The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 17 The Royal Family Unites to Protect the Crown Prince

To everyone's surprise, the person who spoke was none other than Prince Zhongshun.

Everyone in the world knows that the royal family has three princes who are quite virtuous.

The first is the orphaned son of Crown Prince Yoshimura during the reign of Emperor Taizu. Prince Yoshimura, now over sixty years old, once served in the court and assisted two emperors. He enjoyed the emperor's trust but never abused his power. Instead, his family was known for its strict discipline, and his descendants were all loyal and filial. Now that he is old, he retires at home and rarely appears in court.

The second is the eldest son of Crown Prince Yizhong during the reign of Emperor Taizong, Prince Yizhong, who currently serves as the head of the Imperial Clan Court, managing the imperial clan with great efficiency and earning the trust of the retired emperor.

The third was Prince Zhongshun, the second son of Emperor Taizong and a descendant of Prince Zhong. When Crown Prince Yizhong was on a border patrol, he met with an accident. Prince Zhong should have succeeded to the throne, but he refused, citing his physical disability and poor health, and passed the throne to Emperor Taizong's third son, who is now the retired emperor.

For this reason, the retired emperor took special care of his nephew, Prince Chungshun, even more so than his own son, Prince An. Prince Chungshun did not become arrogant because of this favor. He never spoke up in court and made things difficult for the officials. Outside the court, he also used the name of the royal family to help the poor and needy, and he was very virtuous.

Even a prince who rarely speaks can't stand Xie Xishu's behavior and speaks out to stop him, which shows how outrageous Xie Xishu's actions were today.

Xie Xishu didn't even give the Emperor any face today, so how could he give Prince Zhongshun any face? Facing Prince Zhongshun, he said, "Prince Zhongshun, you are a member of the royal family. How dare you disregard the laws of the country and interfere in court affairs? Do you want to commit treason?"

Only a few days had passed since the former crown prince's rebellion, and the words "offending the emperor" still carry considerable weight.

Prince Zhongshun was clearly not expecting Xie Xishu to be so blunt, immediately accusing him of a serious crime. He was furious and it took him a long time to recover before he cursed, "You scoundrel! I saved your life, how can you be so ungrateful? You say I interfere in state affairs, but do you know that the Emperor Emeritus has decreed that I have the right to discuss state affairs?"

Xie Xishu immediately replied, "The new emperor is now in power."

Prince Zhongshun bowed to the Emperor and said, "I don't need your reminder, you scoundrel. I know that the new Emperor is in power, but Your Majesty has not issued an edict to deprive me of my right to participate in politics."

Xie Xishu continued to retort, "So what if the prince has the right to participate in politics? The emperor has already ordered a thorough investigation into this matter. Do you still want to obstruct it? Could it be that this matter has something to do with the prince?"

These words were just as powerful as the previous accusation of insubordination; they were truly words that struck at the heart. Upon hearing them, King Zhongshun was so angry that he rolled up his sleeves, ready to strike someone.

"You scoundrel, watch how I deal with you today!"

Fortunately, many royal relatives were standing around Prince Chungshun, and they joined forces to stop him. Otherwise, on the day the new emperor ascended the throne, there would have been a scene of a prince beating up a minister.

Seeing that the situation was escalating, the emperor on his throne had no choice but to speak up and stop it.

“Brother Zhongshun, why bother with him? He’s just a stubborn rock. Arguing with him will only make you angry.”

When the emperor spoke, even the most furious Prince Zhongshun had no choice but to stop. He freed himself from his nephews' grasp, straightened his sleeves, and then said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I have been impolite."

The emperor waved his hand and said amicably, "It's alright, just don't upset your brother."

Distracted by Prince Zhongshun, Tu Chengyu was no longer so angry. He watched coldly as Xie Xishu once again took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over, and began to think to himself, this old fellow couldn't find a breakthrough with me, I wonder where he found a handle to use against me.

After reading the memorial that was presented again, the emperor said, "Xie Xishu, please tell everyone the details of the memorial."

This was the first time the emperor had addressed a minister by his first name. The expressions of the officials were subtle, but Xie Xishu remained unchanged. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this memorial was submitted by another censor, Wang Yingben, who accompanied Censor Lu. The memorial stated that after the two left Lord Chen's residence, they parted ways. However, less than half an hour later, Censor Lu returned to the Censorate with a letter and a jade pendant in his hand, saying that it was a token of the Crown Prince. He then asked Lord Wang to contact the officials to protect the Crown Prince."

This was unexpected. There really was a so-called token of the Crown Prince, and Xie Xishu seemed so confident that he didn't seem to be lying. Could it be that the Crown Prince was really involved?

Tu Chengyu didn't know what others thought, but he absolutely refused to believe it. He knew his own brother well; how could he have done something so unwise?

So he said, "This Imperial Censor Wang said that the token was obtained by Imperial Censor Lu. Now that Imperial Censor Lu is dead, there is no way to verify it. Naturally, he can say whatever he wants. How can a token obtained in this way be trusted?"

Xie Xishu explained, "If it were just what Imperial Censor Wang said, I would naturally not believe it. However, in addition to Imperial Censor Wang, five other court officials also testified that Imperial Censor Lu had contacted them privately with the Crown Prince's token. I have no choice but to believe it."

Tu Chengyu frowned, feeling that the matter was getting more and more complicated, with more and more witnesses appearing, as if a large net had been cast, just waiting for him to fall into it.

However, there was no turning back now. Even if a huge net were to fall on him, he would crawl in and break it. He didn't believe that something that was just a figment of his imagination could become real.

Tu Chengyu said, "Lord Xie, you keep saying you have the Crown Prince's tokens. Please take out these tokens. I want to see what they are."

Xie Xishu turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the token is on Imperial Censor Wang Yingben outside the palace. May we summon them in?"

The emperor said, "Very well, and also summon the other court officials mentioned in the memorial."

Xia Shouzhong received the order and left the hall. At the same time, a young eunuch hurriedly walked in from outside the hall, kowtowed and reported: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has returned and requests an audience."

This came at just the right time; I was about to examine the Crown Prince's keepsake when he arrived.

After the Crown Prince entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he first performed three bows and nine kowtows to report to the Emperor about the matter of worshipping Heaven, Earth, and ancestors. Only after the Emperor inquired about it did he rise and return to his seat at the head of the table.

Before Tu Chengyu could make a move, Tu Chengming, the second son standing behind the Crown Prince, quietly told him everything that had happened in the hall.

The Crown Prince remained calm and composed, only giving Xie Xishu a subtle glance after hearing the whole story.

Just as the Crown Prince was finishing his rehearsal, Xia Shouzhong entered, followed by more than twenty minor officials in green robes, led by a fat man with a dark face.

The fat man looked nervous, his body trembling slightly, and he held a brocade pouch in his hands, which must have contained the crown prince's token that Xie Xishu had mentioned.

These twenty-odd minor officials entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony, first paying their respects to the emperor with great ceremony, and then standing behind Jia Zheng and Chen Chongzhi, waiting to be questioned.

Now that all the witnesses and evidence are present, it remains to be seen how the Crown Prince will respond.

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(End of this chapter)