Chapter 438: Father and Son Affection (Part 3)
The Crown Prince lowered his head in melancholy, closing his eyes.
What else could he say?
After years of planning, exhausting every tactic, even committing acts of treason, yet in the eyes of others, it all turned out to be nothing but a joke.
He lost with no value, so what was the purpose of his life?
Now they all tell him they never intended to snatch from him, the things he fought for all his life meant nothing to them, ready at any moment to take away, simply because they never desired it; had he not sought destruction himself, they wouldn’t have cared to bother him!
So he was the one to have lost the throne, not because they wanted to compete with him?
The Crown Prince felt it was all a joke; he himself was a complete joke!
"Hahaha—" "Hahaha—"
The more he thought, the more absurd it seemed, absurd that he abandoned being the rightful Crown Prince to compete with those not even on the same level; in the end, they never considered him significant. From beginning to end, he directed and acted alone, seeing them as imaginary enemies.
So he fought against imaginary foes for years, ultimately cornering himself into a dead-end, resulting in rebellion charges, a disgrace lasting for eternity, hahaha—
So, why did he bother?
But it’s all too late, too late, too late—
Even if he comprehends now, what difference does it make?
Can everything start over again? No, it can’t, it can’t!
Nothing can be restarted, and he has no chance to begin anew, it’s over...
"Hahaha—"
The Crown Prince laughed till tears came, laughing so hard his vision blurred, as if seeing his past glories, seeing himself as Crown Prince above all, envisioning himself someday clad in royal robes, ruling the world...
He couldn’t help but mutter: "I am the Crown Prince, I am the Crown Prince, the throne is mine, it’s mine! What right do you have to rival with me!"
"Get out, all of you—"
"I will destroy your nine clans!!"
"No, no, I am, I am! Hahaha—"
The Emperor and Su Yaogeng watched the nearly mad Crown Prince, both letting out a sigh.
If only they had known today, why bother at the start?
The Emperor called for someone to enter: "Take the Crown Prince away!"
The guards stepped forward to drag the Crown Prince, but he struggled fiercely and shouted: "Who are you? You intend to assassinate me, do you? I will chop you down, chop you—"
"Ahahaha— I am the Emperor, I am the Emperor—"
"If I wish any of you to die, you must go to your deaths, die—"
Seeing the Crown Prince’s cloudy eyes and his madness, the Emperor felt an indescribable pain, a metallic taste in his throat followed by violent coughing. Su Yaogeng hurriedly handed over a handkerchief, only to see it stained crimson as the Emperor pressed it to his mouth.
"Brother!" Su Yaogeng sprung to his feet nervously, urgently instructing the people outside: "Call the Imperial Physician quickly!"
The eunuch nearby promptly offered water for the Emperor to rinse his mouth.
The Emperor rinsed and took a while to recover, waving his hand: "I’m fine, take the Crown Prince away!"
The guards responded by forcefully taking the frenzied Crown Prince out, the Emperor closed his eyes with sorrow watching him being dragged away.
Long after the Crown Prince had been taken away, gone without a trace, the Emperor finally opened his eyes and choked: "Zheng’er, tell me, what exactly did I do wrong?"