Xia Zhengqi was recalling his childhood memories, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. Suddenly, the childish voice of the Fifth Prince reached his ears, interrupting his thoughts.
Xia Zhengqi looked down at the Fifth Prince's slightly embarrassed expression and gently stroked his head: "Shun'er, don't meddle in the adults' affairs."
[That damn old woman actually used the child as a pawn! Luckily, my father was sensible enough.]
Xia Miaoyuan pursed his lips and looked at the Empress Dowager.
"Zhengqi, how can you talk to a child like that? Grand Tutor Jiang is Shun'er's maternal grandfather, and Jiang Zhiyuan and Jiang Zhishan are his uncles." The Empress Dowager's eyes were red.
"How must your son feel when he sees you putting his grandfather and uncles in jail?"
Xia Miaoyuan watched the Empress Dowager's performance and couldn't help but complain.
"Old woman, you're using that family kidnapping trick again! Can you try a different approach?"
Xia Miaoyuan turned to look at Xia Zhengqi, who had a calm expression, and babbled anxiously.
[Daddy, please don't give in!]
[Don't listen to the Queen Mother's twisted logic, don't listen, confront her immediately, confront her harshly!]
"Mother, do you still remember the ancestral precept that the harem cannot interfere in political affairs?!" Xia Zhengqi looked at the empress dowager with sharp eyes, and his tone revealed the majesty of an emperor.
The Empress Dowager met Xia Zhengqi's sharp gaze and her whole body froze.
She really couldn't understand why Emperor Mingxi, whom she had raised, had become so unfamiliar at this moment!
"The harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. This is the ancestral precept. Back then, Grandpa Taizu established a rule that any concubine who interferes in government affairs in the future generations of the Great Xia will be immediately demoted to a commoner and banished to the cold palace!"
Xia Zhengqi took a step forward and stared at the Empress Dowager fiercely.
[Yeah! Yeah! The Emperor is so majestic! The Emperor is so majestic!]
Xia Miaoyuan danced and cheered.
"You...you...are you threatening me? Threatening your stepmother?!" The Queen Mother's hands trembled slightly and her voice froze.
"Are you going to depose me?" There was a hint of fear in the empress dowager's sharp voice.
"That's not the case yet." Xia Zhengqi curled the corners of his mouth.
"I only wish to remind you, Mother, so that you won't forget the ancestral rules and behave in a hurry."
"Becoming the laughing stock of all of Daxia, his name will be infamous in history books!"
Xia Zhengqi looked at the Empress Dowager meaningfully and reached out to support her arm.
The Empress Dowager felt her legs go weak and her head dizzy. She supported herself on the bookshelf beside her with one hand and swung her other arm hard to shake off Xia Zhengqi's hand.
"Let's go!" the Queen Mother said in a deep voice, glancing at Xia Zhengqi with eyes full of disbelief and unconcealable fear.
As soon as the Empress Dowager left, the Crown Prince came out from the inner room and complained, "Grandma is finally gone. Every time I see her crying, it gives me a headache."
Xia Zhengqi smiled bitterly, then adjusted his mood and said, "Cheng Wan, at this morning's court, I imprisoned 14 ministers. What do you think?"
"Father, do you want to take this opportunity to test and catch all the officials who are colluding with Grand Tutor Jiang?" The prince asked tentatively.
Xia Zhengqi nodded, the corners of his mouth raised: "That's about what I mean."
"For many years, Grand Tutor Jiang has been forming a clique for personal gain. He has his people everywhere, both in the court and in the local areas."
"The current Daxia court is mostly controlled by the Jiang Party. If we allow it to continue, I'm afraid the entire Daxia will have to change its surname to Jiang!" Xia Zhengqi's face was solemn.
[Daddy, now you know how serious Jiang's party is!]
Xia Miaoyuan listened attentively to the conversation between his father and elder brother while complaining.
"Ah! It seems that since my mother and I's fate changed, there's been a butterfly effect. This family's IQ and courage have all increased."
[If Daddy could wipe out Grand Tutor Jiang's followers right now, Grand Tutor Jiang wouldn't be able to usurp the throne in the future.]
What? Grand Tutor Jiang will usurp the throne?!
This was the first time the prince had heard his sister's prophecy about usurping the throne, and he was very surprised.
"Your Majesty is absolutely right!" said the prince with a bow.
"During these days, I have been secretly investigating and found out that the Minister of War, the Minister of Revenue, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, the Chief Justice, and the eight censors who pleaded for him today are all Jiang's men." After Xia Zhengqi finished speaking, he quickly glanced at his daughter.
[Wow! Daddy is so awesome! He actually found so many staunch Jiang supporters.]
I was worried that he wouldn't understand the current situation.
Xia Miaoyuan looked at Xia Zhengqi with admiration.
Xia Zhengqi showed a smug smile in his eyes, and thought to himself, Hahaha, my dear daughter, it was your voice that helped daddy!
"I only knew that Grand Tutor Jiang was powerful, but I didn't expect it to be this powerful!" The prince said in amazement.
Xia Zhengqi revealed a solemn expression: "Today in the court, imprisoning them is only the beginning of the crackdown on the Jiang Party."
"The road ahead is likely to be full of thorns."
The prince bit his lower lip and said, "I understand what the emperor said."
"Although Father used the disaster relief effort to arrest those Jiang family accomplices today, this is not sufficient grounds for imprisonment."
"Although you claim they are plotting to murder the emperor, the entire court is watching. Grabbing their robes and pulling their sleeves is, in reality, at most a violation of etiquette in front of the emperor and a violation of his will."
"According to Daxia law, if you lock him up, fine him, and give him a beating, that'll be the end of it."
"We can't just chop off all their heads at once just because of this."
"If you really do that, not only will you fail to convince the people, but you will also be branded as a tyrant."
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