Emperor Cheng'an was furious about this.
He always valued his reputation above all else; otherwise, he wouldn't have tolerated the King of Qin's various overstepping actions.
But now his most favored son is putting him in a very difficult position!
Emperor Cheng'an did not attend court for two consecutive days, but those officials who could not see him knelt outside the palace gates for a long time!
In particular, those ministers who supported the King of Chu took this opportunity to jump out and, one by one, passionately and righteously argued at length, forcing him to establish a crown prince!
"The person is still kneeling?!" Emperor Cheng'an was restless and uneasy ever since he received the news, sitting in the side hall of Chongzheng Hall.
"Kneeling," the head eunuch Qi Zhong replied, bowing.
"These treacherous officials are becoming increasingly audacious!" Emperor Cheng'an paced back and forth, cursing, "What are they trying to do? Force me to appoint a crown prince? And after that, will they force me to abdicate?!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Qi Zhong was so frightened that he knelt down and said, "Prime Minister Wang and Prime Minister Xie will be here soon. Those people outside will always listen to what the two prime ministers say."
"Announce it! Announce it quickly!"
Emperor Cheng'an was so enraged that he couldn't wait a moment longer.
Chancellor Wang Yuanguang and Vice Chancellor Xie Lianhong arrived quickly. As soon as they entered the side hall, Emperor Cheng'an shoved a handful of memorials into their hands. Suppressing his anger, Emperor Cheng'an said, "You saw it when you came. I only had a headache and missed two days of court, yet they dared to kneel outside the palace gates and petition!"
"How is this any different from forcing the emperor to abdicate?" Emperor Cheng'an said angrily.
Wang Yuanguang and Xie Lianhong immediately knelt down: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
"Tell me, what should we do now?" Emperor Cheng'an swept the memorial requesting the establishment of a crown prince onto the ground: "Prince Chen only made a small mistake, but they won't let it go, using it as an excuse to force me to establish Prince Chu as crown prince. Do they even respect me as emperor?!"
Wang Yuanguang crawled two steps on his knees, picked up the memorial from the ground, and read it for a moment before disagreeing, saying, "Putting aside the fact that His Majesty is in a great and prosperous age and is not in a hurry to establish an heir, even if he were to establish one, the selection of the crown prince is a matter of national importance, how can it be treated so lightly!"
His words struck a chord with Emperor Cheng'an, who replied, "They are all just disciples of the Li family!"
"But I observe that not all of these people who submit memorials are disciples of the Li family."
At this moment, Xie Lianhong, who had remained silent, bowed deeply and presented several selected memorials to Emperor Cheng'an: "The Imperial Censor Shi Ziliang, a veteran official of three reigns, is nearing seventy and never associates with the nobles and officials of the court; the Grand Counselor Zhen Yongming, a veteran official of three reigns, is over sixty and comes from a humble background, always incorruptible. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, he almost fought with Prime Minister Li due to political differences; there are also the Imperial Censor Zhong Li'an, the Censor Miao Guangxuan, and others, all of whom are upright and incorruptible, wholeheartedly devoted to the court and the people, without the slightest selfishness."
"So, according to Minister Xie, I am the one who refuses to listen to advice? I should listen to them and make the Prince of Chu the Crown Prince?!"
Emperor Cheng'an did not accept the memorial he presented, and suppressed his anger.
Xie Lianhong remained expressionless, straightened his back, and said, "Since ancient times, the eldest son of the legitimate heir has been chosen. The Prince of Chu is the eldest son of the Empress Dowager, and he is virtuous and talented. Both in terms of sentiment and reason, the heir apparent should be the Prince of Chu."
He looked directly at Emperor Cheng'an, unafraid of the emperor's wrath: "I am also a disciple of Prime Minister Li, but over the years I have devoted myself to the court and the people. In order to avoid getting involved in factional struggles, I did not even attend Prime Minister Li's funeral in the past. For this, many people have pointed fingers at me and called me unfilial and unjust, but I have never regretted it!"
"Just as I am speaking here today on behalf of Lord Shi, Lord Zhen, Lord Zhong, Lord Miao, and other officials, earnestly requesting Your Majesty to establish an heir, I will not regret it!"
He bowed deeply, banging his head on the ground: "As long as the crown prince is not chosen, the factional strife in the court will not be resolved! Your Majesty, I beg you to establish a crown prince!"
"You! You!" Emperor Cheng'an had originally called them to come up with ideas, but he never expected that Xie Lianhong was in cahoots with those people outside!
He was seething with anger, but he couldn't vent it on Xie Lian Hong.
Just as Xie Lianhong said, anyone could be instigated by the King of Chu, but he was the only one who couldn't be.
It wasn't just because he severed ties with his teacher, even refusing to attend the teacher's funeral. It was also because his upright conduct over the years was evident to all.
He could certainly lash out at Xie Lianhong in a fit of anger, but what would happen afterward?
After that, those intellectuals will probably swarm around him like flies, attacking and criticizing him!
Throughout history, countless emperors who achieved great feats have been ruined by the pens of scholars. Emperor Cheng'an, wanting to be remembered in history, naturally dared not offend the scholars and abandon the reputation he had painstakingly built.
"All of you, leave. Let me think about this some more."
Emperor Cheng'an sat back down, somewhat dejected.
Seeing this, Xie Lianhong did not continue to offer advice. Instead, he stood up, bowed deeply, and left.
Wang Yuanguang went out with him, looking at his colleague thoughtfully: "Minister Xie never got involved in the matter of choosing an heir before, so why has he gotten involved this time?"
Xie Lianhong glanced at him and shook his head, saying, "I didn't know that Prince Chen was so absurd before. A ruler should be strict with himself, but His Highness Prince Chen indulged in momentary pleasure and committed adultery with his brother's concubine. This is a small example. He dares to do this even when he is only Prince of Qin. If he were to truly ascend the throne in the future, would our Great Wei also have a foolish ruler who insults his subject's wife?"
His words were quite serious. Wang Yuanguang had originally thought that he had been quietly won over by the King of Chu, but now he felt that was not necessarily the case.
King Chen's actions were indeed absurd, handing King Chu a good knife.
The King of Chu's men didn't even need to show their faces; they only needed to spread rumors and incite others, and upright officials like Xie Lian Hong would jump out to oppose the King of Chen.
The Emperor has only three sons. The Prince of Chu holds the title of the eldest son, the Prince of Chen is favored by the Emperor, and the third prince, Xue Gui, is born to a palace maid and has a low status. All things considered, the position of Crown Prince will only be decided between the Prince of Chu and the Prince of Chen.
Now that King Chen has lost his virtue, they will naturally support King Chu.
Wang Yuanguang sighed inwardly, knowing that this time there was probably no way to reverse the situation.
*
The debate over choosing a crown prince lasted for more than half a month, but it was finally settled after the Dragon Boat Festival.
Upon hearing the news, Shen Youying went to find Xue Shen: "Should we prepare a backup gift and send it to the Prince of Chu's residence?"
The Emperor ultimately made the Prince of Chu the Crown Prince. Now, the threshold of the Prince of Chu's residence is almost worn down by visitors. It is likely that the Prince of Chu will move out of the residence and into the Eastern Palace soon.
Shen Youying wouldn't have bothered to ask if it were anyone else, but remembering how close Xue Shen was to the King of Chu at the Spring Banquet, she decided to ask a little more.
Xue Shen pondered for a moment and then said, "No need."
Shen Youying secretly observed him, and always felt that his expression was somewhat strange when the King of Chu was mentioned.
Unable to figure out the key, she simply stopped thinking about it and followed Xue Shen's instructions without sending any congratulatory gifts to the Prince of Chu's residence.
Unexpectedly, three days later, Xue Shen suddenly sent someone to Ting Meixuan to tell her to prepare to meet someone at Fanlou that afternoon.
Shen Youying was puzzled and simply changed into a dress that she could wear in public.
But once she entered the private room, she discovered that the people Xue Shen had introduced her to were actually the King and Queen of Chu.
No, they should now be called the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
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