Chapter 379: The Lady of the Marquisate vs. the Younger Prince 122
The chief eunuch tremblingly presented the writing materials, and the edict was drafted by the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, approved by the emperor himself, stamped with the imperial seal, and sent to the cabinet. Then, it was issued to all officials through Ji Shoufu, and only then was it considered a flawless and impeccable imperial edict.
Records were kept of all the people involved, and Prime Minister Ji also found several respected old ministers and many influential clan relatives to witness the establishment of the crown prince.
Your Majesty is seriously ill, but fortunately he is conscious and has decided the position of Crown Prince. The Kingdom of Jing is no longer in danger. If anyone doubts in the future whether Jing Yu came to the throne legitimately, those present today will all be witnesses.
Prime Minister Ji was extremely efficient. After one night, several freshly-made imperial edicts were delivered steaming hot to the Golden Palace.
The chief eunuch read out the imperial edict, appointing the third prince as crown prince and ordering him to govern the country.
All the officials kowtowed towards the empty dragon throne and shouted "Long live the emperor". No one dared to raise any objections. The third prince only lacked this title, and the emperor had approved it. What else could they say?
Instead, everyone had a feeling that the matter had finally been settled, and they no longer had to worry about being affected by the princes' struggles one day.
Jing Yu entered the palace yesterday and took control of the palace with his people. The queen mother didn't want him to get involved, but how could he hide behind and watch his mother take risks alone?
Not only did he come, he also asked Wu Lang to lead 10,000 Datong troops to guard outside the capital. If the time really came when he had to resort to war, he must fight quickly and decisively!
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. The imperial edict had been issued, and the road ahead was much easier.
Jing Yu was standing in front of all the officials. When he heard the imperial edict, he was shocked. Then he knelt in front of the empty dragon throne, expressed his gratitude to his father for raising him, and humbly said that he was young and did not dare to take on the responsibility of regent.
The prince refused again and again, and the officials tried to persuade him in every way. Finally, the prince accepted the imperial edict and gave a few high-sounding speeches. Only then was the play over.
Jing Yu did not sit on the dragon throne. The eunuch chief brought another chair, and Jing Yu sat on it to accept the worship of all officials.
The transition of imperial power was peaceful and tranquil. The third prince became the crown prince, but he changed his previous style of being ruthless and decisive, becoming humble and amiable, which reassured many of his subjects.
As long as the prince does not settle scores with them later and force them into a state of imprisonment, it does not matter who they serve as subjects under, as long as the emperor takes turns, they will still be officials.
After a court meeting, everything was settled.
At the same time, the emperor slowly died in his bedroom.
Song Yan never gave the emperor the antidote. Only when the emperor died could she feel completely at ease. This vast territory would belong to A Yu. She had finally made it through, and from now on she would be able to enjoy the company of her grandchildren and family life.
Concubine Liang struggled and refused to die, and kept shouting that she wanted to see the emperor.
"No! His Majesty will not sentence me to death! His Majesty knows that I am just following orders. I am innocent! I want to see His Majesty!"
Liangpin tore the white silk and rushed towards Tongpin, "You bitch! You must have falsely conveyed the imperial decree. You and the queen are in cahoots! Will the queen let you go in the future? When I die, you will be the next one to suffer! The queen is jealous and will never tolerate His Majesty favoring you exclusively!"
Concubine Tong didn't care. The emperor was dead, so what was there to fight for in the harem? It would be nice to be a concubine dowager in peace and stability for the rest of her life.
Concubine Liang was quickly pinned to the ground by the eunuchs. Concubine Tong was too lazy to wrangle with a dying person, so she ordered someone to strangle Concubine Liang to death.
The second prince then went to see the King of Hell, and his crimes were made known to the world, to the delight of the people of the capital.
A lot of gold, silver and treasures were confiscated from the Second Prince's mansion. The Second Prince usually looked poor and always pretended to be pitiful in front of the Emperor, but in fact he was richer than Jing Yu.
The national treasury was empty and the emperor's private treasury was almost used up. Jing Yu was worried about not having enough money to settle the refugees, so this unexpected wealth solved his urgent problem.
Jing Yu did not announce the imperial decree to demote the prince to a commoner to the world, but only asked his mother to hint to the four concubines.
Now their sons are still princes. If they are disobedient, they will lose even their status as princes. The four concubines immediately became obedient, and the princes also behaved themselves.
A month later, the death knell rang in the palace and the emperor passed away!
There were also subtle voices in the court, suspecting that the third prince had usurped the throne and poisoned the emperor.
When the coffin was lying in state, Jing Yu mourned his father deeply in front of all the officials. Because he was so sad, he could not bear to change his father's reign title, so he decided to ascend the throne again next year.
All the ministers were dumbfounded. They had seen people ascending the throne in a hurry, but had never seen anyone dragging his feet. Could it be that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was really as kind as the moon and the breeze, and had no desire for the throne at all?
The last trace of doubt also disappeared.
Jing Yu hid a piece of ginger in his palm. This was the method Sister Huan taught him, otherwise he really couldn't cry.
Jing Yu wiped his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks, and said in grief: "My father was diligent in his work and loved the people. Before he died, he was still worried about the victims of the disaster in Tongzhou. Now that the treasury is empty, my father has specially ordered me to handle the funeral and settle the people."
The late emperor has passed away, so naturally, whatever His Royal Highness the Crown Prince says is the final word.
Therefore, after the emperor's coffin was kept for a day, it was hastily buried in the imperial mausoleum.
The previous emperor had been in power for twenty years, leaving Jing Yu with a country in tatters. Jing Yu was busy cleaning out the corrupt officials in the court, settling the refugees, and strengthening border defense.
The officials in the court finally realized that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not let them go, but started to cut the flesh slowly. Unknowingly, many seats in the court were empty.
Kong Liang entered the Hanlin Academy. Since ancient times, only Hanlin scholars could enter the cabinet. It was a waste of his talent to let Kong Liang be a sprayer in the Censorate.
In the blink of an eye, it’s the end of the year and it’s New Year’s Eve again.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince kept the palace banquet simple on the grounds of national mourning. After giving out rewards, there was no singing or dancing. Apart from a pot of half-cold tea, not even a plate of cakes were served before the palace banquet ended.
The Empress Dowager was in a similar situation; she just showed up and left.
The ministers, along with their family members who had received imperial edicts, went back with bewildered looks on their faces. They felt as if the Crown Prince was in a hurry to be reincarnated, and was unwilling to stay for even a moment, as if he was just trying to perfunctorily appease them.
Jing Yu missed his wife very much. Ji Yunhuan was about to give birth and it was difficult for her to move. Naturally, she could not enter the palace to attend the palace banquet.
If the mountain doesn't come to me, I will go to the mountain. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince decisively abandoned those ministers, traveled light, and only took the royal guards in the dark with him, and ran to the Ji Mansion in a hurry.
Song Yan was a step too slow, and her own son had already run away without even waiting for her.
Last New Year's Eve, this silly boy abandoned her and found a bunch of excuses to leave the palace. He kept it a secret from her as if he was afraid that she would break up the couple. But this year's New Year's Eve, he did not hide it from her and ran to Ji's house blatantly.
She didn't just marry a daughter-in-law, she married her son off, right?
Since his son had run away, Song Yan could only order people to prepare the carriage and rush to the Ji family in a hurry.
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