Chapter 1302 - 1302 Selecting the Crown Prince
Chapter 1302 Selecting the Crown Prince
As Nanny Wei walked outside with Princess Yuyan, she wanted to return long ago, but Princess Yuyan refused to let her go.
Fifteen minutes ago, Princess Yuyan sized her up outside the Palace of Benevolent Peace. Then, with a mirthless grin, she said, “I heard you are Lord Wei’s aunt. Is it true?”
Since she was Wei Dahai’s aunt, she was related to Mo Qiuyi. How could Princess Yuyan rest a.s.sured when such a person was serving the Empress Dowager?
“Your Highness, it’s true!” Nanny Wei admitted it frankly. Anyway, this matter could not be hidden from others.
“Then you must be anxious to see Mo Qiuyi control the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion, right?” Princess Yuyan snorted and asked bluntly.
“Your Highness, affairs in the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion have nothing to do with me. If you want to know anything, go and ask Commandery Prince Qing!” Nanny Wei retorted sarcastically with a lukewarm att.i.tude.
She was not afraid of Princess Yuyan, a foreign princess who married the inferior Commandery Prince Qing for the peaceful relations.h.i.+p between the two countries.
“What do you mean?” Princess Yuyan asked with her face darkening.
“I mean what I say. The business of Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion has nothing to do with me!” Nanny Wei repeated. She was very annoyed because she was anxious to return and catch what Empress Dowager and Princess Chen were saying. How could she be patient enough to stay here and talk rubbish with Princess Yuyan?
After the straightforward reply, she wanted to say goodbye to Princess Yuyan and leave.
“I heard you had only one family. But now, Mo Qiuyi is with you. Nanny Wei, I’m very curious about Mo Qiuyi’s background. Is she Lord Wei’s real niece?” Princess Yuyan said coldly.
Nanny Wei was so terrified by her question that her face immediately tightened. She watched her expression closely, wondering if Princess Yuyan had learned about something secretive or just wanted to scare her.
“Don’t you want to talk about it? An orphan girl living in the Yuhui Nunnery for many years suddenly found Lord Wei. I heard my husband also had lived in the Yuhui Nunnery. As childhood sweethearts, their relations.h.i.+p must be very good. Am I right?” Princess Yuyan raised the corners of her mouth sarcastically.
Since she had come here, she brought some people with her and inquired about many things in the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion.
She was very suspicious of Mo Qiuyi’s ident.i.ty.
She suspected Mo Qiuyi was not Wei Dahai’s blood-connected niece. But when given such an ident.i.ty, she could marry into the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion. If Mo Qiuyi’s ident.i.ty were fake, the position of the legal wife would fall into her hands.
An orphan daughter of a low-ranking official might become the royal family’s legal wife. But a good-for-nothing woman with a fake ident.i.ty could never be a Prince’s legal wife.
How could Mo Qiuyi with such an inferior background compare with her?
Shao Wanru was right: either she or Mo Qiuyi could survive. The winner must be her. Only then could she ensure her status and even secretly support her Eldest Brother and mother in the Xu State.
She was determined to become the legal wife and had to get it soon.
With this in mind, she happened to meet Nanny Wei. So, she decided to explore their deep-hidden secrets from Nanny Wei first.
“I don’t understand what you are talking about. If you have doubts, you can ask others. I have nothing to say here!” Nanny Wei answered blandly and shook her head to show she knew nothing.
Princess Yuyan carefully scrutinized Nanny Wei’s expression and then slightly raised the corners of her lips. “Nanny Wei, Mo Qiuyi is just an orphan girl with nothing, isn’t she? Perhaps, more than that, she is an orphan girl of the previous dynasty, right?”
She suddenly lowered her voice. Leaning over, she whispered some shocking information in Nanny Wei’s ear. Before Princess Yuyan came to the Kingdom of Dongcang, her mother had revealed some secrets. Therefore, she knew Chu Qing’s ident.i.ty was related to the former dynasty. Then, what about Mo Qiuyi, who grew up with him?
Ever since Princess Yuyan married into the Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion, she had pondered over it. Why did Chu Qing and the Consort Dowager have so much faith in Mo Qiuyi? Most probably, Mo Qiuyi could provide a lot of help for them. But how could Mo Qiuyi be more valuable than her? It was only because of these remaining evildoers of the previous dynasty.
According to her mother, after the previous dynasty ended, members of her branch were not the only survivors. There were some other people. If so, Mo Qiuyi was very likely to be connected to them.
Nanny Wei’s eyes uncontrollably twitched. Subconsciously, she stepped back with her lips trembling. Then her face fell. “What nonsense are you talking about? This is a matter of the death penalty. You and even people in the entire Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion will be executed.”
“So what?” Princess Yuyan asked arrogantly.
At this time, without the Empress Dowager present, she didn’t feel like pretending to be well-behaved. “Don’t you know I am a foreign princess marrying into your country for peace? I find Mo Qiuyi is a remaining evildoer of the former dynasty. Because of my ident.i.ty and the discovery, the Emperor will not punish but reward me!”
“Your Highness, be cautious with your words!” Nanny Wei didn’t want to talk to her anymore. There were princesses in the Palace, but everyone was well-behaved when seeing Nanny Wei. No one dared to a.s.sume a haughty air before her. Unlike them, Princess Yuyan was more like a lunatic — she was mad enough to say such things in the Palace.
She dared to say it, but Nanny Wei had no guts to listen.
She immediately turned to leave while Princess Yuyan still looked at her with a cheerful smile. After taking a step, Nanny Wei suddenly looked back at her and said in a low voice, “Your Highness, if someone in the Kingdom of Dongcang is found guilty, other related people will also be punished. Be cautious with your words. You can’t stay out of trouble when the whole Commandery Prince Qing’s Mansion suffers misfortune. This is different from the Xu State.”
After that, she left with a cold face.
She meant to threaten, but Princess Yuyan smiled even more happily. Just by hearing what Nanny Wei said, Princess Yuyan could tell she got into a panic. Then… did it mean Mo Qiuyi might be one surviving supporter of the previous dynasty?
That was good. Mo Qiuyi would not let her off. Tomorrow, it was Mo Qiuyi’s turn to enter the Palace. Thus, she did not want her to know what she had said to Nanny Wei today.
Chu Qing had taken some medicine from the Xu State, but there were still some medicinal materials he didn’t know. She kept them to save her life. At present, she could use them on Mo Qiuyi first…
She didn’t take action before because she didn’t think it was necessary. After all, her status was higher than Mo Qiuyi’s, and she had a more powerful background. But what Shao Wanru said made her feel she must deal with Mo Qiuyi as soon as possible…
Prime Minister Zhang and Prime Minister Wen were both there in the Emperor’s resting place. There were also ministers of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, two ministers with considerable real power.
Chu Liuchen also stood aside.
The Emperor struggled to sit up. Leaning against the pillows piled high behind him, he still looked like he was sitting up straight as usual.
“Make Prince Chen the crown prince,” the Emperor said in a low voice.
Prime Minister Zhang abruptly raised his head and looked at the Emperor in astonishment. Then he looked at Chu Liuchen blankly. It seemed that he could not come to his senses for a while. After a long time, he said, “Your Majesty, but your eldest son is Prince Yue!” ReadNovelFull.com
Prince Zhou couldn’t be the crown prince after his criminal conspiracy was unmasked, but Prince Yue did nothing wrong. Prime Minister Zhang really couldn’t figure out why the Emperor would pa.s.s the throne to his nephew instead of his son.
This decision didn’t make sense!
Prime Minister Wen didn’t say anything but cast his eyes at Chu Liuchen, who looked indifferent. Then he turned to look at the Emperor with penetrating eyes.
The ministers of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs and the Ministry of Justice didn’t dare to say anything. They just waited silently to hear the Emperor’s explanation. This… was indeed inappropriate according to the hierarchy of proprieties.
“When my brother pa.s.sed on the throne to me, he appointed Prince Chen the legal heir to the throne after me!” The Emperor, ashen and weak, gave a slight cough.
“Your Majesty, please… please think twice!” Prime Minister Zhang was anxious.
He couldn’t openly say the Emperor went back on his word and could only give a hint. “Things are changing. Prince Chen is in poor health and has no children now. You don’t feel well, but you will be fine after resting for some time. How could you give up the throne in your prime?”
“I know best about my health.” The Emperor coughed in a low voice again and leaned back a little to make himself more comfortable. “I got the throne from my brother. I should pa.s.s it on to Prince Chen.”
The Emperor seemed to be determined to keep his promise. Prime Minister Zhang anxiously looked at Prime Minister Wen. However, Prime Minister Wen lowered his head as if he didn’t understand the hint. Helplessly, he could only turn his gaze to the two ministers.
The minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs also knelt. “Your Majesty, please think carefully.”
Since both of them had dropped to their knees, the other two didn’t dare to stand still. Prime Minister Wen and the minister of the Ministry of Justice also knelt and said, “Your Majesty, please think twice!”
“You were the ones who urged me to appoint the crown prince. But when I agree to appoint a crown prince, you ask me to think twice. Tell me how I could satisfy your s.h.i.+fting requests!”
The Emperor was furious. He picked up a cus.h.i.+on beside him and threw it at these people’s heads, scolding them harshly.
Prime Minister Zhang took two steps forward on his knees and said, “Your Majesty, Prince Yue is your biological son. You… you…”
Even if Prince Chen was here now, Prime Minister Zhang had to say it. After all, as soon as this imperial edict was issued, Prince Chen would become the crown prince. No matter how dissatisfied Prime Minister Zhang was with Chu Liuyue, he was his son-in-law.
At this time, he couldn’t retreat.
“In your opinion, Prince Yue is an excellent choice?” The Emperor asked coldly with sharp eyes.
Facing the Emperor’s piercing eyes, Prime Minister Zhang nodded and said, “Your Majesty, I have been in my high position for many years. We shouldn’t avoid recommending the capable because they are connected to us. Besides, since my daughter is in such a miserable condition, I practically have something to do with Prince Yue. Every word I’ve said is true. I hope you can give careful consideration to my suggestion.”
Then, with tears in his eyes, Prime Minister Zhang kowtowed heavily to the Emperor, who was lying on the royal bed.
His words sounded very sincere. Zhang Qilan’s current situation was indeed not good. However, Prime Minister Zhang still chose to speak up for Chu Liuyue at this time, which made his words sound fair and impartial.
“So, do you think Prince Yue is better?” the Emperor asked coldly.
“Yes, I think Prince Yue is a better choice! He is in good health!” Prime Minister Zhang insisted. He didn’t want to give in. If he made a concession, Prince Yue could never get the throne. Therefore, he had no choice but to hang in there.
“Do you think I should violate the agreement with the deceased emperor?” The Emperor said flatly, and his eyes were as sharp as blades.
Prime Minister Zhang braced himself to say, “Before the deceased emperor pa.s.sed away, he was in poor condition. He might not even know what he was talking about before his death!”
“Prince Chen, take it out and show it to Prime Minister Zhang!” Seeing Prime Minister Zhang still hold on firmly, the Emperor suddenly smiled.