novelhk Chapter 307: The prince is plotting a rebellion?
Chapter 307: The prince is plotting a rebellion?
In the dim and damp prison, Zhou Bailin leaned against the mottled wall with lifeless eyes.
He spent his entire life serving the country loyally and dutifully, but now he was harmed by treacherous officials and ended up like this.
Thinking of this, Zhou Bailin couldn't help but sigh.
He slowly closed his eyes, his face full of despair.
I don’t know how long it had been, but suddenly I heard footsteps.
Zhou Bailin no longer had any interest in the outside world, even if someone walked up to his cell and called out his name softly, "Zhou Bailin."
The voice sounded familiar, like that of a young man.
But Zhou Bailin still did not open his eyes and hung his head with a dejected look on his face.
After a while, the man said, "Zhou Bailin, open your eyes and see who I am."
"I?"
Hearing this, Zhou Bailin suddenly opened his eyes and finally saw the person in front of him clearly.
In the imperial palace, only those in the harem and the Eastern Palace are qualified to call themselves "This Palace".
The person standing in front of Zhou Bailin at this moment was from the Eastern Palace.
"His Royal Highness!"
Zhou Bailin was shocked and knelt down immediately.
He could never have imagined that the prince would actually risk coming to the Heavenly Prison. If Prime Minister Liu and his party knew about this, the prince would definitely be in danger.
Prior to this, Prime Minister Liu and his party had begun planning to depose the crown prince. Such a vile act was entirely intended to control the government.
"Shh, no need to be polite."
Prince Xiao Nian spoke in a low voice.
Zhou Bailin crawled to the front of the prince and whispered, "Your Highness, this prison is heavily guarded. How did you get in?"
If Zhou Bailin had not guessed, many people from Prime Minister Liu's party had already been planted inside and outside the prison. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's appearance in this place now would be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth.
If Prime Minister Liu and his party get wind of the news, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will definitely be in danger.
But Xiao Nian looked calm and said, "I have something urgent to discuss with you. Please leave this place quickly with me."
Zhou Bailin said, "Your Highness, Prime Minister Liu and his party have previously slandered the Crown Prince to the Emperor and want to remove him from the throne. Your Highness is in danger now and should leave the capital as soon as possible! I am also a dying man, so there is no need to implicate Your Highness!"
"Where can we go after leaving the capital?"
Xiao Nian's face was solemn.
Now the entire court has been controlled by Prime Minister Liu and his clique. If Prime Minister Liu and his clique really want to kill him as the crown prince, even if Xiao Nian flees to the ends of the earth, this group of treacherous ministers will still be able to put him to death.
For Xiao Nian, running away is not a good idea at all.
"But this prison is mostly filled with Prime Minister Liu's party members. Your Highness, please leave me alone and leave here first."
Zhou Bailin tried to persuade him again, saying that he cared more about the prince's safety than his own life. After all, Zhou Bailin had already been accused of a crime, and if he escaped, his clansmen would definitely not be spared.
Prime Minister Liu has not dealt with Zhou Bailin's relatives yet, and he wants to spare their lives in order to threaten Zhou Bailin, who still has a certain reputation in the court.
Only by eliminating people like Zhou Bailin could Prime Minister Liu and his party seize power.
And now, Prime Minister Liu and his party have directly pointed their spearhead at the crown prince.
"I will not leave now."
Xiao Nian's expression was firm, and there was a look of fearlessness in his eyes as he was ready to die.
In the face of persecution from Prime Minister Liu and his party, if we keep retreating, we will only be bullied.
As Xiao Nian is the crown prince, he will be the ruler of a country in the future. How can he allow Prime Minister Liu to suppress him?
Zhou Bailin looked uneasy and asked, "What does Your Highness mean?"
"I am preparing to launch a mutiny and kill Prime Minister Liu! I need the help of Minister Zhou now."
The prince gritted his teeth, his eyes full of ferocity.
"mutiny?"
Zhou Bailin was so frightened that his body trembled and he took a long time to recover.
Xiao Nian was heard saying, "Minister Zhou, I urgently need your help now. With your prestige in the imperial guards, command some soldiers to raise an army and kill Prime Minister Liu."
Xiao Nian understood that at this time, Prime Minister Liu had already taken control of the imperial palace guards. Without Zhou Bailin's help, it would be difficult to kill Prime Minister Liu with only the guards of the Eastern Palace.
Therefore, Zhou Bailin’s attitude is extremely important.
But at this moment, Zhou Bailin seemed a little flustered when facing this question.
"Your Highness, please be cautious about this matter..."
He was actually a little scared.
Zhou Bailin was very clear that if the mutiny failed, he would definitely be retaliated by Prime Minister Liu.
He was determined to die, but the mutiny might implicate his people.
Xiao Nian said anxiously, "Minister Zhou, now is not the time to be afraid. Now that Prime Minister Liu is pressing us step by step, we can only take risks. Only by destroying Prime Minister Liu and his party can we save the entire Dachen!"
Faced with the Crown Prince's questioning, Zhou Bailin hesitated for a moment.
"Don't hesitate any longer, either you die or you succeed!"
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gritted his teeth and said, his eyes full of suggestions.
Zhou Bailin thought for a moment, then slowly stood up and said, "I obey your command!"
royal palace.
On the way to the Liyue Palace, Prime Minister Liu frowned and walked with heavy steps.
The prince was nowhere to be seen, along with his East Palace guards.
This news made Prime Minister Liu quite uneasy.
This time when he came to the Liyue Palace, Prime Minister Liu wanted the emperor to speed up the process of deposing and enthroning the crown prince to avoid any accidents.
At this time, an official with an anxious and panicked look on his face ran to Prime Minister Liu, leaned over and said, "Prime Minister, this is bad! Urgent news from outside the city, the Yan army has arrived in the capital, and the distance is only fifty miles!"
"what?!"
Prime Minister Liu was immediately shocked.
Before this, he heard that the Yan army was still in the Guangning City area. How come it had reached the capital in just a few days?
Isn't the speed of the Yan army's attack too fast?
If we don't stop them, won't the Yan army gather its elite forces and storm Jiankang City?
“Is this news true?”
Prime Minister Liu couldn't believe it at all.
The official nodded and said, "It is absolutely true. The vanguard of the Yan army has already crossed the Yangtze River and may approach the capital at any time!"
"What are the Gyeonggi Army doing? Are they all a bunch of rubbish?"
Prime Minister Liu was furious.
Facing Prime Minister Liu's anger, the official quickly explained: "Our army was defeated in Guangning City before, and we were unable to stabilize our position for a while, which gave the Yan army an opportunity to take advantage of us."
Prime Minister Liu frowned, narrowed his eyes, and there was a cruel look in his eyes.
It seems that the battle situation outside the capital is extremely unsatisfactory.
But Prime Minister Liu still believed that only by resolving the hidden dangers within the palace could he have enough energy to deal with the threat of the Yan army.
"Order the imperial guards of the capital to defend Jiankang City. There must be no mistakes. This Prime Minister has to deal with a more important matter now."
"As you command, what has the Prime Minister so anxious about?"
the officer inquired.
Prime Minister Liu looked fierce and said in a low voice: "The prince intends to rebel!"