Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 196: The aftermath of the rebellion, the shadow of being backstabbed by his own son

At the same time, in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Hengyi, Huangfu Jian, Dou Li, Ma Su'an and other court officials stood in the court with solemn expressions.

Emperor Yongjin sat on the dragon throne without saying a word, staring at the tied-up Crown Prince Chu Shixu below.

Although Chu Shixu's hands were tied at this moment, he still held his head high and chest out, and he didn't seem to have any awareness of the consequences of success or failure.

"Rebellious son, have you acknowledged your sins till now?"

After a long silence, Emperor Yongjin suddenly spoke.

"Convicted?"

"What crime have I committed?!"

Facing the questioning from Emperor Yongjin, Chu Shixu below sneered.

"May I ask, Father, what crime have I committed? Since you have made me the crown prince, the throne will be mine sooner or later!"

"I just want to get promoted early, is this considered a crime?"

As Chu Shixu spoke, his eyes were fixed on Emperor Yongjin sitting on the dragon throne.

Listening to Chu Shixu's fallacies below, Emperor Yongjin on the dragon throne laughed in anger.

"Good good!"

"You rebellious son, even now, not only do you not admit your mistakes, you even dare to quibble?"

"I would like to ask you, as the crown prince, not only did you not set an example, but you colluded with your followers and attempted rebellion. Could it be that this is still my fault?"

Facing the questioning of Emperor Yongjin, Chu Shixu was not afraid at all.

"Father, your so-called collusion with the clique and attempt to rebel is just one-sided words from others!"

"I am loyal to you, how could I do such a treasonous thing?"

"Someone is deliberately framing me!"

Perhaps because he was too excited, Chu Shixu even stood up and tried to break free from the restraints on his body.

However, he just revealed a little bit of his intention.

The next second, before he could stand up, the two guards who were responsible for guarding him behind him instantly took action and pinned him down again.

"be honest!"

Looking at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was once so glorious, and ended up with such a miserable end today.

At this moment, Hengyi and others who were standing aside just slightly twitched the corners of their mouths.

In their view, the crime committed by Crown Prince Chu Shixu was already a foregone conclusion.

At this point, this guy not only refused to plead guilty, but also tried to make excuses. It must be said that this behavior is extremely stupid.

To be honest, they were really curious about what Emperor Yongjin was thinking. He had a talent like Prince Jin who was both capable and had good character, but instead chose such a loser as the crown prince.

Is it really just because of the order of seniority?

Maybe he just couldn't bear to see Chu Shixu being so arrogant even when he was about to die.

It may also be to add insult to injury and further cut off the possibility of Chu Shixu's resurgence.

Ma Suan, who had previously stabbed Chu Shixu in the back, suddenly stepped forward at this time.

"Your Highness, why haven't you come to your senses at this point? Do you really have to force Your Majesty to bear the eternal infamy of killing his son?"

It would be better if Ma Suan didn't say anything.

After he opened his mouth, Chu Shixu, who had originally calmed down a little, became manic again as if he had seen a mortal enemy.

"Ma Suan, you are such a capricious villain!"

"If you hadn't betrayed me, I would have accomplished my great cause by now!"

"It's all you...it's all you!"

"Even if I become a ghost, I will never let you go!"

Perhaps because he was too excited, Chu Shixu's whole body was shaking slightly uncontrollably while he was speaking.

Seeing that the other party was so stubborn.

At this moment, Huangfu Jian, who had already made up his mind to kill Chu Shixu, immediately stood up.

However, in order to conceal his true purpose, he had to pretend to be a loyal and righteous man in front of Emperor Yongjin, and patiently gave "kind" advice.

"Your Highness, what you are doing now is really disappointing to His Majesty!"

"Your Highness, I kindly advise you to confess your guilt as soon as possible. Then perhaps His Majesty will be able to show some leniency out of consideration for your father-son relationship!"

However, Chu Shixu did not appreciate Huangfu Jian's kindness.

He first snorted with disdain, and then became sarcastic.

"Stop pretending to be nice to me!"

"In my opinion, you are nothing more than dogs under the Emperor's command!"

"Who are you to be qualified to talk to me?"

As soon as Chu Shixu said this, Emperor Yongjin, who was sitting on the dragon throne, was so angry that he trembled all over.

He raised his hand and pointed at Chu Shixu: "You... you rebellious son, how dare you talk nonsense like this in the court!"

"Someone, slap me in the face! Hit me hard!"

His chest heaved violently, and it was obvious that Chu Shixu was very angry.

Hearing this, several guards behind Chu Shixu immediately stepped forward.

"Your Highness, it is difficult to disobey the emperor's order. Please bear with it!"

In the eyes of these guards, although Chu Shixu has become a prisoner, he is still a prince and must still observe the etiquette.

"Clap clap clap!"

The next second, the guards slapped Chu Shixu hard on the face with their fists left and right.

In just a few moments, His Highness Chu Shixu's mouth was filled with blood.

But after hundreds of years, Chu Shixu still gritted his teeth and kept shouting.

"Father, you will regret treating me like this today!"

Seeing this rebellious son being so stubborn, perhaps Emperor Yongjin still cared about the father-son relationship between them, so he could only suppress his anger and speak loudly.

"Rebellious son, I will give you one more chance. Confess your crime as soon as possible, and I may be able to spare your life."

Upon hearing this, Chu Shixu just laughed out loud towards the sky.

"Hahaha, what a great father-son relationship! If Father really cares about the father-son relationship, then why doesn't Father just abdicate the throne to me?"

"Put away your hypocritical face!"

"The victor will be the king and the loser will be the bandit. If you want to kill me or chop me up, just come on!"

"You are such a rebellious son. You are truly hopeless! I have loved you so much, but you repay my kindness with evil and attempt to seize my throne!" Emperor Yongjin was so angry that his face turned ashen and the veins on his forehead bulged.

Chu Shixu stopped laughing and said coldly: "Love? Father, when have you ever truly loved me? In your heart, there is only your throne and power!"

Emperor Yongjin was so angry that he stood up and paced in front of the dragon throne: "I have spent so much effort to train you! But you have failed me so much!"

Chu Shixu disagreed: "Train me? You are just using me as your pawn! You don't care about my life or death at all!"

"Shut up! You rebellious son..."

Emperor Yongjin was so furious that his hands were shaking as he pointed at Chu Shixu.

Chu Shixu continued to insist, "Father, do you think you have secured the throne? In fact, you are just a lonely man!"

Emperor Yongjin could no longer bear it and shouted, "Come here, throw this rebellious son into prison and wait for his punishment!"

Upon hearing this, the guards below immediately stepped forward and dragged Chu Shixu away.

Although he was imprisoned, Chu Shixu still refused to give in and screamed: "Father, you will regret it! You will regret it..."

Watching Chu Shixu being taken away.

The Yongjin Emperor then slumped back onto the dragon throne in despair.

"What happened today makes me deeply sad. I thought Chu Shixu could inherit the throne, but I didn't expect him to be so ambitious."

Emperor Yongjin looked at the ministers in the court and spoke slowly.

At this time, the prime minister stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, all the traitors in the East Palace have been brought to justice. The most urgent task is to quickly determine the new crown prince candidate to reassure the people."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongjin nodded slightly in agreement.

"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true."

"only……"

"My dear ministers, do you have any suitable person to recommend?"

Although Emperor Yongjin said this, after experiencing the incident of the Crown Prince's treason, he couldn't help but become cautious in his heart.

Now, the crown prince had just been deposed, and someone immediately stood up to advise the appointment of a new crown prince.

This inevitably caused a trace of doubt in his heart.

Just as he glanced at the ministers below.

At this time, another minister stepped out from among the ministers.

"Your Majesty, I believe that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has a good reputation. Moreover, I, the Minister of Justice, have governed the Jinyang area well and have won the love of the people."

"Furthermore, the reason why the rebellion in the Eastern Palace was put down so quickly was thanks to the great help of His Royal Highness Prince Jin's subordinates and his wife. If Prince Jin is made the crown prince, it will surely ensure the stability of our Great Zhou and the country will be forever secure!"

Listening to the analysis of the ministers below.

Emperor Yongjin, sitting on the dragon throne, couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After a moment, he spoke in a deep and thoughtful voice: "My dear minister, what you said makes sense, but my son Chu Shizhao is far away in Jinyang now, and I don't know much about him..."

"Furthermore, appointing a crown prince is a major national issue and requires careful consideration. We cannot make hasty decisions based solely on the one-sided opinions of you, my dear ministers."

"So, regarding the matter of enthroning Prince Jin as the Crown Prince, I'd better wait for a while to observe for a while before making a final decision!"

After Emperor Yongjin said this, the court fell into silence.

As Chu Shizhao's wife, Hengyi made great contributions in the suppression of the rebellion, but she never fought for her husband in the slightest.

But in fact, she had already started planning secretly in her heart.

Having followed Chu Shizhao for such a long time and been influenced by him, Hengyi now has his own insights into human nature.

Don’t be fooled by the high-sounding words of these ministers in the court. It seems that everyone is speaking for their husbands.

But Hengyi knew very well that these guys' inner stance was not firm.

Once there is any sign of trouble, these guys might turn against us in the next second.

Whether Chu Shizhao can become the new crown prince ultimately depends on Emperor Yongjin.

It seems that it will be necessary to deduce it after returning.

Now, her husband is far away in Jinyang, and she has to mediate the affairs in the court.

……

Finally the court was dismissed.

After Hengyi returned home, he immediately dismissed his attendants and went straight into the study.

"Begin the deduction."

[Emperor Yongjin sat in the imperial study, looking solemn, and was carefully reading various memorials and secret reports about Chu Shizhao.]

[At this time, a eunuch came in and reported softly: "Your Majesty, the envoy of His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin wants to see you."]

[Emperor Yongjin frowned slightly, thought for a moment and said, "Send him in."]

[The messenger entered the imperial study, bowed respectfully, and presented a letter: "Your Majesty, this is a letter from His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."]

【Emperor Yongjin took the letter and started reading.】

[In the letter, Chu Shizhao expressed his concern for Emperor Yongjin sincerely, asking him whether he was in good health after the incident of the crown prince's rebellion. At the same time, Chu Shizhao also elaborated on some of his new ideas on governing the country, and proposed specific measures such as encouraging agriculture and strengthening border defense.]

[After reading the letter, Emperor Yongjin nodded slightly and said to the messenger: "Go back and tell the King of Jin that I am very pleased. Let him continue to govern well in Jinyang and don't let me down."]

[After the messenger left, Emperor Yongjin fell into deep thought. He felt that Chu Shizhao's idea was quite insightful.]

According to these deductions, if Chu Shizhao took the initiative to express her concern to Emperor Yongjin and demonstrate her talent in governing the country, it would be a good start, but it would be far from enough. If she wanted to further gain the trust of Emperor Yongjin, she must see her husband's abilities more intuitively.

Thinking of this, Hengyi first made some adjustments, and then started to deduce again.

[A few days later, Emperor Yongjin received an urgent memorial from Jinyang. The memorial said that Jinyang and its vicinity had suffered a rare drought and the people were living in hardship. Chu Shizhao had personally led the people to fight the drought, opened warehouses to release grain, organized manpower to dig wells for irrigation, and actively sought a long-term solution to the drought.]

[After reading the memorial, Emperor Yongjin immediately summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures.]

[In the court, Emperor Yongjin said solemnly: "The drought in Jinyang is related to the livelihood of the people. My dear ministers, do you have any good suggestions?"]

[A minister stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I think we can allocate food and supplies from the neighboring counties to support Jinyang."]

[Emperor Yongjin frowned slightly: "Although this method is feasible, distant water cannot quench nearby thirst. Moreover, nearby prefectures and counties also need to reserve supplies just in case."]

[At this time, Heng Yi stood up and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, during the drought in Jinyang, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has taken the lead and actively organized disaster relief. In his memorial, he mentioned some long-term strategies for dealing with drought, such as building water conservancy facilities and promoting drought-resistant crops. I think Your Majesty can send capable officials to Jinyang to inspect His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin's measures and provide guidance and support. This will not only solve Jinyang's urgent needs, but also gain a deeper understanding of the Prince of Jin's capabilities."]

[Emperor Yongjin thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Minister Hengyi's words make sense. I have decided to send the Minister of Revenue to Jinyang to assist the Prince of Jin in disaster relief and to examine his governance capabilities."]

[A few days later, the Minister of Revenue arrived in Jinyang. Chu Shizhao received him warmly and gave a detailed introduction to the progress of disaster relief and follow-up plans.]

[The Minister of Revenue made an on-site inspection in Jinyang and was very impressed with Chu Shizhao's abilities and actions.]

[After returning to the capital, the Minister of Revenue reported in detail to Emperor Yongjin, saying that the Prince of Jin was clear-headed and well-commanded during the disaster relief process, which not only stabilized the people's hearts, but also made many plans for long-term development.]

[After hearing this, Emperor Yongjin nodded with satisfaction: "That's great. It seems that Chu Shizhao does have the talent for governance."]

This time, Hengyi demonstrated Chu Shizhao's ability through actual events, and although he was recognized by Emperor Yongjin, this was not enough for Emperor Yongjin to immediately make up his mind to make him the crown prince.

It seems that the prince's conspiracy to rebel still left a big shadow in the heart of Emperor Yongjin. If he wants to make further progress, he must first dispel the concerns of Emperor Yongjin.

(End of this chapter)