Chapter 284

Zhao Mingqiao was like a trapped beast, charging left and right.

"The Master was also forced into this."

"Actually, whatever you want to do has nothing to do with us prison guards. But since you are using the Heavenly Prison as a shelter while playing us for fools, I am very unhappy. We prison guards have tempers too. Magistrate Zhao, I treated you as a friend, but clearly, I was just being sentimental."

Chen Guanlou gave a self-deprecating laugh and decisively walked away. They were not on the same path to begin with; there was really no need to cozy up to them and look pathetic.

"Chen Guanlou, isn't it that you want to know who is mobilizing troops to rebel? I can tell you."

Zhao Mingqiao suddenly shouted out.

Chen Guanlou stopped his steps, turned his head, and looked at the other person, "You know? Or are you saying that you group of convicted officials have already reached a tacit understanding?"

"There is no so-called tacit understanding, it's just that I do know a little. I'll tell you, the one rebelling is the Crown Prince!"

Chen Guanlou first felt a sense of realization—it really was the Crown Prince. Then, upon second thought, that wasn't right!

"Who are you trying to fool! Where would the Crown Prince get the ability to mobilize the Divine Artifact Battalion? Do you take me for a fool?" Chen Guanlou sneered. If the Crown Prince had the ability to meddle with military power, he wouldn't have been so spineless until today.

"Who told you the Divine Artifact Battalion entered the capital to rebel? Couldn't it be to suppress a rebellion?"

"What the hell?"

Chen Guanlou was stunned.

This time, he was truly stimulated; these people were playing a very big game!

He took three steps in one and returned to the front of the cell door, "I ask Magistrate Zhao to speak clearly. The Heavenly Prison will keep you safe, and I hope everyone can work together. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee what consequences will arise if the Heavenly Prison guards go crazy. You wouldn't want that to happen either, would you?"

Zhao Mingqiao sighed. Hearing Chen Guanlou call him 'Magistrate Zhao' every other word, he couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy. In his mind, Chen Guanlou's position was a bit less than a friend; he was an acquaintance he could chat with, an interesting person. During this year in the Heavenly Prison, thanks to the other's care, he hadn't suffered much.

Now, both sides were deliberately keeping their distance; the sense of being acquaintances was gone, leaving only official business: one prisoner, one prison guard.

A bit of a pity.

Yet, he had no intention of trying to salvage it.

Just because the other had called him a coward and a fool, he would hold a grudge forever. Perhaps the hatred would fade in three or five days, but that matter, those words—he would never be able to forget them in his entire life.

Ultimately, their positions were different, their philosophies were incompatible, so there was no need to force it.

"The appearance of the Divine Artifact Battalion—you must find it very inconceivable, right? With the Holy Master on the throne and the current prosperous age, who could mobilize the Divine Artifact Battalion? Aside from that person, one cannot think of a second."

Zhao Mingqiao said slowly.

Chen Guanlou asked one question, "Has the Crown Prince really rebelled?"

"In the current situation, do you think it still matters whether the Crown Prince has rebelled or not?"

Chen Guanlou frowned, "Didn't you say your teacher supports the orthodox line, and you are all firm supporters of the Crown Prince? Now that things are chaotic outside and the Crown Prince is in imminent danger, your teacher has secretly hidden in the Heavenly Prison—what about your stance? When life is at stake, I suppose stance doesn't matter, right?"

Zhao Mingqiao's expression was gloomy, "What did the teacher say?"

"Lu Mingchuan is just an old fox; he doesn't say a single truthful word, and he still wanted to trick me into being his beast of burden." After finishing, Chen Guanlou laughed, "Could it be that you were all deceived by that sincere appearance of his? You are truly easy to fool."

Zhao Mingqiao did not argue with him but pulled the topic back, "This time, the Crown Prince is in grave danger. The old Emperor has gone mad; he has finally made up his mind."

"The old Emperor is rebelling against himself—you people really dare to imagine." Chen Guanlou retorted. Previously at the artillery tower, he had said this just as a joke. Who could have imagined that it would actually happen?

"It is not that we dare to imagine, but rather..."

"Is there no one in the court who can control this? No one who can stop it? No one who can resist? Your teacher is a great Confucian scholar, after all—can't he contribute some effort?"

"According to the teacher, those who dare to block it will die!" After finishing, Zhao Mingqiao covered his face in pain; he had no face to see anyone, no face to emphasize his so-called persistence anymore.

Chen Guanlou was right; they were just a bunch of cowards.

"To depose the Crown Prince, does it require causing chaos in the capital? Isn't it just a matter of an imperial decree?"

"You don't understand. More than half of the civil and military officials in the court support the Crown Prince's orthodox status. Relying on an imperial decree to depose the Crown Prince—haha, it's simply impossible. The decree wouldn't even be able to leave the Taiji Palace; no one would acknowledge it."

"So they can only use a military coup to depose the Crown Prince?" Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue in wonder, "I have only seen military coups to kill emperors in history books; this is my first time seeing a military coup to depose a Crown Prince. I've truly seen something!"

The cruel truth seemed to have completely crushed Zhao Mingqiao; he sat on the floor with no regard for his image, "The Crown Prince is finished, and the Crown Prince's faction is finished along with him. I don't know how many people will die in this military coup. The teacher was also forced into this; I ask for your understanding."

"I had a prison guard eavesdrop on your conversation with Lu Mingchuan. The guard said you were just discussing scholarship. May I ask, how many secrets are actually hidden within your scholarship?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Mingqiao laughed foolishly and mocked, "A bunch of uneducated prison guards who don't know a few characters—of course they couldn't understand the dialogue between me and the teacher, mistakenly taking it for discussing scholarship."

Chen Guanlou:...

Still suffering from the disadvantage of not being educated.

Look, everyone bullies prison guards, treating them as fools and playing tricks right in front of them. Afterwards, they even mock them fiercely, saying they deserve not to understand, and who told them not to read.

"May I ask Magistrate Zhao, are you clear on why the old Emperor suddenly made up his mind to depose the Crown Prince at the cost of a military coup? Creating a false impression that the Crown Prince is rebelling? Also, since Lu Mingchuan could receive news in advance, it makes no sense that the Crown Prince wouldn't know. Why is there no movement from the Crown Prince?"

Zhao Mingqiao sighed secretly, "During this period, the teacher doesn't know exactly what happened in the palace. He only remembers that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, when the ministers entered the palace to pay their respects, His Majesty was half an hour late and his expression was gloomy. Afterwards, the palace gates were tightly shut, and the inside and outside were isolated.

After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the teacher sensed something abnormal. To be safe, he arranged for his family to leave the capital in the name of ancestor worship. Early this morning, the teacher suddenly learned that the Divine Artifact Battalion had mobilized and was only twenty miles away from the capital. At the same time, he learned that the palace gates were wide open and the guards guarding the palace gates were nowhere to be seen, and he knew something was wrong.

Entering the palace would certainly not work; going in would surely mean death. That was a trap set to catch the prey. The teacher is famous and couldn't ensure he would stay out of it, so he could only come to the Heavenly Prison to avoid disaster. All of this was forced by circumstances. As for the Crown Prince... sigh, I only hope the old Emperor can still consider the father-son relationship and not take things to the extreme."

After finishing all this, Zhao Mingqiao seemed to have exhausted all his strength; his spirit was drained in an instant, and he looked ten years older for no reason. He was very confused and dejected; his entire state was one step away from seeking death. If someone were to push him a little, he might truly develop the thought of ending it all and decisively commit suicide.

Chen Guanlou did not pressure him but said, "These are just the one-sided words of you and Lu Mingchuan. I will try my best to understand the true situation."

"You must find out the current status of the Crown Prince; if there is news, please inform me." A glimmer of hope appeared in Zhao Mingqiao's eyes.