The Good Grandson of the Red Chamber

Chapter 67: Father and Son Kill Each Other

Emperor Yonglong looked at Jia Daihua and said, "After you go down, arrest the rebels, reorganize the Beijing Garrison, and give me an explanation."

Upon hearing this, Jia Daihua was so moved that he burst into tears, and he exclaimed:

"Thanks to Your Majesty's trust, how could this old minister not be willing to die for you? Your Majesty, please rest assured, this old minister will certainly give Your Majesty a satisfactory explanation."

After saying this, he got up and strode away without waiting for the imperial physician to finish bandaging his wound.

After Jia Daihua withdrew, Emperor Yonglong said to Xia Chengxu, "Xu-ge'er, you should go and rest now."

Xia Chengxu's face turned pale. He hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "Grandfather, what did my father do?"

"If my father has done anything wrong, I am willing to bear the consequences. I beg my grandfather to forgive my father and punish me instead!"

Emperor Yonglong looked at Xia Chengxu with a very complicated expression and began to explain:

"Xu-ge'er, you're overthinking it. You were frightened just now. Go back and get some sleep."

Xia Chengxu burst into tears and knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly.

Just now, Duke Ningguo, Jia Daihua, said very frankly that this time, Prince Yizhong's rebellion has likely implicated his father as well.

He was completely unaware of this beforehand, and after hearing the Duke of Ningguo's words, he remained in a daze and absent-minded.

Now that the Emperor is ordering him to leave, it's clear he wants to take down his father and force him, the son, to back down.

His grandfather loved him dearly, and he did not participate in the rebellion.

Perhaps his grandfather could forgive him, but if his father were deposed, the towering tree he could rely on would collapse.

If the skin is gone, where will the hair attach?

Therefore, he pleaded desperately, hoping to save his father.

Emperor Yonglong glanced at Dai Quan, who then personally stepped forward and dragged Xia Chengxu away.

After Dai Quan returned, Emperor Yonglong instructed, "Take men and bring the Crown Prince to see me."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yonglong said to Xia Chengyan and the others, "You lot, stay and see for yourselves!"

"Being a member of the royal family is both your fortune and your misfortune!"

"I just hope you won't have to go through this in the future."

The residences of the Crown Prince and the other princes were not far from Emperor Yonglong's temporary palace.

After the rebellion broke out, some princes did come to the emperor's aid, but they were all turned away by the imperial guards.

Because no one can say for sure whether the prince came to rescue the emperor or to assassinate him.

At this point, they preferred to believe the grandson of the emperor rather than the prince.

Before long, the sounds of fierce fighting came from the direction of the Crown Prince's residence.

Emperor Yonglong's expression changed drastically, and he trembled as he muttered to himself, "This wretched child, how dare he? How could he do such a thing, so disloyal and unfilial..."

He closed his eyes in anguish, and a single tear silently streamed down his face.

Xia Chengyan and the others rushed forward to comfort him.

Xia Chengzong quietly hid in the back and did not speak.

Only those who have experienced it know that some pain cannot be relieved by others; only time can heal it.

Sure enough, the few clumsy attempts at comfort only made Emperor Yonglong feel more and more irritable.

He forced himself to hold back and didn't let it out.

The sounds of fighting quickly subsided, proving that one side had gained an overwhelming advantage.

After a while, the crown prince was brought in, looking quite disheveled.

Upon seeing the Crown Prince, Emperor Yonglong trembled slightly, his face contorted with rage, his eyes blazing with boundless fury.

He asked, "Since your birth, I have named you Crown Prince and placed high hopes on you. I believe I have never mistreated you."

"I am the ruler, you are the subject; I am the father, you are the son. My only thought has always been to pass the throne to you, and that has never wavered."

"Why do you hate me so much? Are you determined to kill me before you're satisfied?"

Emperor Yonglong spoke calmly, but it was precisely this calmness that terrified the Crown Prince.

If it were anger or rage, that would be one thing, but this calmness reveals a sorrow greater than the death of the heart.

The Emperor may have already decided to kill him!

He prostrated himself on the ground, saying in fear, "Father, I am innocent! It's all the work of villains! I am innocent! I have been wronged, Father! Please, Father, see the truth!"

"Ha!" Emperor Yonglong's face showed disappointment: "He dares to do it but not to admit it. Is this the crown prince I've painstakingly nurtured?"

"Ha! I never imagined I would raise such a fool! If you were to lead an army in rebellion and try to become emperor, then you'd certainly have guts!"

"But you actually secretly gave cannons to the sixteenth prince, helping him rebel and seize the throne. Do you think he'll let you be his crown prince after he takes the throne?"

"Or did he promise to pass the throne to you? How could you believe such nonsense? How utterly foolish!"

The crown prince, who was originally trembling with fear, was completely enraged by these words.

From childhood to adulthood, his father always called him a fool, never looked at him properly, and never approved of anything he did!

He knelt on the ground, straightened his back, and roared with red eyes and a stiff neck, "I'm not a fool! How could I believe his nonsense?"

"He schemed against me, but I schemed against him too! He charged ahead, and then I went to find Jia Daihua to suppress the rebellion!"

"I am the Crown Prince. When the time comes, won't this throne be mine?"

After saying these words, the crown prince seemed to have used up all his strength and collapsed to the ground.

Xia Chengzong felt that the Crown Prince was somewhat calculating, but not much.

Would a cunning old fox like Prince Yizhong not have thought of such a risky scheme?

If he succeeds, after killing Emperor Yonglong, his next target will inevitably be these princes and grandsons.

If we act quickly enough and eliminate them all, will Duke Ningguo, Jia Daihua, avenge the old emperor or choose to support a new ruler?

Emperor Yonglong chuckled and mocked, "What a pig-brain! If the sixteenth prince succeeds, the first person he'll kill is you!"

"Not only you, but everyone in your royal palace will be killed! Your brothers, nephews, and nieces will all be murdered by you!"

"You have truly disappointed me. If you were to personally lead your troops to me, I would gladly relinquish the throne to you."

The crown prince scoffed, "If I were to personally lead my troops to you, the throne would naturally be mine. Why would you need to yield it?"

This sentence left Emperor Yonglong speechless.

This statement makes so much sense that Emperor Yonglong was speechless for a moment.

Xia Chengzong almost burst out laughing from behind.

At this point, the crown prince completely let go and decided to throw caution to the wind.

"Father, didn't you question me about why I rebelled and why I wanted to kill you?"

"It's true I wanted to rebel, but I never intended to kill you! I even wanted him to become the Retired Emperor, so you could see how I would be emperor and how I would govern the world!"

"You say you've always wanted to pass the throne to me. Do you even believe that yourself?"

"Now that you have such a wonderful grandson, do you still care about your son? I'm afraid! I'm afraid that the day I open my eyes, you'll have crippled me!"

"I am forty-two years old this year. Has there ever been a crown prince who reigned for forty years?"