Did the eldest daughter ascend the throne today?

Chapter 142 The deposed prince

The old emperor looked up and felt very uncomfortable. He couldn't help but frowned, "You guys come down first."

"I can't come down." Ning Zhiwei is so weak, and Rong Jing is naturally also a weak scholar.

Finally, it was the guards who helped them down.

Looking at Ning Zhiwei, who was so weak and about to faint at any moment, a trace of evil thought flashed through the eyes of the Fourth Prince, "Father, is it really Ning..."

Rong Jing's slightly cold voice sounded, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince killed Concubine Li, and the Fourth Prince wants to kill the Crown Prince. You should appease them and avoid a tragedy of brothers killing each other."

The Crown Prince's face turned black and the Fourth Prince's face turned green. It was obvious that he wanted to harm them.

The emperor looked at them coldly, his brows and eyes were extremely cruel, "Pass on my decree, the prince is plotting treason, he will be demoted to a commoner and imprisoned for life."

“Father.” The prince fell to his knees and kowtowed desperately, “I know I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

The emperor ignored him and said, "Fourth Prince..."

Before he could finish, the Fourth Prince rushed over and hugged his thighs, "Father, I did not commit treason. I was trying to restore order and rush in to save you. The Prime Minister can prove my innocence, and all the gentlemen can prove my innocence."

The ministers are speechless. Just shut up.

Prime Minister Duan couldn't help but curse inwardly, "What an idiot! He even dragged important officials of the court into this matter at this time. Does he think the emperor's suspicion is not strong enough?"

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. When the Fourth Prince rushed in, I offered three plans in order to temporarily stabilize him. The first was to have him issue an order saying that the rebellion had been suppressed. The second was to have someone clean up the battlefield. The third was... to nominate the Fourth Prince as the regent to stabilize the situation and not kill people indiscriminately..."

That's true, but if you add a few more words, the meaning will be completely different.

The fourth prince was anxious, "Prime Minister Duan, you taught me all this. I was just being obedient. What's wrong with that?"

Prime Minister Duan was almost furious. Just one word of obedience was enough to anger the emperor. The high and mighty prince listened to the words of an outsider. Was this showing off your incompetence? Or was it highlighting the power of the outsider?

The emperor's face was gloomy, "The fourth prince was demoted to a commoner and imprisoned."

"Prime Minister Duan has failed to fulfill his duties as Prime Minister, causing large-scale bloodshed. I will be stripped of my position as Prime Minister."

This time the rebellion caused heavy losses, and someone had to take the blame. Prime Minister Duan was an excellent candidate, as he had the status and position to do so.

Prime Minister Duan had an extremely ugly expression on his face. It was clearly a trap set by the Emperor, but the responsibility became his.

But he still had to thank the king. If the king wanted his subject to die, the subject had to die.

The emperor pointed to several important officials and said, "You guys will be responsible for the aftermath."

"Princess Jingning, Rongjing, please follow me."

Ning Zhiwei and Rong Jing looked at each other and both had a bad feeling.

The emperor took them to the side hall and said, "Banban, go and make some Wuyi rock tea this year for you two to taste."

"Yes."

The emperor was amiable and said, "Rong Jing, I still remember the first time I saw you. You were a young man with a heroic appearance, clear eyes, and amazing talent. From that time on, I wanted to create a good story of a monarch and his subjects getting along well with each other."

Rong Jing's heart trembled, "I have never forgotten your kindness in recognizing and supporting me."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction and looked at Ning Zhiwei. "Princess Jingning, I have often dreamed of General Ning these days. He was the pillar of the Great Qi. His death is a huge loss. I want to make General Ning a military god and continue to protect the soldiers in the army."

This is too abnormal, it is not the emperor's style at all. Ning Zhiwei became alert, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The chief eunuch personally brought the tea to Ning Zhiwei. She took it with both hands, lowered her head and sniffed it. A refreshing fragrance filled her nose. It was really fragrant.

Unfortunately, she never eats snacks outside, she's just pretending to eat.

The emperor exclaimed in surprise, "Rong Jing, what are you doing?"

"I am used to drinking tea with this utensil, it looks more aesthetically pleasing." Rong Jing took out a crystal clear glass cup and poured the tea into it. The originally crystal clear glass cup gradually turned red.

His movements froze and he subconsciously looked at Ning Zhiwei.

Ning Zhiwei was stunned. The teacup that was about to reach her mouth paused, and she slowly put it down. "This color is really beautiful. No wonder Lord Rong likes to drink tea and water with it."

The emperor looked over, his eyes twinkling, "It's really magical, what kind of treasure is this?"

"The Lin family's heirloom glass cup." Rong Jing said calmly, "If Your Majesty likes it, I will present it to you."

The emperor's expression froze, "No, no, a gentleman does not take away what others like."

"We are all thirsty, drink."

Rong Jing's eyebrows twitched slightly. He picked up the glass cup and brought it to his mouth. When he was about to drink, he heard a loud noise next to his ears.

With a click, the teacup in Ning Zhiwei's hand fell to the ground, and the tea spilled all over the floor. She frowned and stared at her scalded hand, "It's so hot, it hurts so much, do you have a burn ointment?"

The emperor's expression tensed, "How come you can't even hold a teacup?"

Ning Zhiwei was very angry. "If you want to blame someone, blame those traitors. I was so frightened that my hands were weak and I couldn't even hold a teacup. Do you have any ointment for burns? If not, call the imperial physician."

She was willful and domineering, still the same as before, without a single change.

The emperor looked at her deeply for a few times and said, "It's okay. Bring me the burn ointment and make me a cup of new tea."

"Yes." The eunuch did not dare to raise his head and retreated silently.

"Master Rong, drink."

Rong Jing's hands trembled slightly, Ning Zhiwei's expression remained unchanged, but he was holding a sachet under his sleeve, which contained a pill. As long as it was crushed, everyone in the room would be knocked out.

However, the person opposite was the king of the Great Qi Empire, the king to whom the Ning family had once sworn allegiance until death.

But, it was only once.

Just as she was about to crush the pill, a voice came out, "The Princess has arrived."

Everyone was stunned. The eldest princess didn't want to be separated from her son for too long, so she also came along. However, her health was too poor and she had never appeared in public.

Ning Zhiwei jumped up suddenly, "Master Rong, your mother is here, why don't you go and greet her?"

Rong Jing stood up and walked out quickly. After a while, he came in, supporting the pale-faced eldest princess.

The emperor looked at the haggard sister with mixed feelings in his heart, "Sister, why are you here?"

This was his only sister. They depended on each other and supported each other in the deep palace. She gave everything to help him seize the throne.

But now, he had to kill her only son.

No matter Rong Jing was Su Haozhi's son or the guard's son, he was the son of a traitor. Before he died, he took away all the hidden dangers.

The princess looked at the emperor with concern in her eyes, "I am a little worried about the emperor, so I came to see him. I heard that Su Haozhi has been executed?"

The emperor felt sad and said, "Yes."

A trace of satisfaction appeared on the eldest princess's face. "Good, great, the traitor has been punished by everyone. It's a pity that he didn't die in my hands. He has deceived me for many years. He should be crushed to ashes."

The emperor sighed softly, "Sister, everything is over."

The eldest princess sat in Rong Jing's seat, looking nostalgic, "I don't know why, lately, I always think of our childhood, when we depended on each other, sharing life and death together. So many years have passed in a flash, time flies."

The emperor also recalled that past event, and was extremely frightened. "Sister, take good care of yourself. When you are well again, I will accompany you around."

"Okay." The princess was suddenly attracted by the colored glass cup on the table and picked it up to play with it. "The color of this tea cup is really beautiful."

The emperor's heart skipped a beat. Rong Jing pursed his lips and smiled, "Mother, this teacup is made of colored glass and is easily broken. Please be careful and put it on the table..."

Before he could finish his words, the princess picked up the glass cup and drank the tea in one gulp.

It happened so fast that no one had time to stop it.

"Imperial sister." The emperor's terrified voice rang out.