Gu Jue put his arms around her slender waist and kissed her on the same spot on her face lingeringly, then rested his chin on her slender shoulder without saying anything.

Shen Qianchen would not try to persuade Gu Jue about anything.

She has known Gu Jue for two lifetimes and knows him best.

She knew that he was a man of great resolve and determination, so no one and nothing could shake his resolve.

However, she also knew that he could not bear to watch Da Qi gradually decline.

For Shen Qianchen, Gu Jue is the best person.

She supports him no matter what he does.

Shen Qianchen leaned his upper body against him, lazily leaning in his arms, rubbing his chest, like a soft, long-haired lion cat.

The sunlight shone on her smooth forehead. When she smiled, her eyes were raised, bright and lively, and colorful, just like a suddenly blooming Epiphyllum, dazzling and charming.

At this moment, time seems to stand still.

Gu Jue was immersed in her brilliant and bright smile. No matter what happened, as long as he looked at her smile, it seemed not worth mentioning.

"Let's take a look first." Gu Jue whispered, lowering his head and moving closer to her, getting closer and closer, his dark and deep pupils reflected her face, staring at her quietly.

There seemed to be a vast and boundless night sky hidden in his eyes. Shen Qianchen also looked at him, unwilling to look away. She liked his eyes, which always showed protection and tolerance.

Unknown to her, when these eyes looked at her, there was more doting than in the previous life, and -

flame.

It seemed as if two flames were burning in her pupils, and then the flames burned on her body.

She felt the tiny kisses falling on her temples and neck. She could clearly hear each other's heartbeats and the rustling of clothes. Her ears began to feel hot.

After whispering in each other's ears for a while, Gu Jue let her go. He originally wanted to take her to Shouning Palace to have dinner with Queen Mother Yin, but as soon as he walked out of the peach forest, he saw Jingfeng coming in awkwardly.

"Your Highness," Jing Feng bowed and reported, "The Crown Prince has just summoned the cabinet elders and royal relatives."

The prince's oral order was spread to all the governments on the same day, just like a stone that caused a thousand ripples.

Everyone was shocked when they received the sudden summons from the crown prince. Some were confused, some were hesitant, some planned to go with the flow, and some were very nervous. Several people simply went together to find Prince Li to ask him some questions.

"Prince Li, you have to tell me the truth. What is the Crown Prince's intention in summoning us this time?" The Minister of Rites Yang Xuanshan looked at Prince Li earnestly. He was uneasy and had thought of all kinds of possibilities in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He could hardly sit still.

Prime Minister Zhang, Prince Shun and others were also unsure and stared at Prince Li with burning eyes.

Logically speaking, the imperial city is now controlled by Gu Jue. If Gu Jue does not allow it, the prince's oral order cannot be leaked out of the palace.

Prince Li: “…”

Prince Li had a complicated expression, he didn't know what the prince meant.

The late emperor has passed away suddenly, and he did not leave any will. No matter how much the late emperor disliked the crown prince when he was alive, it is logically the crown prince who should succeed to the throne as the heir to the throne today, which is the orthodox one.

But the current situation is delicate. Gu Jue is in control of the government and everyone follows his lead.

Originally, if the prince had been injured and died by the late emperor this time, there might not have been so much trouble and entanglement, but the prince survived.

In fact, everyone has the same question in their mind:

Will Gu Jue succeed the crown prince so smoothly? Prince Li and others hardly dared to think about this question.

Prince Li rubbed the wrinkles between his eyebrows and shook his head, "I don't know either."

Prince Li remembered that Gu Jue had said before forcing the emperor to abdicate that he was going to the North. He knew that what Gu Jue meant when he said this must be true, but things were different now and the situation had changed.

Even Prince Li could never have imagined that the late Emperor Gu Lang would kill the Crown Prince himself. Gu Lang's heart was too cruel, and his hands were too vicious.

Under the current situation, I'm afraid Gu Jue won't be able to retreat.

Zhang Shoufu suddenly asked, "Prince Li, have you seen the Crown Prince? How is his health?"

Several cabinet ministers had never seen the crown prince since the death of the previous emperor, and the information they knew about him was only heard indirectly.

In comparison, Prince Li and other royal relatives knew a little more. He had visited the prince several times and had also come into contact with imperial doctors.

In this regard, Prince Li could not help but sigh that Gu Jue acted magnanimously and did not hinder their contact with the imperial physician.

Prince Li sighed deeply: "Not very good."

"The imperial physician said that it might affect the prince's life span."

When Prince Li said this, his voice was hoarse and rough. After all, he really had high hopes for the Crown Prince, and he never expected that the situation would develop to this point.

Prince Li calmed down before continuing, "The Crown Prince has been injured. He cannot work hard in the future and needs to stay in bed for a long time to recuperate."

In other words, the current prince is as delicate as an enamel doll.

The air was stagnant, as if it had frozen together.

The other people in the hall looked at each other, most of them were undecided, thinking of the late emperor, then the prince, and then Gu Jue.

Prime Minister Zhang, who was sitting at the bottom, lowered his eyes, took a sip of tea, and slowly put down the teacup.

Compared to other people, his expression and movements have a calmness that seems to indicate that everything has been settled.

"In that case, what else is there to consider?" asked Prime Minister Zhang calmly.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Everyone was silent, with different expressions on their faces. Some people had already vaguely guessed what Prime Minister Zhang meant.

Facing Prince Li's flickering eyes, Prime Minister Zhang's eyes were steady and firm, like an unshakable rock, and he said calmly: "A weak monarch and strong ministers are not a sign of a prosperous country."

Although Prime Minister Zhang has not expressed his opinion since the death of the previous emperor, he has been thinking about everything that has happened in the past half month and has been carefully considering the future of Da Qi.

I don’t know whether to say some things are God’s will or destiny.

Prince Shun couldn't help but sigh: "If only we could have entered the Yangxin Palace earlier that day..."

He just said this and stopped abruptly.

Prince Shun had thought more than once that if they had been able to rush into the Yangxin Palace earlier that day to stop the late emperor and the crown prince was safe and sound, then the crown prince could have ascended the throne as emperor as a matter of course.

The Crown Prince is in good health. The Prince of Chen and his ministers should support the new emperor. The Crown Prince will surely accommodate the Prince of Chen with his kindness. This can be regarded as a beautiful story of a monarch and his ministers complementing each other.

Yang Xuanshan, the Minister of Rites, could also see what Prince Shun was thinking, and said, "It's meaningless to talk about this now."

Zhang Shoufu continued, "Even if the Prince of Chen is willing to assist the Crown Prince now, what about the future?"

After this question was asked, there was silence in the hall again.

Prince Li tapped the coffee table lightly with his bent fingers and lowered his eyes to think about the question raised by Prime Minister Zhang.

In the future, should Gu Jue continue to control the government, or hand over power to the eldest grandson? But in this case, even if Gu Jue still has no interest in power, can the eldest grandson Gu Yuanjia tolerate a regent who has been in power for many years? ! This is a foreseeable hidden danger!

Throughout history, there were many emperors who killed regents in order to rule the country themselves. How could an emperor allow others to sleep beside his bed? The emperor's supreme power could not be coveted or shared, so the cruel struggle for the throne was always full of killing and blood.

For this supreme position, father and son, husband and wife, mother and son, brothers, uncle and nephew, etc. can all become enemies.

Such things are very common in imperial families.

Prince Shun wanted to smooth things over and was unwilling to express his opinion easily. He sat aside and drank tea numbly, while Prince Li's expression became more and more determined.

His right hand suddenly clenched into a fist, and he stopped tapping the coffee table. He said softly, "With Gu Jue's personality, he would not allow himself to gamble his life on a child."

Prince Li spoke very slowly, in a calm and composed tone.

Prime Minister Zhang's few words of advice suddenly enlightened Prince Li, as if he had suddenly realized something.

Some things cannot be avoided and must be faced eventually.

No one remains unchanged. The crown prince will change, the eldest grandson of the emperor will change, and Gu Jue will also change.

Ten years from now, when the eldest grandson of the emperor grows up, Gu Jue will definitely have his own son. By then, the problem that Da Qi will have to face is not only that the eldest grandson of the emperor cannot tolerate Gu Jue, but also what Gu Jue and his son think. I am afraid that Da Qi will once again face a bloody storm.

There are too many variables and the future is too hard to predict.

The source of everything is the prince. If the prince is in good health, then Gu Jue will go far to the north and be made a vassal king, and the court will be stable.

But now, it doesn’t work anymore.

Yang Xuanshan also understood what Prime Minister Zhang and Prince Li meant and nodded silently.

Prince Shun continued to remain silent. He came here to see what Prince Li’s plan was. Anyway, he would just follow Prince Li’s lead.

Everyone exchanged glances silently, and the room fell silent, with no sound for a long time.

On that day, Prime Minister Zhang and others left Prince Li's Mansion one after another before the sun set. Some of them went to contact the royal family, while others went to communicate with other ministers, each performing their own duties.

It was an unusually quiet night.

The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop. That night, the night wind howls incessantly, and many flower buds on the branches are blown down, giving people the illusion of being in deep autumn.

Early the next morning, the six ministers headed by Prime Minister Zhang and a group of royal relatives headed by Prince Li entered the palace together and asked to see Crown Prince Gu Nanjin.

Everyone had a solemn look on their faces. All the people who appeared today had reached a consensus to some extent.

"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess!"

Everyone gathered in the East Palace, and they bowed solemnly to Gu Nanjin and the Crown Princess.

It had been half a month, and this was the first time that Zhang Shoufu and others met Gu Nanjin.

The last time I saw Gu Nanjin in the main hall of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, he was lying in a pool of blood, his life or death unknown.

Everyone's first impression was that the prince had become thinner and paler, with his robe hanging loosely on his body.

He was still noble, elegant, and calm; but he seemed to have changed. There was a sense of tranquility in his calmness, a kind of peace that came from seeing through the world.

The prince in front of him seemed familiar yet unfamiliar, no longer as lively as he was at his age.

Thinking about what happened to the Crown Prince, the ministers felt more and more emotional, and at the same time their eyes couldn't help but glance at the Crown Princess.

Women are not allowed to participate in politics. The Crown Prince discusses state affairs. In the past, the Crown Princess never interfered. But today, the Crown Princess appeared here, which shows that what the Crown Prince wants to talk about is most likely "that thing".

"Stand up." Gu Nanjin's voice was as gentle as before, but it was a little weak and lacking in strength.

He stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, his handsome face was solemn and calm, as peaceful as a pool of still water, and he said slowly: "I called you here today because the country cannot be without a king for a day..."

Everyone raised their eyelids, some remained motionless, while others could not help but exchange glances with each other.

They have made the decision. Even if they risk everything, they can only stop the prince from ascending the throne.

Even if their behavior today will inevitably be criticized in history books in the future, and even suspected that they were bribed by Prince Chen, for the future of Da Qi, someone has to do some things.

It was because of their hesitation in the beginning that things had developed to this point. This time, they cannot hesitate any longer.

Prince Li calmed down and was thinking about how to persuade him when he heard Gu Nanjin calmly say, "I want to ask the Ninth Prince to ascend the throne."

“…”

“…”

“…”

In an instant, all the sounds in the hall seemed to be far away from everyone. The surroundings seemed to be extremely quiet, but also seemed to be noisy.

The light of the rising sun shone through the window onto Gu Nanjin's face, dividing his face into two parts, one half was as white as jade, and the other half was mysterious. Especially his left eye, which was backlit, looked particularly deep in the faint shadow, solemn, resolute, calm, and transcendent.

Everyone stared at him, motionless, all shocked by what he had just said.

The Crown Princess stood there with her head lowered, not moving at all, and it was obvious that she knew what Gu Nanjin was going to say.

Prince Li and Prime Minister Zhang could not help but look at each other, and sighed sincerely in their hearts. The prince was worthy of being the crown prince taught by his royal grandfather, Emperor Renzong. He saw things very clearly in his heart.

The others were also looking at each other secretly. According to etiquette, they should advise the prince to think twice. But in this situation, everyone was speechless. Before they came, they didn't expect the prince to have such awareness.

Gu Nanjin's expression was very calm, as if what he had just said was not something shocking, and that he was not giving up the throne, as if this was the most ordinary thing.

He continued: "I am weak and frail, unable to handle state affairs and shoulder great responsibilities."

From this moment on, he changed his self-reference from "Gu" to "I", which was also a declaration of his determination.

"I, the Crown Prince, am incompetent and was unable to dissuade my father, which is why things got out of hand..."

"Besides, my father's death is also related to me, and an unfilial person has no face to succeed to the throne."

A son should not speak of his father's faults. Even though Gu Nanjin knew that Gu Lang was totally wrong, he could only be as tactful as possible when talking about the matter, and the bitterness in his heart was evident in his words.

This chapter is free today. I will update it after 0:00 tomorrow. I have updated less recently, so I will make up for it tomorrow.

*Chu Lingxiao didn't die because he had to observe mourning. He still had to observe mourning even if he divorced.

(End of this chapter)