"Now that the Emperor is ill and the Eight Princes are causing chaos, someone has to step forward to take charge and appease the people."
“What the Empress Dowager says is absolutely right. I implore the Empress Dowager to select another wise ruler to stabilize the court and pacify the army,” the Prince of Zhennan echoed.
Empress Dowager Xu pretended to be in a difficult position.
"The Emperor is just sick, he's not incapacitated. Why is the Prince of Zhennan in such a hurry to choose another wise ruler?" Duke Shen suddenly spoke up.
Upon hearing this, the Prince of Zhennan glared fiercely at the Duke of Shen: "I was just making plans ahead of time."
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Empress Dowager Xu glanced at Duke Shen; "Does Duke Shen want to see Northern Chu in turmoil?"
"That's not what I meant."
Empress Dowager Xu gave a cold snort, her gaze falling on the old prince: "I think the Crown Prince Yun..."
"Empress Dowager!" Duke Shen spoke up in time: "Currently, there are only two princes with the purest bloodline, one is Prince Guangjia, and the other is the Eighth Prince."
"The Eighth Prince is vicious and intolerant, unfit to be a ruler. As for the Prince of Guangjia..." Empress Dowager Xu hesitated for a moment.
At this moment, many ministers spoke up: "Prince Guangjia is the only legitimate son of the late emperor, and his status is noble. Prince Guangjia should be established as the heir apparent."
"Your humble servant seconds this suggestion."
“The Prince of Guangjia comes from a distinguished family, and both the northern and southwestern armies have the late emperor’s confidants. If we can support the Prince of Guangjia, we will surely win people’s hearts and minds.”
“That’s right, the throne should rightfully belong to King Guangjia.”
Almost half of the people support Prince Guangjia.
Empress Dowager Xu's expression changed slightly, and she was about to shout angrily when Duke Shen said again: "Don't forget, everyone, Prince Guangjia now holds the power of 300,000 troops, and has 30,000 personal guards inside and outside the city. No one can compare to Prince Guangjia."
The implication of this statement is that if the wrong person is chosen, Prince Guangjia could rebel at any time.
And no one can resist it.
Empress Dowager Xu gasped, looking at the old prince with a complicated expression. The old prince remained silent with a sullen face, and the atmosphere was tense.
They only knew that Prince Guangjia was gentle and never imagined that one day he would also fight for the throne.
After Zhao Zhiyan was overthrown, another Prince Guangjia appeared.
Empress Dowager Xu was extremely annoyed. Now, whether in terms of military strength or reputation, they were inferior to Prince Guangjia, and the other side had more people and greater power.
Duke Shen slowly stood up: "Empress Dowager, the Emperor has not yet woken up. You are being too hasty in doing this."
"Insolence!" Empress Dowager Xu glared angrily at Duke Shen: "How dare you question me?"
Duke Shen smiled, showing no fear on his face: "Either we wait for the Emperor to wake up before making a decision, or we follow the will of the people. If anyone dares to have other ideas and try to cause trouble in the chaos, we, your humble servants, will have no choice but to disobey."
"You!" Empress Dowager Xu was so angry that her heart heaved.
Duke Shen then said to Eunuch Li, "Please trouble yourself, Eunuch. Once the Emperor awakens, you must inform us immediately."
Eunuch Li nodded repeatedly: "Please rest assured, Duke Shen, it will definitely happen."
Seeing that the situation was not good, Empress Dowager Xu's faction stopped arguing and had no choice but to retreat to Ning'an Palace to discuss their next steps.
Duke Shen pretended not to see it.
"Who would have thought that the Duke of Shen would suddenly appear halfway through! That scoundrel!" Empress Dowager Xu was furious. She thought that everything would fall into place and that Zhao Yun could be chosen directly.
The old prince stroked his beard: "We were too hasty in this matter. Prince Guangjia is in poor health, and Lady Song is dead. He is destined to have no descendants. The throne will eventually fall into our hands."
Empress Dowager Xu was impatient: "How can I wait until then!"
She bent down and sat down, rubbing her temples. Suddenly, she felt something was wrong and a sense of unease crept into her heart. She said to the palace maid, "Quickly, send someone to keep an eye on Yikun Palace!"
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