The King of Xiang and the King of Shu were stunned on the spot. It was obvious that they didn't know how to answer Zhu Yunwen's "choose one" question, because no matter which choice they made, they had committed a serious crime.
At this time, Zhu Yunwen, who was Emperor Hui of Ming Dynasty, was already full of aura, and he was completely different from the weak and gentle young man a few days ago. All the civil and military ministers in the court immediately fell silent. Although they knew about these two princes,
What I said does not violate Ming law at all.
But in the face of Emperor Ming Hui's actions of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey", they did not dare to have any thoughts.
For a moment, no one in the court dared to face Emperor Ming Hui's dragon power.
Even Zhu Gui lowered his head. He was feeling a little uneasy now. All he was thinking about was whether to contact the Jin family as soon as possible and leave Nanjing tonight.
Anyway, Zhu Yunwen had already ascended the throne, and it would not be more than six months before Zhu Di launched the 'Jingnan Campaign'. He did not believe that Zhu Yunwen would have time to deal with him.
At this moment, unexpectedly King Yan Zhu Di stood up. He did not kneel down to salute Emperor Ming Hui, but raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the King of Xiang and the King of Shu are probably because of the death of the late emperor.
They were grieved, and their thoughts were temporarily confused, so they talked nonsense in the court. I hope the emperor can forgive them."
All civil and military officials in the dynasty looked at Zhu Di in surprise, the vassal king who they thought should inherit the throne.
Zhu Yunwen stood in front of the dragon chair and frowned.
The two of them stared at each other intently, as if they were confronting each other in the air, and the air seemed to become anxious.
At this moment, a man standing in the ranks of civil servants came out and knelt down at the foot of the steps with a plop.
"Your Majesty, what King Yan said is true. Although the King of Xiang and the King of Shu are disrespectful in their words, they do not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty."
The person who spoke was none other than Fang Xiaoru. He stepped forward at this time and helped Emperor Minghui to rescue him.
Anyone with a discerning eye can now see that the two sides fighting on the field have clearly turned into a dispute between the feudal king and the imperial power.
Fang Xiaoru was naturally on the side of the imperial power, but his words now sounded like he was speaking to the vassal king.
However, Zhu Yunwen was not angry. Instead, he raised the corners of his mouth and said, "Oh, Grand Bachelor, in your opinion, how should this matter be resolved?"
Fang Xiaoru said: "Today is the day when the emperor ascends the throne. According to the etiquette system, the world should be pardoned, so the two vassal princes should be exempted from liability this time."
Zhu Yunwen nodded and said: "Okay, then according to the words of the great scholar, the crime of disrespect of the two imperial uncles will be recorded for the time being."
When the King of Shu and the King of Xiang heard this, they let out a sigh of relief at the same time, but instead of thanking Emperor Ming Hui, they turned around and bowed their hands to King Yan Zhu Di and said, "Fourth brother, thank you very much."
The three of them nodded to each other and returned to the queue.
When Emperor Minghui saw this scene, he felt even more unhappy. He clenched his fists tighter and became more determined in his mind to cut down the feudal clan.
However, it is obviously not safe to announce this at this time.
So the enthronement ceremony continued.
The celebration of this first day lasted until the afternoon and was finally completed.
Zhu Gui stood all day and his legs were numb. As soon as he left the palace gate, he jumped on the carriage and returned to the palace.
"Your Majesty (uncle), you are back." Xu Miaoqing and Zhu Jixi waited at the gate for who knows how long.
Zhu Gui just nodded, and then immediately ordered his servants to start packing things, and at the same time sent someone to contact Zuo Erniang and the Jin family.
"Your Majesty, what's going on? Are we leaving?" Xu Miaoqing said with some confusion.
"Yes, if I don't leave, I'm afraid I won't have a chance." Zhu Gui said with a wry smile.
Zhu Gui briefly told the two of them what happened when he went to court today.
Zhu Jixi said with some surprise: "It seems that the new emperor is going to further reduce the vassal status. It is indeed dangerous for us to stay here."
Xu Miaoqing said in disbelief: "No way? The former emperor has not been buried yet, how could the new emperor break up with the vassal king at this time? And it's not good for us to leave at this time, right?"
"Compared to my life, these crimes are nothing."
Zhu Gui said.
As soon as he finished speaking, a servant came to report that people from King Zhu Di of Yan had arrived.
Zhu Gui had a look of helplessness on his face.
He could guess what Zhu Di was thinking, but he didn't want to get involved at all, otherwise he would bear the brunt of it and become the first person to stand out.
However, before he could think of how to respond, another servant came to report that the eunuch who was delivering the order from the palace had arrived.
"This..." Now Xu Miaoqing seemed to understand Zhu Gui's difficulty.
It seemed that both the vassal king and the emperor wanted to win over Zhu Gui.
"You go pack your things first."
Zhu Gui said to the two of them, and then came to the side hall.
He first met with the eunuchs in the palace.
However, this time there was no imperial edict, but only oral instructions.
The emperor asked Zhu Gui to go to the royal study room to meet the saint tomorrow before the morning court.
Zhu Gui breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was tomorrow. He gave the eunuch a thousand taels of silver note, which made the eunuch Le couldn't close his mouth.
After seeing off the eunuch, Zhu Gui came to another side hall.
There was already a young man in a white gown standing inside looking at the embroidery on the screen.
"Meet the prince, little man." The young man saluted immediately after seeing Zhu Gui.
Zhu Gui just nodded and said, "Why did King Yan send you here?"
"Your Majesty has made an appointment with all the feudal princes to discuss matters at Prince Yan's Mansion tonight," the young man said.
"Oh? Did King Yan meet with all the feudal kings?" Zhu Gui asked.
"Exactly, and there are also several princes." The young man added.
Zhu Gui nodded and said, "You go back first."
Zhu Gui said noncommittally.
"What about the prince's answer?" The young man raised his head and looked at Zhu Gui.
"I haven't decided yet."
Zhu Gui sighed and said.
Seeing this, the young man stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, in fact, you should be very clear about the form of this time. The new emperor is already preparing to take action against the princes. This is related to the vital interests of all the princes. I hope that the prince will not
Go your own way."
Zhu Gui looked at the person in front of him in surprise, but the other person did not show any intention of shrinking, but continued: "After today's meeting, General Lan Yu and Bachelor Fang Xiaoru left the palace two hours later. These two
But the new emperor's favorites also fully support the policy of 'reducing vassalage'..."
"Okay, don't say any more, I will make my own judgment."
Zhu Gui interrupted him with a wave of his hand.
The young man was not angry, but nodded and walked away.
How could Zhu Gui not know these truths? But now that he is in Nanjing, the first thing he has to consider is his own safety.