Chapter 221: Identity Restored, Appointed as Crown Prince

Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Identity Restored, Appointed as Crown Prince

The imperial father and son had come to an understanding.

That afternoon, the gates of Taiji Palace were thrown open, and several high-ranking court ministers were urgently summoned.

The secret meeting lasted well into the night.

That night, Xie Jinbai did not return.

The next day coincided with the semi-monthly grand court assembly.

The long-absent Emperor sat upon the throne in Jinluan Palace.

In open court, he announced a secret sufficient to cause turmoil among all the officials.

Prince Yu was not the Empress’s biological son.

His birth mother was the late Consort Lian.

Back then, the Empress and the Imperial Concubine had both given birth at the same time.

One mother died, but her son survived. The other’s son died, but she survived.

The young Prince had lost his mother, and the Empress had lost her child.

To console the Empress, who was overcome with grief, the young Prince was taken directly to Yikun Palace. To the public, it was announced that he was the Empress’s own flesh and blood.

This was a long-buried secret, revealed now because the bond between mother and son had been severed.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice stepped forward and recounted the Empress’s misdeeds one by one.

Three years ago, trading on their mother-son bond, the Empress repeatedly coerced Prince Yu into taking her niece, Mrs. Li, as a concubine. On her second day in the residence, Mrs. Li pushed the Princess Consort into the water, causing the Princess Consort to fall into a coma for a full three years.

Three years later, Princess Consort Yu finally awoke, only to face another assassination attempt less than a month later.

After a joint trial by the Three Ministries, this case was confirmed to have been perpetrated by the Empress in collusion with Prince Ping.

The evidence of their crimes was presented before the court.

The entire court erupted in an uproar.

For years, everyone in the Capital City—from the highest dignitaries to the common folk—knew of Prince Yu’s profound love and devotion for his Princess Consort.

It was no exaggeration to say he valued her as much as his own life.

For the Empress to send assassins after Princess Consort Yu was tantamount to trying to kill Prince Yu himself.

Unable to find an opportunity against the Prince himself, her only recourse was to attack the women of his household.

No wonder! In the Golden Hall, the officials wore varied expressions; all of them recalled the mother and son who had suddenly turned against each other three years ago.

’So that was the hidden story.’

’As for how Prince Ping got involved, and even went so far as to sacrifice his own daughter...’

’He is the Emperor’s own brother; what could possibly motivate him to do such a thing?’

There wasn’t a single fool among those who attended the court assembly.

Someone immediately gasped, and the officials began to whisper amongst themselves.

The Emperor sat on the dragon throne, allowing the ministers below to murmur amongst themselves for a good while before he gave a low cough.

"The actions of the Empress and Prince Ping have put me in a very difficult position. My dear ministers, how do you think I should handle this?"

She was his wife of many years.

He was his own brother.

To sentence them to death would be overly ruthless.

For people of their station, plotting to murder a Prince Consort was not, in itself, a capital offense.

But the deeper motive was the real issue.

Prince Ping clearly harbored treasonous ambitions. If he were let off lightly, how could the authority of the Royal Family be maintained?

An official from the Ministry of Justice stepped forward. He launched into a long-winded recitation of the Da Yue Law, finally bowing and saying, "I implore Your Majesty to deliver a severe punishment."

Oh.

’This is one of Xie Jinbai’s men.’

The Emperor glanced at him and paid him no mind.

The official from the Ministry of Justice sheepishly withdrew.

Discerning the Emperor’s intentions, another minister quickly stepped forward. He praised, "The Empress and Prince Ping have committed such a heinous crime and betrayed Your Majesty’s trust. They are truly ungrateful wretches! For Your Majesty to be unable to bear sentencing them to death—you are truly a model of a benevolent ruler."

The old Emperor looked moved. He waved his hand and sighed deeply. "They may be heartless, but I cannot be unrighteous. Fortunately, they have not yet committed an irrevocable mistake."

’By his tone, he doesn’t want to punish them severely.’

The ministers below immediately changed the direction of their counsel.

They began to set aside legal statutes and speak instead of sentiment and reason.

Finally, the Emperor seized the opportunity to make his decision. "In light of the fact that the Empress did not succeed in her great error, and on account of the kindness she showed in raising you, we will not pursue the matter this time. Prince Yu, what are your thoughts?"

Indeed, no irrevocable mistake had been made.

Whether it was the still-dubious case of treason and collaboration with the enemy in Pingzhou or the now-concluded assassination attempt at the stables.

Even Prince Ping’s attempted usurpation—all of it had ended in failure.

Xie Jinbai stood at the forefront. Hearing the Emperor’s words, he pursed his lips and said, "If that is the case, then I ask you, my lords, to bear witness. I have now repaid the Empress for her kindness in raising me. From this day forward, the bond between us as mother and son is completely and utterly severed."

The civil and military officials of the court were once again in an uproar.

These were all men of decorum; even if they were grinding their teeth in hatred, they maintained faint smiles on their faces.

Such a blatant tearing away of all pretense was a rare sight indeed.

Especially between a mother and son of the Royal Family.

But no one dared to say a word, and they all just nodded with wry smiles.

The Emperor, seated on the dragon throne, raised a hand slightly. "The Empress has lost her virtue. It is only natural that you no longer wish to acknowledge her as your mother. In that case, I shall give you a mother back."

At these words, the Chief of the Imperial Court, Qian Yong, who stood behind him, immediately stepped forward. He unfurled a bright yellow scroll that he had held at the ready.

The edict proclaimed that Consort Lian, who had passed away more than twenty years ago, was posthumously granted the title of Empress.

The clamor that filled the hall instantly fell to a hush.

Consort Lian had been born a palace maid. From a young age, she had served the Emperor back when he was still just a Prince, and she was five years his senior.

They had grown up supporting each other; one could even call them childhood sweethearts.

After the Emperor ascended the throne, he steadily promoted her. By the time she passed away, her rank was that of an Imperial Concubine, second only to the Empress.

To think that so many years after her death, she could still be posthumously named Empress.

For a former palace maid to become Empress—this was a first in the two-hundred-odd-year history of the Great Yue dynasty.

Everyone knew this was a case of a mother’s status being elevated because of her son.

Xie Jinbai was the fourth Prince. The only reason he had previously held a higher status than his elder brothers was that he was considered the legitimate son of the Empress.

But now, he held immense military and political power, able to overwhelm his imperial brothers on merit alone. Even so, the Emperor refused to allow this son to be disadvantaged in status.

He was giving him back a mother.

It was not a matter of his birth mother being an Empress; rather, whoever his birth mother was, she would become the Empress.

Xie Jinbai stood there in the court, clad in a python-embroidered robe. His shoulders were broad, his expression cold and severe, and his entire aura radiated a sharp lethality forged on battlefields of blood and bodies.

He looked like someone not to be trifled with.

No one dared to cross him by objecting to the imperial edict that posthumously named Consort Lian the new Empress.

Even the most rigid Imperial Censors readily accepted the matter of a former palace maid becoming the Empress.

In the face of absolute power, many rules had to yield.

The old Emperor watched quietly, his eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp light glinting within them.

In the decades since he, a seemingly sickly Emperor, had taken the throne, many unseen ambitions had been allowed to fester.

The next Emperor could not be a man of gentle and benevolent character.

Only this formidable son, upon ascending the dragon throne, could intimidate the court officials and the restless Alien Clans on the borders.

He let out a few low coughs and said, "Lately, I have felt the weight of my age and my failing health. I wish to select a Crown Prince for Great Yue. What do my dear ministers think of this?"

Selecting a Crown Prince was a move to stabilize the court.

For a dynasty, it could only be a good thing.

The several high-ranking ministers who had been part of the discussion in Taiji Palace the previous night took their cue. They dropped to their knees, shouting praises of the Emperor’s wisdom.

Without exception, they all recommended the same name.

Of the four adult Princes, Xie Jinbai was the youngest.

But he was now the legitimate heir.

Furthermore, he had numerous military achievements to his name. Though he lacked the title of Crown Prince, in practice, he already held the power and substance of one.

All that was missing was the imperial edict to make it official.

It had all been settled the previous night.

Qian Yong produced a second imperial edict.

This was the decree to officially name the Crown Prince.

It was also the "satisfaction" the Emperor had promised to Xie Jinbai.