lcionline Chapter 217
Chapter 217
Prince Xin refused to believe that he had been defeated by a mere youth.
He stared intently at Xie Jinghan: "You and Yelü Dan have been cooperating for a long time!"
"You were too hasty." Xie Jinghan shook his head slightly upon hearing this, his tone indifferent. "If you hadn't attacked Yelü Dan, Yelü Dan wouldn't have chosen to cooperate with me."
"No one wants to cooperate with someone like you who kicks people after they've served their purpose."
Xie Jinghan uttered these words, and Prince Xin was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "She's just a woman from the Northern Di! Why should I maintain a relationship with her? In the end, I was just a step too late!"
"If I had acted sooner and killed her on the way, even if it would have been difficult to drag you into the conflict, it would have reignited the war between Dali and Beidi on their border! At that point, you would have had no choice but to go to the border to defend against the enemy!"
As King Xin spoke of this, he felt increasingly regretful.
However, there is never a way to undo mistakes in this world.
If there were a way to undo regrets, he should have diligently studied martial arts and made a good impression on his father, the emperor. In that case, he wouldn't have ended up as a lazy and idle prince.
He has devoted countless efforts to this day, practicing martial arts diligently for thirty years without missing a single day, but the result... is ultimately unsatisfactory!
He lost from the very beginning!
He regarded the emperor as his greatest enemy, unaware that Xie Jinghan was his greatest threat from the emperor's side.
Xie Jinghan is young and has made great military achievements, which is his biggest threat and the person he should eliminate.
Prince Xin stared intently at Xie Jinghan, a hint of confusion in his eyes, which then hardened.
"The victor is king, the loser is villain!" he gritted his teeth. "This time, I've lost!"
After saying that, he picked up the longsword from the ground and slashed it at his own neck.
"Your Majesty!"
"Stop him!"
The Prince's subordinates and the Emperor spoke at the same time.
Xie Jinghan was faster; he grabbed Prince Xin with both hands, and the sword fell from Prince Xin's hands once again.
"I haven't granted you permission to die." The emperor snorted coldly and slowly walked up to Prince Xin. "I need to know who has been subservient to you all these years, and who has helped you secretly collude with the Northern Di!"
"Besides the Duke of Su..." the emperor's voice was icy cold, "who else..."
Prince Xin sneered: "Things have come to this point, I have nothing to say. All these years, everything I have done has been through my own efforts, and I have never had any contact with anyone."
"You don't actually think that a prince in name only can still command the loyalty of court officials, do you?"
Initially, Prince Xin did consider trying to win over the court officials or those powerful families, but they were all extremely shrewd and unwilling to pay him any attention. Fearing exposure, he was even less inclined to contact them.
The emperor sneered in return: "You alone cannot support such an army. I have also trained and raised troops."
"Do you think I don't know how much effort and money it takes to maintain an army of tens of thousands of people?" The emperor ignored Prince Xin's explanation and ordered Xie Jinghan, "Send someone to investigate. I want to know who else besides the Duke of Su has any connection with Prince Xin."
"Duke Wen?" Prince Xin suddenly spoke up.
He knew he had failed this time and his life was in danger.
In that case, he naturally had to drag everyone down with him.
He looked at the emperor, then at Xie Jinghan, his eyes filled with pleasure: "I have had many dealings with the Duke of Wen. Over the years, it was the Duke of Wen who helped me find refugees in various places."
"This coup was only possible because of the Duke of Wen's assistance," Prince Xin laughed loudly. "Speaking of which, the Duke of Wen is also guilty of treason, a capital offense punishable by the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his entire clan!"
"If I remember correctly, his eldest daughter is none other than the Princess Consort of Jing?" Prince Xin revealed his true intentions, questioning, "Can you handle the Wen State Duke's mansion fairly and justly?"
"Or are you going to show favoritism for him?" Prince Xin pointed at Xie Jinghan. "Do you want the whole world to despise you?"
Prince Xin was clearly trying to sow discord between the two, and the emperor understood immediately.
Seeing the Prince of Xin's unwavering determination, the Emperor chuckled softly: "So what if I show favoritism?"
"My own brother, a great hero who made outstanding contributions to pacifying the borders for me, what harm is there in sparing the life of his wife?" the emperor asked Prince Xin.
Seeing the disbelief on Prince Xin's face, he smiled again: "Moreover, I have never agreed to the punishment of collective punishment."
"The crime was committed solely by Duke Wen; what does it have to do with his children?"
The emperor's words completely wiped the smile off Prince Xin's face.
But at the same time, Prince Xin was secretly pleased.
If that's the case, then his daughter...
“However…your daughter is naturally not included,” the emperor added.
In an instant, Prince Xin's expression turned ferocious, like a demon crawling out of hell, staring intently at the emperor: "What do you mean by that?"
"Do you think I'm a fool, that I don't know the true relationship between you and the second young lady of the Wen family?" The emperor shook his head with a smile. "You and Madam Wen have long had an affair, and you had an affair that resulted in the birth of Wen Yitong."
"I know everything." The emperor sighed. "One of them is your husband, who has been by your side for many years, and the other is your own daughter. I will let them both go down to keep you company."
Prince Xin's expression was stiff, and his whole body was ice cold.
"When did this happen?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Xie Jinghan spoke up quietly from the side: "When you gave Wen Yitong five hundred personal guards to intercept my queen."
"Before that, she had also told her husband's family that her father was Prince Xin, and that soon she would be the only princess of Dali."
Xie Jinghan's two short sentences turned Prince Xin's face pale.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his teeth almost broke.
His daughter betrayed him! How could he have such a foolish daughter?
Prince Xin was filled with anger but had nowhere to vent it, and Xie Jinghan said at the right time, "Yelü Dan has also sent a letter, Prince Xin may wish to take a look."
However, the Taiji Hall might keep Prince Xin there for a long time.
If such a foolish person stayed in the Taiji Hall for too long, even the emperor feared that he might pick up this stupidity himself.
Prince Xin was taken to the Heavenly Prison, where Yingyi entertained him.
With two princes dealt with one after another, only one person remained.
Upon thinking of this, the emperor's face darkened: "He is yours to handle."
He waved his hand and led the Empress back to her bedchamber.
Upon hearing this, Xie Jinghan shook his head helplessly. The remaining person was the Second Prince, who had an affair with Consort Zhang.
Behind the screen, the second prince's hands and feet were bound, and a huge wad of cloth was stuffed in his mouth, preventing him from even whimpering.
Upon seeing Xie Jinghan, his eyes widened, and he shook his head repeatedly as if he had seen a ghost, desperately trying to back away.