Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

"Your Majesty, Lord Ling requests an audience!"

The voice of the eunuch chief Zhao Ming came from outside the palace.

The emperor waved his hand to signal the shadow guards to retreat, and then shouted outside the palace: "Let Lord Ling come in and talk."

Ling Haoran brought the confession into the Yingwu Hall, presented it with both hands, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty!"

"What is that in your hand, Lord Ling?" the emperor asked, pretending to know nothing.

Ling Haoran replied, "Your Majesty, this is the confession I received from His Royal Highness the King of Chu today. It contains the identification of Du Yuanji by the governors of the five counties. Your Majesty, please take a look."

The emperor nodded slightly, and Zhao Ming immediately took the confession and handed it over.

After taking a glance at the confession, the emperor's face suddenly turned ugly.

"Snapped!"

The emperor slapped the confession hard on the table, then stood up and roared, "How dare you, Du Yuanji, be so bold and presumptuous that you even want to destroy the reputation of the crown prince!"

These words made Ling Haoran sigh secretly, knowing that the prince's plan would most likely fail.

If there were no confession, Your Majesty would certainly not mind taking the opportunity to suppress the King of Chu's rising reputation.

But now it’s different. With this confession, all accusations against the King of Chu have become false.

In addition, Du Yuan was basically an arrogant person. Not only did he have a bad relationship with the five county governors, but even the local people had complaints about him.

At this moment, Chu Ning was involved in the matter of the prince's cronies again. In order not to implicate the prince, the emperor would most likely make a big deal out of a small matter.

From what the prince said, we knew that the emperor had already made a decision.

Sure enough, the emperor became angry and immediately issued an order: "Pass on my order to deprive Du Yuanji of his position as governor and send his family to exile in Lingnan."

After saying this, the emperor glanced at Ling Haoran, and his expression eased a little: "As for the matter of the King of Chu ordering the execution of Du Yuanji, that ends here."

"I understand." Ling Haoran bowed and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, the emperor stopped him at this moment and said, "Ling Aiqing, wait a minute. I have something for you to tell the prince."

"Your Majesty, please explain clearly!" Ling Haoran quickly lowered his head and looked like he was listening attentively.

The emperor said in a cold voice: "The Lantern Festival is coming soon. According to convention, he should have presided over the Lantern Festival court meeting, but this year's Lantern Festival happens to be the day of Chu Ning's wedding. I plan to let Chu Ning handle this matter."

As soon as these words came out, Ling Haoran's face changed slightly.

It is customary for the crown prince to preside over the court meeting during the Lantern Festival, and this has become a consensus among everyone. Only the crown prince can preside over the court meeting!

But now, the emperor actually wants to hand this matter over to Chu Ning.

Could it be that the emperor wants to change the crown prince?

"Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. Do you want to discuss it with the clan affairs office?"

After all, he is the prince's father-in-law. Although he is upright and impartial, Ling Haoran has to help the prince in this matter.

But Ling Haoran also knew that his own abilities were not enough to convince the emperor, so he could only help the clan house.

The court meeting was of great importance, and since it involved the crown prince, the clan affairs office certainly had the right to participate.

But the emperor shook his head and refused, saying, "No need, the King of Qin is old, why bother him with such a small matter?

Besides, the King of Qin went to the Ministry of Justice today, and he must be tired now, so let him have a good rest."

Ling Haoran bowed and said, "I understand."

The Emperor's attitude is firm, and he asked me to personally deliver the message, which shows that Your Majesty wants to suppress the Prince.

It seems that His Majesty is very dissatisfied with what the Crown Prince did this time. Not only did he fail to suppress Chu Ning, but he also exposed his own faction of forming a clique for personal gain.

This matter must be notified to the Crown Prince as soon as possible, otherwise once the news gets out, it will definitely be disadvantageous to the Crown Prince.

But what Ling Haoran didn't know was that at this moment the emperor was staring at his departing back with an amusement in his eyes.

"Zhao Ming, what do you think the prince will do when he learns this news?" the emperor suddenly asked the palace steward beside him.

Zhao Ming, who had been silent the whole time, smiled awkwardly: "Your Majesty, you know that I never get involved in these matters."

The emperor glared at him and said, "You old rascal!"

Zhao Ming smiled awkwardly and took a step back unconsciously, but he would never express his thoughts no matter what.

Having lived with the emperor for so many years, how could Zhao Ming not understand the emperor's thoughts?

The purpose of suppressing the prince at this moment is to teach him a lesson for forming a clique for personal gain and for colluding with Zhao Feiyan before!

If the prince can successfully suppress Chu Ning this time, the emperor will be happy and will naturally not pursue these matters.

But the prince was more of a hindrance than a help, which made the emperor very unhappy, and he began to settle old and new accounts with him.

As for letting Chu Ning preside over the Lantern Festival court meeting, on the one hand, it was because Chu Ning was getting married on that day and he was the most suitable candidate.

On the other hand, it is also because Chu Ning’s reputation has increased now. Putting Chu Ning in a high position allows other princes to join forces to suppress Chu Ning.

This is the balance that the emperor has always believed in.

Since the crown prince cannot deal with Chu Ning alone, let the other princes join forces.

No matter how powerful Chu Ning is, he can't possibly be a match for so many people, right?

Now it depends on how the prince reacts after receiving the news.

Before the Lantern Festival, the city of Kyoto will probably become lively because of this matter.

However, this was the emperor's decision, and a eunuch like him could not take care of so many things.

Just as Zhao Ming was lamenting the emperor's methods, Ling Haoran had already hurried to the East Palace.

"See the prince!"

Inside the hall, the prince sat in the main seat, with a maid serving him.

Seeing Ling Haoran coming, the prince waved his hand to dismiss the maid, then smiled and said, "Father-in-law, there is no need to be so polite. I wonder how the emperor will deal with Chu Ning's killing of Du Yuanji?"

Ling Haoran sighed and quickly repeated the emperor's decision.

The prince's expression was normal at first, but when he heard that the emperor had given Chu Ning the right to preside over the court meeting, he became so angry that his face turned pale and his hands were clenched tightly together.

The anger in my heart rushed straight to my head, and I was shaking with anger!

In front of Ling Haoran, the prince tried his best to suppress his anger and emotions, but the more he suppressed it, the more uncomfortable he felt because of his inner unwillingness.

"Damn Chu Ning!"

The prince was so angry that he slammed the table and roared, "This is too much, this is too much!"

Ling Haoran frowned, feeling somewhat displeased with this son-in-law.

How could a prince be so lacking in self-control that he got angry upon hearing the news? How should he handle this matter?

Just as she was about to persuade him, the prince suddenly said with a ferocious look on his face: "If you dare to snatch my business, I will never let you go!"

"Come here, take my invitation to the Prince of Chu's mansion and invite him to the East Palace for a banquet tonight. Tell him that I am grateful to him for killing Du Yuanji and restoring my reputation."

As soon as these words came out, Ling Haoran's face changed drastically: "Prince, you...you want to attack the King of Chu?"

But the prince sneered: "This is the imperial palace, how could I possibly do anything to him? Don't worry, I won't be so stupid."

Tonight, he is going to use the beauty trap on Chu Ning!