"What wish to fulfill?" Suddenly, the carriage curtain was lifted, revealing the sinister and charming face of Prince An. "What are you whispering about, Brother Emperor and Lord Shen? Why don't you include me?"
He got into the carriage on his own, as casually as if it were his own.
The Crown Prince straightened his robe and sat upright. "Wasn't my dear brother taking a nap in the carriage?"
"What did I miss?" Prince An raised his eyebrows.
Shen Xiabai remained silent, and the Crown Prince didn't respond either. There was a brief moment of silence in the carriage.
Prince An's eyes were lazy as he glanced back and forth between the two of them, smiling carelessly. "Brother Emperor doesn't even know what Lord Shen wants, yet he makes such grand promises. Aren't you afraid of being unable to fulfill them and being pestered?"
The Crown Prince was very confident. "As the Crown Prince and the heir to the throne, what is there that I can't promise?"
"Oh, really?" Prince An crossed his legs, his tone lazy. "If Cui Yunchu wants to be a female prince, and Brother Emperor can make it happen, I'll be convinced and won't compete with you."
"..."
The Crown Prince stiffened and looked at Shen Xiabai.
Shen Xiabai also raised his eyebrows.
He had no idea about this. He knew that A Chu wanted to be a princess, but when did the idea of being a female prince come up?
Prince An added fuel to the fire. "Lord Shen's wish must be Cui Yunchu's wish, right, Lord Shen?"
Shen Xiabai nodded.
Prince An looked at the Crown Prince, who had lowered his head, and smiled. "Why isn't Brother Emperor speaking? Is your throat uncomfortable? Go on and make more promises. I definitely won't compete with you."
There had never been a female prince in the Great Liang Dynasty.
The Crown Prince dared to promise a title of a county princess or even a princess, but if the first thing he did after ascending the throne was to confer the title of a female prince on Cui Yunchu, who had made no contributions to the court, the spittle of the civil and military officials would drown him.
She really dared to think!
Then, he thought it was quite in line with Cui Yunchu's style.
The Crown Prince fell into silence.
Prince An's teasing and mocking eyes were quite piercing.
Suddenly, the heavy palace gate was opened. The Crown Prince silently got off Shen Xiabai's carriage, and Prince An followed closely. Before leaving, he said to Shen Xiabai, "Brother Emperor, the Crown Prince, has been following the rules all his life. He doesn't dare to do such a rebellious thing, but I do. Lord Shen can consider joining my side."
Shen Xiabai gently raised his eyes and glanced at Prince An. "Your Highness is not as kind - hearted as the Crown Prince."
He still remembered the heart - breaking pain he suffered in prison, all thanks to this prince. "I will always remember the letters Your Highness sent me in the prison as if offering help in time of need."
Hearing this, Prince An gave a sneer. "You two are both so vengeful."
During that time, Cui Yunchu often caused trouble at his mansion. With Yunfeng around, he could only endure. If he didn't find someone else to vent his anger on, wouldn't he be so useless?
"Lord Shen can think it over carefully. With Lord Shen's abilities, are you still afraid of making deals with a tiger?"
Shen Xiabai was able to reach the emperor's side after the decline of the Shen family. Naturally, he had his own strengths. He might even be able to contain Xiao Yi someday.
#
Ministers from various families put their hands in their sleeves and walked towards the palace hall in groups of two or three.
"Why is it so cold today?"
"Maybe it's because of the heavy snow."
"Maybe. I just feel a chill down my back."
As the ministers were talking, they subconsciously turned around and saw a man in a white robe striding up from below the steps, overtaking the Crown Prince and Prince An. The white robe fluttered in the wind.
His already sharp and cold face seemed even more gloomy today.
Beside him was the deputy commander of the Punishment Department. They looked like Shuras, with an extremely imposing aura. Even the Crown Prince and Prince An stopped in their tracks and turned to look at him.
Seeing the man approaching the steps, the ministers subconsciously made way for him and bowed. "Lord Shen."
Shen Xiabai nodded slightly and stood in his position after passing by everyone.
Something was extremely wrong today.
The atmosphere in the hall became a bit solemn because of Shen Xiabai. The whispering among the ministers stopped. They looked at each other and then shrank their heads and kept silent.
Maybe they should have feigned illness today.
The Crown Prince's head kept turning as he watched Shen Xiabai striding forward until he entered the palace hall.
Prince An raised his eyebrows. "What did you say to Lord Shen, Brother Emperor?"
That man seemed to be stimulated by something.
Just then, he looked more like a prince than the two of them.
The Crown Prince glanced at Prince An. "I thought you had offered the throne to Lord Shen."
#
Cui Qingyuan's gaze passed over Shen Xiabai. With a shout from the eunuch, the emperor entered the palace hall, and the morning court officially began.
The four departments reported their routine matters. After listening, the emperor asked if the ministers had any opinions, but no one spoke. They all seemed to be asleep.
The emperor frowned and looked at Cui Qingyuan.
The prime minister had his arms folded in his sleeves and his eyes slightly closed. It was hard to tell whether he was really sleeping or just pretending.
The emperor was too lazy to care and waved his hand at the eunuch.
The eunuch shouted, "If there is nothing else, the court is adjourned."
Cui Qingyuan immediately opened his eyes. The emperor thought to himself, "This old fox was really pretending to sleep."
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
The emperor said, "I thought Prime Minister Cui was asleep."
"Your Majesty is joking. I wouldn't dare."
The emperor sneered secretly.
Wouldn't dare? He didn't know who was joking.
"Your Majesty, I want to impeach Princess Xiao Lan."
Hearing this, the emperor raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Princess Xiao Lan has done evil deeds, been extremely arrogant, and bullied others by relying on her power..."
The emperor was getting tired of listening. "What did Princess Xiao Lan do to offend Prime Minister Cui so much that you want to use all these words to accuse her?"
"Your Majesty, yesterday on West Street, because of a verbal argument, Princess Xiao Lan openly killed a servant from my prime minister's mansion. Although the princess is noble, the servant's life is also a life. Your Majesty is kind - hearted and often says that even the princes will be punished as commoners if they break the law. This act of the princess, if taken seriously, is a disrespect to the imperial authority and a disgrace to the royal family. If the royal relatives all follow her example, wouldn't the four words 'loving the people as one's own children' of our Great Liang become a joke?"
The ministers thought something serious had happened. After hearing that it was just the death of a servant, they even heaved a sigh of relief.
The emperor's eyelids twitched as he listened to Prime Minister Cui go on and on.
It was just the death of a servant. He thought Xiao Lan had been so bold as to harm his parents.
But with Cui Qingyuan's high - sounding speeches, it was obvious that he wouldn't let it go without a proper explanation. The emperor was also reluctant to argue with him in the court over a servant.
"Let the Ministry of Justice investigate the matter. If it is really the princess's fault, the culprit will pay with his life."
He said it very casually. "So, is my dear Cui satisfied?"
Cui Qingyuan was about to speak when the emperor waved his hand to signal him to stop and continued, "The princess is spoilt. She will be confined to the palace for another three months and her expenses will be reduced as a punishment."
The emperor thought: Stop talking. I'm getting a headache just listening to you.
Cui Qingyuan could only bow and say, "I thank Your Majesty for your wise decision."
The emperor was annoyed by his words.
