"Your Highness." Li Yun'er held up the oil-paper umbrella, trying to shield him from the rain. Chu You took the umbrella very smoothly, carefully preventing the rain from falling on her. With his other free hand, he held her hand and walked into the palace.

I heard her gentle and concerned voice: "It's raining so hard, why don't you wear a raincoat, Your Majesty?"

"Xia Lian, quickly ask someone to boil some water and make a cup of ginger soup."

"My Lord, let me help you bathe so you don't catch a cold."

Seeing that her heart and eyes were filled with only him, Chu You felt extremely happy and said "hmm" softly.

His big hand held her soft little hand tighter, a sinister gleam flashed across his eyes, and he thought: Gu Ce was ungrateful back then, otherwise how could it have come to this!

The rain was pouring down, and the umbrella seemed like a barrier, isolating the two people under the umbrella from everything around them, as if they were the only two people left in this world.

As Li Yunyan walked, she wiped the rain off his body with a handkerchief, gently wiping his forehead, cheeks, and ears, and asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, how is Princess Fengyang? What did the imperial physician say?"

"He woke up for a while, but was still very weak. He fell asleep after saying a few words. The imperial physician was helpless." Thinking of Feng Yang's frail and old sleeping face, Chu You's eyes flickered, "I don't think he will survive this month."

"It's almost the same as what the late emperor said..."

His last sentence was spoken very softly, the last few words were drowned out by the sound of rain around him, and seemed to be accompanied by a faint sigh.

"..." Li Yun'er looked at Chu You's stern profile with a puzzled look, and the hand holding the handkerchief paused.

Chu You looked up at the gray sky with heavy rain falling, sighed again, and said with regret: "Alas, my father didn't survive my aunt after all."

“It’s only a year away.”

When he looked up, the line of his jaw became clearer and clearer, and a few strands of wet hair were scattered on his cheeks, making him look sad.

Li Yunmeng understood his last words. His eyes flashed and he couldn't help thinking: If Fengyang had died before the late emperor, the current situation in the court might be different.

Without Fengyang, the late emperor would have one less obstacle in his attempt to depose the crown prince. He might be 70 to 80 percent sure of deposing the current crown prince.

Alas, this is just a hypothesis after all.

Now that things have come to this, there is no point in thinking too much.

Li Yunyi calmed down and looked at Chu You beside her with distress. Just as she was about to say something to comfort him, she saw Chu You stop and suddenly called out, "Peng Zhi."

Just two simple words, but there was a sonorous tone in the voice, as if some difficult decision had been made.

The eunuch Peng Zhi, who was following the two men about two meters away, walked up quickly and bowed his head to obey, "Your Majesty."

Chu You directly ordered in front of Li Yunyan: "Go and tell Baili Yin's close follower Bai Xing to go..."

His voice became lighter, but the sound of rain became louder, hitting the oil-paper umbrella above and making it crackle, as if countless icicles had fallen on the umbrella.

Chu You's eyes, washed by rain, were exceptionally cold, with a hint of determination flashing in their eyes.

He has made his decision.

The late emperor spent a full twenty years arranging everything for him, Fengyang, the aristocratic family, the fiefdom... and now this unique opportunity.

Opportunities are fleeting, and just like what the late emperor said, once a person has made a decision, he should not waver!

He couldn't let down the late emperor's love for his son! After giving the order, Chu You held Li Yun'er's hand and continued to walk forward.

Peng Zhi stayed where he was, bowed respectfully to Chu You's back, then turned and left. His figure quickly disappeared in the dense rain curtain.

Chu You and Li Yun'er arrived at the main courtyard of the inner courtyard in a short while. The maids and palace maids serving in the main courtyard immediately came to greet them. One took the oil-paper umbrella from Chu You's hand, one reported that the hot water and bathtub were ready, and one presented a few clean white towels.

Li Yunyan wiped the rain off her face with a white towel and quickly ordered, "Xia Lian, have someone go to the storehouse to pick out some top-quality supplements and send them to the Fengyang Grand Princess's residence as soon as possible."

Chu You raised his sword-like eyebrows, and looked at Li Yunyan tacitly. He understood what she meant, and added: "Listen to the princess."

With Chu You's supplement, Xia Lian felt more confident: since the prince had ordered this, she would naturally send the best supplements, no need to feel sorry.

Li Yunyan quickly took Chu You's hand and walked towards the inner room, "My Lord, go take a bath."

The couple lifted the curtain and went into the house, while Xia Lian rushed into the rain curtain again with an oil-paper umbrella.

“Clatter…”

On this day, the spring rain kept pouring down, with occasional spring thunders. There was no sign of the rain stopping until the afternoon.

That afternoon, Prince Kang's Mansion sent a full truck of supplements to the Grand Princess Fengyang's Mansion. They were all kinds of precious supplements, such as ginseng, eye sockets, donkey-hide gelatin, deer antlers, etc.

The news that Prince Kang had presented a prescription to the previous princess at the morning court had already spread throughout most of the capital. At this moment, every move of Prince Kang's mansion was under the attention of all the governments. Immediately, some smart people went to inquire about what happened in Fengyang. After a little investigation, they learned that Fengyang was seriously ill in the palace.

Many people started to inquire about the news from each other, and some even went to the Imperial Medical Service to get information. When they learned that the Chief Imperial Physician and several other imperial doctors had been urgently summoned to the palace, they knew that the matter was most likely true.

This piece of news was like a stone that caused a thousand ripples. For several days in a row, some noble officials followed Prince Kang's Mansion to send gifts and medicine to the Princess' Mansion. For a time, the threshold of the Princess' Mansion was almost trampled down by people.

But Fengyang had been living in the palace since the day he fell ill, and had never returned to the princess's mansion. The concierge of the princess's mansion did not dare to act on his own, and except for some gifts from royal family members, all other expensive gifts were returned.

In the past few days, so many eyes in the capital have been watching the movements of the Imperial Palace and the Princess's Mansion, and speculation is inevitable.

Most people at that time did not live long. Feng Yang, 68 years old, was considered old, longer than many people of her time. Moreover, Feng Yang had some old injuries from fighting on the battlefield in her early years. In the past two years, her health had not been as good as before.

Once an old person becomes seriously ill, it is naturally more difficult for him to survive than those young people. Fengyang's illness has not improved for so many days, and I am afraid that he will not get better. Just like the late emperor, it was only five or six days from his serious illness to his death.

The spring rain fell continuously for three or four days.

On this day, after the morning court, the emperor went incognito to Wuliang Temple to pray for Fengyang. He was accompanied by princes of the royal family such as Chu Yi, Anle, Prince Li, and Prince Jing. The blessing ceremony was presided over by the abbot of the temple himself, and attracted many pilgrims to the foot of Wuliang Mountain, wanting to see the emperor.

In the afternoon, Yuan Zhe, who had not been to the Kangwang Mansion since the National Day, walked into the Kangwang Mansion again. The two cousins ​​stayed in the study and had a secret talk for a long time. Yuan Zhe stayed there until curfew was about to start before leaving the Kangwang Mansion.

The next morning, the spring rain that had been falling for five days finally stopped and the sky was bright.

Fengyang appeared at the morning court in her princess-like attire, dragging her weak body. She personally presented a memorial in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, and spoke passionately: "Your Majesty, the issue of establishing a crown prince is related to the safety of the country. Your Majesty is now at the age of knowing the destiny. For the sake of the country and its eternal security, please appoint the eldest prince as the crown prince as soon as possible to reassure the people and consolidate the foundation of the country."

Fengyang held the big red letter in both hands, standing proudly in the center of the Golden Palace with his back straight.

After a serious illness, she looked much thinner, but her expression was firm and her tone was as proud as the wind.

All the civil and military officials in the court are men, and she is the only woman who can appear in the court as a matter of course, like a blazing flame.

The whole hall was silent, and all the ministers looked at each other.

A middle-aged official with a white face and a long beard glanced at Prime Minister Xiao in front of him, and Prime Minister Xiao nodded slightly.

The official with a white face and long beard swallowed his saliva, quickly walked out of the line of civil officials, raised his arm and bowed to the emperor in front of him, and said: "Your Majesty, the matter of appointing a crown prince is of great importance and concerns the foundation of the country. I think it needs to be carefully considered and discussed carefully."

"Your Majesty, the First Prince once publicly requested to marry Gu Ce's daughter as his principal wife, but now the truth of Gu Ce's case is still unknown. If Gu Ce has indeed committed treason, what will the First Prince do?"

He raised his head and looked at the emperor sitting on the throne in front of him, and asked in a righteous and dignified manner.

Many civil officials, military officers and nobles in the court thought what he said made sense and nodded frequently. In their opinion, if Gu Yanfei was really the daughter of a criminal, she was not fit to be the Crown Princess.

"Your Majesty is in the prime of life," said a dark-faced general, standing out with his chest puffed out and clasping his fists. "I don't think it's urgent to appoint a crown prince. The people's safety depends on the ruler of a country. Your Majesty's health is a blessing for us, Dajing."

As soon as these words were spoken, many people responded.

Since the eldest prince returned, the emperor's health has indeed improved greatly.

Duke Wei looked sharply at the ministers around him who were thinking different things, and strode out from the ranks of the generals. He clasped his fists and said in a loud voice: "I think the matter of establishing a crown prince should be done as soon as possible."

"The Emperor has only one son, the eldest prince, who is also his legitimate son. His Highness the eldest prince has made great achievements in just six months since returning to the country last year. He is not only upright, but also a man of both civil and military talents. He knows how to use people and will surely be worthy of the responsibility of being the crown prince."

As soon as the Duke of Weiguo expressed his position, the Duke of Yingguo, the Earl of Chang'an and other nobles also expressed their support for the opposing crown prince.

All the civil and military officials in the court held their own opinions. Each of them thought he was right, and each of them thought she was right.

This is not an uncommon thing. Throughout the dynasties, whenever a crown prince was appointed, there would be disputes among the civil and military officials in the court. Even when Emperor Taizu appointed the previous emperor as the crown prince, the officials argued endlessly over whether to appoint the legitimate son or the most capable one. It took more than two years of arguing before the crown prince was appointed.

The gray-haired old official added sternly, "Your Highness the First Prince is still young, not even twenty years old, and he has only been back in Beijing for half a year. There is no need to rush into appointing a crown prince."

"Lord Li, what you said makes sense." Someone slapped his thigh and said loudly, "The Gu Ce case has not yet been judged by the public. It would be better to wait until the case is fully investigated before discussing the appointment of a crown prince."

"The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne of the country, so it is best to be cautious. If you act rashly, there will only be endless troubles."

“…”

The ministers all had their own thoughts and became more and more excited as they spoke. After a while, their faces turned red.

“That’s enough!”

A loud and powerful rebuke was heard.

All the ministers turned their heads hurriedly and saw Fengyang standing in the center of the Golden Throne Hall, his icy eyes sweeping over all the ministers one by one.

Feng Yang said in a clear voice: "I am not asking for your opinions, but telling you that it is time to appoint a crown prince."

Her gaze was extremely sharp, like a sword or a knife. Wherever her eyes swept across, she exuded a terrifying aura, as if a raging fire, and her spirit was vigorous. No one in the court, whether civil or military, could suppress her aura.

Under Fengyang's shock, all the ministers fell silent for a moment, and the whole hall fell into silence again, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Feng Yang slowly looked around at the ministers, his eyes sparkling with brilliance, and he asked again in a sonorous voice: "What's wrong with enthroning the eldest prince?"

"Or do you have another candidate?"

"The Emperor is in his prime, and you are vying for the honor of following him!"

"Come on, tell me, who do you like?"

Fengyang's voice was not high-pitched, but it was full of vigor and power. It had an aura of a dragon or a tiger that was intimidating without even being angry, which made the ministers unable to raise their heads.

The emperor on the throne looked down at the ministers with a calm expression, smiling without saying a word; the old ministers such as the Duke of Wei were impressed that the Grand Princess Fengyang was still as charming as ever; while the ministers such as Lord Li felt that Fengyang was still as overbearing as before, secretly complaining: Isn't it necessary to have such a debate to appoint a crown prince? Fengyang's words made it seem as if they all supported King Kang to take the throne.

The gray-haired Lord Li held his breath, his face gloomy and grim, and felt that he was more wronged than Dou E.

Everything he said came from his heart, for the country and the people. He believed he had a clear conscience, but Fengyang gave him such a big hat.

Lord Li raised his eyes to look at Fengyang, and refuted righteously: "Your Highness, what you said is too general! I am an old minister who is devoted to the country and has no selfish motives. I have no intention of competing for the credit of following the dragon..."

"Master Li," Feng Yang interrupted Master Li sarcastically, and said confidently, "Don't you always say 'I eat the emperor's salary and I worry about the emperor'? If so, you should share the emperor's worries and support the early establishment of a crown prince!"

"..." Lord Li choked suddenly, and the gray goat trembled violently.

Duke Weiguo almost laughed out loud, but tried hard to hold it in. Princess Fengyang was a veteran of three dynasties, and she knew the old ministers in the court very well. For example, Lord Li claimed to be well-read, and he kept saying those high-sounding empty words, but in fact he had made no achievements, like a paper tiger that would burst with a single poke.

With Fengyang's eloquence, even if there were a few tactless court officials, she could still easily engage in a debate with them and silence them so that they couldn't utter a single word.

Several officials secretly exchanged glances with each other. They originally had a lot to say, but they couldn't help but hesitate.

Feng Yang didn't care what they thought. He looked at the emperor again and said with a smile, "What do you think, Your Majesty?"

This sentence made all the officials in the court look at the emperor again.

"What the imperial aunt said is exactly what I want." A smile slowly appeared on the emperor's lips, "The matter of appointing a crown prince should be done as soon as possible."

The emperor's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and it echoed clearly throughout the Golden Palace. He did not try to conceal the joy in his words.

Everyone could guess that Fengyang's memorial today was most likely something she and the emperor had discussed long ago. The emperor naturally wanted to make the eldest prince the crown prince as soon as possible.

The civil and military officials in the court were in a commotion again, talking to each other, and for a moment they didn't know whether to oppose or shout "Long live the emperor".

Lord Liu once again looked at Prime Minister Xiao who was standing at the front of the civil service line, and saw Prime Minister Xiao smoothing his sleeves and bowing calmly, saying, "Your Majesty, establishing a crown prince is a major national event. The eldest prince is both civil and military, and has both moral integrity and talent. There is nothing wrong with making him the crown prince."

All the ministers were stunned when they heard this. Although Prime Minister Xiao's words were confusing, everyone understood what he meant.

Xiao Shoufu actually did not oppose the establishment of a crown prince! This was the first time that Xiao Shoufu publicly expressed his position on the issue of establishing a crown prince.

Many officials pinched themselves secretly, and the pain told them that this was not a dream.

The expressions of the ministers suddenly became strange, with suspicion and shock in their eyes.

Could it be that Prime Minister Xiao was also afraid of Fengyang's might, or was he just temporarily retreating to advance? ! At the end of the queue, an official couldn't help but pull his colleague's sleeve and asked silently with his eyes, could it be that because of the relationship between Kang Wang's wife Li Yun'er, Kang Wang had completely angered the aristocratic family, and the aristocratic family had given up on Kang Wang for this? The colleague nodded slightly, with a sigh on his face.

As we all know, the noble families value blood the most, and are not afraid of dust. They rarely even marry into families other than the noble families. With the noble families' nobleness and pride, I'm afraid they won't want to kneel down to a person with family blood and respect her as a queen in the future.

Thinking about it this way, the actions of the aristocratic family today seem normal.

Therefore, the aristocratic family headed by Prime Minister Xiao most likely wanted to use the issue of establishing a crown prince to show their goodwill to the emperor and the eldest prince.

Lord Li could not help but look at the officials from aristocratic families in the queue and saw that they were all silent, obviously following the lead of Prime Minister Xiao.

The ministers in the Golden Palace felt mixed emotions, and suddenly they had a heavy feeling that the situation in the court was about to change completely.

(End of this chapter)