Chapter 55 - 52, Betrayal
Prince Jing, Zhu Youxiao.
His mother, Consort Li, passed away early, and the young Prince Jing was raised under the wing of the current Empress Dowager, growing up alongside Emperor Ning as close as true siblings.
When Emperor Ning ascended the throne at the age of eleven, Zhu Youxiao was fourteen, and the Liu Family Empress Dowager held sway over the government.
Over the course of six years, Zhu Youxiao tirelessly worked to win over the Northern civil servants and the Imperial Censors for Emperor Ning, reducing the power of the extended royal family.
At the age of seventeen, Emperor Ning finally took the reins of power, and when he reached twenty-one, he conferred the title of Prince Jing on Zhu Youxiao.
Everything had been calm, but in recent years, Prince Jing had been improving the administration outside the palace, repairing rivers to aid in disasters, and preparing provisions for the border army, increasingly elevating his prestige.
Thus, the Ritual Supervision started looking for any means to make trouble for the Prince Jing Mansion, with many of Prince Jing’s former officials finding themselves behind bars, and even the Chief Eunuch by Prince Jing’s side was replaced by those newly assigned by the Ritual Supervision.
Some said Emperor Ning had grown estranged from Prince Jing, while others claimed that Prince Jing was slowly harboring disloyal intentions.
Even last year, when Emperor Ning celebrated his forty-second birthday, Prince Jing did not return to the capital due to his efforts in river repair and disaster relief.
Brothers of the past suddenly became strangers.
It was like the stories told by the troubadours: once someone became king, they inevitably lost their appeal.