Chapter 208 Abandonment

Dou Qisheng knelt on the ground, raised his head and gave Emperor Tai'an a flattering smile: "Brother-in-law, he was also temporarily bewildered. From now on, I will strictly control the clan members and prevent them from doing illegal things again-"

"Get out!" Emperor Tai'an spat out a word.

Dou Qisheng's expression froze: "Brother-in-law——"

Emperor Tai'an suddenly stood up, his face livid: "I told you to get out, didn't you hear me?"

Seeing the emperor like this, Dou Qisheng didn't even dare to mention that Dou San was captured by the Jinlin Guards, and left the palace in disgrace.

The sun was scorching outside, but his heart was filled with confusion and he couldn't figure out why the emperor was so angry.

After thinking hard for a long time, he could only conclude that the prince was in a bad mood because he had embarrassed himself.

Forget it, let’s wait for a couple of days until the emperor is in a better mood before we talk about it.

Within two days, Cheng Maoming met with the eunuch Liu Chuan and went together to report to Emperor Tai'an.

Liu Chuan first discussed the palace investigation: "Your Majesty, the body of Wang Fu, the Crown Prince's personal eunuch, was found by the West Garden Lake. The coroner's autopsy revealed no signs of struggle or external injuries, leading to the conclusion that suicide or drowning is the most likely cause. Interrogations of other members of the Eastern Palace revealed that Wang Fu caught the Crown Prince's eye after Wang Gui's death, and his growing favor stemmed from his offering of the Five-Colored Powder to the Crown Prince..."

"Bastard!" Emperor Tai'an slammed the table.

Liu Chuan shut up and took a step back silently.

Emperor Tai'an looked at Cheng Maoming and asked, "How are things going over there? Have you found the source of the Five Color Powder?"

"I've found out—" Cheng Maoming paused, then continued with his eyes lowered. "The Five-Colored Powder that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took was obtained by Wang Fu from a pharmacy clerk. The clerk's source of the goods was from Dou San—"

"Wait a minute!" Emperor Tai'an raised his hand, interrupting Cheng Maoming, his eyes fixed on him. "Which Dou San?"

Cheng Maoming couldn't bear the emperor's captivating gaze, so he lowered his eyes slightly and said, "The late queen's cousin, the third in the family..."

The veins on Emperor Tai'an's forehead popped up, and he picked up the jade Pixiu ornament on the table and smashed it to the ground.

Cheng Maoming and Liu Chuan knelt down immediately, and no one dared to speak.

They hadn't seen the emperor so angry for a long time.

The two looked at each other and thought of the same thing: the Dou family is finished.

Emperor Tai'an paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, trying to calm his nerves. He stumbled, and Liu Chuan rushed over in fright, "Your Majesty, be careful!"

Emperor Tai'an slowly lowered his head and raised his foot, and saw the fragment stuck in the sole of his shoe.

The emotions that had been tried so hard to be controlled completely erupted, and the entire study was filled with the emperor's angry roars.

After a long time, the storm subsided and Emperor Tai'an continued to ask about Dou San.

Cheng Maoming told what he had found out, but did not mention the friend Dou San mentioned.

He admitted that everyone is selfish.

Luck, fate, or whatever, had ultimately put him on the opposing side of the Crown Prince and the Dou family, regardless of his willingness. In that case, for the sake of his own life, he had no choice but to be blunt.

Emperor Tai'an leaned back in his chair and waved his hand: "Step aside."

Cheng Maoming bowed and walked backwards out the door.

The room was silent. Emperor Tai'an sat there motionless. Liu Chuan didn't dare to persuade him and stood silently by.

After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Tai'an asked in a hoarse voice, "Has there been any memorial mentioning the Crown Prince's public misconduct?"

"Your Majesty, no."

Emperor Tai'an sneered.

Yes, all the civil and military officials have determined that the prince is the future new emperor. Who would be so blind as to impeach the prince?

Even if the prince runs naked in public, making the Great Zhou a laughing stock of other countries!

At this moment, Emperor Tai'an made up his mind to abolish the crown prince.

"Liu Chuan, summon the six ministries, nine officials, and all the kings to the audience."

Liu Chuan was shocked and quickly nodded his head and replied, "Yes."

Important officials from various departments rushed to the palace one after another. Those who met on the way exchanged glances, each with their own thoughts.

In the past few days, they kept the memorial impeaching the prince in their sleeves, waiting for others to make a move. They never expected that there was no one who would make selfless contributions!

Emperor Tai'an closed his eyes to rest, and when everyone arrived, he slowly opened his eyes.

"What do you think of what the Crown Prince Duanwu did?"

The ministers looked at each other, no one said anything for a while, but they were actually a little anxious.

The prince was running naked in public, and why didn't anyone stand up and criticize him? Doesn't this make them seem too unrighteous and cowardly?

Among them, Prince Jing was the calmest.

He hid at the back of the crowd, with his hands in his pockets and his eyes downcast, pretending to be a statue.

It wasn't his son who was running naked, so he had no thoughts.

In fact, Prince Jing was very surprised that Emperor Tai'an called him into the palace.

What is there to discuss? If your son does something wrong, then beat him. Do you want someone else to beat him for you?

Prince Jing, too lazy to worry about other people's sons, began to ponder: "It's getting hot. Should I talk to Madam Lin someday to discuss the wedding dates for the two children? I heard Shuo'er loves to run to the garden. From his experience, he's probably climbed over the walls a lot. What if he gets caught by the General's Mansion? That would be terrible..."

Emperor Tai'an looked at his ministers coldly, winking and waiting for others to take the lead, and just wanted to sneer.

"It seems that the ministers think it is not a big deal."

When the ministers heard Emperor Tai'an say this, they knew the emperor was dissatisfied with their silence. If they were the first to stand up and criticize the prince harshly, they would surely win the emperor's favor.

A minister with quick thinking stepped out from the crowd and said loudly, "I have something to say."

The one who stood up was the Minister of Rites.

"My dear Minister Chen, please tell us." Emperor Tai'an said lightly.

Minister Chen was immediately filled with righteous indignation and denounced the Crown Prince: "...What the Crown Prince did is truly absurd. I hope the Emperor will punish him severely!"

Seeing that Emperor Tai'an's expression was still calm, several more people stood up and agreed.

Compared to the Crown Prince, the Emperor is definitely more important. Scolding the Crown Prince now might make the Emperor feel better, but by the time the Crown Prince takes the throne, he'll probably have forgotten about it.

With someone taking the lead, more and more people began to speak out and agree. There was no other way. If I kept silent, I would appear to be submitting to the emperor's power, which would be a bit shameful.

As for Prince Jing, he remained calm and silent.

Emperor Tai'an's eyes were as cold as water as he swept across the faces of the ministers who spoke.

The person who was swept across twitched his eyelids uncomfortably.

The emperor acts like he wants to remember them, which is very strange.

After a long moment, Emperor Tai'an slowly spoke: "Since you have said so, I know what to do."

The ministers couldn't help but look up, curious about how the emperor would punish the prince.

House arrest is certain, and who knows, everyone in the Eastern Palace might be replaced, and even the prince's mother's family might be affected.

Emperor Tai'an was silent for a moment, then said word by word, "I have decided to depose the Crown Prince."

When these words were spoken, all the ministers were shocked, especially the one who had just spoken. They felt as if they had been struck by lightning and were on the verge of collapse.

What? The Emperor put the blame on them for advocating the dethronement of the Crown Prince?

Thinking of this, the blood of the ministers rushed to their heads, and in the blink of an eye, they all knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed!"