Chapter 604 - 604 The Eldest Princess Returns
604 The Eldest Princess Returns
When Nangong Li heard that the Emperor had woken up, he hurriedly went to the Ziwei Pavilion. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the room, he happened to hear the words to depose the Queen. He was stunned.
He knew that the Emperor would be angry, but he did not expect him to be so angry. His mother was a child he had doted on since she was young. How could he depose her just like that?
What happened after she was deposed? Who did he plan to let take the position of the successor state’s ruler? The child he had exiled to the commoners, or the other flesh and blood in the royal family?
It was not that there was no precedent for this dynasty to pass down the other branches. It was just that firstly, the Emperor had his own Princess. Secondly, those branches of the royal family were not as outstanding as the Little Princess.!!
But now that the Little Princess could not take on a big responsibility, it was inevitable that Grandpa would settle for the next best thing and target them.
In just a short moment, countless possibilities flashed across Nangong Li’s mind.
A huge panic rose in his heart. He had never considered that the Emperor would directly appoint him, the eldest grandson, after deposing his mother because he had also participated in this matter. He also had a stain. Whether he was instigated or actively provoked, he was not the one who could be cleared of crime.
His mother could not lose her power. Otherwise, he would lose his position as the heir.
As this thought flashed through his mind, he knelt on the ground and looked at the Emperor with tears in his eyes. “Grandpa! I made the decision on my own! It has nothing to do with Mother! I was jealous that Yan Jiuchao snatched Father away! I was jealous that Father doted on him more than me! That’s why I wanted to teach him a lesson!”
This was naturally a portion of the truth. The most direct reason was that the Queen was fooled by the Prince Consort. He could not bear to see his mother continue to be deceived by his father, so he thought of a vicious plan to sow discord between the two of them. However, it was not good to tell his grandfather about this.
His mother had already been despised by his grandfather. If his grandfather found out that she could be so muddle-headed for a man, he would probably be even more unwilling to let her be the Queen.
But how could the Emperor believe him?
The Emperor looked coldly at the Little Princess beside him. “When something happens, you actually let your son take the blame for you. Do you know shame!”
He was here to clear his mother’s name. Why did he make his grandfather even more disappointed in his mother?
Nangong Li was so flustered that he almost couldn’t stand it. “Grandpa! Mother didn’t ask me to take the blame! Everything I said is true! I was the one who poisoned them! I thought of the plan! Mother never thought of harming them! It was my idea!”
The Emperor was unmoved. “I know that you’re wholeheartedly for your mother. As an accomplice, you can’t escape responsibility for this matter. Don’t think that I can forgive you just because you take all the blame! If the Emperor is heartless, the hearts of the people will be unstable. Not to mention that you were born in the royal family, you should know the law better than ordinary people. Even the children of the commoners are definitely not so vicious!”
Nangong Li was about to go crazy. What he said was true! He did it alone! His mother was kept in the dark! Why didn’t Grandpa believe him!!!
Nangong Li begged bitterly again, even telling him how he had tricked the pageboy into going to the courtyard and how he had poisoned the food. However, in the Emperor’s eyes, he was still just an accomplice.
He would not have done such a thing without the Queen’s instructions. It was his fault for having such a good reputation in the past and pretending to be an obedient baby.
With such a problem, the Emperor refused to believe that he was the mastermind.
Yu Wan, who was watching the commotion outside the room, was also convinced. She had only seen people who were struggling to get rid of their crimes, but she had never seen anyone who confessed and took the blame so despairingly. They were so wronged.
“I’ll give you three days to move out of the Queen Manor.” After the Emperor said this coldly, he did not even bother to interrogate the Prince Consort and returned to the palace.
The moment the Queen heard that she was deposed, she was stunned.
“Mother, Mother, Mother!” Nangong Li called out to her, but she did not react.
Nangong Li got someone to help her back to her courtyard.
Nangong Li knelt on one knee in front of her and held her hand. He gritted his teeth and said, “Mother, don’t worry. I won’t watch anything happen to you! There are still three days left. In these three days, I will definitely think of a way!”
Unfortunately, three days was only the time to move out of the Queen Manor. That night, the Emperor issued an imperial edict to depose the Queen.
The royal court was shocked.
The Emperor did not elaborate on the reason, which attracted many guesses. Some said that it was because the Prince Consort was indeed Prince Yan, and the Queen colluding with Prince Yan had caused the Emperor to be dissatisfied. Others said that the Queen had lost the holy artifact and that her crime was unforgivable.
The Emperor ignored these guesses. He had a headache and stopped court the next day. As soon as he stopped court, more and more people discussed.
The Emperor really did not expect that after being the Emperor for so many years, he would welcome such a tumultuous situation in his later years. Could it be that the fate of Nanzhao was really as the old State Preceptor had said?
“Chaos will arise, the court will be in chaos, the hearts of the people will be in turmoil, and fate will be exhausted.”
These were the Old State Preceptor’s words. He had once asked the Old State Preceptor if there was a way to resolve it. What did the Old State Preceptor say at that time?
The old State Preceptor looked at the Empress and Consort Yun, who were pregnant, and said, “Fortune and misfortune came together. Seek fortune and avoid misfortune. Perhaps, there might be a turning point.”
For this turning point, he sent away his eldest daughter who was still in her swaddling and wholeheartedly raised the youngest daughter who blessed Nanzhao by his side. However, he still did not see this turning point.
He looked at the gray sky. He felt a deep pain in his heart. In the end, the ancestors’ future generations would be lost to him.
Old Cui was the happiest about the Queen being deposed. He asked the chef to cook a large table of good dishes and personally went to the restaurant to buy aged Huadiao. He filled a large bowl for Yu Wan.
Yu Wan looked at the dishes on the table with her mouth agape. “What day is it today? It’s so sumptuous.”
Old Cui said, “The Queen has been deposed. Come, girl, let’s celebrate!”
Yu Wan curled her lips and said, “What’s there to celebrate? It makes it look like she’s gone down and I’m going to be the Queen!”
The choked Old Cui: “…”
So you’re like this, Ah Wan!
Nangong Yan’s character was not good. She snatched Prince Yan and harmed Yan Jiuchao. Everyone on Yu Wan’s side was happy that she had fallen. Nangong Li was different. When he thought about how he had ruined the Queen’s future, Nangong Li regretted it.
If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have schemed against Yan Jiuchao! However, a thousand gold could not buy medicine for regret. It was useless to say this now, so he could only think of a way to save everything of the Queen Manor.
He tried to look for the Empress, but the Emperor seemed to have expected him to use this move. He brought the Empress out of the palace and stayed in the house he had bought in the city.
Nangong Li missed her. He did not even see the Empress. He found a few elders in the court and begged them to appear and beg the Emperor to retract his order. However, no one dared to provoke the Emperor at this critical juncture.
Nangong Li punched the pillar!
He had smooth sailing for twenty years, but he had never been so desperate.
He was a proud man, the Emperor’s eldest grandson, and the future heir. He had luck that the entire world could not envy. Of course, he was also capable and talented. He did not lack anything.
He had such a good hand. How could he not defeat an invalid? When the invalid returned to the Great Zhou, he could still inherit the throne, but now, he could not even keep his position as the commandery prince.
He would never allow himself to lose to Yan Jiuchao. He would never give the throne to others.
Just as he was about to despair, the State Preceptor’s figure suddenly flashed across his mind.
Yes, how could he have forgotten such an important chess piece? He took a carriage to the State Preceptor Hall.
The State Preceptor had been in seclusion for the past few days and did not know anything about the outside world. When he heard that Nangong Li had come, the State Preceptor originally wanted to see him after coming out of seclusion, but his disciple urged him twice and said that the Commandery Prince had something urgent to discuss, so the State Preceptor did not want to make things difficult for him.
In just a few days, Nangong Li looked much more haggard.
“What’s wrong? Has the matter of the Prince Consort been exposed?” The State Preceptor asked.
Nangong Li said, “It’s not my father’s business. I can’t care about him now. It’s my mother.”
“What happened to the Queen?” The State Preceptor asked in confusion.
Nangong Li said, “There’s no more Queen.”
The State Preceptor was stunned.
Nangong Li said solemnly, “My mother… has been deposed. In two days, she will have to move out of the Queen Manor. As you know, once she moves out of the Queen Manor, it will be difficult to return.”
If she was only deposed of her identity, but still lived in the manor, there was a possibility of her being reinstated in the eyes of outsiders. If she was chased out with her family, this was almost a drastic measure.
Nangong Li had a headache. “My grandfather might adopt a child from the collateral family. Help me pay attention to my grandfather’s movements and think of a way to dissuade him if necessary.”
The State Preceptor frowned. “There’s something you might not know.”
“What is it?” Nangong Li asked.
“I only heard about it recently,” the State Preceptor said.
“Stop keeping me in suspense,” Nangong Li urged.
The State Preceptor asked, “Do you know that four Seventy-feet Gu Elders appeared in Nanzhao a few days ago?”
Nangong Li nodded. “One of them is Gu Elder Meng from the manor.”
“Then do you know who the remaining three are?” Before Nangong Li could answer, the State Preceptor said, “They’re Yan Jiuchao’s children.”
Nangong Li almost fell off his chair. “Those-those three children whose teeth haven’t even grown!!!”
“With the Helian family and the Gu Elder Hall, the possibility of the Emperor choosing a successor from the collateral branch is not high.”
As the State Preceptor spoke, he stood up and looked at the most dazzling stardust in the night sky. “Eldest Princess is returning.”