified crown prince.

Secondly, based on the third prince's crying, they also roughly understood the cause of the prince's death.

All I can say is, you reap what you sow.

Stupid ok.

It is obvious that as the crown prince of Emperor Ningkang, he should stand firmly on the side of Emperor Ningkang and stand by his father's side.

But he chose another path and failed. Who should he blame?

They have already failed, but they refuse to admit it and are still thinking about sending troops from outside the Great Wall? Do they think that not enough people have died this time, and that their troubles are not big enough?

But he still couldn't escape the pursuit of the Third Prince, which shows his incompetence.

It was clear that at this moment, as long as he knelt down and admitted his mistake to Emperor Ning Kang, he might still be able to obtain his forgiveness and at least save his life.

Who can I blame for taking such an unconventional approach?

It can be seen that there is no wisdom.

In comparison, the third prince, who is usually gentle and elegant, inherits the style of the ancient sages, but can be entrusted with important tasks at critical moments, is obviously more suitable to be the crown prince of this country.

Yes, now that the prince is dead, then...

Many smart people, looking at the Third Prince crying and repenting in front of the Crown Prince's body, have already come up with other ideas in their minds.

Emperor Ning Kang slowly stood up.

He also heard the third prince's narration and explanation.

No one knew how much he heard, but the look that Emperor Ning Kang gave the Third Prince was very cold.

The condescending and indifferent look made the Third Prince, who quietly raised his head and made eye contact with him, feel frightened and quickly lowered his head.

Emperor Ning Kang asked, "Where is Tian Qu?"

"Deputy Commander Tian was extremely brave. He led the charge during the pursuit, but was counterattacked by my eldest brother's men and unfortunately died..."

Tian Qu is dead too?
This time, other people's reaction seemed to be even greater than when the prince died before.

After all, given the prince's crimes, even if he were alive he would only be a deposed prince and not worth mentioning at all.

But Tian Qu was one of the main contributors to the successful forced abdication. He was on the verge of a promotion, but who would have thought that he would fail at the last moment.

Alas, maybe he is eager to make a contribution.

Just at this moment, a woman's howling was heard outside.

Everyone looked back and saw a slender woman with disheveled hair pushing her way in despite being stopped by the guards.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the Crown Princess.

The Prince's Palace was taken control as early as when Emperor Ningkang launched a massive counterattack, and the relevant accomplices were also arrested and imprisoned.

However, the Crown Princess is the Crown Princess after all, and no one dares to disrespect her for the time being, but she is not allowed to leave the palace.

No one knew who leaked the news, but when she heard about the prince's death, she immediately rushed over regardless of her life. The guards were afraid of harming her life and did not dare to stop her.

Seeing Emperor Ningkang wave his hand, the guards retreated and let the Crown Princess come over.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..."

The Crown Princess, who had regained her freedom, staggered over, laid on the Crown Prince's body, and cried bitterly.

Different from the third prince's cry before, perhaps a woman's cry is more contagious.

Everyone present could feel the Crown Princess's despair and heartache from her crying.

Such crying can make anyone who hears it sad and anyone who sees it shed tears.

The third prince knelt down and took two steps forward, as if he wanted to say something.

"Do not touch me!!"

The Crown Princess screamed and slapped the Third Prince on the face with her backhand, which stunned the Third Prince and made him forget what he wanted to say.

The Crown Princess didn't care about his reaction at all. She just held the Crown Prince's head and muttered to herself as if she had lost her mind.

The Third Prince's expression changed, but he finally regained his composure and said with a look of remorse, "Sister-in-law, this is all my fault. I killed my eldest brother. If you want to hit me, hit me a few more times. This is what I deserve..."

The Crown Princess ignored him and just cried silently.

Emperor Ning Kang frowned slightly, gave a look to his left and right, and ordered them to take the Crown Princess away.

The guards took the order and stepped forward. Before they could even reach out their hands, they suddenly saw the Crown Princess pull out a dagger from her sleeve, stand up and say to them: "Get out of here, all of you, get out of here..."

The soldiers in the imperial army camp were shocked and rushed forward to protect Emperor Ning Kang.

The third prince, who was closest to the scene, was even more panicked. Fortunately, he found that the Crown Princess did not seem to have any intention of targeting her, so he quickly shrank aside.

"Murderer, you are all murderers!"

Facing the guards' siege, the Crown Princess laughed crazily. She pointed the dagger at the guards, then at the Third Prince and Emperor Ning Kang, as if judging their crimes.

But she ended up doing nothing.

Her two spiritual pillars are her grandfather and her husband, the prince.

They are all dead now.

Her world seemed to have collapsed and she no longer had the courage to live.

She suddenly rushed in one direction with a dagger in hand, and the guards in that direction quickly put away their knives and dodged.

But behind them were wall pillars, so they had to watch helplessly as the crown princess died in front of them.

The death of a beautiful woman makes all men feel a pang in their hearts.

No one spoke, and no one seemed to know how to react.

Emperor Ning Kang stood there, looking at the Crown Princess's body for a long time. Then he turned around, and before he had taken two steps, he felt the sky and the earth go dark, and his body collapsed to the ground.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty……"

"Quickly call the imperial physician!!"

……

The third prince was secretly delighted.

Although all the pros and cons flashed through his mind when he took action to deal with the prince.

But when he was actually facing the scrutiny of Emperor Ning Kang, no one knew how terrified he was inside.

In particular, the look that Emperor Ning Kang gave him at the last moment made him wonder whether Emperor Ning Kang had already doubted him.

He is very proud.

After enduring for so many years, he finally got the chance to get rid of the crown prince once and for all. Of course, he would not be timid and let the tiger go back to the mountain, leaving behind troubles, just because he was worried about the reaction of Emperor Ning Kang!

He had been fighting openly and secretly with the prince for many years, and he knew very well how deep the prince's foundation was.

That's all because of my father's favoritism!
Therefore, as long as the prince is alive, he will pose a great threat to him.

Who says the prince is the eldest son!
Also because of so many years of fighting, the hatred between them had long been accumulated, and he had long been eager to get rid of the prince as soon as possible.

The prince completely lost the trust of Emperor Ning Kang due to this god-given opportunity. If he did not seize it, he would feel that he was not worthy of the position.

As an emperor, how can you be merciful and soft-hearted?

So what if my father has some doubts?
In the current situation, does my father have any other choice besides him?
Ministers, is there any other choice?
If the only choice of crown prince is to be deposed just because the prince has committed a heinous crime, Emperor Ning Kang would be cruel enough to do so, and neither the court nor the public would agree to it.

So, if I were to say I’m afraid, it’s not that scary.

Even at the moment of taking action, he felt his heart was boiling. When he saw the prince kneeling on the ground, his heart was cheering.

For the first time in all these years, he felt that place was so close to him.

Especially just now, when Emperor Ning Kang collapsed on the ground.

He knew that in order to prepare for this incident, his good father had not slept well for at least three days.

No matter how secretly happy he was in his heart, on the surface the Third Prince still diligently helped Emperor Ning Kang to the bedroom and personally asked for a doctor and medicine.

When he heard the imperial physician say that it was just due to overwork and lack of rest, and that he would be fine after a good night's sleep, he secretly felt sorry for it.

He personally received the ministers who came to visit him. Those who could enter the palace at this time were either of high rank or close ministers of Emperor Ning Kang, so he naturally had to win them over.

Most of these people were very polite to him, and had a vague intention of joining him, which made him feel very good.

Jia Lian came as well, of course. After making sure that Emperor Ning Kang was not seriously injured, he was personally escorted out by the Third Prince.

He bowed to the third prince and turned to leave.

The Third Prince suddenly said, "Brother, please stay."

Jia Lian frowned, looked back and around, and made sure that the Third Prince was calling him.

The Third Prince had already walked up to him with a smile and said, "General Jia is the bloodline left behind by Grandfather the Emperor. I am one year younger than General Jia in terms of seniority, so I should call him Brother."

Jia Lian said hurriedly: "Your Highness is wrong. I don't deserve these two words. Your Highness should not mention it again in the future. Otherwise, if Your Majesty hears it, I will be guilty of a thousand deaths."

Jia Lian did not deny anything. Even though everyone knew that the emperor was under house arrest by Emperor Ning Kang, he was still the emperor, and not everyone had the right to question what he said.

The third prince looked at Jia Lian in front of him with a smile. Yes, he was a respectful and sensible person.

He smiled and said, "Everyone knows that General Jia is the most trusted and beloved general of the emperor. The emperor was able to achieve success this time thanks to the general's help. The emperor likes the general so much, I believe that even if he knew, he would not blame me."

Jia Lian shook his head and had no interest in discussing this topic.

Seeing this, the Third Prince stopped trying to establish friendship with him and lowered his voice, "I heard that the Crown Prince had tried to win over the General several times, but was rejected by the General every time?"

"It is a false rumor spread by busybodies. It is totally untrue."

"I just heard that the general's current situation doesn't seem to be very good."

The third prince looked at Jia Lian jokingly.

Jia Lian's expression changed slightly, and he asked back, obviously not thinking clearly: "Who told you this? How come I don't know it myself?"

"hehe."

The Third Prince laughed, his face suddenly straightened, and he said to Jia Lian earnestly: "I will give you what the Crown Prince promised you back then, and I will also give you what he cannot give you.

Even if the emperor cannot give you what you want, I am still willing to give you. For example, I am looking forward to the day when I can legitimately call you "brother".

The general is a smart man and should understand what the king means."

As he spoke, the Third Prince patted Jia Lian on the shoulder, and turned around with a laugh. His laughter was not loud, but it was filled with endless pride and arrogance.

Jia Lian stood there for a moment, then walked out of the palace, got on his BMW and left. (End of this chapter)