Chapter 210 The Emperor's Heart

"Crown Prince Xun, the eldest son of the royal family, is a pervert and wicked man, disdains benevolence and righteousness, and alienates upright people.

I have not forgotten the legitimate heir, and have pardoned his faults and mistakes, and have given him much more instruction and guidance. I have chosen men of reputation and virtue to be my mentors, and have chosen upright men to be my palace officials.

His chronic illness has not been cured for a long time, and he is worried about being deposed. He accepts heretical ideas and disobeys my orders, and harbors heresy and suspects his brothers.

Despite his generous favor, his suspicion and fear grew deeper. He recruited the treacherous Hui as his confidant, gathering his servants for feasting and outings. With a ruthless heart, he proceeded to kill him. However, the villain he loved had already been publicly executed in the past, and the thought that he would repent now only served to make him even more sad.

Xun has no tools to guard the throne, and can only inherit it, unable to bear the weight of the seven temples.

"Xun has been demoted to a commoner! Temporarily confined to the Eastern Palace! I was ordained by God to be a parent, nurturing all living beings, let alone my descendants, whom I should cherish with all my heart. Now that this has come to pass, I am deeply ashamed and filled with regret."

Su Fengzhang didn't know how many power struggles had gone into this. From the time the emperor agreed to depose the crown prince to the time the imperial edict to depose the crown prince was finally issued, it took a full ten days.

During these ten days, the sit-in at the palace gate never stopped. The fourth prince, Prince Cheng, Prince Rong and others almost lived in the palace. For a while, the capital was in a panic and everyone was in danger.

As soon as Grand Tutor Zhang fell, the officials of the Crown Prince's faction seemed to have lost their leader. In their panic, they made more mistakes, which gave people a handle to use against them. One impeachment after another was sent to the Emperor.

How could the Fourth Prince Xu Shangshu and others miss such a good opportunity? They knew that pushing too hard would anger His Majesty, but they had no time to care. If they didn't take advantage of this opportunity to capture the prince and let him recover, their end would only be more miserable. For this reason, Concubine Xu even did not hesitate to publicize the royal scandal.

As soon as Grand Tutor Zhang fell, Grand Tutor Chu could not even see the emperor, and the prince could not even get close to the emperor.

In just ten days, the prince went from being calm at the beginning to being almost crazy.

Even after hearing the imperial edict, the crown prince was still in disbelief. He grabbed the eunuch announcing the decree and shouted, "I don't believe it. My father wouldn't do this to me. It must be the fourth son who's causing trouble!"

"Is the Emperor still in a coma? He must have forged the imperial decree. I want to see the Emperor, I want to see the Empress."

The dignified Crown Prince was now unable to leave his place and was soon detained. The eunuch who announced the decree seemed respectful, but his eyes were filled with contempt and disdain: "The Emperor has decreed that the commoner Qin Xun be imprisoned in the Eastern Palace. Please!"

Two guards came up from behind, one on the left and one on the right, holding down the commoner Qin Xun and escorting him out. Commoner Qin Xun struggled hard, but his body, hollowed out by alcohol and sex, was no match for the two strong guards.

Whether he was willing or not, Qin Xun, who had become a commoner, was dragged out. The two guards acted without restraint, as if they were treating those ministers who had fallen out of favor and made mistakes.

Commoner Qin Xun was filled with resentment and roared, "Father, Father, I have been wronged. It is the Fourth Brother who is harming me!"

"Father, please forgive me this time. I will never do it again!"

"Father, before my mother died, she begged me earnestly. You promised to take good care of me..."

At this moment, the door of the hall opened. Before Qin Xun could be happy, the last hope in his eyes disappeared.

The person who came out was not his father, the emperor he had been thinking about, but the empress dowager who had always been at odds with him. The empress dowager's face was icy cold, and she shouted sternly: "What are you doing? Why are you letting people make a noise in front of the palace?"

"Who will be held responsible if we disturb His Majesty's rest?"

Qin Xun was about to shout when the guard beside him quickly covered his mouth and dragged him away.

The last thing Qin Xun saw was the cold eyes of the Queen Mother. He suddenly remembered what his mother said before she died, telling him to be careful of the Queen Mother, who was once Concubine Hui. Yan Ming, the woman from the Yun family, was vicious and not someone to be easily dealt with.

It's a pity that over the years, the empress had no children and lived deep in the palace, not getting involved in anything other than palace affairs. Her non-competitive attitude made the emperor increasingly respect her and gradually let down his guard.

Even if she is the queen consort, as long as she cannot give birth to a child, she cannot shake his position as the crown prince.

He was wrong, the deposed prince thought so in his heart, but it was too late!

After the farce, the empress walked into the inner hall and saw the emperor leaning against the head of the bed. Beside him were Prince Cheng, Prince Rong, the fourth prince, and other members of the royal family.

The royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty was small and had no real power. Over the years, they had only followed the orders of the emperor and Prince Rong. Even in such a major event as the dethronement of the crown prince, they were just witnesses.

Compared with them, the ministers who are still kneeling outside have played a crucial role.

Seeing the distress in the emperor's eyes, the queen's eyes flashed with sarcasm, and she whispered, "Your Majesty, don't worry. The deposed crown prince is just temporarily unable to accept it. After being confined to the Eastern Palace for a period of time, he will regain his composure."

"Depose the Crown Prince..." The emperor's face turned unhappy when he heard these three words.

Concubine Xu narrowed her eyes and interrupted, "Your Majesty, since the Crown Prince has been deposed, isn't it inappropriate to still let him live in the palace?"

Unexpectedly, these words struck a chord with the emperor, who angrily shouted, "I have already deposed the crown prince, according to the wishes of some. He is my own flesh and blood, are you still going to kill him?"

Concubine Xu was about to explode with the breath she was holding in her stomach, but when she saw the Fourth Prince shaking his head at her, she had no choice but to swallow her anger and said aggrievedly, "Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. Even if the deposed Crown Prince is no longer the Crown Prince, he is still your Majesty's prince and Ah Heng's biological brother. How could I humiliate him?"

"But the Crown Prince is older after all, and I'm afraid he'll be imprisoned in the Eastern Palace, and then cause some trouble. Wasn't the Rupin incident caused by the Crown Prince's imprisonment?"

"Shut up!" The emperor became even more angry and almost couldn't breathe.

Concubine Yu quickly reached out to help him calm down, and said softly, "Sister Noble Concubine, although the Crown Prince is immoral, he is still your Majesty's biological son. Your Majesty is very sad now, so please be quiet."

Seeing that she was deliberately trying to please the emperor, Concubine Xu snorted in her heart, but dared not say anything else.

The emperor was already too impatient to talk to them, "Get out!"

"Ale, the fourth and fifth sons, please stay. Everyone else, please leave. Queen, manage the harem well. I don't need to remind you of the palace rules, do I? If you have any further questions, I will ask you!"

"Send in the Grand Secretaries and the Ministers of the Six Ministries. I have something to tell them."

The royal family had no choice but to leave. Concubine Xu walked out of the hall with a very grim expression on her face. She glanced at Concubine Yu and sneered, "I thought His Majesty doted on you so much, but you were kicked out together."

Concubine Yu, however, remained calm and said calmly, "The harem should not interfere in government affairs. Since His Majesty has something to tell the adults, this is reasonable."

Concubine Xu sneered, "Concubine Yu, don't think that just because the Crown Prince has fallen, you can show off in front of me. We don't even know if your Ninth Prince will be able to grow up alive."

Concubine Yu looked up at Concubine Xu. Her eyes were clearly filled with the tenderness that the emperor loved most, but they also contained a hint of coldness. "Sister, you haven't yet thanked the Concubine for your kindness that day."

"It's good that you know." Concubine Xu laughed after hearing this and said, "If it weren't for me, your tricks would be far from enough."

"One day, my sister will repay you double with a pledge of gratitude." After saying this, Concubine Yu turned and left.

Concubine Xu's face changed, and she said angrily, "What does she mean by that? Does she hate me? Humph, Fang Yu is looking for death on her own, that's not my fault."

At this time, in the bedroom, besides Prince Rong and the two princes, there were also the Grand Secretary and the six ministers.

The emperor leaned against the headboard, eyes slightly closed. After a long while, he finally spoke: "I have already deposed the crown prince. When will I be able to understand the situation?"

Everyone present looked at each other, and no one dared to speak at this moment, for fear of angering the emperor.

Finally, Liang Cheng, the most senior Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall, spoke up: "Your Majesty, the sit-in outside the palace was all initiated by the Crown Prince. Since Your Majesty has deposed the Crown Prince, I believe they have received a satisfactory answer and have already left."

"A satisfactory answer?" The emperor sneered. "When did I ever need the satisfaction of these common people?"

Scholar Liang quickly lowered his head and dared not say another word.

The emperor knew in his heart that this matter was definitely not caused by a few scholars sitting in silence. If it were not for the threats from all the civil and military officials in the court, he would not have cared about a few scholars and would have sent people to arrest them directly.

At this time, the emperor's eyes fell on the Fourth Prince and Minister Xu, and he said coldly: "Fourth Prince, are you satisfied?"

These words were heartbreaking. The Fourth Prince acted as if he was watching someone else's heart and said, "Father, the Crown Prince's affairs are matters of state and of the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I dare not criticize him."

The emperor sneered, not knowing whether he was laughing at his hypocrisy or at his own incompetence.

After this serious illness, the emperor's body became increasingly weak, to the point that he could only stay in bed even now. The weaker his body became, the more fearful he became.

Especially in the matter of deposing the crown prince, most of the civil and military officials in the court agreed, and this unanimity made him even more uneasy.

Wasn't deposing the Crown Prince a compromise and a test for the Emperor? His eyes fell on Minister Xu again, and he suddenly said, "Lord Xu is old and frail. Is he now qualified to be the Minister of Revenue?"

Minister Xu's heart skipped a beat, and even the Fourth Prince's expression changed.

"Your Majesty, I am in good health. Thank you for your concern."

The emperor nodded and said calmly, "That's good. The Ministry of Revenue is very busy, and I am afraid that you may be willing but unable to do what you want."

"After all, the commoner Qin Xun has been the crown prince for thirty years. Now that he has been deposed, I am worried that there will be unrest in the court. Unfortunately, I am not feeling well and cannot work hard. I beg you, my dear ministers, to take the trouble to stabilize the government."

The gentlemen naturally agreed, and the emperor dismissed them with a few words, saying, "Old Five, stay, and the rest of you may leave."

The fourth prince hesitated to speak, but Minister Xu shook his head, and the two of them walked out together.

As soon as they left the house, Minister Xu said, "Your Majesty must be suspicious of us now. Why not wait for a while? After all, the Crown Prince has been deposed. The Fourth Prince can rest easy and just be a filial son to Your Majesty."

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The author has something to say: The Book of Abolishing the Crown Prince refers to the document written by Emperor Kangxi in history to abolish the Crown Prince~~~