Inlaid With Jade - Chapter 89

Chapter 89
Anyone who disobeys the order, execute!

Zhu Xi never miscalculated. When Wei Lin entered the palace that day, he received an order to take Li Heming to prison for trial.

Jinghe Palace was far from Wuying Palace. After hearing the news, Zhu Xi bathed in the bright afternoon sunshine and was slowly pushed in a wheelchair towards Wuying Palace.

Wuying Palace was strangely quiet today. When Zhu Xi arrived, the magnificent palace’s door was closed, and Liu Jian’an stood outside worriedly with a whisk in his hand. The guards at the door also retreated far into the courtyard as if officials in the palace were plotting something important.

The ironwood wheel rolled over the smooth surface, creating a striking sound. When Liu Jian’an saw Zhu Xi’s figure, he seemed to have seen a life-saving straw. He walked quickly to him, anxiously saying: “Your Highness, you are finally here.”

Zhu Xi seemed to be in a good mood. He smiled at Liu Jian’an’s miserable face, feigned ignorance, and asked, “What’s wrong? Why is Eunuch Liu so anxious?”

Liu Jian’an sighed and shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, he glanced at the guard who pushed him behind Zhu Xi.

Zhu Xi glanced behind him, and the guard stepped back a few steps. Liu Jian’an lowered his voice and said to Zhu Xi: “Just now, Lord Wei from the Northern Office came here. I don’t know what terrible things he said that made the Emperor furious. Half an hour ago, the Emperor angrily called the Sixth Prince to Wuying Palace. If he was scolding or punishing, there should be some noise, but now you listen, there is no sound in the palace, which makes me anxious to death.”

Liu Jian’an saw that Zhu Xi’s eyes were squinting uncomfortably in the light, tilted his body to block the light for him, and continued: “I didn’t dare to go in rashly before the Emperor summoned me. Now that you are here, finally, someone can go in and see what’s going on.”

Liu Jianan dared ask Zhu Xi to enter the palace when Emperor Chong’an was furious because he knew that Emperor Chong’an valued the Second Prince the most. Zhu Xi looked like his mother and was the most outstanding prince, but he was also the most unfortunate.

Zhu Ming had a large army and won over court officials. He had been handling state affairs for a few days and had stayed in Wuying Palace almost every night. He was working hard for the throne. But there was a saying: If the Second Prince’s legs were fine, even if he could only walk in small steps, the position of the East Palace would definitely not be vacant now.

Zhu Xi thought about it and said, “Then, please announce my arrival, eunuch.”

“Oh, okay.” Liu Jian’an breathed a sigh of relief and knocked on the palace’s door. He said carefully to the door’s crack, “Your Majesty…”

He had just called out, and a voice with suppressed anger came from inside: “I said that you can’t disturb me without being summoned. Liu Jian’an, are you tired of living?”

Liu Jianan raised his hand and slapped himself twice in the face: “I deserve to die! Your Majesty, please forgive me!”

The old eunuch was thick-skinned; these slaps were heavy, but there was no mark. After he finished, he turned his head and glanced at Zhu Xi, who was still waiting quietly under the sun in the courtyard, and said carefully: “Your Majesty, the Second Prince has been waiting in the courtyard for a while.”

Inside the palace, it was silent for a moment, so long that Liu Jian’an mistakenly thought Emperor Chong’an did not hear his voice. Then another voice came: “Let him in.”

Kneeling on the cold stone bricks, Zhu Ming heard Emperor Chong’an’s relaxed tone and clenched his fists gloomily.

Liu Jian’an pushed Zhu Xi into the door and soon withdrew without looking and closed the door. Zhu Xi seemed not to see Zhu Ming kneeling on the ground. He looked at Emperor Chong’an on the dragon throne and said, “Father.”

Emperor Chong’an had not spoken yet, but the kneeling Zhu Ming took the lead in responding: “Second Brother is well-informed. He has not left Jinghe Palace for half a year but went to Wuying Palace today.”

Zhu Xi tilted his head and smiled at him: “I heard that the Sixth Brother made Father angry, and as the Second Brother, I should say a few words of affection.”

Knelt for half an hour didn’t soften Zhu Ming’s knees, yet his mouth turned sharper. He sneered: “Whether you are here to plead or to laugh at me, only you know.”

“Enough!” Chong’an Emperor An scolded him, suppressing his anger and staring at Zhu Ming, who was kneeling upright in the hall: “I’ll ask you again: Is what Wei Lin said about Li Yunqi true?”

Zhu Ming looked at the cold and hard gold bricks in front of him, and he almost wanted to chop Wei Lin into pieces, but his face remained calm: “No matter how many times Father asks, I will still give the same answer, I have never done it.”

Zhu Ming could not admit that he persecuted Li Yunqi. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was in internal and external troubles, and Li Yunqi was ordered to resist the Northern Yuan Dynasty. If Zhu Ming admitted that he killed the general to gain military power, Emperor Chong’an would kill him instantly.

However, Emperor Chong’an did not believe what his son said. He stood up suddenly and waved his sleeve to sweep the document submitted by Wei Lin in front of Zhu Ming: “No? Could it be that the Imperial Guards are slandering you?”

Zhu Ming turned his head to look at Zhu Xi, who was sitting in a wheelchair with his eyes downcast and silent, and said coldly: “I also want to know who has gone to great lengths to fabricate such a serious crime to frame me and to provoke the father-son relationship between you and me.”

The words “father-son relationship” seemed to arouse tender feelings in Emperor Chong’an’s heart. He looked at the scar on Zhu Ming’s throat that was left on the battlefield to block arrows for him. He was silent for a long time and slowly said: “Before the matter is thoroughly investigated, you will stay in Zhongcui Palace. You are not allowed to leave, and no one is allowed to visit.”

Zhongcui Palace was the palace of the Crown Prince. Zhu Ming dreamed of living there, but when he had the opportunity, it became his place of house arrest. At this moment, all the connections between him and the outside world seemed to be cut off.

Emperor Chong’an looked down at his son, like a heartbroken father and a ruthless king: “Anyone who disobeys the order, execute!”

Zhu Ming dared not to disregard Emperor Chong’an at this critical moment. He moved his numb legs and staggered to stand up, unwillingly responding: “I’ll obey the order.”