The First Auxiliary Road from the Imperial Examination

One night later, all the civil and military officials in the court were shocked by the news.

First, it was revealed that Princess Yongping killed her children, and then she committed suicide in Si Palace;

Next, Princess Hong'an was shocked to hear that her daughter had set fire to Si Palace. She swallowed the hairpin pearl in a fit of anger and shame.

Who could have imagined that the party that had previously had a very high chance of winning among the candidates for the crown prince due to its numerical advantage would be wiped out so easily.

This result made the ministers who heard the news feel suffocating pressure.

Even though the inner court of the imperial palace released the news without any concealment, even though the clan court had no objection, and even though the inner guards and the three judicial departments had given official certification, anyone with a brain could smell something unusual.

When everyone woke up from the shocking news, they looked back at the two magnificent and luxurious princesses' palaces and couldn't help sighing.

The princess's mansion was still luxurious, but it inexplicably gave off a feeling of cold wind blowing leaves and a sense of desolation and sadness.

The previous moment, there was a banquet for guests on the tall building; the next moment, it collapsed without a trace and became a thing of the past. Such a contrast was so great that even officials who did not have a good impression of the royal family could not help but feel a chill on the back of their necks and shivered involuntarily.

"No one from the Censorate came up with a memorial to advise the emperor this time?" After the morning court session, someone in the crowd walking out of the court hall asked in a low voice.

"The Censorate has signed and stamped the certification letter issued by the Three Courts. Do you want them to impeach themselves?!"

"But I heard that only the Military Affairs Battalion and the Imperial City Guards conducted the investigation at Si Palace, and the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple made their judgment based on their statements..."

"Hush! Don't say that casually!"

"Since the three judicial officials have all acquiesced, and the elders have not said anything, then this is the truth! We cannot say anything more!"

"Now only the Crown Prince of Zhao has the strength to compete. I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble for a long time to come!"

"Prince Zhao? Didn't they say the other day that Princess Yongping poisoned him? The concubine of Prince Zhao has been making a fuss outside the palace for a long time! She even went to the Dali Temple for this matter!"

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on with Prince Zhao!"

When everyone thought of the only surviving young master of the Jiang Chu royal family, they couldn't help but worry for him.

Emperor Yanping seemed gentle and soft at ordinary times, but when it came to appointing the crown prince, he was as cruel as a tyrant.

Now that things have come to this, facing the last stumbling block, let alone Emperor Yanping, even if it were everyone present, it would be impossible for them to give up.

All I can say is that now that things have come to this, every step forward is inevitable.

……

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, we, the humble officials, had no idea that the Emperor would be like this now..." In the library, the Third Minister Cen Minzhou couldn't help but find Yan Yuan and said in a low voice.

However, he still had some rationality and did not say "violent and unwise" out loud.

"Although the emperor is determined to make the princess the crown prince, he only has one daughter, Princess Zhaode, who is still a child, and the emperor... the risk is not small. If something goes wrong, who will inherit the country?"

Cen Minzhou suddenly thought of the last emperor of the Chen Dynasty, and felt that the current situation was very familiar.

However, what happened to Emperor Chen Mo was due to his foreign relatives who wanted to usurp his throne; and the hidden dangers that exist today were caused by Emperor Yanping out of his own selfish desires.

"Throughout the dynasties, there have often been emperors who had no sons and passed the throne to their brothers, nephews, or adopted sons, but how could one kill all of his own sons and nephews in order to establish a daughter as the emperor?!" Cen Minzhou grumbled, stroking his beard in self-mockery, "I wonder if this can be considered as witnessing an unprecedented feat!"

Yan Yuan listened to him mumbling, neither trying to dissuade him nor agreeing with him. He just lowered his head, as if dozing off.

It was the Deputy Minister Gu Yuncheng who couldn't bear to see it, so he gently put down the memorial and reminded him, "Master Cen, you have overstepped your bounds... It's fine now that there are only three of us, but when the six ministers come over later, please don't bring it up again."

Cen Minzhou pursed his lips and looked over: "Could it be that the Second Assistant Minister also acquiesced to the enthronement of the Crown Princess?"

Gu Yuncheng looked at him and asked calmly, "Lord Cen, who is more important, you or Princess Hong'an?"

Suddenly, Cen Minzhou fell silent. …

Sheng Yuan was also confused.

As she sat in the main seat in the meeting room of the Five Military Governors' Office, she felt it was absurd to see the looks coming from all around her.

Just the other day she had put aside her objections and insisted on dispatching the elite of the five armies to Beijing, but today her unspoken worries became a laughing stock.

"Sir Governor, something big has happened in the capital right now. Is it appropriate for our five armies to conduct an emergency drill at this time? Do you think we should postpone it?" Feng Yan, the third deputy governor in charge of the drill, thought for a long time and finally asked.

Sheng Yuan hesitated again and again, but did not agree directly: "I understand Commander Feng's concerns. It is not appropriate to make big moves at this moment. In this case... let's just practice being on guard! Divide the elites of the five armies into two teams; one team puts on armor and weapons and is ready for battle, and the other team changes into civilian clothes and hides in the streets and alleys of the city, and helps the patrol department and the city defense camp find deficiencies."

At the end, when the City Patrol Office and the City Defense Camp were mentioned, everyone couldn't help laughing.

Regardless of what they think about this exercise, they are still looking forward to being able to help their "old rivals" make up for their shortcomings.

……

Imperial Palace Gardens
In Zhili Hall, Shu Yajing stared at the person in front of her vigilantly.

Concubine Cen laughed angrily: "Why is Concubine Shu so hostile to the old woman?"

Shu Yajing said with a stern face: "It's not that I'm disrespectful to you, it's Concubine Cen who did it, and it makes me feel cold."

"I don't understand what Concubine Shu said!"

Shu Yajing didn't beat around the bush and just asked, "Queen Dowager, was the poison that the Crown Prince received really from Princess Yongping?"

Concubine Cen looked at her with a half-smile: "Who said that? Does it matter now?"

Shu Yajing said nothing.

Seeing her stubbornness, Concubine Cen couldn't help but sigh slowly: "Your son was poisoned, but he survived. Isn't that enough?!"

Shu Yajing felt her head tremble, and looked at the other party in fear: "So many men and women..."

"Your son is still alive!" Concubine Cen interrupted.

Shu Yajing stroked her chest and looked at the other person nervously: "That's not what you said to Princess Hongan at that time! She, she, she thought..."

"She still thought Yongping could survive! Yongping still thought he could save all his children!" Concubine Cen impatiently spoke for her before she could finish.

"You!!!" Shu Yajing didn't expect that Concubine Cen had even deceived Princess Yongping.

"Humph! The old woman didn't tell Hong'an about Yongping's ending. It was her last kindness to her. The old woman coaxed Yongping, and it was also the old woman who helped her save face! As for the group of men and women in the princess's mansion, they can only blame Yongping for her misconduct! If she hadn't been involved with the former Qi royal family and the Lu family, her children wouldn't have been implicated!"

"Aren't all the children born to her and the former Qi royal family and Lu's direct grandson?" Shu Yajing couldn't help but question.

"But can you guarantee that Yongping has not used someone else's trick? Can you guarantee that none of Yongping's children have a more surprising background?"

Shu Yajing said nothing.

Concubine Cen sneered.

"Concubine Shu, you have a kind heart, which is a good thing, but what you should show most right now is not your kindness!
Although the old woman saved the Prince of Zhao, how long he can stay safe depends on whether you are smart enough!

If I were you... at this moment, you would not stand up for Princess Yongping.

Of course, if you want the prince to get a big advantage like Emperor Wen of Han, just pretend that I didn’t say anything.” (End of this chapter)