Chapter 129 The Crown Prince Regent
After Shen Yi's full treatment, Emperor Sheng Yuan woke up two days later, but he was paralyzed on one side and needed acupuncture and medication every day, and he could not speak very clearly.
When the ministers heard that His Majesty had woken up, they all waited outside the Qianyuan Palace for orders. Fearing that Concubine Jia would cry again, Empress Hua directly locked her up in the Yiyue Palace.
Hua Shulan and Empress Hua entered the palace and knelt to ask about the treatment of Xie Yi. Emperor Sheng Yuan lay on the dragon bed in tears. The hair on his temples had turned completely white in a few nights. He stammered and could not speak clearly.
After all, they were a young couple, and Empress Hua was so sad that she wiped away her tears when she saw this.
Emperor Sheng Yuan used his movable left hand to grope towards the edge of the bed, and finally felt a groove, and tapped it with trembling fingers.
Eunuch Li understood what he meant and immediately stepped forward and took out a carved lacquer box.
Queen Hua and Hua Shulan looked at each other, and when they opened it, they found that it was the imperial seal!
The two of them couldn't help but shudder.
Seeing Emperor Sheng Yuan's cloudy eyes cast towards the two of them, Hua Shulan hurriedly leaned forward to listen.
Emperor Sheng Yuan tried to say: "Xie Yuan... Crown Prince... Regent..."
After saying this, he said no more, as if he had handed over the authority to deal with Xie Yi to Xie Yuan.
Hua Shulan's eyes slightly opened, and he nodded solemnly: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Then he opened the palace door, raised the imperial seal high with both hands, and said loudly to the ministers outside the palace: "In compliance with your majesty's order, King Jing Xie Yuan is appointed as the crown prince. While your majesty is recovering from his illness, the crown prince will govern the country!"
"Ah? This..."
The decree to establish the crown prince was too sudden and unexpected. The ministers reacted in a state of confusion. The ministers of the Queen's faction were naturally delighted. The neutral ministers also had a good impression of Xie Yuan because of the flood control incident. After being stunned for a moment, they all knelt down to receive the decree, shouting: "We will obey your majesty's will!"
Only Zuo Cheng Zeng Miaoyi still stood there without accepting the order, frowning and looking unhappy. Several of his direct subordinates were also whispering in panic.
Hua Shulan sneered in his heart and asked, "Why, Prime Minister Zeng has any objection?"
Zeng Miao frowned, “I heard that your majesty can’t even speak, so where does the oral order come from!”
Hua Shulan was not annoyed. Now that they were sure of victory, he said, "Why don't Prime Minister Zeng go in and ask His Majesty himself? But it seems that Prime Minister Zeng also had a share of the credit for His Majesty's fainting that day. I wonder if His Majesty is willing to see you?"
Hearing the two arguing, Empress Hua walked out quickly, her phoenix eyes glaring at Zeng Miaoyi, "I heard that Prime Minister Zeng tried his best to plead for Xie Yi that day, and His Majesty was furious. Now that His Majesty has finally woken up, how can the decree that this palace and Prime Minister Hua personally listened to be wrong! Could it be that Prime Minister Zeng now even dares to disobey His Majesty's decree?!"
Zeng Miao looked at Hua Shulan coldly, then glanced at the crowd of people kneeling in front of him, and finally felt that the situation was hopeless.
It was all because Xie Yi was too impatient. He had been trying to win over the people in the court, and was thinking about the overall situation. He thought he was clever, but he did some stupid things. Now someone caught him and got himself into trouble.
Zeng Miao closed his eyes and said unwillingly: "Minister, I accept the order..."
Queen Hua's anger subsided a little. She snorted coldly, then waved her hand and asked the ministers to leave.
The next day, as Emperor Sheng Yuan was bedridden, the Ministry of Rites hastily arranged a ceremony to simplify things and enthrone Xie Yuan as the crown prince.
As the Eastern Palace had not yet been renovated, Xie Yuan continued to live in Prince Jing's Mansion.
Jiang Yuyan and Princess Feng Ling came to congratulate upon hearing the news.
Xie Yuan was now wearing the apricot-yellow crown prince's robe, and his eyes and brows showed some majesty and solemnity, and his bearing became even more noble.
Jiang Yuyan looked around, clicked her tongue twice, and said with a smile: "Not bad! She looks like a crown prince!" Then she winked at Feng Ling and whispered: "I told you, if you marry me, you will be the mother of a country in the future!"
Feng Ling's ears turned red, and she pinched her waist. Jiang Yuyan cried out, and then they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Xie Yuan looked at the little movements of the two beauties and couldn't help but smile with his hands covering his lips.
"By the way, Your Highness, how do you plan to deal with my gratitude?" Jiang Yuyan suddenly thought of the main topic.
Xie Yuan said: "Logically speaking, he should be charged with treason..." He hesitated halfway through the sentence.
Since Jiang Yuyan entered the court, she has become more intelligent than Bi Gan.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Your Majesty was very fond of the Fourth Prince in the past. According to the Queen, after His Majesty woke up, they asked him about his response to Xie Yi. His Majesty only cried in pain but did not answer. Your Highness has always been kind and righteous. His Majesty gave you full authority to take charge of this matter, because he calculated that you might spare his life."
This father is quite unkind, putting all the pressure on his son!
Princess Feng Ling is also a member of the royal family. Upon hearing this, she added, "Perhaps His Majesty is still considering your actions towards your brother."
Xie Yuan frowned slightly, "How should I deal with him if I'm alone?"
Jiang Yuyan thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, just be open and transparent, and follow the law and evidence. Even if Your Majesty is not satisfied with the final result, you must make sure that he is blameless."
"How?"
"Why don't you have a three-party meeting? You, the envoys from Dayu and Fengxi, and all the court officials should discuss face to face how to deal with Xie Yi. First, present the national law, then Fengxi and Dayu make their demands. Zuo Cheng's group will definitely bargain, after all, he is his nephew. Finally, you should combine the opinions of several parties and make a decision that satisfies both parties. The scale depends on what Your Highness thinks.
You must not add insult to injury at this time, lest you give people a reason to criticize you. You can only ask Dayu and Fengxi to negotiate more stringent conditions..."
After Jiang Yuyan finished speaking, she glanced at Feng Ling.
"Let Dayu and Fengxi bite to death and ask Xie Yi to be executed by slow slicing... As for whether you will sentence him to exile or execute him, it depends on your opinion. If you spare his life, His Majesty may be less afraid of you when he recovers in the future. If you execute him, you can understand."
Xie Yuan nodded, "The princess is right." But his brows slowly furrowed.
He was a new official, so it was not appropriate for him to kill his brothers. Even if Xie Yi deserved death at this time, once the limelight had passed, the ministers would only see that he was a new crown prince who eliminated dissidents, which was against benevolence.
But when he thought of Xie Yi's assassination attempt on him in the past, he felt depressed for a long time.
Princess Feng Ling saw that he looked unhappy and said a few words to comfort him softly.
Jiang Yuyan sneakily slipped away when the two were not paying attention, leaving the space for the two men and women who were gradually falling in love...
The next morning, I went to court.
Dong Lingchuan, as the other party who colluded with Xie Yi, was unable to show up, so he sent a subordinate to denounce Xie Yi's crimes with Princess Feng Ling in harsh words, demanding death by slow slicing.
Zeng Miao visited him the night before to thank him and talked with him. He overturned the case on the spot and refused to admit the murder, accusing Na Zuishengmengsi of framing him. Although he was wrong to collude privately, both parties were responsible. He did not personally do anything about the Luzhou Post Station incident, so he was not guilty of the death penalty.
The people of Donglingchuan would certainly pin the matter of Donglingye on Xie Yi, saying, "How can we deny the irrefutable evidence? If you are biased, Dayu will definitely go to war."
Princess Feng Ling also stood up. It was true that she was poisoned by the love poison. In front of everyone, she was obsessed with being on good terms with Xie Yi. She said angrily, "Your Highness the Crown Prince must severely punish Xie Yi, otherwise Feng Xi will never let it go."
The pressure from the two countries made the ministers of Dayue feel uneasy. They all whispered to each other, and most of them agreed with the envoys of the two countries.
The two sides quarreled for a while, and finally it was Crown Prince Xie Yuan who negotiated and pleaded with the envoys of the two countries.
Dayu was in the wrong in the Luzhou Post Station incident and finally gave in.
Xie Yi was demoted to a commoner and imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison for life.
As promised, Dayue supplied salt to Dayu every year at a price 30% lower than the official price as compensation for this matter.
Of course, privately, Dong Lingchuan agreed to support the northern border with 200,000 stones of grain in exchange.
This kind of repaying evil with kindness made all the ministers praise His Highness for his kindness. Even the Left Prime Minister reluctantly accepted his favor.
So far, the Queen's faction has won a great victory...
After the incident, Dong Lingchuan bid farewell to the prince and Jiang Yuyan, and returned home with Dong Lingye's coffin.
When they came, the two brothers stood side by side, like the sun and the moon competing for brilliance. When they left, there was only one person left, walking farther and farther away, and finally became a vague miniature on the official road.
Xie Yuan stood with his hands behind his back and asked calmly, "Does Dong Lingchuan really regret it?"
Jiang Yuyan lowered her eyes and sighed deeply in the biting west wind.
"I want to believe that human nature is good. Whether he is real or just pretending, we as the people of Dayue can't do much. But people's conscience will eventually question themselves every sleepless night, and no one can avoid it... He doesn't need to confess to us, what he needs is to answer to his own conscience..."
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