Chapter 420 – The Willful Emperor (2)
Wait, that’s not correct! Yaoyao said Ye Zhen had been given poisoned wine, but… I did not give her such a thing, so who was it? As he mused, Mo Rongzhan thought of Lu Wushuang. With her temper, she was the one most likely to give Ye Zhen poisonous wine at the time. Lu Lingzhi… did he cover up the truth for Lu Wushuang’s sake?
Although Ye Zhen’s death did not leave a mark on him, Mo Rongzhan still felt unhappy. Lu Lingzhi shouldn’t have hidden this matter from him, not even for his sister’s sake.
Huangfu Chen sighed and said, “You should give Yaoyao some time.”
“Zhen has already given her a lot of time, but in her mind, zhen can still not compare to Ye Zhen who she has never seen before.” He snorted, holding back his anger.
Could it be that every emperor who found love for the first time is all so naïve? I can’t believe he’s competing with a dead person. Huangfu Chen inwardly shook his head, deciding to let Mo Rongzhan suffer some hardships first. That way, he would learn how to love someone instead of forcibly getting someone to be with him with his identity.
“Since this is the case, do you want me to change the female physician serving you?” Huangfu Chen asked.
Mo Rongzhan gave him a cold look and said flatly, “You don’t need to meddle in this matter.”
Look, his mouth said he no longer has any thought, but he still doesn’t want to see her replaced. Huangfu Chen smiled. “It’s almost time to take the medicine. I’ll have someone bring it over.”
“I won’t take medicine.” Mo Rongzhan’s tone could not hide his disgust over the matter. The last thing he liked was taking medicine.
Huangfu Chen laughed and said, “Today, I have to go outside the palace, so don’t be willful and take your medicine when you should. The condition of your injury is still bad. What memorials? You really think you are made of iron?”
“Didn’t you say that my injury is recovering well?” Mo Rongzhan asked faintly.
“You still have to take medicine before you fully recover.” Huangfu Chen said, “Lu Lingzhi’s poison broke out again, and Qijie Grass is useless this time. My paternal aunt asked me to go to the Lu Family.”
Mo Rongzhan thought of the remnant poison in Marquis Anyang and nodded silently. “You go then.”
Huangfu Chen withdrew from the Palace of Heavenly Purity. After he left, Mo Rongzhan glanced at the door a few times, causing Eunuch Fu to hurry in, thinking that he had some instruction for him.
“Your Majesty, what can this slave do for you*?” Eunuch Fu came in and asked.
Mo Rongzhan looked at him coldly. “You’re the only one outside?”
From the beginning, he was the only one outside, why was the emperor asking this? Could it be… he wished a certain someone was out there? Eunuch Fu was very intelligent, thus he immediately thought of Ye Zhen, s said. “Princess has gone down to the Cining Palace. Your Majesty, are you looking for Princess?”
“Withdraw.” Mo Rongzhan snorted coldly. Why would I want to see her? She disregards my intention for her time and again, so why should I put down my pride just to coax her?
Eunuch Fu hurried out.
Mo Rongzhan laid down in the palace hall and began looking through the memorials. Not long after that, Tang Zhen and Wei You requested an audience with him.
The eighth prince had been arrested, but he flatly denied he was involved in the matter of sending assassins and releasing the fierce tiger to murder Mo Rongyi. Still, despite his denial, Tang Zhen directly locked him up in the dungeon.
With the eighth prince’s arrest by Tang Zhen, the fifth prince and the other members of the imperial clan immediately went to the palace to seek an audience with the emperor. However, Mo Rongzhan refused to see them, so they demanded to meet Empress Dowager.
After Empress Dowager came to know that the eighth prince was going to kill Mo Rongyi, she was furious. So much so that she wanted to execute him immediately. So, how would she be willing to come out and listen to these people’s sophistry for Eighth Prince?
Therefore, Fifth Prince and Old Prince Kang went back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity and knelt outside, howling loudly.
“Your Majesty, you have to give Old Eighth justice. There’s not many of us brothers to begin with; how can Your Highness allow Old Eighth to be wrongfully accused by the treacherous officials… Your Majesty, please show mercy.” Fifth Prince cried loudly.
“Xiandi*, ah! Please show your spirit and redress Old Eighth’s grievances.” Old Prince Kang also shouted.
[*O late emperor]
Behind them, the other members of imperial clans knelt, loudly begging Mo Rongzhan to give the eighth prince justice.
Mo Rongzhan just turned a deaf ear to all these and perused the memorials in the palace hall. However, he didn’t use the cinnabar brush and evaluate them. Anyway, in the eyes of the officials, he was still seriously ill.
“Your Majesty, this official will go and drive them away,” Wei You said angrily.
“Let them beg themselves hoarse and ignore it,” Mo Rongzhan said lightly before turning to Tang Zhen and continuing, “Zhen will hand over Prince Shun’s matter to you. You’re allowed to use as much torture as you should.”
Tang Zhen complied, tone firm. He did not intend to be soft on Prince Shun at all.
Mo Rongzhan picked up the last memorial and frowned when he saw its content. “How long has it been since the dam in the lower reaches of Huaijiang River was built?”
Tang Zhen and Wei You looked at each other in dismay. How could they know about this matter?
“Your Majesty, you may have to ask Prime Minister Xu about that.” Tang Zhen whispered.
Mo Rongzhan nodded his head in agreement. It was time for him to summon and question Prime Minister Xu about this matter. “You all withdraw.”