flstandardbreds Chapter 303 I doubt that I am not your biological son!
Chapter 303 I doubt that I am not your biological son!
Red silk has been hung throughout the Eastern Palace.
Cao Cheng carefully placed the formal dress aside: "Your Highness, your formal dress has been delivered, and Miss Lu... has also been sent to the Crown Princess."
The crown prince stared silently at the ceremonial robes on the table without saying a word.
"Your Highness," Cao Cheng called out softly, genuinely worried.
The crown prince still did not react.
Seeing him like this, Cao Cheng felt extremely distressed, but he couldn't find any words to comfort him.
Since ancient times, there has been no father-son relationship in the imperial family, but Your Highness did have a genuine father-son bond with the Emperor when you were young. However, from some point onward, this bond became mixed with too many other things, and it changed day by day.
This is clearly a wonderful day, a joyous day, but in the meantime...
Even Cao Cheng felt a sense of sorrow and bitterness, let alone His Highness.
"Your Highness, His Majesty has arrived," a palace attendant hurriedly reported at the door.
The Crown Prince looked up at Cao Cheng and said, "Everyone, get out."
"Your Highness?" Cao Cheng asked, somewhat worried.
"Go out," the crown prince said.
Cao Cheng respectfully went out and stood at the door. A short while later, the emperor and Grand Eunuch Feng arrived. Seeing Cao Cheng waiting at the door, the emperor glanced inside the hall and said to Grand Eunuch Feng…
"Wait outside."
Supervisor Feng hurriedly agreed.
The doors to the main hall were closed, and the red candles illuminated the hall in a deep red glow. The crown prince sat in a wheelchair, his eyes slightly lowered, and he did not look up even when he heard the noise.
The emperor strolled over, stared at him for a while, sighed, and said, "Ah Que, how did you become so thin? How have the people in the Eastern Palace been taking care of you! I will have them replaced tomorrow!"
"It's time to change it. After tomorrow, I won't be able to live in this Eastern Palace anymore," the Crown Prince replied.
The Emperor was momentarily speechless. He walked over and sat down in the chair next to the Crown Prince. "A-Que, we are father and son. Don't you understand your father's feelings? If it weren't for a last resort, how could I bear to part with you! You were raised by my own hands. From the moment you were born, I kept you in the Chengqian Palace. You shared everything with me, from your clothes and food to your shelter and transportation. The first time you lifted your head, the first time you rolled over, the first tooth you grew, the first time you spoke, when I reviewed memorials and summoned ministers, I always had you on my lap! Others may have their doubts, but do you also have to question me like this?"
"Your leg injury has lasted for three years, and I have been more anxious and heartbroken than anyone else. I have searched for the best doctors in the world for you. If there were even the slightest hope, how could I bear to give up your position as crown prince! Ah Que, in my heart, you are my own son, and you should know that!"
The emperor's voice was filled with sorrow: "My heart aches every day. I dream of you getting better so I can entrust this great Zhao empire to you. But alas, fate is cruel!"
"Rest assured, I have made arrangements. I will have someone send you to the south. Please settle in well. Even after I pass away, I will leave an edict to ensure your well-being for the rest of your life!"
The crown prince chuckled softly.
Then he slowly raised his head: "Father, Dad, I'll call you that one last time, to fulfill our father-son bond."
"Ah Que," the emperor's face darkened, "do you really have to do this with me?"
"What is Father referring to?" The Crown Prince looked at the Emperor, a smile playing on his lips. "Is it how my leg was injured, or how Mother died, or perhaps back then..."
"Shut up!" the emperor snapped. "Do you even know what you're saying?"
"Of course I know what I'm talking about. Father Emperor said he's arranged a way out for me, but is that really true? Right now, in and out of the court and palace, how many people want me dead? Does Father Emperor really not know that I have no worries for the rest of my life? At this point, Father Emperor, do you think I would still believe in any promise of a future?"
"Since I'm going to die anyway, if I don't say something, am I going to suffocate?"
The emperor slammed his fist on the table in anger, staring coldly at him: "Fine, speak! Speak! I want to see what you can come up with! What have I done to wrong you all these years that makes you treat me like this! If it were anyone else, they would have lost their heads countless times for acting like this. Haven't I been lenient enough with you?"
"Whether it's indulgence or a guilty conscience, Father knows perfectly well." Faced with the Emperor's anger, the Crown Prince remained calm, not even lifting his eyelids.
"How did I get this leg injured? Back then, I still harbored illusions, thinking that my father and I still had a father-son bond. Even if my father was dissatisfied with me and wanted to depose the crown prince, he had plenty of ways to do so. I was not innocent either, and it was very easy for him to find fault with me. If all else failed, he could always find a pretext to frame me. So, no matter how much I guarded against him, I never guarded against you, my father."
"What kind of assassin could possibly sneak into such a major event as the Winter Solstice Festival? With the tricks of the eldest and third sons? Without Father Emperor opening the door wide for you, not even an ant could crawl through your path, let alone an assassin."
"How could I possibly harm you!" the emperor angrily retorted. "You were injured because of me, and I wish I could take your place!"
“So, Father,” the Crown Prince said calmly, “from the moment the poisoned arrow pierced my lungs, I knew who truly wanted to kill me. You might think I was too injured to care about the assassins and therefore never inquired about it, but that’s not true. I knew that if I couldn’t find out the truth, even if I used all my resources to dig deeper, I would only find the people behind the eldest or third prince.”
"They are fearless because someone will clear the obstacles for them and clean up the mess afterward, so the truth doesn't matter."
"Ah Que, it's not like that, it's not..." The emperor spoke subconsciously, but when he met the crown prince's gaze, he was suddenly startled.
He stared blankly at the Crown Prince's face and gaze, his expression slowly becoming complicated.
"Why did Father treat me like this? I couldn't figure it out for a long time. Until later, I learned something, I learned how Mother died, and I learned why you and Mother, who were clearly deeply in love, slowly drifted apart in the deep palace."
"I originally thought that being born into the imperial family, you and the Empress Dowager had too many unavoidable circumstances. No matter how deep the feelings were, they couldn't withstand the unavoidable compromises under the pressure of power. I thought the Empress Dowager was just disappointed, watching the concubines come and go in the harem, and she still had to greet them with a smile. How could such a strong and stubborn woman like her endure all this? But later I realized that I was wrong. I underestimated her. How could a woman with such a deep mind be indulged in such sentimental feelings? She always knew what she wanted and what she could do, and she did her best to do it better."
"So if it wasn't because of love, why did you go from being a loving couple to falling apart and refusing to see each other even in death!"
"That's because you have doubts—doubts that I'm not your biological son, that your mother betrayed you, that she had an affair with Crown Prince Chongwen, and that I am Crown Prince Chongwen's son!"