Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 390: Prince of Yundian Rebels!

Chapter 390: Chapter 390: Prince of Yundian Rebels!

The Fourth Prince was gravely injured, his head bloodied.

He did not cry out in pain, only shouting "Father Emperor, I am wronged" and the like.

Whether he was wronged or not depended entirely on the Emperor’s mindset.

News of Consort Yun’s abdominal pains reached the back palace, and the Emperor, preoccupied, ordered someone to imprison the Fourth Prince in the dungeon and dispatched a trusted aide to investigate allegations of conspiracy and treason against him.

Once inside, it wouldn’t be so easy to get out.

Murong Jiu burned the letters and her lips curled up into a smile.

The Emperor had few descendants; he might not actually decide how to deal with the Fourth Prince, but that was under the assumption that the Emperor was unaware of his misdeeds. What if the Emperor learned of his crimes?

The Fourth Prince certainly wouldn’t leave any traces behind, but evidence could be fabricated through crafted realities. The benefits he had gained over the years were real; false evidence could be made to look genuine.

As long as the reality was mixed with falsehoods enough to arouse suspicion and anger in the Emperor, that would suffice.

Murong Jiu felt inspired and took out paper and ink to list the deeds of the Fourth Prince in recent years.

Even the burning of the Third Prince’s Mansion could be pinned on him.

The Third Prince was the son the Emperor cared most about. The Emperor might not care what the Fourth Prince had done, but he would definitely care if he had harmed the Third Prince.

Thus, she used the Third Prince in her scheme.

How could the Fourth Prince not have acted against the Third Prince? He was adept at using others to carry out his deeds, and the Second Prince was the tool he exploited.

Jun Yuyan and General Fu were still not out of the palace. How could one not say the Emperor was suspicious? Both were wholeheartedly loyal to Great Yan, but in the Emperor’s eyes, they still bore great suspicion and were not allowed to leave the palace, which also indicated a precaution against them.

Older brother Fu Heng visited once, taking away the contents she had written.

Merely half a day later, even more detailed "evidence" was submitted to the Emperor through the hands of his confidant.

The Emperor had barely glanced through it before he flew into a rage and ordered the Fourth Prince to be brought before him.

As the Fourth Prince was being brought in, the Emperor had already reviewed all the evidence; his expression was extremely somber and his authority intimidating.

"Laosi, do you have anything else to say?"

The Emperor looked coldly at the Fourth Prince kneeling on the ground.

"Your Highness, I only wish to say, ’When one seeks to condemn, any excuse will do.’ My Eldest Imperial Brother wishes to eliminate me merely because I uncovered his and General Fu’s dreadful sins! If I can expose their conspiracy, I would gladly die with honor!"

"What an admirable ’die with honor’!" A cold, mocking sneer appeared in the eyes of the Emperor.

"Laosi, I have always thought of you as mediocre and you should not have had undue aspirations. The moment you became dissatisfied with your lot, you overstepped your bounds!"

Hearing this, a surge of hatred rose from the depths of the Fourth Prince’s heart.

Mediocre? Do you know me at all? The reason I appeared mediocre was to avoid being killed by your concubines and your other sons!

Why?

Because I wasn’t born from Consort Jing’s womb!

Thus, I came into this world unloved, compelled to keep a low profile and hide any trace of intelligence, pretending to be foolish so others would underestimate me and allow me a path to survival.

How laughable!

Was it wrong for him to fight for what he wanted?

Among all princes, clearly only he was the smartest, the one who best understood how to bide his time. Only he was truly fit to be Crown Prince or Emperor, yet the Emperor’s phrase "dissatisfied with your lot" negated all his potential!

Why would I be discontent with my lot?

If you had established a Crown Prince for Great Yan early on, perhaps I wouldn’t have harbored inappropriate thoughts!

But what about you, Father Emperor? To protect Consort Jing and the Third Prince, you thrust Jun Yuyan forward, making everyone think he was your favorite son.

When Jun Yuyan met with an accident and became disabled, you began to favor the Second Prince, born of the Empress from the Central Palace, as if his becoming Crown Prince was only natural.

Yet, the Second Prince met with a mishap as well.

Nobody in Capital City could fathom your thoughts, simply assuming you were still choosing the most suitable candidate among several princes.

Little did you know, all you did was pave the way for the Third Prince!

Yes, everyone else should die, only the Third Prince is the apple of your eye!

The most ordinary Third Prince, in your eyes, is full of virtues!

The Fourth Prince’s heart was filled with resentment. If it weren’t for the tight security around, he thought he might not have been able to control himself from strangling his father, the Emperor.

Why should brothers fight against each other, if not for the deliberate guidance of the Emperor?

Now, a single sentence, as if sentencing himself to death, was utterly ridiculous!

The Emperor snorted coldly and flung all the letters on the table at the Fourth Prince’s face.

After glancing at the letters a few times, the Fourth Prince sneered even more in his heart. He understood why the Emperor was so angry—it was because these so-called pieces of evidence mostly aimed to prove he attempted to harm the Third Prince and Consort Jing.

The Third Prince was injured, and all the blame was placed on him.

He truly loves this son.

He took a deep breath, his gaze calmed down, and he said:

"Father, if your son has not done it, then he has not done it. These are not conclusive evidence. Someone has fabricated these to harm your son. Your son would rather die than bend, and he cannot confess to a crime."

"Fine, fine, you have grown bold now, thinking you can fool Your Majesty, is it?"

The Emperor laughed furiously, his jowls trembling, his eyes squinting, emitting a sharp cold light.

"Your son dares not."

"Since you would rather die than bend..."

The Emperor had not finished speaking when suddenly, a sharp cry of a eunuch came from outside.

"Your Majesty, there is a war report from the southwest!"

The southwest?

The Emperor’s heart sank suddenly. He no longer cared about the Fourth Prince and hurriedly summoned people to come in.

Upon receiving the war report and opening it, it turned out that the Prince of Yundian had rebelled!

"To the Imperial Study Room!"

The Emperor grasped the war report, his face gloomy. As he passed the Fourth Prince, he pointed at him and said to the eunuch, "Keep him locked up for now. With such a strong spine, let’s not feed him!"

The Fourth Prince hung his head, his expression unclear.

After the Emperor left, he raised his head, the corners of his mouth revealing a cold smile.

The Imperial Study Room was filled with court officials. Earlier, the Emperor had summoned them to discuss the matters of the Western Regions, and they had not yet been dismissed.

Jun Yuyan and General Fu were also among them.

The Emperor slapped the war report onto the ground, angry: "Do you know that the Prince of Yundian has rebelled?"

Upon hearing this, the ministers were greatly shocked.

"How could the Prince of Yundian rebel? How could this be possible!"

"To rebel at such a critical juncture, it’s possible that the Great General of the Western Regions has been in cahoots with the Prince of Yundian for a long time!"

"The Prince of Yundian has always been loyal to Great Yan, could there be some misunderstanding here?"

Everyone found it incredible, while some said that the Prince of Yundian had always been ambitious, just waiting to bite back at Great Yan.

Some volunteers even proposed to march to the southwest and take the head of the Prince of Yundian.

Only Jun Yuyan and General Fu were unyielding like mountains, offering no comments.

But at this moment, the Emperor was in a rage and naturally did not notice their presence. He cursed the Prince of Yundian thoroughly, already planning to deploy troops.

However, with the Western Regions just starting to see battle unrest, sending more troops to the southwest could provoke other minor nations to take advantage of the situation. Great Yan might then face attacks from all sides.