nucmednet Chapter 292 Seeking Skin from a Tiger
Chapter 292 Seeking Skin from a Tiger
The second sister knew that relatives needed to avoid suspicion, so she didn't insist, only saying, "Thank you, Your Highness!"
Prince Ning had other matters to attend to and did not linger. However, he seemed to have a strange feeling and a strange affection every time he saw Si Mutong.
He couldn't understand it, but he didn't want to worry about these things. After all, the Dali Temple still had many important cases to handle, as well as his plan to systematically revise the laws, and now there was the case of the Third Prince possibly torturing and killing someone.
He didn't have time to deal with his own inexplicable thoughts, feeling that it was a waste of time.
He led his entourage back to the capital first. He originally intended to take the Third Prince and his entourage with him, but the Emperor only ordered the Third Prince to be imprisoned and forbade him to make any other moves, so he had to give up.
When Si Muyan returned to her residence, she was still filled with worry.
Si Xing knew: "I just checked on my younger brother, and he's doing well. Things are already like this; there's nothing we can do but wait."
Si Muyan shook her head: "I believe my brother. If he said that, he must have his reasons. When the Guan family sent the message before, they also said that the Third Prince is not a kind person."
"We all believe in our little brother, but don't worry too much. The Emperor has ordered people to take good care of him, so he'll be fine."
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” Si Muyan said. “If it’s a misunderstanding and Prince Ning can’t find anything, my brother will at most be punished accordingly—flogged, stripped of his title as heir apparent, or even exiled. As long as he’s safe, everything else is fine. But the Third Prince has a problem. How could the people behind him not take action?”
Si Xingzhi's heart skipped a beat: "Then what do we do?"
What could they do? After returning to the capital, relying on the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, they had no power or ability whatsoever.
At that moment, Si Muyan suddenly understood why her younger sister was so eager to climb the social ladder.
To curry favor with the crown prince?
The younger sister stood up: "Dad, I'm going out for a bit."
Si Xingzhi asked, "Where are you going?"
"..." The younger sister glanced at Si Muyan before saying, "I'm going to see Miss Gui."
Si Xingzhi had no suspicions and waved her away.
Si Muyan followed her out: "Little sister, are you planning to go find His Highness the Crown Prince?"
The younger sister didn't hide anything from her: "The other party is the Third Prince's man. Besides the Emperor and the Crown Prince, who else can we ask for help?"
Si Muyan remained silent.
The younger sister laughed: "Big sister, are you worried about me?"
"You are my sister, I don't want to..."
"You don't want me to give myself to someone else for other reasons?" The younger sister smiled and said, "Elder sister, I know my limits. I am, after all, a county princess. Even if I were to give myself to someone, I would make sure that someone would marry me honorably."
Si Muyan remained worried. Her younger sister's title of county princess was bestowed by the Empress Dowager; it was a title without real power or foundation. How could she possibly feel at ease letting her sister marry someone whose character and temperament she didn't even know?
The younger sister didn't go to Guishan; instead, she went to see the Crown Prince, who also met with her.
"My willingness to see you does not mean I am willing to help you. As for your brother's matter, I am powerless to assist you."
The younger sister hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I'm not here to ask you to rescue my brother. I just want to ask you to help look after him for a little while."
She didn't need to say much; the Crown Prince understood her meaning. Si Jing'an was very likely to fall victim to the Third Prince's faction while imprisoned.
"If I were to take action, it would be easily noticed. What if someone thought I was deliberately targeting the Third Prince?" The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. He wouldn't do something so risky.
He was the crown prince, the heir apparent. No matter how much his father favored his third brother, as long as he didn't make any mistakes, his father couldn't remove him from his position.
But if he does anything that is detrimental to the third son, those with ulterior motives will make his father, the emperor, imagine that he cannot tolerate the third son and is eager to kick him when he is down.
The younger sister quickly pledged her allegiance: "Your Highness, the Si family and I are willing to follow Your Highness's lead!"
However, upon hearing this, the Crown Prince burst into laughter: "Does your Si family have power or ability? What does it matter where you stand?"
The younger sister was taken aback, feeling somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. But she couldn't very well tell the Crown Prince that she would definitely enter the palace as an imperial concubine, could she?
Thinking of her imprisoned younger brother, she gritted her teeth and said, "At least I helped Song Yin. Without me, Song Yin would still be a beast tamer. Of course, I understand that what Your Highness wants to do is a piece of cake. But my involvement has at least reduced a lot of trouble for Your Highness, hasn't it?"
The Crown Prince's face darkened: "Si Muwan, your brother didn't teach you that knowing too much will cost you your life!"
The younger sister gritted her teeth and looked at him.
After a moment of silence, the Crown Prince softened his voice and said, "Si Muwan, have you ever considered that my inaction is the true way to protect your brother?"
He stared at his younger sister, hoping she wasn't being too foolish. His sister thought for a moment, her face turning pale, and she understood what he meant.
If he had someone kill his underling and then frame the Third Prince, then regardless of whether Prince Ning would find out anything, it would be a certainty that the Third Prince had killed someone.
The third prince has a tainted reputation, and even if the emperor protects him, he will not be able to inherit the throne in the future.
"You're threatening me with Song Yin, so I'll give you some face and won't touch Si Jing'an. Go back now."
The younger sister returned home dejectedly and hid in her room, lost in thought.
Mother Tian brought in some porridge: "Young lady, you haven't eaten much all day, why don't you have some porridge?"
"I can't eat." The little sister shook her head. "Mom, what do you think will happen if I enter the palace? I'm still so young, and the Emperor is already middle-aged. What will things be like in ten or twenty years?"
Madam Tian was startled and quickly said, "Young lady, you can't just say things like that, long live the Emperor..."
“I’m not talking nonsense, I’m just telling you. Mother, the Emperor will pass away one day, and I also need to plan for my family. When the Emperor passes away, will my younger brother’s children have grown up and be able to support the Marquis’s family? If there is no one to support them then, what will become of my younger brother and his children? Can we expect the new emperor to be soft-hearted?”
With the Empress Dowager and the Emperor gone, and a new Emperor ascending the throne, the Marquis's family, having committed a crime, will likely fall to the bottom again, let alone rise to a higher position.
The younger sister smiled sadly: "The Third Prince may not be able to escape this time, and even if he does, he will be irreconcilably opposed to my Si family. As for the Crown Prince... I only realized today that cooperating with the Crown Prince might be like asking a tiger for its skin."
Mother Tian said, "Why does the young lady want to cooperate with the Crown Prince? Perhaps in the future, the young lady will be able to have her own children."
"is it?"
The young lady had a detached look in her eyes. There were many concubines in the harem. Although the emperor favored Consort Rong, he did not have exclusive favor to her and often visited the other concubines as well.
However, after the third prince, the emperor did not have any more children, which suggests that the emperor's health was probably failing.
"Have children for him?" The younger sister pouted and said, "The Crown Prince is unreliable. It would be better to ask Prince Ning to arrange for someone to take care of my younger brother."