Sharing a Pavilion With You
Chapter 163: Through the Dog Hole

Chapter 163: Through the Dog Hole

"Haoran," said his Father wearily. "You would kill the Emperor, your own Father, to steal what isn’t yours?"

"Hah!" the prince spat, "as if that isn’t exactly how you took the throne from your own nephew, Father. He was the anointed Son of Heaven, the lawful heir. I, on the other hand, am the eldest son of the Emperor. The throne is mine by the rule of primogeniture. My birthright has been stolen from me by the collusion of the Prime Minister with my younger brother. My Second Brother married the Prime Minister’s daughter all to satisfy that evil man’s lust for power. How could you not see through their wicked plans, Father?" he asked, incredulous.

"Haoran," said the Emperor sadly, "son, of course I know that the Prime Minister lusts for power. Yicai knows that too. He sacrificed his own happiness in marriage to contain the Prime Minister for me... on my request."

The prince flinched at those words but quickly dismissed them as lies.

"I wanted his daughter kept out of your harem, son. It was all done for you, how could you not see that?"

He searched his son’s face for some sign he understood that Yicai’s marriage to Li Fengfeng had been at his behest.

"You were too impatient, and you never took the time to understand the complexity of court politics. Meanwhile, you were building a private army to wrest control of the Dragon Throne and stealing vast sums of silver from the Treasury to fund it. Why son?" he shook his head in frustration. "Why must you try to usurp the throne? It would have been yours if you had only waited..."

"For how long, Father?" snapped Pince Haoran. "You remain in robust good health, and you never showed any signs of handing me the throne before you leave us for the underworld. I would have been a very old man before the Dragon Throne was finally mine if I’d waited. I have things to do, Father, achievements to make. I want to be a young Emperor, just as you were. Is that really too much to ask?"

"It is when you’re not ready, son. And you clearly are not ready, if you were ever going to be, because look where you find yourself."

"From where I stand, the view looks just fine. I have you trapped here. You will either abdicate, or you won’t leave this courtyard alive."

"Even if you kill me, do you think you’ll succeed in holding onto the throne when Commander Bai returns to the capital? You really believe you can hold off his army, your Second Brother and the Prime Minister? They will wage war against you until they wrest back the throne."

"I do! You’ve always underestimated me, Father, and this time, it’s going to cost you everything... So which will it be, abdication, or is it time for you to join my Mother?"

In most ways, the prince preferred if his Father was no longer around. Having him alive as the former Emperor would be good for his reign’s legitimacy, but troublesome for its stability, and he would probably have to dispose of him anyway at a later date.

"There is no scenario where I will hand you the throne without a fight, Haoran," his Father said resolutely.

How would he face Ying’er after this? He had failed dismally as a father... Where had he gone so wrong with the boy?

"A fight to the death it is, then," smiled the prince grimly, motioning at his men to clear a space for their duel.

The rebel soldiers shuffled backwards, making a circle for the two men.

"Majesty," implored Feng Bao tugging on his sleeve.

The Emperor handed his Chief Eunuch his outer robe.

"Thank you for your service, Bao. Look after Yicai if you make it out of here alive," he whispered.

The man was weeping now, as the Emperor swept him and the other eunuchs back to make space for the sword fight.

As his Father stepped forwards, the prince caught sight of Meili, who had been hidden behind the Emperor. He gave a wicked little smile.

"You’ve kept Miss Mei by your side without taking her into your harem, Father. I look forward to adding her to my consorts. Don’t worry, Miss Mei, I promise you’ll be treated better by me than you have been by my Father. At least you won’t be fetching me tea all day. Bear me a son and I promise you a glorious future. Or a daughter who looks like you will be just fine too," he mused.

The Emperor looked back at her and put a finger to his lips, motioning for her not to reply to the taunts.

"Meili," he whispered so that only she and Feng Bao could hear him. "Once the fight starts, escape through the dog hole and fetch Commander Bai. Tell him everything. Yicai must take the throne."

She nodded resolutely, though her lips trembled and her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"My Lord, it has been my honour to serve you. I will do as you ask," she whispered in reply.

He looked at Feng Bao. "I will make sure she gets out, Lord," the eunuch mouthed back at him.

The Emperor turned away from them and shifted into fighting stance.

Seconds later, the prince let out a roaring battle cry and threw himself towards his Father in a rushed attack.

"Always too rushed, son," the Emperor parried the blow and drove the boy backwards.

Both men were skilled fighters, and the Emperor understood his son’s moves almost better than he did himself, but He was getting old now, and after all, this was his own flesh and blood He was fighting... His heart just wasn’t in it. How could one have bloodlust in a fight to the death with your own child? He thought.

The prince rallied and pressed forwards, using his greater strength to wear down his Father’s sword arm as he hammered Him with heavy blow after heavy blow, pushing Him backwards now.

Meili watched in horrified fascination, frozen to the spot, her heart in her mouth.

Feng Bao subtly stepped in front of her, pushing her backwards into the crowd of eunuchs, who all seemed to be aware of the Emperor’s order, because each of them surreptitiously moved like a piece on a chessboard, until she found herself at the back of the crowd with the tiny dog hole at her feet.

She dropped to her knees and peered fearfully through the hole.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.