In the court, an official was vehemently impeaching the minister of the Dali Monastery. He listed dozens of crimes against him and listed out a pile of evidence. It seemed that he would not turn back until he brought this person down.
The expressions of the officials were somewhat subtle. Everyone knew that the minister of the Dali Monastery had a good relationship with Prince Sheng. Moreover, he highly respected Prince Sheng. Now that this person was impeaching the minister of the Dali Monastery, he was undoubtedly going against Prince Sheng.
A mere censor dared to do such a thing. Who gave him the courage? Or … … who was the mastermind behind him?
The Emperor did not let go of this opportunity. He immediately removed the minister of the Dali Monastery and detained him in prison. He would be dealt with later.
Almost everyone understood that the Emperor was going to make a move against Prince Sheng! The people in the court were divided into several factions. One faction was the staunch royalist faction. They would do whatever the Emperor said. Another faction was the royalist faction. They felt that the Emperor had no children and should choose one of the royal nephews to be the Crown Prince. Most people in this faction supported Prince Sheng. Another faction was the neutral faction. They often chose what they thought was right or was beneficial to them. They did not stick to any faction.
In the eyes of the neutral faction, the Emperor's decision was not necessarily right. Prince Sheng was also not necessarily the best choice. They did not need to be in a hurry to take a side. They did not want to offend the next true Emperor. They would rather not have the merit of supporting the Emperor than become a thorn in the side of the next Emperor.
The Qilong Emperor's attitude was too firm. Prince Sheng's faction could not plead for leniency. They could only watch as the imperial guards dragged the minister of the Dali Monastery away.
"I think Zhang Hou is a very good person. Let him temporarily take over the position of the minister of the Dali Monastery." In order to show his fairness, the Emperor deliberately chose the minister of the Dali Monastery, Zhang Hou, who had once displeased him, to take over the position of the minister of the Dali Monastery.
The officials were a little surprised. Wasn't this Zhang Hou the Shaoqing of the Dali Monastery who had angered the Emperor by investigating the Crown Prince's case? How could the Emperor be so generous to promote him? They thought that the Emperor would vent his anger on this person because of the Crown Prince's death.
Of course, the Qilong Emperor was not a magnanimous person. His promotion of Zhang Hou was just for show. He wanted the world to know that even a person like Zhang Hou could be put in an important position. Therefore, the person he dismissed was not because of personal feelings, but because this person had really committed a heinous crime.
Come to think of it, it was just a fig leaf for himself.
Yan Jinqiu lowered his head and stood there as if it had nothing to do with him. In other people's eyes, they felt that Xian Wang was indeed Xian Wang. He was really calm and collected. After all, if Prince Sheng lost his power, then the possibility of Xian Wang succeeding the throne would be even greater.
It was a pity that this person did not like power. It really was a waste of his talent.
Everyone thought that the censor who impeached the Minister of the Dali Monastery had been arranged by the Emperor. Even Yan Boyi thought so. After the court was dismissed, he coldly glanced at the censor, turned around and prepared to leave.
"Prince Sheng," Ning Wang walked in front of him with a smile and said emotionally, "People these days are really daring, don't you think?"
"Is Ning Wang not feeling well recently? Since that is the case, it is better not to meddle in other people's business and rest more at home," Prince Sheng cupped his hands coldly, "I'll go first, farewell."
"Tsk," Ning Wang rubbed his chin and watched as Yan Boyi walked quickly away. He tilted his head and looked at Yan Jinqiu who was walking at a leisurely pace not far away. He blinked. Maybe it was time to make a decision.
In the next few months, there were many disturbances in the court. Many of the high ranking officials were replaced. Most of these people had a common trait — they were close to Sheng Junwang or people who respected Sheng Junwang greatly.
The common people only thought that the Emperor was going crazy because of the death of his son. They did not know that this was a political struggle.
The layman watched for the excitement, while the expert watched for the skill. Many officials who were close to Yan Boyi in the past were walking on thin ice. They even cut off contact with Prince Sheng's fu to show their position.
"Who leaked the secret?!" Yan Jinqiu looked with a heavy expression at the strategists in the room. These people were all his confidants, but at this time, he suspected that one of them had betrayed him.
Some of the officials who had been punished had no contact with him on the surface. Even so, the Emperor had punished them. This meant that the Emperor already knew that they were in contact in private.
But how did the Emperor know?
"Jun Wang Ye," The strategists looked at each other. They had not expected that the matter would suddenly develop like this and even started to suspect each other.
Seeing them like this, Yan Boyi did not say much. He only rubbed his temples tiredly and said, "What do you think should be done?"
"The Emperor has already decided to go against Jun Wang Ye. Why don't we …" Before one of the strategists could finish, Yan Boyi glared at him and he did not dare to continue.
"All of you, leave." Since Yan Boyi already suspected these strategists, he naturally would not really discuss important matters with them. So after driving them out of the study, he sighed helplessly.
Originally, everything was ready and only one thing was missing. Who knew that the situation would suddenly take a turn for the worse and force him into a dead end.
Now that things had developed to this point, he could only be ruthless or die.
He clenched his fists and stood to walk towards the zhengyuan.
In Xian Wang Fu, Hua Xi Wan wiped her face with a handkerchief and fanned herself, "It's only May. Why is the weather so hot?"
"Nubi also feels that this year is especially hot," Bai Xia fanned Hua Xi Wan and said with a light laugh, "Don't be angry. I'll fan you and it won't be so hot."
"It's a bit stuffy. Maybe it's going to rain," Hua Xi Wan exhaled heavily, "Make me another bowl of ice flakes and tremella. It's so hot my heart is flustered."
"Wang Fei, you can't eat too much cold food. You already had a bowl this morning," Bai Xia fanned her, "How about nubi make you a cup of herbal tea?"
Hua Xi Wan was not someone who did not know what was good for her. Hearing this, she could only sigh and say, "All right, go down and drink a bowl." She pulled at her thin muslin robe and weakly lay on the table. She didn't move even when Yan Jinqiu came in.
"What's wrong?" Yan Jinqiu was dressed neatly. Seeing Hua Xi Wan's face was red from the heat, he asked, "Why isn't there ice in the room?"
"It's only May and you're already using ice. What will happen in June or July?" Hua Xi Wan weakly glanced at him. Seeing that he was still wearing his outer robe, she said, "Why are you still wearing such thick clothes?"
Yan Jinqiu took off his outer robe and immediately felt much more relaxed. Turning back, he saw Hua Xi Wan was still lying on the table. He went forward and said, "Let's go sit in the pavilion in the middle of the lake. It's ventilated there and will be much cooler."
Hua Xi Wan took the tea that Bai Xia presented and took a sip. When the tea entered her throat, there was an indescribable coolness that made her feel a bit more energetic, "Let's go."
The lotus flowers in the lake had already budded. Hua Xi Wan lay on the stone table in the pavilion and said lazily, "I see that you look good today. Did something good happen?"
"Ever since I married you, good things have happened to me every day," Yan Jinqiu poured her a cup of water, "Was I in a bad mood before?"
"Don't say such sweet words," Hua Xi Wan looked up at him and said, "When have you ever been happy?"
Yan Jinqiu's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. Then he laughed loudly and said, "With a wife like this, what more can a husband ask for?"
Hua Xi Wan was too lazy to pay attention to his inexplicable emotional outburst. She took the teacup from him and took a sip of tea. Feeling the cool breeze, she felt that even the irritation in her heart had disappeared a lot.
The couple had just cooled down for less than a quarter of an hour when news came from the palace saying that the Crown Princess was about to give birth.
"About to give birth?" Hua Xi Wan was stunned. It didn't seem to be a full term yet.
Mutong said, "There's news from the palace saying that the Crown Princess has entered the delivery room. However, it's been almost two to four hours, and there's still no news from the little prince."
Hua Xi Wan and Yan Jinqiu looked at each other. Yan Jinqiu said, "Since that's the case, let's wait and see. It's not appropriate for us to rush into the palace now."
It would be fine if the Crown Princess gave birth smoothly. However, if it didn't, wouldn't they become the Emperor's punching bag if they entered the palace now?
After another two hours, the news from the palace still said that the little prince had not come out yet.
Then the couple had lunch and slept for a while. When they woke up, there was another news from the palace saying that the little prince had not been born yet.
At this time, a thunderstorm was about to arrive. Dark clouds rolled in the sky and the wind was fierce. It looked like there was going to be a rainstorm.
When the first clap of thunder sounded, the heavy rain finally poured down. Hua Xi Wan looked at the small flowers in the courtyard that had been knocked around by the rain. She had an inexplicable intuition that the Crown Princess might be able to give birth. However, after giving birth, it might not be a blessing, but something else.
When night fell, a sudden clap of thunder sounded. A cypress tree beside the Imperial Mausoleum on the outskirts of the capital was suddenly struck by lightning. It also burned down a house that was used to guard the mausoleum. Although the rain was heavy, the entire house was still burned to the ground.
"She gave birth!"
"Congratulations, Emperor. Congratulations, Empress. The Crown Princess has given birth to an imperial grandson."
"Reporting, Emperor. The cypress tree in the Imperial Mausoleum was struck by lightning. The mausoleum keeper's house was also burned to the ground by heavenly fire."
"Reporting, Emperor. Heavenly fire appeared in the outskirts of the capital. It burned more than ten houses!"
The cries of the child and the clap of thunder sounded continuously. However, the atmosphere at the scene froze.
So many strange things had happened at the moment of the birth of the imperial grandson. Even the tree in the Imperial Mausoleum was struck by lightning. What did this mean?
It meant that the birth of the imperial grandson brought bad omens.
The Qilong Emperor looked at the infant in swaddling clothes. After a long time, he suppressed the anger in his heart: "Prepare the altar. Zhen will burn incense for the ancestors."
There were such coincidences in the world. Even if he did not mind this child, in the eyes of others, this child only represented bad luck.
The Qilong Emperor had not felt the feeling of being forced by others for a long time. However, today, whether he believed in the so-called destiny or not, he had to apologize to the ancestors. Otherwise, he would be unfilial.
Or perhaps, this was not man-made. Was it really the ancestors who were dissatisfied with the filthy things he had done?
The more he thought about it, the more afraid he felt. He turned back to look in the direction of the delivery room. The imperial edict that he had prepared was not issued in the end.
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