It is still Chenshi now.
Fu Xiaoguan of Hanling Temple has finished answering today's questions, but the court meeting in Juhua Hall has not ended yet.
The atmosphere in the huge Juhua Hall was extremely solemn.
Emperor Wen did not sit down. He stood on the Dragon Terrace, his face firm and his words sonorous:
"Wu Gan entered the Eastern Palace in the sixth year of the Wenli reign, and four years have passed since then. During these four years, I have devoted all my energy to supporting him. Wen has Wen Xingzhou as the Prince's tutor, and Wu has Bei Wangchuan as his careful mentor. But what is he like now?"
"My literary skills are incapable of understanding the Four Books and Five Classics, and my martial arts skills were only third-rate last year!"
"This is the prince you all strongly recommended to me!"
"This is the prince who spends all day dreaming about going to the Liuyun Terrace at Shili Pinghu Lake and can't forget the singing girl Yan Que'er!"
"Does he have the weight of the country in his heart? Does he have the slightest thought of sharing the worries of his emperor and father?"
Emperor Wen took a deep breath, looked at the crowd of civil and military officials below, all with their heads bowed, and sighed, "He... is nothing but eating, drinking, and having fun!"
"Now he's fourteen, and still so unbearable. I'm... deeply disappointed. I think about it day and night. If this huge Wu Dynasty is handed over to such an absurd and incompetent king, what will become of this Wu Dynasty?"
"Now Xiao Qiang's crime has been made clear. The great Buddha statue in Hanling Temple has liberated four thousand people!"
"To disregard the lives of the people for one's own benefit is truly crazy!"
"With a mother like this, do you really expect her son to be any good?"
"Therefore, I have made up my mind to depose the Crown Prince!"
There was a complete silence below, so deep that one could hear a pin drop, but almost all the ministers had pale faces at this moment.
Depose the crown prince!
Prince Ning is dead, and His Majesty only has one daughter, Wu Zhao, left. Now that the Crown Prince has been deposed... Could it be that His Majesty is really going to hand over the country to that illegitimate child?
Right Prime Minister Zhuo and his entourage stepped forward and stood out.
He bowed and said slowly, "This old minister believes that Your Majesty needs to think this over carefully."
"I've thought about it ten times!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down and listen to what this old minister has to say."
Zhuo Yixing raised his head and looked at Emperor Wen, saying, "Although the Crown Prince is fourteen, he still has six years before he comes of age. Your Majesty is now in the prime of his life, and there is plenty of time for the Crown Prince to grow. Although the Crown Prince has acted absurdly, ask yourself, who hasn't been young at one time?"
He slowly turned around and faced the ministers. "We were also romantic when we were young, but is this the Crown Prince's fault? No, I think this is not a fault, but a reflection of the Crown Prince's character."
He turned back to Emperor Wen and said, "The Xiao family's fault has nothing to do with the Crown Prince. Even if Your Majesty cuts the Xiao family into pieces, you should not vent your anger on His Royal Highness. People in the martial arts world say that misfortune should not extend to one's family members. I, this old minister, would like to say that in the imperial court, misfortune should not extend to one's children and grandchildren either."
"I still remember that in the second year of the Wenli reign, Your Majesty personally abolished the law of collective punishment for the nine clans. How come Your Majesty changed his mind when it happened to the Crown Prince?"
Zhuo Yixing bowed deeply and said loudly, "For the stability of the Wu Dynasty, I, your Majesty, hope to revoke your order!"
As soon as he said this, many ministers behind him knelt down and shouted at the same time: "Your Majesty, please revoke your order!"
Emperor Wen's eyes widened in anger, and he gnashed his teeth and roared, "This child is unbearable! You are trying to destroy my Wu Dynasty!"
Zhuo Yihang stood up straight and stared at Emperor Wen, not backing down. "Your Majesty, please consider this: could Your Majesty have had the ambition to become a wise ruler at the age of fourteen? I remember that Your Majesty ascended the throne at the age of twenty, and only began to work hard to govern the country at the age of twenty-five. The Crown Prince still has eleven years to go before he turns twenty-five. What makes Your Majesty think that the Crown Prince won't change in those eleven years?"
"You old bastard, you know nothing! He's my son. As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. I've spent four years observing him, and I've seen clearly that he's useless!"
"Your Majesty, this is biased. Not to mention the prodigal sons of old, is what the Crown Prince is doing really a grave fault? No! Your Majesty's thoughts are known to all, civil and military officials alike. Forgive me for saying something treasonous, but even if Fu Xiaoguan is your Majesty's son, he is still an illegitimate child! Even if he is enshrined in the Golden Book, he has no right to become the Crown Prince of this great Wu Dynasty!"
This is a very powerful statement!
Emperor Wen's face was as cold as ice.
He stared at Zhuo and his group, but Zhuo and his group did not give in.
The place was silent again, as if a dark cloud was looming.
Emperor Wen suddenly smiled sinisterly: "You are right, old man. Fu Xiaoguan is indeed my son!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers who had hung their heads immediately raised their heads.
The story of Fu Xiaoguan's life has long been widely circulated in Guanyun City, but His Majesty has never mentioned it in the court.
Your Majesty's sudden decision to depose the Crown Prince today has already sent a clear signal. All the ministers are basically certain that Fu Xiaoguan is Your Majesty's son, but when they hear Your Majesty say it in person, the shock is still unbelievable to them.
"I might as well tell you that I have arranged for the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to offer sacrifices to the heavens on the ninth day of the fourth lunar month. I will bring Fu Xiaoguan with me."
"Hiss...!" The ministers took a deep breath. Only three people remained calm.
They are the Left Prime Minister Nangong Yiyu, the Director of the Imperial Observatory Lu Chunfeng, and the Master of the Tianji Pavilion Zhou Tongtong.
A hint of sarcasm crossed Emperor Wen's face. He continued, still meeting Zhuo's gaze, as he added, "Furthermore, after the Heavenly Sacrifice, April 15th is an auspicious day. I will take Xiaoguan Fu to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer ancestral worship and have his name recorded in the Golden Book. From now on, he will be known as Xiaoguan Wu. And, old man, I must also tell you that I will move Xu Yunqing's tomb to the Imperial Mausoleum on Jiugong Mountain, where it will be offered incense in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and… a mausoleum for the Empress!"
Zhuo Yixing's face turned pale at this moment. He fell to his knees with a thud, and his forehead hit the ground with a "bang..."
"Your Majesty, absolutely not!"
"In my heart, there is only one Empress, Xu Yunqing! In my heart, there is only one Crown Prince, Wu Xiaoguan! Don't think that I don't know that you once tried to assassinate Fu Xiaoguan. I didn't bother with you because of your hard work and great contributions to the Wu Dynasty, but you actually want to take advantage of me!"
"Your Majesty! Even if Your Majesty and Xu Yunqing were in love, Xu Yunqing ultimately married Fu Daguan! If she were to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and buried in the Empress's Mausoleum, where would the Wu Dynasty's etiquette be? Where would the dignity of the Wu Dynasty's ancestors be? Moreover, it is still unknown whether Fu Xiaoguan is Your Majesty's son. The three-year diary has been lost. How can Your Majesty prove that he is your son? How can you convince the entire court? How can you convince the people of the Wu Dynasty?"
The group of kneeling ministers immediately shouted again: "Your Majesty, the Right Prime Minister's sincere heart is witnessed by heaven and earth. I hope Your Majesty will revoke your order!"
At this moment, a loud shout came from the side door of Juhua Palace: "The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
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