mtl008 Chapter 641: Deposed Queen Duanhui
Chapter 641: Deposed Queen Duanhui
At this time, the Third Prince's wife was at the gate of the Clan House. In fact, Emperor Shenwu had already ordered that she could see the Third Prince for the last time, but when the Third Prince's wife reached the dungeon at the gate of the Clan House, she stopped. She just stood there quietly, with a dazed and sad expression, standing straight.
When the Third Prince in the dungeon drank the poisoned wine in one gulp, the Third Prince's wife seemed to sense something. She looked at the dim light inside the gate and finally burst into tears. The two were married by imperial decree when they were teenagers. They had a few days of loving and sweet time in their early days, but unfortunately, time flies, and the love between the royal couple is gone like flowing water.
"Love in this world is hard to keep. I only hope that we will never meet again in the next life. In this life, the love between you and me is thin. After you leave, the Third Prince's Mansion will no longer exist. My father has already let me return to my clan. From now on, I will only live a good life for myself! I hope that we will never meet again in the next life!"
In the dungeon, the third prince soon fell to the ground due to the poison. In the end, the third prince thought of his life, his mother, and the third prince's wife, and finally closed his eyes with reluctance and regret.
After that, the Crown Prince was the Fourth Prince. The two were not imprisoned together. The Crown Prince told the Fourth Prince, "Your mother is doing well in the harem. She has plenty of food and clothing. The Queen Mother always specifically orders that your mother's share must not be missed. Your father has also issued an order that your wife and son will not be implicated. You can rest assured!"
It was hard to tell whether the expression on the Fourth Prince's face was one of anticipation or fear: "If Mother doesn't know about this, then keep it secret from her! What about her? She..."
"The Fourth Princess refused to see you. She begged you not to leave that day, but you left without looking back. Today, she refuses to see you."
"Okay, okay! It's okay if you don't see me... It's okay if you don't see me either."
The Fourth Prince tried his best to control his emotions. "I have wronged her. She has been suffering since she married me. Your Highness, if possible, I will leave my child in your care."
The prince frowned slightly: "Don't worry, father has made all the arrangements for them."
In fact, the Crown Prince couldn't understand the Fourth Prince's final choice the most. "What did you want? If the rebellion had succeeded, you wouldn't have been involved. But if it had failed, you would have accompanied the Third Prince to eternal damnation, and you would have hurt the people who had been with you wholeheartedly."
The Fourth Prince remained silent, perhaps unsure how to respond. He lifted his glass and drank it all, similarly poisoned. As he spat out blood, he struggled to speak, "If there's a next life, I will definitely not be Father's son! I'd rather be just an ordinary person... Mother... Qin'er... You must live well. Actually, I just can't accept this... I can't accept being locked up for the rest of my life..."
The Crown Prince completed his mission and returned to Qianzheng Hall to report. This was the first time he had faced the death of his brothers. Before this, the Crown Prince was filled with indignation and anger. But as they fell one by one before him, the Crown Prince realized that he didn't feel much joy or relief. Instead, his heart felt heavy, as if a stone had been pressed down on it, and a sense of sadness spread throughout his body.
Prince Ding persuaded Empress Dowager Li to take the now-reticent Princess Mingzhu to Xi'an Temple. Emperor Shenwu's ruthless approach frightened Empress Dowager Li, and she left the palace the next day, accompanied by a team of guards, with the Grand Consort silently accompanying them. Emperor Shenwu summoned the Grand Consort to inquire about his intentions, promising a divorce, but he refused. Feeling a little sorry for this most distinguished descendant of the Jiang family, Emperor Shenwu reasoned that there was no rush; at worst, he could find a suitable marriage for the Grand Consort after some time.
Just two days later, Emperor Shenwu once again stirred up a huge uproar in the former court and the harem. Emperor Shenwu collected witnesses and evidence. After so many years, he ordered the three courts to try the case of Empress Duanhui Li Wanhui poisoning him. After receiving the news, Li Jiagong Cheng'en was frightened and fell ill, and then he was bedridden. Unfortunately, Empress Dowager Li had already left the palace at this time, and Cheng'engong could not grasp this only life-saving straw.
Emperor Shenwu ordered the three courts to hold a joint trial just to put on a show for the former dynasty, the harem and the people of the world. He intended to tell the world that he was about to depose Empress Duanhui, so that the officials, concubines of the former dynasty and the harem, and even the people of the world would know what Li Wanhui had done and why she was deposed by him.
Empress Dowager Li was far away in Xi'an Temple, and she had Princess Mingzhu guarded by her husband at all times. No, now Princess Mingzhu had been stripped of her title by Emperor Shenwu, and she was now, at best, a commoner. Meanwhile, Zhou Chengqiong's biological mother, Empress Duanhui, had also been ruthlessly deposed by Emperor Shenwu, foreshadowing that Zhou Chengqiong would never return to the imperial city.