Chapter 692
What the father and son said after that remains unknown.
However, when the Second Prince came out of the Imperial Study again, he looked as if he had lost his soul.
The following day, the emperor bestowed the title of Prince Ning upon the second prince and issued an edict banishing him from the capital, which was then proclaimed to the world.
To most people, this imperial decree seemed reasonable, only a little too fast. But to the Empress, it was like a bolt from the blue, catching her completely off guard.
The Empress rushed straight to the Imperial Study, disregarding whether the Emperor wanted to see her or not, and took advantage of her status as Empress to enter unimpeded.
At that moment, the emperor had finally found some peace and quiet and was looking down, seemingly lost in thought, when the empress suddenly barged in. He frowned in displeasure.
"Your Majesty! Wasn't your imperial edict too hasty?"
The emperor glanced at her, his tone utterly indifferent: "What, does the Empress have a problem with my handling of this matter?"
The Empress stepped forward again: "Your Majesty, that is your own son! You just casually gave him a title and banished him to Luoyang. You mean he can never come back for the rest of his life! Separation from your own flesh and blood, Your Majesty, can you bear it?!"
"Being separated from one's own flesh and blood is better than being separated by death," the emperor said. "Do you know what Prince Ning has been doing outside? He has embezzled a huge amount of money. I demoted him to his fiefdom to save his life! Otherwise, based on that evidence, I'm afraid the imperial clan would want me to execute Prince Ning. Do you know that?"
After hearing the emperor's words, the empress did realize the gravity of the matter, but she still couldn't believe that her son could have done it.
"Your Majesty, there must be some misunderstanding here?"
The emperor didn't want to explain anything further. He raised his chin, and the eunuch handed the document to the empress.
"This document was written by the Grand Secretary."
Before the Empress could even look at it, her hand trembled, and she almost dropped the document to the ground.
The Grand Secretary He Fenghua was the Crown Prince's tutor. He was loyal to the Crown Prince and sincerely planned for him. This loyalty remained unchanged even after the Crown Prince became the Second Prince.
However, this document bears the seal of the Grand Secretary, bright red and square, which cannot be faked.
The Queen took a deep breath and forced herself to look closely.
After reading through the list of crimes, the Queen's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.
The higher authorities said that the Second Prince was exploiting the people for his own benefit. In addition to paying taxes to the court each year, local officials had to send him a separate portion, amounting to 30-40% of what was given to the court.
During festivals and holidays, whenever tributes were to be paid to the imperial court, local officials would always make sure to send a portion to the crown prince as well.
In addition to these, there were extra gifts of filial piety, and when you add them all up, the amount is simply terrifying.
However, the Empress still did not want to give up easily: "But Your Majesty, he is the Crown Prince! It is only right and proper for this place to show some appreciation to the Crown Prince. Besides, this was sent from the local area, what does it have to do with him? Please, Your Majesty, be lenient!"
The Empress originally thought that the Emperor owed the Second Prince something, and that it wouldn't be difficult for him to return to the position of Crown Prince in the future. However, she never expected that this would happen. Now, not only can the Second Prince not return to the position of Crown Prince, but he will also be demoted to a remote place!
How could the Empress feel at ease with this?
However, the emperor, who had been calm, suddenly changed his demeanor after the empress finished speaking. The overwhelming pressure of an emperor pressed down on the empress, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
"......His Majesty?"
The emperor threw the memorial in his hand to the ground, and the palace servants and eunuchs in the imperial study all knelt down.
"So, in the Empress's view, this matter is not a big deal, and is even somewhat excusable?!"
"Does Your Majesty know that every penny of silver sent from the local areas to the court comes from the people? And now they're sending a portion to the Second Prince—where does that silver come from? Does Your Majesty think this silver fell from the sky?"
"I used to think that the Second Prince might have just taken the wrong path temporarily, and I felt a little sorry for him. But now that I hear what you say, I understand. The Second Prince didn't just take the wrong path temporarily; his path was wrong from the very beginning!"
"This is also my fault. If I hadn't made him the crown prince so early, his ambition wouldn't have been nurtured, and the local officials wouldn't have been so opportunistic, causing the people of the world to suffer so much for no reason!"
After the emperor finished speaking, his face was flushed and his breathing was unsteady.
The empress collapsed to the ground, unable to utter a single word.
The oppressive feeling lasted for a while before the emperor suddenly breathed a sigh of relief: "Let him go, at least he can save his life."
The Empress opened her mouth.
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