Rong Yu was still worried, so he asked someone to invite a doctor to the villa. Although it was just a minor cold, he figured it would be fine to have someone come and check on him after he left. Even though seeing a doctor would take away the little time the two of them could spend alone, he couldn't bear to see the man suffer even the slightest bit more. After the doctor took his pulse, wrote a prescription, brewed the medicine, and personally fed it to him, he reluctantly left.
He knew that until the matters in the palace were resolved, he couldn't stay by his side in peace!
In the Zichen Palace, Emperor Mingde brought up the old matter of taking a concubine again. Previously, when this matter was mentioned, Rong Yu had made all sorts of excuses, but unexpectedly, a day later, when he brought it up again, the Crown Prince actually softened his stance and said that he would seriously consider it.
Emperor Mingde was deeply comforted and immediately ordered that eligible noblewomen be summoned to submit their birth dates and times for comparison with the Crown Prince's birth date and time at the Imperial Observatory. This order caused an uproar throughout the court.
Geng Qi received the news immediately, but before he could even add to his troubles, even more shocking news came from the palace!
The second prince's birth mother was of noble birth, the daughter of Zhou Taifu, a veteran official of two dynasties. After giving birth to the second prince, she was made a Noble Consort. After the Empress passed away, she was the only one in the harem with a supreme status. However, on the very day that Emperor Mingde was drafting an edict to select a candidate for Crown Princess, a scandal broke out in the palace that the Noble Consort had an affair with someone. She was caught red-handed by palace servants and had no way to defend herself.
The task of selecting a consort for the Crown Prince, which was originally entrusted to the Imperial Concubine, was also forced to be terminated.
Emperor Mingde was furious and banished the Imperial Concubine to the Cold Palace. As a result, the Second Prince was implicated, and several officials who had initially supported him because of Grand Tutor Zhou also completely abandoned him.
The second prince never expected that just when he finally saw some hope and before he could even put his plans into action, he would be struck down by a bolt from the blue and plunged into the abyss!
In reality, his so-called hope was nothing more than an illusion fabricated for him by others.
The Second Prince's fall from grace did not diminish his ambition. Before anyone knew it, news of the Crown Prince keeping a mistress in a golden house spread throughout Sangzhong City. Geng Qi's villa instantly became the target of everyone's attention. Emperor Mingde became suspicious and sent people to investigate, but they returned empty-handed!
The emperor was greatly alarmed and became wary of the crown prince, which made him even more convinced that the rumors were true.
If it were a woman, even if she was of lowly status, as long as the Crown Prince liked her, there would be nothing wrong with her entering the palace and being made a concubine. However, the fact that the Crown Prince cared so much and concealed it so much could only mean that the person from the villa was not allowed to enter the palace.
The eldest son he had valued since childhood, the crown prince who was made heir apparent, turned out to be a homosexual!
This was even more intolerable to the emperor than the concubine's infidelity.
If the women in the harem are unfaithful, it damages the emperor's reputation. But if a homosexual prince were to succeed to the throne and a man were to enter the harem, and if any of the men harbored ill intentions, it would damage the nation and its people!
Emperor Mingde could not depose the crown prince on the grounds of homosexuality, so he directly issued an imperial edict to marry the daughter of the Minister of War to the crown prince. However, as soon as the imperial edict was issued, it was found that the Minister of War had embezzled military pay, which made the soldiers on the frontier unable to fight and resulted in a great defeat on the battlefield.
With the Minister of War imprisoned, the marriage decree was naturally null and void.
On several occasions, the candidates favored by Emperor Mingde were either women whose families had been imprisoned for violating the law, or women whose own moral character was flawed and who were not suitable to be the Crown Princess.
If it's just a coincidence for one person, but if it happens to five or ten people, then even an emperor cannot help but be wary.
The Crown Prince was benevolent and virtuous, and all the ministers were loyal to him. Moreover, he was loyal to the emperor and filial to his father. This was exactly the situation that Emperor Mingde wanted to see. He had always delegated power to the Crown Prince and never had any doubts. This was because the Crown Prince was already the Crown Prince, and as long as he did not make any major mistakes, the throne would be rightfully handed over to him!
Now that father and son are facing off, he realizes that this man has long since escaped his control.
The Crown Prince's selection of a concubine caused widespread panic in the court. Those in the know said it was due to discord between father and son, while those who were unaware believed that the Emperor intended to use this opportunity to purge the court, and even the harem would not be spared.
The birth mothers of the two princes were punished one after another, and the deceased empress was not killed of illness but murdered. The thorough investigation implicated a large group of people, including concubines, female officials and palace maids. In one day, the harem was almost bloodied. Emperor Mingde was so angry that he fell ill and was bedridden.
Due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, the matter of the Crown Prince marrying a bride was delayed until he came of age and still could not be settled.
That day, the person in the villa was getting dressed. He had caught a cold and was seriously ill. Since then, Rong Yu had refused to leave him alone in the villa. He also allowed him to go out for a walk, but he was accompanied by guards. It was unknown how many people were secretly following him.
He was still dressed in red, with a heavy fox fur coat over his shoulders, except for the snow-white fur collar around his neck. His dark hair was loosely tied up, and a ribbon hung down gently. Because he had just recovered from a serious illness, his fair face had a slight blush, making him even more endearing.
Rongyu entered the palace today, saying he would return at noon, but now it's past noon and he still hasn't returned.
As soon as Geng Qi opened the door, he saw Que Yan walk in with a pained expression.
He asked, "What's wrong?"
Queyan pouted and said, "Today Your Highness has come of age, and His Majesty has given you a courtesy name."
Geng Qi's heart skipped a beat: "...What courtesy name?"
A man should be of legal age at twenty and should establish a courtesy name. Today is Rong Yu's birthday. Geng Qi suddenly realized with regret that he had been sleeping in and had forgotten such an important day.
The young maid couldn't keep anything to herself and didn't notice anything unusual about his expression. She said to herself, "It seems to be called Luo... Luo... I can't remember clearly. I heard people say that this character is very unlucky. There are rumors that our prince has angered the emperor and lost his favor. Young master, what do you think about his... Young master, what's wrong with you?"
Geng Qi snapped out of his daze. "I'm fine, please continue."
“…Oh.” Queyan responded blankly, then suddenly realized that she had nothing else to say. After thinking for a moment, she added, “And there’s Prince Zhan. I heard that Prince Zhan went to the palace to plead for our prince and asked the emperor to rescind his order. However, the emperor was so angry that he fell ill and his condition worsened. Prince Zhan was thus forced to return to his residence and was placed under house arrest.”
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