Female Novel
Chapter 638 The Plight of Francis (Part One)
While still in poor health, Francis entered the Imperial Palace and broke into the Golden Hall whereFelix and the courtiers were having the regular imperial court session. All of the courtiers wereshocked. They didn't expect that Francis would be so bold to go against Felix at such a time.
Felix glared at Francis and stated, "Francis, what are you doing here? Since you're not feeling well, youshould stay in your mansion. Tell me, why did you come to the Golden Hall?"
Although Francis looked pale, he walked toward Felix with strong and firm footsteps. "Felix, why didn'tyou ask your men to deal with the locust plague in the Orchid City? On top of that, there's also a deadlyplague in the Golden City right now. Not only did you fail to send someone to cure it, you even closedthe city off. Don't you realize that you're just letting the people in the city die? They're defenseless andleft to fend on their own. Is this what the crown prince of this country should do?"
With those words, Felix pounded the arms of his chair in anger. "How dare you! Francis, Father isseriously ill. I've tried my best to do everything I can. But now, we're lacking in financial support andhuman resources. I literally don't have the power to do anything more! I'm helpless!"
Francis sneered, before responding, "You're helpless? Father is in a critical condition and you won'tallow anyone to visit him. We don't have a single clue about what's happening to him right now.Everything that we knew about him and his condition came from you. Are you placing Father in a housearrest in the Tranquil Hall so the other courtiers will obey your every command? And when the time isright, will you rebel and seize power to claim the throne?"
"Nonsense! That's utter nonsense!" Felix exclaimed.
Francis then raised his voice a little and argued with Felix even more, "Am I wrong then? Father'scondition is getting very serious. And as princes and his sons, we have the right to visit him! I wouldeven go as far as to say that it's our responsibility to stay by his side and take care of him. But you
forbid us and the courtiers from visiting Father. The Tranquil Hall is closed and not even a fly could getin. So you can see how easy to believe that you don't have the purest of intentions."
Understandably, Felix became even more furious at that. Even if he was indeed up to something, hewouldn't want others to reveal it so openly. "Francis! Disasters are happening everywhere right now.The people are constantly complaining to us. Instead of concerning yourself with the people and thecountry, you're throwing accusations at me. Do you really think I would hesitate in punishing you?"novelbin
At that, Francis laughed quite loudly and sarcastically said, "Wow! Felix, you're so powerful now. First,you now control the court. Second, you imprison our father. Who would dare to oppose you, now? Well,now that you mentioned my supposed crimes, I'm trembling in fear that you'll kill me!"
Felix narrowed his eyes at Francis. He was so annoyed with how Francis' unreasonable judgment wascausing so much trouble. "I think you're the one who is planning all of those heinous things. It's true,Father's condition is getting worse, but Mother is taking care of him. She stays by his side day andnight. The imperial physicians said that Father needed to have a good rest, so I refused all visits inorder to help him recover faster. And you barged in here, distorted the facts and claimed thateverything I did was only to seize the throne and try to make all the courtiers obey me? Francis, do youreally think that I would take an unfortunate event as an opportunity to claim the throne? Have youforgotten that I'm the crown prince? Even if I don't do anything, the throne will still be mine anyways."
"I didn't say that!" Francis argued back.
Felix was even more furious with that. "I think that's exactly what you mean! Guards, come and arrestFrancis. Put him in prison at once. When Father wakes up, he'll judge everything that you did."
"Felix, are you upset because I just described what exactly you are doing? Do you want to get rid of meso your plan can continue as you wish? Is that it?" Francis broke free from the guards and exclaimed,"Don't touch me. I'll go by myself!"
"Stubborn!" Felix reproached.
"Before I go, there's one thing I wish to remind you, Felix. When you are doing every single thing, evenin secret, always remember that the higher being is watching. Father may be sick now, but it doesn'tmean that he will be ill forever. Once he finds out what you've done, can you imagine what he will do toyou?" After taking one last look at Felix, Francis turned and left the hall in big strides. His body was stilla little weak but his posture didn't waver in the strong breeze. Just like how he was no longer afraid ofpeople's words or their power that could suppress him.
Felix grinned wickedly while he watched the guards take Francis away. While he had been racking hisbrain on how to deal with Francis, the man himself came to him! Now, his troubles had gone away.
Meanwhile, Harper had been lying on the Golden Hall's roof with Matthew. Witnessing the farce below,she couldn't help but laugh silently. She turned to Matthew and whispered, "Darling, what's wrong withFrancis? Why did he come here and argue with Felix just now?"
"Just watch and you'll know. Francis hasn't been involved in the imperial affairs for a long time, butthere're a lot of people in the court who support him. If Francis didn't do this, Felix can't find any othersound reason to take Francis down," Matthew explained slowly in a low voice. "But we can go and addfuel to the fire."
A smile appeared on Harper's face before she said, "You mean, to spice things up?"
Matthew said in a mocking tone, "Of course. Lady Sherry has only one son, and she cares about himso much. Now that her son is in prison, she must plead for mercy. If she doesn't, it will ruin her imageas a loving mother. The grand show in the palace is getting more and more interesting."
"It's fascinating indeed. Let's go to the Tranquil Hall to see how the emperor is doing," Harpersuggested.
"Sure, let's go." Matthew said while he reached out his hand to Harper.
The Tranquil Hall was heavily guarded. It was said that the empress was taking care of the emperor,but in reality, she was indulging in all sorts of entertainment and pleasure. In fact, it was Andy who wasdoing all the chores and serving the emperor.
"Andy was a loyal and devoted eunuch. During these trying times, he remains by the emperor's side allthe time," Harper exclaimed. "I didn't expect that this old, cunning eunuch would be so loyal."
"Well, after all, everyone in the palace must be wise. They must not act too harshly or reveal their illintentions if they do have those. The emperor is in a critical condition, but he is not dead." Matthew andHarper successfully sneaked into the Tranquil Hall. While Andy went out to fetch the emperor'smedicine, Harper tried to make a diagnosis and give some treatment for the emperor. Even though theydidn't have much time, it was enough.
When Andy was back, Harper and Matthew were already in their hiding place. Matthew lifted hiseyebrow and quietly asked Harper how the emperor was doing.