"Your Highness, Your Highness... Prince Ting has arrived!" A palace servant ran in tremblingly and said.
Feng Murray was taken aback: "Why is he here?"
Before the palace servants could answer, Feng Muting strode in: "Of course I'm here to see the Crown Prince about something."
Looking at the imposing Feng Muting, Feng Murei felt somewhat overwhelmed even before he could say a word.
He was the Crown Prince, so he couldn't back down. He straightened his back and asked, "What brings you here, Brother Ting?"
Feng Muting walked up to him and sneered, "Settle the score."
Chapter 272 This isn't the first time I've been so presumptuous.
"Settle accounts? What accounts are there between us to settle?" Feng Murei asked, looking puzzled.
Feng Muting pointed to his "injured" left hand: "Let's settle this score."
Feng Murei looked at his "injured" left hand with a surprised expression: "How did Brother Ting get his hand injured?"
Didn't the assassins he sent not even manage to scratch Feng Muting's hair?
"Shouldn't I ask you about this?" Feng Muting said, raising his right hand and moving his fingers and wrist.
Feng Murei was taken aback again, then replied with a flickering gaze, "What do you mean by that, Brother Ting?"
Feng Muting smiled, then clenched his right fist and delivered a straight punch, knocking Feng Murei to the ground: "That's what I mean."
Feng Murei covered his left eye, which had been bruised and swollen, and roared, "Feng Muting, how dare you openly assault me again! You are too arrogant! This is the Eastern Palace, and I am the Crown Prince. You are just a prince, yet you dare to be so presumptuous!"
"This isn't the first time I've acted so presumptuously. Hasn't the Crown Prince gotten used to it yet?" Feng Muting walked towards him.
When Feng Murei saw him coming, he was so frightened that he didn't even bother to get up. He just sat on the ground and moved backward: "You, you don't come any closer! I'm warning you, last time you were lucky that you kicked me and Father Emperor spared your life. This time you beat me without any reason, Father Emperor will definitely not forgive you!"
Feng Muting looked at his cowardly appearance and smiled: "Don't you have any idea whether I got lucky last time or not?"
"..." Feng Murei choked. How could he not know? But he didn't want to admit it.
Feng Muting bent down, grabbed his collar, and whispered in his ear, "If I didn't want this position, do you think you could become the crown prince with your character?"
After saying that, he let go and threw him to the ground. Feng Murei fell to the ground, his eyes wide with horror as he looked at Feng Muting: "Could it be that you..."
"I'm going to see my father now. Do you want me to carry you, or will you walk by yourself?" Feng Muting asked.
"To see Father... what are you going to do?!" Feng Murei struggled to his feet.
Feng Muting scoffed, "If you have to ask even this, what kind of crown prince are you?"
"..." Feng Murei looked at him with some fear.
"You got kicked, so you went to complain to the Emperor. But I'm injured, so why can't I go and complain to the Emperor?" With that, Feng Muting turned and left, not even giving Feng Murei a chance to speak.
By this time, he had already reached the palace gate, but seeing Feng Murei still standing there dumbfounded, he frowned and said, "What, do you really want me to suffer and be carried around by you?"
Feng Murray trembled slightly before taking a step.
He quickly started thinking about how he should explain himself when he saw the emperor later.
Upon arriving at the Imperial Study, the Emperor, who was processing memorials, heard from a palace attendant that Feng Muting had arrived, and he quickly got up.
Feng Muting walked in. Unable to clasp his hands in greeting, he could only nod and say, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
The emperor walked happily toward him, but as soon as he reached him, his expression suddenly changed as if he had remembered something, and he said with displeasure, "So you do know how to come back?!"
“Father, please calm your anger. Your son has brought you a jar of fine wine personally brewed by Physician Yuan. I originally planned to present it to you in the palace as soon as I returned, but now I can only send it to you after I leave,” Feng Muting replied.
The emperor was about to ask the reason, but his gaze fell on the man's "injured" left hand, and he was taken aback, exclaiming, "What happened to your hand?!"
Chapter 273 Ting'er, you hit the Crown Prince again!
Feng Muting did not answer, and then turned to look at Feng Mulei, who had just arrived.
The Emperor followed his gaze and saw Feng Murei, whose eyes were surrounded by large purple patches, timidly walk in.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty," Feng Murei said, bowing.
The Emperor looked at the two of them and asked, "What's going on? Ting'er, did you hit the Crown Prince again?"
Feng Muting pursed his lips, then shook his "injured" arm: "Father, it was the Crown Prince who injured me first, so I retaliated."
Feng Murei immediately replied, "Father, don't listen to Brother Ting's nonsense. I didn't hurt him. Who knows where his injury came from? If he's so capable, he can produce evidence. I didn't see any evidence before Brother Ting beat me up. Father, you must stand up for me!"
After hearing Feng Murei's words, the Emperor looked at Feng Muting and asked, "What exactly happened?"
Feng Muting sighed softly: "Father, it was the Crown Prince who sent assassins to ambush me on my way back. Fortunately, I was lucky and only suffered a minor injury to my left hand. Otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to come back to see you. So, after I returned, I was so angry that I went to find the Crown Prince and beat him up. But I hope you can understand my feelings, Father?"
The Emperor nodded: "Father understands. However, don't be so impulsive next time. If you are really angry, come to Father. Father will naturally uphold justice for you."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand," Feng Muting replied respectfully.
Looking at the two of them, Feng Murei felt like an outsider: "Father, you can't be biased. You can't completely believe what Brother Ting said. He has no evidence. How can you accuse me of hurting him?"
Feng Muting glanced at him: "Is the Crown Prince blind? Didn't you see that my left hand is injured? Isn't this irrefutable evidence?"
Feng Murei choked for a moment, then said, "What kind of ironclad evidence is an injured hand? It only proves that you are injured, but it doesn't prove who injured your hand at all."
Feng Muting nodded: "Yes, the Crown Prince is right. This doesn't prove who hurt me at all. However, I captured an assassin who told me that the Crown Prince sent them to assassinate me. I've brought this person with me. Should I bring him here so he can be confronted by the Crown Prince?"
"No, impossible! This is impossible!" Feng Murei shook his head. "Father, don't listen to Brother Ting's nonsense. This is definitely fake. He must have just found someone to slander me!"
"The person hasn't even arrived yet, how do you know it's fake?" Feng Muting asked, then said to the Emperor, "I beg Your Majesty to allow me to bring this person in to confront the Crown Prince."
"Hmm," the Emperor responded.
When Feng Mulei saw that Feng Muting was really going to go out and call someone in, he panicked and hurriedly said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, you can't do this! You can't believe whatever Brother Ting says! The person he's calling is definitely a fake, definitely a fake!"
The emperor asked, "How do you know it must be fake?"
“Your subject…” Feng Murei choked with emotion.
Then Feng Muting called in someone: "In front of the Emperor, if you are willing to tell me who ordered you, I will beg the Emperor to spare you."
Upon hearing this, the man immediately looked at Feng Murei, then excitedly pointed at him and said, "It's him! It's His Highness the Crown Prince! It was His Highness the Crown Prince who ordered it!"
Chapter 274 Ting'er has figured it out
Upon hearing this, Feng Murei immediately panicked.
In desperation, he immediately shouted, "You're talking nonsense! You're fake, Father! You must believe me! This person is fake. It was Brother Ting who sent him to frame me. And the injury on Brother Ting's hand is definitely fake too. Brother Ting clearly killed all those assassins without leaving a single one alive. They didn't even scratch a hair on Brother Ting's head!"
After hearing this, Feng Muting simply chuckled and then waved his hand, dismissing the person who had made the accusation.
Feng Murei hadn't realized what he'd said; he just stared at Feng Muting, completely bewildered.
As Feng Muting slowly removed the gauze from his left hand, Feng Murei immediately exclaimed, "Father, you see! I told you, the injury on Brother Ting's hand is fake!"
The Emperor looked at Feng Murei as if he were an idiot.
After removing the gauze, Feng Muting clasped his hands and said, "Father, the matter is now clear. I hope that Father will make the decision for me."
Feng Murei was stunned for a moment before realizing what had happened. He was immediately shocked and then knelt down on the ground with a thud. "Father, Father, please forgive me, I... I was confused for a moment..."
The Emperor glared at him with a gloomy face, then kicked him to the ground: "How can you be worthy of your status as Crown Prince? It's one thing to be morally deficient, but now you dare to lay a hand on Ting'er! Have you forgotten that if Ting'er hadn't refused, you wouldn't be the Crown Prince now? I was truly blind to have chosen you as the Crown Prince. If the Feng Kingdom were to fall into your hands in the future, it would be doomed!"
Seeing the Emperor's fury, Feng Murei hurriedly kowtowed, saying, "Father, please calm down. Your son knows he was wrong and will definitely correct his mistakes. Please forgive your son this time!"
"Spare you?"
"Father, please forgive me this time! I will never dare to do it again!" Feng Mulei pleaded. Seeing that the Emperor's expression did not soften in the slightest, he turned and knelt before Feng Muting. "Brother Ting, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time!"
"Let Father Emperor decide this matter. Whatever decision Father Emperor makes, I will have no objection," Feng Muting said coldly, looking at him.
Feng Murei was slightly taken aback, then knelt down before the Emperor again: "Father, Father, please give your son another chance!"
The Emperor remained unmoved, not even glancing at Feng Murei, and said, "Feng Murei has harmed his own brothers, is wicked, and is unworthy of his position. Effective immediately, he is hereby deposed as Crown Prince."
Upon hearing these words, Feng Murei was stunned and stood there motionless, kneeling like a statue.
"Guards, take the Second Prince away!" the Emperor said again.
It wasn't until the guards came and took Feng Murei away that Feng Murei came to his senses and cried out, "Father, I was wrong! Please forgive me! Don't depose me from my position as Crown Prince!"
However, the emperor turned a deaf ear and then ordered the palace doors to be closed.
Inside the Imperial Study, only the Emperor and Feng Muting remained.
The Emperor returned to his seat and looked at Feng Muting, who was standing there calmly, and asked, "Ting'er, have you figured it out?"
Feng Muting nodded slightly: "Yes!"
Seeing Feng Muting's resolute answer, the Emperor raised an eyebrow: "Back then, I kindly advised you against it, but you refused. Now you regret it and want it again?"
Chapter 275 You are truly my good son
“Father, haven’t you been waiting for me to agree? Now that I’ve figured it out, are you happy?” Feng Muting asked in return.
The emperor glanced at him and said, "Only you would dare to be so disrespectful to me."
Feng Muting chuckled and walked over to massage the Emperor's shoulders: "Isn't my lack of respect due to Father's pampering?"
Looking at the mountain of memorials, the Emperor asked, "Are you so sure that I will wait for your nod?"
"Just because Father chose my second brother as the crown prince instead of anyone else, and just because Father could have avoided deposing the crown prince, but he couldn't wait to do so."
After hearing Feng Muting's words, the Emperor snorted: "You seem to understand my thoughts quite well. However, I'd like to know why you suddenly came to this realization?"
Feng Muting's hand, which was massaging his shoulders, suddenly paused, and then he only replied, "Your subject... has someone he wants to protect."
The Emperor tilted his head slightly and asked again, "Even the title of Prince of Ting is not enough to protect you?"
"It's not that I'm not good enough, but because I have him, I don't want him to suffer any mishaps. So I want to become a good enough person to protect him for the rest of his life without worry."
After hearing this, the Emperor sighed deeply: "But back then, even as the ruler of a country, I was unable to give your mother enough happiness."
“Father, there’s no need to blame yourself. Mother has never blamed you. Yu Lu is the best happiness you could give Mother. It’s our home,” Feng Muting replied.
"Yes, that is our home... Every time I return to the Jade Pavilion, that is when I am most relaxed. Have you thought this through? Now that you have chosen this path, it will not be as easy as before. In the past, you could stay out of many things, but now that you have chosen it, you must take responsibility," the Emperor said.
Upon hearing this, Feng Muting stopped and walked to the imperial desk. He bowed to the emperor and said, "Your subject is not afraid of hardship or fatigue, nor is he afraid of setbacks or slander. No matter what difficulties I face, I can face them. But there is only one thing that is my bottom line. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request."
"Oh, what?"