The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 290 Must die

The sky was gloomy and thunder was rumbling.

The prince actually fell asleep while sitting on the chair.

The door curtain was lifted, and the Crown Princess walked in, holding a food box in her hand. She walked up to the Crown Prince and called softly, "Your Highness, Your Highness"

The prince shuddered and woke up from his dream: "Are you back?"

The Crown Princess said "hmm", put down the food box, opened the lid, took out a bowl of medicinal food from it, and said softly: "It's not cold or hot, Your Highness, drink it quickly."

The prince took the bowl and drank from it in big gulps.

The Crown Princess smiled and walked to the wash basin beside her, wrung out a face towel from it, and said, "Your Highness has been looking better and better since he took this medicinal food."

After a pause, he said, "This way, your Highness will surely recover quickly from his illness."

The prince glanced at her and drank the rest of the soup in one gulp: "I heard that the old concubine's cough has recurred, and Zhao Tong went to get the news."

The Crown Princess understood, handed him the face towel, took the empty bowl and put it in the food box, whispering, "Mother said that this kind of thing should not be leaked."

The prince frowned: "Fake?"

Crown Princess: "It's true, and it's also a test."

The prince snorted and said, "As the emperor, you should follow the upright path instead of using schemes and tricks. Doesn't he know the consequences of doing this?!"

The Crown Princess smiled. The emperor had obtained the throne through conspiracy and intrigue, and had not received any orthodox imperial education.

The prince's hands began tapping on the armrest, then suddenly stopped.

The prince: "Since he dared to let Shi Ding investigate Zhang Cheng, he must be very confident." At this point, his eyes flashed, "We must not let Li Hu get involved! He has always suspected Li Hu. If Zhang Cheng's identity is confirmed, he will definitely take the opportunity to seize Li Hu's military power."

The Crown Princess was shocked: "No way? Zhang Cheng was from the Imperial Guards, this incident cannot be blamed on General Li!"

The prince sighed: "He doesn't even trust his mother now. Do you think he will trust Li Hu?"

The Crown Princess panicked: "What should I do then?"

The prince's eyes flashed: "Kill Zhang Cheng!"

The Crown Princess was shocked: "Now that Zhang Cheng is dead, isn't Li Hu more suspicious?"

The prince stood up and said, "It's better than convicting him of a crime and depriving him of his military power. Besides, he can get things done." Having said that, he looked outside, obviously heard something, and stopped talking.

The Crown Princess turned around and saw footsteps approaching from afar, followed by Zhao Tong's voice outside the door: "Your Highness, the old servant is back."

The prince: "How is the old lady, the Concubine?"

Zhao Tong: "In reply to your Highness, the imperial physician said that for people of advanced age, if their weather changes suddenly, they can take a few doses of medicine and recuperate, and they will be fine."

The prince paused and said, "Get ready, I want to go see the old concubine."

"No!" The Crown Princess was anxious when she heard it. "It's raining hard outside. It would be terrible if she caught a cold."

Zhao Tong was also surprised: "Your Highness."

The prince: "Don't talk too much, get ready!" He gave the princess a wink.

Zhao Tong: “Yes.”

The prince suddenly remembered: "Oh, by the way, let someone notify the third brother."

After a day and a night of heavy rain, looking from the tower of the Forbidden City, the branches of trees near and far were all green and full of vitality.

Emperor Yongchang walked in front with his hands behind his back, and Shi Ding, Marquis of Zhongjing, followed behind him. Dai Quan followed from a distance.

Shi Ding said as he walked, "There is indeed no problem with the identities of those old men, but the scouts found that they would inadvertently reveal the vigilance of veteran soldiers in the army. Especially on the way home, if spies were not deployed at various intersections in advance, they would most likely be lost."

Emperor Yongchang stopped and asked: "What do you think?"

Shi Ding hesitated for a long time before answering, "Zhang Cheng is the lieutenant general of the Ruishi Battalion and a close confidant of the Earl of Loyalty and Bravery. There must be solid evidence. In addition, I think this matter is of great importance and must be considered carefully. Once Zhang Cheng is arrested, not to mention how the Earl of Loyalty and Bravery will react, the ministers in the court will definitely think of the crown prince. At that time, the court and the public will speculate and people will wait and see. Please consider it, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Yongchang smiled faintly: "He is just a small lieutenant general, how can he implicate the crown prince?"

Shi Ding was secretly shocked. Was this a reference to Li Hu?

Emperor Yongchang looked at him and said, "What do you think we should do next?"

Shi Ding was silent for a moment, then replied: "If you want to get evidence, you have to arrest someone."

Emperor Yongchang: "Then arrest him."

Shi Ding was really shocked. He stood there in a daze, staring at Emperor Yongchang.

Emperor Yongchang looked at him and said, "I killed all nine clans of the Zhang family."

Shi Ding recalled that it was the Zhang family who led the army to launch a crazy counterattack, broke through the palace, and shot the prince. Therefore, the prince would not only not resent the emperor, but also understand the emperor's painstaking efforts.

Emperor Yongchang: "I will give you a hint. The remnants of the Zhang family must die, but I will not implicate others. Of course, as the commander of the Ruishi Battalion, Li Hu cannot escape the crime of negligence, and his previous military merits will atone for the crime."

Having said that, Shi Ding understood clearly that the emperor was targeting Li Hu and was using this incident to eliminate Li Hu's accumulated military merits and suppress Li Hu's rise.

Thinking of this, Shi Ding swallowed his saliva and said, "I will go back and make arrangements. Arrest him after nightfall, interrogate him overnight, and submit a confession tomorrow morning."

Emperor Yongchang nodded with satisfaction.

Shi Ding hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Should the Sharp Warriors Camp make some preparations in advance? If a riot occurs..."

Emperor Yongchang smiled and said, "No need. Without my order or Li Hu's order, other generals cannot even mobilize their own troops."

Shi Ding was even more shocked: "How is this possible?"

Emperor Yongchang: "Although Li Hu rarely goes to the military camp, he has always been firmly in control of the Ruishi Camp. The two lieutenant generals Zhang Cheng and Chen Qiang can only handle the affairs of the camp according to his military orders. The guerrilla generals and thousand commanders who lead the troops only recognize Li Hu's orders."

Shi Ding understood that the emperor was fearful, just like the retired emperor was afraid of deposing the crown prince.

There was a sound of footsteps and Emperor Yongchang turned around to look.

The eunuch on duty hurried towards Emperor Yongchang holding a memorial.

Walking up to him, the eunuch on duty reported, "Your Majesty, the cabinet has forwarded a memorial saying that the Prime Minister is ill and the condition is not very good." Then he handed the memorial to Emperor Yongchang.

Emperor Yongchang took the exhibition and looked at it, then frowned and said, "Please resign?"

Shi Ding was shocked. The Prime Minister wanted to resign? He was not even seventy yet!
Emperor Yongchang thought for a moment and said, "Send an order to the Imperial Hospital, asking Li Yuanzheng to personally diagnose the Prime Minister's pulse. He must be cured as soon as possible!"

The chief eunuch: “Yes.” He answered and stepped back.

Emperor Yongchang: "Wait!"

The eunuch stopped immediately.

Emperor Yongchang: "You go there in person and tell the Prime Minister to take good care of his health, and let the cabinet affairs be handled by the Second Prime Minister first."

The chief eunuch said, “Yes.” He bowed and retreated.

Emperor Yongchang looked at the memorial in his hand, a trace of doubt flashed across his eyes.
(End of this chapter)