jdhmnovel Chapter 244 Impeachment of the Crown Prince
Chapter 244 Impeachment of the Crown Prince
"Father, I know I was wrong."
Li Siming immediately bowed down, feeling so terrified that his body even trembled slightly.
"I think you are very brave. You even dare to disrupt the wedding of my brother?"
The emperor obviously did not believe Li Siming's words and scolded him harshly.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince took action because there was a thief in the Ninth Prince's mansion and he was afraid that this petty thief would affect the Ninth Prince's wedding."
Xiao Shunzi, who was beside the emperor, immediately stepped forward to explain.
In fact, these are all conflicts within the royal family and have nothing to do with him as a servant. But under the current circumstances, Xiao Shunzi knows that he must leave a good impression on all parties.
After all, it is still uncertain who will succeed the emperor after his death, so now he has to consider paving the way.
"In that case, let's not pursue this matter any further."
Although the emperor was dissatisfied, considering that it was the wedding of Li Siqi and Xu Yingying after all, he naturally put the overall situation first. He also did not want to punish his other son at the wedding banquet of one of his sons.
After Li Siqi and Xu Yingying successfully got married, Xu Yingying was sent to the bridal chamber while Li Siqi entertained the guests.
Li Siming, who was standing by, had a mixed look on his face when he saw that the plan was not going smoothly.
But after all, the emperor is still here, so even if Li Siming is dissatisfied, he can only endure it temporarily.
Late at night, as the emperor left, other princes and ministers also bid farewell to Li Siqi.
After Li Siqi sent the guests out one by one, he found Li Siming sitting alone in the pavilion drinking.
"Brother, it is late at night and I am not in a position to entertain you. We can get drunk together when we have more time."
Li Siqi said politely. On the surface, he said so, but in fact, he didn't want to look at Li Siming at all.
"Humph!"
Li Siming immediately stood up and walked to Li Siqi with an angry face.
"Li Siqi, don't think I can't see that everything today was just your plan."
"You'd better pray that I can't find the corresponding evidence, otherwise I will report you to my father."
"Please do as you wish, Your Highness." Li Siqi relaxed his shoulders calmly, without any fear towards Li Siming on his face.
As soon as he finished speaking, the prince saw that he could not get any advantage from Li Siqi, so he turned around and left.
Early the next morning.
Li Siqi packed up early and went to court.
"Ninth Prince, we plan to jointly impeach the Crown Prince." A group of ministers spoke their true thoughts.
At the same time, some ministers under Li Siqi's party found Li Siqi in advance, and then handed him a pre-written memorial.
"We have listed all the evidence of the prince's crimes and plan to take action today."
Li Siqi frowned slightly after taking the memorial.
“Although the evidence is now abandoned, it is difficult to kill the prince’s party in one blow. If we give them a chance to breathe, we will not let them down.”
Li Siming said hesitantly, as the saying goes, "Hit the snake at its most vulnerable part."
If they can't kill the enemy with one blow, then doing this will only alert the enemy.
"But the prince's party went too far yesterday. If we don't fight back today, I'm afraid they will do something even more outrageous in the future."
A minister said this with some indignation.
Seeing that the ministers were so angry, Li Siqi finally compromised.
"In that case, let's suppress the arrogance of the prince's party today, and also give them a warning for what happened yesterday."
Li Siqi immediately made up his mind to agree to the minister's request.
"Send an order to the court."
Following the shouts of the eunuch from the Ministry of Rites, all the ministers and princes lined up and entered the main hall.
"If you have something to report, please come forward. If not, please dismiss the court." Su Shengyuan shouted loudly.
"I'd like to send you my request."
A minister under Li Siqi's party came up with a memorial and reported, "I report that the current Crown Prince has failed to live up to his moral integrity and manners. He is not qualified to be the Crown Prince in terms of both ability and character. Your Majesty, please depose the Crown Prince and appoint another virtuous prince."
"I second the proposal."
"I second the proposal."
……
Soon many ministers echoed the call to depose the crown prince.
"Father, I am innocent."
When Li Siming realized that the situation was not right, he immediately knelt down and pretended to be pitiful.
The position of crown prince is his last bargaining chip and he cannot lose it at any cost.
"You rebels, you dare to ask the emperor to depose me. What do you think you are up to?"
In desperation, Li Siming drew his sword from the hand of a guard next to him, and then immediately killed the minister closest to him.
Seeing this, other court ministers avoided him as much as possible.
Li Siqi frowned slightly. He did not expect that Li Siming would dare to kill people in front of civil and military officials and the emperor. Isn't this just walking into a trap and giving himself evidence?
Li Siqi felt a little strange about this. He felt that Li Siming's behavior today was a little abnormal, and could even be described as crazy.
But the situation was urgent and Li Siqi didn't have time to think about it.
Seeing that Li Siming was about to use the sword to hurt people, Li Siqi personally took action to remove the sword in Li Siming's hand.
When the guards forced Li Siming to kneel before the emperor, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
After the turmoil that just happened in the court, the ministers were certain that Li Siming’s position as crown prince would definitely be lost.
Some ministers who had originally remained neutral sided with Li Siqi.
"Father, you cannot abolish me."
Li Siqi's hysterical voice spread throughout the court, but the more insane his behavior was, the more disheartened the ministers in the court felt.
"enough."
The emperor suddenly scolded, but to the surprise of everyone present, the target of his scolding was not Li Siming but the civil and military officials.
The emperor Long Wei was furious, "Even if the prince is no longer his own son, he is still my son. It is not your turn to make irresponsible remarks."
"Although my prince has made some minor mistakes, no one is perfect. It is ominous to disturb the foundation of the country for such a small matter."
The faces of all the ministers present changed, and for a moment they could not guess what the emperor meant.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince just killed an important official of the court at will, and he also committed eight crimes. Please think twice."
The hall was so silent that even an embroidery needle falling to the ground could be heard.
The person who just stepped out to make a suggestion was none other than the Left Prime Minister, the head of all officials in the court.
The left prime minister has been an official for generations and is honest and upright, and is also the head of all officials.
Naturally, his prestige in the court was unmatched, and soon another minister began to review the proposal to depose Li Siming.
"From now on, if any of you dare to suggest deposing the Crown Prince, I will kill all nine generations of his clan."
Under the emperor's wrath, the ministers all shut up.
Li Siqi frowned slightly and glanced at Li Siming who was standing beside him with a surprised look.
Li Siqi always felt that the emperor's behavior today was a little abnormal from the past. Of course, other important officials of the court had the same feeling as Li Siqi.