The little prince is growing older day by day. Ye An begins to consider appointing a crown prince and a queen. Doudou is his first child and currently his only child. If he insists on appointing Doudou as the crown prince, the ministers should not be able to come up with a reason to object. In the past, there were emperors who made their newborn sons the crown prince. Passing the throne from father to son was an ancient tradition. If Dou Dou could successfully become the crown prince, then she would have a better chance of making Mu Ci the empress.
Everything was supposed to be done according to plan, but recently Ye An discovered that the wet nurse had started teaching the little prince to speak. Normally, the first things a child would call out are father and mother. Privately, he called both himself and Mu Ci "father" to Dou Dou, but his wet nurse taught him to call them "father the emperor" and "father consort". Ye An had no problem with his father, the emperor, but he felt uncomfortable with his father's wife.
In fact, Mu Ci was not the queen, so it was correct to call her father. However, Ye An felt unhappy when he heard that. The concubines in the harem were all the emperor's concubines, and he never considered his brother A Ci as a concubine. Anyway, a queen is going to be appointed. If Doudou learns to ask his father to appoint another queen, he will have to change his mind again, which will be too difficult for the child.
Therefore, for the sake of a title, the establishment of the queen was brought forward. However, given Ye An's current control over the court and the harem, he has the confidence to be willful for once.
Establishing a crown prince or a queen is no trivial matter. Ye An informed the queen mother in advance. The queen mother was currently thinking about the little prince. Whether establishing a crown prince or a queen, it would be beneficial to the little prince. The queen mother was mentally prepared and naturally had no objection.
Ye An then summoned important ministers such as the Grand Tutor, the Grand Preceptor, and Yuan Xiang to the Suzaku Hall. He did not want anyone to oppose him when he brought up the idea in the court, so he communicated with them in advance and persuaded those who had objections in advance.
Tutor Mu was still a little dazed. Not only did he have a grandson who was a prince, but the emperor was also going to make his grandson the crown prince and his son the empress. He has always been cautious in his words and actions, and would never have dared to think about it before. Now that the facts were before him, the Grand Tutor had no time to be happy, and he had to put on a sad face in front of other ministers.
For the first time, Master Mu felt that he had become hypocritical.
Taibao Qiao also has a son in the palace, and he does not think that his son is inferior to Mu Ci. He does not agree with Mu Ci being the queen. However, the emperor proposed to make a queen together with the crown prince. If he opposes Mu Ci being the queen, he would also have to oppose making the young prince the crown prince. This is exactly the most difficult to oppose. It is natural for the emperor to make his only son the crown prince. For Mu Ci, if his son becomes the crown prince, it is only a matter of time before he is crowned queen. If he stops him, he will just make enemies with the Mu family for nothing.
While Qiao Taibao hesitated for a moment, several other important ministers expressed their attitudes one after another, and the emperor even summoned Qin Yushi. Even Qin Yushi, who always loved to find fault, said in a friendly manner that leaving the throne of Crown Prince and Queen vacant was not a long-term solution, and it was a blessing for the country that the Emperor had established a crown prince and a queen.
Even though this Censor Qin always criticized the emperor, he never found fault with Concubine Chen except for the title. After Concubine Chen came to the throne, she was as cautious in her words and actions as the Grand Tutor. Censor Qin was quite satisfied with the future empress.
Ye An took full advantage and finally asked Qiao Taibao with a smile. Qiao Taibao hesitated for a long time but could not say anything against it, so the matter was settled.
Ye An decided to announce the candidates for Queen and Crown Prince the next day during court session, and asked Tutor Mu to select an auspicious day to prepare the enthronement ceremony for the Queen and Crown Prince. Mu Ci's birthday is coming soon, and Ye An can't wait to get this done, which can also be regarded as a special birthday gift for Mu Ci.
As soon as Ye An stepped out of Suzaku Hall, he saw Li Yao standing outside the hall, looking around anxiously.
Li Yao had been a eunuch for decades and was rarely so flustered. Ye An hurriedly asked, "Li Yao, what happened?"
Li Yao bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Concubine Chen has offended Madam Fengsheng, and Madam Fengsheng is kneeling outside the Yunguang Palace crying..."
Madam Fengsheng was the original body's wet nurse. Ye An had met her a few times. She was a fat old lady with gray hair and wrinkles on her face when she smiled. Every time Ye An met her, she kept talking about "the emperor in the past". Her intention to remind the emperor not to forget the grace of feeding him was obvious, which made him very embarrassed for a while.
After Ye An gave birth to Doudou, he had some contact with the profession of wet nurse. In his opinion, Madam Fengsheng and Doudou's wet nurse Wang were both volunteers to enter the palace to be wet nurses. The royal family treated the prince's wet nurses well. In addition to giving them generous remuneration, they also honored them. Basically, as long as they fed the prince, the wet nurse and her family would not have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of their lives. Because Ye An later became emperor, his former wet nurse even got a title and a monthly salary, and his son entered the palace as a concubine, and lived a life of luxury.
Ye An did not feel that the royal family owed Madam Fengsheng. Madam Fengsheng had taken the money in the first place, so it could be said that the job of wet nurse had been settled long ago. If he had not become emperor, Madam Fengsheng would naturally not have had such glory later. Therefore, this was not a reward that a wet nurse must receive, but was out of the royal family's kindness. The royal family was willing to repay a drop of kindness with a spring of water.
But if we only repay a drop of kindness with a drop of water, should we be reminded and condemned? This is a bit of moral kidnapping. The situations in which people get along with each other are very complicated, and we cannot generalize everything. But at least Madam Fengsheng has never been treated unfairly by the royal family. Isn't it an attempt to take credit for the feeding by repeatedly mentioning it?
As soon as Ye An saw the old lady, he wanted to avoid her and would never take the initiative to summon her into the palace. So why did she come to the palace and be "bumped into by the Concubine Chen"?
Brother Aci is quite polite and he doesn't disrespect the old lady.
Ye An said to Li Yao, "Why did Madam Fengsheng enter the palace for no reason? Why did Concubine Chen offend her?"
Li Yao lowered her eyes: "The Concubine Chen punished Li Guiji. Madam Fengsheng was so angry after receiving the letter that she went to the palace to argue with the Concubine Chen."
Ye An stamped his feet. This Li Yao, it’s already this late and he’s still speaking so unclearly?
Ye An asked: "Why did Concubine Chen punish Li Guiji?"
Li Yao said: "Wu Ying, the eunuch beside Li Guiji, spread the news in the palace that the little prince is not the biological son of Concubine Chen..."
"Oh?" Ye An's tone suddenly became as cold as ice: "Come on, follow me to take a look."
Mu Ci ordered the secret guards to investigate Wu Ying and found out that Wu Ying was illiterate. However, the rumors she spread were so convincing and passionate that they did not seem like something that could be spread by an illiterate person. Mu Ci found the first person Wu Ying contacted. It turned out that when Wu Ying spread the rumor, she took a note and looked for someone who could read.
Wu Ying was Li Guiji's confidant. Although Li Guiji had a humble background, she had followed the emperor since she was a child and had also attended some school.
Mu Ci arrested Wu Ying directly and found several notes from Wu Ying's residence. It turned out that the rumors were written in several versions to make people think that there were similar rumors everywhere, and Wu Ying only had time to spread one version.
Wu Ying took all the blame on himself and kept silent when he mentioned that he was illiterate. Mu Ci's eyes stayed on the note and he read it attentively for a while. Without saying anything more to Wu Ying, he gathered all the people, took Wu Ying and went to Li Guiji's Yunguang Palace in a grand manner.
Mu Ci seldom went to other male concubines' bedrooms, and rarely showed such an angry look to outsiders. When Li Guiji came out of the hall to greet him, his legs trembled. Wu Ying was dragged out and fell to the ground like a puddle of mud. Li Guiji gritted her teeth and knelt down, saying that she didn't know anything. It was not easy for him to cultivate several confidants. It was a pity to give up Wu Ying, but how could a confidant be compared with a position?
Mu Ci did not listen to Li Guiji's solemn promises, and ordered someone to give him a pen to check the handwriting.
Li Guiji quickly calmed down, picked up the pen and wrote. The words were first checked one by one by several eunuchs who were responsible for checking the handwriting, and finally handed to Mu Ci.
His handwriting was completely different from the one on the note. The eunuchs were all shaking their heads. Li Guiji was very sure that Mu Ci would not be able to convict him based on his handwriting.
After Mu Ci took a quick glance, he said, "Change hands and write with your left hand."
Li Guiji's heart sank suddenly, because before, his right hand was the same as that of an ordinary person.
"I, I don't know how to change hands to write..."
Mu Ci stepped forward, walked around him slowly, stopped at his left side, and asked the eunuch to lift Li Guiji's left wrist. He scanned it with his sharp black eyes for a moment and asked, "Where did the callus on the first knuckle of your left middle finger come from?"
Li Guiji gasped: "It's...I left it when I was doing something before."
"What are you doing?" Mu Ci curled his lips: "Are you copying books for the emperor?"
Li Guiji looked up in surprise. This was the emperor's childhood secret, known only to him and the emperor. After the emperor lost his memory, he was the only one who knew about it. How did Mu Ci know about it?
Ye An's handwriting is now completely different. Mu Ci has handled government affairs for a period of time, and sometimes he needs to refer to old examples. Among them are some instructions given by Ye An before he "lost his memory". When Mu Ci found the note from Wu Ying, he felt that it was somewhat like the imperial handwriting in the past. It was normal for Li Guiji to be familiar with the imperial handwriting after having served pens and ink. Many noble children had their companions or servants copy books, and in order to prevent others from knowing that they were copying for them, they would ask them to imitate their handwriting. Writing with the left hand was strange to others, but Mu Ci was not unfamiliar with it. In the army, almost everyone who was sent as an undercover to the enemy could do it. Changing hands to write intelligence was a form of self-protection.
Mu Ci asked, "Will you write it yourself, or should I have someone find all the books you copied back then?"
The prince’s studies are all recorded in the palace. The handwriting written by Li Guiji's left hand is only slightly similar to the imperial handwriting, not exactly the same, but the note instructing Wu Ying to spread rumors also has this handwriting, which is intriguing.
Li Guiji was stunned for a long time. Her tense body seemed to lose balance. She fell to the ground and took a breath, saying, "No need to verify it. I wrote it. I am loyal to the emperor. I am worried that the emperor will be deceived..."
Mu Ci said coldly: "The Emperor and the Queen Mother have already clarified the background of the eldest prince. If you continue to spread rumors, you are framing the prince."
"……No!"
Li Guiji knew how serious the crime was to frame the prince. He did it entirely to attack Mu Ci, not the little prince. It was Mu Ci who deliberately put such a big hat on him.
"Princess Qiao questioned the background of the heir to the throne in public, but she received no punishment. Why am I the one framing the prince? Do you think I am inferior?"
"Li Guiji, you are wrong." Mu Ci said with disgust, "Although Qiao Yunting questioned the heir, there were indeed omissions in the Cheng'en Record at that time. He only checked the Cheng'en Record and did not actually do anything out of line with the heir. And you knew the will of the emperor and the empress dowager, but after the eldest son was born, you still spread such rumors. How do you want the eldest son to deal with it!"
Li Guiji denied it flatly: "No, I just want to..."
"Just trying to hit me, huh?"
Mu Ci continued, "I have fought on the battlefield and have experienced life and death. Even if you chop me with a knife, I won't even look at you. But you shouldn't make a fuss about the eldest prince's background. Do you think that just because I stole the name of the prince's biological father, he won't be implicated? Or have you never considered the eldest prince's situation?"
“I, I…”
Li Guiji really didn't think much about the little prince. Just the image of the emperor and the concubine pushing a stroller with a child in it had deeply stimulated him. He thought about it day and night, but what could he do even if he was unwilling?
Qiao Yunting had the nerve to go to Zhaoyang Palace, but he couldn't. He didn't attack the little prince because of the emperor's face.
He also knew that the emperor was about to appoint a queen and a crown prince, and it would be too late if he didn't act now. However, not long after the rumor spread, Mu Ci came to call for punishment, saying that Li Guiji herself looked down on him. She was so useless that she couldn't even handle such a small matter.
"According to palace rules, you will be demoted to a noble lady, fined for half a year, and moved out of Yunguang Palace."
Mu Ci announced the verdict on Li Guiji in a cold voice. The Concubine Chen was in charge of the palace affairs, and everyone in the Yunguang Palace obeyed. Li Guiji cried loudly, and was immediately stripped of the palace clothes of the corresponding rank and was pushed away by the eunuchs. All items in the Yunguang Hall were immediately sealed up.
Wang Xingren ran over in a hurry: "Master, it's bad, Madam Fengsheng is here crying..."
Mu Ci said in a deep voice: "Block it. Tell her not to obstruct the implementation of palace rules."
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Mu Ci vs Li Guiji
In fact, they are all very easy to fight, except for the boss
The eldest son at the center of the storm: rolling around in diapers
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