Soon it was dawn, and the Empress Dowager and Prince Yong had to go to court. After having breakfast early, they left Prince Yong's residence.
Although Zhao Shu could not attend court, she dared not rest either, fearing that the world would change when she woke up.
After much deliberation, she decided to go to the palace to take a look. Coincidentally, Sun Yun was also unable to contain himself, and the two of them decided to go to the Taihe Hall together as soon as they met.
Now that the Empress Dowager has returned and Emperor Mingde has left the palace, Zhao Bi actually has no leverage to threaten the Empress Dowager.
Although most of the civil and military officials in the court were his men, so what? If Xie Yun and other capable ministers were likened to tigers, then the other ministers were like cats.
Can a cat possibly leap over a tiger?
After disguising themselves, the two, led by their trusted confidants, quickly arrived at the side hall of the Taihe Hall. From the side door of the side hall, they could see that the Empress Dowager's expression was not good behind the beaded curtain.
With no one on the dragon throne, Zhao Bi dared not sit on it, thus putting him at a disadvantage compared to the Empress Dowager in terms of position.
Zhao Shu and the others arrived a little late. It seemed that a fierce battle had taken place in the court, and it appeared that no one had gained the upper hand.
At this moment, Zhao Bi finally unleashed his trump card. He took out an imperial edict from his bosom, held it high, and said, "Grandmother, Father Emperor ordered me to oversee the country a few days ago, and last night he also appointed me as Crown Prince. This imperial edict is proof."
He wasn't afraid at all that Xie Yun and the others would expose the fact that he had forced the emperor to abdicate. Even if Xie Yun and the others said that he had forced the emperor to abdicate, he wasn't afraid. Almost everyone in the court had been replaced by his people. Even if Xie Yun was eloquent, they wouldn't believe him. Even if they did believe him, they would stand on his side.
As for meticulous historical writing, he was no longer afraid. The victor is king and the loser is a bandit. Once he became emperor, he could dictate how the historians wrote their stories.
Zhao Bi's words were a message to the Empress Dowager, asking her to leave the Taihe Hall and not participate in court affairs, and also indicating that his position was legitimate.
But he was wrong; the jade seal was fake, and he was not the real crown prince.
Behind the beaded curtain, the Empress Dowager said calmly, "Fourth Prince, look closely at the imperial edict; the jade seal is correct."
Zhao Bi was taken aback, and an ominous premonition rose in his heart. He unfolded the imperial edict and examined it carefully, frowning, but found nothing amiss.
"May I ask, Grandmother, what is wrong with the imperial edict?" he asked loudly, though his face was extremely ugly, clearly he was questioning her.
Prince Yong stood opposite him, below Prince Hui. Before the Empress Dowager could reply, he said, "The imperial seal you are holding for the imperial edict is fake. If you don't believe me, make a comparison."
After he finished speaking, he took out another imperial edict from his bosom and handed it to Zhao Bi. Zhao Bi took the edict with a livid face and an extremely bad attitude. When he unfolded it, he was stunned, because what Prince Yong had handed him was also an imperial edict establishing a crown prince.
And since he was also made crown prince, he was at a loss for how to react.
After carefully comparing the two imperial edicts, he finally realized that the edict in his hand was flawed. He wiped his brow and gave Prince Yong an apologetic smile.
"Grandson thanks Your Majesty for the reminder and for your guidance." He knew that the real imperial seal was in the Empress Dowager's hands, but since she had made him the Crown Prince, she acknowledged his status as the heir apparent.
As long as the Empress Dowager acknowledges his status as the Crown Prince, he has no need to confront her head-on, especially since Emperor Mingde disappeared overnight!
"Fourth Prince, you are destined to be the Crown Prince," the Empress Dowager said.
After hearing the conversation between the grandmother and grandson, all the officials realized what was going on: the Empress Dowager supported the Fourth Prince as Crown Prince, and the Fourth Prince was now the Crown Prince.
Alright!
Immediately, all the civil and military officials knelt down and shouted, "Long live the Empress Dowager! Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!"
The cheers grew louder and louder, leaving Zhao Bi completely disoriented. He had waited for this moment for many years and made many efforts, but he had never been able to overthrow the crown prince. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yi himself gave up the position of crown prince, and his grandmother, who had never been very fond of him, supported him to be the crown prince.
Wait a minute, he sensed something was wrong, but what was wrong? He couldn't figure it out. He glanced at the kneeling courtiers and felt his heart pounding for some reason. He had a feeling that something big was about to happen, something that would ruin him completely.
But what could it be?
Just as everyone was shouting "Long live the Crown Prince!", an untimely voice rang out. A eunuch announced, "The Imperial Concubine has spoken!"
The Imperial Concubine? The Imperial Concubine actually came here, isn't she afraid of dying?!
Everyone turned around and saw Hao Shumei, dressed in white, walking gracefully towards them. Her stunning beauty amazed the entire court. It was said that there were three great beauties in the capital: the Imperial Noble Consort of Weiyang Palace, the Noble Consort Hao of Chonghua Palace, and the head of the Sun family. However, being famous for beauty was not a good thing. Apart from saying a few words about the concubines in the palace, no one dared to comment on the appearance of the Sun family's daughter.
Upon seeing the legendary beauty of Consort Hao, the ministers unanimously thought of four words: "Her reputation is well-deserved."
The entire court was shocked by Hao Shumei's beauty, which was somewhat exaggerated. However, apart from Prince Yong and a few ministers, almost everyone was captivated by her beauty. This shows that Zhao Bi's men were mostly incompetent and useless. If the country were handed over to him, the Great Yong Dynasty would never see a golden age.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report." Hao Shumei's pleasant voice rang out in the hall.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shu asked Sun Yun, "You want her to bring this up in the imperial court? Is that really necessary?"
Sun Yun looked completely bewildered and shook her head. "I didn't ask him to say it today."
"Could it be?" Zhao Shu exchanged an incredulous glance with Sun Yun. "How could she be so bold? Does she have a death wish?"
"Who knows? She must have suffered some serious trauma to be so suicidal." Sun Yun couldn't believe his own guess either.
“Originally, I just wanted him to tell Zhao Bi that he was not Yide’s son, but Ning Meiren’s son, that’s all,” Sun Yun said.
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