NOVGO.NET Chapter 576 - 298: The Crown Prince and Prince Dai Were Beaten
Chapter 576: Chapter 298: The Crown Prince and Prince Dai Were Beaten
Just on the day after the Emperor reprimanded the Crown Prince, a major event occurred during the morning assembly.
A certain minister supporting Prince Dai accused the Minister of Agriculture, Zhang Nan, of corruption to the Emperor. As soon as he said this, it caused a huge uproar in the court.
This minister detailed one by one the acts of corruption committed by Zhang Nan and provided strong evidence.
The Minister of Agriculture, Zhang Nan, hurriedly knelt down to appeal to the Emperor, claiming that the minister was deliberately framing him.
Other ministers supporting the Crown Prince immediately retaliated against the minister, accusing him of speaking slanderously.
The ministers supporting Prince Dai naturally would not just watch their companion being bullied by the Crown Prince’s people; they called the Crown Prince’s people deceitful and accused them of frequently using their power for illegal gain. They also claimed that the Crown Prince, relying on his status as heir, often embezzled tribute in private.
They certainly did not spare Duke Zhen, accusing him of using his status—as well as being the Crown Prince’s maternal uncle—to frequently accept bribes. Not only that, but their entire family also amassed wealth everywhere, seized land, making the common people suffer. They even said the servants of the Duke Mansion were bullying others using their master’s influence.
When the Crown Prince’s supporters heard the people of Prince Dai going overboard, they, in turn, angrily accused Prince Dai of abuse of power, not only accepting bribes but also buying and selling positions in the military. They further accused Prince Dai of recruiting soldiers in his territory and secretly forging weapons, suggesting that Prince Dai harbored malicious intentions to rebel.
The two sides would not yield to each other, pinning all sorts of crimes on one another, regardless of the truth. Then, as they argued, they started hurling insults at each other.
So, once again, the people of Prince Dai and those of the Crown Prince quarreled in the court like market vendors, each of them becoming flushed with anger, spitting as they yelled, rolling up their sleeves with fierce expressions, as if they were about to start fighting at any moment.
Fighting was something they dared not engage in, after all, this was not a marketplace.
The ministers were arguing fiercely, completely forgetting they were in the court.
The Emperor sat on the dragon throne, resting his face in his right hand, watching with great interest the ministers arguing furiously below.
Sun Kui, witnessing once again the spectacle of ministers arguing, was utterly speechless, internally ranting: Have these ministers forgotten they’re at the morning assembly? Have they forgotten their status? Do they have a death wish, arguing before the Emperor again?
It was bad enough that the ministers were arguing, but how could even the Crown Prince and Prince Dai get into a dispute?
Initially, the Crown Prince and Prince Dai both behaved as if they were uninvolved, but when they heard the slander from each other’s ministers, they couldn’t hold back and began to mock each other, unsurprisingly leading to a quarrel.
Of course, they did not argue as fiercely as the ministers did, rather they exchanged sarcastic and barbed remarks with each other.
Duke Zhen originally did not intend to argue, but being directly insulted by Marquis Xuanping, he couldn’t remain silent. So, he began to argue with Marquis Xuanping. Despite his usual scholarly appearance, Duke Zhen was not at all refined when it came to arguing.
Marquis Xuanping appeared rougher than Duke Zhen, yet he could not out-argue him.
Prime Minister He and Shen Hu, along with a group of others, stood aside, watching the Crown Prince and Prince Dai argue with relish. If it weren’t the court, they would’ve cheered them on to make the argument even fiercer.
Sun Kui, seeing the ministers arguing more and more intensely with no sign of stopping, cautiously asked the Emperor, "Your Majesty, shouldn’t you stop them?"
The Emperor, with a smile, said, "I’m quite bored, let them argue."
Hearing this, Sun Kui felt a chill in his heart, and his scalp tingled slightly. He quickly shut his mouth and dared not say another word. He refocused his attention on the still-arguing ministers, feeling a bit of sympathy for them in his heart.
After a while, the ministers suddenly felt a dangerous gaze upon them. This gaze, prickly like thorny spikes on their backs, sent a chill up their spines and made their hair stand on end.
At that moment, the ministers instinctively stopped, with their faces turning pale and eyes full of terror. Then, one unknown figure led them in kneeling down, followed by everyone else doing the same.
They knelt, prostrating on the ground, their faces pale, eyes filled with horror, foreheads and faces covered with cold sweat, their bodies trembling slightly.
Even the backs of the Crown Prince and Prince Dai beaded with cold sweat.