While the emperor was furious, a vague sense of unease also arose in his heart.
As expected, King Hui, who had remained unmoved until now, finally spoke.
"Your Majesty, since the Crown Prince already has an heir, let's just drop the matter of deposing him! The Crown Prince has always been well-behaved and treated both superiors and subordinates with great respect. He only acted this way because he was furious. A small punishment will suffice as a warning."
Prince Hui was in charge of the Imperial Clan Records, which meant he was in charge of the imperial family's registers, marriages, funerals, titles and successions, and even which prince took a concubine, since it all had to be recorded in the Imperial Register.
The emperor glanced at Prince Hui twice but remained silent.
The Imperial Clan Court Minister was originally a highly respected old prince in the royal family. After his death a few years ago, Prince Hui was elected as the Imperial Clan Court Minister because of his noble character.
Even the emperor disliked him.
Although the Imperial Clan Court only nominally managed matters related to marriage and funerals, Prince Hui enjoyed a high reputation among the royal family.
Since it concerns the succession of his lineage, King Hui would definitely step forward and say a few words.
The emperor snorted coldly.
"Why is Prince Hui so eager to speak up for the Crown Prince? Don't you always talk about having many children and a large family? Why aren't you saying that now? It's a fact that the Crown Prince has no children. Even if his concubine is pregnant now, the child hasn't been born yet, and we don't know if it's a boy or a girl. It's too early to say that the child is the Crown Prince's offspring!"
He flicked his sleeve, lowered his voice even more, and carried obvious malice.
"Could it be that you, Prince Hui, are secretly colluding with the Crown Prince?"
King Hui was greatly alarmed and immediately knelt down on the ground.
"Your Majesty's words leave me bewildered. Since assuming the position of Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, I have been diligent and respectful in all matters, striving for fairness and never showing favoritism. Today's discussion focuses on the Crown Prince. The deposition and establishment of the Crown Prince are of paramount importance to the court, the royal family, and even the fate of the nation. To depose him rashly without sufficient justification would surely invite ridicule from neighboring countries, who would accuse Your Majesty of being untrustworthy."
He spoke at length, and at the height of his emotion, his eyes even welled with tears. His voice was so passionate that it drew the attention of all the officials in the court.
Afterwards, King Hui took a breath and bowed down.
“Every word I uttered was for Your Majesty and for our Great Yin Dynasty!”
The emperor's lips twitched.
That's such an exaggeration, why don't you go and sing opera?
What does it matter if it affects the dynasty's fate or is ridiculed by neighboring countries? The emperor simply doesn't care!
He raised his hand, about to speak again, when suddenly a loud voice rang out from outside the hall.
"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has a memorial to submit."
All the officials turned to look outside the hall.
A middle-aged eunuch was seen kneeling below the steps, holding a box high in the air.
If one had met the Crown Prince a few times, one would have discovered that this eunuch was Feng Jia, the Crown Prince's most trusted confidant.
Although Eunuch Feng was kneeling on the stone slab, his back was straight, and his stern expression made him look more like a loyal minister offering honest advice than a eunuch.
The emperor initially didn't want to pay attention, but Imperial Censor Zhou spoke first.
"When convicting a criminal, the criminal should be allowed to defend himself. Your Majesty, why don't you call someone in and hear what His Highness the Crown Prince has to say in his memorial?"
So, all the officials turned to look at the emperor.
The emperor clenched his fist, then relaxed it and waved his hand.
"Bring him in!"
Outside, Eunuch Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, still holding the box high, and walked step by step into the main hall.
Walking along the passageway between the officials, to the foot of the golden dragon throne, Eunuch Feng knelt down again and read aloud the memorial personally drafted by the Crown Prince.
In his memorial, the Crown Prince first admitted his mistake, showed a good attitude, and expressed his willingness to accept punishment.
Now comes the important part.
He reported all the clues he had found, with particular emphasis on Xie Zhaoxun and her adopted younger brother.
Xie Zhaoxun committed suicide, but her adopted younger brother did not die. When the Imperial Guards arrived at Shanglin Garden in time, he was about to run away and was caught red-handed.
Jin Xiang interrogated him all night, subjecting him to severe torture, and forced out a great deal of information.
For example, his intimate actions with Xie Zhaoxun in private; Xie Zhaoxun's worries and hesitations; and the fact that Xie Zhaoxun had once recognized a godfather...
The eunuch was unaware of the details of what Xie Zhaoxun had asked him to do; he simply took what Xie Zhaoxun had given him and added it to the flowerpot. As for the purpose of that thing or who gave it to him, he had no idea.
Upon seeing the interrogation results, the Crown Prince immediately ordered someone to retrieve Xie Zhaoxun's former "godfather."
Unfortunately, when they arrived, they learned that the eunuch had suddenly fallen ill and died three days earlier, and by then his body had already been transported out of the palace.
The trail ends here again.
Of course, the Crown Prince wouldn't be foolish enough to say it directly in his memorial.
He vaguely guessed that the person behind Xie Zhaoxun was likely the emperor.
However, there is no evidence.
Therefore, the crown prince deliberately targeted the inner palace.
With a few ambiguous words and some old relationships from many years ago, the scope of suspicion suddenly broadened.
Therefore, this matter cannot be simply classified as an accident or a jealous dispute.
It was a struggle for the throne.
Most of the factions in the court were satisfied with the Crown Prince. After all, the Crown Prince had always appeared humble, polite, and gentle, which was the ideal image of a Crown Prince in the minds of the officials.
On the contrary, the emperor's actions in recent years have become increasingly unpredictable. He neglects the people's livelihood, doesn't seem to know how to handle state affairs, and instead keeps a close eye on the crown prince every day. What kind of situation is this?
The emperor's promotion of sycophantic officials only made him more disliked.
This is why most officials have always tried their best to protect the crown prince.
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