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The Third Prince ultimately escaped disaster.
The Queen used her influence to take Murong Jing to their fief, abandoning the wealth and glory she had cultivated in the capital for many years.
The convoy hurried along; they needed to leave as quickly as possible. Otherwise, while Murong Cheng could not act too ruthlessly in public, he would undoubtedly send assassins in secret.
Murong Jing appeared dejected, his gaze fixed on the curtain that obscured everything from view.
"Prince, have some water. You haven't eaten anything," the Queen said with concern as she looked at her precious son, who had transformed from a spirited young man into someone so downtrodden in such a short time.
The palace maid, Lan Feng, was quick on her feet, setting out food to serve the two masters.
The Queen's heart ached as she said, "Out here is not like the palace; the food is a bit simple. Given the urgent situation, we must make do for now." With that, she personally picked some of Murong Jing's favorite dishes and placed them on his plate.
Murong Jing looked at the delicacies that were quite exquisite even in their escape and found he had no appetite at all.
"Mother Empress, how can you remain so calm?" Murong Jing asked, puzzled. The Queen had immediately seized the opportunity to escape after the Crown Prince's coup, as if she had been prepared all along.
The Queen reached out to smooth down a few of his disheveled strands of hair and sighed, "Calm or not, life must go on. Prince, now that we are far from this place of turmoil, you should settle down and live a quiet life. Although I have little ability, what I have accumulated over the years is enough to ensure our safety."
What they had accumulated over these years was not just gold and silver treasures.
Murong Jing stared blankly at her; suddenly he felt that she seemed to have anticipated this outcome long ago. "Did Mother Empress prepare early because you knew I would surely lose?"
"Oh dear child," the Queen sighed softly. "You have always been competitive; if others have something, you want it too. If others can achieve something, you must do even better."
Over time, with more experiences and encounters, that original ambition gradually shifted into obsession.
Queen held Murong Jing's hand and placed it over his own heart. "Think carefully about this. Do you truly want it, or is it just because your royal brothers are all vying for it that you feel the need to get involved?"
As his mother, she had raised him and sometimes understood him better than he understood himself.
Murong Jing remained dazed, keeping his hand on his chest, lost in thought for a long time.
Indeed, the throne was alluring, but he had been genuinely happy in his life. Even without the throne, he could still live well.
When did he start chasing after such a highly coveted goal, completely forgetting to consider whether it was something he truly desired?
Murong Jing couldn't answer that question at the moment. A sense of failure enveloped him, leaving him feeling as if he were shrouded in fog, unable to see anything clearly.
Seeing her son in such a daze, Queen chose not to disturb him. Some lessons must be learned through personal experience; mere explanations from others cannot lead to true understanding.
As Queen and her son hurried toward their fief, many others were not so fortunate.
Without Queen's solid backing, some participants were sentenced by the narrow-minded Murong Cheng for treason. Those who died perished, and those who were punished suffered; the capital city fell into a desolate state, no longer vibrant and bustling as before.
Liu Chancellor sighed at this scene. After years of serving in the court, he had contributed his share to the peace and prosperity of the realm.
Now witnessing everything being destroyed was inevitably painful for him.
Liu Consort sensed his thoughts and comforted him, "Brother, why be so sorrowful? This is merely a temporary situation. How can someone like the Crown Prince bear the heavy responsibility of ruling a nation? Once the right moment arrives, there will surely be a turn for the better."
Liu Chancellor understood her meaning. After secretly supporting Sixth Prince, they discovered that the Emperor had laid so much groundwork for Murong Xi behind the scenes.
When he first learned of it, even Liu Chancellor was taken aback. He prided himself on having served under the Emperor for many years and believed he understood the Emperor's thoughts well. Yet such an important matter regarding succession had been kept from him entirely.
A man who could remain stable on the throne for many years was indeed not so easy to see through.
The emperor's funeral was quite simple, almost unbefitting of a monarch. Murong Cheng felt years of suppressed emotions release all at once; his hatred for the emperor was so intense that he didn't even want to prepare a simple grave for him.
However, due to his status, Murong Cheng did not have the audacity to act so recklessly in such turbulent times, risking the ridicule of the lower ranks and discarding the last shred of dignity.
Thus, under the insistence of Liu Chancellor and the public opinion that had spread, the emperor still received a simple yet fundamentally proper funeral.
After the emperor was buried, the harem underwent a major restructuring. The emperor's concubines who had not borne children were given death as a form of accompanying burial. Those with offspring were allowed to move out to reside in the Palace of the Empress.
Liu Consort's child, who had "died young," was originally supposed to be buried alongside her. However, with Liu Chancellor negotiating on her behalf, she ultimately managed to stay safely in the capital.
"Brother, now that the emperor has passed, can we tell Xi'er the truth about his origins?" Liu Consort's eyes began to redden as she approached Murong Xi. "I have no other wish than to hear my child call me mother."
Liu Chancellor understood all too well that this bond between mother and child was profound, but now was not the right time. "Your Highness, you mustn't! The situation is still precarious; we should wait until the Sixth Prince truly holds power. That will be the best opportunity."
"When will that be?" Liu Consort sighed heavily as she sat against the railing. "Every time I see Prince, I cannot acknowledge him; it pains my heart..."
Just thinking about being unable to recognize her child when they were so close made her heart ache.
"Your Highness, please remain calm." Liu Chancellor could only try his best to console her. Fortunately, Liu Consort was accustomed to facing storms; this emotional outburst would soon pass, and she quickly regained her composure.
Murong Xi remained oblivious to all of this.
After Consort Shen's death and lacking any significant background, even though he seemed to have received some attention from the emperor in his final days, nothing appeared different about him.
Murong Cheng did not take lethal action against Murong Xi. Firstly, he believed that Murong Xi posed no serious threat to him. Over the years, he had covertly targeted Murong Xi numerous times without seeing any resistance; at most, he had only managed to kill off a few assassins sent after him.
Moreover, this struggle for power involved too many princes, most of whom had already been openly and covertly suppressed by Murong Cheng. However, this would create a situation where, once Murong Cheng ascended to power, he would be seen as ruthlessly suppressing his brothers, leading to public outcry.
To maintain a semblance of honor, Murong Cheng had to at least keep one or two brothers alive to uphold his reputation for benevolence.
The powerless and insignificant Sixth Prince, Murong Xi, became the prime target in Murong Cheng's eyes.
Thus, Murong Xi remained in the capital. Murong Cheng granted him a mansion and conferred upon him the title of prince, effectively imprisoning him in this luxurious cage while assigning people to watch over him.
Murong Xi did not make a fuss; instead, he quietly resided in his new home, rarely stepping outside.
The capital appeared calm on the surface, but beneath it surged hidden currents that could pull everything back into chaos at any moment.
The Queen and her son traveled southward, heading toward the even more distant southern frontier.
Originally, the Third Prince's fief was located in the prosperous Jiangnan region. However, after the emperor's death, such arrangements could no longer be upheld. Murong Cheng redrew the fief boundaries and casually found a grand reason to assign some barren lands to Murong Jing.
Their convoy passed through Jiangnan.
"Mother Empress, I want to take a look; this was supposed to be my fief," Murong Jing said, listening to the lively sounds outside the carriage, his eyes flashing with reluctance.
The Queen looked at him and after a moment's hesitation agreed.
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