The one-month deadline for providing evidence finally arrived. Prince Li Qian Yeyao had no way to provide evidence for himself because he could not find the real mastermind behind the assassination. However, a piece of Liuyunjin alone could not completely prove that the assassin was sent by Prince Li. The ministers in the court who were pro-Prince Li and pro-Prince Li argued over this matter. Finally, the emperor ordered that Qian Yeyao's status as Prince Li be removed, he be confined to his home for three months, and his salary be fined for three years. The confiscated salary would belong to the Prince's Mansion.
Every prince would be crowned a king upon reaching adulthood, and granted a residence outside the palace. The emperor's punishment, stripping Qian Yeyao of his title, seemed severe, but because Nanyue already had a crown prince, the decree did not address whether the prince, having been stripped of his title, would have the opportunity to participate in the battle for the throne.
In other words, once the crown prince passes away, Qian Yeyao can still participate in the fight for the throne by virtue of his status as the prince of Nanyue, and even sit on the highest throne.
As for the punishments of house arrest and salary deduction, they were not worth mentioning at all for the princes who each had their own private property.
Such a punishment made the court officials who were standing in the middle and watching, and who had originally planned to stand on the side of the prince, stop and watch again.
Autumn in South Vietnam was short, transitioning from summer to late autumn in just one month. On the first day of November, the Crown Prince's cold illness recurred. Due to the cooler weather, he became seriously ill and could not even attend the morning court.
The Crown Prince's poor health was known to everyone from the Emperor to the common people. Precisely because the Crown Prince was too weak and no one knew when he might pass away, at least half of the court officials were not optimistic about the Crown Prince and were unwilling to stand on his side.
This time the prince's cold symptoms worsened, and the pro-prince court officials felt extremely heavy-hearted, especially after hearing that the prince had to go to Fengyang, the southernmost part of Nanyue known as the Fire City, to recuperate. Everyone began to discuss privately, if the situation continued like this, how many years could the prince hold on?
Although the Crown Prince was not well-received at court, he was still extremely useful before the transfer of power. Therefore, after the onset of this cold, the Empress was extremely worried and invited many imperial physicians to come and treat the Crown Prince, and also gave him many good tonic medicines.
Because the effect was not obvious, and the imperial physician also said that the cold climate was not easy on the prince's body, in order to let the prince live two or three more years, the queen had to persuade the emperor to let the prince go to Fengyang to recuperate and return in the spring of the following year.
The Crown Prince was ill, but the Emperor was clearly in good spirits. He agreed to the Crown Prince's request almost without a second thought, and even gave him plenty of nourishing medicine to help him through the winter. Then, he turned around and assigned some of the court affairs that should have been the Crown Prince's responsibility to several of the younger princes.
At this point, all the responsibilities of the prince in the court were sidelined.
November 15th was the day of the full moon, the day when the prince was in the best health in the month. After lying in bed for fifteen days, the prince was finally able to get out of bed and walk around. The people in the prince's mansion immediately chose this time to set off.
South Vietnam is the country that receives the most sunshine and rain among the six countries. Although it is already late autumn, compared with the distinct four seasons in other countries, the weather here is at most mid-autumn in September.
The autumn air is crisp, the grass and trees are lush, the flowers are everywhere, and bees and butterflies are everywhere. From afar, the mountains are rolling, and a few sparse bamboo houses stand in the valley in an orderly manner. Although simple, they have a unique charm.
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(Updated on October 6th)
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