Sharing a Pavilion With You
Chapter 120: The Crown Prince’s Disgrace

Chapter 120: The Crown Prince’s Disgrace

The Emperor’s fury grew wilder and wilder as he read the thoroughly damning details set out in the memorial about the missing silver.

It was clear that the Prime Minister had bided his time on this matter, waiting for the Crown Prince to sink himself so deeply there was very little chance of even the Emperor, digging him back out.

"The initial evidence from the Eastern Depot is certainly damning," the Emperor said with barely suppressed fury. "Wu Zhong!" he called to the Head of the Ministry of Punishment.

The man stepped forward, "yes, Majesty?"

"Lock the Crown Prince in his palace until this investigation is complete and we arrive at an answer for who’s to blame, and where the missing silver has ended up."

"Very good, Majesty," Minister Wu bowed.

Wu Zhong gestured to the members of the Jinyiwei, the imperial secret police, who waited at the doors to Flower-Covered Hall. Four men in their distinctive golden-yellow uniform ran in and respectfully surrounded the Crown Prince, standing back a foot, waiting to see if he would come willingly and preserve his dignity.

"Father!" he appealed. "This is ridiculous! I will be proven innocent!"

"Be that as it may, Crown Prince, even you, are not above the law. Until the truth of this matter is resolved, you will remain in your palace under guard. Don’t make things difficult for these guards, child."

The Crown Prince started to struggle and shout, and did indeed make things difficult for the guards, who were very anxious not to get on the bad side of either the Emperor or his eldest son, during this delicate operation.

Eventually they managed to wrestle him into submission and drag him from the hall, still shouting for his Father to listen to him.

The Emperor put his head in his hands. "I am weary after that debacle. That’s the end of this morning’s audience. You’re all dismissed," he waved his hand at his officials without looking up. "Prime Minister Li and Second Son, you both stay."

The Second Prince had been expecting this and steeled himself for what was to come.

The doors to the hall were closed, leaving just the Emperor, his second son and the Prime Minister along with a handful of guards.

The Emperor’s gaze moved between the pair with displeasure.

"Did he do it?" he asked the Prime Minister frankly.

"Unfortunately, it appears so, Majesty," said the man tactfully.

"What a stupid boy! It was all his to control anyway. What possible need did he have for that much silver?"

"It appears he may have been building a private army, Majesty..."

The obvious question as to why the Crown Prince might need a private army, was left unspoken.

"Find out everything you can about it and report back to me, Prime Minister. The Jinyiwei and Eastern Depot’s resources are at your disposal for the purpose."

"Of course, Majesty. Thank you for the generous offer of support."

"Leave us," he ordered the Prime Minister, who backed out of the hall without looking at the Second Prince.

"So, Second Son, you’ve hitched your cart to that snake oil salesman in order to get what you want?"

"I’ll admit it is an alliance of convenience rather than one of genuine respect and camaraderie, as you’ve always preferred, Emperor Father, but I do also have such genuine alliances. This alliance was necessary for the sake of the Empire and the People, and in order to protect you, the Son of Heaven, Father."

"It may prove to be so, Second Son, but I have to question which of those causes was your primary motivation, or whether it’s the seductive call of power that’s driving you."

"I have no interest in the burden of power, except so far as it’s necessary to achieve the betterment of the People and to protect the Empire. I’ll admit that the ability to protect my friends is an attractive byproduct, but it’s not the driving force."

"Is that so?" said the Emperor sceptically.

He could be quite sure that securing Miss Mei for his harem and protecting the Bai and Mei boys was equally high on this child’s agenda, as his care for the People and the Empire.

The boy was a strong political player and strategist; it had always been his lack of heart that concerned him when considering him for succession planning. He was actually pleased to see the lad stick his neck out for his friends and a woman. Before that he would have questioned if the boy had an ounce of empathy.

"You should have come to me with your suspicions about your elder brother before plotting his downfall and springing it on me in court," the Emperor growled.

"You know he has spies everywhere, Father. We had to keep it under wraps until we were certain."

"From now on, you’ll share everything with me, if you wish to earn my trust and have any hope of achieving your aims."

"Yes, Emperor Father, your son hears you and will obey," Zhu Yicai bowed.

The Emperor waved his dismissal, and the Second Prince bowed again as he backed out of the hall, pleasantly surprises with how lightly he had gotten off. He wondered if that was because he was now a serious contender for the succession...

The Emperor strode angrily back to his chambers, his eunuchs struggling to keep up with him, though none dared to say anything. Even Feng Bao kept silent today, despite the Emperor’s fury. Normally, he would seek to calm the man in order to preserve the Emperor’s health.

Their Master stormed into his rooms and flung himself down on a chair.

"Where’s my tea?" he raged, searching angrily about the room for Meili.

She rushed in from the vestibule where she had been awaiting his return, now much earlier than she had expected, so that she was caught unprepared.

She looked to Feng Bao in question, and he shot her a warning with his eyes.

"Why are you looking at him? It’s me you should be looking to for your orders!" the Emperor said peevishly.

"Apologies Majesty. I’ll get your tea right away. I wasn’t expecting you back so early," she rushed for the door.

"Shouldn’t you be keeping yourself informed of my plans? Not good enough, Meili..."

She winced to be scolded by him, and called back, "y...yes Majesty. I’ll definitely do better in the future. My apologies."

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