There are two choices: either kill Bai Yuzhi, or not allow the crown prince to be appointed now.
Duke Jin was certain that given how much Emperor Qin Huan doted on Bai Yuzhi, he would not choose to kill him. He could only postpone appointing Hu'an as the crown prince due to pressure from court officials, so that he would have a chance to continue maneuvering.
As long as he could kill the little prince before Hu'an grew up, Yue Chengliu would still have the possibility of becoming the emperor's adopted son.
In short, they did not intend to attack Bai Yuzhi. The Duke of Jin had only one real target, and that was Prince Hu'an, who was still lying safely in the arms of Emperor Qin Huan.
Duke of Jin and his companions thought they had victory in their grasp, and were not hesitant to sacrifice the lives of their followers, including the Minister of Justice, in order to put pressure on Emperor Qin Huan. Their thinking was still stuck in the time when Hu An was not yet born, and they had completely forgotten that now that Hu An was their relative, how could the emperor still allow himself to be manipulated by them?
Emperor Qin Huan was very interested. He wanted to see what reasons Duke Jin and others had for not letting him make his own son the crown prince.
"According to what you said, as long as Hu'an is not made the crown prince, Concubine Heng will no longer be a demon concubine?"
The Duke of Jin assumed that Emperor Qin Huan was about to back down, so he feigned peace, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe the Minister of Justice is saying that the young prince is too young and undetermined, and his mother is a controversial figure like Concubine Heng. Therefore, to prevent Your Majesty from entrusting the throne to the wrong person, you should wait a while and let the court officials assess the young prince's qualifications before making a decision."
The Vice Minister of Justice echoed again and again: "This is exactly what I mean. What the Duke of Jin said is exactly what I think."
The Prime Minister received the hint from Emperor Qin Huan and stood up to oppose it.
"That's not necessarily true. As the saying goes, a child's character can be seen from his childhood. Although the little prince is still young, he has only just been born. He can already rest comfortably in the arms of Your Majesty in this court. This shows that he is born with intelligence and will surely become a great man in the future."
Indeed, Hu An was blessed with the white jade enlightenment pill, which made him truly extraordinary. If it were another child, he would surely cry in this Shura field with so many noisy officials. But Hu An would not do that. He could remain quiet as long as he grabbed Emperor Qin Huan's clothes, showing a calm demeanor.
The Duke of Jin retorted, "The little prince is still young, and it would be inappropriate for him to remain silent. He behaves completely differently from a normal child. Could it be that something went wrong during Concubine Heng's delivery?"
"presumptuous!"
Emperor Qin Huan couldn't suppress his anger. In order to achieve his goal, Duke Jin really spoke without thinking. What did he mean by something went wrong during the delivery? He actually meant that Hu An was born with an illness!
Duke Jin spoke too quickly to think clearly, and even after he had spoken, he sensed something was amiss. Seeing Emperor Qin Huan so furious, he could only bow his head and say, "I spoke without thinking. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Hu An is now the Achilles' heel of Emperor Qin Huan. The Duke of Jin actually dares to speak ill of Hu An. For Emperor Qin Huan, this is no less than someone holding a knife in the palace and pointing fingers at him. He doesn't want to cooperate with this drama anymore.
Just when he was about to order the Imperial Guards to go to the palace and arrest the Duke of Jin and others for execution, things took a turn for the better.
It was the Hanlin University Scholar who responded quickly and saw that Emperor Qin Huan seemed to have the intention of killing someone, so he came out and brought the matter back to the starting point.
"Duke Jin is wrong. The little prince is just a child. If anything goes wrong, it will surely be Noble Concubine Heng's fault. This shows that Noble Concubine Heng is indeed an ominous person. The little prince must have been influenced by her. Now is definitely not the right time to appoint a crown prince."
"That's right, I made a mistake," the Duke of Jin said, trying to excuse himself. "I was simply trying to persuade Your Majesty to prioritize the country and the people and not appoint a crown prince for the time being."
Emperor Qin Huan held Hu An in his arms and rocked him gently. This child really didn't like to cry, but the deafening cry on the day of delivery was not fake. He was obviously a healthy and intelligent child, but these people actually said he was voiceless. Emperor Qin Huan's eyes were cold.
Originally, considering that the Duke of Jin was an old minister who had followed him to conquer the world, he was planning to kill only his three clans. But now it seems that he has become too merciful after having Hu An, causing these people to forget his methods.
"This really confuses me. When I didn't have Hu'an, it was you, a bunch of people, who desperately urged me to adopt a son and appoint a crown prince. Now that my bloodline is here, you are trying to stop me from appointing a crown prince."
Seeing that his father had been defeated and the Vice Minister of Justice and the Grand Secretary were at a loss, Yue Chengliu personally took the lead in arguing with Emperor Qin Huan.
"Your Majesty, we initially pleaded with Your Majesty to appoint a crown prince because we wanted the Great Qin Empire to last for eternity. Now, if Your Majesty does not appoint a crown prince immediately, it is also for the sake of the Great Qin Empire."
"Oh?" Emperor Qin Huan seemed interested.
Yue Chengliu bowed, "That's right. Your Majesty has no children, but there are many talented people among the nobles, and most of them are already adults. If Your Majesty chooses one of them, training him will be much easier. As long as the person you choose is good, then the future of the Great Qin will naturally be bright."
"But the little prince is still young, and no one knows what his future personality and talents will be. Moreover, the fact that he was born to an unlucky mother makes it even more risky. If we appoint him as the crown prince now, wouldn't it only make him more likely to become arrogant? Then the whole vast kingdom will be in the wrong hands!"
It seems to make sense, but it's actually bullshit.
Because the premise of this group of people's words from the beginning was that Bai Yuzhi was a demon concubine, so they presumed that her son was a demon.
However, it is obvious that this premise does not hold.
Emperor Qin Huan was very pleased. As early as the beginning, he had anticipated most of what this group of people would say. Since they could all use the fate as an excuse, Emperor Qin Huan could naturally use his own spear to attack their shield.
"Wang Chonghai, bring the person up."
An old man with an immortal look was brought into the hall and someone recognized him.
"Isn't this the abbot of the Zhenguo Taoist Temple, the current Imperial Preceptor? Hasn't he been traveling around the world since His Majesty ascended the throne? How come he looks the same now as he did twenty years ago..."
This old man is the Heavenly Master of the Nation appointed by Emperor Qin Huan, and is also the Imperial Master of the current dynasty.
This man had a miraculous destiny. When Emperor Qin Huan started the rebellion as a teenager, he said that Emperor Qin Huan had the appearance of an emperor. He also predicted wars many times, and each time he predicted it was true.
There were few old ministers in the court and the country who had not received his guidance, including the Duke of Jin himself, who were extremely convinced of him.
"I sent people out to look for the Imperial Preceptor several months ago, but there was no news. But the night before, the night the Imperial Concubine gave birth, the Imperial Preceptor actually showed up outside the palace gates and asked to see me. What a coincidence, considering you keep saying that the Imperial Concubine is a demon. Why not let the Imperial Preceptor personally take action and read the fate of Imperial Concubine Heng and the little prince?"
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