novelkee Chapter 197 Who can compare to you?
Chapter 197 Who can compare to you?
Upon hearing the voice, the emperor quickly looked around, puzzled, "Why do I think I heard Chen'er's voice?"
Zhou Huaide was also somewhat confused, "I think I heard that too."
The emperor looked at the others, "Did you all hear that?"
Zhou Hanzhang quickly replied, "It does sound a bit like my eldest cousin's voice, but why would he be here at this time? Isn't he in the capital handling matters for our imperial uncle?"
"Aren't those people from the United States coming to visit soon? I remember my uncle arranged for my eldest cousin to do it?"
The emperor, of course, had also thought of these things, and his face darkened.
Moreover, with others present, who does the eldest prince call "father"?
Did you mishear me?
But that voice...
"Quickly, go and take a look."
Zhou Hanzhang saw that the situation ahead was almost settled, and he had been surrounded by many secret guards and Liu Niang's people for protection, so nothing bad was going to happen.
The emperor had spoken, and no matter how worried everyone was, they could only stay by his side and accompany him on his journey.
Upon arriving at the dilapidated temple, they immediately saw the eldest prince standing in front of someone they didn't recognize, with a sword wound in his shoulder.
Those who attacked them originally intended to escape in the chaos, but they never expected to run into Liu Niang's people and were all captured alive.
Before the eldest prince could turn around to see the person behind him, he assumed it was the emperor, who was now lying on the ground looking weak.
He kept murmuring, "Father, don't hurt my father."
Seeing that the person behind him had not reacted yet, he was considering whether to pretend to faint to gain some sympathy when he saw a group of people walking in from the main gate of the dilapidated temple.
The one leading the group is none other than the emperor he mentioned!
"Zhou Haochen, who are you calling 'Father Emperor'? Who are you taking a sword for?"
The emperor's face was beyond black; he was so gloomy it seemed to drip water, and his tone was icy.
The eldest prince was shocked and couldn't understand why his well-planned scheme had gone wrong. The person in front of him was his father, the emperor, but... who was behind him?
But he didn't care who was behind him.
"Father...Father Emperor."
He has realized what mistake he made.
He crawled, his injured body supporting him, to the emperor's side. "Father, please listen to what your son has to say..."
Ignoring his injuries, the emperor kicked him away in anger, "What do you want to say to me? That you left the capital without permission, or that you secretly inquired about my whereabouts and deliberately waited for me here? Or that you call this person 'Father Emperor'?"
"No, no, Father, please listen to what your son has to say."
The emperor was so angry he had a headache. He found a random spot in the dilapidated temple and sat down. "Come on, tell me, let's see what you have to say!"
The eldest prince kowtowed repeatedly to the emperor, "Father, I learned of your disappearance by chance. I was so worried that I didn't think of anything else but you, so I came to Jiangnan."
However, I have been unable to find you and am preoccupied with matters of state. Knowing that the United States will soon arrive in our country, I decided to return to the capital first to deal with matters concerning the United States, and then come back here to find you, Father Emperor, after the matter is settled.
"Who knew that upon arriving here, I would see Father's carriage and mistake the people in the dilapidated temple for Father. When I saw those people brandishing their swords and charging at me, I instinctively stepped in to block them, never expecting to save the wrong person."
So you're saying you're acting out of filial piety?
"Your subject's heart is as clear as the sun and moon!"
The eldest prince began kowtowing to the emperor again.
Looking at Zhou Hanzhang, one can't help but call her a ruthless person.
Having reigned for so many years, the emperor hadn't done it for nothing. Although the eldest prince's words were reasonable and well-founded, he immediately noticed a flaw: "How did you know I wasn't in court?"
“This…” He looked in the direction of Zhou Hanzhang and Gu Hong.
Zhou Hanzhang was a little confused. Why was he being stared at for no reason?
"Speak up! What are you looking at Zhang'er and Gu Hong for!"
The eldest prince was startled. "Your subject said, 'That night, my grandmother summoned my cousin and General Gu into the palace. I was just about to go to my grandmother when I overheard them in the outer room.'"
Otherwise, I wouldn't have known that Father Emperor wasn't in the palace. I was just too worried about Father Emperor. If something happened to Father Emperor, what would become of our Great Zhou Dynasty...
He was covered in blood, his head was bleeding from kowtowing, and now he was crying with snot running down his face, looking extremely pitiful.
"Did your grandmother and mother know that you came out?"
"Your subject was too late. I saw that General Gu and my cousin hadn't even gone home yet, so I rushed over. I didn't have time to think about anything else, so I came too."
"Nonsense!"
The emperor picked up a piece of dry grass from the ground and threw it directly at the eldest prince's face, saying, "As the eldest prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, you should not leave the capital without permission, no matter what the reason!"
"Your Majesty, I know, but for your sake, I am willing to accept any punishment."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Hanzhang thought to himself, "Oh no, I might really be fooled by the Crown Prince."
Looking at the captured thugs, she asked the emperor, "Uncle Emperor, what should be done with these villains?"
"Kill them!"
"What does my older cousin think?"
"How can I possibly see it? Of course, whatever Father Emperor says is law."
"Aren't we going to listen to what they have to say?"
“A group of assassins. Even if they weren’t targeting Father Emperor, our Great Zhou Dynasty cannot tolerate such people.”
Zhou Hanzhang felt it was a pity that not a single one of these people stepped forward to identify the eldest prince, even though they were about to lose their lives.
The emperor had long seen through this scheme orchestrated by Liu Niang to switch the baby with the bride, all so that he could avoid this disaster.
He wasn't ungrateful. As long as Liu Niang remained Zhou Hanzhang's teacher and her heart remained with the Great Zhou Dynasty, he wouldn't do anything to her and would even try to maintain a good relationship with her.
During his travels, the emperor had considered many possibilities.
The eldest prince has been quite restless lately. He had actually noticed this a long time ago, but he was the first son that his wife had given birth to after a lot of hardship. They had been looking forward to it for a long time. His wife had even damaged her health during childbirth and passed away early.
That's it.
He sighed and looked at the eldest prince, who was covered in blood. "Take care of yourself first. However, it is against the rules for you to leave the capital without permission. Leave the reception of the United States to Zhang'er."
"You will come back to the capital with us now, and will be confined to your quarters for six months afterward."
"Thank you, Father! For your sake, I am not afraid of any punishment."
The eldest prince also took the opportunity to express his loyalty, as if afraid that the emperor would not see through it.
"No, Uncle Emperor, I have so many cousins, why are you entrusting this to me?"
"Why can't it be handed over to you? Which of your cousins can compare to you?"
...That's true, but while the emperor could criticize his own son, Zhou Hanzhang couldn't.