bookcurios Chapter 232: Conferring the Crown Prince
Chapter 232: Conferring the Crown Prince
Others might not notice, but Leng Wuqin could clearly sense that the Emperor had recently been intentionally entrusting him with the handling of state affairs.
To this end, a book on governance was compiled and given to him, which made him very uneasy.
The fact that the emperor would often send his two grandsons to the prime minister's residence to be cared for by him intensified his sense of unease.
He simply couldn't understand what had happened to make the emperor entrust his son to someone else.
Whether the question was asked indirectly or directly, the emperor always said that everything was fine.
In the past three months, the Emperor's methods have become increasingly ruthless, and his use of people has become increasingly bold.
Several of the scholars from humble backgrounds who entered officialdom through this imperial examination achieved positions that ordinary people could not reach in ten or even twenty years.
The series of major moves left Leng Wuqin feeling quite uncertain.
On the day of the 100-day celebration, Leng Qing announced the names of the two children.
The eldest prince's name was Zhongli Junluo, and he was directly appointed as the crown prince.
The second princess was named Zhongli Lingzhao and was given the title of Princess Chao'an.
Along with this, an imperial edict was also announced to elevate Consort Yi to the rank of Empress.
The court officials had long anticipated that Consort Yi would become Empress, but the fact that the eldest prince was made crown prince after only three months was both reasonable and unexpected.
With Consort Yi being elevated to Empress, the status of the eldest prince became even more noble. It was only natural that the eldest son of the Emperor and Empress would be given high hopes and be named Crown Prince.
The main problem is that the court officials nowadays all follow the emperor's lead.
In the past two years, the Emperor's decisions have not been wrong.
After the banquet ended and most of the court officials had left, Leng Qingyi once again placed the child in Leng Xiang's arms.
"Your Majesty, the eldest prince has spent more time in the Prime Minister's residence than in the palace since birth."
“You are Junluo’s maternal grandfather. Now that you are the only one in the household, please let Junluo spend more time with you.”
"Your Majesty, is something about to happen?"
"Nothing's wrong. Could it be that this kid has disturbed my father-in-law's peace and quiet?"
"No, Your Majesty. If there is anything you need to do, please inform me in advance so that I can make preparations accordingly."
"Don't worry, everything is under control."
"Then I will take the Crown Prince back to the residence first."
As soon as the two left, Leng Qingyi's expression immediately darkened.
"Master, the Second Princess has been pricked with several deadly needles in her swaddling clothes."
"Have you found out who did it?"
“Today, Leng Wu, Leng Liu, and I kept a close eye on the Crown Prince and the Second Princess without blinking. The swaddling clothes were checked before use, and no one approached the Second Princess during the banquet. The poison needle seemed to appear out of thin air.”
"It seems that Nan Qiu and his group have no choice but to go."
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Zhongli Yuan, holding a child, also looked grim.
"Go and find out what the Second Princess's wet nurse ate today."
Zhong Liyuan's hands, which were holding the child, trembled slightly.
Lingzhao hadn't been breastfed for several hours, and she cried incessantly whenever she was handed to the wet nurse.
I initially thought the child was frightened by the crowds and didn't want to leave his embrace.
Who would have thought that all six wet nurses would die from poisoning that night?
If Lingzhao were to drink the wet nurse's milk, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Upon returning to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Leng Qingyi was met with Zhongli Yuan's cold expression, causing her heart to sink once again.
"What happened?"
"Lingzhao's six wet nurses were all poisoned to death."
"Where's the body? I'll go check."
"They were all in the side hall. I went to see them; their deaths were extremely gruesome."
"I understand. You take Lingzhao to rest first, I'll handle it."
"Ah Leng, what did our Ling Zhao do to deserve this? What threat could a little baby like her pose to anyone? Why are they going to keep targeting our Zhao'er for the past three months?"
"This matter was mostly caused by me. After the coronation ceremony, we will go to Nanqiu, where I will personally find the culprit who harmed our child and cut him into a thousand pieces."