At daybreak, the Crown Princess...now she should be called Yang, left without any personal belongings, and took Chun Ge'er with her in an inconspicuous carriage, heading straight for Jingyuan.
There was a witch disaster in the East Palace, and she didn't want to touch any valuable items, no matter how precious they were. All the treasures combined were not as valuable as her Chun Ge'er.
In the carriage, Chun Ge'er asked Yang with red eyes: "Mother, how is father?"
The little guy already realized that something was wrong.
Yang looked down at her son and said softly, "Your father made a mistake, so the emperor punished him to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors."
Chun Ge'er lowered his eyes and stared at his hands without saying a word.
Yang hugged Chun'er and asked, "Don't you like Jingyuan, Chun? Winter is coming. When the time comes, your mother will accompany you and your sisters to build snowmen and have snowball fights..."
The prince committed a crime and his favorite palace maid got involved, which resulted in all the prince's women in the Eastern Palace being rewarded with white silk except her. Chun Ge'er's two half sisters can now only rely on Yang.
Chun Ge'er was silent for a long time, raised his eyes and looked at Yang, pursed his lips and asked: "Mother, father made a big mistake, was he given death?"
Yang's expression changed slightly: "Chun'er, don't let your imagination run wild."
Chun Ge'er shook his head: "I'm not having any crazy thoughts. Mother, I understand..."
What do you understand? Chun Ge'er didn't say anything else, but Yang suddenly burst into tears.
What sin had I committed to make a child of this age understand these things?
Yang hugged Chun'er, her heart aching.
Chun Ge'er blinked gently and hugged Yang: "Mother, don't cry. Chun Ge'er is happy as long as you are here."
Yang wiped her tears and tried her best to smile: "Well, mother will always be with Chun'er."
At this moment, she was very grateful to someone.
If it weren't for the Princess of Yan's words that touched her heart, if she had just followed the rules and didn't visit her father so often, she would probably have been the one to lose the three-foot white silk.
She couldn't die, and she dared not die. If she died, Chun'er would be left without a mother.
The carriage drove along in the misty morning, so quiet that the only sounds were the clatter of horse hooves and the turning of wheels.
With a mixture of relief and fear, Yang said softly to Chun'er, "Chun'er, mother hopes that you can always be kind and generous, and have enough wisdom to maintain your kindness and generosity. There is a person who is our benefactor..."
The carriage went farther and farther away, and gradually fell into silence.
But the whole court was in turmoil after dawn.
The Crown Prince was sentenced to death for treason last night, and the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince's grandson were demoted to commoners and moved out of the East Palace. Countless eunuchs and maids in the East Palace were implicated. After only one night, the entire East Palace was empty.
When Pan Hai read these out in front of the civil and military officials, the Minister of Rites Yang Deguang fainted.
None of the ministers dared to help him, and when they saw Pan Hai was about to leave, they all surrounded him.
"Eunuch Pan, what's going on?"
"Yes, Eunuch Pan, how could the prince commit treason?"
"Eunuch Pan, will the emperor attend court tomorrow?"
Pan Hai's face was gloomy, his eyes were blue, and he said in a cold voice: "My Lords, please do not ask too many questions. When the Emperor calms down, he will call the ministers of the six ministries to discuss the matter."
Pan Hai left after he finished speaking, but the ministers lingered around.
Such a huge thing happened without any warning, and the emperor's handling of the Eastern Palace was swift and sudden. What on earth happened?
How did the prince plot treason?
The ministers were full of doubts and waited anxiously.
They couldn't leave without an answer.
Although the emperor is the supreme ruler, it is too much for him to sentence the prince to death without consulting his ministers.
"They haven't left, have they?" Emperor Jingming, who had been resting his eyes, opened his eyes and asked when he heard familiar footsteps.
Pan Hai came forward and massaged Emperor Jingming's shoulders: "Your Majesty, you didn't sleep much all night. Go to sleep for a while."
"Call a few great scholars and the heads of the six ministries to the Yangxin Palace."
"Your Majesty..." Pan Hai did not move, worried that Emperor Jingming's body could not bear it.
Emperor Jingming smiled bitterly and said, "If I don't make them feel at ease, I won't be able to sleep peacefully. Go."
The ministers who were summoned rushed to the Yangxin Palace almost impatiently, including the Minister of Rites Yang Deguang who had fainted earlier. It can be clearly seen that the ministers kept a certain distance from Yang Deguang.
The moment they saw Emperor Jingming, the ministers were stunned.
But in just one day, the emperor looked several years older.
"Everyone is here." Emperor Jingming looked around at his ministers, his voice full of fatigue.
All the ministers turned their attention to the Prime Minister Gu Juguan.
At this time, the first and the second should naturally be in the front.
Gu Juguan was not ambiguous. Even though Emperor Jingming looked tired and silent, he did not retreat.
He cleared his throat and asked, "Your Majesty, may I ask why the Crown Prince was sentenced to death for treason?"
The ministers looked serious.
If the emperor can't give a reason, they won't leave easily.
The second prince was deposed, and the emperor was given death as the successor. The Great Zhou could not afford such torture.
Emperor Jingming remained silent. When his ministers thought he would not answer, he opened his mouth and said, "Wu Gu."
The ministers were shocked.
Emperor Jingming said in a deep voice: "I suddenly felt a severe heartache, and the imperial physician was helpless. Someone in the Eastern Palace secretly reported that the prince cursed me with a doll. After a search, a doll with my birth date written on it was found in the flowerpot placed in the prince's bedroom... The prince's heart is despicable and cannot be tolerated by heaven..."
Emperor Jingming said this and looked at the Minister of Rites Yang Deguang.
Yang Deguang slowly collapsed to the ground.
It turned out to be a witch. Could it be that the prince has gone insane?
All the ministers were dumbfounded.
They were originally planning to argue with the emperor, but who would have thought that the prince would actually use witchcraft to harm the emperor.
Throughout history, anyone who got involved in the disaster of witchcraft and dragons, not to mention the conspirators themselves, could have lost tens of thousands of lives.
The Emperor sentenced the Crown Prince to death and only demoted the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince's grandson to commoners, which was considered lenient.
"I had high hopes for the Crown Prince, but I never expected him to do such a heart-breaking thing as regicide and patricide. Thinking of this, I am extremely sad and can't sleep all night. My dear ministers, if you have nothing else to do, please leave."
"We, the ministers, shall take our leave." The ministers withdrew, and everyone felt heavy-hearted.
The ministers waiting outside came around to question him, but they all shook their heads and quickly left.
Emperor Jingming did not rest, but summoned several princes to explain the matter of the crown prince. Finally, he said: "I hope you will learn from the abdication of the crown prince and do not do anything that you will regret later."
All the princes said in unison: "Sons will follow the instructions of our father."
Emperor Jingming waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave.
The King of Qi returned to his palace and laughed behind closed doors: "The Crown Prince actually thought of using witchcraft to harm people, he is quite capable."
When Princess Qi learned about the fate of the prince and his gang, she was horrified: "My lord, the maid who instigated the prince to use the puppet to harm people——"
"It's none of my business."
"Isn't this a bit of a coincidence..."
Prince Qi sneered: "There are many people who want the Crown Prince dead. Maybe he was bribed by some of them. I'm sure Father will not let go of the investigation. Anyway, he will not find us."