As the only imprisoned prince in the royal family, the third prince was trapped in a square Zen temple all his life.
There is no need to say much about my childhood. I grew up under the guidance of my mother, Mrs. Wu.
Therefore, his desire for the throne exceeds that of any other prince.
This led to him doing stupid things like trying to get the skin of a tiger when he found out that he might not get what he wanted.
But the third prince never regretted this choice until his death.
His obsession was so strong that even Master Ruokong, the abbot of Yanqing Temple, sighed over it.
When the Third Prince was taken back to the capital and imprisoned, he was only fourteen years old, which was the prime age.
Ning Chen saw that the child had lost his mind, so he demoted him to a commoner in order to make him let go of his wrong obsession.
However, the third prince did not understand Ning Chen's intentions, but thought that his father's move was to expel him from the Jade Disc and no longer acknowledge him as his son.
So when he first arrived at Yanqing Temple, he actually poked a monk's eyes out with chopsticks to vent his anger.
When Ning Chen returned to Beijing and heard about this, he ordered people to take him to the back mountain and imprison him in the Nakong Zen Temple, leaving only a nanny who could cook and a middle-aged eunuch to serve him.
This eunuch was no ordinary man. He knew some Kung Fu, so he was able to control the third prince who also knew Kung Fu.
At the beginning, the third prince cursed the sky and the earth every day and refused to eat.
At first the nanny tried to persuade him, but later when the third prince broke the bowl, the nanny became angry.
Pointing at his forehead and scolding.
"Ning Yuhan, you think you are still the prince. If the emperor had not killed you, you would have gone to see the King of Hell long ago. If you died, you wouldn't have to wait on me here. To tell you the truth, the Fourth Prince has already been announced to the world by the imperial decree, making him the crown prince. Concubine Ming is now the empress. You don't have the fate of being a crown prince, so you'd better give up!"
These words were like a bolt from the blue, and the Third Prince was instantly numb all over.
Subconsciously, he knew that the fourth son would definitely become the crown prince, but he refused to accept or admit it. But now the facts were before him, like a sharp sword, completely shattering the fantasy in his heart.
Anger, resentment, humiliation, jealousy, all the emotions came flooding in, and at that moment, he lost his mind.
He kicked the nun to the ground, picked up a stone on the ground and smashed it hard on the nun's head.
In just one move, blood splattered everywhere, staining her cuffs red.
But before the second blow could land, the eunuch arrived, grabbed the back of his collar, and pulled him away.
The nanny's head was bleeding, and she got up and ran away crying and howling.
The third prince wanted to continue attacking the eunuch with the bloody stone in his hand, but he was held down by the enemy, pinned to the ground, and stepped on the shoulder.
The eunuch looked coldly and picked up a piece of broken porcelain with rice grains on it from the ground.
This is the bowl that the third prince just broke.
At this moment, the broken porcelain pieces pressed against his neck, causing a sharp pain.
"If you want to die, just tell me directly. Why hurt others?"
A drop of blood slid down the porcelain piece, dripped onto the ground, and caught the eyes of the third prince.
He had never felt so threatened, nor had he ever felt so close to death.
"The emperor sent you to monitor me, but he didn't say he wanted my life. If I died, you wouldn't be better off!" the third prince roared.
The eunuch just smiled lightly, without loosening the porcelain piece in his hand at all.
"My life is worthless. Although you are a commoner, you have the blood of the emperor. It is not a loss for you to be buried with me."
At this moment, the third prince was truly scared.
How could I not be afraid? After all, I'm just a child.
But when his clenched back teeth slowly loosened, the eunuch suddenly sneered and let him go.
"I only thought that a person who had the courage to fight for the throne could be as strong as he could be, but he was no more than this."
Gently turning the porcelain piece in his hand, it left a bloody mark on the left side of the third prince's neck, but did not take his life.
"No wonder you lost."
The eunuch left after saying this.
Continue to sit outside and guard the door.
The third prince got up and sat on the ground. His clothes were covered in mud. He reached out to touch his neck and his hands were covered in blood.
There was someone else's blood on his sleeves and his own blood on his palms, both were equally eye-catching.
From this moment on, he had one more person he hated, the eunuch guarding the gate.
He knew he couldn't get out, but he hoped from the bottom of his heart that the group of people in the palace would fight each other.
What I most hope to see is the two brothers, the fourth and the sixth, killing each other.
They are all his sons, which side will Ye support
In order to wait for that day, he must survive and live well, waiting for the fourth brother to fall into poverty.
From then on, the third prince stopped making trouble.
He rarely talked to people, and no longer cursed all day long. He just sat in the house in a daze, occasionally staring at the birds in the sky for a long time.
It was just so quiet, and there was no sign of relief or relaxation on his face. Instead, he became even more gloomy, and his entire body exuded a venomous resentment from the bottom of his heart.
Especially those eyes.
The boy's eyes should be the purest and clearest, but there is only twisted hatred in his eyes.
Ning Chen thought that after locking the kid up for a few years, he would slowly come to his senses, but he didn't expect that he would get even deeper into trouble, so he had to give up the idea of releasing him.
Of course, the third prince is not completely free of worries.
The only person he still had a trace of sincerity towards was his mother, Mrs. Wu.
When I heard that my mother was not sentenced to death but demoted to Wanrong, I felt relieved.
Although Wu Wanrong saved her life, her life was still not easy.
Ye Jun was not a saint, and she did not have enough compassion to treat an enemy well. The only thing she did was not to instruct her subordinates to deliberately harass Wu.
But the victor makes the king, the loser. The servants in the palace have always been those who flatter the powerful and put down the weak. So even if Ye Jun didn't give any orders, these servants would not serve wholeheartedly.
Therefore, although Wu remained a Wanrong of the sixth rank for the rest of her life, her treatment was almost the same as that of a Cainu of the ninth rank.
Missing his imprisoned son and having an unhappy life, he became ill within a few years.
At first, her eyes could not see clearly because she cried secretly at night and cried herself blind.
After I lost my sight, my body quickly weakened.
After enduring hardship for several years, after the prince got married, Ning Chen passed away when he was traveling outside the palace with Ye Jun.
Naturally, the Third Prince had to be informed of his biological mother’s death.
The person who went to announce the death was the servant beside the prince.
The third prince was devastated upon hearing the news of his death. He knelt on the ground with lifeless eyes, like a skeleton.
In fact, he was only twenty-three years old, but he looked like a man in his forties.
Skinny and haggard.
Maybe it’s because years of simple food and drink are not enough to nourish a person, or maybe it’s because appearance reflects the heart.
In short, Wu's death removed a pillar of support from the Third Prince's heart, and he fell ill soon after.
The person guarding him came to tell him that his illness was serious and that he should probably call a royal physician.
At that time, the crown prince was regent, and whether the invitation would be granted depended entirely on his words.
"He is my third brother after all. It would be unfilial to ask my father to send him off when he is young. Please ask the imperial physician to see him. I haven't seen him for many years and I want to see him."
The eldest prince frowned and said, "Isn't it too dangerous? Let the servants take a look."
"Don't worry, brother. I've already reached this position, so I won't be afraid of him. If you're worried, we brothers can go together." said the prince.
The princes looked at each other and finally nodded.
So, the next day, led by the crown prince, all the princes went to Yanqing Temple to visit the imprisoned third prince.
I haven't seen him for ten years. At first glance, I almost didn't recognize that the person in front of me was the third prince.
But the third brother still recognized them.
Especially the prince.
That bright yellow robe with four golden dragon claws was really eye-catching.
"What? After being the crown prince for so many years, you still can't let me go? Do you want to come and see how miserable I am?" The third prince sneered.
The prince said calmly, "Of course I want to see you, but seeing that you are neither human nor ghost now, I feel relieved."
"Ning Yujing, stop mocking me. I will not let you go even if I die or become a ghost!" said the third prince viciously.
He actually wanted to step forward, but the guards stopped him, so he could only say a few words.
The prince looked at his mad appearance and felt no emotion at all.
I just said, "I won't let you die easily. Death is so easy. I will let you spend the rest of your life in agony to atone for your sin of hurting my mother."
Because of the poison given by the Third Prince, Ye Jun's spleen and stomach could never return to their former state no matter how well he maintained them. Now he often suffered from stomach problems, and would feel uncomfortable for a long time if he was not careful with his diet.
The prince will never forget this account.
The third prince laughed crazily towards the sky.
Facing such a person, the prince didn't want to say anything more and quickly went down the mountain and left.
However, this visit by the princes still dealt a heavy blow to the third prince from the bottom of his heart.
All his brothers lived well, with fine clothes and delicious food, and were free and easy, but he was the only one trapped in this Sifang Zen Temple, living like a pig or a dog.
The pride that had been in my heart for many years was completely destroyed.
After all, he alone was nothing.
This time, his illness became even more serious. Heart disease needs to be treated with heart medicine. The imperial physician sighed, saying there was nothing he could do.
Master Ruokong, who lived in the temple at the foot of the mountain, was already over a hundred years old. He had a premonition that his time was up, so he wanted to persuade one last person to turn back.
He met the third prince, looked at his features carefully, and then clasped his hands together.
"My lord, you don't have the appearance of an emperor. If you had never had any lustful thoughts since you were young, you would have had a wife and concubines by now, and sons and daughters. It's not too late now. If you let go now, you can have a peaceful life in your next life."
"Bah, you old monk, if I listen to your evil words, I will bow to them. You might as well kill me immediately. I don't believe in the matter of face!" The third prince smashed the tea bowl viciously.
The scalding tea soaked Master Rukong's sleeves.
Looking at the violent man in front of him, the master slowly shook his head, chanted "Amitabha", and left the yard.
On the way down the mountain, he sighed, "My obsession is so strong that I won't have peace in my next life."
The young monk who was holding him looked up and asked, "Master, is there really an afterlife?"
"If not, there would be no saying of three lives." Master Rukong smiled.
I think of the perfect couple I met many years ago. They were destined to be together in the next life, with the auspicious destiny of dragon and phoenix.
But there are always some people who can never let go of their obsessions and cannot cultivate a perfect afterlife, such as the third prince.
In the end, the third prince died on the day the crown prince ascended the throne.
Hearing the horns blowing all over the city, he knew that the new emperor had ascended to the throne. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the unfinished military book and fell heavily to the ground.
The eunuch who had guarded him for many years prepared his body and reported the news of his death to the palace.
The new emperor was not easy to deal with, so he went to Lingxi Garden with the news and informed the retired emperor.
Ning Chen was silent for a long time, and in the end he did not say anything about burying the third prince in the royal mausoleum. He just asked people to bury him properly on the back mountain of Yanqing Temple.
A lifetime of obsession will eventually turn into a handful of earth.