The Imperial Palace.
At the morning court today, in the Dacheng Hall, the focus was on the matter of the Seventh Prince.
When the Seventh Prince made a scandal, all the ministers reported it to the emperor. It was like a wall being pushed down by everyone. All the ministers who had supported the Seventh Prince before dared not speak.
Therefore, there are three main points for this morning's meeting:
First, the Seventh Prince and Yang An were lying on the same bed. Even if they didn't do anything, that was an established fact.
Second, Imperial Noble Consort Jing had been demoted to Noble Consort Jing.
Third, in order to save the Seventh Prince, Duke Fang sacrificed his own title of Duke. The Duke was demoted to the rank of Duke of a County, in exchange for the Seventh Prince being sent to the Royal Academy for a good discipline and moral training.
At this point, the court was dismissed.
The King of Chu was in a good mood, and he specially ordered the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs to instruct the Jingshifang to hang up the green nameplates for Concubine Wen and Concubine Xin who slept with him.
Wang Defu smiled meaningfully:
"After all these years, the Emperor still loves Concubine Wen and Concubine Xin the most."
The King of Chu smiled and said:
"You don't understand. I like the way they fight for my favor."
The eighth prince born to Concubine Xin and the ninth prince born to Concubine Wen were both children with no ambitions and simple hearts. Even if he favored Concubine Xin and Concubine Wen, it would not cause a power struggle.
But this is not the case for other concubines.
For example, Concubine Jing.
If he spoils him too much and encourages the arrogance of the Fang family, the Fang family will certainly do their utmost to assist the Seventh Prince in his bid for the throne.
Wang Defu served tea and said with a smile:
"I am an old and stupid servant, how can I understand these things? I only know that after the Seventh Prince is punished, the Emperor can also breathe a sigh of relief."
"yes."
The Regent did him a great favor.
The demotion of Concubine Jing and the stripping of the title of the Duke's Mansion dampened their arrogance, and they could rest assured for the next few years.
However, the war in southern Xinjiang has not yet been settled, which is a headache for him.
"General Li and General Wang, whom I sent out some time ago, still failed to suppress the rebellion in southern Xinjiang. It would be great if we could find a suitable reason to let the Regent go out again."
Only when the Regent recovered southern Xinjiang for him could he feel truly at ease.
By then, the Regent will be of no use and can be eliminated without any worries.
Southern Xinjiang has not been recovered, and he has always been tied up.
Wang Defu said, "Your Majesty, why don't you return the power of the Black Armor Guards to the Regent? If you show him some favor, the Regent will surely be willing to work for you if the Emperor shows mercy."
The King of Chu shook his head: "Letting a tiger go back to the mountains will bring endless troubles."
Once the military power is given out, it will be difficult to take it back again.
He had to think of a way to prevent the regent from taking control of the military power while still making him willingly go to war and serve him.
-
On the long street.
The officials left the court one after another, and Chu Li and Chu Aotian returned to the palace. When the two sides met, they heard their conversation:
"The Seventh Prince is doomed."
"Yes, before, he was the one with the greatest hope of becoming the heir..."
"Duke Fang was stripped of his title, and Concubine Jing was demoted. It will be difficult for them to make a comeback in the future..."
"In my opinion, the eldest prince and the third prince are the most likely..."
Chu Aotian moved his ears and whispered, "Ninth brother, the palace has changed overnight."
Chu Li looked calm and pretended to be surprised:
"Ah? Really? That's scary."
"Alas, I also feel terrible. My seventh brother is such a proud person, but he fell like this. It shows how cruel the royal family's succession is. In the future, I only want to be an idle prince, with one house, two rooms, three wives and four concubines, and an annual salary of 50,000 taels, which is enough."
"Eighth brother's request is not small."
Suddenly, an old voice sounded: "Eighth Prince, Ninth Prince, stop."
When Chu Aotian heard the voice, he felt like a thorn in his back. He had even trained a stress response, so he ran away.
Chu Li, who was standing still, said: "???"
Eighth brother, you...
"Ninth Prince."
The man came over.
It was Master Jiang.
Chu Li, who was left behind, had no choice but to bite the bullet and put his hands together and bowed, "Teacher."
Master Jiang had just come off the stage. His hair was gray and there was a complex feeling in his cloudy eyes:
"The Ninth Prince has not come to the academy this month. If this continues, I am really worried that if I fail to educate you well, you will..."
Will follow in the footsteps of the Seventh Prince.
He really felt guilty.
At the beginning, he was so optimistic about the Seventh Prince, but such a scandal happened. This incident alerted him that he must pay more attention to the Ninth Prince's studies and carve this piece of rotten wood well.
Chu Li explained: "Teacher, it's not that I didn't go to the academy. I have been reciting the "Essentials of Various Books" you gave me last time."
Master Jiang was immediately moved:
"Really?"
"Ninth Prince, you took the initiative to endorse it?"
He was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. When he was about to study, Chu Li suddenly pointed:
"Regent!"
Master Jiang turned his head and was about to salute, but he found that there was no sign of the Regent on the long street. Looking back, Chu Li had already climbed over the wall.
"Ninth Prince! You! You——"
He was so angry that his beard trembled.
This way.
Chu Li climbed over the wall, slid through the long street, and turned to enter the Imperial Garden when he was greeted by a cold voice:
"Chu Li."
"Are you satisfied with what you have done to me?"
Chu Li looked up and saw Chu Jinglin with a gloomy face. Overnight, stubble grew on his chin and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like a vicious snake and was very scary.
She asked back in a steady tone:
"Seventh Brother, once a person has the intention to harm others, he should be prepared to bear the consequences. If I don't protect myself, today, am I dead, blind, or imprisoned and demoted?"
Chu Jinglin's eyes were filled with hatred:
"I knew it was you who did it. You know everything, Chu Li. You want to compete with me for the throne."
Chu Li shook his head:
"Seventh Brother, Master Jiang is our common teacher. He taught us the principle that 'every action has its consequences'. You are his highly praised student. Don't you understand this?"
When did she fight for the throne?
If he hadn't been keeping a close eye on her, using all sorts of tricks, both overt and covert, how could things have come to this?
"Besides, Father only asked my seventh brother to study and cultivate virtue in the Royal Academy. It can't be considered a punishment."
Chu Jinglin hated and hated, but suddenly he laughed:
"I have lost the support of my mother and the Fang family. I have lost so many things, and you are not the one being punished, so you can talk without any worries."
"You will never know the pain unless the needle pricks yourself!"
Since his father wanted to punish him, he didn't mind making things worse!
A burning murderous intent rose in Chu Jinglin's eyes. He suddenly rushed forward, grabbed Chu Li's neck, and pressed her against the rockery.
“Hmm—”
"Who do you think you are, Chu Li? Who do you think Concubine Wen is? Even if I kill you, my father will not ask me to pay with my life!"
"cough!"
Chu Li grabbed his hand and struggled.
But Chu Jinglin was burning with rage, and murderous intent overwhelmed his reason. He just wanted to strangle Chu Li to death to vent his anger.
Chu Li could hardly breathe.
Suddenly, a cold breath came in, and Chu Jinglin, who had been brushed away, took several steps back and fell to the ground. Chu Li covered his neck, coughed, and looked at the flamboyant man in dark purple clothes embroidered with a four-clawed golden python.
"Uncle!" Chu Jinglin's eyes were red. "Uncle, please make the decision for me."
"Lin'er has been harmed by Chu Li until today!"
Chu Li said: "I didn't hurt him!"
Chu Dichi turned his head back and glanced at her, "How could I not know whether you have harmed him or not?"
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