Chapter 218: To Wear a Crown, You Must Bear It

Being dusted by the Crown Prince’s hooves, Su Yan bashfully wiped his face, and not wanting to chase after him, he slunk forward.

Not long after, he saw a horse riding in front of him, and it was actually Zhu Hailin who had gone and returned.

Zhu Hailin held the reins beside him, still with a puffed up face. Su Yan let out a dry laugh, “Little master is still angry with me? It’s me who spoke out of turn and violated my master, I’ll make amends to young master.”

Zhu Hailin used his riding crop to lightly whip Su Yan’s thigh, and in response to his “hiss” of pain, his face eased a bit, and he said in a muffled voice, “You’re not speaking out of turn, you’re speaking out of turn to test the waters. When something like this happens, the first thing you suspect is me, and I know why.”

He has always had a lively brain, and after he sped out in anger, he was calmed down by the wind and felt that he should talk to Su Yan, so he turned back on the spot.

Su Yan also curbed the fake smile, said with a straight face: “Because this kind of thing spread out, it is easy to be made into a prophecy rumor that points directly at the second prince. The people are superstitious, and even those who are not superstitious hold the attitude of ‘rather believe it than not believe it’. If this is allowed to go on, it will be a big blow to the reputation of the second prince, and may even trigger unrest in the hearts of the people up and down the court. This is something that the Crown Prince is surely clear about in his heart.”

Zhu Hailin nodded his head and added unwillingly, “It really wasn’t me who arranged it.”

Su Yan said, “But who will listen to Little Master’s defense? After all, you are the first beneficiary. When an event or a case occurs, the beneficiary will be the first to become the object of suspicion because he has a motive, this is human nature. Even I, who is not unimportantly close to the young master, the first reaction was ‘Could it be that the young master has recently been cold-shouldered by the royal master and depressed, and inspired by the Red Lotus Rhymes, and has learned tactics he shouldn’t have learned’?”

“–I am indeed depressed, and by no means want to speak of humility with Lao Er.” Zhu Helin said flatly, “But even if this tactic works, I don’t care to use it!”

Su Yan asked, “Why?”

Zhu Helin’s mind was full of ideas and he didn’t think of how to express them for a moment, and finally stifled a sentence, “Pretending to be a trickster, like a cold and slimy snake, disgusting.”

He grew up liking all kinds of animals with fur, especially tigers and leopards kept in the Western Garden of the Imperial City, as well as dogs for hunting, and was very displeased with snakes, lizards and other reptiles, and to be able to use this as an analogy, it is clear that the deep hatred.

Su Yan laughed aloud, and at the end, he arched his hand and made an upright salute: “I make amends to Your Highness the Crown Prince for my suspicions and temptations.”

Zhu Helin’s heart was already relieved, but he still kept a stern face and threatened, “This will not be the last time. In the future, if you ever doubt Little Master again – even if it’s just a tiny bit, Little Master will use this -” he raised the horsewhip in his hand, “to ruthlessly clean you up. Remember?”

Su Yan was not afraid of him in the slightest and laughed, “Remember, remember.”

Only then did Zhu Helin completely rest his anger, and laughed with a “snort”. He turned his horse around and continued to walk alongside Su Yan.

And Su Yan didn’t seem to intend to let this matter pass, still pondering: since the Stone Pillar prophecy rumor wasn’t done by the Crown Prince, there were two other possibilities. The first is that the Wei family’s political opponents, supporters of the Crown Prince, were inspired by the Vacuum Sect to return the favor in their own way. The second …… is that the Vacuum Cult did it themselves, with the purpose of framing the Crown Prince and setting him up. If this is really the case, it seems that the second prince is nothing more than a tool that can be sacrificed at any time in their eyes.

Either way, the key thing is that the Imperial Master has to be convinced that the Crown Prince has nothing to do with this matter.

If this happened before the Kunning Palace fire, Su Yan believes that the emperor will certainly defend the prince, but now the father and son seem to have a suspicion between them. What will be the reaction of the imperial master to this …… right now even he can not say.

Su Yan sighed silently.

As if guessing what he was thinking, Zhu Helin comforted him, “Don’t worry, I will report this matter to Father. The cleaner the clearer, Father will believe me.”

–

The two returned to the palace, and the guards, at the Crown Prince’s command, parked the carriage loaded with stone pillars in the outer court, and went with them to the Imperial Study to face the saint.

While walking along the palace road, they met head-on with a leader of the brocade guards, who immediately retreated to the side of the road and saluted, “Your Royal Highness is a thousand years old.” Zhu Helin asked, “From the imperial study?” The man said, “Yes.” Zhu Helin nodded and continued to walk forward.

“Today’s matter, Father Emperor must have known all about it, and the details are not much better than those on the scene.” Waiting for that brocade guard to walk away, Zhu Hailin stopped his steps and turned his head to look at Su Yan, “Do you think that Father Emperor will believe me?”

Su Yan said, “What is the disposition of the young master, the imperial master is more clear than me. When asked back, the young master does not need to cover up anything in order to avoid suspicion – but remember to only say what you have seen and heard, as for all the speculation and conjecture do not mention.”

“Why?”

“How to say it …… If words are also a war, revealing one’s intentions or cards first is the same as revealing one’s position first.”

Zhu Helin smiled bitterly, ”Recently, I have become somewhat unable to speak in front of Father. In the past, I only thought that we were father and son, but now I suddenly realized that before ‘father and son’, there is still ‘ruler and subject’. Alas, the emperor’s family, why can’t it be like a commoner’s family?”

Su Yan thought about it and finally only answered, “There is a proverb in Western Yi – ‘If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight’.”

Zhu Hailin recalled for a moment and slowly nodded his head.

When they arrived at the imperial study, Emperor Jinglong did not summon them right away, and the two of them waited outside the door of the hall.

Not long after, a few jinyi guards together to carry the stone column over, on the open space at the bottom of the steps, lifting the cloth wrapped around the column, and then on the outside of the field to stand in line.

The two men walked over and carefully examined the pillar again in the bright light, and saw that the kuiyu thunder pattern at both ends of the pillar was covered by mottled algae marks, and the cleaned out writing in the center appeared to be very old as well.

“The technique of doing the old is quite old-fashioned.” Su Yan muttered.

“So what do you think is the modus operandi?” A voice leapt up behind him.

Su Yan was startled and turned around to see that Emperor Jinglong had left the hall at some point and was standing right behind them, so he hurriedly saluted.

“I am just talking off the top of my head, and I am confused at the moment.” He replied cautiously.

The emperor asked again, “If it is not man-made, then it is the will of God?”

Zhu Helin suddenly opened his mouth and said decisively, “My son does not think it is the will of heaven!”

The Emperor turned his gaze to him, “Oh, what does the Crown Prince think?”

Su Yan hid his hand in his sleeve, quietly tugging at the corner of the crown prince’s robe, signaling him to first play Taiji not to take a position. But the crown prince still continued: “Father still remember, the vacuum religion by nursery rhymes, spreading rumors of treason around the matter? My son feels that this pillar today is similar to it, and is most likely from the same person’s handwriting.”

Su Yan sighed darkly, stepped forward and was about to open his mouth when the emperor said to him, “Qinghe, you first go to the study to rest and wait for me.”

But the Crown Prince’s side was always a bit uneasy, and he hesitated to find an excuse to stay, when the Emperor’s voice sank, “–Su Shaoqing.”

Su Yan knew that the holy will had been decided, so he could only arch his hand and say, “I will obey the decree.” He looked deeply at Zhu Hailin, stepped onto the steps, and entered the imperial study.

The Emperor said to the Crown Prince, “Go on.”

The crown prince moved his eyes back from Su Yan’s back and said, “Today’s matter began with the rice transfer, the official in question has thrown himself into a well and died, there is no evidence against him, but I feel that I have to continue to investigate. The rice allocated by the Ministry of the household, through several barriers? Who were the people who took over? Which checkpoints might have been overlooked or made unusual noise? What is the background of that official, and who are the people he usually deals with? If we trace them one by one, we will definitely find something.”

The Emperor nodded, “Well said, you have indeed grown. Continue.”

“The person who switched the relief rice must also have something to do with this stone pillar. Otherwise why did that official kill himself in public, and why did he choose the method of death of throwing himself into a well? As if …… was to draw out this stone pillar with his own life.”

The Emperor sighed, “Yes. Why did he choose to throw himself into the well, and why did he kowtow to you before throwing himself into the well, knowing that he would surely die?”

Zhu Helin froze. When he was scared and begged for forgiveness, the act of kowtowing was not sudden, so he did not pay attention to it at that time, and now that he heard the emperor mention it, he vaguely remembered it. Indeed, that official has a death wish, why would he kowtow?

“Is he making his heart clear, or is he giving his last words?” The Emperor pursued.

The Prince replied blankly, “I …… I don’t know. I really don’t know ……”

The emperor then pressed, “What were his last words? Was it a plea: ‘The king’s order has been carried out, so do not harm my relatives and clansmen’?”

The Crown Prince took a violent step back, countenancing, “Father is this–is this interrogating my son?!”

“If you really interrogate you, according to the law to the criminal, temple, courtyard three divisions, if they do not dare to interrogate, there are also jinyiwei north township division, why should I personally come to ask?” Jinglong emperor took a deep breath, like pressing the anger in his heart, voice low and majestic, “I come to ask you, is still treat you as a son! But you come to ask me in return, is not to take me as a father?”

In full view of the public, the little master received the emperor’s unprecedented severe reprimand, the presence of the service without holding their breath and bowed their heads, the waist of the body of the heart to arch back, even the brocade guards are also eyes showing suspicion.

When it comes to this, the crown prince can only kneel down and ask for forgiveness, begging his father to rest his anger.

The emperor sighed: “He Lin ah He Lin, from a young age, the masters taught you the way of the saints, but you have no interest in reading, even if you pick up a book, either the book of words or the book of war. Now the evil consequences are finally apparent, did not learn ‘do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you’, but instead learned ‘to do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ to the fullest extent.”

“…… The meaning of Father Huang’s words, could it be that he already knew where the previous rumors about my son’s brutality and unkindness had flowed from? Otherwise, where did the ‘use the other’s way’ come from!” The Crown Prince’s eyes widened as he asked back in shock and anger, “Father Emperor knows the truth, yet he doesn’t do justice for my son and dispose of the rumor monger in accordance with the law, but instead allows him to put one arrow after another against my son?”

The Emperor leaned down, reached out and cupped the Crown Prince’s jaw, “Who is the ‘he’ you speak of? Your younger brother? He’s not even two years old yet, and you can’t stand him like this? ‘The world will die on the day of the sword’, good, the book is not completely in vain, at least you still know how the previous dynasty was overthrown-“

The previous dynasty was tyrannical and the people were suffering from natural and man-made disasters. The court forcibly conscripted the people to repair the Yellow River, the result is that the people digging the river, dug out a one-eyed stone man, engraved with a sentence: “Do not say that the stone man with one eye, provoke the Yellow River against the world”. This prophetic rumor was immediately spread all over the world, and the people responded to it, and several insurrectionary teams emerged and raised the banner of resistance against the imperial court.

Afterwards, some people testified that the one-eyed stone man was buried by the two leaders of the first insurrectionary army, which emphasized on “heavenly visions, the master is famous”, and the people of the world also ate this set. Although these two leaders did not succeed, they became the whistleblowers of the change of dynasty. Thus, Emperor Taizu of Daming rose from the humble beginnings of the cloth, and finally unified the world.

Countless lessons learned from the past in history, so that the emperors for the prophecy and vision is extremely sensitive, and many emperors are keen to recognize and create “auspicious”, in order to prove that they are in line with the will of the orthodox, the line is the way of heaven.

Similarly, the use of prophecies and visions to stir up people’s hearts was abhorred – one of the reasons why the Vacuum Sect was outlawed by Emperor Taizu in the early years of the founding of the nation, and its masters were eliminated by the imperial court.

The prince heard the seriousness of the matter from the words “the destruction of the former dynasty”, and knew that this matter had touched the point that the emperor hated to be angry. He said loudly with tears in his eyes, “I did not! They used this kind of treacherous trick to deal with my son, even if my son was indignant, I never thought of returning the favor, because this kind of trick is equally hated and disliked by my son. Why doesn’t Father believe me?”

At the end of his words, the wobbly, stubborn tears in his eyes finally fell, dripping onto the emperor’s fingers. The emperor frowned as if he had been scalded, withdrew his hand, and eased his tone a bit, “Since you have said so, I will give you a chance to clarify your own innocence – if you say that this matter is the work of the Vacuum Cult, then tie the culprits in front of me, and once you ask them, you will know the truth.”

Wanted for the Vacuum Cultist? The world is so big and full of people, where are they? After a very short period of dismay, the Crown Prince let out a firm and sharp light from his eyes, and resoundingly said, “I am willing to take on this important task, and I will not let my father down!”

“Don’t say as if I entrusted a heavy responsibility like, you in me here can not clear the suspicion.” The emperor splashed him a pot of cold water, “Zhao’er side, in order to avoid suspicion you should not go to see him again. Today after this spreads, inside and outside the court will be unfavorable rumors about him, you have to find a way to stop, if you let the rumors spread, I will default to your authorization–“

It was hard on the Prince’s heart, but he had to accept the harsh conditions.

The emperor added before turning around, “Also, don’t drag Su Qinghe into everything, he’s too busy with his own affairs, much less have time to clean up your mess.”

The emperor returned to the imperial study, the crown prince is still kneeling at the bottom of the steps. Fu Bao from the corner of the corridor to hide trotted over, busy to help him get up: “small master from daybreak busy until now, a mouthful of food and water have not yet entered it, slave girl let the small kitchen to make nourishing soup, or this back to the palace to go?”

The Prince looked a little confused as if he hadn’t heard what he had said.

Fubo finished dusting the ashes at his knees and asked worriedly, “Little Master doesn’t look too good, is everything alright?”

“It’s fine.” The crown prince looked toward the closed door of the temple, “Qinghe is still inside ……”

“Alas, young master, you should take care of yourself first.” Fubao advised, “Lord Su will come out in a moment after he returns a message to His Majesty. The slave girl has people guarding outside the palace gates, and as soon as Lord Su comes out, we’ll invite him to the East Palace.”

The Crown Prince thought about it and shook his head, ”There is no need. Father’s last sentence is clearly warning me not to pull Qinghe down. Father is right in his consideration, this matter might get all over the city, I can’t drag him into it.”

He glanced at the temple door again, turned around and walked a few steps, muttering, “My birthday gift hasn’t even been delivered yet, and Father can’t remember a thing about it?”

Fubao’s eyes suddenly moistened, forcibly holding back the sourness of his nostrils, said, “The Imperial Master may be too busy now, should I wait until after nightfall to go to the Palace of Nourishing Heart to ask for peace and send gifts.”

The Crown Prince closed his eyes for a moment, then quickly opened them again, straightened his back, and took out a demeanor that even the most shilly-shallying old minister of propriety could not fault, and walked toward the East Palace.

–

Inside the imperial study, Su Yan peered out of the window that was open a crack to see what was going on in the courtyard and strained his ears to eavesdrop. This action was rude as hell, but he didn’t care about the eyes of the palace people inside the hall.

Seeing the emperor picking up the steps, he hurriedly returned to his seat and sat upright, picking up his cup of tea and pretending to be calm and relaxed.

The emperor entered the hall, Su Yan immediately put down his teacup and rose to salute. The emperor told him to sit down, “Continue drinking your tea.” He also ordered the palace staff, “Serve me a pineapple with olives as well.”

The palace people were busy replacing the prepared pu’er with freshly steeped pineapple, and the emperor waved his sleeve, signaling them all to stand down.

“Peeked in the window?” The Emperor asked.

Su Yan smiled in embarrassment, “Nothing can be hidden from His Majesty.”

“I guess. According to your nature, hanging on to this, hanging on to that, can’t let go of anyone, can still let go of the Prince?”

Just far away, do not hear very clearly, only to see the Prince kneeling, I think the emperor was angry. At this moment from the emperor’s face and can not see why, Su Yan naturally replied: “I still have the East Palace readers on the post, naturally, is to do their duty to the young master. However, whether it is the readers or the young secretary, first of all is the emperor’s subjects, naturally is first tight to the emperor’s side of the errand.”

“Slick!” The emperor kindly laughed and turned the conversation to ask, “How is the shoulder injury? I heard that you went back with a fever and lay down for two days.”

—-