readsfreenovel Chapter 304 Begging for mercy
Chapter 304 Begging for mercy
Almost a year had passed since the incident with Princess An, and Prince An had been confined to his own residence without being allowed to enter or leave freely.
Empress Dowager Li's heart gradually calmed down. It seemed that her younger son did not want to kill her elder son. That day, Empress Dowager Li quietly left the palace with a few palace attendants and went to Prince An's mansion.
Empress Dowager Li entered Prince An's Mansion and rode in a sedan chair. The more she looked, the tighter her brows furrowed. The guards and servants in Prince An's Mansion were all disorganized, and Empress Dowager Li could see slack and lazy people everywhere. Her face was gloomy. Nanny Li observed her expressions and sent a young eunuch to clear the way and report. Prince An's Mansion became chaotic. Wherever Empress Dowager Li passed, the guards and servants knelt on the ground, not daring to look up.
Empress Dowager Li no longer cared about these people. She got off the sedan chair and walked quickly across the front yard and entered Prince An's middle courtyard.
Empress Dowager Li arrived in a hurry. She entered the central courtyard in one breath and went straight to the bedroom. In broad daylight, Prince An was drunk in his bedroom. As soon as Empress Dowager Li entered, she almost stepped on a white porcelain wine bottle. Nanny Li hurriedly helped her up and said, "Be careful, Empress Dowager!"
Empress Dowager Li tried to steady herself, but a strong smell of alcohol hit her in the face, almost choking her to death.
"Hey, how did you become like this?"
Empress Dowager Li was shocked. Inside the bedroom, Prince An, Zhou Qihui, was lying on the floor in his pajamas, his face flushed and his face in a state of intoxication. Empty white porcelain wine bottles lay scattered around his feet.
The entire dormitory was filled with various smells mixed with the strong smell of alcohol.
Nanny Li couldn't help but plug her nose with a handkerchief. Then she reacted and hurriedly ordered the palace servants and eunuchs to open the windows for ventilation. "Quick, open all the windows. The smell of alcohol is so strong that it will make you drunk. The rest of you, go serve Prince An. You'll catch a cold if you lie on the ground. Yucui, go make some sobering soup."
Nanny Li gave a long list of orders, and everyone behind her started to move. Some served, some cleaned, some opened windows, some cooked soup, some burned incense...
After two quarters of an hour, everything was in order. The bedroom had been cleaned. Prince An had vomited twice and drank two large bowls of sobering soup. He was basically sober, but his whole body was limp and weak. His eyes were red and swollen, and his face was dejected as he looked at Queen Mother Li: "Mother, you came to see your son? You finally came to see your son. Your son is so miserable!"
Prince An broke down in tears the next moment. Queen Mother Li didn't care about anything else and rushed forward to hug Prince An: "Son! Why are you doing this?"
Mother and son embraced each other and cried bitterly. Prince An was still not fully awake, and he just kept pouring out the depression and pain that had been in his heart for many years. "Mother, my son is useless! As the eldest son, his right hand was crippled, making him incapable of the throne. He had to rely on his younger brother to be granted the title of Prince. But my son's princeship is extremely incompetent. Prince Ding is a super-rank prince, in charge of the Imperial Clan Bureau, and is the first-rank clan leader in the court! What about my son? Now he can't even compare to Prince Ding, who has the lowest birth! Everyone in the court knows that Prince Ding is the emperor's confidant, and my son is a waste. That would be fine, but now even my son has lost his princess consort, and he still has someone else in his heart! My son... my son's life is really meaningless! Mother... Mother..."
Empress Dowager Li felt bittersweet upon hearing this. Prince An had once been her most cherished eldest son! Now, he was trapped in his mansion, living in a muddle. Even his marriage was so difficult!
After Empress Dowager Li comforted Prince An, she did not stay long and hurried back to the palace.
Empress Dowager Li had a determined look on her face. She did not return to the Cining Palace, but instead ordered the palace servants to carry the sedan chair directly to the Qianzheng Palace.
When Li Ma Ma saw the expression on Empress Dowager Li's face, she felt something was wrong. However, she was a servant after all, and she was extremely anxious but could not speak easily.
Empress Dowager Li went straight into the Qianzheng Hall.
"Mother, what did you say?"
Emperor Shenwu looked at Empress Dowager Li who walked straight into the Qianzheng Hall and asked with an indifferent expression. He felt something was incredible in his heart.
"Mother, do you know what you are saying?"
Empress Dowager Li's usually solemn face now looked old and helpless. She even pleaded, "Even if I'm begging you to release your brother, Your Majesty, you don't know what Prince An has become! Although he made mistakes, he was only unable to control his wife. He's been imprisoned for a year, that's enough!"
Hearing that something was not right, Li Xiang quickly made a gesture, and all the palace servants and eunuchs in the Qianzheng Hall retreated quietly. Even Li Xiang himself retreated again and again, almost to the edge of the hall. Nanny Li also did not dare to step forward.
The veins on Emperor Shenwu's forehead bulged. He patiently replied, "How do you know Prince An was simply incompetent? What if he's involved? If I had been poisoned for a long time and my mind was not clear, who would benefit the most?"
Empress Dowager Li said firmly, "It can't be Yi'er! Emperor, do you still doubt Prince An? Do you want to keep him locked up until he dies?"
Emperor Shenwu sternly shouted, "Why can't I suspect him? Isn't there something wrong with his princess? Isn't it someone from Prince An's Palace who planted someone in my Qianzheng Palace and poisoned me? I've only confined him to my palace because he's my brother! I haven't even convicted him of the crime he deserves! And yet he's so good! He actually asked you to plead for him!"
Empress Dowager Li couldn't help but gasp for breath as she argued, "Just think of it as me asking you! Your Majesty, if Prince An is imprisoned any longer, he will really die. Even if it's your mother asking you, please release your brother! Your other brother has already died, can't you tolerate the only one left?"
Emperor Shenwu was furious: "Is it because I can't tolerate them? Or are they all plotting against me? Mother, you only trust and favor them. Can you ignore the facts?"
"Alright! Then I ask the Emperor, why have you favored Prince Ding for so many years? He's just your half-brother, yet now he holds such sway over the government. You even forgave Prince Kang for his repeated mistakes, yet why are you so cruel to your own brother?"
Emperor Shenwu looked at the unyielding Empress Dowager Li and felt only irony. Her great maternal instinct had never been shown to him. "How ridiculous! The deposed prince's wicked ambitions have caused countless people to suffer and flee in the flames of war, and has cost countless lives! Prince An—ever since his right hand was crippled, he's been a worthless piece of shit! He's unmotivated and addicted to wine and women. How can I use him? Can he rise to prominence? Even Prince Kang has become much more restrained and improved in recent years, even managing several tasks alongside Prince Ding. But what about Prince An? He's been tricked by a woman, and now he's threatening me with a life of drunkenness and dreams! What crime did he commit? It was an attempted poisoning of the emperor! Mother, are you sure you're so reckless and want me to let him go?"
Emperor Shenwu's phoenix eyes were fixed on Empress Dowager Li's face, not missing a single expression on her face.