The petitions by the eldest and second princes, which were said to be written with tears and blood, caused a big but not small wave in the court. The emperor had already successfully deposed the empress, and the two brothers were equally matched in the past, and did not know how to show favor to the people and win their hearts, so when the emperor had already made up his mind to appoint the third prince as the crown prince, the party that once supported the eldest and the heir had already quietly changed their flags.
Of course, there are people like Hong Shanchang who wrote a letter to support the proposal and felt that the first and second princes should be given a chance. At any time, there will always be so-called upright gentlemen who claim to be upright and uphold the rules of propriety, and there will also be so-called opportunists who take the opportunity to bet on a team and hope to win wealth and glory.
Therefore, although Dean Hong was the first to write a petition to give the first and second princes a chance, he was disliked by both sides. This was because the Dean of Yuzhang Academy repeatedly said that the first and second princes were guilty of serious crimes, and claimed that they were allowed to attend the imperial lecture in order to listen to the teachings of the wise men and then turn over a new leaf.
As for words like legitimate, illegitimate, senior, and junior, Hong Shanchang did not even mention them, and even seemed to have forgotten that he had once proposed that his daughter Hong was worthy of the eldest prince. In his writing, every word revealed a meaning: the emperor was merciful, and if the two brothers had the slightest wishful thinking, they would be bastards!
As a result, when the other three principals in Yashe spoke of Principal Hong to their students, they naturally expressed deep disgust.
When Dean Yue of Zhaoming Academy was speaking privately to his senior brother who served as a minister in the court, he evaluated Dean Hong in eight words - conservative and self-righteous.
While a small group of people either agreed or opposed, and most people remained silent and waited for the emperor's decision, a piece of news spread like wildfire throughout the capital - the third prince asked the emperor to give the eldest prince and the second prince the opportunity to attend the imperial lecture.
At first, this news was dismissed as nonsense, as everyone knew that the eldest and second princes had bullied their younger brothers in the past. But soon, some people thought that this news was not impossible. After all, if the third prince, who was about to become the crown prince, showed more generosity and kindness to his two useless brothers, wouldn't it be to establish his image as a wise crown prince
But people waited and waited, but there was no official letter from the Third Prince, as if the rumor was just a joke. So, when a group of prospective East Palace tutors gathered in Kunning Palace again to accompany the Third Prince, who was not yet a Crown Prince, to study, someone couldn't help but ask, "The news outside is so rampant, why didn't the Third Prince clarify it?"
"What do you want to clarify?" The Third Prince raised his eyebrows in confusion. When someone whispered the news, he said in a nonchalant tone, "If I write a letter to persuade my father, I will be known as a wise and benevolent person, but I will put my father in an unjust position. In this case, I would rather be accused of being a younger brother who does not know filial piety and brotherhood, and seeing my two brothers in a pitiful situation but being indifferent."
At this point, even Lu Sanlang, who replaced Qi Liang today, was a little surprised: "Then there are rumors outside that the Third Prince..."
The fourth prince immediately shouted, "How could it be the third brother? The third brother hates the eldest and second brothers the most, just like me. How could he persuade father to give them a chance! It must be someone outside who is talking nonsense, hoping to force the third brother to plead for the eldest and second brothers... This is simply wishful thinking, the third brother is not that stupid!"