Chapter 498: Zhao Family Crisis
Master Zhao struggled to sit up, looking gloomy.
Zhao Qinghe brought him some tea to moisten his mouth.
Master Zhao took a sip and smashed the teacup into pieces.
"The Emperor's move is clearly to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys! He... He does not allow his subjects to take sides! He is swearing his supreme status! I thought the Emperor loved the Second Prince the most and that the Second Prince was different, but I didn't expect... Hehehe... One careless move could lead to eternal damnation!"
Several princes grew up in the palace. Before the sixth prince was born, all the princes were born out of wedlock. Only the second prince was adopted by the queen, which was equivalent to a half-legitimate son. The emperor had high hopes for him, gave him the best treatment, and even taught him to read and write.
All civil and military officials tacitly agreed that the Second Prince was the future crown prince. Even if the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were unwilling and wanted to fight for the position, they could only do so secretly and did not dare to do it openly.
It can be said that if the emperor had not done all this, they would not have supported the second prince so much.
Now the emperor has done this, what is his intention?
Madam Zhao turned pale with fear, "Then what should we do? Furong's body is still warm, and Wanyi has been demoted to a commoner. What should our Zhao family do?"
Zhao Qinghe looked at the distraught Princess Qingkang and said, "Princess, do you have any ideas now?"
Princess Qingkang's unfocused eyes slowly fell on Zhao Qinghe, and she laughed at herself, "Ideas? I have two daughters, one dead and one demoted, what else can I do?"
She was originally determined to seek justice for her younger daughter, but she never expected that her younger daughter's death was actually related to her eldest son-in-law.
She didn't dare to investigate further, for fear that her eldest daughter would be involved, a result she could never accept.
He had already convinced himself to let the youngest daughter's death go unnoticed, but as a result, his eldest daughter was demoted to a commoner on New Year's Eve. She fell from the top to the bottom of the quagmire, and never again enjoyed her former glory.
It is ridiculous, sad and lamentable that the Zhao family sacrificed their two daughters for power!
Zhao Qinghe felt very upset when he saw her like that, "Princess, things have come to this point, we must cheer up, Wanyi was only demoted, she still has us, we can't give up on them!"
"What else do you want?" Princess Qingkang suddenly roared, "The lesson of the Cen family is there. What do you think is the difference between our Zhao family and the Cen family? The emperor can even deal with the second prince. At this time, any slight movement can cost the lives of dozens of people in the entire Zhao family!
I tell you Zhao Qinghe! Not only can the Zhao family not do anything, but they must also take the initiative to sever ties with Wanyi at this time to make their position clear.”
Princess Qingkang was in tears and could not continue speaking.
Madam Zhao was furious. "Qingkang! Wanyi is your first daughter after all. You carried her for ten months and gave birth to her. How can you say such cold-blooded and heartless words?"
"I am cold-blooded? Mother-in-law, am I cold-blooded or are you afraid to face the facts? You also said that Wanyi is my biological daughter. Making such a decision will only make me more painful than you! If the Zhao family had kept itself out of trouble at the beginning, there would not be the disaster today!" Princess Qingkang unceremoniously exposed the hypocrisy of Old Lady Zhao and left angrily.
Old Madam Zhao was so angry that she almost fainted. "What a good wife you married! She is just disobedient to her mother-in-law!"
Zhao Qinghe was in a state of panic, "Okay, mother! What the princess said is right, she only has two daughters, and both of them are in trouble, why are you arguing with her at this time!
Dad! I think the method the princess suggested is the safest. At least it can keep our Zhao family rich and prosperous during the emperor's reign. But if the second prince turns over one day, our Zhao family will be in trouble."
It was precisely because of this concern that he did not say a word when Princess Qingkang openly proposed this solution.
Imperial Tutor Zhao was unwilling to give in. "Now the court officials are all staring at me, waiting for my decision, but what can I do? It's too snobbish and inhumane to kill one's own relatives for the sake of justice. After all, the Second Prince is my grandson-in-law. I have invested so much effort in him, hoping that our Zhao family will have a queen! What have I done wrong?
But if we continue to associate with the Second Prince, it will be equivalent to putting the Zhao family in dire straits. If the emperor is not happy in the future, he will definitely take advantage of the situation to make a fuss about our Zhao family, and maybe turn the Zhao family into the second Cen family as the princess said. "
"After all, the second prince is still not appropriate!" Old Madam Zhao doesn't care about the future, she just wants to protect the present.
As for future generations, to put it bluntly, she won't live to see that day, so why take such a big risk?
"But who else can be qualified to be the crown prince besides the second prince?" Zhao Qinghe asked the most crucial question.
Imperial Tutor Zhao looked at him with appreciation and said thoughtfully, "Among all the princes, let's not talk about the underage Ninth Prince for now. The most noble prince among the adult princes is the Sixth Prince. Unfortunately, he is born disabled and has no right to compete. Excluding the Second Prince, the remaining ones are the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince.
The third prince is too mediocre, has no opinions of his own, and just follows what others say. It would be better to choose the second prince than him.
The Fourth Prince has some cleverness and calculations, but he lacks great wisdom and is not worthy of being in the upper class. His only advantage is that he has a bastard son, which makes him better than the Second Prince.
But so what? This alone is far from enough. These two princes are so different from the second prince that unless the emperor is crazy, there is absolutely no way he would make them the crown princes."
Zhao Qinghe rolled his eyes and an idea flashed in his mind, "Dad, if that's the case, the emperor will definitely not give up on the second prince easily. Could this just be a test and lesson for the second prince? As long as the second prince reforms and behaves well, maybe the emperor will change his mind one day!"
The three people in the room looked at each other, and the more they thought about it, the more they felt that this was possible.
Imperial Tutor Zhao regained most of his spirits in an instant, and laughed happily, "That's what I told you! After all, the Second Prince was carefully cultivated by the Emperor and the Empress, how could the Emperor and the Empress be so cruel to him!
I understand! Boss, you will secretly send someone to find Wanyi later and tell them our guess. We must make them behave well so that the emperor can see the sincerity of the second prince. When the emperor is no longer angry, we will petition for mercy and we will definitely be able to restore their status. "
Zhao Qinghe went to do it immediately.
At this time, the commoner Xu took Zhao Wanyi, two maids, nannies and followers to a small house in the west of the city. This house was Zhao Wanyi's dowry.
Although the emperor demoted them to commoners and confiscated the property of the second prince's mansion, he did not touch Zhao Wanyi's dowry.
Her dowry was still at her disposal.
Zhao Wanyi entered the main courtyard in a daze, supported by her maid Qiuju. It had been less than twelve hours since the accident. Twelve hours ago, she was the high and mighty consort of the Second Prince, but now she had become a commoner and a criminal.
The huge gap made her so desperate that she wanted to die, and she was on the verge of collapse.
(End of this chapter)
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