A month later, the prince's injuries were beyond recovery, and the emperor issued an imperial decree to deprive him of his position as crown prince. Although everyone in the court had long expected this to be the prince's final fate, they still couldn't help but sigh.
For a whole month, the clues they were looking for were always stopped short of finding any clues, so to this day, it is still unclear what exactly happened that day. And it was obvious that the Emperor was unwilling to waste time on this matter, just to depose the Crown Prince.
In the Prince of Zhennan's mansion, the moment the Crown Prince received the decree of dethronement, he instantly fell into despair and numbness. In fact, he had already foreseen his own fate over the past month, but when he heard the Emperor's decree with his own ears, he still could not hide his fear and despair, although he had accepted the reality.
During this month, it seemed that the cause of the Crown Prince's accident was being thoroughly investigated, but in fact, many ministers placed in the court by the Zhennan Palace were either sent to other places or had their homes ransacked by the Emperor under various excuses.
In short, all in all, the power of the Prince of Zhennan's Palace in the court is now almost gone.
The Crown Prince and Prince Zhennan knew that the Emperor must know something, and their only hope at the moment was that the Emperor would not raid Prince Zhennan's Palace.
However, the more hopeful he was, the more things went against his will. Three months later, the Emperor listed a series of charges, confirming the crimes of the Zhennan Palace and the former Crown Prince, and swiftly raided the Zhennan Palace.
As a result, the engagement between the Crown Prince and Qingyao was annulled. Now Qingyao was single again, attracting the pursuit of many important officials and legitimate sons in the court. Even the Grand Tutor wanted to marry Qingyao to his grandson.
You know, Qingyao is a woman with both talents and intelligence, and she is the perfect choice to be the mistress of the house.
At this moment, Qingyao saw that her original fate had changed, and now she only had to wait for the Emperor to come and ask for her hand in marriage.
After the engagement between the Crown Prince and Qingyao was cancelled, the Emperor swiftly dismissed his harem within just one month, a move that caused an uproar among the court officials.
However, no matter how they pleaded, the emperor still insisted on abolishing the harem. At first, some ministers also tried to persuade him, but the emperor ruthlessly killed those who made such suggestions in the court.
After that, everyone was frightened by the emperor's tyrannical methods and dared not speak out again.
The concubines in the harem knew that the emperor had made up his mind, so they could only return to their parents' home with the palace maids.
Everyone in the world was puzzled. Why would the Emperor abolish the harem? Did he truly no longer intend to marry or take concubines, to continue the lineage of the Celestial Empire? So, seeing the harem empty, everyone began to urge the Emperor to select a concubine and produce an heir for the country.
Everyone thought that the emperor would still refuse, but unexpectedly, as soon as the Grand Tutor took the lead in asking for advice, the emperor waved his hand and agreed.
Everyone was shocked. The Grand Tutor didn't react at first, until he heard the Emperor asked him to be a matchmaker, then he was stunned on the spot.
Was this not an illusion, but was the Emperor truly planning to marry a concubine? Which woman was so lucky?
Then, the Grand Tutor bowed to the Emperor and asked, "Which girl does the Emperor favor? He could simply issue an imperial decree to select one and bring her into the palace. Why does he need me to act as a matchmaker?"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor, with a rare smile on his face, addressed the Grand Tutor, "Grand Tutor, this woman is worthy of my kindness. She deserves the best in the world. If I wish to be an ordinary couple with her, I will need someone to act as a matchmaker, personally propose marriage, offer a betrothal gift, get engaged, and then bring her into the palace."
Upon hearing this, the ministers looked at the Emperor in surprise, and one after another bowed and asked, "May I ask your Majesty, which girl do you like that is worthy of your kindness?"
As the Imperial Tutor watched the Emperor, he was suddenly reminded of Qingyao, the woman he had recently sought for his grandson. He'd heard that Qingyao had rejected several marriage proposals over the past six months, and he wondered what kind of man she was actually looking for. Could it be that Qingyao's heart belonged to the Emperor, and the Emperor's heart belonged to Qingyao?
The Emperor seemed to see through the Grand Tutor's thoughts and immediately said to him, "The woman I like is Qingyao, the daughter of the Prime Minister. I hope that Grand Tutor will act as a matchmaker and accompany me to the Prime Minister's house to propose marriage."
The Grand Tutor was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground and said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, please reconsider. The Prime Minister's legitimate daughter, Qingyao, is indeed very good, but she is, after all, the fiancée of your son, the former Crown Prince. Although their engagement has been annulled, etiquette cannot be abolished. It would be inappropriate for you to marry her again."
Seeing the Grand Tutor's determination, the Emperor's face darkened slightly and he said, "I have made up my mind. Grand Tutor, please do not try to persuade me. Qingyao and the former Crown Prince are in the past. She and I are destined to be together."
Seeing the Emperor's persistence, the Grand Tutor dared not say anything more and could only bow his head and reply, "I obey your command and am willing to facilitate this matter for the Emperor."
After the Emperor spoke frankly with his ministers, he began to sneak into Qingyao's boudoir at night to steal her lover's affections more frequently.
Although Qingyao appears helpless on the surface, she is actually happy in her heart. Every night, Qingyao and the Emperor always play and have fun. Except for the last step, they also play all the other things.
For this reason, both Emperor and Qingyao endured the torment, but for the sake of future happiness, what was the point of endurance at the moment?
When the Emperor and Qingyao agreed that they would bring someone to propose marriage the next day, Qingyao nodded calmly.
However, she never expected that the emperor would come to the Prime Minister's Mansion with such a generous betrothal gift.
Not only did Qingyao not expect this, even the prime minister knew nothing about it. People who didn't know the situation thought it was a wedding.
The next day, the Emperor took the Grand Tutor with him and headed towards the Prime Minister's Residence early in the morning. The two men rode in front, followed by palace maids carrying a total of 120 sets of red betrothal gifts.
People on the street were talking about it and commenting on the betrothal gifts, until they followed the emperor and realized that they were going to the Prime Minister's residence to propose marriage.
Everyone outside was talking about how the Prime Minister's family had an extraordinary daughter. When the Crown Prince was alive, Qingyao was promised to him as the Crown Princess.
After the Crown Prince was deposed, although the engagement was cancelled, who didn't know that Qingyao was a gold nugget? Not only was she outstanding in talent and beauty, but the tea shop she ran was making a fortune every day, making her a real gold dime.
Who wouldn't want to marry such a talented, reputable and wealthy woman as the mistress of the house?
So after Qingyao and the former crown prince broke off their engagement, she could see many people coming to the Prime Minister's Mansion to propose marriage every day. She was used to seeing big scenes, but it was the first time she had seen someone come to propose marriage with 120 loads of betrothal gifts like today.
Everyone was curious, would the Prime Minister's Mansion refuse? Unexpectedly, when the Prime Minister took Qingyao out, they saw the Emperor and the Grand Tutor.
The Prime Minister was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and saluted the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you. I didn't know you were coming, and I am late in welcoming you!"
When everyone heard this, the Prime Minister actually knelt down in front of everyone and called the handsome man "Your Majesty". Everyone quickly followed suit and knelt down, shouting in unison: "Long live the emperor!"
The Emperor waved his hand to signal everyone to stand up, and Qingyao was about to kneel down and salute like the Prime Minister, but the Emperor quickly stepped forward, lifted Qingyao's hands, and helped her up.
At this moment, the Imperial Tutor, watching the Emperor's fondness for Qingyao, could not help but understand that the Emperor must have long been in love with Qingyao, the daughter of the Prime Minister. The thought of leaving the harem empty for her made it clear that the Emperor was truly deeply in love.
When the prime minister heard that the emperor was coming in person, he went out to greet him in panic. The emperor went straight to the point and stated his purpose.
Although the Prime Minister had some concerns in his heart, seeing that the emperor was sincere and sincere, he did not want to go against the emperor's wishes.
When everyone saw this, they knew that the royal family wanted to marry Qingyao, the daughter of the prime minister, as their queen, and promised to be together for the rest of their lives. For a time, the whole capital was in an uproar over this marriage.
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