Your Majesty, the princess is fleeing famine with her child!

Chapter 383: Each One Is More Calculating Than the Other

The eldest prince knew that the third prince was deliberately provoking him. There was a sinister look in his eyes and his hands hidden in his sleeves were clenched into fists.

damn it!

In the end he even had to trick him.

But now everything is under his control. Even if the Third Prince's few provocative words made Emperor Jingping feel resentful towards him, he could no longer do anything to him.

The eldest prince waved his hand and was about to have the third prince dragged away, but at this moment, Emperor Jingping spoke:

"Come here, take the Third Prince to the prison and wait for punishment!"

"Noble Concubine Cui stripped her of her position and title, banished her to the cold palace, and will never be allowed out of it for the rest of her life!"

"Search the Third Prince's Mansion and Duke Cheng'en's Mansion, detain all of them, and have the Dali Temple conduct a thorough investigation!"

Emperor Jingping's gaze finally fell on Empress Dowager Cui and he frowned.

For a moment he seemed a little hesitant about how to punish Queen Mother Cui.

Before he could speak, Queen Mother Cui had already shouted, "I am your mother. Even if I am not your biological mother, I am your adopted mother. I have raised you with grace. How dare you kill your mother?"

Emperor Jingping met Empress Dowager Cui's gaze and said expressionlessly, "Of course I will not do such a treasonous thing that would be hated by both humans and gods."

If he ordered the killing of Queen Mother Cui, he would be charged with matricide, be reviled by the world, and would be difficult to escape the scrutiny in history books.

In the future, people will judge him by this stigma. Even if he works hard to make Daqi peaceful and prosperous, he will hardly be known as a wise ruler in the eyes of the world.

Emperor Jingping would certainly not do such a stupid thing.

Emperor Jingping hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke:

"Come here, the Queen Mother is not feeling well and needs to rest. Send her back to Shoukang Palace to spend her remaining years in peace. No one is allowed to disturb her!"

This means that Queen Mother Cui will be placed under house arrest in Shoukang Palace.

Queen Mother Cui was stunned where she stood.

Then I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She thought that what she had just said had worked and that Emperor Jingping still cared about her upbringing.

As long as Emperor Jingping still remembers this favor, there is still room for things to turn around.

The failure of the third prince's rebellion is a foregone conclusion. No matter how much he tries to argue, it will be useless. He cannot escape this crime. However, she can use her kindness in raising the emperor to plead for mercy and at least preserve some bloodline for the Cui family.

Empress Dowager Cui was considering how to start the conversation, but Emperor Jingping didn't want to say anything more.

He immediately waved his hand and ordered his men to take these traitors away.

Guards immediately came forward and took the Third Prince, Concubine Cui and others away.

For a while, the hall was filled with cries and pleas for mercy.

After the palace became quiet again, Emperor Jingping had a dejected look on his face and looked like he was about to collapse.

It seemed as if his mind had suffered a great blow, and as if his body could no longer support itself.

He leaned against the bedpost and took two deep breaths before saying to the eldest prince, "I am tired. You should go down first."

However, the eldest prince stood there motionless for a long time.

Emperor Jingping seemed to realize something and immediately raised his eyelids to look at the eldest prince.

The eldest prince raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Don't worry, Father. I have something I want to ask for your help."

"As long as Your Majesty agrees to this, I will withdraw and let Your Majesty rest and recover in peace."

After saying this, the eldest prince took out an imperial edict from his arms and asked the attendant beside him to bring it to Emperor Jingping.

The attendant stepped forward tremblingly and stopped three steps away from Emperor Jingping. He unfolded the imperial edict, read it in a rhythmic manner, then held it forward with both hands and showed it to Emperor Jingping in person.

This is an edict to abdicate and give way to a wise man.

The only difference is that the name of the new emperor changed from the Third Prince to the Eldest Prince.

"As long as the emperor agrees to stamp this edict with his seal, and then summons the important officials of the court to personally announce that I will be the new emperor, I will lead my men to withdraw."

The eldest prince was concerned that Emperor Jingping was suffering from smallpox, so he did not let him personally stamp the abdication edict.

As long as the seal is approved by Emperor Jingping and there are important officials in the court to testify, everything else is just trivial matters.

The eldest prince looked straight at Emperor Jingping, and there was no more awe on his face.

Although the Third Prince had said many provocative words before, the First Prince knew clearly in his heart that some of the Third Prince's words were absolutely correct.

Not only the third prince wants the throne, he also wants it!

No matter how he fought, he could not compare to the weight Xiao Jingyi held in Emperor Jingping's heart.

Between him and Xiao Jingyi, Emperor Jingping definitely wanted to pass the throne to Xiao Jingyi rather than him.

Now that he had finally seized such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he naturally would not let it go.

It didn't make sense for him to work so hard only to have to watch Xiao Jingyi take over the country.

Emperor Jingping stared at the eldest prince for a long while, and suddenly couldn't help laughing out loud.

These two are truly his good sons!

Each one is more calculating than the other!

The eldest prince was a little confused by Emperor Jingping's sudden laughter.

He froze for a moment, then his heart calmed down again.

Now the entire palace is under his control, and Emperor Jingping has no choice but to agree.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, he heard the voice of Emperor Jingping, "What if I refuse?"

A look of surprise flashed across the eldest prince's face, but soon returned to normal.

"Father, I asked you to abdicate for your own good. Why are you so stubborn?"

"The palace is now under the control of this son. If you insist on not giving in, the final result will be the same under my iron fist!"

"Are you still counting on Old Seven to receive the news and rush back to turn the tide?"

"Don't dream. Not to mention that Shuozhou is a long way from the capital, how long it will take to go back and forth, and your body, I'm afraid you won't be able to survive until the day when Old Seven comes back."

"You are suffering from smallpox, a terminal disease. Once the civil and military ministers know about it, they will cremate your body. Then the Seventh Brother won't even be able to see you for the last time."

“Seeing that scene, Old Seven will definitely be very sad! Hahahaha…”

Perhaps because he was sure of victory, the eldest prince shed his former disguise and was no longer humble and indifferent. Instead, he became arrogant.

"But..." The eldest prince suddenly changed the subject and said, "I'm afraid Xiao Jingyi will not be able to come back in time."

"It's about time for the Northern Barbarian Army to take action."

"With the Northern Barbarian Army holding them back, Xiao Jingyi can't return to the capital even if he wants to. He might even die in the northern border this time."

"Trading the Seven Cities of the North for the throne of Daqi is a good deal!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingping's expression suddenly changed, "You... you dared to collude with the Northern Barbarians and sell out your country for personal gain..."

The eldest prince raised his eyebrows nonchalantly.

"Father, I know you care about the land of the North, and I do too!"

"Don't worry, when I ascend the throne, I will take back the seven northern cities from the northern barbarians!"

"By then, not an inch of our Daqi territory will be lost. This is just a temporary measure!"