Emperor Qin Huan laughed out of anger. He looked at the ignorant Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. This man spoke with certainty and firmness, as if what he said was some profound insight.
"The dynasty will last forever?"
The sweat of the Assistant Minister of Justice was dripping onto the hall. He was obviously scared to the extreme, but he was still pretending to be stubborn.
"That's right! Your Majesty, please ask your colleagues here. Who doesn't know that the only time Your Majesty has suspended court since ascending the throne was because of Concubine Heng?"
"What's more! Your Majesty even brought Concubine Heng's young son to court. How can this not make us, your subjects, feel disheartened?"
Except for those who were originally vassals of the Duke of Jin like the Vice Minister of Justice, all the court officials secretly hated him. This traitor must have known that he didn't have much time left, so he wanted to drag all of them down with him!
"So, you all share the same opinion as this person?"
Emperor Qin Huan asked the question slowly, comforting the child who was feeling uneasy due to the heavy atmosphere in the court. Hu An spit out a bubble of milk very cutely, which calmed Emperor Qin Huan's anger a lot.
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was ready to die bravely, but that didn't mean others wanted to die too. The loyal ministers, led by the Prime Minister, came forward one after another to express their disagreement.
"I believe the Minister of Justice is mistaken. If this country is to be secure for generations to come, it naturally needs a wise and capable successor. As Your Majesty's only biological son, the young prince is the perfect choice for the crown prince. What's wrong with him simply appearing before the court early?"
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. The birth of the little prince is crucial to the future of the imperial family. In my humble opinion, Your Majesty is only suspending court for one day. This day of absence will ensure the little prince's safe birth and ensure that our Great Qin has a successor. This is a wise move!"
"I think so too!"
The Vice Minister of Justice was isolated and helpless, and was overwhelmed by the shouts of the court officials.
Seeing that the situation was already showing an overwhelming victory under the control of Emperor Qin Huan, another person stood up. He was also a vassal of the Duke of Jin and a Hanlin University Scholar.
"Even if the suspension of court was for the sake of the young prince, how could Concubine Heng, a mere concubine, have the right to reside in Your Majesty's Purple Palace for so long? How could a woman be allowed to tread upon the emperor's residence? Moreover, we have heard that Concubine Heng gave birth in the Purple Palace! What an act of usurpation!"
Emperor Qin Huan narrowed his eyes and said, "According to you, all of this was permitted by me, so it is my fault?"
No matter how bold this person was, he would not dare to criticize Emperor Qin Huan in public. That was not his intention originally. He just wanted to put the blame on Bai Yuzhi.
So he argued, "Of course it's not your Majesty's fault, but this Concubine Heng is truly capable of bewitching your Majesty. She was like this before, and now that she has given birth to a little prince, I'm afraid this enchanting concubine will become even more treacherous and endanger the country!"
His words were so convincing that some court officials were actually persuaded and came forward to agree with him.
"What the Grand Secretary said is not without reason. I heard that Concubine Heng was originally a lowly tea-serving maid in the palace of the deposed Empress Su. She was born of a lowly background and mixed blood. How could she be worthy of such a high position now?"
"That's exactly why. I've also heard that Your Majesty has issued a decree to make Concubine Heng the Empress once the little prince is one month old. This is absolutely unacceptable. Who knows the origins of this Concubine Heng?"
The court was in an uproar. The ministers, led by the prime minister, supported Emperor Qin Huan and naturally supported the little prince and Bai Yuzhi. The traitors, led by the Duke of Jin and some negative figures, also argued that Bai Yuzhi was a witch who brought disaster to the country and was not fit to be the queen.
Finally, he came to the conclusion, "I believe that the little prince is still young and hasn't been led astray by the evil concubine. Your Majesty should stop the damage immediately, kill the mother and keep the child, and hand the little prince over to a virtuous concubine to raise him, so as to avoid endless troubles in the future!"
If Bai Yuzhi were here, he would definitely find these pedantic ministers hilarious.
It seems that it has been like this since ancient times. A concubine with outstanding appearance and who is very favored will become the target of attack by these pedantic civil servants who have nothing to do. They always think that a beautiful woman is a disaster to the country and will make the king do something bad that will harm the world.
In fact, if the king himself was not incompetent and foolish, no matter how presumptuous the woman was, could she have falsely conveyed the imperial edict?
Now, it is not enough that her white jade-like body gave birth to the only royal heir of the Qin Dynasty. She actually asked Emperor Qin Huan to kill the mother and keep the son for such an absurd reason.
Fortunately, although Emperor Qin Huan was cruel and ruthless, he was indeed an emperor with brains and abilities. Not to mention that now was the time when he loved white jade, even if he disliked a concubine, he would not put the blame for the destruction of the country and dynasty on a woman.
"You are quite well-informed. My decree to establish Concubine Heng as empress was only announced within the harem, and you all are well aware of it."
The former dynasty and the harem are not allowed to communicate with each other. This is a rule set by Emperor Qin Huan when the Qin Dynasty was founded. Although there are still some that slip through the net, Emperor Qin Huan is well aware of this. However, this is the first time that the ministers have exposed this dark side to Emperor Qin Huan, and they can't help feeling guilty.
"It is true that someone colluded with Your Majesty's harem, but the matter of establishing a queen is not solely Your Majesty's family affair. It is not a big deal for us to know about it in advance. Your Majesty can investigate it later. However, the matter of the little prince is imminent. I implore Your Majesty to make a decision immediately!"
This was forcing Emperor Qin Huan to kill Bai Yuzhi. The situation at this moment was exactly the same as when Hu An was not yet born and all the civil and military officials in the court put pressure on Emperor Qin Huan, wanting him to adopt a young nobleman as the crown prince.
Emperor Qin Huan sneered in his heart. If they were not afraid of scaring the child in his arms, these rabble would have been beheaded one by one in the hall today. They actually tried to coerce a king.
Do you really think that he is still the Emperor Qin Huan who has no children and therefore cannot convict court officials?
Emperor Qin Huan's eyes were blazing. All the events today were instigated by Duke Jin. He had previously announced that Chu Yue was dead, but in fact, he had put Chu Yue in the dungeon and tortured her severely. In addition, there was the midwife sent by Bai Yuzhi and the witness testimony. In addition, he had secretly sent secret guards to search the Duke Jin's mansion thoroughly. It was only a matter of time before Duke Jin was killed.
Then the reckoning will begin today.
"In that case, how can you guys tell me how to resolve this matter?"
The Assistant Minister of Justice was sent by the Duke of Jin to be the vanguard in this incident. Now that things have come to this, it is natural that he should have the say.
He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and bowed.
"As for the current situation, I believe there are only two options."
"First, if Your Majesty wishes to make the youngest son the Crown Prince, then immediately execute Noble Concubine Heng for disrupting the imperial order and usurping power, and send the young prince to be raised by the highest-ranking concubine in the palace."
"Secondly, postpone the appointment of a crown prince. When the little prince grows up and his aptitude is determined, Your Majesty can refrain from executing Concubine Heng immediately. However, you cannot make her empress either. You need to observe her for many years to ensure that she behaves well and is not a demon concubine."
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