Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 627: Chapter 313: Prince Chu Stayed in the Capital City

As expected by Zhao Yao and He Lianfang, Prince Chu was kept in the capital. Of course, the Crown Prince and Prince Dai also anticipated this. For them, keeping Prince Chu in the capital was actually a good thing. If Prince Chu returned to Liangzhou, it would be much harder to deal with him.

Due to Prince Chu’s great contributions in recovering Shu territory, the Emperor rewarded him generously, not only with a lot of gold and silver jewelry but also by appointing him as Right Assistant.

The appointment of Prince Chu as Right Assistant caused a great uproar in the imperial court. Long indifferent and always seemingly uninvolved, Duke Zhen opposed the Emperor’s decree on the spot, and his words were quite harsh. This was the first time he lost his composure in front of the Emperor.

Seeing this, the Crown Prince also hurriedly opposed the appointment of Prince Chu as Right Assistant.

Marquis Xuanping hesitated for a moment but also strongly opposed the matter. Prince Dai was no fool and clearly understood the consequences of Prince Chu’s appointment as Right Assistant, so he unhesitatingly followed suit in opposition. As for the ministers supporting the Crown Prince and Prince Dai, they, of course, opposed as well.

Ministers supporting Prince Chu naturally expressed great approval, praising the Emperor for his wisdom.

Prince Chu himself did not anticipate the Emperor appointing him as Right Assistant. At first, he was stunned. After a while, he finally regained his composure and quickly said that he was young, inexperienced, and unqualified to hold the position of Right Assistant.

He genuinely believed he lacked the capability to take on the role of Right Assistant, not out of humility or pretentious modesty.

The Emperor ignored the opposition from the Crown Prince and Prince Dai, insisting that Prince Chu take on the role of Right Assistant. He also encouraged Prince Chu, saying he believed Prince Chu could fulfill the role well and would not disappoint him.

Seeing the Emperor’s trust and regard for him, Prince Chu felt it inappropriate to continue declining and could only accept it. He assured the Emperor that he would work hard to perform well as Right Assistant and not let the Emperor down.

The Emperor, upon hearing this, was very pleased and encouraged Prince Chu further.

Seeing the Emperor value Prince Chu so highly, the Crown Prince and Prince Dai were filled with jealousy.

Afterward, the Emperor issued a decree to reward the Shu soldiers, holding a victory celebration in the camp that lasted for three days. As the Great General of Zhen Shu, Prince Chu naturally had to celebrate with the soldiers. However, he did not drink any alcohol.

The plans of those under the Crown Prince and Prince Dai to exploit Prince Chu’s drunkenness failed. Prince Chu never drinks a drop, even during important festivals and occasions.

He firmly believes that drinking leads to mistakes. In his eyes, alcohol is not a good thing. He has always adhered to the principle of staying away from bad things.

Prince Chu’s victorious return had already been distressing for the Crown Prince and Prince Dai. Now, with his appointment as Right Assistant, it made them even angrier.

The favor shown to Prince Chu was something the Crown Prince and Prince Dai never anticipated. They expected the Emperor to regard Prince Chu favorably upon his return to the capital but did not foresee the Emperor favoring him to such an extent.

In their view, the Emperor was openly paving the way for Prince Chu. It was almost as if he was close to announcing the abolition of the Crown Prince and establishing Prince Chu as the Crown Prince instead.

Indeed, as soon as Prince Chu returned, the dynamics within the court changed immediately, shifting from the rivalry between the Crown Prince and Prince Dai to a situation of tripartite confrontation.

Ministers originally thought that even if Prince Chu got involved, his power would be inferior to that of the Crown Prince and Prince Dai. It would take some time for Prince Chu to come close to matching their influence. However, they did not expect the Emperor to directly favor Prince Chu, allowing him to confront the Crown Prince and them immediately upon returning to the capital.

The Emperor’s substantial favor towards Prince Chu not only exceeded the expectations of the Crown Prince and Prince Dai but also many ministers. To them, it was unforeseen. Could it be that the Emperor genuinely intended to make Prince Chu the Crown Prince?

Currently, Prince Chu had just returned to the capital, presenting the best opportunity to deal with him. Naturally, the Crown Prince and Prince Dai would not miss it. After the victory celebration for reclaiming the Shu land ended, their people quickly accused Prince Chu.

Previously, Prince Wei went to the Shu land as a supervisory general but did nothing against Prince Chu. However, just as Zhao Yao and the others thought, he was secretly collecting Prince Chu’s "misdeeds." After Prince Chu returned to the capital, he exposed his alleged crimes.

In the court, facing accusations from many ministers, Prince Chu remained calm because he had long anticipated this situation.

The Emperor listened with interest to the ministers’ accusations against Prince Chu. After they finished speaking, he gave Prince Chu an opportunity to defend himself.