RPAGF Chapter 321 Consort Rong is Pregnant
Chapter 321 Consort Rong is Pregnant
As expected, after a moment of silence, someone stepped forward.
"Lord Xing, you are mistaken! Yang Yan was only six years old when he entered the palace. A six-year-old child is not very knowledgeable, and everyone knows that he has always been in poor health. In addition, although they are his companions and have their own freedom and rights, they still have to respect His Highness the Third Prince. How could they refuse what His Highness asks of them?"
Lord Xing gritted his teeth, turned his head slightly, and gestured for someone he was on good terms with to come out and speak.
But as things have progressed to this point, everyone has different thoughts. They all feel that the Third Prince's power is waning, and they should also assess the situation to avoid harming themselves.
As a result, the court officials who had originally stood firmly on the side of the Third Prince all fell silent.
Having no other choice, Lord Xing forced himself to continue, "Yang Yan's ruthlessness must be related to the Yang family. The Yang family deliberately arranged for such a person to get close to His Highness the Third Prince! The entire Yang family is despicable!"
Now, by dragging the entire Yang family into this under the pretext of making all the mistakes seem like a deliberate arrangement by the Yang family, it can barely be explained away.
However, another courtier stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe Lord Xing's words are inappropriate! As the Censor just said, Yang Yan entered the palace at the age of six, and his mind is still unstable. Moreover, the Yang family's main branch is far away in Lingcheng, and only in the last two years have two young men entered the capital to serve as officials, and their positions are very low, so they cannot meet with the Third Prince as his study companions. Thus, Yang Yan has been in the palace for even longer. Perhaps it is not he who influences others, but others who influence him!"
Lord Xing glared angrily at the other official, but felt a chill run down his spine.
Because he discovered that it was one of the Duke of Zuo's men!
Why would someone from the Duke of Zuo's faction speak up for the Yang family? It couldn't possibly be just to annoy him, since whatever the Yang family said was related to the Third Prince.
There's only one possibility: they've manipulated the Yang family! Or rather, somewhere he's unaware, the Yang family has sided with them!
Could it be true that what he just casually said—that the Yang family deliberately set up a trap and that Yang Yan was a pawn?
Prince Ning then spoke: "Your Majesty, my investigation clearly shows that this was the work of the Third Prince's faction. The evidence is conclusive, and the Third Prince has no chance of escaping punishment. If everyone who commits a crime pushes out their closest associates to take the blame, wouldn't the establishment of the Great Zhou's laws be rendered meaningless? I implore Your Majesty to uphold justice."
Upon hearing his words, many court officials also knelt down, pleading, "Your Majesty, please uphold justice!"
"Your Majesty, even the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners!"
"Your Majesty, the Third Prince is so young yet so vicious. Murder is already a grave crime, but to be so cruel as to torture and kill bystanders is beyond description!"
"Your Majesty, if the Third Prince is not dealt with, the common people will live in fear, and the servants will live in constant anxiety. Wouldn't this be no different from a time of war and famine? Where is the peace and prosperity then?"
Many of these people were originally part of the Third Prince's faction, but they took the initiative to speak out, their purpose being to show the Crown Prince and the Duke of Zuo that they were surrendering!
However, there were a few old ministers who were conservative in their thinking and believed that the royal family was, after all, an aristocracy, and could not be punished because of ordinary people.
Others argued that the third prince was still young and should not be punished like an adult.
In the imperial court, opinions were divided and the debate was fierce.
The emperor watched them coldly, without making a decision.
The crowd's voices gradually quieted down, indicating that the Emperor still wanted to protect the Third Prince. Consequently, those courtiers who had spoken up for the Third Prince became even more resolute in their belief.
Prince Ning knelt upright, his gaze fixed firmly on the Emperor, his voice resounding: "Your Majesty, please uphold justice and give the people of Great Zhou a fair trial!"
The Emperor was so angry he almost vomited blood, but after a long while he asked the Duke of Zuo, "What does the Duke of Zuo think?"
Duke Zuo knew that the Emperor would target him. If he said the Third Prince should confess and accept punishment, the Crown Prince's faction would be accused of disregarding their brothers. If he said the Third Prince was too young to be dealt with directly, the Emperor would think he was trying to smooth things over, and might even reprimand him for disregarding the law.
Just when things were in dire straits, a eunuch rushed over, knelt down, and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Huang of the Imperial Observatory requests an audience!"
Although the emperor of the reigning dynasty believed in ghosts and gods, he did not rely on the Imperial Astronomical Bureau for everything. Therefore, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau generally did not appear except for activities such as sacrifices.
They would only come to see the emperor if they observed something very significant.
The emperor was displeased, but he still let the people from the Imperial Observatory in.
After Lord Huang entered and knelt down to pay his respects, he said, "Your Majesty, we have observed the celestial phenomena and discovered that a divine bird has descended from the heavens!"
The emperor asked, "What divine bird? Where did it descend upon?"
"It descended in the southwest direction from within the palace about a month ago," Lord Huang hurriedly said. "However, we have discovered that there are some unsettling aspects to the descent of this divine bird. If we do not handle it carefully, it may be detrimental to the fate of the nation."
"What divine bird? What does it signify for the nation's destiny?" A court official couldn't contain himself and hurriedly pressed for answers.
Lord Huang shook his head: "We can only observe this much, and we do not yet understand the specifics of what is wrong. We only know that with the arrival of the divine bird, the whole country must unite in prayer to ensure the prosperity of the nation."
"Praying for blessings? Does that mean setting up an altar for a sacrificial ceremony?"
Lord Huang said, "We do not know."
The Emperor frowned and thought for a moment, then said to Eunuch Wu, "What's the situation in the southwest? Send someone to check it out."
After Eunuch Wu left, he returned shortly with a young eunuch. The Emperor glanced at him and recognized him as the servant who attended to Consort Rong.
"Your Majesty, I was just about to send someone to investigate the situation in the southwest when Xiao Zhuozi, who serves Consort Rong, came over and said he had good news. Consort Rong lives in Yanhe Palace, which is in the southwest."
Xiao Zhuozi knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Consort Rong suffered from severe abdominal pain this morning and summoned the imperial physician to examine her. It turns out she is pregnant with the Emperor's child."
Consort Rong is pregnant? This is indeed a joyous occasion for the palace. For over a decade, no imperial heir has been born to any of the concubines.
"Really?" The Emperor was overjoyed, then asked, "How long has it been?"
Xiao Zhuozi replied, "The imperial physician examined Consort Rong and found that she is more than a month pregnant."
"More than a month ago..." Lord Huang murmured upon hearing this, "Your Majesty, the divine bird descended just over a month ago! It is evident that Consort Rong's pregnancy was the result of the divine bird descending into the world."
"Indeed, indeed, it must be the descent of a divine bird. Otherwise, how could there be such a joyous occasion now, after more than ten years without an heir?"
All the court officials knelt down and offered their congratulations: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
The Emperor was overjoyed and waved his hand, saying, "Rewards! All the palace eunuchs and maids will be rewarded. Everyone in Yanhe Palace will also receive two months' worth of their monthly allowance!"
However, Xiao Zhuozi did not accept the reward, and seemed to have something else to say.
Eunuch Wu said, "What is Xiao Zhuozi doing? Could it be that there's something wrong with Consort Rong's pregnancy?"
Xiao Zhuozi quickly said, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that Consort Rong's pregnancy is unstable, I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."