Previously, the Crown Prince was quite wary of the Fourth Prince.
After all, Rong Xi, the fourth princess consort, possessed a powerful battle pet. She managed to organize a grand feast of spiritual food all by herself, a skill that even the emperor did not possess.
Spiritual food is more suitable for cultivators than elixirs and miraculous medicines.
Unfortunately, spiritual cuisine is difficult to prepare, and spiritual chefs are even more difficult to train.
But Rong Xi's actions broke this curse. For any emperor, if such a person cannot be controlled, then the only option is to completely eliminate him.
Was the Crown Prince wrong in his actions?
From the perspective of an emperor, from the perspective of consolidating the empire, and from his personal way of thinking, he was not wrong.
However, for the Fourth Prince and for Rong Xi, the Crown Prince was completely wrong.
In fact, there are very few things in this world that are absolutely right or wrong. The line between right and wrong, black and white, is never as clear as we imagine.
People who are too rigid and inflexible are often isolated because they oversimplify things, seeing everything in black and white, as either right or wrong.
"Liang Jiugong, go and invite Prince Yu, Prince Gong, Prince Jian, Suo'etu, Nalan Mingzhu, Yu Chenglong, and Yao Qisheng to see me!"
The crown prince was delighted, but he still had to put on a solemn and anxious expression.
Brothers and sisters respect each other!
The Fourth Prince's reckless actions in the small town of Zichuan should have prompted the Crown Prince, as his elder brother, to be concerned. Otherwise, how could the Crown Prince demonstrate his benevolence as a ruler?
Liang Jiugong quickly went to invite someone to the palace.
The Crown Prince hurriedly went to Cining Palace. He needed to tell the Empress Dowager about this important matter and ask for her opinion.
However, the Crown Prince did not see the Empress Dowager; Granny Lian stopped him.
"Your Majesty, the master is still in seclusion. Unless it is something of great importance, it is best not to disturb him!"
Granny Lian stopped the Crown Prince and spoke respectfully.
The Crown Prince sighed and said, "Granny Lian, Prince Yong has mobilized the garrison in Zichuan to suppress the Xiaoyao Sect's Xiaoyaofang. I just received news of this. If it is not handled properly, our Great Qing may have to go to war with the Xiaoyao Sect!"
This was absolutely a major event, a matter of life and death for the Qing Dynasty.
The Xiaoyao Sect has a long history, having stood the test of time through countless dynasties.
Although the Qing Dynasty had conquered the world, if it were to fight the Xiaoyao Sect to the death, even if it could win, the result would inevitably be a Pyrrhic victory.
The Qing Dynasty, having suffered a Pyrrhic victory, was bound to have its strength weakened.
Could a weakened Qing Dynasty still be capable of fighting against the remnants of the Ming Dynasty?
At that time, it is feared that those targeting the Qing Dynasty will not only be the remnants of the former Ming Dynasty, but also the remnants of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, who may take the opportunity to cause trouble.
"Your Majesty, I will find a way to inform you of this matter."
Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, Granny Lian knew the situation was urgent. The problem was, she hadn't lied to the Crown Prince; the Empress Dowager was indeed in seclusion. For someone of the Empress Dowager's stature, every period of seclusion was of paramount importance.
"Thank you for your trouble, Granny Lian!"
The crown prince adopted a very humble attitude.
Although he is now the emperor, Granny Lian, as the person who serves the Empress Dowager, is the person the Empress Dowager relies on the most, without exception.
Of course, most importantly, Granny Lian is a great cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage.
Once a cultivator advances to the Nascent Soul stage, ordinary power cannot influence them.
"It's all what this servant should do, Your Majesty, please take care!"
Granny Lian bowed and saw the Crown Prince off.
After the Crown Prince left, Granny Lian looked at the quiet and desolate Cining Palace and sighed, "A wind is about to rise!"
Everyone, even those who cultivate, has their own preferences. Granny Lian didn't know how others viewed the Crown Prince, but in her opinion, he was a two-faced person.
Just like now, the crown prince appears worried on the surface, but deep down he is very happy.
Granny Lian has a keen sense of people's hearts; it's a gift.
She couldn't know exactly what others were thinking. But she could sense a person's kindness and malice, and feel what kind of mentality a person had.
Granny Lian played a crucial role in enabling the Empress Dowager to reach this point.
...
When the Crown Prince returned to the Qianqing Palace, Liang Jiugong had already invited everyone over.
"No need for formalities!"
When the Crown Prince saw Prince Yu and his entourage, he interrupted them before they could even come forward to pay their respects, speaking first and stopping them from speaking.
"The reason I have invited you all here is because of Prince Yong!"
The Crown Prince simply recounted the events: "Prince Yong mobilized the garrison at Zichuan to attack Xiaoyaofang. This move may provoke a strong backlash from the Xiaoyao faction. What do you all think the court should do?"
From the founding of the Qing Dynasty, it kept to itself and the Xiaoyao Sect.
During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, there were times when he had to compromise with the "Xiaoyao Faction" (a faction known for its independent and unconventional lifestyle). This faction had a long history and had provided assistance to the Qing Dynasty after its founding.
"This servant believes that an imperial edict should be issued to reprimand Prince Yong, strip him of his title, and order him to return to the capital to defend himself!"
Prince Yu, as Emperor Kangxi's elder brother, was in charge of the Imperial Clan Court. He certainly had a lot of say in dealing with the Fourth Prince.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Prince Yu's actions are inappropriate!"
Yao Qisheng stepped forward and looked at the Crown Prince. "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the land, all people are subjects of the king. The Xiaoyao Sect is within the territory of our Great Qing, yet it transcends the Chao Court, essentially a state within a state. In the early days of our Great Qing, we were constantly at war, and it was not appropriate to take action against the Xiaoyao Sect. But now, I believe it is time to make the Xiaoyao Sect understand whose world this truly belongs to!"
"Yao Qisheng, when the late Emperor was alive, he advocated recuperation and rest. In the early years of our Great Qing Dynasty, we fought wars for years. Now is the time for recuperation, how can we start a war without proper preparation?"
"Prince Yu, if we don't fight now, are we going to talk about these things and leave them to our descendants?"
Yao Qisheng snorted coldly, "If we don't fight now and just compromise, we'll have no will to fight in the future!"
...
As Prince Yu and Yao Qisheng started arguing, the small study instantly turned into a bustling marketplace.
You can argue your way, I'll argue mine.
Both sides held their own opinions on war and peace.
The Crown Prince sat there, listening to the commotion below, feeling utterly overwhelmed. He summoned people, intending to use this opportunity to convict the Fourth Prince, or simply let the Fourth Prince face the wrath of the Carefree Faction.
But now, this matter has completely exceeded his expectations.
The issue being discussed has now become whether or not to go to war with the Free and Unfettered Sect.
The Crown Prince was getting impatient and kept giving Suo'etu meaningful glances, hoping that Suo'etu could understand his meaning and bring the focus of the argument back to the position he wanted.
Soetu understood the Crown Prince's intentions!
He knew the Crown Prince's purpose was to target the Fourth Prince. Although the Crown Prince claimed it was for the sake of the Qing Dynasty, Suo'etu understood that these were merely excuses.
The Crown Prince is still too green.
"Everyone, please quiet down!"
"Listen to what I have to say!"
Soetu cleared his throat and spoke, silencing the crowd's argument.
...
[Here are two chapters for now. Fujiko is going to get some breakfast; she's hungry!]
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