"Your Majesty, please appoint the Eldest Prince as the Crown Prince to secure the foundation of the state." The court officials supporting the Eldest Prince seemed to have coordinated; following the words of that official who just requested the enfeoffment of the Crown Prince, the other court officials supporting the Eldest Prince voiced their agreement in succession.
Sitting to the side, Helian Yuxi and the feigning calm Ying Zihui both had eyes filled with tension.
To ensure Ying Zihui could secure the Crown Prince's position decisively, they had secretly schemed for two full years. They had even plotted the death of Zhou Lian, the true meritorious contributor of the recent war, and his entire family. They were determined not to let all their efforts go to waste now.
Ying Zhengjing stroked his chin, "Hmm, Hui'er did perform quite well this time. But what do my other esteemed ministers think? Is Hui'er capable of bearing the position of Crown Prince?"
Although Ying Zhengjing appeared to be pondering and even asked the opinions of other ministers who had not yet expressed their views, in reality, he felt great aversion and suspicion towards the court officials uniting to pressure him into appointing Ying Zihui as Crown Prince.
Ying Zhengjing felt that while Ying Zihui was not yet the Crown Prince, a significant number of officials were already advocating for him. He became concerned that if Ying Zihui were officially installed as the Crown Prince in the future, it could potentially threaten his own political authority.
Shen Chaoyan suddenly stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Your Subject believes the Eldest Prince is not yet capable of bearing the position of Crown Prince."
Upon hearing this, Helian Yao's face immediately darkened, and he said in a tone laced with concealed anger, "Minister Shen, your words are biased. The Eldest Prince recapturing the city seized by Qianluo is a rare great achievement for Da Xia, making him the ideal candidate for Crown Prince. Could it be that Minister Shen has someone more suitable than the Eldest Prince in mind?"
Shen Chaoyan, I knew you wouldn't behave. But so what? The one who achieved the military merit is the Eldest Prince, not the Second Prince whom you support.
Helian Yao looked at Shen Chaoyan with great displeasure.
Shen Chaoyan was Shen Qianxue's older brother, much younger than Helian Yao. Yet, precisely this person held the position of Minister of Personnel, head of the Six Ministries, firmly pressing him, the Minister of Revenue, down. Now that Shen Chaoyan dared to speak up and obstruct his grandson from ascending to the position of Crown Prince, it would have been strange if Helian Yao were not furious.
"Minister Helian, If you do not wish others to know, you should not have done it."
Shen Chaoyan looked meaningfully at Ying Zihui.
Hearing Shen Chaoyan's words suddenly, Helian Yao's back stiffened instantly, and he reflexively retorted, "Minister Shen, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Could it be that Shen Chaoyan knows about our plot against Zhou Lian? No, I handled this matter very discreetly, even evading His Majesty's spies. Shen Chaoyan couldn't possibly know. But then why would he say such a thing?
Ying Zhengjing also narrowed his eyes and said, "Beloved Minister Shen, We also wish to know the meaning of your words."
"Your Majesty, Minister Shen he..."
Shen Chaoyan interrupted Helian Yao and stated decisively, "Replying to Your Majesty, Your Subject has discovered that Minister Helian and Consort Shu have committed treason by colluding with the enemy."
Colluding with the enemy? Treason?
One stone stirred a thousand waves.
As soon as Shen Chaoyan said this, the people present were instantly speechless. Those supporting the Eldest Prince also did not dare to speak.
After all, colluding with the enemy was a grave crime. If the accusations proved true, those who had supported the Eldest Prince would also face implication and punishment.
Ying Zihui himself was also stunned.
He only conspired with his mother and maternal grandfather to scheme against Zhou Lian's family. When did he ever collude with the enemy?
Although Helian Yao was also frightened by Shen Chaoyan's words, he quickly adopted an expression of being framed, "Your Majesty, Your Subject has devoted his entire life to Da Xia. Shen Chaoyan is clearly slandering Your Subject. I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for Your Subject."
Damn it, what trick is Shen Chaoyan playing?
Although Helian Yao had not committed treason, for some reason, Shen Chaoyan's words made Helian Yao's heart grow extremely uneasy, and he consequently stopped calling him Minister Shen, directly uttering Shen Chaoyan's name instead.
"Your Majesty, This Consort and This Consort's father have been wronged! Colluding with the enemy is a heavy crime. Even if you gave This Consort the greatest courage, This Consort would not dare to do such a thing." Helian Yuxi's eyes immediately reddened, and she tearfully glared at Shen Chaoyan, "Minister Shen, This Consort has no enmity or grievance with you, why do you wrongfully accuse This Consort like this?"
Seeing his mother defending herself, Ying Zihui also wanted to speak, but before he could utter a word, he was glared into silence by Helian Yuxi's look.
"Beloved Minister Shen, do you have evidence?"
Ying Zhengjing asked casually, but his tone clearly carried a cold edge.
"Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. If I did not have evidence, Your Subject would not dare to speak of it." Shen Chaoyan took out a letter from his person, its surface showing obvious burn marks, and handed it to the eunuch beside him.
The eunuch, having received the letter, immediately presented it to Ying Zhengjing.
Ying Zhengjing took the letter and opened it in front of everyone, reading it carefully.
This envelope containing the letter was quite charred, but fortunately the contents inside were still clearly visible.
The content of the letter was shocking; it was actually a contract.
It clearly stated that Helian Yao, Helian Yuxi, and Zhou Lian, the three of them, had conspired with Qianluo, agreeing that once Ying Zihui obtained the position of Crown Prince in the future, they would surely repay them heavily.
Shen Chaoyan continued, cupping his hands, "Your Majesty, this letter was accidentally discovered by Your Subject some days ago while paying respects at General Zhou's residence. It was by the grace of heaven watching over our Da Xia that Your Subject managed to find this evidence amidst the badly burned remains of the general's residence."
Helian Yao said angrily, "Shen Chaoyan, you are framing us! Our Helian family has never had much interaction with General Zhou, how could there be any correspondence between us?"
Shen Chaoyan looked at Helian Yao and questioned, "Minister Helian, did you not send someone to General Zhou's residence some days ago?"
"Zhou Lian died in battle in this recent war. I sent someone to pay their respects. What is the problem with that?" Helian Yao retorted, then immediately bowed to Ying Zhengjing and said, "Your Majesty, Shen Chaoyan he..."
"Enough."
Ying Zhengjing's right hand clenched into a fist, cutting off Helian Yao's words.
The word 'Enough' carried clear anger.
Helian Yao also saw that Ying Zhengjing's demeanor showed he clearly believed the contents of the letter, and he hurriedly defended himself, "Your Majesty, Your Subject is truly wronged! Your Subject never wrote any letter to Zhou Lian. This is all fabricated, it is Shen Chaoyan's false accusation."
Helian Yuxi also panicked and said, "Your Majesty, This Consort and This Consort's father truly did not collude with the enemy and commit treason. I beg Your Majesty to investigate clearly."
"Even now, you still dare to tell Us it's a false accusation?" Ying Zhengjing ignored Helian Yuxi entirely, looking coldly at Yang Shaochuan and saying, "Yang Shaochuan, take the letter and show it to Helian Yao."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yang Shaochuan respectfully took the letter, walked over to Helian Yao, and handed the letter to him.
Helian Yao hastily snatched the letter and opened it.
Upon opening it, he was immediately dumbfounded on the spot.
"Father (Minister Helian)?"
Helian Yuxi and the others looked nervously at Helian Yao, seemingly placing all their hopes on him.
"How could this be... how could this be..." Helian Yao's eyes were filled with disbelief, because this letter was indeed one of colluding with the enemy, and the handwriting on the letter was exactly the same as his own. Yet Helian Yao could swear he had never written such a letter.
Ying Zhengjing heavily slapped the table beside him, "Helian Yao, do you confess your crime?"
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