The Crown Prince hurriedly tried to dodge, but the paperweight struck him squarely on the forehead.
The Crown Prince swayed, glanced at Emperor Jingming, and collapsed.
Emperor Jingming was nearly driven to madness.
Although he wanted to beat this good-for-nothing to death, he couldn’t do it. The thrown paperweight had been aimed at the shoulder.
He never expected the Crown Prince to dodge, resulting in a direct hit!
Pan Hai looked at the unconscious Crown Prince on the ground and stammered, “Your Majesty—”
“Summon the imperial physicians!” Having struck the Crown Prince and caused a bloody head injury, Emperor Jingming had no choice but to call for medical attention.
All the on-duty imperial physicians rushed over.
As the physicians treated the Crown Prince inside, Emperor Jingming paced back and forth outside with his hands behind his back.
The Empress, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, quietly asked the Crown Princess, who had arrived earlier, “What exactly happened?”
The Crown Princess shook her head, “Daughter-in-law doesn’t know.”
The Crown Prince had been fine when he left the Eastern Palace, and now he was in this state. What else could have happened but another misdeed?
The Crown Princess had become somewhat numb to such occurrences.
The Empress approached Emperor Jingming, “Your Majesty, how is the Crown Prince?”
The emperor stopped pacing and glanced inside, saying coldly, “He probably won’t die.”
Despite saying this, he felt uncertain inside.
The white jade paperweight was quite hard, and there was a fair amount of blood on the golden brick floor. What if he had killed the Crown Prince?
Heartache, anger, regret… Emperor Jingming felt he had experienced every emotion in this short period.
Afterward, he just felt indescribably tired.
With such a good-for-nothing son, it might be better if he had died; if he survived, there would only be endless anger to deal with.
“How did the Crown Prince—”
“I struck him,” Emperor Jingming no longer had the energy to conceal the truth from the Empress.
Although the officials would cover up the Crown Prince’s actions today, even if they could hide it from the world, he would still know.
Could such an heir protect the empire built by their ancestors?
This was the first time Emperor Jingming had deeply pondered this question.
The Empress was shocked and said softly, “Your Majesty, anger harms the body. Whatever the Crown Prince has done, we can discipline him properly—”
“Today, the Crown Prince engaged in a scandalous act with a eunuch,” Emperor Jingming interrupted the Empress’s consolation.
The Empress: “…”
“Outside the palace.”
The Empress: “…”
“And it drew countless onlookers.”
The Empress: “…”
“The crowd of onlookers caused a stampede, resulting in over a dozen deaths and injuries.”
The Empress held her head in her hands.
Truthfully, the fact that the emperor hadn’t killed the Crown Prince on the spot already showed great fatherly mercy!
At this moment, an imperial physician came out and announced, “Your Majesty, His Highness has regained consciousness.”
Emperor Jingming and the Empress exchanged a glance before entering together.
Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess bit her lip hard and silently followed.
On the bed, the Crown Prince’s head was wrapped in bandages, his gaze confused.
Emperor Jingming approached the Crown Prince and, seeing no reaction, let out a heavy, cold snort.
The Crown Prince blinked and asked, “Who are you?”