Chapter 496 His entire family, including his nine clans, shall be forever barred from employment.
The Crown Prince's sword tip pressed against Prince Rui's chest, but his hand trembled violently. Although he had taken the step of forcing the prince to abdicate, the Crown Prince did not want to kill Prince Rui, or rather, he knew very well that Prince Rui could not be killed.
Because Prince Rui not only controls the Imperial Workshop, but he also has a romantic relationship with the Duke of Chu. Jiang Yu is the leader of the Duke of Chu's faction and also controls trading companies and banks. If he were to harm Prince Rui today, who knows what that madman Jiang Yu might do.
"Uncle, I have never had any grudge against you." The Crown Prince's voice trembled, and his hand holding the sword shook even more violently, leaving a shallow mark on Prince Rui's chest with the tip of the sword.
"When I was a child, I fell down while climbing a tree to steal a bird's nest, and you rushed over to cushion my fall. On winter days, when we gathered around the stove to discuss matters, you would secretly slip me candied fruit from the imperial kitchen. I haven't forgotten any of these things."
Today's situation is truly a matter of necessity, leaving me with no other choice. I never intended to be your enemy, much less harm you in the slightest. Uncle Wang, please step aside. From now on, we will still be uncle and nephew, and I will always respect you as my elder.
These words implied a promise, but Prince Rui stood there unmoved, his gaze sharpening as he said, "Jingzhao, if you stop now, you still have a way out. Don't insist on going your own way."
"In that case, Uncle Wang, don't blame me for being ruthless."
At this point, the Crown Prince could not back down. With trembling hands, he tried to stab Prince Rui, but as soon as the cloth was torn, Prince Rui kicked the Crown Prince in the abdomen. The Crown Prince staggered back several steps and had to grab a pillar to avoid falling to the ground.
"Is Prince Rui plotting a rebellion?" At this moment, the voice of the Prince of Lingnan rang out loudly: "The Crown Prince is His Majesty's appointed heir apparent, the very foundation of the nation! Even in ordinary families, there is no reason for an uncle to lay a hand on a junior, let alone lay a hand on the heir apparent?"
The Prince of Lingnan took half a step forward, raising his voice several decibels so that all the surrounding imperial guards could hear him clearly, "Although you are a prince, you are still a subject. Today, you have attacked the Crown Prince with your feet. Isn't this insubordination and provocation against the state?"
His gaze swept over the tightly closed door of the imperial bedchamber, and his tone became even sharper: "Furthermore, His Majesty has not seen his court officials for many days, and he has not even made public the medical records of the Imperial Hospital. Yet you are the one guarding this palace gate, blocking the Crown Prince and blocking all the officials, keeping His Majesty completely isolated from the people of the world!"
If you have no selfish motives and no rebellious intentions, why would you do this? Do you truly intend to take advantage of His Majesty's illness to seize control of the throne and carry out your treasonous plot?
Prince Rui glanced at the boy's bruised and battered face, gave a mocking laugh, and then looked at the Crown Prince, saying, "His Majesty's decree: during his convalescence, he must not see anyone. Anyone who disobeys this order... shall be executed!"
The Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, and the Prince of Lingnan exchanged glances for a moment. Prince Rui's actions today all suggested that the Emperor was very likely already unconscious. They knew better than anyone how much datura was contained in that paperweight.
All three men wore resolute expressions. The Crown Prince rushed forward again to enter the Emperor's bedchamber, but Prince Rui shouted, "The Crown Prince has trespassed into the Emperor's bedchamber! Seize him!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards led his men forward. At this moment, the voice of the King of Lingnan rang out, "Song Ling, have you thought this through? That is His Highness the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of Daqian."
Upon hearing this, Song Ling hesitated. Seeing this, the Crown Prince snorted coldly and swung his sword at Prince Rui again. While Song Ling dodged, the Crown Prince quickly entered the bedchamber. He found the spacious room with the windows sealed shut, letting in no light. Only a faint candlelight provided a sliver of illumination.
The crown prince stared at the large dragon bed as he approached step by step. The strong smell of medicine in the room made his eyes and nose uncomfortable. He frowned and walked to the dragon bed. Through the heavy bed curtains, he could hear faint breathing sounds.
"Father!" he called softly, but there was no response.
He was overjoyed, but dared not make any rash moves. He turned around and saw the Prime Minister and the Prince of Lingnan, along with more than a dozen ministers, surrounding Prince Rui at the entrance of his bedchamber, preventing him from escaping.
He gritted his teeth, turned around and called out "Father" again. After receiving no response, he forcefully pulled back the bed curtains and saw, in the dim light, the emperor's face was pale and turbid, almost like that of a dead man.
His heart was in his throat. He called out "Father" again, but the person on the bed still didn't respond. He whispered, "Father, don't blame me. You made me the Crown Prince, but you don't want me to inherit the throne. I had no choice but to do this. You forced me to do this."
Besides, you were going to die anyway; I'm merely ending your suffering sooner. Only with your death can I ascend the throne.
As he spoke, he raised his hand to cover the emperor's mouth and nose, but at that moment the emperor suddenly opened his eyes, and the crown prince was so frightened that he fell to the ground, crying out, "Father...Father Emperor."
The emperor sat up, his eyes cold and gloomy as he looked at him, and said, "Take him down!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people emerged from behind a curtain on one side, led by the Marquis of Cheng'en and Jiang Yu. The Crown Prince collapsed to the ground; his dream of becoming emperor had been shattered.
Marquis Chengen waved his hand, and two military officers immediately stepped forward and tightly bound the Crown Prince. The Prince of Lingnan and the Prime Minister, witnessing this, turned ashen-faced. The other ministers immediately knelt on the ground, pleading for the Emperor's mercy.
Prince Rui quickly went to the Emperor, bent down to put on his shoes, and helped him out of bed. The Emperor walked step by step to the Prince of Lingnan and said:
"The ancestors of the Zhu family followed the founding emperor in conquering the country and made great contributions. The founding emperor never treated the Zhu family unfairly, granting them land and making them the only hereditary princes in the Great Gan, with vast fiefs and their descendants enjoying wealth and honor. Isn't that enough?"
He stared at the King of Lingnan with eyes as sharp as knives: "But your Zhu family is quite something, generation after generation harboring the delusion of 'ruling the world for the Qin family'! You always say that the Zhu family deserves half the credit for this country, but have you never considered that if your ancestors had truly had the ability to seize the world, if they had truly won the hearts of the people, why would they have been willing to remain as vassal kings, paying tribute to the Qin family year after year and receiving their stipends?!"
"snort!"
The emperor chuckled: "The great empire we have built was won by our founding emperor leading millions of soldiers through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and it has been protected by the Qin family generation after generation. Your Zhu family's attempt to seize it or rebel is nothing but walking into a trap and a dead end!"
The emperor's gaze swept over the prime minister and the others with disdain as he walked forward, saying, "Some of you have studied diligently for over a decade, your hands calloused and your eyes clouded, only to earn an official robe. Others have relied on generations of family business and ancestral merits to be recommended for office. Which of you didn't enter the court with the thought of bringing glory to your ancestors?"
The emperor did not stop walking, but his words were full of wisdom: "But you all insist on using your good intentions wrongly, forming cliques and engaging in factional struggles, siding with whoever has the most power, only caring about factional interests and not the suffering of the people. In order to curry favor with the Crown Prince and the Prince of Lingnan, you even dared to engage in 'coupling and rebellion'."
The emperor stopped and looked at the minister kneeling on the ground, trembling, and said, "Anyone who participated in the Crown Prince's coup today will be banned from employment for life, along with their entire family."
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