552: Chapter 552 Halfway through the lawsuit

Imperial City. Morning Court.

Crown Prince Li Chenghao, who had been resting for quite some time, had not attended the morning court for several days due to the Zhenbei Army taking over the Eastern Border.

But this morning, wearing his dragon robes, he arrived at the court full of vigor.

The civil and military officials had long heard the rumors, knowing that Prince Wu, Liu Bing had arrived in the capital and that the two great Confucian scholars, Meng Sansi and Qi Songyuan, were going to help file an imperial complaint.

In fact, they had arrived in the capital the day before yesterday and had already privately coordinated with Crown Prince Li Chenghao.

This morning court was actually just a formality to officially take action against the Northern Border.

Therefore, the officials, whether sick or not, all came to court.

Seeing that almost all the officials had arrived, even that old scoundrel Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong, Crown Prince Li Chenghao could not help but feel smug.

It had been a long time since he felt like a true emperor.

After all, the grand trend of the world requires balance.

Lin Xiao was too powerful, which naturally caused the forces opposing him to gather on his side.

In the past, would this old thing, Prince Wu, Liu Bing, or these great scholars from the academy ever have taken him, the new monarch, seriously?

Crown Prince Li Chenghao felt that his luck had finally turned.

As long as he seized this opportunity to knock Lin Xiao down a peg, wouldn't his prestige be established?

After a listless cry of "Long live," Prince Wu, Liu Bing did not waste words and stepped out directly.

"Your Majesty! Please make the decision for this old subject!"

"Prince Wu, you are a noble prince of a different surname. Who has the audacity to force you to file an imperial complaint?" Crown Prince Li Chenghao asked with a majestic expression.

Prince Wu, Liu Bing said with a face full of grief and indignation: "That Prince of Zhenbei, Lin Xiao, relying on his military power, framed my daughter, Princess Lanti, as a spy and imprisoned her in Baishui!"

"My poor daughter, who originally had good intentions and wanted to let Baiyue and the Northern Border trade to benefit the people of both places, was maliciously framed!"

Crown Prince Li Chenghao looked surprised: "The Prince of Zhenbei says Princess Lanti is a spy? Could there be some misunderstanding?"

"Your Majesty! The Prince of Zhenbei not only captured Princess Lanti but also framed me, saying that I sent my junior martial brother Wu Chuanqiong to assassinate the Princess Consort!"

Qi Songyuan also stepped out at this moment, "I have always been devoted to teaching and educating, never interfering in court affairs, and have never even met the Princess Consort. How could I incite my junior brother to kill!?"

"It is ridiculous to say that my junior brother, a Martial Arts Grandmaster, would act as an assassin for no reason!"

"Now my junior brother has died tragically for no reason, and was even beheaded by the Zhenbei Princes Mansion for public display. This is truly an act of brutality!!"

"I beg Your Majesty to investigate clearly and restore my innocence!!"

Meng Sansi also stood out at this time and said: "Your Majesty, although the Prince of Zhenbei has made great contributions to the country, he has become increasingly arrogant and domineering."

"First, he slandered the scholars of our academy, and then he sent troops to besiege the Buddhist sect, making the Buddhist followers in the world tremble with fear."

"Now, he is even threatening with the southward movement of the Zhenbei Army, demanding our academy to send innocent people to the Northern Border for trial!"

"The Prince of Zhenbei is arrogant and conceited. He has reached the point of defying morality and law. I beg Your Majesty to make a holy ruling!!"

Listening to these words, Crown Prince Li Chenghao suppressed the corners of his mouth. The satisfaction in his heart was indescribable!

In the past, everyone held Lin Xiao up to the sky, but today they finally remembered that he was the Son of Heaven!

Crown Prince Li Chenghao said with a solemn face: "The Prince of Zhenbei is a pillar of the country. How could he easily slander a princess of the court or insult a great scholar of this age?"

"In my opinion, there must be some misunderstanding. This matter should be handed over to the cabinet, and the Ministry of Justice..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a voice!

"Wait a moment!!"

An old man, aged but full of vigor, walked to the center of the main hall. It was Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong!

"Chancellor Yang, even though you are a veteran of three reigns, you cannot be disrespectful to His Majesty in the court, right?" Minister of Revenue Wang Qirui frowned and said.

Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong snorted, his brow full of disdain.

"His Majesty? Who is His Majesty?"

The scene was in an uproar!

Crown Prince Li Chenghao was furious and stood up directly to rebuke: "Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong!! You have such great audacity!! Do you really think I dare not touch you!?"

"Your Majesty, Chancellor Yang must be old and crazy!" Minister of Revenue Wang Qirui said loudly.

"Chancellor Yang! You cannot talk nonsense in front of the Holy One!" Minister Liu Zongfu also said with a look of "righteousness."

Prince Wu, Liu Bing's face was gloomy. At a critical moment, why was this old man coming to cause trouble?

"Why don't you come and take Chancellor Yang down? He is old and confused!"

Seeing the Imperial Guards coming to drag Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong away, they saw the old man take out a golden scroll from his sleeve!

"The late Emperor's edict is here! Are you not going to kneel down yet!?"

The thunderous sentence directly shocked the hundreds of civil and military officials on the scene, leaving them dumbfounded!

What!?

Emperor Hong has an edict!?

Crown Prince Li Chenghao's legs went soft, his face was flustered, and his eyes were full of fear.

It was as if Emperor Hong's figure appeared before him again, casting a look of disgust at him!

And Prince Wu, Liu Bing, Meng Sansi, and Qi Songyuan were completely stunned.

How could an edict pop out now!?

If there was one, why didn't he take it out earlier instead of waiting until now!?

Could it be... the late Emperor didn't pass the throne to the Crown Prince!?

It couldn't be that he passed it to the Prince of Zhenbei, right!?

"Everyone, do not be too alarmed. The late Emperor did not pass the throne to the Prince of Zhenbei..."

Crown Prince Li Chenghao and the others breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Thank goodness, the old guy wasn't confused. No matter how bad the son was, he couldn't pass it to an outsider!

"Minister Liu Zongfu, I am old and lack the strength. You are from the Ministry of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, so you should read it."

Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong handed the edict over, and Minister Liu Zongfu hurriedly took it with both hands.

"Minister Liu Zongfu, this edict..." Crown Prince Li Chenghao asked eagerly.

After careful inspection, Minister Liu Zongfu reported: "I dare to bet my life that this is written by the late Emperor himself, and it is absolutely impossible to be forged!"

"Minister Liu Zongfu, what exactly did the late Emperor say? Please read it!" Minister of War Wei Mingzhuang urged.

Minister Liu Zongfu nodded, walked up to the high platform, and signaled Crown Prince Li Chenghao with his eyes.

Crown Prince Li Chenghao had no choice but to walk down the steps and listen silently.

"I have heard that all things in the world must die..."

"The Crown Prince Li Chenghao is not qualified for the position, so the throne is passed to... my younger brother, Prince of Nanling, Li Sixun!"

When the edict was finished, the scene was dead silent!

Crown Prince Li Chenghao's face was pale, he slumped on the ground, his eyes dull...

"Royal... Royal Uncle? This... how is this possible..."

After the courtiers reacted, they were all discussing it.

Although they felt shocked, upon careful consideration, the logic of this edict was meticulous, and everything was reasonable!

Emperor Hong and the Prince of Nanling were born of the same mother. Passing the throne to his own younger brother was indeed more effective than this useless Crown Prince!

"Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong!!"

Prince Wu, Liu Bing glared angrily: "You didn't take it out early or late, why did you take out an edict at this time!? You hid the edict privately, with ulterior motives!!"

Before Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong could speak, Official Xie Tong on the side let out a cold laugh.

"Prince of Wu, I think you are the one with sinister intentions."

"Secretary Xie Tong, what do you mean by that?" Prince Wu, Liu Bing glared.

Official Xie Tong said loudly: "All the civil and military officials are here today, you might as well recall properly."

"Back then, when the late Emperor passed away, Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong escorted the coffin back to the capital, advising the Crown Prince not to rush to ascend the throne, but to wait for him to return."

"But Crown Prince Li Chenghao was anxious to succeed to the throne, ignoring the etiquette of mourning, and insisted on ascending the throne in a rush."

"When Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong returned, the wood was already carved. Could he still take out the edict, depose the new monarch, and cause turmoil in the court!?"

"In the Imperial Dynasty, if the Emperor was found to be wrong just a few days after taking the throne, wouldn't it become a laughingstock for the world!?"

The civil and military officials whispered and nodded one after another.

Thinking about it carefully, that was really the case.

Crown Prince Li Chenghao was so anxious at the time that he had no intention of waiting for any edict.

Official Xie Tong looked at Crown Prince Li Chenghao with a look of disappointment and said: "Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong, precisely because he cared about the late Emperor, could not bear to see the Crown Prince become a laughingstock, and cared about the dignity of the royal family, did not take it out early... His loyalty to the monarch and patriotism can be seen by the sun and the moon!!"

"Nonsense! Since that's the case, after so long, why did he take it out today!? Isn't it just to protect the Prince of Zhenbei!?"

Prince Wu, Liu Bing said coldly: "In my opinion, Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong has been bought by the Prince of Zhenbei!!"

"Absurd!"

Official Xie Tong sneered: "The Prince of Zhenbei is in his prime, his status is already transcendent, why would he need to bribe anyone?"

"The reason why Prime Minister Yang Gengzhong took it out today is that if you are not stopped, and the Prince of Zhenbei is pushed to the limit, there will be misery! Blood will flow like a river!"

"Prince Wu, Liu Bing, Meng Sansi, Qi Songyuan, you Prince Wus Mansion and the academy, tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice, provoked the Prince of Zhenbei, but did not think of repenting."

"You still want to use the Imperial Dynasty royal family, the civil and military officials, and the people of the world as shields. Your treacherous hearts deserve to be executed!!"

This sonorous and tightly knit analysis made Prince Wu, Liu Bing and the others so angry that they almost fainted!

The most annoying thing is that they couldn't refute it!!

Originally, this imperial complaint was to take what they needed with Crown Prince Li Chenghao, the Emperor, and find a way to restrain the Prince of Zhenbei.

But they never expected that... halfway through the complaint, the Emperor was gone!!