Having a Baby Before Marrying a Wicked Husband - Chapter 74

“Let all the Uyghur people go.” The emperor waved his hand. It was obvious that someone was borrowing the Uyghur’s as a knife. There is no need to make enemies over this.

On the high platform, the Emperor’s crown hung down, the jewels and pearls clashing against the coronet, concealing the deep wrinkles on his forehead. The marks of age could no longer be hidden; he was walking the irreversible path of aging.

The princes kneeling on the ground in front of him are the people who will replace him in the future.

Just like the aged lion will eventually be overthrown by the younger lion, losing his territory and subjects. The old lion will have to walk alone into the depths of the jungle.

“Fourth son, you took sick leave that day, how did you end up at the hunting ground again?”

“Father, I…” The fourth prince raised his head, panic evident on his face, “I was taken there against my will, Father, I don’t know what happened… I have never harbored any ill intentions toward you, please believe me.”

He knelt and crawled to the Emperor’s feet, his clothes emitting a foul odor, his unkempt hair was tangled and knotted, his face showing unbearable fatigue, and he looked particularly haggard.

The Emperor had returned to the palace for several days, but he had not summoned them. The fourth child had been detained all along. Although he had not been tortured, he was not allowed to step out of his room, with meals delivered by palace maids every day.

Moreover, he was not allowed to have any contact with people from the outside world. Even the noble consort cried bitterly to the Emperor for half a day but couldn’t get a chance to meet him. Instead, she was harshly ridiculed, and after that, she remained as quiet as a chicken.

The Emperor asked only one question.

“I was assassinated, yet the beloved consort didn’t show an ounce of concern.”

This sentence made the noble consort’s face turn pale as snow, and she stammered, “Your Majesty, I was worried. Seeing you well, I was overjoyed…”

Her intense worry for her son led her to make such a grave mistake.

“That’s enough.” The Emperor dismissed her. As the noble consort stumbled out of the hall, she coincidentally met the Empress. The Empress walked past her with arrogance; she was there to deliver soup to the Emperor.

The care and attention over the past few days made the Emperor deeply feel that, despite the many beauties in the palace, none were as gentle as his wife.

And now, seeing the fourth prince crying on his lap, he felt a slight warmth in his heart, perhaps he had wrongly accused the fourth prince. Despite the many bad habits of the fourth prince, he had always shown great respect for him since childhood.

He was about to say a few words of comfort to the fourth prince when suddenly the third prince, Xia Jue, spoke up.

“Father, I have something to say.”

Xia Jue kowtowed with a loud thud. When he raised his head again, blood was flowing from his forehead. “I failed to protect you, Father, that was my first mistake. I failed to capture the assassins, letting them escape, that was my second mistake. I was incompetent, allowing the assassins to sow discord between us and then arrogantly leaving, that was my third mistake. Please punish me, Father!”

The Emperor’s heart grew cold as he thought of Wang Xie’s report that they found the assassin’s clothes in the third prince’s room.

The evidence pointed to the third prince, who didn’t defend himself but admitted his faults, his eyes unable to conceal his concern. Initially, he had some suspicions about the third prince, but now they had lessened.

Moreover, while the third prince admitted his faults, the fourth prince remained unrepentant, trying to deceive him.

“All of you, go back. You are not allowed to leave the palace for a month.”

Xia Jue lowered his head and kowtowed heavily again, feeling slightly relieved only after the punishment. No matter how childish and crude the evidence of the so-called assassin was, once it appeared in his room, his suspicion would not be easily cleared away.

Suspecting someone didn’t require substantial evidence. Once a small seed of doubt was planted, it would naturally sprout and grow.

He didn’t know what to do, so he had sought help from Jiang Manyue.

He already knew that the Emperor’s disappearance before was because he was at Jiang Manyue’s house. Because Emperor Taifeng had never mentioned Yan Cai, Xia Jue had always thought it was Jiang Manyue who saved the Emperor.

Before Jiang Manyue could respond, Yan Cai said, “It’s simple. Just apologize sincerely.”

“Apologize sincerely?”

“Of course,” Yan Cai said confidently. “Oh, by the way, since you haven’t been a father before, you don’t know what it’s like.”

Yan Cai sat down, his son sitting on his lap, gnawing on an apple. The apple was probably too big, so it would occasionally slip from his hand. Yan Cai would pick it up and give it back to his son, who would continue to nibble on it.

Xia Jue watched the interaction between the father and son, actually not feeling concerned at all.

In his view, Yan Cai was still too naive, and might not be able to give him a good answer. Besides, the Emperor was not an ordinary person; he was far different from an ordinary father.

Therefore, when Yan Cai said such things, Xia Jue strongly disagreed.

However, the best thing about him was that even if he didn’t think it was right, he wouldn’t directly oppose it; he would give the other person some face.

Yan Cai didn’t think he was wrong, and he continued, “Don’t think that the Emperor is not a father. Even if he is different from an ordinary father, he is still your biological father. A father naturally enjoys seeing his son admit mistakes and change for the better. Just look at my son; if he makes a mistake, he cries in front of me, pleases me a bit, admits his mistake, and I soften up.”

Moreover, Yan Cai and the Emperor were acquainted and had many topics to discuss. Although the Emperor inevitably carried an aura of authority and pressure, Yan Cai still got along well with him.

The Emperor’s imposing demeanor had never affected Yan Cai in the slightest. Yan Cai would naturally forget the other party’s identity and treat him as a friend.

Strangely, Xia Jue, who initially disagreed with Yan Cai’s words, was completely convinced by Yan Cai in the end.

He ultimately chose Yan Cai’s approach—no arguments, just admit the mistake. Fortunately, he made the right bet. If he had vehemently defended himself, given the Emperor’s current mindset, he might have started suspecting him.

Precisely because he made no excuses at all, it made him look quite wronged, as if falsely accused. Yan Cai called this behavior “playing pitiful.”

Ancient people didn’t know the meaning of “playing pitiful,” so Yan Cai explained to Jiang Manyue for a long time what it meant.

Jiang Manyue learned quickly and started playing pitiful in front of him.

“We haven’t ‘slept’ together for at least seven days. I’m sad, very painful. Since we had a son, your eyes only see the son… I’m also pitiful, just look at me. My brother is a fool, father is not kind, son is unfilial… I only have you.”

The unfilial son happily threw himself into Jiang Manyue’s arms: “Father!” He heard his father calling him.

Yan Cai had a dark face; it was a failure in playing pitiful. This attempt was not at all pitiful. Jiang Manyue didn’t seem suitable for playing pitiful at all.