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Chapter 614: Prince (I)

Such a hard nail made Prince Wu'an's nose and face bruised and swollen, and he lost all his face.

Given Prince Wu'an's hot temper, I'm afraid he will immediately turn against Princess Nanyang.

Many officials had already looked up. Dong Shilang, the Minister of Rites who was in charge of the funeral, was alert. He was just waiting for Prince Wu'an to say something "rude" and then he would rush forward and reprimand Prince Wu'an for disturbing the mourning hall.

The reaction of the Prince of Wu'an was beyond the expectations of the ministers. He swallowed his anger and agreed dryly: "Shaohua is right."

It is not appropriate to make loud noises in the mourning hall, let alone talk and laugh. The Prince of Wu'an quickly stopped talking.

In contrast, the Prince of Huaiyang was much more tactful and tactful. He whispered to Jiang Shaohua, "I want to meet the Prince of Dongping and his son. I wonder if you can help me."

Jiang Shaohua said calmly: "The Empress Dowager has ordered that no one is allowed to visit the traitor. If anyone is found out, they will be charged with conspiracy."

Prince Huaiyang tactfully changed the subject: "I wonder where the Empress Dowager is. I will go and pay my respects to her."

Jiang Shaohua said: "The queen has been too tired these days, so she was taken back to Jingyang Palace to rest. You can go to Jingyang Palace to ask to see the queen."

Prince Huaiyang said immediately: "This is the emperor's mourning hall. We, the princes, have come to the capital to attend the funeral. How can we easily leave the mourning hall? I will kneel here and wait for the queen to come."

Therefore, the rank of Prince Huaiyang was much higher than that of Prince Wu'an. As soon as he opened his mouth, the image of a loyal and kind prince emerged before everyone's eyes.

Jiang Shaohua sneered in his heart and looked at Prince Huaiyang's pretense with cold eyes.

The Prince of Huaiyang was forty-four this year, in the prime of his life, still quite tall, with a slightly pale complexion from drinking too much. However, this was a minor flaw that was not a big deal. In addition, the Prince of Huaiyang had another great advantage, which was that he had many children, five sons and one daughter. He already had six grandchildren.

Compared with the royal family with few descendants, the lineage of Prince Huaiyang has many descendants and there is no worry about the inheritance being cut off.

Prince Wu'an is a generation older than Prince Huaiyang. His hair is half white and his face is full of wrinkles. He is extravagant and has a hot temper. His reputation is really not good.

However, the Prince of Wu'an also has advantages that the Prince of Huaiyang does not have. The Prince of Wu'an has always been in contact with Prime Minister Wang. Although the Prime Minister's party is unstable, it has a large number of people. Half of the officials kneeling in the mourning hall are the so-called Prime Minister's party.

If Prime Minister Wang is determined to support Prince Wu'an, then Prince Wu'an does have the strength to compete for the throne.

"The Empress Dowager is here."

Footsteps were heard outside the palace gate. A moment later, the white-haired and unsteady Empress Dowager Zheng entered the mourning hall with the help of Eunuch Zhao.

Prince Huaiyang reacted quickly. He stepped forward to pay his respects with great ceremony, using family etiquette and addressing her as the Imperial Aunt.

It seemed to remind everyone that he was a close descendant of the royal family and a vassal king of the Jiang clan.

When necessary, the Prince of Wu'an also knelt down and cried bitterly, "The Emperor was murdered by the traitors, the Empress Dowager was seriously injured, and Baohua also died at the hands of the thieves. Now, the palace depends entirely on the Empress Dowager, you must hold on!"

In terms of seniority, the Prince of Wu'an could call the Empress Dowager Zheng her "sister-in-law". However, the always arrogant Prince of Wu'an was extremely humble and respectful at this moment. When he kowtowed, he almost put his head to the ground.

This was to show the Queen Mother Zheng that he had no ambition to compete for the throne. It was also done for the ministers to see.

Empress Dowager Zheng was very cold to Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an: "Stand up!" "You have come to the palace to attend the funeral, so kneel down in the mourning hall. After the emperor is buried, return to your fiefdoms, govern them well, and let the people live in peace. This will be your loyalty to the Daliang court."

The meaning of Empress Dowager Zheng was also very clear. The succession to the throne has nothing to do with you, so just go back to your fiefdom after the funeral!

No one knew what Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an were thinking, as they both looked respectful.

Queen Mother Zheng did not look at the two of them again. She reached out and called Prince Ping Jiang Hao over. She held Jiang Hao's hand with one hand and Jiang Shaohua's hand with the other, and sighed, "Hao'er, you are still young. You must listen to your cousin Shaohua in the future. Do you understand?"

Jiang Hao understood what she said and nodded vigorously: "I'll listen to my cousin."

Empress Dowager Zheng nodded with satisfaction, looked at Jiang Shaohua, and said in a gentler voice: "Shaohua, take better care of Hao'er in the future."

In front of all the ministers and Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an, Empress Dowager Zheng's statement was already very clear.

Emperor Taihe is dead, and the throne should be passed to Prince Ping. Prince Ping is too young to govern, and there is also Jiang Shaohua, the shrewd and capable Princess Nanyang. In short, it has nothing to do with Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an.

Prime Minister Wang, who could compete with the Grand Empress Dowager Zheng, lay half dead on the bed. Minister Zhang was humiliated by the Grand Empress Dowager Zheng a few days ago, and now he was unwilling to embarrass himself. As for the officials of the Grand Empress Dowager's party, they wished that everything would go according to the Grand Empress Dowager Zheng's wishes.

After all, Jiang Shaohua has always been regarded as a member of the Grand Empress Dowager's party. Now that Duke Anguo is injured, Jiang Shaohua can take up the banner of the Grand Empress Dowager's party. In this way, the government affairs of the court are firmly controlled by the Grand Empress Dowager's faction. For them, it couldn't be better.

Empress Dowager Zheng's clear political statement was surprisingly smooth.

Jiang Shaohua would not refuse, so he nodded in agreement.

Wu'an County Prince was angry and his mind was working rapidly. He had to find a suitable opportunity to visit the seriously injured Prime Minister Wang...

Prince Huaiyang was also thinking about how to win over the court officials. As for Jiang Shaohua, he was also an obstacle that could not be avoided. If he failed to win him over, he had to find a way to get rid of him...

Chen Changshi had been keeping an eye on Prince Huaiyang and Prince Wu'an, thinking about how to deal with these two men.

In short, everyone has their own thoughts.

It was clearly the mourning hall, and everyone was still kneeling for Emperor Taihe. But everyone's mind had already moved away from the sad news of the emperor's sudden death, and from the shadow of the traitor's rebellion, and quickly moved on to the next step.

Who will inherit the kingdom and throne of Daliang?
……

Late one night a few days later, Prince Wu'an finally saw his chance and went quietly to see Prime Minister Wang.

Prime Minister Wang was seriously injured and lay on the bed, dying with a grim face.

Wang Jin knelt in front of his father during the day and stayed by his father's side at night.

When Prince Wu'an arrived, Wang Jin guessed his intentions almost instantly, and he felt disgust and contempt for him. Prince Wu'an was so old, he was almost half buried, but he still coveted the throne, which was extremely greedy.

"I have something to say to the prince," Prime Minister Wang said with difficulty, "You go out first."