Too high to reach

Chapter 399 As you wish

soon……

General Niu, Princess Yu'an, and that "Tanlang" were all brought in.

Kneel before the Emperor.

The Emperor, exuding regal authority, silently observed them for a while, seemingly enjoying their tension and unease.

"Tell me." It wasn't that he couldn't keep it a secret, but who knew what kind of rumors would spread when everyone went back?
Anyway, they've already lost all face, Yu'an is finished...

Ironically, she sometimes criticizes me, saying that I am not close to her. How ridiculous... she doesn't even look at herself.

How can anything compare to my Ming'an...? A pang of pain shot through my heart.

Princess Yu'an had calmed down; things had already come to this... "Father... wasn't it Seventh Brother who did this today?" She turned her head and looked at Li Jing.

When the Emperor was angry, Li Jing had also stood up. Now, he sat down again, straightening the wrinkles in his robes: "Father, why don't we ask General Niu what his opinion is on this matter?"

General Niu, who was being mentioned, was kneeling on the ground, his mind racing.

He originally planned to marry a princess and reap the benefits. But now, not only did he not get what he wanted, he almost became a stepfather. One wrong move and the family business could fall into other hands!

He looked at the emperor.

The emperor was also looking at him.

"Your Majesty... My family is of humble origin. I only managed to enjoy a few good days thanks to the small contributions my grandfather and father made to the court. But as you can see, I am ugly and illiterate. I am completely incapable of the poetry and prose that the noble young men of the capital excel at... I am just a rough fellow."

"You have betrothed the princess to me, and to be honest, I was overjoyed! I was so carried away that I rushed to the capital to marry her... without ever considering whether I was worthy of the princess."

"Just now, I learned that the princess has another favorite... Tanlang, what a handsome and refined young man. This old man is ashamed..." He slapped his thick skin, "I really have no face to try to take it away... But this is a marriage bestowed by Your Majesty, and I have no idea what to do. I will listen to Your Majesty in everything."

Don't let his big, burly appearance fool you; he's actually quite tactful with his words.

The Emperor turned his gaze to Tanlang.

"who are you?"

Tanlang had acted quite bravely just now, but in front of the Emperor, he was so frightened that he couldn't even kneel properly.

He didn't know who the emperor was asking, but then someone kicked him from behind, saying, "The emperor is asking you a question!"

He was startled again, and then carefully began to speak: "Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble servant is... is Huang Cun, the son of Huang Linyuan, the former Salt Commissioner of Jiangsu. My father... committed a crime seven years ago and his family was raided. This humble servant and my sisters were sold into slavery and ended up in the capital. I dare not show my real name to anyone, and instead call myself Tanlang."

"So, how did you get in today, and what are you trying to do?"

"This... Your Majesty. A noble person found this lowly servant and brought her in..."

"Who?"

“Your Majesty, this… Tanlang is unaware of this. Presumably, those who came to speak with Tanlang were not the masterminds… They said that the princess is pregnant and asked Tanlang to come… to disrupt the wedding. Then, they promised to rescue Tanlang’s sisters from the fire.”

"Do you know that the best outcome of trying to frame the princess in the palace is death?"

Even with his strong resolve, Tanlang was terrified at this moment, trembling all over. "Your Majesty... Tanlang knows... Waaah..."

"You are not afraid?"

"I'm scared! Waaah... I'm terrified, Your Majesty, please spare my life!" He was already lying on the ground.

Li Jing helplessly rubbed his forehead: "I didn't intend to torture you or drag you out to behead you. It was just a few words, and you're already this scared."

...I'm speechless.

Think about that beautiful woman; when she was being dragged away, she even said something harsh... She's not even as good as a woman!
"Then why don't you just tell me honestly who sent you?! Do you have to be tortured before you'll talk?" the Crown Prince said.

"No, no, no, don't go. Don't go... That man said he came on the orders of His Highness Prince Qi..."

Everyone was in an uproar.

Li Jing smiled helplessly...

"Why did you speak so readily?" The Emperor's damned curiosity! Tanlang burst into tears, "Guards...guards, they didn't tell me not to speak."

"Li Jing!" the Emperor turned to Li Jing and asked, "Do you acknowledge him?"

"Father, I admit it. It was indeed I who did it."

"You!?" The emperor was so angry that his beard bristled.

"Father, it's been so long, haven't you asked Yu'an if she's pregnant or not?"

Everyone's attention returned to Yu'an.

Princess Yu'an was still kneeling on the ground, her knees and stomach aching, her face deathly pale. She sneered, "Am I that close to you? Why should I tell you whether I'm pregnant or not?! A prince of noble birth, like an old man in a gutter..." Her voice trailed off.

"Ah?!" Princess Yu'an touched her mouth, her hand covered in blood.

"What are you doing?" The Empress rushed over to check on Yu'an...

"Mother..." Yu'an called out incoherently, clutching the Empress, tears streaming down her face...

The people around only saw Li Jing throw something over, which was now spinning around on the ground... a thumb ring?
"You! This is utterly outrageous!" The Emperor was furious.

“Father!” Li Jing said slowly and deliberately, “General Niu is an important minister of the court. He provided me with a lot of assistance during this bandit suppression. He deserves credit for his hard work, even if he didn’t make any great contributions…”

General Niu swallowed hard. "I didn't... assist you. I even wanted to kill you, but I failed..."

But... without him, this matter could not have been revealed today.

If this matter cannot be revealed, then the princess will marry me while pregnant...

If you marry me... once today is over, it will be hard to say whose child it is.

It's hard to explain, and they'll probably pin the blame on me...

General Niu is caught in a chaotic loop.

"I can't bear to see him become a father without his knowledge. Of course, if he's willing... then consider it my wishful thinking, and I'll apologize to them!"

"Your Majesty..." the Empress said sadly, "Please look at Yu'an..."

Princess Yu'an's face was covered in blood.

“She is your daughter, a princess. Even if she has done something wrong! With you here, who is to discipline her? This is not discipline, it is harming, humiliating, and beating her… Your Majesty…” The Empress knelt before the Emperor.

"Yu'an, it is my fault for failing to teach her properly. I beg your forgiveness... As for Yu'an, you may beat her, punish her, make her a nun. You may even order her to commit suicide. Even if you use this to take back my position as Empress, I will have no objection... However... it is not up to Li Jing to overstep his bounds!"

The Empress, her face streaked with tears, pointed at Li Jing and shouted.

"Your Majesty, Li Jing has been disrespectful to his elders since childhood, frequently beating his brothers. He has attacked the Fourth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and even Zhen Ge'er, and he has been extremely ruthless towards them. Now, after returning from prison for his meritorious service in the Northwest, he is even more arrogant! Since his return, Yu'an has been seriously injured several times!"

"Your Majesty, you must do justice for us, mother and children! Even murder is punishable by a beheading; he cannot, he cannot treat us like this repeatedly!"

The Empress and Yu'an embraced each other and began to sob.

“Seventh Brother, no matter what, Yu’an is a girl, your own sister with the same father.” The Crown Prince also shed tears. “She’s just a girl, she only sees you once a year during the New Year, how could she possibly have offended you? All of this is simply directed at me…”

"I am the Crown Prince, personally appointed by my father, and cannot perform the grand ceremony with you... Now, I stand here, letting you beat and scold me as you please... Yu'an was raised by my mother and me together. She went astray, and as her elder brother, I bear the majority of the responsibility. Therefore..."

He also knelt before the Emperor: "Father, I resign from the position of Crown Prince... I only beg my seventh brother to spare our lives!"

The mother and son portrayed the situation very well, and the Emperor, taking advantage of the situation, said: "Hehe... You've driven the Empress and the Crown Prince to this point! You're truly remarkable! Now, let's see... how you'll force me into this situation!"

“Father…then, as you wish…” Li Jing first glanced at the Empress Dowager, then at the Empress.

Finally, he slowly took the letter out of his pocket...

The Empress Dowager, always eager for a good show, glanced over...

Suddenly, it felt like being doused with a bucket of ice water on a sweltering summer day!
Thank you everyone for your votes, tips, comments, and so on...

Although I haven't said it, I'm very grateful!
(End of this chapter)