Chapter 628

And he didn't even stop to think about Princess Ni Huang's personality, which was different from Princess Liyang's.

Princess Liyang had been forced to marry Xie Yu due to the Empress Dowager's scheme, but Princess Ni Huang held military power; given her personality and strength, she might very well kill the entire Sima family, and even rebellion was a high possibility!

Furthermore, even Princess Liyang had been extremely unwilling back then, but she was already pregnant and had to think of her child, so she swallowed everything.

She had since become a stranger to her mother, almost cutting off all contact.

On the other hand,

if Ni Huang did not rebel,

she would become a source of fear for Li Shiming!

One must know,

seeing Prince Yu, Prince Cao, and the Crown Prince fighting like gamecocks in the court, undermining each other, Li Shiming was actually overjoyed in his heart.

Every time this happened, Li Shiming would watch them "fight" as if he were watching a play.

These sons were all part of a setup he had arranged.

He never let any side become too powerful and threaten his imperial power.

It was the same principle as dealing with other officials.

The most important ability for an Emperor is the ability to balance the situation!

The Red Flame Case back then happened because his eldest son, Prince Qi, had become too powerful, and the maternal relatives held military power, posing a potential threat to pull him down at any time.

It did not give him a sense of security for the nation, but rather an invisible threat.

Although the Mu Prince's Mansion was far from the center of power,

its authority and military strength could not be underestimated.

On one hand, it was a key border town of the Great Gan; on the other hand, it was the gatekeeper of the Great Gan, protecting it from enemy invasions.

It was fine usually; if they weren't with the princes, he wouldn't be too wary.

However,

if Ni Huang did not choose to be forced into rebellion,

but instead became a member of the Crown Prince's faction,

then the original balanced situation would inevitably be broken in one fell swoop!

Surpassing the other princes!

Even he, this semi-puppet Emperor, might not be able to suppress the Crown Prince.

This was something Li Shiming absolutely would not allow.

Consort Yue was terrified, yet she spoke eloquently, turning black into white.

This made Li Shiming furious; having been with Consort Yue for many years, how could he not know her character?

He didn't believe her at all.

The key now was to appease Princess Ni Huang and her brother, and Jia Hui was involved in this!

After Li Shiming shouted, he questioned Consort Yue: "Did the Crown Prince participate in this matter?"

Consort Yue cleared her son of all involvement.

She lied, claiming the Crown Prince was unaware, and took the blame upon herself: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I have absolutely no intention of usurping the throne! This is all my fault alone. I was possessed by a ghost. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Li Shiming gave her a cold look; how could he not see through her scheme!

In fact, whether she cleared him or not was just Li Shiming going through the motions to silence Princess Ni Huang and the others.

Therefore, Li Shiming roared: "As his mother, you should have taught him to cultivate virtue and be diligent in his duties. As the Crown Prince, he should have been sharing the burden for his father and setting an example for the subjects—that would be truly good for him! But you, look at what you have done! How could you do such a despicable and vile thing? If Ni Huang had suffered today, I fear that a hundred deaths would not redeem you! Even the Crown Prince's reputation and status would be implicated by you. Truly stupid to the extreme, stupid to the extreme!"

Because Jia Hui, the witness, was involved in the matter,

Li Shiming could not be too biased.

With no way out, Li Shiming could only helplessly scold Consort Yue and rebuke the Crown Prince.

And these scolding words,

while sounding very severe,

were heard by Yang Huan and Imperial Consort Zhuo, both of whom were clever and sharp-witted,

and they could both tell:

In all of this,

not a single word was spoken to seek justice for Ni Huang!

The expressionless Yang Huan thought to herself: "As expected, the Emperor still chooses to favor his own woman and son!"

【434】 Consort Yue's bedchamber is occupied! Minister Jia is worthy of the name "God of War."

Everything revolved around the son's future reputation, while also letting people confirm one thing:

This matter was done by Consort Yue alone and had nothing to do with the Crown Prince.

This would inevitably dishearten Ni Huang and the others!

However, they had no relationship with Ni Huang, so they did not speak up.

"Fine, since that is the case."

"Issue the decree: Consort Xian is demoted to a Concubine and is to reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors!"

"Additionally, punish the Crown Prince with three months of confinement in the Eastern Palace."

Hearing that she was demoted to a Concubine,

there was a two-rank difference between a Consort and a Concubine.

Consort Yue felt heartbroken and extremely unwilling!

But fortunately,

His Majesty remembered their old affection

and did not strip her of her status as a consort entirely.

And most importantly,

her son was not stripped of his position as Crown Prince.

As long as the Crown Prince's position could be preserved,

there would still be plenty of opportunities to rise again.

She would sooner or later regain the position of Consort!

In her heart,

Consort Yue thought gloomily, and then turned her hatred toward Jia Hui: "Jia Hui, you damned bastard, you actually ruined our mother-son plan. From now on, I will be at odds with you!"

The Crown Prince felt much the same.

"This concubine thanks Your Majesty!"

"Your son thanks Father Emperor!"

Thunder and dew are both imperial favors.

Therefore, the mother and son who were punished both thanked the Emperor.

Seeing this,

a hint of joy appeared on Imperial Consort Zhuo's beautiful face, but it quickly faded!

On the surface, she continued to soothe Emperor Yongshun, hypocritically speaking well of the two.

This made Consort Yue and the Crown Prince secretly annoyed, and they did not appreciate it at all.

And Li Shiming's punishment was not over yet.

"What about Sima Lei?"

He asked angrily.

Yang Huan said in a low voice: "He clashed with the furious Marquis Wushuang, and in the conflict, his leg was broken, his root was injured, and he has now fainted."

Li Shiming and Imperial Consort Zhuo were startled.

"Hmph, he deserves to die even if he were killed!"

"Since he is not dead!"