Chapter 1534

Under the 'pressure' of the court officials, Emperor Jian Shi, unwilling and reluctant, finally coughed up a sum of money. It was scattered and fragmented, approaching nearly one million.

Emperor Jian Shi looked at the bill and was so angry he jumped with rage.

What is the use of having sons!

They are all debt collectors.

The mansions were built by the Ministry of Works and paid for by the Ministry of Revenue. This was only the most basic expense.

A house worth one million in later generations could cost two million to renovate.

Not to mention a Prince's mansion; decorating it casually costs a lot of money.

An empty mansion does not look right, so various furniture, utensils, and objects were moved in and out incessantly. They were moved from the Imperial Palace's treasury into the various Princes' mansions.

Since the Princes were not going to their fiefs, one had to use real gold and silver to make up for each Prince's annual salary, grain allowance, and various welfare benefits.

Theoretically, this money should be paid by the Ministry of Revenue.

The Minister of Revenue spread his hands, one sentence: No money!

Everything went through the Emperor's private treasury account.

Emperor Jian Shi watched the money being spent like flowing water, and just because of a few edicts of ennoblement, he was almost angered to death.

He strictly ordered that not another penny be spent. He told these debt-collecting sons to find ways to get money themselves; in any case, they were not allowed to touch his private treasury.

Prince Rui is still the best!

The obedient son is currently only spending small amounts of money.

Emperor Jian Shi looked at his several adult sons and found them increasingly displeasing. Looking at his youngest son, Prince Rui, he liked him more and more; whenever there was something good, he had to give a portion to his youngest son. The other sons had no share.

Some court officials could not stand it and submitted memorials to remind the Emperor not to be too biased.

Even if he is biased, he should not make it too obvious.

They did not ask for the scales to be balanced, only for harmony in the court and for the princes to be brotherly and respectful!

Emperor Jian Shi was furious at the morning court and cursed the officials: "You have no ruler and no father!"

They were meddling too much!

But his anger did not scare the officials; instead, it made certain censors even more excited.

There were old officials who were not afraid of death who asked in front of the Emperor, "Your Majesty, are you planning to depose the eldest and establish the youngest? This is a path to disaster and a sign of a fallen nation!"

"Presumptuous! I have never said I would depose the eldest and establish the youngest, yet you all are speculating about my intentions. The reason the court is in such a mess is because of people like you, who can stir up three-foot waves even when there is no wind!"

"If it were not for Your Majesty's unfair handling of affairs, how could there be three-foot waves without wind! We make such guesses because Your Majesty's conduct is not upright, favoring Prince Rui and Consort Jing, causing endless discussion and suspicion in the court!"

"The best way to break the suspicion is to establish a Crown Prince!"

"Please, Your Majesty, issue an edict to establish a Crown Prince!"

"Please, Your Majesty, establish Prince Duan as the Crown Prince."

The Third Prince was bestowed the title of Prince Duan!

The implication was alright, much better than Prince Shun.

"Enough! I am in the prime of my life; there is no hurry to establish a Crown Prince!"

"Your Majesty, establishing the foundation of the nation concerns the state and the nation; establishing a Crown Prince early can stabilize the hearts of the people under heaven."

"Please, Your Majesty, establish a Crown Prince!"

"I said enough! I am not dead yet!"

"We are guilty!"

The officials all shouted that they were guilty.

Forcing the Emperor to say the word 'dead' is a great crime, and it is the fault of the officials. It is only right for the officials to plead guilty.

However...

Their attitude was firm: either Emperor Jian Shi stops favoring Prince Rui, or Emperor Jian Shi establishes a Crown Prince. In any case, they persisted to the end, insisting on admonishing the Emperor on how to be a qualified emperor.

In the end, the ruler and his subjects parted on bad terms; Emperor Jian Shi smashed his inkstone and flicked his sleeves, leaving.

The officials felt chilled!

"Your Majesty bestowed titles on the princes, and I thought Your Majesty had figured it out. I didn't expect..." He still refused to establish a Crown Prince.

The officials surrounded Xie Changling, asking him to make a decision.

Seeing that Emperor Jian Shi was getting older, they could not continue to let the Emperor be willful.

Without establishing the foundation of the nation, the hearts of the people cannot be at peace.

Xie Changling pondered for a moment, "Find an opportunity, and I will ask His Majesty what his intentions really are. Even if he doesn't bestow the title for now, at least there should be a clear attitude."

"Exactly, exactly!"

Who does Emperor Jian Shi want to establish as Crown Prince?

He doesn't want anyone! Including his youngest son, Prince Rui.

Prince Rui is so young, still a nursing child; he is not in his consideration at all.

Xie Changling's probing resulted in nothing.

"Even if Your Majesty cannot bestow the title of Crown Prince for now, at least express an attitude. Prince Duan is born of the Empress, and all the officials favor him. Or perhaps Prince Ning, who is the eldest imperial prince. Please, Your Majesty, clarify!"

Most court officials had only these two choices: either establish the legitimate heir or establish the eldest. There was no third candidate.

Prince Duan was born of the Empress; establishing him is justified, righteous, and as correct as can be.

Prince Ning was born of Consort Xiao; as the eldest son, establishing him is barely justifiable. Of course, there would be many opponents.

On the premise that the legitimate prince has no major faults, skipping the legitimate prince to establish the eldest son does not conform to ancestral rules, nor does it conform to ritual and law. It would disrupt the rules and order!

As the saying goes, if there is a legitimate heir, establish the legitimate heir; if there is no legitimate heir, establish the eldest!

The premise of establishing the eldest is that there is no legitimate prince.

The Empress has no faults and cannot be deposed! Therefore, Prince Duan's status is beyond reproach, and he should be established as Crown Prince.

This was the true inner thought of the officials who firmly believed in rules and rituals all their lives.

Xie Changling did not intend to go against the general trend. He did not care who became emperor, nor had he publicly supported any prince.

Whether it was Prince Duan or Prince Ning, their qualifications were about the same; it did not matter who was stronger or weaker.

No matter who became emperor, they would need his, Xie Changling's, support, and the support of the southern noble families. Otherwise, just in terms of money, grain, and taxes, they wouldn't be able to manage.

"Your Majesty, we cannot continue to drag this out!" Xie Changling emphasized his tone, "The birth of Prince Rui and Your Majesty's attitude have made the court officials fearful and uneasy. Although Your Majesty denied in public that you would not depose the eldest to establish the youngest, human hearts cannot withstand speculation. If Your Majesty does not express an attitude, I do not know how many waves will arise inside and outside the court. This is a time of many events, and I believe we should not create more trouble."

"You also think I did something wrong? I love my youngest son; what is wrong with that!"

"Your Majesty has done nothing wrong. However, Your Majesty's every move concerns the world and the Great Gan state and nation. The court officials are also acting for the public good. Establishing the foundation of the nation and stabilizing the hearts of the people—I hope Your Majesty will make a decision as soon as possible and not chill the hearts of the people under heaven!"

"Presumptuous!"

Emperor Jian Shi was furious, pointing at Xie Changling's face, wanting to scold him severely.

"You... you all... what if I insist on not establishing a Crown Prince?"

Xie Changling raised his head, looked directly at Emperor Jian Shi, and said clearly, word by word: "Inside and outside the court, and even the whole world, there will never be peace!"

Clang!

Emperor Jian Shi directly overturned the memorials on the table and smashed the inkstone.

He drew the sharp sword hanging on the wall and looked around, but for a moment, he did not know who to cut.

He couldn't cut the Left Prime Minister of the court, his beloved favorite official, Minister Xie!

Even as an emperor, he could not bear the consequences. He dared not think about how to end it if he cut someone. There was simply no way to end it!

He took a deep breath and threw the sword away.

Wang Defa had died once and instantly came back to life.

He immediately picked up the sword and hurriedly had a young eunuch hold it and take it to the side hall. He must never let this sword appear before His Majesty again. No one could guarantee that His Majesty wouldn't cut someone next.