Chapter 209 Finalization
Looking at the ministers kneeling on the ground, Emperor Tai'an's face was as gloomy as water, and he asked calmly: "Why not?"
It's not enough to say it's impossible, but it absolutely cannot be done. Does this mean that even if the crown prince is a hopeless case and will undoubtedly ruin the family's legacy, he can't survive without the crown prince?
Listening to the ministers' pleas, Emperor Tai'an became increasingly disheartened and determined.
When has the emperor ever been hindered by the crown prince, and the simple reason is that he has few offspring?
Emperor Tai'an felt sad and ridiculous, and watched his ministers' reactions without saying a word.
Compared to the ministers' heated reactions, the princes were much calmer. To them, it didn't matter who became the crown prince; it couldn't be their own son. If they spoke too much, the emperor might even write it down in his notebook.
"Third brother, what do you think?" Emperor Tai'an suddenly asked Prince Ning.
Prince Ning's scalp tightened, and he subconsciously stroked his beard. "Ahem, to be honest, what Crown Prince Duanwu did was indeed absurd, but deposing the crown prince is a matter of great importance to the stability of the country. Your Majesty, would you please reconsider this?"
Hearing Prince Ning's words, many ministers nodded and shouted, "Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Emperor Tai'an didn't bother to look at these people. His gaze fell on Prince Jing's face: "What do you think, Fifth Brother?"
Prince Jing looked bewildered: "What did the emperor ask me?"
Emperor Tai'an took a deep breath and said, "I want to ask you what you think about abolishing the crown prince..."
Prince Jing suddenly realized: "Your Majesty asked this, then my brother has no opinion. Of course, it is up to the parents to discipline their sons."
Emperor Tai'an nodded, then turned to the ministers and said in a deep voice, "If a son is undisciplined, it is the fault of his father. The Crown Prince has misbehaved, and the ministers have all suggested that I punish him severely. How can I, as a father, continue to indulge him? If I let him off lightly this time, and the Crown Prince does not receive the punishment he deserves, and if he causes something even more embarrassing in the future, wouldn't that be an injustice to me, and make me let down my ancestors, the country, the people, and all of you?"
The ministers: "..." Is the emperor determined to put the blame on them for advocating the abolition of the crown prince?
"Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Emperor Tai'an's face showed pain, and he sighed deeply: "My dear ministers, please stop trying to persuade me. I know that you are very dissatisfied with what the Crown Prince has done, but you are just understanding that as a father, you don't want to embarrass me..."
All the ministers twitched their lips.
The emperor is lying with his eyes open!
"I have made up my mind. Let it be." Emperor Tai'an stood up and walked away with heavy steps.
The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally surrounded the Minister of Rites who had come forward first: "Minister Chen, what should we do?"
Minister Chen burst into tears: "As a minister, we should share the emperor's worries. How can we treat the emperor unfairly?"
What else can they do? Even if they try their best to persuade the emperor to change his mind today, the news that the emperor intends to depose the crown prince will surely reach the ears of the crown prince. When the crown prince succeeds to the throne in the future, he will definitely hate these ministers who spoke ill of him, especially him who was the first to stand up.
At this point, even if they felt that the emperor was too hasty in deposing the crown prince, they could only follow the emperor firmly, and even suppress the voices of opposition for the emperor.
This is like getting on a pirate ship without realizing it!
Thinking of this, Minister Chen cried even harder.
The others also wanted to cry, but when they thought about Minister Chen, who was the first to speak out, they felt better.
Prince Jing rushed back to the palace.
"What's wrong with the prince? Why are you out of breath?" Princess Jing asked as she wiped the bayberry juice off her fingertips with a handkerchief.
"The emperor wants to depose the prince!" Prince Jing, who was eager to find someone to share his feelings with, said this, and he felt relieved.
Then he was satisfied to see Princess Jing move her hand and knock a bayberry off the glass plate beside her.
The juicy bayberries fell from the edge of the table and rolled to Prince Jing's feet.
Princess Jing hadn't recovered from her shock yet: "Your Highness, are you kidding?"
Prince Jing kicked the bayberries away from his feet and said with a smile, "How could I dare to make such a joke? The emperor summoned me to the palace today to talk about this matter."
Princess Jing's expression changed slightly: "Your Highness didn't say anything he shouldn't have said, did he?"
Prince Jing waved his hand: "No, I'm not as stupid as Minister Chen."
Alas, Minister Chen is such an honest man.
"The Emperor has only two sons. If the Crown Prince is deposed, then the King of Wei will be—"
Prince Jing was calm and composed. "Princess, don't overthink it. They're all the Emperor's sons, so there's no difference to us. But the Crown Prince's incident reminds me that I can't let my son down."
He turned around and told the maid to invite the prince and the second young master. Soon Qi Shuo and Qi Huan arrived one after another.
"What did Shuo'er do today?"
"I read a book in the garden."
garden……
Prince Jing coughed lightly and said, "The weather is getting hotter and hotter. It's so nice to read in the study. Be careful not to get a heat stroke outside."
Fortunately, the eldest son is still reliable and at most he can just climb over the wall of his wife's house.
Prince Jing thought about it and said nothing more. He glared at Qi Huan and said, "Read more books at home and don't go out. If I find out you go to any indecent places, I'll break your legs!"
"Son, I understand." Qi Huan responded skillfully, feeling confused.
Could it be that his father found out that he secretly went to Jinshui River?
"Okay, you can go back." After scolding his sons, Prince Jing waved his hand to send them away.
As the two brothers walked out, Qi Huan was puzzled. "Brother, is Father okay?"
Qi Shuo glanced in the direction of the imperial city and said, "I heard that my father just came back from the palace."
Qi Huan said "Oh", it was not surprising.
Just like he could only be scolded when he appeared before his father, the same thing happened when his father appeared before the emperor.
"Brother, I'm going out."
Qi Shuo said calmly, "Second brother, you'd better not go to Jinshui River as much as possible."
Qi Huan staggered and walked away quickly.
The next morning at court, the imperial edict deposing the crown prince shocked the entire court.
Along with the imperial edict, the punishment for the Dou family was also announced: Dou San was sentenced to exile, and Dou Qisheng was directly dismissed from office and stripped of his title for failing to discipline his clansmen.
The family of the Crown Prince's Consort was still trying to make some noise, but when they saw what had happened to the family of the late Queen, they immediately became as obedient as quails.
The controversy over the abolition of the reserve force passed peacefully.
Of course, the prince, knowing that he was deposed, was not calm: "I want to see my father, I want to see my father!"
The palace servants tried to stop the deposed crown prince from rushing in, and earnestly advised him, "The emperor is very angry now. Please wait until he calms down before coming back."
"Get out of here! Who the hell do you think you are to stop me?" The deposed prince kicked him.
The palace servant who was kicked back a few steps turned pale, but did not dare to talk back.
Although the crown prince was deposed, he still had the title of "King of Liang", which showed that the emperor still had feelings for the crown prince and did not really think that he had completely lost this son.
At this time, Liu Chuan came out and said to the palace servant who was stopping the deposed prince, "The emperor asked Prince Liang to come in."
After hearing this, several palace maids stepped aside and let the deposed prince rush in.
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