Chapter 126: Request to Establish the Crown Prince

Chapter 126: Request to Establish the Crown Prince

The offices of the six ministries were located on the same street. Pei Jin sent his attendant to summon the officials, while he personally invited a few retired senior officials to a tavern.

As time was of the essence, when Pei Jin arrived, after exchanging only a couple of pleasantries, he got straight to the point, saying that there was an urgent matter to discuss over lunch.

After the usual formalities, some had intended to make light conversation, but upon seeing that Pei Jin had even invited retired officials, they looked at him silently, wondering what the matter could be.

Once the door was closed and the attendants were instructed to wait outside, Pei Jin relayed the news from the palace.

"I have invited you all here on behalf of Her Majesty the Empress, to convey something important—Her Majesty the Empress gave birth to the fifth prince. It was previously believed that the fifth prince had passed away, but we have now received news that he did not die. He was rescued, recovered, and has since married and had a son."

"The fifth prince, whom many of you have met, was the top scholar of the imperial examination two years ago and was once my disciple, Jinyuan."

The younger Ministry of Revenue official's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Wh—"

Before he could finish, he quickly covered his mouth.

With the elders present, it wasn't his place to speak.

His heart pounded. He had indeed met the talented scholar who was assigned to an official post outside the capital. At the time, he had lamented how unfortunate it was that such a capable individual was not serving in the capital.

Little did he know, this scholar had such a significant background!

Elder Lin's hand tightened. He was one of those who knew the old story of Feng City and asked, "Did Her Majesty the Empress say this herself? Is it certain that it's the fifth prince?"

"Yes," Pei Jin replied. "The fifth prince has reversed meridians, a unique condition. Because of this congenital reversal of his internal organs, when the Empress shot an arrow into the fifth prince's chest, although it should have been fatal, he survived. The person who rescued him had considerable resources and, with some luck and the skill of a good doctor, managed to save him. The doctor recorded all the medical cases, which matched the records of the fifth prince's condition from the past."

Elder Lin fell silent.

Others had questions. "What do you mean by the Empress shooting the fifth prince?"

"What is this condition of reversed meridians?"

Clearly, most were confused and unaware of the old story of Feng City.

After clarifying Elder Lin's doubts, Pei Jin explained further, finally adding, "The information was personally delivered by General Jian He."

The officials frowned in unison. "Why would General Jian..."

Pei Jin: "He found the fifth prince outside and naturally had to report it to Her Majesty the Empress."

"That makes sense. I didn't expect that the Empress would also have a legitimate son..." Some said this and secretly glanced at Elder Lin.

Elder Lin listened quietly to Pei Jin's words and then looked at Pei Jin's face.

Minister Pei of the Ministry of Revenue had been trying to calm his emotions, but his pleasure was evident despite his efforts.

However, he was not the only one feeling pleased. The court officials were deeply concerned about the Emperor's excessive favoritism towards Concubine Chen. It was clear in their hearts that when Concubine Chen was widowed, she and the Emperor likely began an affair, and even the late Young Master Yan, who had passed away, was of imperial lineage.

Concubine Chen had once been the wife of the Yongning Marquis, and the Marquis had a close relationship with the Emperor, even referring to each other as brothers during the Emperor's travels.

In such circumstances, the Emperor coveted the Marquis's wife, leading to a secret pregnancy.

The court officials were deeply worried, fearing that the Emperor was showing signs of mental decline, especially since he was in no hurry to establish a crown prince, likely waiting for Concubine Chen to give birth to a prince.

With such favoritism towards Concubine Chen, the officials were anxious.

Fortunately, heaven protected Great Qi! Concubine Chen remained childless, and a legitimate son of the Empress emerged from the sky. The officials' hearts were filled with anticipation.

With a legitimate son of the Empress, who else could be the heir?

Pei Jin cleared his throat and softly asked, "What do you all think about the matter of establishing the heir?"

It was obvious—they should fully support the fifth prince as Crown Prince!

This was the thought in everyone's mind, but they all looked towards Elder Lin.

"Her Majesty the Empress's intention is..."

Pei Jin succinctly replied, "At tomorrow's court meeting, General Jian will propose the matter of the heir."

The younger officials gasped upon hearing this arrangement by Jian Yunyao.

The Empress's move was indeed quite urgent.

Elder Lin seemed to waver for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "This is exactly what should be done."

Before the Emperor's growing dislike for the Empress and the incident of her shooting her own son, there was at least a facade of mutual respect. After the shooting incident, even that pretense was gone.

The Emperor was now entirely focused on Concubine Chen and might not want to place the legitimate son of the Empress on the throne. The Empress's urgency to push the fifth prince forward was to ensure the matter was settled before any changes could occur.

With military officials supporting the Empress and the civil officials not opposing, the heir would be decided.

After Elder Lin gave his approval, the others began to discuss among themselves.

"Indeed, now that the fifth prince has been found, dragging this out could lead to complications and would not be ideal."

"Since the Empress now has a legitimate son, it is only right to establish the heir as soon as possible."

"Congratulations, Minister Pei, on having such an excellent disciple."

Amidst the praises of the civil officials, the news of the fifth prince's discovery quietly gained consensus within this small group.

Everything was set, awaiting only the court meeting the next day.

The court meeting on the second day was destined to be recorded in history. Jian He, who was originally supposed to be stationed at the border town, returned to the city and knelt before the emperor.

"Your humble subject congratulates the emperor and offers felicitations! Your humble subject has returned to the capital this time without authorization because there is an extraordinarily great joy to report to Your Majesty."

The emperor's heart was filled with joy. Could it be that the unrest had been completely quelled? Would his dynasty be passed down peacefully for thousands of generations? That would be wonderful. Even if the chosen crown prince was not exceptional, it would still be good.

"Rise, my dear subject." The emperor had Fu Bin help Jian He to his feet, "My dear subject, what surprise do you have for us?"

The emperor's eyes brightened, eagerly awaiting good news from Jian He. However, the surprise Jian He spoke of was that the fifth prince had been found.

The fifth prince?

The emperor recalled how Jian Yunyao had drawn her bow and arrow without hesitation to shoot that child.

Emperor Chengde had begun to distance himself from Jian Yunyao because he found this woman too ruthless.

"Subject Jian, the fifth prince should be gone. You say you have found... this..."

Several princes who had attended the court meeting were also looking at Jian He.

Among them, the third prince was the most anxious. If the emperor hadn't already expressed doubt, he would have angrily reprimanded Jian He, wondering where this wild fifth prince had come from.

Jian He said, "Since I can report this matter to Your Majesty, I can certainly guarantee that the person I have found is indeed the fifth prince."

Jian He quickly explained the matter of the drastically opposite pulse conditions, causing Emperor Chengde to look at the yellowed handwritten note recording the pulse conditions and involuntarily become slightly stunned. He vaguely recalled the top scholar from two years ago.

Concubine Chen had once said that he reminded her of Jier, because this top scholar was also her child.

In a trance, Jian He concluded, "The fifth prince is the legitimate son of the Empress. This person is exceptionally talented and virtuous. Your humble subject requests that Your Majesty issue an imperial decree to establish the fifth prince as the crown prince."

Almost as soon as Jian He finished, the military officers behind him chimed in agreement.

Then something happened that made the third prince tremble with fear. The elderly Chancellor of the National University, speaking tremulously yet clearly, conveyed that the fifth prince was the legitimate son of the Empress. In the past, Your Majesty did not establish an heir because there was no legitimate son. Now that the legitimate son has appeared, no one else can take the position of crown prince.

Pei Jin stepped forward, holding a ceremonial tablet, "Your humble subject, Pei Jin, Vice Minister of Revenue, requests that Your Majesty establish the fifth prince as crown prince."

With Pei Jin's step forward, more civil officials voiced their requests to name the crown prince.

When the third prince was about to speak, someone poked him and gestured for him to look behind the pearl curtains. It was Empress Jian Yunyao who had appeared.

Dressed in grand attire, holding the imperial decree of marriage bestowed by the late emperor, Jian Yunyao had come to request the establishment of the fifth prince as crown prince.

Her royal son, Zhao Jiaze, also known as Jinyuan, as the son of the emperor and empress, should be the crown prince of this dynasty.

With the late emperor's decree already presented, the entire court called for the fifth prince to be established as crown prince.