After killing four concubines, the queen was sentenced to death and reborn

Hearing this, Murong Yue's face turned cold, but soon returned to normal, and she said calmly: "I will keep it in mind and will do my best to help the Queen."

Zheng Xiyan smiled, but that smile only lasted for a short moment, and then her face turned cold, "Okay, let's stop here today! Let's all go!"

"Yes, I will take my leave."

After that, Zheng Xiyan was busy preparing for the first birthday banquet. At the same time, the previous dynasty also mentioned the issue of enthroning the crown prince.

During the morning court session, someone made a memorial, "Your Majesty, the eldest prince is about to turn one year old. I remember that when Your Majesty turned one year old, the late emperor issued an edict to appoint you as the crown prince. The crown prince is the foundation of the country, and the eldest prince is Your Majesty's eldest son. It is legitimate to appoint the crown prince. Please issue an edict to appoint the eldest prince as the crown prince."

When Xiao Xuanchen heard this, his expression slightly restrained and his face instantly turned cold.

At this time, many ministers in the hall had already stood up and agreed, "I second the motion."

"I second the proposal..."

Duke Zheng and King Chu remained silent. If they spoke at this moment, it would surely deepen Xiao Xuanchen's suspicion of them.

Xiao Xuanchen glanced at everyone, and finally, his sight fell on the King of Chu and Duke Zheng. His eyes were cold and his voice was low, "I am not even twenty years old yet, are you so anxious to appoint a crown prince?"

"Your Majesty! Enthroning a crown prince is the foundation of the country. Your Majesty is indeed in the prime of life, but the future is hard to predict. I ask Your Majesty to confirm the candidate for the crown prince as soon as possible." Lord Xu, the Minister of Rites, stood up. He was a fair man who had been familiar with the classics since childhood and knew etiquette and abided by the law. Enthroning a crown prince was a customary practice. As the Minister of Rites, he naturally had no reason not to agree.

"When my father appointed me as the crown prince, I was already thirty years old. Moreover, my eldest brother was not appointed as the crown prince during his lifetime. He was posthumously named the crown prince." Xiao Xuanchen turned the jade ring on his hand, his eyes full of anger.

"I am now in my prime, and you are in a hurry to appoint a crown prince. What is your intention?" Xiao Xuanchen said angrily.

The Prime Minister stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, calm down! Our dynasty has always established the eldest son as the heir. If that's the case, what difference does it make whether we appoint a crown prince now or wait a few years? Minister Xu's words are just a routine practice."

"Besides, the only one who can become the crown prince is the legitimate son of the queen, just like your majesty did back then."

As soon as the prime minister said this, the hall fell silent. Xiao Xuanchen's face was gloomy and his eyes became sinister and fierce, but the twelve tassels on the crown blocked his face. The ministers all lowered their heads and did not notice it.

"Are you telling me how to do things, Prime Minister?" Xiao Xuanchen said coldly, suppressing the anger in his heart.

"I dare not, but this is the custom of our dynasty, Your Majesty should follow it." The prime minister knelt directly on the ground with a righteous look on his face.

Prince Xiang then stood up and said in a deep voice, "I think the Prime Minister is right. The eldest prince is your Majesty's eldest son, and it is only natural for him to be the crown prince. I don't understand why your Majesty reacted this way."

King Xiang's words surprised everyone present. Even King Ming beside him couldn't understand why he wanted to intervene in this matter?

Xiao Xuanchen looked at Prince Xiang coldly and said, "Humph! Now in the court, do we have to follow the lead of the Queen and the Crown Prince?"

Xiao Xuanchen was already wary of the power behind the Queen. Now, more than half of the courtiers agreed to enthrone the Crown Prince, which made him more suspicious and wary of the Queen.

"Duke Zheng, King Chu, do you think so?" Xiao Xuanchen looked at the two of them with a grim expression.

The Duke of Zheng and the King of Chu stood up, and the Duke of Zheng said, "I am terrified, Your Majesty, please calm down."

"Your Majesty! We were not aware of this matter in advance. Please understand clearly!" said the King of Chu in a deep voice.

"You don't know? Ha~" Xiao Xuanchen snorted coldly, obviously not believing it.

King Xiang then continued, "Your Majesty! Duke Zheng is the Queen's father, and the King of Chu is the Queen's grandfather. Regardless of whether these two did this, Your Majesty will be suspicious of them. Since Your Majesty does not believe anything they say, there is no need for Your Majesty to ask any more questions."

King Ming was dumbfounded, his eyes wide open, looking at him with disbelief. Is he crazy?

Duke Zheng and the King of Chu were both shocked. Why would the King of Xiang help them out of nowhere? He had always been ambitious, so why did he suddenly...

Xiao Xuanchen's expression became increasingly ugly. Even the eunuch standing beside him could feel his anger.

"I didn't know that Prince Xiang would speak well of Duke Zheng and Prince Chu?" Xiao Xuanchen said meaningfully. What on earth is Xiao Xuanqi doing?

Xiao Xuanqi smiled and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, you are joking. I am just telling the truth. Our dynasty has always appointed the eldest son of the legitimate wife as the crown prince. Since Emperor Gaozu established Daliang, most of the emperors in successive dynasties have been the eldest sons of the legitimate wife. This is a precedent, and I think Your Majesty should follow it."

Xiao Xuanchen glared at him angrily, but the next second, he suddenly started coughing, "Cough cough cough!"

"Your Majesty!" The eunuch stepped forward nervously.

Xiao Xuanchen waved his hand, and then said to everyone: "I am not feeling well, let's discuss this matter later, and I will adjourn the court!"

"Adjourn the court!" the eunuch in front of the emperor shouted loudly.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

After Xiao Xuanchen left, everyone left the Taiji Hall one after another.

Duke Zheng and King Chu looked at each other, then looked at King Xiang with complicated eyes.

Seeing this, King Xiang stepped forward and said, "Don't mind me, I am just telling you the truth. I will take my leave now."

Duke Zheng and the King of Chu looked at each other in bewilderment. The King of Chu asked, "What is the intention of the King of Xiang? Is he planning something?"

"What father said makes sense. We should be careful." Duke Zheng also felt that the matter was not that simple. There might be a bigger conspiracy waiting for them.

"Ah."

After King Xiang stepped out of the Taiji Palace, King Ming chased after him and said, "Fifth brother."

"Third brother, do you have anything to say?" King Xiang stopped and turned to look at him.

"Why do you want to help Duke Zheng?" King Ming looked at him with eyes full of scrutiny and assessment, trying to see something from him.

"What do you mean, third brother? The eldest prince is the legitimate son of the Empress. It is only natural for him to be named the Crown Prince. Why should I help him or not?" King Xiang said nonchalantly.

King Ming chuckled and said, "Xiao Xuanqi! What are you trying to hide from me?"

"Third brother, you are joking." King Xiang's expression changed slightly.

King Ming snorted coldly: "Don't tell me that you no longer have any extravagant desires for the throne."

"Whether it exists or not, it has nothing to do with my third brother." King Xiang looked calm and laughed again and again.

Prince Ming approached him and whispered in his ear: "During this period of time, I have learned some things about you, my fifth brother, and the Queen."

King Xiang's face changed drastically, his brows knitted tightly, and he asked excitedly: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

King Ming had sent people to investigate long ago. Although there were many concubines in his Prince Xiang's Mansion, he had never summoned many of them. He even rarely set foot in the courtyard of Prince Xiang's wife in recent years.

He was not very close to his two children, but after some investigation, he finally found some clues.

Seeing his reaction, Ming Wang became more certain and laughed, "Hahaha, why are you so excited, Fifth Brother? Are you feeling guilty?"

"I warn you, Xiao Xuancheng, don't talk nonsense in front of me, otherwise I will not be polite to you." A hint of murderous intent flashed in King Xiang's eyes.

Ming Wang's face darkened and he said in a cold voice: "I was not sure before, but now... What a pity, I didn't expect that you would also be attracted by women?"

"Xiao Xuanqi! Don't forget, she is Xiao Xuanchen's woman." King Ming raised his eyebrows slightly with a frivolous expression.

King Xiang's eyes turned cold and he said in a restrained voice: "If Third Brother is drunk, go back home and drink a bowl of sobering soup to clear your mind."

"Hmph! Just wait and see! I want to see how far you will go for her?" King Ming looked very proud.

King Xiang looked at his back, took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Although the two had just spoken in low voices, he still looked at the people around him vigilantly. Seeing that no one cared, he felt relieved and left the palace.

Weiyang Palace

Zheng Xiyan knew everything that happened in the morning court today and knew that King Xiang had helped her. She was very nervous. If he did this, he wouldn't be afraid of... "What does he want to do?"

"Your Majesty, Prince Xiang may just want to help you." Biluo said.

"Help me? He wants to harm me. He knows that your Majesty is wary of him, so why does he want to get involved in the issue of establishing a crown prince? Isn't this clearly making your Majesty suspicious?" Zheng Xiyan frowned and said angrily.

"This……"