Chapter 272: His Highness’ Weak Spot?
Translator: Misty Cloud Translations Editor: Misty Cloud Translations
“Your… Your Highness…” A trembling voice was heard from the dark corner. The man leaning on the chair of the imperial consort narrowed his eyes. He didn’t s.h.i.+ft his sight away from the gla.s.s in his hand. He lifted the gla.s.s gracefully and sniffed the aroma under his nose.
The monks looked at each other’s face and cold sweat dripped down from their foreheads. Even if they could drive away the witchcraft and recite Buddhist sutras, they could not find out how profound His Highness’s magic power was.
“Speak up, what were the sutras you read in the big wedding?” Baili Jia Jue propped his head with one hand while holding a Buddhist Sutra in the other hand. He did not even look at the monks, but quietly flipped through the Scripture pages in his hands. His tone was neither cold nor indifferent. “Don’t tell me that those were the blessings. My ears are not bad yet.”
When he asked this question, the attendants had handed up the brewed tea. Those attendants were youths who knew to guard their mouths.
The monks, after hearing Baili Jia Jue`s inquiry, showed great shock in their eyes. They looked at each other and whispered, “Whether Your Highness knew or not, sometimes people will be possessed after encountering a significant misfortune.”
“Yes, I have heard of that.” Baili Jia Jue put down the Buddhist scriptures in his hands and knitted his brows deliberately. “What does that have to do with the Scriptures that you read aloud?”
The monks chanted Amitabha in one voice, and then said, “We read the spirit exorcism from the rebirth sutra. If the person who was possessed listens to the soul quotation for a long time, she will show the original form.”
“Oh?” Baili Jia Jue stood up and put on a robe. “You are so bold to chant spirit exorcism at my wedding banquet.”
The monks turned stiff again, but after all, they were monks. Even though they were upright, they did not know how to please His Highness. They just said honestly, “We did this for the sake of Your Highness. We didn’t dare to hide it from Your Highness. Several of us have received news that Helian Eldest Miss may have been possessed, and Your Highness knows that there is no way to keep them alive in the empire. In fact, even the elders have said that they would likely become demons one day and threaten the safety of the people.”
“It’s possible, yet it’s still uncertain.” Baili Jia Jue smiled coldly. “Under uncertain circ.u.mstances, you will punish my princess to warn others? Who gave you the courage?”
The monks heard those words and their hands shook. They were not the Buddhist monks from the Shaolin Monastery. They had been the capital city all year round and appointed by the four elders. They had heard about the might of the third prince from the grapevine. Now, after really experiencing it, they were shocked to find that he laid his questions to entrap and punish their crimes. Even the elders would not be able to save them.
“Drag them and chop their heads off.” Baili Jia Jue took a mouthful of tea. “If someone asks, say that someone wanted to exploit the grand masters to frame the princess. The great masters have confessed their guilt. If anyone wants to ask for leniency, let him come to request it from me directly.”
Shadow looked down and dragged the monks away.
Eunuch Sun was trembling with fear, but he did not doubt Wei Wei. Rather, he felt that His Highness’s act of beheading so many monks would create lead to retributions.
He thought that this matter should be told to the Retired Emperor. Furthermore, this news should be explained in great detail. It should not mention the spirit possession, but that the monks read the Sutra indiscriminately to persecute the princess.
Eunuch Sun still had the mind to protect Helian Wei Wei. Thus, he had a clear mind about what to say and what not to say, since those words could provoke bigger problems.
After the Retired Emperor listened to his explanation, he immediately sighed. “The child’s mind is still so heavy. It’s all the fault of this emperor and his useless emperor father.”
Eunuch Sun did not know how to respond to this, but could only comfort him. “The Retired Emperor does not need to blame himself too much. Third Prince is intelligent and he would let go of the things that weighed his heart down.”
“Old Sun, ah…that child is so bitter that he can’t really compare with Xiao Qi.” The Retired Emperor was deep in his reminiscence that his eyes were somewhat red. “A Prince suffered so much. He was a sensible child yet betrayed by his closest relatives. Tell me, as a grandfather, how can I not be distressed? Even his deceased mother did not cherish him very much. Whenever I think of that, my heart becomes…”
In the past year, The Retired Emperor had mentioned this mistake for countless of times. Probably at that time he was still young and only had power in his eyes, thus he neglected a lot of things.
At that time, the third prince had not developed such a temperament as he was now but was a little reticent. At the age of five or six, he was much more sensible than children of his age.
He never took the initiative to ask for anything. There were several shadow guards following the prince. Those shadows were selected by him personally. They were not as powerful as they were now.
But his innate chilly and n.o.ble temperament and his tendency to right the wrongs couldn’t be concealed.
Wherever he went, those places were empty.
The other princes didn’t like to play with him because he was boring and dissimilar to others since he didn’t want to join them and form a faction with them.
The empress also didn’t like to see him.
She was even a bit resentful toward him.
All of these clearly happened in his sight.
Therefore, the n.o.ble and chilly Third Prince’s childhood was not as satisfactory as what people had imagined.
The disfavored Prince was sadder than the disfavored children in the palace.
He would ordinarily receive harsh treatments.
Even the eunuchs and palace maids would look at him with a weird expression in their eyes.
It was difficult, even for a smart child like him, to be like a praying mantis who could stop Duke Chuang’s chariot inside the Harem.
In that kind of atmosphere, many of those eunuchs and palace maids deliberately made things difficult for Third Prince.
Eunuch Sun remembered the situation in those days when the dynasty was the most unstable and the Retired Emperor could not see the third prince for many days.
Later, he ran into the third prince in the rear court.
Truth be told, at that time, not only was the Retired Emperor so stunned, his eunuch, who was accustomed to fighting in the palace, was also flabbergasted.
The Third Highness had a wound on his forehead. He was short a month from adulthood, but his eyes were still beautiful and unearthly. He was chilly and n.o.ble.
He said nothing at first when the Retired Emperor asked him.
The emperor shouted angrily, “Come, bring all the slaves to this emperor. I want to see those who acted so bold!”
“No need.” In the time it took an incense stick to burn, the third prince finally opened his mouth. His expression was very indifferent and his tone was casual as if he was talking about other people’s affairs. “I have killed all of them.”
At that time, it seemed that only one servant girl remained. She did not betray him in his most difficult circ.u.mstances.
But later, it was this servant girl who almost destroyed the third prince.
Only very few people know the inside story of this matter since it had been kept secret by the retired emperor.
Eunuch Sun knew that the Retired Emperor did not want anyone to touch the third prince’s weak spot…