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The Guanyin Bodhisattva in the painting slightly lowered her head, her face exuding an incomparable kindness. After looking at it for a long time, it seemed as if all the distracting thoughts in one’s mind could dissipate, leaving a feeling of calm and stability.
The Crown Prince even felt that at this moment, his entire body had relaxed, and he couldn’t help but want to close his eyes and take a short nap.
And just as he had this thought, the bamboo painting slipped from his hands and landed at his feet, and he had already leaned heavily against the soft pillow, falling into a deep sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, the Crown Prince was awakened by a low and urgent voice beside him.
Hearing that it was his attendant calling him, the Crown Prince rubbed his sleepy eyes, surprised that he had fallen asleep, and bent down to pick up the bamboo painting.
The attendant, seeing that the Crown Prince had not gotten out of the carriage for a long time, grew anxious, “Your Highness should get out of the carriage quickly; it’s getting late.”
“Late?” The Crown Prince was taken aback, “What’s late?”
The attendant was also taken aback, “Your Highness had suddenly changed your mind just before reaching the residence, saying you wanted to enter the palace to pay respects to the Emperor. Now that we are already at the palace, if you don’t go to pay your respects soon, I’m afraid the Emperor will proceed to Qingxu Hall…”
Qingxu Hall is where the current Emperor practices his cultivation. Every day at the hour of Shen, the Emperor would bathe and change clothes, punctually heading to Qingxu Hall in the hope of attaining immortality and eternal life.
The Emperor had decreed that no one, not even the Empress or the Crown Prince, was allowed to disturb him at this time.
Hearing this, the Crown Prince’s brow furrowed tightly. After clenching his fist, he abruptly lifted the carriage curtain, “Did I say to come to the palace to pay respects to the Emperor?”
“Of course,” the attendant replied, somewhat baffled by the question. “I wasn’t sure, so I confirmed it with Your Highness several times. You even got quite angry about it!”
The Crown Prince’s frown deepened.
He had slept so soundly that he didn’t even know where he was. How could he have instructed the attendant to come to the palace?
Or could it be that he was sleeping so deeply that he unconsciously muttered a few words in his dreams, without even realizing it?
However, since he was already at the imperial palace and the reason for entering the palace was to pay respects to the Emperor, there was no reason not to go now.
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment, gripping the bamboo painting in his hand even tighter, and then stepped out of the carriage, heading towards Zhongyuan Palace.
As he made his way there, he soon arrived at the gates of Zhongyuan Palace. However, the palace appeared even more solemn than usual. Maids, attendants, and guards were kneeling all over the entrance, each trembling with fear.
“What happened?” the Crown Prince asked.
“Your Highness,” a maid replied, her voice heavily trembling, “the Emperor overslept his noon nap today. The servants didn’t dare to disturb him, which delayed his meditation time. The Emperor flew into a great rage…”
“The Emperor scolded them, and the servants, in their fear, begged for forgiveness. In the process, they accidentally knocked over an incense burner, which only further angered the Emperor. He wants to have everyone in the palace dragged away…”
The maid bit her lip and didn’t say the remaining two words.
But the Crown Prince understood—the Emperor intended to have everyone executed.
The Crown Prince’s brow furrowed once again.
Not waking him up at the right time and knocking over an incense burner, the servants were indeed at fault, but their mistakes did not warrant death.
However, the current Emperor, being obsessed with cultivation, placed great importance on the incense burner and meditation. At this moment, he would not show any leniency or compassion and would certainly demand the lives of these people.
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment, his gaze falling on the bamboo painting in his hand.