Rebirth of a Lost Nation: Princess, Please Respect Yourself

Chapter 205 The battle for the crown prince

The person who said this was General Weiyuan.

After the majestic general finished speaking, his ministers immediately echoed him, "Yes, the man is gone, and it is a bit inappropriate for Censor Ye to say this."

The civil officials spoke more tactfully, but the words of the military generals were even more unpleasant to the ear.

"That's right. The crown prince's position is related to the destiny of the country. It can't just be a tablet!"

Seeing that the ministers were becoming increasingly unreasonable, Emperor Shengwu's face darkened and he said coldly, "Enough! If you were as enthusiastic as you are today when offering advice, I'm sure the court of Sheng Ling would be a completely different place!"

All the officials shrank their heads and shut up immediately after being scolded by Emperor Shengwu.

Emperor Shengwu, whose ears had finally quieted down a bit, was now almost out of patience. He frowned and said, "Everyone has discussed this for so long, I think you have a conclusion in mind. So, let's vote."

The assessment and selection of the crown prince is divided into two rounds. In the first round, Emperor Shengwu and four chief judges nominate candidates for the crown prince, and each person can nominate three people.

Only the top three players with the most cumulative mentions are eligible to enter the second round, while those who are not mentioned will be removed from the list and eliminated on the spot.

The second round is for all officials to vote, and the one with the most votes will officially become the crown prince of Shengling.

After Emperor Shengwu finished speaking, he ordered someone to bring up the display stand with the names of the candidates for the crown prince.

Censor Ye looked up and saw Ning Yunxiao's name tag still hanging on it, and his expression eased a little.

In the first round, Emperor Shengwu and the four chief judges each wrote down their nominations on paper, and then the ceremonial officials checked and counted the votes.

The ceremonial officer counted the votes and announced the results. The top three vote-getters were: Prince Jing, Prince Xiaoping, and Ning Yunxiao.

It is indeed surprising that Ning Yunxiao was selected as a "dead person", but the number of votes he had was there, and no one could say anything about it.

Among them, Censor Ye’s answer was particularly clear. On such a large piece of paper, he only mentioned Ning Yunxiao.

The second son of Prince Zhao and the eldest son of Prince Ke were naturally very unhappy with the voting result. Lord Liu from Prince Ke's faction even started to make trouble on the spot.

"Since the rule states that each person can nominate three people, but Censor Ye only nominated one, then Censor Ye's nomination naturally doesn't count."

If Censor Ye's nomination is not counted and the number of votes changes, Prince Ke will not be eliminated.

Censor Ye glanced disdainfully at the speaker. "Look carefully, the rules don't say you have to mention three people. If you can't even tell the difference between 'can' and 'should', then I advise you to read more, or you'll end up with a literacy that's worse than a child's."

Lord Liu was choked by Censor Ye and angrily said, "Censor Ye holds an important position. Such a matter concerning the nation's destiny is mixed with personal selfishness, and he nominated a dead man! Could it be that this is the only way to highlight Censor Ye's uniqueness?"

This sentence is actually criticizing Censor Ye for seeking fame and reputation.

Censor Ye immediately retorted, "Lord Liu, there's no need to provoke me. I've lived my life with integrity, striving for justice for the world. Fame and fortune are nothing but fleeting clouds. Today, I nominate Prince Zhao for the same reason. It's not out of personal motive, but simply because, in my heart, he's the clear winner!"

"Ye Yushi is wrong. We are gathered here today to select the crown prince of Sheng Ling, not to hold a commendation ceremony. If he is dead, he is dead. No matter how optimistic Ye Yushi is about him, he will not come back! If you are deceiving yourself, you should be like this humble official and kowtow to the Buddha more often for the Crown Prince."

Lord Liu's words were truly heartbreaking, and Censor Ye was so angry that his old illness came back and he kept coughing. The Minister of Personnel next to him was about to speak to mediate when he heard a hearty laugh coming from outside the Golden Palace.

The person has not arrived yet, but the voice has already reached.

"In that case, I would like to thank you, Master Liu. I just wonder, Master Liu, how many more times are you willing to kowtow?"

After saying that, Ning Yunxiao strode into the Golden Palace under the gaze of everyone.

Ning Yunxiao came in covered in dust, wearing a blue robe. There was mountain mud on his shoes, and there were even some brown blood stains on his clothes.

There is not a trace of extravagance in his body, but it does not affect his noble temperament like Junzhu at all. The kingly demeanor that looks down on the world makes people dare not look at him for too long.

Then, the eunuch's voice was heard: "Prince Zhao has arrived!"

At that moment, the Golden Palace, which had been noisy just now, became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Ning Yunxiao did not stop for a moment, but strode forward and stopped in the middle of the hall, kneeling down and bowing to Emperor Shengwu with an elegant posture.

"Your Majesty, I, Ning Yunxiao, respectfully wish you the best of health. Long live the Emperor."

In the silence, someone dropped the board in panic, and it hit the ground with a sharp noise, which brought everyone back from their trance.

Everyone's attention was drawn to Ning Yunxiao, and no one noticed that the usually calm Emperor Shengwu slightly tilted his head and secretly wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes when no one was noticing.

In a flash, Emperor Shengwu had composed himself and said happily, "Hurry up! I'm glad you're back, my dear Ning. I'm glad you're back!"

Ning Yunxiao didn't stand up, but instead bowed and said, "Princess Zhaohua and I were chased and fell off a cliff, seriously injured. We were worried that the enemy would know we were alive and would plot again. Therefore, we had to conceal our identities and flee all the way back to the capital. I didn't report this to His Majesty in time, and I didn't feel relieved until I entered the Imperial City. My failure to report this earlier caused His Majesty's worry and my colleagues' concerns, and I am guilty of this."

"Lord Ning, your efforts to save the people of the border town were an act of great loyalty and righteousness. Despite the numerous crises and serious injuries, how can this be considered an unpunished crime? Not guilty! And you have achieved merit! A great merit!"

Emperor Shengwu said this as he stepped down from the dragon throne and personally helped Ning Yunxiao up.

Ning Yunxiao took advantage of the situation and stood up. "To cultivate a clean character and act impartially, to be selfless in office, is the righteousness of a minister. This is merely the duty of a minister, and I dare not take credit for it."

Emperor Shengwu asked with concern, "How is your injury, my dear? Do you want me to send for the imperial physician to take a look?"

Ning Yunxiao replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, after I fell off a cliff, I was saved by a miraculous doctor. Not only did I survive, but I also managed to recover from my previous illness. Now, I feel much better than before."

Hearing this, Emperor Shengwu's heart finally settled down and he nodded repeatedly with satisfaction.

Then, Emperor Shengwu waved his sleeves and returned to the dragon throne. In a good mood, he said, "Now that everyone is here, the selection and assessment of the crown prince will begin."

With an order from Emperor Shengwu, the important work that had just been suspended began again.

Before the officials officially vote, there is half an hour of free discussion time, during which they can also ask questions to the candidates.

According to the regulations, no matter what questions the officials ask, the candidates must answer them in order to assess their performance.

"I have a question for Prince Zhao. Did the Crown Prince conceal the news of his death because he knew he didn't have enough time to return to the capital to participate in the assessment and election, so he took a different approach to gain sympathy?"