XH 239 - Prince Heng

Every official that had the right to attend the morning court was already inside the hall, waiting for the Emperor to arrive.

They were prepared to fight to change His Majesty's mind, with important points memorized to counter the Emperor's decision. There were even some that sneaked written notes under their sleeves, treating it as textbooks to be viewed if they forgotten what they needed to say.

The officials that were usually separated into different factions were united for once! They were not willing to follow a young and idiot Emperor!

The entrance door opened and everyone's eyes went to it, only to see it was Duke Heng and Young Master Yang Ling.

They were momentarily disappointed, only to then later remember that Duke Heng was the Eighth Prince's maternal uncle!

They were about to surround Duke Heng to fish out information, but their idea was ruined by Yang Ling. 

"Ouch! We are not being welcomed!" Yang Ling said with a hurt expression. "Duke Heng, they must be wondering why you are here when you have already resigned from officialdom. They must be scared that you are here to rob their jobs and money!"

Unfortunately, Advisor Yang was not able to attend and control his son because the 19th Emperor needed his help. They need to have great preparation before putting up Liu Chu Chu on the wanted list, while leaving others to deal with the big fight that will happen in the hall.

Duke Heng did not stop Yang Ling, because messing with them will mess with their momentum. 

"Oh?" Duke Heng eyed the surrounding officials slowly, until they looked away. 

Even if Yang Ling had guessed their motive wrongly, they still could not face Duke Heng with clear conscience as they did want to get closer to him for their own purpose.

But of course, not every official was afraid of Duke Heng, such as Minister of Revenue, Minister Bin. 

"Duke Heng is likely to be here to support the Eighth Prince." Minister Bin smiled until his eyes could not be seen. "The duke is a great uncle that many admires, but one should know not to push forward the wrong decision in the name of family. This is the matter of our Kingdom's future, with more than a million lives at stake."

With someone taking the lead, the other officials echoed their agreement of Minister Bin's words.

"The Emperor and Empress arrives!" The loud guard announced, stopping the beginning of verbal fight. Every official's attention transferred to the Imperial couple, their hearts impatient when they slowly made their way to the throne. 

The officials could not speak before the Emperor took his seat, or they will be punished for breaching the etiquette. 

Their anticipation reached the climax with their eyes glued to the imperial couple, waiting for them to finish seated. Their mouth loosen in preparation to speak, but the loud guard's announcement blocked them.

"The Princess arrives!"

The officials shut their mouth and had to wait for the Princess to take her seat. Yet, she seems happy to take her own sweet time, as if she was strolling in a garden! 

Pissed them off! ٩(ఠ益ఠ)۶

They quickly placed away their anger when the princess finally took her seat beautifully, her long dress spread open like a flower below her feet. The officials cleared their throat, moistened their mouth, recalling the strong points for todays' argument, and finally prepared to start the battle.

"Your Majesty-"

"The Third Prince, the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince arrives!" The loud guard announced, once again pouring cold water over the boiling pots!

Officials: '...' Why don't you all arrive at the same time?! ٩(ఠ益ఠ)۶

The princes' untimely arrival frazzled them and their brain was not working as well as before after being interupted more than once. But they quickly regained their bearing and prepared to once again begin their strong speech, only for Duke Heng to start first!

"This one is willing to accept the Prime Minister's post to support the Eighth Prince when he rules the Kingdom and lead us to the bright future!" Duke Heng declared handsomely, dazzling everyone with his upright, scholarly manner.

Duke Heng will return to be Guilin's Prime Minister? It's truly good news!

Although there were a small number of them believed Duke Heng was taking this opportunity to gain power by tying himself to his nephew, a large number of them were genuinely happy for him!

They remembered Duke Heng's great deeds that every commoner would never fail to praise. He did not stop his generous deeds even after he retired from his post. 

The Emperor nodded, pleased. "We will grant Duke Heng the title of 'Prince Heng' and bestow the west rice land!"

West rice land? It was the fourth most profitable rice field in Guilin! 

Duke Heng knew of it too, and cheerfully thanked the Emperor, ignoring the envious gazes targeted at him. 

"Pardon this official from asking, but is Duke Heng not planning to take the Prime Minister's post if the Eighth Prince would not be the next Emperor?" Minister Bin questioned sharply.

"Minister Bin, are you jealous because the Emperor did not name you to be the Prime Minister after the late Prime Minister Shen's demise?" Yang Ling was not afraid to speak out about the sensitive matter that everyone was afraid to mention!

Even if it was the truth, Minister Bin could not admit it! Who knows if the Emperor will choose to suppress his power once knowing his greed!

"This official is not aiming for the Prime Minister's post, but expressing my concern as an official! Young Yang, please be mindful of your words without proof!"

"Wah, scolding me because I help you speak up your desire, such injustice! Third Prince, help me!" The shameless Yang Ling did not hesitate to pull Long Zhu into the argument as well. 

"To not know that our Minister of Revenue have such intention and only think of Prince Heng as the wise choice for the post, this prince is useless," the Third Prince chastised himself, making others have their heart soften and told him it was not his fault, and it was Minister Bin's fault for lying.

Minister Bin: So it's my fault now?! ('皿´＃)

"Since our Minister of Revenue is worried about this matter, We will inform that Prince Heng will only accept the post if the Eighth Prince is the 21st Emperor."

The hall became noisy like the morning market right after the Emperor's announcement.

"Oh, Minister Bin, you can have the Prime Minister post after removing the Eighth Prince from candidacy~" Yang Ling's voice was louder and clearer than everyone's, instantly bringing the hall into silence.

"Yang Ling! This official had never uttered those sinister ambitions, yet you keep on framing me and tarnishing my reputation! Your Majesty, please help this official seek for justice!"

The other officials were taken aback. This was the first time one of Yang Ling's targets asked the Emperor for justice! Never once had the Emperor scolded Yang Ling for running his mouth and offending people left and right, because he never targeted him, but now that Minister Bin asked for Emperor's help, what will His Majesty do?

"Minister Bin, are you not reacting too much?" The Emperor drew nonchalantly. "Yang Ling had only spoken of what he believed to be the truth, albeit its an unpleasant truth and only the guilty would react greatly to the ugly truth."

In other words, Minister Bin was in the wrong!

"Yang Ling thank Your Majesty for giving justice to this one!" Yang Ling grinned shamelessly and Minister Bin's face turned ugly.

Without caring for Minister Bin, the Emperor moved on to the next event. 

"Long Ming, come forward and introduce yourself properly to everyone, let them recognize your face." The Emperor waved the Eighth Prince to step forward. 

Everyone had expected the inexperienced Eighth Prince to be nervous and afraid to speak before them, but he looked relaxed with a small smile on his face. The Eighth Prince must be too silly to even know how to be afraid before them!

Eighth Prince, do not blame us for being harsh on you later. You are asking for this!

With a steady and calm tone, the Eight Prince began speaking. “As you all know, this prince had pretended to be a fool to keep myself safe. Beloved officials should understand this prince, just as this prince understands beloved officials, because you all pretended to be agreeable to keep peace among ourselves.”

Officials: How is that the same as you!

“Your Highness the Eighth Prince.” The Minister of Personnel stepped forward, his hair fully white from old age yet his body was still standing tall and healthy. “It is a joyful event to know that Your Highness is mentally well. However, the public would not believe Your Highness to be intelligent without any written or verbal work from you. Perhaps your Highness should consider proving your intelligence to the public to win their favor and silence the doubts.”

Sounds righteous and fair, without letting it obvious that the Minister of Personnel was voicing out his own doubt about the Eighth Prince’s credibility, and used the public to do so.

Instead of the Eighth Prince, it was the Third Prince that answered the Minister of Personnel. “Why don’t we have Eighth brother sit for the imperial exams with other scholars, and have the examiners mark their papers fairly? Eighth brother, the Imperial exam is in fifteen days, will you be able to prepare yourself in time?”

Heise: '...' Fuck! What fifteen days to prepare? Do you want me to die?! (ﾒ' ﾛ ´)

With none of his grievance visible, Heise nodded with a small smile. “Eighth brother will have to trouble Third brother to help me in preparing for the exams.” 

“I will certainly help you Eighth brother.” The Third Prince willingly agreed, like a kind brother. 

“If the Eighth Prince gets the first place, no one would dare to doubt Your Highness anymore.” The Minister of Personnel added oil onto the growing fire. 

“Beloved official, are you expecting too much from this prince? This prince is only ten years old, unable to compare with other older scholars that have studied for years in preparation, along with their rich life experience.”

“This official only wishes to help Your Highness to be a worthy Emperor. Please forgive this one for being misspoken and hope too much.”

“A worthy Emperor?” The Eighth Prince’s face was filled with shock and fear. “Beloved officials, are you saying that Father Emperor, who had not taken the Imperial exam, is not a worthy Emperor?” 

The Minister of Personnel felt his back cold as he sensed the Emperor’s sharp gaze stabbing him in place. Quickly kneeling down, he pushed the blame to the Eighth Prince. “This official’s words do not hold that meaning. Your Majesty, please do not misunderstand the Eighth Prince’s words!”

Even if the Emperor knew that his son used him as shield, he was still angry at being indirectly pointed out as an unworthy Emperor! 

“Do you think We are blind from your manipulation, Minister of Personnel? We remember you to be the fifth place holder on your batch back then when you are in your mid thirties. It is enough for the Eighth Prince to aim to be top fifty at his young age!”

Since the Emperor had spoken, no one dared to fan the flames, or their safety would not be guaranteed!