In the Han Prince Mansion, Zhao Yao was lying in a hammock, sunbathing while taking a nap at noon.
A Hidden Guard suddenly appeared in front of him and said respectfully, "Your Highness, Prince Dai and Prince Yue have taken their own lives."
Hearing this, Zhao Yao jerked upright, his expression changing drastically as he asked, "When?"
"A quarter of an hour ago," the Hidden Guard said. "They hanged themselves."
Sitting on the hammock, Zhao Yao asked with a grave face, "Who did they see before they died?"
"They saw no one."
"They saw no one?" Zhao Yao frowned, his face full of doubt as he asked, "You’re sure they didn’t see anyone beforehand?"
"I am certain," the Hidden Guard continued. "Since Prince Dai and Prince Yue were imprisoned, no one has gone to see them."
"If no one saw them, why would they hang themselves?" Zhao Yao thought to himself: Eighth Brother must have seen Prince Dai and the others, otherwise they wouldn’t have killed themselves.
"They wrote suicide notes, saying they felt ashad before His Majesty, and that they had no face to go on living in this world."
"Suicide notes? Are they really written by them?" Zhao Yao asked again. "Where did Eighth Brother go today?"
"Lord Wei has been at the Ministry of Justice the whole ti and has not left once today," the Hidden Guard reported. "These days, Lord Wei has not left the capital at all."
Zhao Yao’s brows knit together, his expression pensive: Eighth Brother doesn’t have to go see Second Brother and the rest in person; he can send soone. With Eighth Brother’s abilities, it wouldn’t be impossible to keep it from everyone’s notice.
However, if it wasn’t Eighth Brother himself speaking, Second Brother and the others wouldn’t believe it. Only if Eighth Brother personally told them the truth about this attempted rebellion would Second Brother and the others be unable to accept it and choose to commit suicide.
It must be Eighth Brother.
Eighth Brother has the ability to et Second Brother and the others without anyone knowing.
As expected, Eighth Brother would not let Second Brother and the rest off.
Previously, Zhao Yao had already guessed that the Emperor would not issue an edict to have Prince Dai and Prince Yue beheaded, but would strip them to commoners and then imprison them, just like the Deposed Crown Prince. And his guess had been right.
After that, he had guessed that Prince Wei would not let Prince Dai and the others go. But he did not know when Prince Wei would make his move. He had originally thought Prince Wei would kill them on the second or third day after they were locked up. But Prince Wei did not do so.
Zhao Yao thought that perhaps Prince Wei wanted to wait until he was married and had left the capital before dealing with Prince Dai and the others. He had not expected Prince Wei to choose this mont to act.
Prince Dai and Prince Yue had already been imprisoned for twenty days; for them to commit suicide at this ti was truly a perfect mont. Eighth Brother had really tid it well.
Eighth Brother really is a man of flawless calculation.
Hearing Zhao Yao’s sigh, the Hidden Guard asked, "Your Highness, what should we do next?"
Zhao Yao ca back to himself and waved his hand. "This has nothing to do with us. We won’t ddle in it."
"Yes, Your Highness." The Hidden Guard saluted, then disappeared before Zhao Yao’s eyes.
Zhao Yao sat on the hammock, his expression extrely complicated.
Tong Xi ca over carrying tea. Seeing Zhao Yao dazing off on the hammock, he asked with concern, "Your Highness, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
Zhao Yao reached out to take the teacup, tipped his head back and finished it, and said lightly, "Second and Ninth are dead."
"What?" Tong Xi let out a startled cry, then realized his voice was too loud and hurriedly lowered it. "Prince Dai and Prince Yue are dead?"
"Mm, dead." Zhao Yao lay back down on the hammock, his expression obscure as he said, "They hanged themselves."
"Hanged themselves?" Tong Xi asked in shock, his face full of horror. "Why would they hang themselves?"
"They felt ashad before Father Emperor and had no face to go on living in this world," Zhao Yao added. "That’s what was written in the suicide notes."
After hearing this, Tong Xi sighed. "I never thought Prince Dai and the others would..." At a ti like this, saying "evil ets its due retribution" seed sowhat inappropriate.
"Go over to Eighth Brother’s mansion and let them know I’ll co by for dinner tonight." After Zhao Yao finished speaking, he closed his eyes and continued his afternoon nap.
"Yes, Your Highness."
By dusk, Zhao Yao went to the Prince Wei Mansion. At that ti, Prince Wei had not yet returned. He waited for a while in the Prince Wei Mansion before Prince Wei finally ca back.
Seeing Zhao Yao in his study, Prince Wei was slightly surprised, then imdiately smiled and asked, "What wind is blowing today that brings Prince Han in person?"
"I ca to eat with you," Zhao Yao said. Though he was waiting in Prince Wei’s study, he hadn’t rummaged through anything there. He was lying on the couch in the study, one leg crossed over the other, reading the latest storybook published in the capital.
Prince Wei gave Zhao Yao a long, deep look. "You ca because of Second and Ninth’s deaths, didn’t you?"
More than two hours earlier, the news that Prince Dai and Prince Yue had hanged themselves had already reached the capital. All the civil and military officials of the court, as well as the common people throughout the capital, knew of it.
Reviews
All reviews (0)