Chapter 316: Did everyone in the Eastern Palace really die back then?
Tang Ning lowered her head and pinched the sachet hanging around her waist. It was given to her by Xiao Yan when King Cheng interrogated her.
Mr. Tong opposite didn't notice the strangeness on her face. He just stroked the tea bowl and thought about the past events that he hadn't thought about for a long time.
"When the late emperor first ascended the throne, he had a gentle temperament and a deep father-son relationship with the Crown Prince. He only had one legitimate son, Crown Prince Li, and was not very close to the other princes."
"Although the court was also headed by aristocratic families at the time, the Taizu's power was too great. He also saw the hidden dangers of the aristocratic families and wanted to eradicate them. Aside from the He family, who had expressed their loyalty early on, families like the Lu and Cui families were severely suppressed."
"Crown Prince Li was originally raised by Taizu, so he naturally inherited his aspirations. After Taizu's death, he has always followed Taizu's wishes, intending to purge the aristocratic families and restore order to the court."
The Crown Prince was born a wise ruler. He brought order to the government and had the potential to prosper the Wei Dynasty. In addition, because of the people left behind by Taizu, even after Taizu passed away, the Eastern Palace still had countless supporters in the court.
At that time, the words of the crown prince were equivalent to the imperial edict, and the will of the crown prince was the will of the emperor, but everyone forgot that the late emperor was the reigning emperor and he was the true master of all the people.
As an emperor, he should be above everyone else, but his legitimate son is above him and has more power than him.
How could the late emperor tolerate this?
When Taizu was alive, the former emperor was able to endure.
When Taizu just passed away, the late emperor was able to endure it.
But as he endured it, seeing the prince's power growing day by day, even surpassing him as the emperor at one point, how could the late emperor not feel resentful?
Tang Ning couldn't help but frown: "Since Taizu intended to kill the crown prince, why didn't he just pass the throne to him?"
The Green-Eyed Prince allowed the late emperor to ascend the throne. Isn't this tantamount to pushing the father and son against each other?
Mr. Tong sighed softly, "It's possible that Taizu didn't want to, but the Crown Prince was still too young at the time. A young ruler creates uncertainty for the state, and even though the aristocratic families were suppressed, they still held sway in the court. When Taizu suddenly fell ill and abdicated, he didn't know how long he would live."
The ten-year-old prince was fine, but the ten-year-old king was unable to control the ghosts and monsters in the court.
Mr. Tong was still young at that time and didn't know the inside story, but he guessed that the injury Taizu suffered when he abdicated must have been very serious.
Perhaps because he was afraid that he would not be able to survive, Taizu hurriedly passed the throne to the late emperor and decided on the position of crown prince. However, he survived and persisted for another four years before passing away. However, the imperial edict had already been issued at that time, and he could not replace the late emperor.
Tang Ning obviously thought of this as well, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
The tea on the stove was boiling, bubbling with fine foam.
The aroma of tea filled the entire room. Tang Ning was silent for a long time before asking, "Did the Crown Prince Li really die because of treason?"
Mr. Tong shook his head. "Crown Prince Li is as upright as the rising sun. He is the Crown Prince by nature. As long as he follows the rules, the throne will be his sooner or later. Why would he do such a perverse thing?"
Prince Li was not a person of great power. He noticed that the late emperor was cold and aloof, and did not want to cause a rift between father and son over material gain, so he voluntarily gave up some of his power. After the wedding, even though he noticed that the late emperor supported other princes and wanted to disperse the power of the Eastern Palace, he did not care too much.
It was not that he did not understand the king's suspicion, and he tried his best to appease the late emperor. However, the late emperor did not feel his concession and was only afraid of the power of the Eastern Palace.
Everyone says that the prince is plotting treason, but who with a discerning eye would believe it?
After the tragedy in the Eastern Palace, countless people pleaded for Prince Li, but the late emperor did not believe a word he said. He even charged anyone who pleaded with him with treason.
The capital was flooded with blood, and countless people died in the court. In the end, no one dared to speak out anymore. The crimes of the Crown Prince were made known to the world, and under the influence of public opinion, the falsehood became true.
Mr. Tong took a sip of tea and suppressed his resentment.
"Back then, Crown Prince Li wanted to abolish the aristocratic families, nearly forcing them into extinction. Furthermore, the imperial examinations had already been held during his time. Many of the court officials who came from humble backgrounds today entered the court that time."
"But later, for unknown reasons, mistakes repeatedly occurred in the Eastern Palace, and many of the tasks were infamous. Crown Prince Li also suddenly became bloodthirsty and cruel. In the year before he plotted rebellion, he slaughtered officials without the emperor's approval for trivial matters, and even killed a prince and a prince with his own hands."
"The court and the country were in turmoil. The late emperor intended to dethrone the crown prince, but due to the father-son relationship and the wishes of Taizu, he suppressed the idea and only imprisoned the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace. But who could have known that the Crown Prince suddenly went mad? Not only did he set fire to the palace, he also sent the Eastern Palace's subordinates to assassinate the late emperor, intending to rebel. Later, the Eastern Palace was burned down, and the Crown Prince died in the flames."
Tang Ning's brows knitted tightly together: "Everyone in the East Palace was burned to death?"
Mr. Tong lowered his eyes and said, "They are all dead. The Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, the eldest grandson of the Emperor, and even the guards. No one survived."
“…”
Tang Ning just found it ridiculous. Even though she had not experienced what happened back then, she could sense that there was something wrong with these things.
If Prince Li really intended to rebel, with the foundation left to him by Taizu, even if it was reduced by the previous emperor and damaged due to years of mistakes, he would not be completely powerless to resist.
He could have killed the late emperor, or even burned down the Imperial Dragon Tower. Why did he burn down the Eastern Palace? He burned alive everyone in the Eastern Palace. Even if the Crown Prince was really crazy as people said, the Crown Princess and the Emperor's eldest grandson were not crazy. Could it be that they would just sit there and watch him die in the fire?
Seeing Tang Ning's inexpressible expression, Mr. Tong drank the tea in his hand in one gulp. "Don't you think it's ridiculous? But at that time, the late emperor insisted that he was plotting treason, and the aristocratic families also laid out evidence of the prince's rebellion."
He said this in a somewhat annoyed tone, but in the end, it could only turn into a sigh.
"This matter happened many years ago, and it's pointless to bring it up again. The current emperor is very secretive about the matter of the Crown Prince Li. Just listen to it and don't tell anyone else."
Tang Ning nodded: "I know."
What the two said was a bit heavy, and the atmosphere in Shengningju was solemn for a while.
Mr. Tong was also moved at the moment and spoke a few more words to Tang Ning. Seeing that the little girl had her eyes downcast as if in deep thought, he paused and told her about the academy.
"During the past few days of assessments, the academy has already admitted over 500 students. There should be a few more in the next two days. By the time the assessments are over tomorrow night, there should be around 600 students in total. These people will not be divided into classes after admission. They will study with the same teacher and the same courses. After the exams are taken in a month, they will be divided into classes according to their grades."
"As the county lady said before, after the division, the classes will be divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D. They will receive different courses and treatments. After that, there will be exams every two months, and the classes will be divided again based on their scores. The best will survive."
Tang Ning cast aside his complicated thoughts and came back to his senses, saying, "One more thing. If the same person takes the lowest place in the D-grade exam for two consecutive times, he will be expelled from the academy."
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