Chapter 175: Shocking Change
The prince waited outside the Imperial Observatory all night. The next morning, the gate opened and Qi Shou came out and nodded to Eunuch Liu.
Eunuch Liu's expression relaxed, and he said to the Crown Prince with a look of joy, "Your Highness, His Majesty can see you now."
When Qi Shou brought the prince over, the emperor looked much better.
"Father, I have something important to report."
"What is it?"
The prince hesitated slightly.
Qi Shou said, "Your Majesty, I will take my leave first."
After everyone left, the prince reported the urgent military information that Cui Hai had seriously injured Prince Fu and was captured.
"I understand. You can go down first." The emperor's face was calm, not surprised or angry at all.
The prince hesitated for a moment and said, "I think the most urgent thing is to rescue my fifth brother first."
"I understand. Go away." The emperor's tone became heavier, and there was a hint of impatience and anger in his expression.
The prince took his leave first, feeling a little uneasy and more worried. He felt that his father's reaction was very strange and very different from usual.
After coming out of the building, the prince saw Eunuch Liu bringing Ji Quan in again. He thought that his father would arrange for him to go and rescue people, and he felt relieved.
That night, Ji Quan led his men to surround the East Palace.
The Crown Princess was teaching her daughter how to paint, while her little son was sleeping soundly in the cradle beside her, with a wet nurse sitting beside him to take care of him.
A young eunuch hurried over, looking panic-stricken and speaking incoherently. The Crown Princess told him not to be anxious and to speak clearly. The young eunuch took a few breaths before he could speak clearly.
The emperor sent someone to convey his decree to depose the crown prince.
Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess' face turned pale and she sat on the couch in a daze with a dull look in her eyes, as if she had suddenly lost all her strength. The daughter in her arms was frightened and started crying.
The crying woke up the younger brother, and both children burst into tears in fear.
The wet nurse was also frightened. Seeing the Crown Princess sitting there as if she couldn't even breathe, she hurried over to wake her up. The Crown Princess gasped and almost fainted, and then she heard the crying of the two children.
She asked the wet nurse to stay and take care of the two children and hurried to the prince's side. When she arrived, she just heard the second half of the imperial edict. She suddenly staggered and fell to the ground, unable to believe what she heard.
The prince knelt on the ground, his whole body seemed to be frozen, still in shock and unable to recover.
His father had clearly asked him not long ago to supervise the country well and not to slack off, so why did he suddenly want to depose him today? He also said that he had framed his third brother and intended to eliminate dissidents and monopolize power. He said that he had secretly made friends with court officials and won over people's hearts in recent years, hoping to replace him as soon as possible. He accused him of being disrespectful and unfilial, unkind and unjust, narrow-minded, and malicious, and was not fit to be the crown prince. From today on, his position as crown prince was abolished, demoted to a commoner, and imprisoned in the Eastern Palace, where he was not allowed to leave without being summoned.
"Your Highness, please accept the order."
Ji Quan handed the imperial edict over. The prince slowly raised his hand. Ji Quan placed the imperial edict in his hand. As he turned to leave, he heard the prince mutter to himself, "Why?"
"This is His Majesty's decision. Your Highness, please don't ask so many questions."
After Ji Quan came out, the door of the East Palace slowly closed.
In the gradually narrowing door gap, only a faint yellow candlelight remained, which flashed for a moment and then disappeared. The door was completely closed, as if it was completely isolated from the outside world.
Afterwards, another imperial edict was sent to the empress, reprimanding her for her poor parenting and ordering her to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors. Concubine Qing would temporarily take charge of the affairs of the harem.
At the court the next morning, when the civil and military officials saw Prince Rui there, they were shocked as if they had seen a ghost. They were so surprised that their jaws dropped and they whispered to each other, trying to guess the emperor's intention of releasing the person.
When the emperor announced the news of deposing the crown prince, everyone was extremely shocked and some even suspected that the emperor had taken the wrong medicine.
He clearly valued the crown prince so much before, and was almost about to pass the throne to him, so how could he suddenly be abolished?
"Your Majesty, there is a war going on at the border right now. If you depose the Crown Prince at this time, it will undermine the foundation of the country. The military will be unstable, which will be detrimental to both the country and the people. Your Majesty, please reconsider."
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is respectful, diligent, and kind. Your Majesty, please consider this."
"I second the motion."
"I second the motion."
…
The ministers who had always supported the prince stood up to plead for him, while Marquis Changxing and the remaining ministers were still watching and had not expressed their attitude.
"I have already investigated. It was the Crown Prince who secretly plotted to frame the Third Prince, causing him to be wrongly accused. The Crown Prince has committed such a grave offense that he is unfit to continue his reign as Crown Prince. I have made my decision." The Emperor's expression turned stern, and he said in a cold voice, "Anyone who dares to plead for mercy will be punished with the same crime!"
Most of the ministers who had stood up were silent, and only two were still speaking up for the prince.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince has a noble character and would never do anything to frame others. Your Majesty, please do not be deceived by this treacherous person."
"I also believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would never do such a despicable thing. It must be someone with ulterior motives who is trying to replace him and undermine the foundation of the country. I implore Your Majesty to punish this treacherous villain and uphold the law of the land."
"How dare you!" The emperor was so angry that he grabbed the teacup and threw it in front of the two men, startling them. "Are you trying to say that I can't distinguish between loyalty and treachery, and am stupid and incompetent?"
"I dare not." The two men kowtowed in fear and trepidation.
"Come here, take him away and interrogate him strictly!" When the emperor stood up, he suddenly felt dizzy and fainted from anger.
Prince Rui immediately asked Eunuch Liu to call the imperial physician, and then ordered people to surround the hall and no one was allowed to leave.
Prince An stayed behind to appease the civil and military officials, telling them not to panic, saying that his father was a lucky man and would be fine.
As time passed, the atmosphere in the hall became more and more tense.
Everyone became increasingly nervous, fearing that something might happen to the emperor.
When Eunuch Liu came over, everyone was eagerly waiting to hear the result.
"Your Majesty is fine. Please rest assured, everyone. He only needs to recuperate for a few days. During this time, the Third Prince will temporarily serve as regent. If you have any questions, please report to the Third Prince."
Hearing that His Majesty was fine, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. However, many people had doubts about letting the Third Prince serve as regent. This was especially true for the ministers who supported the Crown Prince. They felt as if the sky was falling and that they would definitely face retaliation. Some were already considering resigning...
When Eunuch Liu came back to report to Prince Rui, a young eunuch came to report that the princess had arrived.
Changle was stopped outside the door by the guards. When she saw Prince Rui coming out of the palace, her eyes widened in shock.
"Why are you here?" She looked behind him, "Is the emperor in there? I want to see him."
"Your Majesty is not feeling well. He should rest and recuperate. No one is allowed to disturb him." Prince Rui said calmly.
"My father will not depose my brother, the Crown Prince. I want to see my father. Get out of my way!" Changle was about to rush in. Prince Rui glanced to the side, and the guard guarding the door drew his sword, which scared Changle.
"The imperial edict has been issued. The dethronement of the crown prince is a foregone conclusion. Ninth sister, please stop making trouble. If you anger our father, you will probably have to reflect on your mistakes in seclusion like our mother." Prince Rui raised his hand, and the guards put away their swords.
Upon learning that her mother was also under house arrest, Changle's face was first shocked and then angry. She demanded, "Did you frame the Crown Prince? Father would never treat Mother and the Crown Prince like this. I want to see Father!"
"Oh, there's one more thing. My Royal Brother needs to remind you. General Cui led his troops in pursuit of the enemy, but they set him up and he fell into a trap. He was seriously injured and in critical condition. He also caused my fifth brother to be captured. Father has shown mercy and allowed Cui Yan to escort the food and fodder to atone for his crime. The imperial edict will be delivered to the General's Mansion shortly. Ninth Princess, you'd better return quickly, or you won't be able to see me one last time."
King Rui called out for someone to come, and two guards came over, "Send the princess out of the palace."
He curled the corners of his lips and turned away.
Changle stared at his back with a look of resentment and unwillingness, and kept watching him until he entered the hall.
"Princess, please."
She turned coldly and left, followed by two guards.
When she returned to the general's mansion, the imperial edict had just been delivered.
Because Cui Hai was greedy for merit and advanced rashly, he fell into the enemy's trap. Not only was he seriously injured, but he also lost many soldiers and generals, which led to the capture of King Fu. The emperor assigned the task of transporting food and grass to Cui Yan, asking him to atone for his sins with merit, and ordered him to set off immediately without any mistakes.
When Cui Yan learned that his father was seriously injured, he did not dare to delay. He said goodbye to Changle in a hurry and set off.
After Princess Pingyang learned about the situation in the palace from Changle, she felt that the emperor was being coerced by Prince Rui, and was about to ask the housekeeper to send a message to Cui Jingshu to make preparations in advance. Soon the housekeeper hurried back and said that the palace was surrounded by people from the Imperial City Bureau and could not go out.
"That's too much!"
Princess Pingyang was so angry that her face turned blue. After she calmed down, she asked the housekeeper to leave first. She also told Changle not to act impulsively. Prince Rui must have planned carefully to seize power overnight. Now the imperial guards in the palace and the Imperial City Administration outside the palace were under his command, so she must not act rashly.
…
For the next two days, the ministers who originally supported the crown prince were in a state of panic, fearing that their heads would fall off their necks at any time. However, Prince Rui did not eliminate dissidents and retaliate as they expected. Instead, he did a generous thing and pleaded with the emperor to release all the members of the Jiang family who were imprisoned in the Sky Prison. He also allowed Jiang Cheng to resume his position as Shangshu. Jiang Cheng joined the Ministry of Personnel and was promoted to the fourth rank.
When Ji Quan came to the Heavenly Prison with the imperial edict, Jiang Lan was not in the cell. She had been taken away before he arrived.
When Ji Quan finished reading the decree, Jiang Cheng was overjoyed and quickly accepted the order to express his gratitude. Jiang Yao and Jiang Rui were even more delighted, thinking that they could finally get out.
Only Jiang Shen was still worried about Jiang Lan's safety, and asked Ji Quan about her whereabouts. Ji Quan said that she had been taken into the palace.
"When will Lan'er be able to come back?" Jiang Cheng also thought of Jiang Lan at this time.
A dark emotion flashed across Ji Quan's eyes, and the corners of his lips curled up into a signature sneer. "Don't worry, Shangshu-sama. His Majesty is keeping the Second Young Lady in the palace just in case. He won't embarrass her."
Jiang Cheng felt relieved.
Jiang Shen was still worried and asked if he could meet Jiang Lan. Ji Quan said he would convey his words to the emperor and asked him to wait for news.
Ji Quan then sent the four people back to the Shangshu Mansion and went back to the palace to report.
When the housekeeper saw the people return safely, he was so excited that tears filled his eyes. He quickly ordered people to prepare braziers and willow branches to exorcise the bad luck for the four people.
Qing'er and Gui'er were also in the mansion. Seeing that Jiang Lan hadn't returned, they hurried over to ask Jiang Shen, worried that Jiang Lan was still imprisoned. Jiang Shen told them not to worry, that she was in the palace and that he would go to the palace to see the emperor tomorrow. The housekeeper hurried over to stop them, saying, "No~"
After the steward asked the servants to leave, he recounted the current situation in the court.
He learned the shocking news that the crown prince had been deposed and Prince Rui was appointed regent.
Jiang Cheng was so surprised that he couldn't speak for a long time.
Jiang Shen was also shocked and couldn't believe it was true.
Jiang Yao and Jiang Rui were more surprised than shocked, as if they had heard something new and unprecedented. They wanted to know the reason, but were scolded by Jiang Cheng several times and dared not say a word.
"No, I have to go to the palace to meet the emperor now." Jiang Shen turned around and was about to go out, but Jiang Cheng quickly grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.
Jiang Cheng tried to persuade her earnestly, "Shen'er, please don't be impulsive. His Majesty finally showed mercy and released us. You must not act rashly. Lan'er is still in the palace. If you go and anger His Majesty, and His Majesty punishes you, what will happen to Lan'er?"
Jiang Shen frowned, but still said bluntly: "There is a war going on at the border right now. How can Your Majesty depose the Crown Prince at this time? Besides, the Crown Prince himself has done nothing wrong."
Jiang Cheng stamped his feet anxiously. "Just listen to your father. Don't offend His Majesty at this time, or our whole family will suffer. Besides, how do you know the Crown Prince has done nothing wrong? His Majesty has his own reasons. Don't get involved."
"I heard that it was because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince framed His Royal Highness the Third Prince?" The butler was not sure either.
"No," Jiang Shen began to speak but was interrupted by Jiang Cheng. "His Majesty has his own reasons. You must not go to His Majesty to complain about the Crown Prince. If you rush in now, not only will you fail to plead for His Royal Highness, but you will also put our entire family's lives at risk."
Jiang Yao and Jiang Rui also advised him not to be impulsive and not to make the emperor angry.
Jiang Cheng asked him to at least understand the situation clearly before making a decision. Jiang Shen nodded, and the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Knowing that Prince Rui was in power now, Jiang Rui's thoughts started to stir again. He had established connections with people in Prince Rui's mansion before. If he could show his loyalty to Prince Rui now, he might be able to get an official position. But his two brothers-in-law were unreliable. One was cheated outside, and no one knew whether the other was dead or alive.
If he had known this would happen, he should have wholeheartedly joined the King of Rui. It was all his fault that his two brothers-in-law had ruined his bright future.
......
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