readsfreenovel Chapter 190 A sudden awakening
Chapter 190 A sudden awakening
Li Lingxiao was completely confused and couldn't figure it out. He had planned everything so carefully, and every move seemed like a carefully laid out chess game. As long as he made the final move, he would be able to take the coveted throne.
But why, why did I still lose everything in the end, lose so completely, lose everything?
At that moment, he felt as if a basin of cold water was poured over him from head to toe. He woke up instantly and understood everything in his heart.
It turned out that the emperor had never had a true father-son relationship with him. Those seemingly warm scenes in the past were nothing but his wishful illusions.
What the emperor values in his heart is not the father-son relationship.
From beginning to end, some are just considerations of interests and a firm grasp on supreme power.
The person who is always high above, overlooking everything, always regards power as the criterion, places it firmly in the highest position, and overrides all emotions.
And he, Li Lingxiao, for the sake of this illusory throne and the so-called power, did not hesitate to oppose his own biological father and even did such a treasonous thing.
Now that he had met with such a miserable end, imprisoned in this dark prison, he began to regret it belatedly.
At this moment, he could only lie in this cold cell, overwhelmed by endless regret. However, everything was irreversible and he could only suffer in the lonely darkness with a heart full of regret.
……
When the Empress heard that the Emperor had secretly gone to the Heavenly Prison to visit her, she became extremely anxious and immediately rushed to the Heavenly Prison without caring about anything else.
She was wearing a phoenix robe that showed her dignity and solemnity, and her face, which used to be noble and elegant, was now filled with anxiety.
The Queen Mother was a kind person and never made things difficult for the palace maids. Even if they made mistakes, as long as it was not a matter of principle, she would only give them a slight reprimand.
Therefore, the palace servants were only pretending to stop them!
When she stepped into the dark and damp prison, the foul smell hit her in the face. The queen couldn't help but frowned slightly, but her heart was completely on her son who had committed a serious crime, so she had no time to care about such discomfort.
Seeing Li Lingxiao curled up in the corner, looking extremely miserable, the queen's eyes instantly turned red and tears welled up in them.
She quickly ran to the prison bars and looked at her son with heartache. Her eyes were full of love and care. Tears finally burst out of her eyes and slid down her cheeks.
Li Lingxiao looked up and saw the Queen coming. He was stunned at first, and then many complex emotions flashed in his eyes, including shame and the admiration that came naturally when he saw his mother.
The Queen turned around and said sternly to the jailer beside her: "All of you leave. I want to talk to the Crown Prince alone for a while."
The jailer did not dare to disobey the Queen's order and quickly retreated respectfully.
After the jailer left, the Queen turned around and stared at Li Lingxiao, her voice choking with sobs: "Lingxiao, my son, you are wrong, so wrong!"
Li Lingxiao lowered his head hastily, not daring to meet the Empress' affectionate gaze, and whispered, "Mother, I...I know I was wrong."
The Queen sighed softly, slowly stretched out her hand, and wanted to touch her son's head through the cold bars. However, due to the barrier of the bars, she could only withdraw her hand helplessly, and the pain in her eyes became more and more intense.
"Ling Xiao, your mother knows that you have resentment in your heart, but this step you took is really wrong, extremely wrong." The Queen said with great sorrow, her words full of helplessness.
Li Lingxiao gritted his teeth and slowly raised his head. A stubborn look appeared in his eyes again, but that stubbornness clearly revealed grievance: "Mother, the throne should have belonged to me. Mother, you are the mother of a country, and I am the legitimate son. Why did father make my fourth brother the crown prince? I am really unwilling to accept this!"
The Empress frowned and her expression became serious, but her seriousness still revealed her concern for her son: "Ling Xiao, who said that your father should make your fourth brother the crown prince? Changing the crown prince is such a big deal, has your father ever said in person that he wants to depose you?"
When Li Lingxiao heard this, his face turned pale instantly and his eyes were full of disbelief.
Like a child who has lost his way, he shook his head helplessly, his lips trembling slightly, but he still tried to defend himself, "Mother, think about it. Father always scolds me in front of many court officials. His harsh words make me lose face in front of everyone. But for my fourth brother, father always praises him, saying how well he does things and how popular he is. As a result, rumors outside surged like a tide and spread wantonly, saying that father intends to make my fourth brother the crown prince."
"And yet Father has ignored all this and allowed those rumors to spread like wildfire, causing a great disturbance in the city. Doesn't this situation prove that Father has long been thinking about changing the crown prince?"
After listening to Li Lingxiao's explanation, the Empress sighed softly, her eyes full of helplessness. She slowly said, "Son, you only saw the surface, but failed to see through your father's painstaking efforts. Your father reprimanded you in public because you occasionally acted inappropriately. As the ruler of a country, he should demand you to follow the laws of the country and the government. He hopes that you can correct yourself as soon as possible and become a person who can take on great responsibilities. As for praising your fourth brother, it is also because he did handle some affairs properly. Your father is just discussing the matter and giving due recognition!"
The Queen paused, her eyes revealing a trace of reminiscence, and continued: "Those rumors, your father is also aware of how powerful they are. But if he came out to clarify easily, he was afraid of being seen as biased, and he also wanted to see your state of mind and actions when facing these rumors. He originally hoped that you could keep your composure, not be disturbed by these external factors, and concentrate on improving yourself, but he didn't expect..."
At this point, the Queen's voice choked slightly. She raised her hand and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, "I didn't expect that you would harbor resentment because of this and then do such a treasonous thing! Your father has never really thought of changing the crown prince. He has always given you opportunities, hoping that you can grow up and become a qualified successor to this country."
When Li Lingxiao heard the Queen's explanation, he was struck by lightning and stood there in a daze.
He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but found that his throat seemed to be choked by something and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.
At this moment, his heart was full of regret. He actually mistook his father's painstaking efforts as ulterior motives, which led to his current situation.
"But my third brother clearly said that father..." Li Lingxiao stopped talking halfway through his words.
In an instant, he seemed to be enlightened, and everything seemed to dawn on him, as if he had suddenly woken up from a chaotic dream.
Only at this moment did he realize that all this was clearly a carefully planned strategy to kill three birds with one stone!
I was so stupid that I fell into this extremely sinister trap without realizing it and was used by others without even knowing it.
How could he be so foolish as to fall into this evil scheme of "while the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman gains"?
He knew very well how sophisticated the plan of the instigator was.
The instigator will reap the benefits.
Look at the court. Because of the dispute between him and Li Zeqi, the situation has become chaotic.
The ministers who originally had clear positions were now either frightened or busy changing sides because of this incident.
This gave the person who was secretly doing evil a perfect opportunity.
He could take the opportunity to win over those wavering ministers, promise them huge benefits, and bring them under his command.
As a result, the power in the court quietly changed, and the power of the instigator grew like weeds without anyone noticing.
Besides, within the royal family, the feud between him and Li Zeqi had already damaged the foundation of the royal family.
The prestige of the royal family was greatly reduced in the eyes of the people, and the people became even more panicked when they heard that the prince was plotting a rebellion.
Thinking of this, Li Lingxiao punched the wall of the cell hard. Blood instantly oozed from his knuckles, but he didn't feel any pain at all.
He hated his own stupidity, hated himself for not being able to see through the conspiracy, and let the villain succeed in vain. Now he was in prison, afraid that he would never be able to turn things around, and could only watch the instigator laughing smugly in the dark...