Xie Jingyan escorted Shen Wan on horseback for two streets before heading towards the palace.
Xie Jingyan went straight to the Imperial Study, only to be told that the Emperor was not there but in Hanyuan Hall, so he went there instead.
When the eunuch guarding outside the palace saw him, he wanted to go in and announce his arrival, but Xie Jingyan refused.
On the dragon bed, the emperor leaned against the large bolster. When Xie Jingyan approached, the emperor coughed several times.
Xie Jingyan coughed, his brows furrowing repeatedly, a hint of disdain in his eyes. "You're acting so fake."
emperor,"……"
Following behind, Eunuch Yuan entered, “…”
What does he want to do by coming in here?
Why can't they learn from their mistakes?
Now, following along is not an option, nor is retreating.
Although the Emperor was faking it, and he had anticipated that Prince Ling wouldn't be so easy to talk to and would come to the palace to see him, but—
Why is Prince Ling so blunt and expose me like this?
The son showed no mercy, exposing the emperor's fake cough directly. The emperor swallowed back the real cough that was rising in his throat, saying, "Father has been reviewing memorials for twenty years. Can't you help Father review them for a few days?"
Xie Jingyan said, "If you have someone else approve all the memorials, then Father Emperor's job is far too easy."
easy?
Being an emperor is never easy, unless you want to be a tyrant.
The Emperor said, "You are my son! It is your duty to share your father's burdens."
“My father has more than one prince,” Xie Jingyan said.
The Emperor said, "Can Father Emperor simply entrust this matter to another prince?"
Even the crown prince might not have such great power to review memorials and handle state affairs.
By delegating the power to review memorials to other princes, he would inevitably arouse suspicion among the court officials that he, the emperor, was afraid that Prince Ling would become too powerful and was intentionally cultivating other princes to counterbalance him. This would also nurture the ambitions of other princes. Is this something that can be done casually?
Others may not understand, but how could Yan'er not?
Previously, there was the eldest prince vying with him for the position of crown prince. Now, the eldest prince and the Duke of Maoguo have been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's jail. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's sudden collapse from anger, which caused her to vomit blood and lose her sight, they would have already been convicted.
In the past few days, not a single minister has stepped forward to ask the emperor to designate an heir. The emperor suspects that Xie Jingyan may have spoken to the Minister of Justice and others, otherwise this would not have happened.
The Emperor had been waiting for several days and could no longer wait. He said, "Father will issue a decree now to make you the Crown Prince."
Now that he's the crown prince, there's nothing wrong with him helping his father, the emperor, review memorials.
The emperor thought this to himself, when he heard his son say, "I'm not in a hurry, why is Father in such a hurry?"
emperor,"……"
real.
Upon hearing this, the emperor nearly choked on his breath.
His nonchalant attitude towards the position of crown prince infuriated the emperor so much that he wanted to order Xie Jingyan to be dragged away and flogged forty times.
The Emperor looked at Xie Jingyan, his eyes filled with suppressed anger, "You don't want the position of Crown Prince?"
Xie Jingyan said, "I want to personally capture Prince Cheng."
The Emperor said unhappily, "Making you the Crown Prince doesn't prevent you from arresting Prince Cheng."
Xie Jingyan looked at the Emperor and said, "Once I take over the position of Crown Prince, I will have to move into the palace. It's not safe in the palace, and I'm worried about leaving Wan'er and Jin'er there."
emperor,"……"
Eunuch Yuan, "..."
What a simple and unpretentious reason for refusing the position of crown prince! It didn't make the emperor so angry that he died on the spot.
The Emperor was furious. He knew that his son cherished Shen Wan dearly, but his son's affection for her was so great that he was afraid it would be unsafe for them to stay in the palace, and he was willing to temporarily postpone accepting the position of Crown Prince.
The Emperor was furious, "You were asked to give up the throne for her, and you did?!"
This was a difficult question to answer, as Eunuch Yuan was afraid that Xie Jingyan would anger the Emperor to death.
Instead of answering, Xie Jingyan directly asked, "Who dares to threaten me with her?"
The Emperor was so angry his head was buzzing. "With me in the palace, I won't let anything happen to them."
Xie Jingyan said, "I can't afford to gamble."
"I'm not even afraid that the position of Crown Prince will grow legs and run away, so why is Father in such a hurry?"
When the eldest prince and Xie Jingyin were vying for the position of crown prince, none of the other princes dared to get involved, let alone compete with him.
Since it's already his, why should he be in a hurry? Although the Ling Prince's mansion isn't as grand as the palace, the palace has many rules, and more importantly, the secret guards aren't allowed to enter the East Palace to protect Shen Wan.
In the Ling Prince's mansion, he wouldn't dare say that everyone was his own, but at least the people in the Moyuxuan were trustworthy. If he stayed in the capital, it would be fine, but once he got news of Prince Cheng, he would have to go and arrest him, and who knows how long he would have to be away from the capital. It was better to let Shen Wan and the child stay in the Ling Prince's mansion, and it would be convenient for her close friends to keep her company and relieve her boredom.
He has the substance of a crown prince, so why is he in such a hurry for the title?
The Emperor was so angry he was almost speechless. Eunuch Yuan advised from the side, "All the officials know that Your Majesty favors Prince Ling. The position of Crown Prince belongs to Prince Ling. No one is in a hurry to ask Your Majesty to establish a Crown Prince. Your Majesty can wait until Prince Ling brings Prince Cheng back before issuing the decree."
The Emperor looked at Xie Jingyan, knowing his son was stubborn. If he said he wouldn't accept the imperial decree, even if it was sent to the Ling Prince's residence, it would probably be brought back untouched. The Emperor said, "It's fine if you're not in a hurry to become the Crown Prince. You must carefully review the memorials that I sent you."
After all that talk, he still needed to review the memorials. Xie Jingyan said, "They can only be sent once every three days."
He didn't want to be doing the things an emperor does every day before he's even become emperor.
He even haggled over the terms when reviewing memorials...
Even Eunuch Yuan was convinced.
The emperor was both angry and helpless, but he also knew that it was not easy for his son to back down like this, so he decided to stop while he was ahead.
"From now on, you must attend court every day."
Xie Jingyan said, "That's unnecessary."
After uttering those four words, Xie Jingyan turned and left.
He has already agreed to review the memorials, but he doesn't attend court and is unaware of the major and minor events happening in the court. Does he expect him to work in isolation?
Watching Xie Jingyan's departing figure, the Emperor was so angry that he wanted to order his son to be dragged away and beaten again. Eunuch Yuan was trying not to laugh, and his cheeks ached from holding it in.
Meanwhile, Shen Wan returned to the Pingyang Marquis's residence by carriage.
Upon seeing the carriage from the Prince of Ling's residence, the gatekeeper immediately sent someone to inform Princess Huai'an, and then came down to greet it.
Yinshuang helped Shen Wan down from the carriage, and after stepping into the mansion, she walked towards the small courtyard where Princess Huai'an and Shen Du lived.
They had only gone halfway when they saw Princess Huai'an, heavily pregnant, coming over with the help of her maid. Upon seeing her, Shen Wan hurriedly went to greet her, saying, "Sister-in-law, you're quite pregnant, why are you coming out to greet me?"
Princess Huai'an smiled and said, "I also wanted to travel more, hoping that I could grow up quickly like you and suffer less."
Shen Wan helped Princess Huai'an into the courtyard and said, "Sister-in-law can definitely do it too."
Princess Huai'an touched her belly, hoping to give birth soon. There were few people in the Pingyang Marquis's mansion. Shen Du spent most of his days in the military camp. Once the border war broke out, he would have to go to the border. Usually, Shen Wei would come to keep her company and talk. Now that Shen Wei was about to get married and give birth, the mansion would be much more lively.
Princess Huai'an said, "The Duchess of Wei is currently discussing the wedding date with Fourth Aunt. Fourth Sister should be getting married this month."
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