☆, Chapter 188 The Eighth Prince's Rebellion
Everything was normal at Zhao Yunjing's wedding banquet before the emperor arrived.
The guests were all familiar friends and neighbors with whom they had frequent interactions. The Crown Prince and Princess Jinling from the palace were present but not in person. Apart from the Duke of Wei, no one else from the Three Dukes and Six Ministers came uninvited, let alone the Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries who were not on the banquet guest list.
All six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet were furious. They did come, but they stayed in a corner drinking alone, reflecting on why they had been outmaneuvered by a young upstart at their age.
Later, the emperor arrived, and the atmosphere of the wedding banquet became serious. The guests also became reserved. Everyone wanted to leave but dared not, wanted to look but dared not look. The meal was quite agonizing. This was the first time Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao had ever seen the emperor. They were both excited and felt like fainting.
Later, they both actually fainted.
Because the Eighth Prince—the eighth son of the late emperor, the son of Consort Xue, who was deeply loved by the late emperor—led 30,000 elite troops to surround the Zhuangyuan Mansion, produced a 'last edict', and said that he wanted the emperor to return the throne to him. He also interrogated the Duke of Wei, the last minister the late emperor saw before his death, and demanded that he swear on the lives of his entire clan that everything he said after seeing the late emperor was true.
Of course, the Duke of Wei swore an oath. Even if he was lying at the time, the current emperor is still the emperor. How could he possibly turn against him?
However, the Eighth Prince insisted that the late emperor's edict at the time was to let the prince with the surname "Eight" inherit the throne. He claimed that the current emperor, relying on his status as the crown prince, conspired with the empress and several Grand Secretaries of the cabinet to deceive the whole world and seize the throne from him!
The emperor, surrounded, remained completely calm, sitting at the table and sipping his wine: "So, Eighth Prince, are you planning to usurp the throne today?"
"I am not plotting to usurp the throne! I am simply taking back what is rightfully mine!"
"Eighth Prince says that this throne belongs to you. What makes you say that? Based on the late emperor's edict in your possession? But among the people of the world, who can know whether this edict is real or fake? If you bring a fake edict today, I will have to abdicate. If Seventh Prince brings a fake edict tomorrow, will you also have to abdicate?"
"I am my father's most beloved child, and he will definitely leave the throne to me! He told me this himself!"
The emperor remained silent.
Zhao Yunjing had just been pulled back from the door of the bridal chamber by Young Master Chen, and before he could catch his breath, Young Master Chen pushed him outside, instantly making him the focus of everyone's attention.
The Eighth Prince stared at Zhao Yunjing, his eyes flashing with fire: "Top Scholar! The current emperor is incompetent and foolish. You are a talented, capable, and insightful person. I believe you will make the right choice! I promise you, as long as you stand on my side, once I become emperor, I will immediately put you into the cabinet and make you the Grand Secretary!"
Zhao Yunjing straightened his wedding robes and adjusted his hair ornaments before bowing and saying, "Your Highness, I stand here not to endorse you, nor to choose you. I stand here to ask you a question. Since the late Emperor valued you so much, why didn't he make you Crown Prince? Why didn't he let you oversee the country? Was it because he didn't want you to be overworked? Or was it because you didn't like it at the time?"
Zhao Yunjing's four consecutive questions left the Eighth Prince speechless and drew frequent nods of agreement from everyone present.
Yes, if the late emperor really valued him so much, why didn't he simply make him the crown prince earlier, or let him oversee the country?
The next sentence is even more absurd.
Who wouldn't love being an emperor? That's the ruler of the world, the supreme sovereign!
The Eighth Prince must be crazy or stupid to dislike it!
Zhao Yunjing didn't find his words particularly offensive at all, and added fuel to the fire by saying, "Since Your Highness didn't like the throne back then, and the late emperor didn't change the crown prince to you, it means that you and the late emperor had reached a consensus to give up the inheritance of the throne. Therefore, it was only natural for the crown prince to succeed to the throne after the late emperor passed away."
"But he was incompetent and foolish. In the ten-plus years since he ascended the throne, several rounds of natural and man-made disasters have struck! Countless people have starved to death!"
"The Eighth Prince is a genius, so he must have made many contributions that benefit the people and the Liang Dynasty. But I have racked my brains and can't think of any important livelihood project that Your Highness led. Even during those two natural disasters, Your Highness did not open the granaries to distribute food, nor did you go to the front line to provide support. Instead, you went to Chengde to escape the summer heat."
The Eighth Prince choked.
Zhao Yunjing continued, "Although the current emperor has not yet reached the standard of a great emperor throughout the ages, he has at least taken the lead in countless livelihood projects. He has also personally directed the front-line efforts during natural disasters. The reconstruction after the disasters almost exhausted the national treasury. The emperor even took back almost all the valuable items that he had given to the various concubines and had them sold in other countries to buy grain. Your Highness knows better than I how the other six countries laughed at the emperor at that time."
So I would like to ask, why didn't you go to the front lines to offer condolences and provide disaster relief at that time? Was it because you felt that since you were not the emperor, the people of the world were none of your concern?
But Your Highness, this world belongs to the people, and this Great Liang belongs to the people. You want to be the ruler of this world, yet you are unwilling to care about the people—you only want to enjoy yourself and don't want to take responsibility. Where in the world is there such a good thing?
The Eighth Prince's face turned green. Zhao Yun Jing was quite handsome, but he had a mouth. Did that mouth even speak? It spewed knives!
"Who says I don't care about the people? Who says I don't want to do things for the people? But I'm just a prince without any power, what can I do?"
"Look at what you're saying, you have no power so you can't do anything, and the people have no power either, so does that mean they don't even have to live?"
"Don't ask. The only answer is that if you want him to do things, you have to give him the throne first. Otherwise, the lives of the people are none of his concern." Zhou Mujiao arrived dressed in red, staring at the Eighth Prince with her red lips slightly parted. "Isn't that right, Your Highness?"
"Who said the Eighth Prince didn't do anything?"
An aged female voice came in from the doorway; it was none other than Old Madam Li!
Thirty thousand elite troops sealed off the entire capital, and the Zhuangyuan Mansion was so well sealed off that not even a mosquito could get in. Yet this old lady Li was able to swagger in through the gate!
Knowing that something had gone wrong, the Eighth Prince only wanted to run away.
But he can't escape!
The archers on the courtyard wall, who were originally pointing at the emperor, are now all pointing at him!
There was a traitor in his ranks! His 30,000 elite soldiers had defected!
Grandma Li said, "Back then, when Lingnan was hit by floods and mudslides, the prince almost lost his life while escorting relief funds and supplies."
The Eighth Prince stared at Old Madam Li, feeling she looked very familiar. The Emperor was also staring at her. Only when the Duke of Wei reminded him did he snap out of his daze: "You're from the Li family! Bai Rushuang, the wife of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi! You're not dead?!"
"Thanks to His Majesty's great fortune, I have survived and made it this far to ask the Prince and His Majesty a question!"
Old Madam Li first bowed to the Emperor, "I would like to ask, back then, was the evidence used to determine that my husband was corrupt and lawless, submitted by the Eighth Prince, or verified by the Emperor's Six Doors?"
The entire Li family was executed, and clansmen were exiled or sent to the army. Many died on the road, their eyes wide open in disbelief. Today, I risk my life to stand here and ask you two for an answer: Did my husband embezzle or break the law?!
The Emperor said, "Back then, the evidence of Lord Li's embezzlement was personally presented by the Eighth Prince. The Six Doors visited various parties to verify it. I finally saw the complete chain of evidence and handed it over to Father Emperor, who made the judgment himself."
“But my husband told me before he died that he didn’t touch the disaster relief funds! Those who survived when the disaster relief funds were looted also said that when my husband led his men there, the Eighth Prince’s carriage was empty! There was nothing inside!”
"Furthermore," Zhou Mujiao said, "what did the Eighth Prince feed the 30,000 troops who besieged the city tonight? I'd like to ask that as well."
The emperor's expression changed.
Old Mrs. Li knelt down: "The case of the Li family back then has many suspicious points. I beg Your Majesty to retry this case!"
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