The First Auxiliary Road from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1232 Parties
The north and south halls of the Classics Hall have never been as lively as they are now.

Ever since the Crown Princess mysteriously disappeared, the Southern Office immediately issued an official document to the border town garrisons to increase the level of security, intensified patrols at all major ports and checkpoints, and strictly guarded the area near the capital.

It was because Sheng Yuan and An Yu returned in time. If they had returned a little later, it would have been difficult to enter Beijing in such a low-key manner.

"Why did the Crown Princess disappear?"

In the North Hall, the cabinet ministers sat together for a meeting. The Minister of War Han Ji couldn't understand why: "This shouldn't be possible. The Internal Guards almost turned the official post station upside down! There is no possibility that he could be missing!"

"What's the point of Minister Han saying this now? Why don't we quickly think about the countermeasures later?" Zheng Sheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, looked at everyone with a worried look, "Everyone, the Crown Princess is the only heir to the Great Chu. If something goes wrong with her, it will cause turmoil!"

"Who said that the country has only one crown prince? In my opinion, we should send someone to find the concubine and the prince as soon as possible!"

Tu Wenren, the deputy censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, mentioned the prince of Zhao who went to sea, but except for a few people who expressed their approval, most officials were not very enthusiastic about it: "The prince of Zhao was eliminated quickly because he had a hidden illness. As for the details, since they were not disclosed to the outside world at that time, I think it was difficult to talk about it. Now that he is brought here, it is just a temporary solution to the crisis."

There are many things that a minister cannot say openly.

Now that the Crown Princess is missing, it doesn't look like the Emperor and the Empress will be able to have another child. If the position of Crown Prince is left vacant, the Emperor will certainly make arrangements and decisions before he passes away.

No matter what impact this arrangement or decision will have, at least it happened under the noses of these ministers, and the situation may still be under control.

But if the prince of Zhao is really summoned, and if his intelligence is impaired, is it possible to support a moron to ascend the throne? If he cannot produce offspring, who will inherit the throne after him?
If the next emperor is an idiot, I am afraid that as the power of ministers expands, factional struggles will be inevitable. By then, the court will be in turmoil and power struggles will continue. How many of these people sitting here will be able to escape from the cruel vortex of struggle?
If the next emperor is destined to have no offspring, who can guarantee that the emperor who holds great power will not lose control?
Although Emperor Yanping is stubborn, after more than ten years of living together as monarch and minister, everyone understands his character!
But does anyone know about the Crown Prince of Zhao and the Concubine of Zhao, who seldom appear in public?
It is not easy to raise a young man with a hidden illness into a normal person. If there is any uncertain factor, the young man's personality may become biased.

Just look at the long history, how many wise rulers turned into incompetent rulers, how many emperors gradually became paranoid and violent? !
To put it in a very disrespectful way, they would rather accept a change of surname than to arrange an emperor who might be absurd, violent, or excessively indulgent for future generations.

From Yan to Chen, and from Chen to Chu, we are used to changing dynasties.

"In my opinion, it is too early to discuss this now. According to the time calculation, the Prince of Zhao and his men should still be on the way, and it would be difficult to bring them back. Moreover, they left the capital and went to sea at the order of His Majesty. How can we, as ministers, make decisions on our own and change the Emperor's order?
Why not wait until the emperor recovers and gives us some instructions, then we can make plans!" Dali Temple Minister Chen Wen looked at everyone and sighed, "The matter of the crown prince is of great importance. We should do our best to find the crown princess. Before we find the crown princess, what our cabinet needs to do is to stabilize the situation and keep the court affairs as usual."

"Bojia is right!" Second Assistant Minister Gu Yuncheng immediately praised him, and then he looked at First Assistant Minister Yan Yuan, "Lord Yan, our Emperor doesn't like his subjects to make decisions on their own!"

Yan Yuan nodded, and just as he was about to say a few words, he heard the third assistant Cen Minzhou beside him hum, "Although this is reasonable, the Crown Princess disappeared just after being conferred the title. There are rumors outside, saying all kinds of things. Many people directly pointed out that the Crown Princess's succession to the throne was against the will of heaven, and that she was unworthy of the position, so there was such a wave!"

"Cen Sanfu, you can't say that!" Han Baozhi, the usually taciturn Dongge Grand Secretary, frowned and immediately scolded, "When the Crown Princess was canonized, the sky was clear, there was no snow or wind, the sun was shining, and the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant! It can be seen that the Crown Princess is the crown prince, which makes heaven and earth happy!"

Cen Minzhou was naturally dissatisfied with his rebuke, but before he could reply, he heard the Minister of Rites He Benchu ​​say, "What Cen Sanfu just said is pure speculation! When the Crown Princess disappeared, the Cabinet ordered those who knew about it to keep the secret. Although it is difficult for powerful officials and relatives to conceal it for long, it is not possible for rumors to spread all over the people! If so, the Internal Guards should go and control the situation."

"..." Cen Minzhou's face turned red as he was scolded by the two of them. He was so angry that he couldn't even speak.

"If I were to say, the most important thing for us as ministers is to maintain the stability of the court. As long as the court can function, subsequent problems will not be a problem! As for the vacant position of the crown prince... I think it is too early to discuss this now. Let's all be loyal ministers first, and then talk about other things!" Minister of Personnel Chen Xiangzhu bowed in the direction of the imperial city, and then said with a smile, "We in the cabinet are not going to bet on anything without even waiting for the game to start, right?"

"That's right. To be a minister, you still have to have pride!" The Chancellor of the Chancellery shook his sleeves, glanced at Cen Minzhou and snorted coldly.

"...Okay, okay, you are all loyal and capable generals, but I and the others are opportunists and flatterers!" Cen Minzhou laughed angrily, pointed at these people with trembling fingers, and retorted in a controlled tone, "You all cherish your reputation and refuse to say a word, fearing that your words and deeds will be recorded by the historians, but I don't care!"

As he spoke, he excitedly pointed in the direction of the nobles outside the palace: "Before I took up my post, I heard that there were many carriages heading towards the two Sheng's mansions. It is said that there were too many carriages carrying gifts alone!"

"Minister Cen, let's discuss state affairs, don't discuss the affairs of the relatives without authorization!" Yan Yuan listened to the conversation and felt that it was inappropriate. He slowly opened his eyes, looked at him, and reminded him, "The people from the inner guards said that the people who went to the two Sheng's mansions were all their old friends. Although there were more people, the gifts they brought were just souvenirs, which is not an exaggeration! In fact, they were just normal interpersonal exchanges. Minister Cen, please don't spread rumors."

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Yan Yuan interrupted Cen Minzhou before he finished speaking.

Then, he looked at his colleagues seriously and reminded them, "This succession to the throne is a national affair, but it is actually a family affair of the royal family. In my humble opinion, it is best for everyone to stick to their duties and not speak nonsense."