Chapter 465 Coercion
Actually, they were overthinking it. If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have stopped it.
Meng Lingge has been childless for several years, and the court officials will only pay more and more attention to the imperial harem and imperial offspring. In another year or two, Meng Xingyuan will retire, and then we won't hear any more rumors in the court. Who knows what other means these court officials will use to make the emperor have more children.
It was the best course of action for Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge to plan ahead and extricate themselves before things got out of control.
Life is but a fleeting few decades; only by living the most comfortable life can we truly make the most of our time on this earth.
Although the journey to the border region is not as busy as the capital, Wen Zhiming can still do some practical things for the people. Meng Lingge will not have to worry about having children. If he misses his daughter and son-in-law after he retires, he can take his wife to visit them.
fine.
As a father, the choice of Guan Yi'an for his daughter was less than satisfactory. When Wen Zhiming's family fell into misfortune, he advised his daughter to sever ties with them. When his daughter was about to give birth, she was harmed by someone due to his momentary negligence, and ultimately lost her legitimate son.
Since his decisions were ultimately inappropriate, we should respect our daughter and son-in-law's own decisions and do our best to help them achieve their goals.
In that respect, he should be considered a qualified father.
Although reluctant, Meng Xingyuan quickly convinced himself.
Meng Xingyuan raised his head slightly, glanced at the kneeling officials beside him, and sighed. He knew that they would not get their wish. Since Wen Zhiming was determined to abdicate, he was not worried about their persistent tactics.
Moreover, he guessed that Wen Zhiming would definitely have another trick up his sleeve.
Wen Zhiming and Wen Kehao looked down at the kneeling officials with solemn expressions.
"Since none of you have a good plan, then the abdication will be settled."
"I will write the abdication edict later and announce it to the world. In the next two days, I will hand over all the affairs of the court to Prince Zhong. Three days from now will be the day the new emperor ascends the throne."
"If you have nothing else to do, you may leave. If you prefer to kneel, then kneel here. In three days, we will welcome the new emperor to the throne and await his decree."
After saying this, Wen Zhiming pulled Wen Kehao out of the palace gate, leaving a group of ministers kneeling on the ground in astonishment and fear.
"His Majesty is determined to abdicate! What should we do?"
“We will kneel here and wait. I refuse to believe that His Majesty would really have the heart to make us kneel for three days and three nights. When a large group of us faint from hunger and exhaustion, His Majesty will naturally feel sorry for us and reconsider the matter of abdication.”
“The Emperor isn’t here. Even if we kneel here, he won’t see us. In my opinion, we should kneel at the entrance of the Hall of Diligent Governance where the Emperor reviews memorials, so that he can see us at any time.”
“Yes. Let’s do it that way. In my opinion, the Emperor is very accommodating to the Empress. Such a major event as abdication must have been discussed with the Empress. But the Empress Dowager may not know about it, just like us. We need to send someone to the Empress Dowager and ask her to stop it.”
The officials were all talking at once, discussing the matter animatedly.
Finally, it was unanimously decided that most people would kneel at the entrance of the Hall of Diligent Governance, while a small number would go to fetch reinforcements.
Two senior officials pulled Meng Xingyuan aside, their faces solemn.
"Lord Meng, your task is the most arduous. You must find a way to persuade the Empress. As long as you convince the Empress, the Emperor will definitely not abdicate. The heavy responsibility of saving the people of Jinyue and stabilizing the court will depend entirely on you!"
"You are the Emperor's father-in-law. If the Emperor abdicates, it will affect you the most. Even if you don't care about the court and the people, just for the sake of the Meng family and your son, you must stop this. I heard that your wife recovered a few days ago. If you and your wife persuade the Empress together, perhaps she will listen."
Meng Xingyuan felt a surge of disdain. These two had actually elevated his advice to the level of the imperial court and the common people, and they even spoke in a tone that suggested they genuinely cared about him. If he refused, they would surely offer many more earnest and eloquent arguments to persuade him.
If it weren't for his wife, he would still consider whether to pretend to persuade her. But when it came to his wife, he didn't want to waste any more time. He had to go back as soon as possible to tell his wife about this, so that she wouldn't worry too much if the matter in the palace got out.
Du Shiyin always prioritizes Meng Lingge's ideas. If she finds out that he dares to persuade Meng Lingge and cause her daughter trouble, she will definitely be angry with him again.
He made many foolish mistakes when he was young, and his relationship with his wife had become distant. In the past two years, he had finally managed to warm Du Shiyin's heart again, so he couldn't act impulsively on such an important matter and disappoint Du Shiyin.
First, go back and appease Du Shiyin, then wait outside the Hall of Diligent Governance with the other officials to see if there's anything we can do to help.
Meng Xingyuan was thinking seriously, and the two old ministers thought they had persuaded him and were about to continue their efforts when they saw Meng Xingyuan stand up and nod repeatedly.
"What you two gentlemen say is absolutely right. I'll go immediately, right now. For the sake of the court and the people, for the sake of my entire Meng family, there is no time to lose, it's extremely urgent!"
The two old ministers were taken aback by his excitement.
Before he knew it, Meng Xingyuan had already walked out of the hall.
The old minister stroked his beard. "Fortunately, Prime Minister Meng is reasonable and knows what's important. With him going to dissuade us, we can rest assured."
The other person nodded and chuckled.
"I have never seen Prime Minister Meng so decisive and efficient. No wonder he was able to become prime minister. He is quick when he needs to be quick and silent when he needs to be silent. He is a role model for us all."
At this time, most of the officials had moved to a different spot and knelt at the entrance of the Qin Zheng Hall.
They had expected to be stopped outside the palace, but the guards allowed them to enter. This made the officials even more convinced that the emperor would not abandon them, and they knelt in neat rows in the courtyard.
The place where Wen Zhiming was reviewing memorials was separated from the place where they were kneeling by only a door. They could even hear the conversation between the Emperor and Prince Zhong inside the room.
It was comfortable and cool inside, but the courtyard was scorching hot.
Before long, the officials were drenched in sweat from the sun and complained bitterly.
As things continue like this, they are increasingly unsure whether the Emperor can bear to see them suffer, but they certainly cannot hold out for long.
Seeing that the two people in the room completely ignored them, they could only pray in their hearts, hoping that the Empress Dowager or the Empress would come and help them get out of trouble as soon as possible.
The officials who were waiting anxiously were unaware that the Empress Dowager was indeed on her way, but was stopped by people from the Phoenix Palace halfway there.
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