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

Imperial Palace, Yingwu Hall.

The emperor paced back and forth in the hall with a serious expression on his face.

The Eighth Prince did such a thing this time, and Chu Ning caught the evidence, so it is impossible for him to turn the tables.

But the second prince died some time ago. If the eighth prince is forced to death again this time, how will outsiders view the royal family?

But this matter had to be dealt with, otherwise there would be no way to explain to the civil and military officials in the court.

Now that there is evidence and witnesses, the Eighth Prince cannot deny it.

Now this is the problem. If the punishment is too severe, the Eighth Prince will definitely follow in the footsteps of the Second Prince.

Even though I have many sons, I can't afford to have two of them die at once.

We have to think of a compromise that can be accepted by the Eighth Prince, not cause him any upset, and at the same time convince all the civil and military officials.

While he was deep in thought, Zhao Ming's voice came from outside the palace: "Your Majesty, the imperial guards have brought the Eighth Prince, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has also come with him."

The emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "Let them in!"

The Crown Prince entered the hall first, followed by four imperial guards escorting the Eighth Prince in.

The two men bowed to the emperor at the same time: "Greetings, Father!"

The emperor glanced behind the two men.

No sign of Chu Ning?

The emperor frowned: "Where's Chu Ning?"

The prince answered first: "Father, my eighteenth brother knows that the imperial examination is important, so he went back to the examination room to review the papers."

Grading?

With Chu Ning's limited knowledge, what kind of papers would he review?

Could it be that the prince forced Chu Ning not to come here to prevent his credit from being snatched away?

The emperor suddenly felt unhappy.

Although he wanted to give more credit to the prince, it would be a bit too much for the prince to take all the credit alone and not give any to Chu Ning.

The emperor snorted coldly: "Such a big thing, Chu Ning didn't come to report to me, someone, go and call Chu Ning to me!

Prince, tell me what just happened!"

These words made the prince's face change slightly.

Father, you don’t believe in yourself!

Although he felt somewhat unwilling, the prince did not dare to lie and told the whole story of what had just happened.

During this process, the imperial guards who were sent out rode out of the palace and immediately chased in the direction Chu Ning left.

Chu Ning, who had not yet returned to the examination room, was found by the imperial guards on the way.

Chu Ning was not surprised to hear that it was the emperor who asked him to go back. He asked the white horse cavalry to go back, and he took Ran Ming and a dozen guards and went straight to the palace.

The emperor has always liked to exercise checks and balances, and he is a suspicious person. Seeing the crown prince taking the eighth prince back alone, he would definitely become suspicious, so Chu Ning deliberately slowed down his pace back to the examination room.

The purpose is to wait for the emperor to send someone to call him back!

As the instigator of this incident, now that it's done, how could the emperor leave him alone to deal with the Eighth Prince?

Soon, Chu Ning arrived at Yingwu Hall.

"Your son pays homage to His Majesty!" Chu Ning bowed to the emperor respectfully.

The emperor looked at Chu Ning coldly and said, "I asked you to handle this matter with the crown prince, why did you let the crown prince escort Old Eight back alone?"

Chu Ning looked at the prince a little embarrassedly, hesitant and not daring to speak.

This made the emperor frown.

Could it be that Chu Ning was threatened by the prince about this news?

"Just say what you want to say, don't be so hesitant!" The emperor snorted coldly, and his whole body was filled with a powerful aura.

Chu Ning seemed frightened and said quickly, "Father, I originally wanted to bring Big Brother here with my brother the Crown Prince, but Big Brother thought that I wanted to steal the credit.

In order to avoid misunderstandings from my elder brother, the Crown Prince, I have taken the initiative to withdraw."

These words made the Eighth Prince's eyes gloomy.

After all this trouble, this kid Chu Ning actually wants to trick me in the end!

At this time, the emperor, who had not heard about this from the prince, looked at him coldly and said, "Good, very good!"

"Prince, why didn't you tell me this just now?"

The prince's mouth twitched, and he realized that he had been fooled by Chu Ning again.

"Father, I feel that this matter will damage the relationship between brothers. Besides, my eighteenth brother has already returned to the examination room on his own initiative. I cannot say these things in front of you, Father."

The prince really couldn't find a reason, so he could only bite the bullet and reply casually.

The emperor snorted coldly and glared at the prince, then turned to look at Chu Ning: "You too, are you so afraid of what Old Eight said?"

"Your Majesty is right." Chu Ning looked respectful.

Seeing Chu Ning's good attitude, the emperor put his thoughts aside, sighed, and fixed his eyes on the eighth prince.

"Why are you so foolish that you want to sabotage this imperial examination? Don't you know that this is what I have always wanted to do?"

The Eighth Prince, who had already lost, was now fearless and chuckled, "Father, if you do this, you will offend all the noble families. Do you think they will let you accomplish this?"

The emperor sneered: "I am the Son of Heaven. Whoever dares to be my enemy will be killed by me!"

The emperor's power was undoubtedly revealed at this moment.

But the Eighth Prince suddenly laughed out loud: "Hahahaha, father, oh father, even if you succeed in the imperial examination this time, can you guarantee that these people who have come up from the bottom can definitely help you check and balance the aristocratic families?

How can these people, who have no foundation, no vision and only knowledge, govern the country?

What’s more, the aristocratic families have dominated the imperial court for many years and their power is complicated. How could they be checked so easily?

If the emperor does this, it will only irritate the noble families and exacerbate the conflict between the two sides!"

In the entire Chu Dynasty, only the Eighth Prince criticized the emperor's policies in front of the emperor!

The emperor, who had never been treated like this before, was immediately furious: "Rebellious son, how dare you disobey me!"

"Disobedience?"

The Eighth Prince laughed wildly, pointed his right index finger at Chu Ning, and roared, "Speaking of disobedience, who has disobeyed more times than Chu Ning?

Isn’t it because Chu Ning gives you a lot of money every month that the emperor tolerates him again and again?

The so-called disobedience is nothing in front of money!

"After all, you, Father, are just a vulgar person who likes money! Vulgar person! Hahahaha!"

The deafening laughter echoed throughout the Yingwu Hall.

The emperor's face gradually turned gloomy due to his laughter.

"What a rebellious son! How dare you speak to me like that? You are a rebel, a rebel!"

The emperor became more and more angry and furious as he spoke, and he immediately roared:

"From now on, all your titles will be stripped from you, you will be demoted to a commoner, and imprisoned in the clan house. No one is allowed to release you without my order!

In addition, all the property of the palace will be confiscated, and all the people in the palace will be exiled to the frontier!"

In a fit of rage, the emperor stripped the eighth prince of everything he had.

But the Eighth Prince, who had been prepared for this, didn't care at all, and continued to laugh wildly:

"Father, did you lock me up in the clan house? Are you worried that I will end up like my second brother? In fact, it was you who forced my second brother to death. When Father is gone for a hundred years, the history books will surely write this, hahahaha!"

This completely angered the emperor, who roared in anger:

"Take him away, take him away!"

The imperial guards outside the palace rushed up and dragged the eighth prince out of the palace.

But even so, the eighth prince's laughter still reached the father and his three sons from outside the palace.

For a moment, the hall fell silent.