0p0 Chapter 270 The Crown Prince is Deposed...
Chapter 270 The Crown Prince is Deposed...
Zhu Kui, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped out from the crowd, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said solemnly:
“Your Majesty, if the Crown Prince has determined that Wu Tiancheng colluded with the people of Yuanhe Kingdom, he must have already obtained evidence. I believe that this matter should not be blamed entirely on him while the Crown Prince is not in the capital. We should wait for him to return, investigate the truth, and then make a decision.”
Lin Xingliang disagreed and retorted:
"Your Majesty, the people in the city are afraid they will not be able to wait for the Crown Prince to return. They are all clamoring for Your Majesty to depose the Crown Prince. If this can quell the people's anger, I believe Your Majesty should follow the will of the people."
At this point, several ministers who were on good terms with Wei Jianning stepped forward to plead for him.
"Your Majesty, although the decree to execute the Wu family was issued by the Crown Prince, he is not currently in the capital. It would be too hasty to depose the Crown Prince based solely on a decree."
"Your Majesty, regardless of whether the Wu family's collusion with the enemy is true or false, the fact that the Crown Prince has handled all matters of the court in an orderly manner since he took over the reins of government is enough that he should not be deposed because of this matter. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider."
"Your Majesty, please reconsider..."
Seeing that a large portion of the court was pleading for Wei Jianning, Lin Xingliang hesitated.
Yesterday, someone delivered a letter written in blood to the Lin residence, stating that the Wu family was innocent and asking him to seek justice for them.
He originally intended to report the blood letter to the Emperor, but Madam Lin said that if people found out that there were still survivors in the Wu family, someone would eliminate them completely.
After much deliberation, Lin Xingliang decided to follow his wife's advice and not reveal the blood letter, but instead go directly to the court to impeach Wei Jianning.
At this moment, while everyone was pleading for Wei Jianning, he thought of the blood-written letter and the lives of the thirty-eight members of the Wu family, and decided to stick to his own ideas.
"Your Majesty, I believe that executing the entire Wu family based solely on a secret letter that no one else has seen is not something a crown prince should do. I impeach the Crown Prince, and we petition on behalf of the people to depose him..."
As soon as he finished speaking, those who were on good terms with him and had been won over by Wei Jianxun all echoed his sentiments.
"On behalf of the people, we petition Your Majesty to depose the Crown Prince..."
"On behalf of the people, we petition Your Majesty to depose the Crown Prince..."
"..."
Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Zhu Kui immediately shouted angrily:
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is not in the capital. Who knows if this decree was actually issued by the Crown Prince? Perhaps someone stole the Imperial Seal and issued a private decree. I beg Your Majesty to investigate this matter thoroughly."
Lin Xingliang, however, snorted in protest.
"Lord Zhu is really delusional. Who in the entire court would dare to steal an imperial edict? Besides, this edict was prepared in advance by the Crown Prince when he was in the capital. How could it be fake?"
Another person echoed this sentiment.
"That's right. Even if the Crown Prince is Lord Zhu's son-in-law, Lord Zhu can't abuse his power for personal gain and lie through his teeth, can he?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Kui immediately snorted angrily.
"I have always been fair and impartial, and I have never abused my power for personal gain. You should stop making baseless accusations."
At this moment, Lin Xingliang stared at him and questioned him in an extremely serious voice.
"Lord Zhu, as everyone knows, the Imperial Seal has always been in the hands of the Crown Prince. How could anyone else possibly use it? This imperial edict was clearly issued too hastily. In fact, it was targeted because the Wu family offended the Crown Prince a few years ago. If you, Lord Zhu, did not abuse your power for personal gain, then it is the Crown Prince who did so."
Lin Xingliang's words left Zhu Kui speechless for a moment.
Wu Tiancheng was once promoted by Wei Jian'an, who had done him a favor. Wu Tiancheng had helped Wei Jian'an when he dealt with Wei Jianning.
At this point, if everyone insisted that Wei Jianning's order to execute Wu Tiancheng's entire family was an act of abuse of power for personal gain, Zhu Kui really wouldn't know how to respond.
At this moment, Wei Jianxun, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up:
“Father, I believe that since the Crown Prince is not in the capital, the best course of action is to quell public anger first. Once the Crown Prince returns and the truth is uncovered, it will not be too late to restore his status.”
Wei Jianxun's words seemed to be for Wei Jianning's sake, but anyone with eyes could tell that if the crown prince was deposed, how easy would it be to regain his status?
After pondering for a moment, the Emperor nodded and said:
“Xun’er is right. Then I will issue an edict to abolish his position as crown prince. In any case, the imperial seal and the seal of the regent crown prince are in his hands. Abolishing the crown prince is just an excuse to quell public anger. I believe he will understand.”
"Your Majesty, I believe this is inappropriate. Please reconsider!"
The Emperor frowned slightly and waved his hand at Zhu Kui, saying:
"I have already made my decision on this matter. Lord Zhu need not say any more. If there is nothing else, you may leave the court."
At this moment, Zhu Kui was so angry that his face turned ashen.
Although Wei Jianning's relationship with his daughter has not improved since she married him, his daughter says that Wei Jianning treats her very well and that she should help him out as much as possible.
For the sake of his daughter, he wanted to help Wei Jianning stabilize his position, but the sudden execution of the entire Wu family caught him off guard.
Now that the Emperor has issued the decree to abolish the imperial edict, and so hastily, he has not given anyone a chance to object.
He, who is usually calm in the face of adversity, was actually getting a little anxious.
He could guess that once the imperial edict was sent to the Crown Prince's residence, Fei'er would run home like a madwoman, blaming him for not speaking up for Wei Jianning in court and for not caring about his daughter as a father.
How could he not feel sorry for his daughter? He just didn't have the strength to help her!
This is because Wei Jianning was in the wrong in this matter.
Prince's Mansion
When the imperial edict to abolish the crown prince was issued to the crown prince's residence, Lan Zhi showed no panic or surprise, as if she had expected it all along.
Only after Qin Shun led everyone away from the Crown Prince's residence did A Qi and Xiang Xiucai approach them anxiously, asking...
"Master, what should we do?"
Lan Zhi, without batting an eye, picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and calmly said:
"Let's just do what needs to be done!"
"But...but the Crown Prince is not here, yet the Emperor has deposed him. If the Crown Prince knew, he would be furious."
"Ha! He's already used to the Emperor's capriciousness and can't take it anymore. You all go about your business. Tell the servants in the mansion not to gossip behind his back. Anyone who keeps a loose tongue, I'll cut out their tongue."
Xiangxiu bowed and replied:
"Yes, I'll go and inform them right away."
At this moment, Yuan Tianxiong strode in, and Lan Zhi's expression became tense.
After dismissing everyone, she asked anxiously:
"What exactly happened in the imperial court?"
"Your Highness, who do you think led the impeachment of the Crown Prince this time?"
Lan Zhi frowned slightly, then shook her head.
"do not know……"
"Lin Xingliang..."
"What? How could it be him?"
Lan Zhi was puzzled. Before Wei Jianning left, he specifically told her that if she encountered any problems that she couldn't solve, she should go to Lin Xingliang.
Given how much Wei Jianning trusted him, why would he impeach Wei Jianning?
"What else did they say?"
"They say the Crown Prince received a sealed letter at Wu Tiancheng's house. Zhu Kui doubts the authenticity of this secret letter, but only the Crown Prince has seen it. Do you want it?"