Overstepping one's authority was a serious crime!
On the second day.
Jing Yi never would have thought that Jing Xian's plan would slowly push him onto a path of no return.
A reign of terror was also heading towards the capital.
Early in the morning, the Office of Transmission delivered dozens of memorials to the Emperor, almost all of them discussing the new heir apparent.
All the memorials to the throne recommended Jing Yi as the crown prince.
Jing Yi's influence was like a tornado, growing stronger and stronger. To put it nicely, the officials were supporting him, but to put it bluntly, the officials were rioting.
Qi Zhen Emperor was still alive.
Less than half a year after the Crown Prince's death, these officials were already forcing him to appoint a new heir apparent. Did they not respect him, the Emperor?
He was furious.
He swept all the memorials on the table to the ground.
Zhang Quan did not dare to pick them up.
Thud!
He slammed his fist on the hard table.
"The Crown Prince, the Crown Prince, they're all talking about the Crown Prince, why would we keep these dogs!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down."
"All the officials are forcing us to appoint Jing Yi as the Crown Prince."
Thud!
Another fist slammed against the table.
The current him was like a tyrant.
Zhang Quan opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.
Qi Zhen Emperor said, "First the concubine, then the Crown Prince. Our empire will be his sooner or later, can't he wait until we die?"
He coughed after saying that.
He almost coughed up blood.
Zhang Quan immediately poured a cup of tea and placed it beside him. "Your Majesty, take care of yourself."
"Bastard."
Qi Zhen Emperor waved his hand.
The cup fell to the ground, smashing into pieces.
At this moment, a eunuch entered with an imperial edict in his hand.
。
"Your Majesty, this is an imperial edict to be delivered to Prince Rong at Yufu. It awaits Your Majesty's seal."
Qi Zhen Emperor's eyes suddenly focused. "Bring it here."
The eunuch handed it over.
The imperial edict was spread out on the table. Written on it was the edict he had spoken during yesterday's court session.
But —
Even after a long time, he did not stamp it. Instead, he crumpled the imperial edict in his hand.
Zhang Quan sensed something and bowed. "Your Majesty, you can't be thinking of …"
Ugh!
Qi Zhen Emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "The world has yet to be decided. No one can force Us."
He tore up the imperial edict in his hand and threw it aside.
Zhang Quan understood what he meant. He immediately fetched a new piece of paper, laid it flat on the table, ground it, and passed the brush to Zhang Quan.
Qi Zhen Emperor wrote a new imperial edict and stamped it with the imperial seal.
Finally, he placed the imperial edict into a yellow-skinned bamboo tube and handed it to a eunuch. "Send it to Yufu immediately. Do not waste any time and do not reveal to anyone that the imperial edict has changed."
"Yes!"
The eunuch held the encrypted imperial edict and left the hall.
As for what was written on the imperial edict, only Qi Zhen Emperor and Zhang Quan knew.
Very soon, Prince Yi's residence received a memorial from the ministers recommending him as the Crown Prince!
Instead of feeling happy, he was extremely shocked.
On the surface, this seemed to be beneficial to him, but in reality, it was the same as when the Ministry of Appointments submitted a memorial to Jing Rong. Not only did it not bring him any benefits, it also put him in deep water and made the already suspicious Qi Zhen Emperor think that he was overstepping his authority.
Overstepping his authority was a grave crime!
At the end of the day, he was only a prince. What did it matter if he had many people supporting him? He was facing the Emperor, an old schemer who had sat on the throne for twenty years. Whether it was shrewdness or scheming, the Emperor was better than him.
Moreover, the Emperor was his father.
What he did not understand was —
"Why are the ministers submitting a memorial so suddenly?"
That's right, why so suddenly?
Yesterday, the Emperor had ordered Jing Rong to stay in Yufu to continue investigating the case. Today, the ministers were submitting a memorial asking the Emperor to recommend him as the Crown Prince. Wasn't this too much of a coincidence?
He called Dou Quan over and asked, "Who initiated this incident?"
Dou Quan shook his head. "I'm not sure. Perhaps the ministers think that Prince Rong will never return to the capital, so they are supporting Your Highness as the Crown Prince."
"I'm just afraid that things aren't that simple."
"Why would Your Highness have such concerns?"
"It's not concerns. I'm worried. Imperial Father is overly suspicious. The ministers submitting a memorial at this time is very disadvantageous for this prince."
"Then what do we do now?" Dou Quan asked.
Jing Yi seemed to have thought of something. His eyes widened as he asked, "Has the imperial edict that Imperial Father ordered to be sent to Jing Rong left the capital?"
"It just left the capital."
"Immediately send someone to check the imperial edict. This prince wants to know what's written on it."
Dou Quan didn't understand. "Isn't the imperial edict supposed to be the Emperor's verbal decree during the court session? Could it be that Your Highness is worried … "
Jing Yi narrowed his sinister eyes and nodded.
Dou Quan suddenly understood and immediately went to carry out the order.
Jing Yi clenched his fists and placed them on his knees. His heart was burning.
"Imperial Father, I really hope … you won't treat your son like this."
… …
The imperial edict was delivered by a courier. The courier rode on his horse, not daring to waste any time. After traveling for half a day, he was too tired and rested at a tea stall in the forest.
"What would you like, sir?"
"Give me a pot of tea."
"Alright."
The waiter brought him a pot of tea. He drank a big bowl and felt dizzy. He shook his head vigorously as if his head had been hit by a hammer.
It buzzed for a long time.
With a thud, his head fell heavily onto the table.
Fainting!
Dou Quan came out from the shadows and took out the imperial edict from the courier's body.
Open it!
When he saw the contents, he was greatly shocked.
He clenched his fists.
He returned the imperial edict and disappeared into the forest with a leap.
The waiter hurriedly took out something and placed it under the courier's nose. Upon smelling it, the courier immediately woke up.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he immediately drew his sword and stabbed it at the waiter. "Who are you?"
"Sir … don't act recklessly. This lowly one didn't do anything."
"You drugged the tea. Tell me, who sent you here?"
The waiter immediately knelt on the ground and raised his hands high. With a crying face, he said, "You've been wronged, sir. This lowly one just gave you a pot of tea. You only took a sip before collapsing. I called you a few times before you woke up. This lowly one really didn't do anything."
The courier was skeptical.
He sheathed his sword and checked the imperial edict. Fortunately, it was still there.
If he lost the edict, he wouldn't be able to keep his life.
The waiter didn't look like he was lying.
He thought that it might be because he was too tired.
"Alright, get up."
With that, he threw the money for a cup of tea on the table and hurriedly mounted his horse.
This person was only a courier after all. He wasn't very vigilant. How could he know that he had just been tricked?
Behind him, the waiter stood up and sneered at the courier.
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