Chapter 347 Forced into the Palace
When Qianhuan opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on the bed, but her hands and feet were tied up and a cloth was stuffed in her mouth.
She turned around and looked around, and found that she was in a completely unfamiliar room. The furnishings in the room were extremely gorgeous and expensive, and it was obvious that it belonged to a wealthy family.
Just when Qianhuan was wondering who kidnapped her, she suddenly heard someone talking outside.
"My mother and I will be ready to take action tonight. You stay in my mother's bedroom and make sure you keep a close eye on her."
At this time, a gentle and pleasant female voice sounded, "Well, I know."
Then there were the sounds of footsteps leaving and a door closing.
Qianhuan felt that the voices of both people sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had heard them.
Wait, the man just said mother concubine. Apart from royal relatives like Zi Yu, the people who can be called mother concubine are princes or something like that, right?
She knew who the person outside was. The person who kidnapped her was actually the Fourth Prince. And from what he said just now, this was the bedroom of his mother, Concubine Li, which meant she was in the palace now.
What did they mean by preparing to take action tonight? Could it be that the Fourth Prince also wanted to usurp the throne like the Crown Prince? Then he must have kidnapped me to contain my brother and Ziyu.
Thinking of this possibility, Qianhuan became extremely anxious. She didn't know whether he had released her parents. If Ziyu knew that she was missing, he would definitely be very worried. Even if he found out that it was the Fourth Prince's doing, he would never have thought that she was actually brought into the palace.
As for the Young Master, after Ji Feng explained the situation, he immediately took his men to the locust tree forest. However, when they arrived, they only saw Liang Laoer and his wife supporting each other as they walked out of the locust tree forest.
The prince asked anxiously, "Uncle and aunt, where is Huan'er?"
Liu cried and said, "The child was knocked unconscious and taken away in order to save me and her father. My Lord, please save her."
The prince asked hurriedly, "Can you see the face of the kidnapper clearly?"
Liu was still crying, and Liang Lao Er replied, "Those people were covered with masks, so I couldn't see their faces at all."
The prince first asked someone to send Liang Laoer and his wife back, and then he quickly took people to investigate.
After some investigation, at night, the Crown Prince's men discovered that the Fourth Prince was probably responsible. Although there was no conclusive evidence, the Crown Prince still prepared to take people to the Fourth Prince's mansion to ask for the person.
However, not long after they set out, a eunuch came to report from the palace that the Fourth Prince had led a large number of troops into the palace. At this time, only Qian Bolin and the Imperial Guards were fighting hard. The eunuch said that His Majesty had asked the Young Master to lead his troops to rescue him.
The Crown Prince was now even more certain that Qianhuan was in the hands of the Fourth Prince. He must have wanted to use Qianhuan to threaten him and Qian Bolin.
When the prince rushed to the palace, he saw a river of blood everywhere, and the palace maids and eunuchs were fleeing in all directions.
The Fourth Prince's men had already reached the outside of the Emperor's bedroom. His Majesty was not feeling well and was unable to get out of bed. The Fifteenth Prince and Li Dequan were guarding him.
Outside the palace, Qian Bolin was leading the Imperial Guards to fight the rebels with all their might.
The Crown Prince's Shen Ce Army was indeed worthy of its reputation. After they entered the palace, they quickly suppressed the Fourth Prince's men, and the situation was reversed in an instant.
By the time the Crown Prince and his men arrived outside the Emperor's bedroom, the Fourth Prince's men were already almost at the Emperor's bedside.
When His Majesty saw the prince outside the door, he was overjoyed. He quickly shouted at the prince, "Zi Yu, you came at the right time. Quickly capture all these traitors for me."
At the same time, Concubine Li and the Fourth Prince were already sitting in sedan chairs and were carried to the emperor's bedroom by eight eunuchs.
The Fourth Prince got off the sedan chair and stood with his hands behind his back. He walked slowly into the palace as if he was taking a stroll in a garden.
He glanced at the prince who walked into the hall in silence, and guessed that the other party probably knew that Princess Jingrou was in his hands.
He looked confident of victory and laughed at the emperor, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. Even if the prince comes, he won't be able to save you. Princess Jingrou is in my hand. She is the prince's most precious woman. Do you think he will save you or his beloved woman?"
The emperor never expected that the Fourth Prince would actually capture Princess Jingrou. In this way, not only would the Crown Prince be controlled by him, but even his own Imperial Guards Commander Qian Bolin would have to be at his mercy. His son's move was truly brilliant.
In terms of scheming and means, the Fourth Prince is much stronger than the Crown Prince. If he were not so cruel and lacked the slightest bit of benevolence as a monarch, he would really be happy to hand over the country to him to manage.
When Qian Bolin heard that his sister was in the hands of the Fourth Prince, he became anxious. He turned around and asked the Prince, "Is what he said true? Is Qianhuan really in his hands?"
The prince nodded helplessly, "Yes."
Qian Bolin was so angry that he yelled at the Fourth Prince, "You are so despicable and shameless that you actually caught a weak woman who can't even tie a chicken to threaten us."
The fourth prince said proudly, "Who made this woman the favorite of Commander Qian and the prince? What can you do about your morality? Now you have to obey my orders."
Although Qian Bolin was angry, he was powerless to refute the Fourth Prince's words.
The prince's face was gloomy. He got straight to the point and asked, "What do you want in exchange for letting Huan'er go?"
"Isn't it obvious? What this prince wants is the throne. As long as the prince and Commander Qian give up resistance and support me as the new emperor, when this prince ascends the throne, I will naturally let Princess Jingrou go back to reunite with you."
Qian Bolin and the Crown Prince couldn't help but frown when they heard this. One was the Emperor they were loyal to, and the other was their most beloved sister and lover. It was really too difficult to choose.
"I'll give you one stick of incense to think about it. If you still refuse to change your ways, then wait for Princess Jingrou to die." The Fourth Prince warned in a sinister tone.
At this time, Concubine Li had also stepped down from the sedan chair and walked into the hall. She looked at His Majesty and said, "Your Majesty, I advise you to be more sensible and quickly write the edict to let the Fourth Prince succeed to the throne. With Princess Jingrou in our hands, your two loyal ministers and generals will not abandon her. As long as Your Majesty writes the edict obediently, I will not only let you go without pain, but also leave you a whole body."
“Empress Li, you are so bold that you actually dare to commit treason and plot rebellion. Aren’t you afraid of being ridiculed and insulted by people all over the world for doing this?” When the fifteenth prince saw Concubine Li speaking to the emperor like this, he could not help but speak up to protect her.
Concubine Li looked at the Fifteenth Prince and sneered, "Little Fifteen, you are so naive. Since we dare to rebel, are we afraid of being ridiculed and insulted by the people of the world? Besides, the winner is the king and the loser is the enemy. When my son ascends the throne, I want to see who dares to ridicule and insult the king of a country and the current queen mother?"
The fifteenth prince said stubbornly, "Even if the fourth brother becomes the emperor, what can he do? He will bear the reputation of killing the emperor and his father for the rest of his life. Even if he is in that position, it is not legitimate."
Concubine Li and the Fourth Prince didn't care about this. They were too lazy to talk nonsense with the Fifteenth Prince.
The fourth prince looked at the emperor and urged him, "Father, you should write the edict yourself, so as not to force your son to do it."
First, the Queen and the Crown Prince rebelled, and now Concubine Li and the Fourth Prince wanted to kill him for the position. Seeing the people around him betraying him one by one, the Emperor was actually very devastated.
He looked at the concubine he once loved so much, then looked at the Fourth Prince, and then slowly said, "Fourth Prince, it's not that father doesn't want to pass the throne to you, but you are not suitable to be the king."
Being rejected by his own father, the Fourth Prince was very unwilling. He shouted, "I am not fit to be the king. How can this little boy be fit to be the king?"
He pointed at the fifteenth prince beside His Majesty and said with a look of dissatisfaction, "I have been diligent and studious since I was young, just to gain your father's appreciation. I believe I am no worse than any other prince. Why can't I become the emperor? Why would Your Majesty rather place your hopes on the fifteenth person than on me?"
The emperor said earnestly, "Each of you wants to sit on this position, but you don't consider your own ability. I didn't let the prince succeed to the throne because he was too cowardly. Although the prince is kind, he lacks scheming and means. Such a person cannot manage such a huge country. And you, the fourth brother, although you are more meticulous and ruthless than the prince, you just lack a bit of kindness. As the old saying goes, 'the righteous have many supporters, the unrighteous have few supporters'. A monarch must not only be ruthless, but also be kind, otherwise he will only become a cruel monarch and lose the support of the people. If you have the ability to manage my Teng family's country, how could I not let you inherit the throne?"
The Fourth Prince obviously did not want to hear the Emperor's words. "Father, there is no need to give so many high-sounding reasons. When I ascend the throne, I will naturally manage the Teng family's kingdom well. I will definitely create a peaceful and prosperous era. When the time comes, I will go to your grave to burn incense for you and tell you about my great achievements."