Chapter 136 Why are you crying, I'm not going to die tomorrow
When Princess Fanggui's coffin was about to be carried out of the city center, a wave of masked assassins suddenly jumped from the restaurants on the roadside.
In the flash of swords and shadows, Concubine Fanggui's coffin crashed to the ground, and the assassin left just as quickly as he came.
After the streets were calm again, Prince An, regardless of his body being stabbed by the assassin, lay on the coffin and cried bitterly, looking up to the sky and shouting:
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty—"
Some brave people carefully opened a small crack in the window and door.
I saw Prince An vomiting a mouthful of blood from his mouth, and couldn't help but tremble in fear.
Princess An and several county princes followed him and cried bitterly.
The youngest prince was only eight years old. At this moment, he said ignorantly: "Father, why won't the Holy One let us go?"
Princess An hurried over and covered his mouth, crying silently.
The sky was dark, and people saw Prince An stumbling around, continuing to help the spirit walk towards the mansion.
Gu Yu watched from the crack of the window as their backs disappeared into the night.
Discussions broke out in the restaurant lobby downstairs.
"Prince An, what exactly does this mean?"
"How did Concubine Fanggui die?"
"What does Prince An keep saying "Holy Lord" mean?"
"It's been so many years since Kowloon seized the heirs, why does the little prince say that the Holy One still won't let them go?"
"Hey, Brother Li, what is the palace secret you talked about today?"
"Brother Zhang, this matter cannot be discussed, cannot be discussed."
"It's terrible, it's terrible, the city that never sleeps is about to change."
"Not only the city that never sleeps, but even Jiangnan will not be well."
"Is the city gate still open now? Can I leave?"
"Let's go? Why don't we go? If things really change, the city that never sleeps will be safer."
"Hurry up and collect food! Don't go out easily!"
...
In the middle of the night, Prince An placed the body of Concubine Fanggui, and the three adult princes came to the study.
The prince took the lead and said: "My son is guilty. He allowed the thieves to sneak into the armory due to his negligence."
Prince An said: "Have the losses been clearly accounted for?"
The prince said with a look of self-reproach: "One-third of the weapons in the arsenal were broken, the strings of the crossbows were almost completely broken, the wooden poles of some guns and halberds were burned, and the gun carriages, ladders, and kerosene were also broken.
It’s a lot of damage.”
Prince An sighed heavily. The time for rebellion was not yet ripe, but after Jun Ze and Gu Yu discovered the secret of the inner salt field in Nanwang County, he had to speed up his pace.
Now the arsenal in the city that never sleeps has been burned down. Such serious losses have made the already unclear situation worse.
He glanced at his eldest son who was deeply remorseful and said, "You must remember this lesson."
The prince lowered his head and said, "Yes, father."
The second prince continued: "Granaries in various places have been prepared, but I don't know when all the grain in Nanwang County was purchased by the imperial merchant Xiao family. I don't know who took control of Baotai County in Tongning County and other counties. The price of grain has skyrocketed.
We haven’t purchased much. Overall, the grain reserves this time can last until the autumn harvest.”
This news is neither good nor bad.
Prince An nodded and looked at his third son.
The three princes stepped forward and said: "All the news has been released. Not only the city that never sleeps, but also several cities and counties around the city have arranged for many people to go there. I believe that within three days, this matter will spread all over the south of the Yangtze River.
"
The assassination by the masked men as they were leaving the city center today was arranged by them to build momentum.
Only by guiding people to discuss can they win the support of the people and make their rebellion reasonable.
This is just the beginning. Wait until Concubine Fanggui's body is buried, and on the day when the troops are actually raised, a bigger topic will break out. By then, the Holy Emperor's throne will no longer be secure.
The Second Prince suddenly said: "Father, when I just came out of Jinyi Villa today, I felt that there was something wrong with the people's reaction."
The third prince had a bad temper and said, "What's wrong? All the people are crying over the death of their grandmother. Isn't that enough?"
The second prince had a calm temper. Recalling the scene of the people crying bitterly, he said: "This reaction is too strong."
Their grandmother, Princess Fanggui, had some reputation among the people, but she didn't cry like that.
The third prince felt that his brother had confiscated the food and deliberately found trouble with him in front of his father. He immediately said angrily: "Second brother, what do you mean? Could it be that I spread the news well and made a mistake?"
The Prince of the Second County said: "As a brother, I have absolutely no intention of doing so, it's just a bit strange."
The Third Prince interrupted him and said, "You are obviously a picky person. If you can't do your own thing well, come and trouble me!"
The prince of the county reconciled the situation between them and said: "Two brothers, please be patient. At this time, we must think in one place and work hard in one place. We cannot fight among ourselves."
The three princes wanted to say something more, but were interrupted by Prince An, saying: "Okay, the people's reaction is beneficial to us. Don't talk about it anymore. Has Gu Yu been found?"
After listening to his father's words, the second prince had no choice but to suppress the doubts in his heart and said: "My son is incompetent and has not been found yet."
Prince An seemed very tired and said: "Keep looking and make more noise."
The three princes said in unison: "Yes."
Prince An said: "Boss, stay here, you two can go first."
The second and third princes had different expressions, bowed their heads and retreated.
Seeing them leaving, the prince hurriedly knelt down in front of Prince An and asked with concern: "Father, does your injury still hurt?"
Just now, Prince An was deliberately stabbed by an assassin in order to perform in front of the people. Although he was drugged, Prince An was still no better than a young man. He looked sluggish in front of his beloved eldest son.
Prince An touched his hair and said, "My father is old."
When the prince forced him into the palace, he was seriously injured and he has not been able to recover after so many years.
The prince's eyes suddenly turned red and he said: "My father is in his prime, how can he be considered old?"
He knew that his father's body didn't show much on the outside, but he was very weak on the inside. The slightest bit of wind and cold lingered for a long time. On rainy days, old injuries would relapse, causing cold coughs in winter and night sweats in summer.
His grandmother, Princess Fanggui, once said to him: Your father's body is not as good as mine, an old lady in her sixties.
Prince An said: "I don't have many years to live, and my only obsession is this great country. It's better to start the war now. Maybe I can fight again in my lifetime and reminisce about my heroic appearance in those days."
The great prince sobbed silently.
Prince An said: "Why are you crying? I won't die tomorrow. The doctor said I will be raised and I will still have many years to live."
The prince buried his head in his knees and cried: "Father."
Prince An said: "You are such an adult, why are you still acting like a child, even worse than your two younger brothers?"
Prince An was very fond of the son of the Grand Duke. Having said that, he still loved his sensibility.
Not only does he rely on himself, but he also cares deeply about his younger brother.
Prince An said: "Do you know why I have never asked you to be crown prince and let you be a short-term prince?"