manynovel Chapter 393 The Third Prince
Chapter 393 The Third Prince
Shen Shixi wasn't in a hurry and sat there leisurely.
The second prince was alarmed. He was the one who did it, and he couldn't let his mother take the blame.
Just as he was about to step forward, Shen Shixi gave him a look, and he dared not move his leg.
The Emperor then asked, "Does the Empress mean that this was instigated by the Empress?"
Before the Empress Dowager could speak, Yang Tingyu exclaimed, "Aunt, the eldest princess keeps dogs to bite Xihe!"
His face was ruined, and no matter how much he tried to please and flatter the princess, she wouldn't take his bait. So he decided to drag the princess down with him.
When the eldest princess saw that Yang Tingyu dared to betray her, and that her father's eyes looked at her as if he wanted to devour her, she was terrified and knelt down with a thud.
"Father, I didn't! It was him, it was Yang Tingyu. He made me raise a dog, he forced me to raise a dog. He said if I didn't raise a dog, it would bite Xihe, so he made my grandmother betroth me to him!"
"Father, I hate Yang Tingyu, please save your son!"
The Empress Dowager was furious. That idiot eldest princess!
"You are a royal princess, yet you behave so disrespectfully! What kind of young lady would proactively discuss her marriage? How did your governesses teach you to do this?" The Empress Dowager was so angry that she vomited blood, and she actually did.
Qingruo quickly clutched her handkerchief and glanced at the emperor.
The emperor didn't see her; instead, he stared coldly at the eldest princess, about to erupt in anger, when Consort Du, her body utterly exhausted, floated in and, supported by two palace maids, knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, there must be more to this than meets the eye. The eldest princess certainly didn't intentionally let the dog injure the crown prince!"
The eldest princess was initially very frightened, but upon seeing her mother arrive, she quickly straightened up. "Yes, yes, Grandmother, Father, I did not let the dog hurt him at all. The imperial physician just said that Yang Tingyu had a drug powder on him that could drive dogs mad. Yes, that drug powder."
Madam Du gave her daughter an approving look, a look that gave the eldest princess immense courage.
She hurriedly said, "Someone must have ulterior motives! Father, Grandmother, you must do justice for me!"
The second prince was very worried and looked at the empress with unease.
Shen Shixi smiled and raised her sleeve slightly. "Then someone really did bring the medicine powder into the palace..."
The second prince's heart skipped a beat, and his face turned ashen. If this were the case, he would be unable to escape his sins.
The Empress Dowager will not let him off the hook.
The Empress Dowager said, "This matter must be thoroughly investigated."
Shen Shixi said, "It should be thoroughly investigated! However, before conducting a thorough investigation, we should first investigate who brought the powder into the palace when Yang Tingyue used it on the Emperor."
"Back then, I wasn't in charge of things in the palace. It was Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, who insisted on protecting Yang Tingyue, causing the Emperor to suffer injustice and allowing the wicked to escape punishment. That's why they're stirring up trouble in the palace again and instigating the princess to do evil. This matter cannot be tolerated any longer!"
How could the Empress Dowager not know who brought the medicine powder into the palace for Yang Tingyue back then!
She said, "What does the Empress mean? That matter is long gone. Why are you bringing it up now? Or are you saying you're protecting the person who did this? Could it be that this person was acting on your orders?"
Shen Shixi laughed and said, "So what if it is? The eldest princess just confessed that Yang Tingyu taught her to raise dogs to bite Xihe. Xihe is my son. Yang Tingyu's crime of instigating is greater than the princess's. Isn't he just getting what he deserves?"
Since Yang Tingyu's face was disfigured by a bite, he naturally couldn't inherit the title. He could take this opportunity to make a move against the Duke of Ying's mansion, so why not?
The Empress Dowager trembled with rage, "You, you, you, it really was you!"
The second prince was also shocked; he never expected that his mother would take the blame for him.
He couldn't let his mother take the blame for him, and was about to confess when Shen Shixi said, "Mother, if you hadn't harbored the intention of having Yang Tingyu marry the eldest princess, you wouldn't be in this predicament today; isn't all of this your doing?"
The Empress Dowager trembled with rage. "You, you, Empress, how could you say such things? You're attacking my heart! Emperor, are you going to just stand by and watch the Empress drive me to my death?"
Consort Du said, "Your Majesty, what the Empress said is exactly what I wanted to say. The eldest princess is your own granddaughter, and she is several years younger than Prince Yang. You are actually willing to sacrifice the eldest princess for Prince Yang. In your heart and eyes, is your own grandson not as good as a nephew?"
There's even a generational gap!
The Empress Dowager roared, "Insolence! How dare you, a mere concubine, utter such disrespectful words and criticize me? Emperor, are you no longer going to manage your harem?"
Li Yuanke said, "Yang Tingyu harbored the intention to harm the legitimate princess, which is a heinous crime. He is stripped of his title as heir apparent and exiled to Lingnan. The Duke of Ying failed to discipline his son properly, so he is stripped of his title and exiled as well. He will not be pardoned even if pardoned."
The eldest princess has repeatedly disrespected her stepmother, refusing to change her ways despite repeated admonitions. She is malicious and shows no affection whatsoever for the legitimate princess. She is hereby punished by being confined to a Taoist temple to reflect on her actions and is not permitted to return to the palace without being summoned.
To put it bluntly, they might as well send him to a Taoist temple; he's no longer in the palace.
Upon hearing this, Madam Du nearly fainted, but she couldn't afford to. Her son was useless, and all her hopes rested on the eldest princess. She cried out, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! The eldest princess is your eldest daughter! You're cutting off her path to survival!"
Can a princess who has entered a Taoist temple still get married in the future?
The emperor's daughters were even more worried about getting married, because few families were willing to marry a princess, which was equivalent to marrying a bodhisattva to worship, and the parents-in-law would have to bow to her.
The Empress Dowager was stunned for a long time. "Emperor, you...you...how could you be so heartless? You know he is your aunt's only remaining bloodline in this world. Don't you care about me at all?"
Taking the opportunity, Yang Tingyu began to weep bitterly. Pain was one thing, but he couldn't bear to be exiled!
The Empress Dowager wished she could suffer this pain in his place.
The Emperor had already risen. "Yang Tingyu plotted to murder the legitimate princess. The Empress Dowager was so angered that she fell ill and will need to recuperate from now on. No outsider is allowed to enter or leave Cining Palace without an imperial edict. Anyone who disobeys will be punished for treason!"
They actually placed the Empress Dowager under complete house arrest.
"Emperor!" the Empress Dowager cried out in anguish, and immediately fainted.
Li Yuanke took Shen Shixi's hand and left without pausing for a moment.
As Du watched the emperor's retreating figure, she once again truly felt the emperor's indifference and ruthlessness. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted as well.
The eldest princess hugged her mother and cried bitterly. She didn't care whether she went to the Taoist temple or not, and she never thought about getting married. She felt sorry for her mother. She just wanted to help her younger brother regain the position of crown prince. She wanted to get justice for her mother. She hated the empress to death!
What's wrong with leaving the palace?
What's wrong with going to a Taoist temple?
She just couldn't bear to part with her mother!
Upon receiving the imperial edict, the Duke of Ying's mansion felt as if the sky had fallen.
The Duke of Ying wanted to slap his foolish son twice, but his face was bitten by a dog, so he had nowhere to strike.
Yang Tingjiao was just shopping and bullying her girlfriends when she heard the imperial edict that she was now the daughter of a disgraced official and was to be exiled to Lingnan. Her vision went black and she collapsed to the ground.
Inside Qianyuan Palace, Li Yuanke took the children out to enjoy the snow. Dongjun and Xihe ran around in the snow building snowmen. The New Year is just a month away, and this year's snowfall is quite heavy.
Shen Shixi then issued an imperial edict requiring local officials to pay attention to the weather in various regions, especially in the northern areas, and to make timely emergency preparations for disasters.
After the matter was settled, she had someone summon the Second Prince.