jdhmnovel Chapter 122 The past
Chapter 122 The past
The following day, the Marquis of Guangde reported the results of the trial to the emperor.
The Imperial Noble Consort knelt before the Imperial Study, her voice filled with grievance and pitifulness, and said, "Your Majesty, I beg you to resign from your position as Noble Consort."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Gu Yuan arrived.
He knelt down with his mother, tears streaming down his face.
“Father, it is my fault. I failed to manage my subjects properly. I know I was wrong and beg you to punish me.”
The emperor looked at his beloved son who had been cherished since childhood and sighed softly, "This can't all be blamed on you."
"No, it's all my fault. I was too eager to make Father and Grandmother happy at the birthday banquet, which led to such a huge problem." Gu Yuan looked regretful. "If I had been more careful, I might not have been deceived by Marquis Zhongjing and allowed him to mine iron ore privately. Perhaps this would have prevented my uncle from going astray."
The emperor withdrew his outstretched hand and changed his words, saying, "It is my fault for not teaching you well, which has led to this grave mistake—"
"Your subject knows his crime!" Gu Yuan raised his eyes. "Your subject is willing to stay in seclusion for a month to study military books in the palace and share the burden of the Emperor."
The emperor paused for a moment, then said, "It would be good to read more military books. You should learn from Ji You."
"No, it's all my fault." The Imperial Noble Consort shed tears. "I only have Yuan'er as my child, and I really can't bear to see him suffer. But I never thought he would be deceived by villains. Since that's the case, I beg Your Majesty to punish us."
"Enough, enough," the emperor said. "Your brother has not yet made a decision; I should deal with him first."
The Imperial Noble Consort's eyes welled up again. She looked up at His Majesty and pleaded, "Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty!" came an urgent report from outside the door.
"Minister of Justice Wen Xiangyu committed suicide in the Ministry of Justice prison and could not be saved."
"what!"
The three people in the imperial study exclaimed in unison.
"elder brother--!"
The Imperial Noble Consort fainted, likely due to excessive grief.
Before the emperor could even glance at her expression, he strode to the door and demanded, "Is the news true?"
"Yes." The official from the Ministry of Justice handed the emperor a white cloth with a blood-written letter. "This is the last letter left by Wen Xiangyu, the Minister of Justice."
The emperor reached out with trembling hands and quickly finished reading.
Wen Xiangyu's suicide note contained only a few sentences. He admitted to all his crimes but hoped that the emperor would spare the Wen family in consideration of his many years of service to the Great Yan and the emperor.
The emperor's eyes flickered, his face turning ashen. "How did he die?"
The Ministry of Justice official, his palms sweating and his forehead covered in a fine sheen of sweat, explained, "When we arrived this morning, we found that he had committed suicide by biting his tongue."
The emperor lowered his eyes and said coldly, "Forget it, let him die if he wants to."
-
Inside Yongchun Palace.
The Imperial Noble Consort had already woken up.
"Mother," Gu Yuan knelt at the head of the bed, "Are you alright?"
The Imperial Noble Consort glanced at Gu Yuan from the side and nodded weakly.
Gu Yuan understood instantly.
He lowered his head slightly. "Father still has state affairs to attend to. I had the imperial physician send you back first. He just left."
The Imperial Noble Consort rubbed her forehead and sighed, "Mother knows."
She wasn't actually dizzy; she just needed to act convincingly in front of others to make it believable.
Gu Yuan took a breath and said, "Mother, you almost scared me just now."
The moment the Imperial Noble Consort fainted, his thought was that he couldn't lose his mother as his support. A large part of his confidence in front of the Emperor came from his mother, so she had to live.
"Silly child." The Imperial Noble Consort was helped up by him and leaned against the headboard. "I'm just tired from working hard lately."
Wen Xiangyu is not related to her by blood, so she doesn't need to worry about him.
“However, even without the Wen family, we still have helpers.” She looked at Gu Yuan with a sly expression.
"A helper?" Gu Yuan asked.
Could she have some other trump card? That was something he had never considered.
The Imperial Noble Consort smoothed the stray hairs at her temples. "The position of Crown Prince can only be yours."
"Don't worry, Mother," Gu Yuan said confidently. "Your son will certainly not disappoint you. It's just that your son hasn't fully won people's hearts yet."
Although he and Gu Liang had both established their own residences outside the capital, they had never encountered a suitable minister to serve them. He remembered that he had met a suitable physician in his previous life, but why hadn't he met one in this life?
"Don't be too impatient," the Imperial Noble Consort said calmly. "Haste makes waste, and you're just too impatient."
Gu Yuan unconsciously clenched his back teeth and argued, "Your subject just doesn't want to disappoint Mother Consort, and besides, Your subject also has his own ideas."
The Imperial Noble Consort glanced at him and said, "You should consult with your mother before making any decisions. Your uncle is already in this state, so we should proceed cautiously and steadily now."
"Won't Father Emperor suspect me?" Gu Yuan asked.
"So what?" the Imperial Noble Consort said. "As long as you stay in the mansion and behave yourself, your mother will handle things for you in the palace. He won't do anything to you."
"The Wen family...?"
"Don't have any contact with the Wen family," the Imperial Noble Consort said calmly. "Although your uncle has atoned with his death, His Majesty is only merciful to the dead, so you should stay put for now."
"Shouldn't we just ignore them?" Gu Yuan asked hesitantly.
"We need to protect ourselves first." The Imperial Noble Consort sighed softly. "His daughter deserves to be left to fend for herself. Let's focus on living our own lives first."
Gu Yuan remained silent for a long while, then asked, "Who does Mother think reported the matter of Yu County to Father?"
The Imperial Noble Consort posed a question mark.
Gu Yuan's eyes flickered. "Besides the Prince of Liang, I can't think of anyone else."
The Imperial Noble Consort patted his shoulder. "Of course."
“He’s a very cunning person,” Gu Yuan said ruthlessly. “I’ve tried to make a move several times but haven’t succeeded.”
"However, Father also knows that he will not live long."
The Imperial Noble Consort smiled slightly.