books44 Chapter 367 Joint Trial by the Three Judicial Offices 8
Chapter 367 Joint Trial by the Three Judicial Offices 8
The queen growled, but the two people inside remained unmoved.
After she fell asleep again, the princess asked curiously, "How long can she live like this?"
Li Ge shook his head, "This servant is not a royal physician and cannot determine Her Majesty the Empress's condition."
The eldest princess remained noncommittal, but if the imperial physicians had been effective, the empress wouldn't have ended up like this.
"Now that the Crown Prince is under house arrest and the Tong family is under investigation, this is the best time to depose him. If we fail this time, we will never have another chance."
Li Ge echoed, "Yes, Princess, rest assured, His Majesty's mind is made up to depose the Crown Prince this time, and there is no room for change."
"That's good. I was just afraid he wouldn't be willing to part with him. After all, he's the son he's raised with such care for over twenty years."
"Your Highness and the Emperor have a deep bond, and he is happy to listen to what you have to say."
The eldest princess smiled and left Kunning Palace.
She sat in the sedan chair, propping her head up with one hand, and whispered to her trusted nanny.
Upon approaching, they saw Consort De riding in a sedan chair, holding a plump orange cat in her arms, waving for people to stop.
Consort De alighted from her sedan chair first and curtsied to the Princess, saying, "This humble servant greets Your Highness, the Princess."
"Hua Rong, you're too kind. We've known each other for so many years. You can just call me 'sister'."
"The etiquette cannot be abolished."
The eldest princess invited her to take a walk together.
She had already heard that the Emperor had appointed Consort De to temporarily manage the inner palace in place of the Empress. Any other concubine would have been overjoyed, but Consort De clearly did not care about power.
"His Majesty has ordered me to host a palace banquet to welcome Prince Zheng. Could the Princess please help me?"
Consort De made her request directly.
The eldest princess said meaningfully, "Consort De is one of the four most senior consorts in this palace. With the Empress unwell, you should step forward to share the Emperor's burdens."
"It's just a palace banquet. You can just give the order. We're all family, no need for formalities."
"I've never really dealt with these things before, but I'm afraid of neglecting Your Highness."
The eldest princess smiled and comforted him, "He is the most easy-going person, how could he be picky about these things? As for you, it's been many years since we've seen you out and about. Now you should take this opportunity to get out and about."
Consort De was a woman who had been by the emperor's side even earlier than the empress. After the empress ascended to the throne, she was wary of Consort De and did her best to suppress her. Therefore, Consort De always lived cautiously in the harem.
Looking at her aged face and cautious eyes, the princess couldn't bear it.
"Here's what we'll do: go find Li Ge in Kunning Palace. The Empress usually relies on him, so you can ask him for help."
Consort De asked uncertainly, "Since he's the Empress's man, would he be willing to help?"
The eldest princess looked down on her timidity, but still said in a kind tone, "Don't worry, just say it was my order."
Consort De was extremely grateful and bid farewell to the Princess before departing.
After turning the corner, she dropped her humble expression, her face becoming as calm as still water.
"Go and inform Li to take charge."
"promise."
Looking at the desolate harem, she had long lost the feelings of her youth and only hoped that she could escape this cage as soon as possible.
Even if she could only spend one day outside enjoying her freedom, she would be willing to do so.
As night fell, the palace returned to its usual festive atmosphere.
Consort Li's funeral is now a thing of the past. The people in the palace are the most indifferent. Once the mourning hall is dismantled, there isn't even anyone left to mourn.
The sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air, and the dance was graceful and charming.
King Zheng had already drunk quite a bit of wine and was talking to the emperor about the local customs and culture of Tanzhou.
He went through his sons one by one, getting angrier and angrier, and finally smashed his wine glass.
"Your Majesty, you may not know this, but my eldest son has been passionate about solving cases since he was a child. He has devoted himself to cases and I thought he would become a reincarnation of Di Renjie. But I never expected that he would be so clueless in this area."
Now his reputation is ruined, his relationship with his daughter-in-law is strained, and he doesn't know what the future holds.
King Zheng sighed, but the emperor just smiled.
He had known about the young prince's affair for a long time. He was just a good-for-nothing child, which was not a big deal in the imperial family.
Even if he were to commit murder indiscriminately, as long as King Zheng behaves himself, he will be fine.
"Children are all debts to their parents," the emperor lamented.
King Zheng said in a daze, "Your Majesty is unaware of your good fortune. The Crown Prince is kind and talented, and has been a role model for the princes since childhood."
Your Majesty, I remember that when you were young, the Second Prince was quite clever and adorable. However, because the Crown Prince was so outstanding, his brilliance was gradually overshadowed.
"Second Prince?" The emperor seemed to have forgotten what the second prince looked like when he was a child.
"Yes, when the Second Prince was little, he always hung around me and said that when he grew up he would travel the world with me, haha... But I heard that the kid is living a pretty good life now."
The emperor looked around and spotted the second prince, who was drinking and playing drinking games with his third son-in-law. His brows furrowed slightly.
The second child is really outrageous; all he does is eat, drink, and have fun.
Someone gently nudged the Second Prince, "Your Highness, the Emperor seems to be looking at you."
"Impossible, Father Emperor doesn't even know me!" the second prince replied, slurring his words. Then, having lost, he picked up his wine cup and took another sip.
"Second Prince, His Majesty is calling for you," Eunuch Wu called out, raising his voice.
The entire room fell silent, and everyone looked at the Second Prince.
Today is a family banquet, but almost all the royal relatives are present, and everyone looks at the Second Prince with a hint of disdain.
Recently, some people have been speculating: if the emperor really deposes the crown prince, who will be the successor?
No one had thought about this issue before, but upon serious consideration, it seems that a suitable successor cannot be found.
Then some people said that rather than letting these incompetent descendants ruin the Da Xi Dynasty, it would be better to let King Zheng inherit the throne.
Back then, Prince Zheng was also a direct descendant, but he was too young to ascend the throne.
The second prince staggered to his feet, walked to the center of the hall, and bowed to the emperor.
"What are your orders, Father Emperor?"
Suppressing his anger, the emperor asked, "What have you been doing lately?"
"Your subject... Your subject went hunting in the countryside today, but did nothing."
"Hmph, how old are you? You don't do anything productive. What kind of behavior is this?"
The second prince didn't dare to utter a word, and it was Consort De who came to his rescue.
"Your Majesty, the Second Prince is indeed a bit absurd, but he is a prince. He cannot enter the court for literary pursuits, nor can he go to the battlefield for martial arts. What else can he do besides play around?"
Before the emperor could get angry, Consort De pleaded, "Since Your Majesty also dislikes his irresponsible manner, why not give him something to do?"
The emperor glanced sideways and asked, "You want to pave a future for him?"
"What future prospects? As long as he can live a good life in his fiefdom like the King of Zheng, that's fine. But even if he has his own fiefdom, he still needs to know some of the local customs. He can't be so ignorant about what grains look like, or he'll be fooled by his servants."
“Ahem…that’s not wrong,” King Zheng chimed in.
The emperor also began to seriously consider it.
The sons dared not stand up for themselves under the Crown Prince's suppression. Now that the Crown Prince is under house arrest, it's time to let them get some experience.