Although the distance from the suburbs to the imperial city wasn’t far, it was still a tiring journey. Normally, the officials would be allowed to return home and rest for a day, but this time they were held back and made to wait in the hall.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, usually empty except for major ceremonies, was now filled with people.

The officials couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Something seemed off yesterday. Could it be related to Prince An’s assassination?”

“Prince An’s death is a big deal, but it shouldn’t warrant keeping us all in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Could it be that the mastermind behind the Imperial Guard’s assassination of Prince An is among us?”

“That’s possible. Why else would the Emperor keep us here?”

“If so, why didn’t they question us yesterday?”

Zhen Shicheng stood among the officials, keeping his eyes lowered and remaining silent.

“Lord Zhen, why did that Imperial Guard kill Prince An? Is there another mastermind behind this?”

Faced with his colleagues’ inquiries, Zhen Shicheng remained silent, irritating many who turned away in frustration.

After an unknown period of waiting, just as the officials were growing restless, Emperor Jingming finally appeared.

To the officials’ surprise, the Empress arrived hand in hand with the Emperor.

The joint appearance of the imperial couple in the Hall of Supreme Harmony suggested that the matter was even more serious.

The whispers immediately ceased, and the hall fell silent.

Emperor Jingming’s gaze was stern as he slowly swept it across the officials.

The officials immediately bowed in greeting.

Emperor Jingming sat down with the Empress and said to Pan Hai, “Read the imperial edict.”

The officials immediately became alert.

Reading an imperial edict in such a setting often meant that something extremely significant had occurred. Thinking of Prince An’s death on Mount Cuilo, they all had an ominous feeling.

Pan Hai’s somewhat shrill voice resonated in the great hall: “By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Crown Prince Lang has violated ancestral virtues, disobeyed imperial instructions, shown violent and perverse behavior, and instigated the Imperial Guard Zhang Hu to murder Prince An, causing great distress to the Emperor… The realm cannot be entrusted to such a person. Henceforth, Lang is deposed and shall be demoted to Prince Jing…”

As Pan Hai read, it was as if a thunderbolt had struck the officials, leaving them stunned.

After a long while, the officials finally realized:… this was an edict to depose the Crown Prince!

Yang Deguang, the Minister of Rites, collapsed to the ground, weeping and crying out, “Your Majesty, you must not—”

The officials fell to their knees in succession: “We implore Your Majesty to reconsider!”

Emperor Jingming sat on the dragon throne, looking down at the kneeling officials, his eyes filled with sorrow.

If there had been any room for turning back, how could he have been willing to take this step?

“We implore Your Majesty to reconsider!” the officials cried out again.

To say they were completely satisfied with the Crown Prince would be a lie; they weren’t even fifty percent satisfied with him.

But the heir apparent was crucial to the foundation of the country. How could he be deposed so easily? Not to mention that if neighboring countries heard of this, they might harbor ill intentions.

Moreover, history has proven time and again that once a country lost its Crown Prince and fell into a succession struggle, it would be accompanied by bloodshed and turmoil. This was something the officials, who had enjoyed peace for so long, were unwilling to see.

Emperor Jingming listened with furrowed brows, pressing his lips together.

Reconsider? He had already considered it eight hundred times!

No matter how the officials pleaded, Emperor Jingming remained unmoved, his expression growing colder.

“When a prince breaks the law, he should be punished like a commoner. Do you insist on pleading for Prince Jing at the expense of the law?” Emperor Jingming asked coldly after hearing their pleas.

The voices in the hall faltered.

Emperor Jingming stood up and said coldly, “My decision is final. You need not try to persuade me further. You are all dismissed.”

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty—” Yang Deguang, the Minister of Rites, crawled forward a few steps.

Emperor Jingming paused and turned to glance at him.

Yang Deguang instantly lost the strength to speak and fell to the ground, weeping bitterly.

Emperor Jingming sighed deeply and left with a sweep of his sleeve.

Pan Hai closely followed the imperial couple’s steps.

Walking on the path to the inner palace, Emperor Jingming slowed his pace and asked Pan Hai, “Has Prince Jing been sent to the Imperial Clan Court?”

With the Crown Prince deposed and renamed Prince Jing, the former Crown Prince and his family had to move out of the Eastern Palace and into a new residence.

Emperor Jingming had arranged for the deposed Crown Prince to live in Jing Garden, but before entering Jing Garden, according to custom, the deposed Crown Prince had to first go to the Imperial Clan Court.

The Imperial Clan Court managed the royal family’s registry and recorded crimes and faults. Such a major event as deposing the Crown Prince couldn’t bypass this step.

“In response to Your Majesty, we are preparing to send Prince Jing there now.”

Emperor Jingming glanced at the Empress and lowered his voice, “Have you given the instructions?”

Feeling furious towards his son who had committed such a treasonous act, Emperor Jingming didn’t even want to look at him again.

That wretched boy—if he saw him, he might not be able to resist killing him with an inkstone.

Pan Hai immediately replied, “Your Majesty, rest assured, it has been taken care of.”

The official reason for deposing the Crown Prince was instigating the murder of Prince An. This point needed to be consistent with the Crown Prince’s story.

The Crown Prince knew he had made a grave mistake, but compared to the crime of having an affair with a consort, this charge was undoubtedly more palatable. At least he could still quietly be a prince, and if he wasn’t foolish, he would naturally cooperate.

But in Emperor Jingming’s view, his son was utterly foolish. How else could he have lost his position as heir apparent?

“You escort Prince Jing there,” Emperor Jingming said, suddenly remembering another son in the Imperial Clan Court. “Tell the Prince of Yan to get back to his mansion.”

Having two sons confined in the Imperial Clan Court at the same time was irritating to think about.

Pan Hai bowed to the imperial couple and left to carry out the orders.

At this moment in the Eastern Palace, cries filled the air.

The weeping came from the Crown Prince’s concubines, mixed with the cries of children.

The former Crown Princess, now Princess Jing, Yang, was surprisingly calm at this moment.

She only had slightly reddened eyes and was holding the hand of a six or seven-year-old boy.

The boy was Yang’s son and the Crown Prince’s only son. Originally the Crown Prince’s heir, he now naturally lost that status as well.

The Crown Prince’s cries were louder than those of his concubines, especially after Pan Hai came to urge them, he wailed even more, showing no dignity at all.

Pan Hai looked at Princess Jing helplessly.

Princess Jing stepped forward with her son and said to the deposed Crown Prince, “You should go first. I’ll wait for you at Jing Garden with the children.”

“No, I don’t want to go to the Imperial Clan Court!” Prince Jing glared fiercely at Princess Jing, then turned to clutch Pan Hai’s sleeve, pleading, “Eunuch Pan, please help me convey a message to Father Emperor. Tell him I truly know my mistake and beg him not to make me move out of the Eastern Palace…”

Princess Jing pressed her lips together, feeling only desolation and ridicule in her heart, and surprisingly, even a sense of relief.

How could such a useless person ever become the ruler of Great Zhou?

Being deposed now might be a good thing. At least he wouldn’t harm the country and its people, nor would he bring greater calamity that might cost their son his life.

Life in Jing Garden might be more promising than in the Eastern Palace.

Thinking this way, Princess Jing’s eyes brightened.

The Crown Prince’s pleas continued unabated.

Pan Hai sighed and said, “Your Highness, the edict deposing the Crown Prince has already been read in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. You’d better go to the Imperial Clan Court soon. The sooner you go, the sooner you can leave…”

The Crown Prince immediately wilted like frost-bitten eggplant, allowing Pan Hai to escort him to the Imperial Clan Court.