48Chapter 48: Prince Liang loses his peach, the battle for the throne ends
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As soon as these words were uttered, everyone present widened their eyes, looking towards the direction not far away. Everyone was curious as to who could be so courageous as to still pursue the matter when the Prince of Wu had already stated he would not.
"Whose subordinate is this person, to be so brave?"
However, when they saw the person, everyone present let out an "Oh" and then expressed understanding.
Confucian disciples, huh.
Normal.
Especially this one?
It's just…
Everyone looked at Jia Yi with playful expressions, their hearts filled with profound meaning. Why would he say such words at this moment? Wasn't this person personally promoted by the Emperor?
What was he trying to do by undermining the Emperor at this moment?
Even the Prince of Wu, after a moment of surprise, smiled and took a step back, not saying a word, but his gaze towards Liu Heng was filled with mockery.
It was as if he was saying, "Look, look, even your own people can't stand you bullying honest folks like this."
This look made Liu Heng somewhat annoyed.
Losing face in front of his enemy was worse than death.
Therefore, his voice was very cold as he looked directly at Jia Yi and said, "Jia Yi, what kind of mistake has the Crown Prince committed that makes you speak like this?"
"How could I not know that the Crown Prince has committed a great crime?!"
Jia Yi heard the indifference in the Emperor's voice, but he still stiffened his neck and took a step forward.
He thought this was his best chance to get rid of the Crown Prince!
As long as the Crown Prince was pulled down or had a blemish on him, couldn't the Prince of Liang rise to power?
After all, the Prince of Liang was also the Empress's child!
"Your Majesty."
Jia Yi stepped forward and said in a faint voice, "The Crown Prince killed the Prince of Wu's heir without reason. Is this not a violation of the court's laws?"
"I ask Your Majesty to deal with the Crown Prince according to the law!"
"How can such a cruel and unkind person serve as the heir apparent to the nation?"
What he said seemed very reasonable, but the Emperor merely chuckled, his tone filled with endless sarcasm.
"Killed the Prince of Wu's heir without reason?"
"Did you not hear what the Prince of Wu just said? The Prince of Wu's heir spoke presumptuously, insulting the Emperor Gaozu, which is why the Crown Prince killed him in a fit of rage!"
"How is this without reason?"
Liu Heng looked at Jia Yi below the platform, his face showing a hint of indifferent displeasure.
Earlier, Jia Yi, who had a sick mind, inexplicably wanted him to change the fundamental policy of governing the country, to heavily employ Confucianism, and to regard Confucianism as orthodox. This had already made Liu Heng somewhat displeased, but out of respect for Jia Yi's teacher, he had not demoted him.
Who would have thought that at this moment, Jia Yi would actually stand out and make him lose such great face in front of the Prince of Wu?
He narrowed his eyes, sweeping his gaze towards the Prince of Wu, who stood below the platform with a hint of mockery in his brows, and asked, "What's more… the Prince of Wu has already admitted his guilt, so how is it your place to interfere here?"
"Prince of Wu, do you also agree with Jia Yi's statement?"
The Prince of Wu, having seen enough of the spectacle, stepped forward and said with great sorrow, "Your Majesty, my son brought this upon himself; it is not the Crown Prince's fault."
"As for Grand Master Jia's words, your subject cannot agree."
Jia Yi looked at the Prince of Wu standing not far away, a hint of strangeness flashing across his face. What did the Prince of Wu mean by this?
Why was he inexplicably backstabbing himself?
Your subjects are about to fight to the death, why does Your Highness surrender first?
But at this moment, even the Prince of Liang, who was standing in a corner, carefully took two steps back. Although he had just supported and agreed with Jia Yi stepping forward, seeing his father's gaze now, he no longer dared to jump in.
And what he did not see was that as he retreated, Liu Heng's gaze towards him became even colder and more disappointed.
In Liu Heng's opinion, losing face in front of the Prince of Wu was a small matter. If the Prince of Liang had the courage and responsibility to stand up at this moment and also impeach the Crown Prince, he would have actually thought highly of the Prince of Liang.
After all, he could handle things.
But what was this now?
He had walked halfway down a path, already covered in dirt, but dared not continue?
This simply made him too disappointed.
.... ....
In the winter of the twelfth year of Emperor Wen's reign.
The Prince of Wu's heir died in Chang'an City. The Prince of Wu did not even dare to say anything, only submitting a letter to plead guilty. Fortunately, the Emperor was benevolent and did not pursue the crime of the Prince of Wu's heir insulting the Emperor Gaozu.
However, the Prince of Wu felt guilty and voluntarily requested to have three cities from his fief and stipend reduced.
After Liu Heng repeatedly declined, he finally had no choice but to accept these three cities and merged them with the adjacent Kuaiji Commandery into one commandery, placing it under the jurisdiction of Chen Ze, who was then the Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery.
And in the spring of the thirteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign, the Prince of Wu finally returned to his fiefdom.
.... .....
Time flew by, and in the winter of the fourteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign, the Prince of Liang, who had remained in the capital and not returned to his fiefdom, was finally sent back to his fiefdom by an imperial edict from the Emperor.
There were rumors that when this imperial decree was issued, the Empress wanted to plead with the Emperor, hoping that the Prince of Liang could stay by her side for a while longer, but she was refused by the Emperor.
Or rather, it was not just a simple refusal...
The Empress was reprimanded by the Emperor and ordered to be confined in the palace for three months, during which she was not allowed to leave Changle Palace by even half a step.
This was already a very severe punishment.
.... ....
Time flew by, and after all matters were resolved, Chen Lang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and for some unknown reason, he fell ill and was confined to his bed.
It was in the winter of the fifteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign that Chen Lang passed away in his bed.
This could not be considered bad news for Chen Lang, as he was not young anymore.
After Liu Heng learned of Chen Lang's death, he was deeply saddened and specially posthumously enfeoffed Chen Lang as "Prince of Qin," thus enjoying the same posthumous honors as his father, "Chen Xi."
And this time, the posthumous honors of the Prince of Qin were not limited to the ancestral temple; the Emperor genuinely buried Chen Lang under the title of Prince of Qin.
This was also a relatively special matter, because the Chen clan had the titles of "Prince of Wei" and "Prince of Qin," but these were from two different periods. Therefore, later historians, when recording the history of the Chen clan, divided it into two stages.
Before Chen Xi's death, it was recorded as "The House of the Prince of Wei"; after Chen Xi's death, it was recorded as "The House of the Prince of Qin."
Not long after Chen Lang's death, Chen Ping and Zhou Bo passed away one after another, as if they were holding their breath against Chen Lang, seeing who could live longer.
The ultimate victors were, of course, Chen Ping and Zhou Bo, as they belonged to Chen Xi's generation.
.... ...
In the blink of an eye, time arrived at the winter of the twentieth year of Emperor Wen's reign.
In this year, Emperor Wen finally fell ill due to years of fatigue, and this illness… was like a mountain collapsing.
On the bed,
Liu Heng barely opened his eyes, which were filled with exhaustion: "Qi'er?"