Chen Zheng's heart skipped a beat and he knelt tremblingly in the middle of the hall.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty."
Emperor Xuande sneered, "I didn't ask if you were guilty or not, I asked you how to deal with this matter."
Chen Zheng had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...should be executed according to the law."
He is the chief minister of the cabinet and has followed the emperor for many years, so he understands the emperor's temperament best.
Begging for mercy at this time would only anger the emperor even more.
Song Zan suddenly sneered and said sarcastically, "Didn't Lord Chen say that the Crown Prince rebelled for the sake of the country?"
"You're really two-faced. Whatever you say, Elder Chen, is right. If today's incident is recorded in the history books, Elder Chen will also be remembered forever."
Emperor Xuande snorted coldly, "Chen Zheng, as the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor, failed to teach and advise the Crown Prince. Instead, he echoed the Crown Prince's rebellion, showing no responsibility at all as the Prime Minister of the dynasty."
"How can such a person be the head of all officials?"
"Issue an order to remove Chen Zheng from all official positions. Give him fifty strokes of the cane and send him back to his hometown."
"Descendants of the Chen family will never be allowed to hold official positions. Any official currently serving who is a descendant of the Chen family will be dismissed."
The last glimmer of light in Chen Zheng's eyes suddenly disappeared.
Then he kowtowed three times and said, "I thank Your Majesty for your grace."
Emperor Xuande did not take his life directly, but it is hard to say whether he could still survive after being beaten with fifty sticks.
After dealing with Chen Zheng, Emperor Xuande looked at the crown prince and the second prince.
The virtuous concubine saw through his murderous intent at a glance and immediately knelt down to plead, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is your own son after all. Please spare his life."
"He was instigated by someone, otherwise he would never do such a thing."
Emperor Xuande looked at Concubine Xian with a puzzled expression, "Do you think I'm a fool who can be manipulated by you?"
"Is he really murderous towards me? How can I not see it?"
"And you, leading the wives and families of the various mansions in the side hall today, weren't you also trying to threaten the court officials?"
After speaking of the virtuous concubine, Emperor Xuande looked at the second prince again.
The Second Prince knew that he would die today, so he prepared a lot of things to say, waiting for his father to ask him so that he could tell them all.
Of course, he was not begging for mercy. He just wanted to talk about the grievances and unwillingness he had suffered over the years, and wanted to ask a few more questions on behalf of his deceased mother.
But Emperor Xuande's gaze only stayed on his face for a moment before he left, with no intention of interrogating him.
It seemed... he was not worth questioning.
The second prince laughed at himself. He was a child who was despised by his father from birth to death.
Emperor Xuande shifted his gaze from the Second Prince and spoke in a cold voice, "Issue an order: Crown Prince Zhou Jianyuan is plotting rebellion and committing high treason. He deserves death. He is deposed and demoted to a commoner. Tomorrow... he will be imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Prison."
He originally wanted to behead the prince the next day, but since he was the child he had carefully raised, his heart softened. Beheading was changed to detention, thus sparing the prince's life.
"Zhou Jianzhong was convicted of treason and should be executed. He should be demoted to a commoner and beheaded."
"The virtuous concubine condoned her son's rebellion and must be executed."
"Rong this fellow conspired with the Crown Prince to rebel, and his entire family shall be executed."
"The remaining accomplices will be dealt with one by one by the cabinet."
"From now on, Shen Zhixiu will be the chief minister of the cabinet, commanding all officials."
"Prince Gong Zhou Hongshen is appointed Crown Prince. The Ministry of Rites will select a date for the enthronement ceremony."
Emperor Xuande issued one decree after another, and some people present were happy while others were worried.
Officials close to the Song and Shen families all knew that good days were coming.
Officials from the crown prince's family were filled with despair. Even though most of them had not participated in the rebellion, they had no hope of promotion.
Song Hongshen and Shen Zhixiu knelt down to accept the order and express their gratitude.
However, Concubine Xian looked at Emperor Xuande with her eyes wide open, and suddenly laughed twice.
"Your Majesty actually appointed Song Hongshen as the Crown Prince. This is truly ridiculous."
Emperor Xuande rebuked him coldly, "Don't talk nonsense. He is the legitimate son of me and Zi Ning. He is of noble status and outstanding talent. He is naturally the best candidate for the crown prince."
Concubine Xian looked at Emperor Xuande as if he were laughing at a joke, "Legitimate son? What kind of legitimate son is he?"
"I didn't want to say it, but since Your Majesty has done this today, I'm afraid if I don't tell you, I won't be able to face the royal elders after I leave."
"In fact, Song Hongshen is not the emperor's biological son at all, but the child of Song Zining and Prince Zhan."
"I once witnessed the late Queen and Prince Zhan's secret meeting. As they rolled around in bed, they lost track of the world and forgot about Your Majesty."
"Song Zining called the War King's name, and it was so charming."
Song Zan was furious when he heard this and raised his foot to kick Concubine Xian twice.
Shen Zhixiu reached out to stop Song Zan, signaling him not to move rashly.
Emperor Xuande angrily rebuked him coldly, "You are talking nonsense! With the Prince of Qi's paternity test as proof, who dares to say he is not my son?"
The virtuous concubine said indignantly, "Prince Qi? Prince Qi and Shen Zhixiu are close friends, and the Shen and Song families are also closely related. Who knows if Prince Qi is deliberately using some means?"
"If Song Hongshen is your majesty's son, why would Song Zining suddenly leave the palace when she was about to give birth, intending to fake her own death and get away from the capital?"
"From your perspective, my separation from the Emperor is fake, and my reunion with the War King is real."
The virtuous concubine's deep eyes flickered with excitement. Since she was going to be executed, the living couldn't expect to live well.
She had no evidence, but these words would definitely take root in the emperor's heart.
When the emperor grew older and became more suspicious, Song Hongshen and the Song family suffered the same fate.
Even if she dies, she will take someone with her.
Emperor Xuande took two deep breaths, unable to believe that what Concubine Xian said was true.
He then asked, "If you dare to tell a lie, I will bury everyone in your Leng family with you."
But Concubine Xian was about to die, so how could she care about the Leng family?
Upon hearing this, she immediately swore, "Everything I said is true. Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly. If what I said is false, I am willing to pay for it with the lives of all the people in the Leng family."
Her words were just a lie. There was no way to find out about this matter. Even if it was found out, the emperor would not be so foolish as to implicate the Leng family.
The virtuous concubine was very proud at this time. They lost, but the Song family didn't win either.
Shen Zhixiu suddenly raised his head and looked at Concubine Xian: "Are you really willing to guarantee the lives of the Leng family?"
"Let me put it this way. I don't want the lives of the Leng family either. If what the virtuous concubine said is false, the Leng family will be expelled from the capital. No descendants of the Leng family will be allowed to serve as officials. It will also be written in the family tree that it was because the virtuous concubine deceived the emperor that the Leng family was implicated."
"Does your Majesty dare?"
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