stonecrandall Chapter 427 Assassination
Chapter 427 Assassination
The fifth prince had originally prepared a hawk to present to his mother, but the hawk died, and he was devastated when he came up to the palace.
Only after asking did I find out what had happened.
Shen Shixi laughed, "What would I do with an eagle? Come on, I've heard you're quite skilled in martial arts. Show me a set of punches or a sword dance. Perfect timing, all the military generals are here today, let them give you their feedback!"
The fifth prince was overjoyed and enthusiastically performed a set of boxing moves, looking expectantly at his mother.
Shen Shixi said, "I think it's very good, but I don't understand it either. Let your father and the others give you their opinions."
The fifth prince couldn't believe it. Would his father, the emperor, give him his opinion?
He dared not have any expectations.
The Fifth Prince's set of punches was indeed impressive, but Li Yuanke hadn't seen his son become any more successful, so he was too proud. He had no intention of commenting, but since the Empress had spoken, he naturally wouldn't spoil the mood.
He nodded. "Not bad!"
That's it.
But those two words were enough to make the Fifth Prince the object of jealousy among all the princes except for the legitimate sons. Among so many illegitimate sons, only the Fifth Prince received his father's praise.
The fifth prince was so happy he almost jumped for joy. "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your praise!"
The sixth prince regretted it; he should have prepared a better gift. Instead of taking out the copied scriptures, he suggested a sword dance.
Shen Shixi nodded in agreement.
The sixth prince's sword dance was not very good; it was clear that he was not as diligent in practicing as the fifth prince. The reason he changed his strategy at the last minute was to attract his father's attention.
Li Yuanke found this sword dance utterly shameful, and his face turned so dark it was almost dripping with water.
The sixth prince kept a close eye on his father's expression, and the more he paid attention, the more nervous he became. The more nervous he became, the more mistakes he made. In the end, the sword slipped from his hand and flew straight towards Li Yuanke.
"Protect the Emperor!" Li Fude shouted until his voice cracked, then rushed over to act as a human shield.
Li Yuanke picked up his chopsticks and threw them directly, blocking the sword. The Sixth Prince hadn't used much force to begin with, and the sword, obstructed, fell to the ground with a clatter.
Even so, everyone in the hall was shocked and still felt lingering fear.
The sixth prince knelt on the ground with a thud, trembling like a blade of grass in the wind, "Your subject... Your subject deserves death! Your subject didn't mean it!"
Looking at his son, who resembled his foolish uncle so much—in appearance, physique, and personality—Li Yuanke felt an overwhelming disdain, and couldn't help but curse him angrily.
"Fool! Go back inside and reflect on your mistakes. You are not to step out of the palace without my permission."
If he hadn't known that this fool didn't have the guts to kill his father, and if he hadn't wanted to be branded as a murderer of his own flesh and blood, Li Yuanke would have truly wished he had no son at all.
The sixth prince narrowly escaped death and slunk back home.
The seventh prince came up and respectfully presented a longevity painting. One hundred different forms of the character "寿" (longevity) were arranged to form a large "寿" character. The painting was beautifully framed and unfolded by four eunuchs, each holding one corner.
"Your Majesty, I wish you good health and longevity. This is a painting I wrote and mounted myself. Please accept it with a smile," the Seventh Prince said, bowing deeply.
Shen Shixi smiled and said, "Very good! I like it very much. Seventh Brother is good at studying and also filial!"
Xihe smiled and gave him a thumbs up. The seventh prince smiled back, his eyebrows curved, his demeanor refined and elegant. At twelve years old, he was already a handsome young man.
The Eighth Prince presented a pot of peonies, the "Yao Huang" variety, which is quite rare.
Shen Shixi accepted it with a smile.
The Third Prince and the Eighth Prince formed a very strong alliance; the two were inseparable.
The Ninth Prince presented a small statue of Guanyin, a gift prepared by his mother. It was a very thoughtful gesture, and Shen Shixi praised it a few times.
Gifts from her own children were not displayed on this occasion.
Shen Shixi rewarded all the children who gave gifts and announced that the twenty most valuable gifts received that day would be auctioned off by the Imperial Household Department, with all proceeds going to the Ministry of Revenue and used entirely for military expenses.
The auction will be handled by the Second Prince. As for what an auction is and how to organize it, Shen Shixi will provide guidance.
Afterwards, Shen Shixi promoted Xu Miaoying and Yuan Zhaoyue to higher ranks. Xu Miaoying was granted the title of Xiuyi, and Yuan Zhaoyue was promoted to Baolin. Both of them were extremely grateful.
Consort Xu was finally able to raise her son, the Ninth Prince, legitimately. Although Yuan Zhaoyue was only a minor concubine, she was not left out when the Empress conferred titles upon the harem, which proved that she still held a high position in the Empress's heart.
The concubines looked at the Empress, those who were more senior than her or who had entered the palace with her, and were surprised to find that the Empress's appearance had not changed at all over the years.
The Emperor, sitting side by side with the Empress, was still handsome, but time had inevitably left its mark on his face. The Empress, however, was not. Apart from her resolute eyes, she seemed to look just as she had when she first entered the palace.
Time seems to have forgotten her existence.
The day after the banquet, the emperor and his family of six planted another peach tree in the peach orchard, making it the twenty-seventh peach tree.
The Crown Prince and Xihe are about to leave the palace for training, which is also the result of Shen Shixi's guidance. Over the years, she has finally finished writing the version of "Journey to the West". After finishing telling "Journey to the West", she will also tell the children about the places she has traveled to in the past, as well as the customs and habits of different countries and regions on the world map, which aroused the Crown Prince and Xihe's strong interest. The two siblings also want to follow their mother's example.
Shen Shixi was very supportive, but Li Yuanke was worried about the children's safety and was also very reluctant to part with them.
But how could a powerful ruler not even understand the land under his rule? After careful consideration, Li Yuanke agreed, but on one condition: he could not leave the country.
The crown prince was still young and had no intention of traveling abroad, so he agreed.
Shen Shixi told them to follow Uncle Shen Er first. Uncle Shen Er had been migrating north and south to farm for many years, and had made improving crops his life's goal. If the Crown Prince and Xihe followed him, they could understand the hardships of farming.
Then they should follow their uncle, Brother Shen San, to broaden their horizons. A ruler who cannot develop the economy will never create a powerful empire.
The Emperor and Empress did not dare to openly send the Crown Prince and Xihe away from the palace. They only told them to go to Yongxi Academy to study. After being sent to the Shen family, they were taken by their maternal grandfather, Shen Xianzhang, and followed by Shen Ershu (Second Uncle Shen) southward.
Li Yuanke naturally dispatched many secret guards to follow him.
After sending the child away, Li Yuanke was still very reluctant to part with him and felt quite uneasy. Fortunately, Wangshu was there and rolled around in her father's arms a few times, which cheered Li Yuanke up.
Fu Guang couldn't bear to look at them; they were already seven years old, and the younger brother still wanted his father to hold him all the time.
At the end of May, the Crown Prince and Xihe were attacked in Chenzhou, Huainan Road. A group of more than 100 bandits surrounded the Crown Prince and his party. The Shen family had guards, the Crown Prince had secret guards, and Cen Yin secretly sent the Bad People to follow them. In addition, more than 1,000 Northern Army Imperial Guards cavalry protected the Crown Prince from a distance. The bandits did not get the better of them.
But it's unusual that someone would dare to do this within the Great Zhou territory.
The assassination attempt failed, and those who survived committed suicide by poisoning themselves. Several others had their jaws dislocated by the thugs and were subjected to severe torture before it was discovered that they had been bought off and were only told to stay and assassinate people, but they didn't know who they were supposed to assassinate.
All they knew was that if they succeeded, each person would receive two hundred taels of silver, which was a considerable sum, as a family of five's annual expenses were less than five taels of silver.
No matter how clean things are done, it is inevitable to leave some clues. The criminals followed the clues and all the leads pointed to Li Wencheng, the prefect of Huaiqing Prefecture.