Although the distance from the suburbs to the imperial city was not far, it was still a tiring journey, and the ministers should have been allowed to return home and rest for a day, but they were stopped and kept in the palace waiting.

The Fengtian Hall, which is usually empty and is only opened during important ceremonies, is now full of people.

The ministers could not help but whisper to each other.

"What on earth is going on?"

"I don't know. I felt something was wrong yesterday. Could it be related to the murder of Prince An?"

"Although the murder of Prince An is a big deal, it doesn't mean that we should be left in Fengtian Palace. Could it be that the murderer who ordered the Jinwu Guards to assassinate Prince An is among us?"

"It is really possible. Otherwise, why would the emperor keep us here?"

"If that's the case, why didn't you interrogate him yesterday?"

Zhen Shicheng stood among the ministers, with his eyes lowered and said nothing.

"Master Zhen, why did that Jinwu Guard kill Prince An? Is there someone else behind this?"

Faced with the questioning of his colleagues, Zhen Shicheng said nothing, which annoyed many of them and made them throw up their sleeves.

I don't know how long they waited, but just when all the ministers were getting impatient, Emperor Jingming finally showed up.

To the surprise of all the officials, the Empress and the Emperor came hand in hand.

The emperor and empress appeared together in the Fengtian Hall, and things became increasingly complicated.

For a moment, the whispers stopped and the hall was completely silent.

Emperor Jingming looked sternly as he slowly scanned his ministers.

The ministers immediately saluted.

Emperor Jingming pulled the empress to sit down and said to Pan Hai, "Read the imperial edict."

The ministers immediately perked up.

Reading an imperial edict on such occasions usually meant that something very important had happened. Thinking of the death of Prince An on Cuiluo Mountain, everyone had a bad premonition.

Pan Hai's slightly shrill voice echoed in the hall: "The Emperor of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven, decrees: Crown Prince Lang violated the virtues of his ancestors, did not follow my teachings, was violent and perverse, and instigated Zhang Hu of the Jinwu Guard to kill Prince An, which made me feel very sorry... The world must not be left to this man, Lang is now deposed and given the title of Prince Jing..."

As Pan Hai read out the text, it was like a thunderbolt exploding over the heads of all the ministers, stunning them.

After a long time, the ministers finally realized: This... this is actually the edict to depose the crown prince!

Yang Deguang, the Minister of Rites, collapsed and cried bitterly, "Your Majesty, this cannot happen—"

The ministers bowed down one after another: "Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Emperor Jingming sat on the dragon throne, looking down at his ministers kneeling on the ground, with sorrow in his eyes.

If there was a chance to turn back, why would he be willing to go this far?

"Your Majesty, please think twice!" the ministers shouted again.

If they say they are very satisfied with the prince, that is nonsense. They are not even half satisfied with him.

But Chu Jun is related to the foundation of the country, how can he be abolished at will? Apart from other things, if the neighboring countries that are ready to make a move hear about it, they will probably have bad intentions.

Moreover, historical facts have proven that once a country loses its crown prince and is plunged into a struggle for succession, it will be filled with bloodshed, which is something that the ministers who have enjoyed peace for a long time do not want to see.

Emperor Jingming listened with frowned brows and pursed his lips.

Think twice! He has already thought about it eight hundred times!

No matter how his ministers begged, Emperor Jingming remained unmoved and his expression became even colder.

"When a prince breaks the law, he is subject to the same punishment as the common people. My dear ministers, you are insisting on pleading for Prince Jing. Are you going to disregard the law of the country?" After hearing the plea, Emperor Jingming asked coldly.

The sound in the hall stagnated.

Emperor Jingming stood up and said coldly, "I have made up my mind. My dear ministers, please stop trying to persuade me. Let's all go."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty——" Yang Deguang, the Minister of Rites, got up and took a few steps forward.

Emperor Jingming paused and turned back to glance at him.

Yang Deguang suddenly lost the strength to speak and fell to the ground crying.

Emperor Jingming sighed deeply and left in a huff.

Pan Hai followed the steps of the emperor and empress closely.

On the way to the harem, Emperor Jingming slowed down his pace and asked Pan Hai, "Has Prince Jing been sent to the clan residence?"

The crown prince was deposed and given the title of Prince Jing. The deposed crown prince and his family had to move out of the East Palace and move into a new mansion.

Emperor Jingming arranged Jingyuan as the residence for the deposed prince. However, according to the rules, the deposed prince had to go to the Zongrenfu first before entering Jingyuan.

The Imperial Clan Court was in charge of the royal family register and recorded crimes and faults, and such a serious matter as deposing the crown prince could not be bypassed.

"Your Majesty, I am preparing to send Prince Jing over."

Emperor Jingming glanced at the empress and lowered his voice: "Did you give me instructions?"

Emperor Jingming was filled with anger at his son who had committed such a heinous act, and he didn't even want to look at him again.

If he saw that bastard, he would smash him to death with his inkstone.

Pan Hai immediately said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I have already explained it."

The reason for deposing the crown prince was to instigate someone to murder Prince An, and this had to be consistent with what the crown prince said.

The prince knew that he had made a big mistake, but compared to the charge of having an affair with a concubine, this charge was undoubtedly much better. At least he could still be a prince in peace. As long as he was not stupid, he would certainly cooperate.

But in the eyes of Emperor Jingming, his son was simply stupid. If he was not stupid, how could he lose his position as crown prince?

"You can escort Prince Jing over there yourself." Emperor Jingming suddenly remembered his other son who was in the clan residence, "Send Prince Yan back to the palace."

It's distressing to think about having two sons imprisoned in the clan house at the same time.

Pan Hai bowed to the emperor and empress, then left.

At this moment, the East Palace was filled with crying.

The crying were from the Eastern Palace's selected concubines, that is, the prince's concubines, and mixed with the crying of children.

The former Crown Princess and now Princess Jing, Yang, was unexpectedly calm at this moment.

Her eyes were just slightly red, and she was holding a boy of about six or seven years old with her hand.

The boy is the son of Yang and the only son of the crown prince. He originally had the status of the crown prince's grandson, but naturally he no longer has that status.

The prince cried louder than the concubines, especially after Pan Hai brought people to urge him, he cried even louder, without any decency at all.

Pan Hai looked at Princess Jing with embarrassment.

Princess Jing took her son forward and said to the deposed prince, "You go first. I will wait for you in Jingyuan with the children."

"No, I don't want to go to the clan residence!" Prince Jing glared at Princess Jing fiercely, then grabbed Pan Hai's sleeve and begged, "Eunuch Pan, please help me pass a message to my father and tell him that I really know I was wrong. Please don't let me move out of the East Palace..."

Princess Jing pursed her lips, and only sadness and ridiculousness remained in her heart. Apart from that, she actually felt fortunate.

How can such a pile of rotten mud become the master of the Great Zhou in the future?

Being deposed now might be a good thing. At least it won't bring harm to the people of the country, nor will it cause a bigger disaster and cause his son to lose his life.

Life in Jingyuan might be more worth looking forward to than life in the East Palace.

Princess Jing's eyes lit up as she thought about this.

The prince kept crying and begging.

Pan Hai sighed and said, "Your Majesty, the edict deposing the crown prince has been read out in the Fengtian Hall. You should go to the clan house as soon as possible. The sooner you go, the sooner you can leave..."

The prince was immediately as frightened as an eggplant hit by frost, and accompanied by Pan Hai, he went to the clan residence.