The Queen looked at Yuan in confusion and asked, "Tell me, what did you overlook?"
Yuan smiled slightly, "That is, although the emperor is seriously ill, he is still in Xiwei Palace."
The Queen said unhappily, "Isn't this nonsense? Just because the Emperor is recuperating in Xiwei Palace, we have to choose a candidate for the Regent."
The Queen's words were equivalent to saying, if the Emperor was gone, why would there be such a need for such trouble? The Prince could just ascend the throne directly.
Yuan looked calm. "The emperor is recuperating in Xiwei Palace. His last decree was to let the regent govern the country. Then, after receiving the decree, the regent would exercise the emperor's power. With the regent in hand, the imperial power would be centralized. In this case, the crown prince would still be the crown prince, and the ministers would still be the ministers. Nothing would change. Now that the regent has gotten into trouble, or if he dies, then if there is no one to designate a regent, according to the ancestral system, the person with the highest rank in the harem must designate one. Now, the person with the highest rank in the harem is not the empress dowager, but the grand empress dowager in Hanshan. Therefore, I suggest that the minister of rites and Prince Li go to Hanshan in person to ask for the decree, and let the grand empress dowager designate a regent. This would also save everyone from quarreling and hurting the harmony among colleagues."
After hearing these words, Prime Minister Xia was so angry that his chest ached. Before leaving, he had already made it clear to her, asking her to speak for the Crown Prince, suppress Prince An, and guide the ministers' thoughts. He didn't expect that she would bring up the Empress Dowager. How could this argument continue
The Empress Dowager didn't like Yuan very much, but after hearing these words, she couldn't help but admire her.
That's right, according to the ancestral system, in a situation like this, instructions are needed from the highest-ranking concubine in the harem. If the argument could not be reached today, she would have to make the decision. However, now that Yuan has brought up the Grand Empress Dowager, she, the Empress Dowager, can stay out of it and no one can force her.
The queen said coldly: "The Empress Dowager is in Hanshan, who knows whether it is true or not? After all, many people saw the Empress Dowager pass away with their own eyes, and the funeral of the Empress Dowager has also been held."
Yuan smiled and said, "Empress, although that is true, the Empress Dowager returned to the palace after her death. Many people have seen her. I believe that the Empress Dowager only faked her death to avoid the world."
When the Empress Dowager died, many people did not believe it at first because the coffin was empty when she was buried. When the ministers looked at her remains, they only saw one set of the Empress Dowager's clothes.
Taifu Liang said expressionlessly, "I thought Madam would come up with some unique insights, but I didn't expect her to bring up such a fabricated thing. It seems that Madam is no longer the smart person that the Emperor praised that day. She has become womanly and stupid."
Yuan bowed slightly, "I am a woman, so what I said is naturally a woman's opinion. The Prime Minister has honored me and asked me to speak. I know I am not qualified, but a woman should obey her husband after marriage, so I have no choice but to obey."
In other words, she stood up and spoke only to follow Prime Minister Xia's wishes. As for what Prime Minister Xia originally asked her to say, no one knew, but looking at Prime Minister Xia's expression, one knew that what she said was definitely not what he asked for.
The Empress Dowager spoke slowly, "I believe that everyone present here is very puzzled about the whereabouts of the Grand Empress Dowager. When the Grand Empress Dowager's body was not found during the funeral, some people were suspicious. Later, it was implicated that Aunt Ah She turned into a snake and took the Grand Empress Dowager away. It's really ridiculous. The fact is just as Madam said, the Grand Empress Dowager retreated to the cold mountains just to live a quiet life. Now that the government is in trouble, I think it's time to ask her opinion."
The Empress Dowager's words did not cause shock, because many people actually knew that the Grand Empress Dowager was still there, but she had been living in seclusion.
The Queen laughed and said, "Mother, since the Grand Empress Dowager wants to stay away from the world, she must not want to be involved in government affairs. If I disturb her because of this matter, it would be unfilial. I'm sure the Emperor will agree not to disturb her. The matter of selecting the person to govern is not easy, but not difficult either. All of you present are important officials of the court. Why not let them recommend the right person, and then vote. The one with the highest number of votes will govern, to show fairness."
As soon as the Queen said this, Grand Tutor Liang knelt down hastily, "I second the motion!"
Liang Taifu's kneeling was the final push. The prince's party knelt down one after another, "Your Highness and I second this motion!"
Prime Minister Xia also stepped out and said, "Empress Dowager, I think what the Empress said is very true. In the past, Emperor Hui ruled the country with benevolence and filial piety. Emperor Hui was very filial to the Grand Empress Dowager. He always said in the court that the Grand Empress Dowager had worked hard for the Great Zhou Dynasty all her life and had never lived a peaceful day. Now that she has faked her death and is avoiding the world, she must not want to be involved in state affairs anymore. It would be inappropriate to disturb her again because of state affairs!"
There was a mass of people kneeling there, all of them were members of the Prince's party.
The Queen had already screened the list of people entering the palace today, and the Prince's party accounted for the largest number of people, so those who are kneeling and begging now will vote for the Prince.
When Taifu Liang saw that the Empress Dowager hadn't spoken yet, he knelt forward, kowtowed and said in a sad voice: "I beg the Empress Dowager to consider the fate of the Great Zhou. If the regent is not chosen as soon as possible, this peace agreement cannot be renewed. If complications arise at this time, we will be the sinners of the Great Zhou!"
The "ministers" he mentioned were actually referring to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was both sad and angry. She stared at Tutor Liang but could not do anything to him.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries are of vital importance. The Queen Mother understood very well that his words were tantamount to a threat, because if the candidate was not decided as soon as possible, he would definitely interfere and destroy the relationship between the two countries.
He is forcing the emperor to abdicate!
The prince had been sitting on the chair. After hearing what Grand Tutor Liang said, he slowly knelt down and said, "Grandmother, although I am not a virtuous person, I know how great a blessing it is for the people if the two countries coexist peacefully. If something unexpected happens, I will not be able to face my ancestors and will definitely die to apologize!"
Prince An was furious and was about to speak, but Prince Qi pulled his sleeve and whispered, "No!"
Prince An was startled and turned to look at Prince Qi with confusion in his eyes.
Prince Qi looked at him helplessly, with too many things in his eyes.
Prince An was slightly startled and sat down, listening to Prince Qi sigh softly, "He has correspondence with my Northern Desert Emperor."
Prince An knew what this meant. It meant that the Grand Tutor had long been in collusion with the Emperor of Beimo. The fact that the Emperor of Beimo would privately contact the ministers of the Great Zhou, and that the person was the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty, proved that he still had ambitions.
No wonder Prince Qi came to Da Zhou early.
Under the threat of such a large lineup of the Grand Tutor and the Queen, more and more neutral candidates supported the vote.
However, if they wanted to vote, they had to choose someone who could compete with the crown prince. Apart from the crown prince, other princes had no intention of seizing power, and the princes who were other concubines naturally did not dare to nominate their own candidate. Instead, someone proposed the Prince of Liang.
The one who proposed King Liang was Murong Zhuangzhuang who had just arrived.
She walked in quickly and said, "I am late, please forgive me. I just heard that everyone is going to vote for the person who will govern the country. I wonder if I, as the princess who guards the country, have the power to propose a candidate? If I have the power, I recommend Prince Liang. He is the eldest son of the emperor. He has been smart since he was a child and is also liked by the emperor."
(End of this chapter)