Prince Chen began to think seriously. It seemed he really needed to ask his sixth brother about the situation. If he could handle this matter well, it would indeed solve a lot of trouble.
"Alright, I'll write a letter right away and have it sent to the border. Let my sixth brother handle it."
Prince Jing's initiative to go to the frontier was a gesture of goodwill towards him. He had indeed been worried that Prince Jing might ruin things, but after the Princess Consort reminded him, he immediately lost that thought. One should trust those one employs and not employ those one distrusts; this level of trust should still be given.
Besides, the princess is right; we should trust He Jiu Niang's judgment.
Prince Jing never expected that before he even reached the frontier, his good brother would start assigning him tasks and clearly sending him away.
The next few days were relatively easy for He Jiuniang. Apart from treating the old emperor and Zhou Yanlan's sister-in-law, she had nothing else to do. In her spare time, she would take the princess around for a stroll.
Knowing that her family would definitely be living in the capital soon, she needed to acquire some properties. She decided to keep an eye on things for now and take them over when they arrived.
Several major events have occurred in the past few days. First, the old emperor dealt with Prince Lin and his maternal relatives' associates, killing many people. Second, the elite soldiers who wanted to force the emperor to abdicate were also dealt with. They were all loyalists of the Eastern Court and were of little use. Now that the identity of their leader was known, nothing else mattered. Third, it was time to reward those who had contributed to the succession.
In that incident, both Lu Baichuan and his wife made great contributions. He Jiuniang had no interest in the court and naturally didn't care about those things. So only Lu Baichuan was awarded a title and promoted to the rank of Second-Rank Assistant General. Large boxes of gold, silver, jewelry, silk, tea and the like were sent to their home.
He Jiuniang received an imperial title, and because of her great contributions, an additional imperial title was granted to Sun Shi, which was a major event that shocked the court and the public.
The title of "Lady of Imperial Decree" is very rare and not everyone can receive it. At most, a family can only have one such title. However, not only did Lu Baichuan get promoted, but his wife and mother also received titles, which made some people green with envy.
On the day of the investiture, many people stood up to oppose it. Some were jealous, while others were serious court officials who felt that the Lu family's rise was too fast and had a bad influence, so they joined in the remonstrance.
But none of this deterred the old emperor. Faced with these people's obstruction, the old emperor said directly: "Those who oppose me, think carefully about where you were on the night of the palace coup!"
After he shouted those words, no one dared to utter a sound.
No one remembers what happened that night. They all fell asleep after drinking and didn't wake up until the next morning.
Because they had been specifically instructed not to let the servants in the house help with the cleaning, they would find themselves covered in blood when they woke up the next day, proving that they had missed a fight the night before.
While surviving the ordeal, they also found it incredible that the person who led the rebellion was actually Prince Lin, who had always been indifferent to fame and fortune!
The civil official was relieved that he had survived by fainting, while the military official was somewhat regretful. If they had been awake, the credit would not have gone to Lu Baichuan alone!
In any case, Lu Baichuan's promotion is a foregone conclusion, and there's nothing anyone can do about it, no matter how envious they are. Even if the Crown Prince and the other princes make a fuss, it won't change anything.
The old emperor handed over the remaining matters entirely to Prince Chen, clearly relinquishing power. It was obvious to everyone that the old emperor's favoritism towards the crown prince was gone forever.
He Jiuniang had been shopping with the princess all day and was about to go out to eat when a servant came to report that something had happened.
He Jiuniang didn't care much. She was thinking that if the princess was leaving, she would go home by herself, and while she was at it, she would research a few new dishes and wait for Lu Baichuan to come back so they could eat together.
The servant then said, "His Highness the Crown Prince has entered the palace, saying he intends to pass the throne to our Prince. Now all the nobles have entered the palace, Your Highness should also prepare to go! Oh, and General Lu is also in the palace, Madam, why don't you come along too?"
The servants must have been reminded by someone that this was the case. He Jiu Niang thought that if she was delayed a little while going to the palace, she might be able to get a free meal there, which was a good thing.
He Jiuniang then followed the Princess back to the Prince Chen's residence, and after tidying up, they went to the palace together.
The so-called "tidying up" was just because I had been shopping all day, my hair was a bit messy, and I had sweated a little, so I just needed to comb my hair and wash my face.
The princess, on the other hand, made a grand entrance, having freshened up her clothes, changed her appearance, and even reapplied her exquisite makeup.
During this time, He Jiuniang took a nap on the princess's chaise lounge.
The princess was quite envious of her casual and carefree attitude, but given her status, she was also aware of the current situation in the palace and knew that she had to be mindful of her appearance.
When the two hurriedly entered the palace, they found that everything had already been settled. The old emperor agreed to let the crown prince relinquish his position and instead bestow upon him the title of Prince Mao. Before anyone could react, the emperor directly changed the title of Prince Chen to crown prince, allowing him to continue to act as regent.
Now, the former crown prince, now Prince Mao, is truly out of luck.
He originally intended to use a self-inflicted injury ruse, hoping to cry in front of the old emperor and, given the emperor's favor towards him, perhaps get Prince Chen to return the power that belonged to him. Unexpectedly, the self-inflicted injury ruse was completely useless, and the old emperor readily agreed.
That would be like saying that even if the prince doesn't give up voluntarily, he will definitely be deposed later.
Prince Mao was on the verge of tears, but the old emperor was still happily preparing a family banquet, and then announcing this important news first thing tomorrow morning.
When He Jiuniang and the Princess Consort arrived, it happened to be during the family banquet. The Empress pulled the Princess Consort of Chen, or rather, the Crown Princess Consort now, aside and gave her a few words of explanation.
The Empress is the birth mother of Prince Mao. Now that her son has lost his position as Crown Prince, she is heartbroken and finds the Crown Princess extremely displeasing. However, the situation is already set in stone, and there is nothing she can do even if she is unwilling. The old emperor's attitude has been very clear during this period, and even if she is unwilling, she cannot change the course of events.
It's all my fault for having such a useless son who can't compete with my third son!
Thinking of this, the Empress narrowed her eyes. She was also awake that night during the palace coup and witnessed the whole process. She knew that if it weren't for the Lu family couple, the third son wouldn't have been able to accomplish so many great things in such a short time. She gritted her teeth in secret.
Fortunately, the old emperor still valued their past relationship. Even though he deposed the crown prince, he didn't touch her position. Even if the third prince became emperor, she could still be the empress dowager. Thinking about it this way, she felt a little better.
The old emperor was in an exceptionally good mood, pleased that he had handled several important matters in such a short time.
Seeing that He Jiuniang had gone to sit down with Lu Baichuan, he then spoke, "This is the situation I am most pleased to see. Among you brothers, the third brother is the most capable, and I am at ease entrusting this position to him. The rest of you should do your best to assist the third brother. I have given you so many years of opportunities. If you cannot win, you must accept defeat. If there are any who have ill intentions, their fate will be even worse than that of the fifth brother!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com