NFBE Chapter 25 I'm drunk!
Chapter 25 I'm drunk!
The Empress Dowager's gaze swept over the two wine cups like a hawk's, and then shifted to the faces of the brothers Xiao Qingkuang and Xiao Suyue—especially Xiao Qingkuang!
"The Emperor's promise is as good as gold! Today, I, your humble servant, will use this wine, bestowed upon the Grand General by the late Emperor, to establish a covenant between you two brothers!"
The Empress Dowager pointed to the wine in the two wine cups, her tone suddenly turning stern.
"By each of you drinking this bowl of wine before you, it signifies that this vow has been made, and heaven and earth bear witness!"
"From this day forward, Xiao Suyue will be the Crown Prince of my Great Liang Dynasty, the future heir apparent!"
"After the emperor's long life... he will inherit the throne!"
"Come, you two, drink this cup to the brim!"
…………
The Empress Dowager stretched out her hands, making a "please" gesture, while her eyes gleamed with an almost frantic anticipation.
She seemed to have already envisioned the scene of Prince Su successfully ascending the throne with her help!
At the same time, Xiao Qingkuang stood still, calmly gazing at the wine cup in front of him.
a long time……
"This wine, I will drink it first as a sign of respect!"
Emperor Xiao Qingkuang raised his wine cup and offered a distant toast to the Empress Dowager.
But just as Xiao Qingkuang was about to bring the wine cup in his hand to his lips, suddenly, at that very moment…
"Splash—"
Suddenly, a figure leaped out from the crowd of officials like a tiger, carrying a fierce aura, and directly knocked the wine cup out of Xiao Qingkuang's hand!
"Clang!"
The bronze wine cup crashed onto the white marble floor with a loud, piercing sound.
The crimson wine spilled out, splattering like blood, blooming into eerie flowers on the ground.
"Gu Youzhi, how dare you!"
Upon seeing this, the Empress Dowager was immediately filled with rage.
Immediately, she slammed her hand on the armrest of the phoenix chair, stood up abruptly, and pointed a trembling finger at the figure: "Who gave you the audacity to commit such an arrogant and disrespectful act in the Hall of Supreme Harmony?"
Faced with the Empress Dowager's furious rage, Gu Youzhi remained expressionless, and then...
He slowly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, I have important words to report!"
Then, Gu Youzhi raised his head and scanned the Empress Dowager, Emperor Xiao Qingkuang, and Prince Su Xiao Suyue with piercing eyes. Finally, his gaze settled on the Empress Dowager's face, which was twisted with anger.
"Our Great Liang Empire was created and governed with the painstaking efforts and lives of successive emperors!"
"The founding emperor established the ancestral system of 'father-to-son succession' for the sake of a stable empire and the perpetuation of the nation!"
"This is an ironclad rule that all future emperors must follow!"
"Although His Majesty currently has no heir, Heaven blesses Daliang, and His Majesty is in the prime of his life; why should he worry about not having an heir?"
"How can we arbitrarily change ancestral rules and shake the foundation of the nation simply because we are childless for a time?"
"If I were to pass the throne to my brother, I fear the people of the land... and all the feudal lords, would be dissatisfied!"
…………
Grand Commandant Gu Youzhi's words were eloquent and powerful, striking the hearts of everyone present like a heavy hammer.
Upon hearing Grand Commandant Gu Youzhi's words, the Empress Dowager's eyes immediately turned fierce, revealing a murderous intent.
She was about to erupt in anger and rebuke him sharply, but before she could speak, General Huo Zhong, who had been silent until now and was expected to remain neutral in the matter, suddenly stepped forward and stood in front of Gu Youzhi:
"Your Majesty, His Majesty was simply drunk and misspoke..."
"After all, the position of crown prince is extremely important; it cannot be treated lightly."
…………
At this point, Huo Zhong stepped forward again, picked up the golden ladle used for scooping wine from the table, scooped a full ladle of wine from the wine pot on the imperial table, and then presented it to Emperor Xiao Qingkuang. At the same time, a seemingly simple and honest but actually meaningful smile appeared on his face:
"Your Majesty, come! Come! Come! Since it was a slip of the tongue while drunk, let this wine be the punishment. This matter... let's just consider it a joke and let it go!"
The Empress Dowager looked at her own nephew, Huo Zhong, who was also a powerful general with a large army in his hands. Huo Zhong had publicly stated his position, not standing on her side and not supporting her youngest son as the crown prince. Her face was... extremely ugly!
At that moment, the Empress Dowager felt as if she had been slapped hard in public.
Upon thinking this, the Empress Dowager's chest heaved violently—she was furious!
At the same time, seeing that two important figures were already blocking the way, Grand Tutor Zhao Wuji immediately stopped hesitating and took a step forward as well:
"Your Majesty, the selection of an heir is a matter of great importance to the nation, concerning the stability of the country and its people. How can it be decided in a single word at this banquet? We urge Your Majesty to consider this matter carefully!"
Subsequently, Zhao Meng, the Minister of War, Ma Meng, the Right General, and other high-ranking officials also stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and cried out, "Your Majesty, please be cautious! Your Majesty, please be cautious!"
Seeing that almost all the civil and military officials had stepped forward to oppose the movement, the Empress Dowager and Prince Su could only turn their hopeful gazes to the imperial relatives. They hoped that these members of the royal family, who usually liked to flatter the Empress Dowager and show their loyalty to her, would stand up and lend a hand to the opposing side.
However, faced with the pleading eyes of the Empress Dowager and Prince Su, those royal relatives who usually fawned over the powerful either pretended to be drunk and slept soundly on the table, or stared down at their toes as if there were flowers on the ground. Not a single one of them dared to stand up and say a word for them.
At this moment, the Hall of Supreme Harmony fell into a deathly silence, with only the wine cup that Gu Youzhi had just overturned seemingly still dripping wine from it...
Now that things have come to this, what can the Empress Dowager and Prince Su, Xiao Suyue, say?
They could only accept the earlier statement from the court officials—His Majesty… is drunk!
Therefore, His Majesty's previous remarks about establishing an heir were merely slips of the tongue while drunk and should not be taken seriously!
The Empress Dowager and Prince Su, Xiao Suyue, were well aware that if they continued to force the issue, they would truly be disregarding ancestral rules and standing in opposition to the entire court!
As for Emperor Xiao Qingkuang... although he truly did not care about making Prince Su the crown prince, given the overwhelming public sentiment and the fact that neither the Empress Dowager nor Prince Su had the confidence to continue, Xiao Qingkuang naturally had no reason to stand up for them and withstand the wrath of the entire court!
then……
"Hahahaha..."
Xiao Qingkuang suddenly burst into laughter.
Then, in front of everyone, he drunkenly reached out and took the golden spoon from Huo Zhong's hand:
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"I've had too much to drink!"
"When I'm drunk, I tend to talk nonsense... This drinking deserves punishment! This drinking deserves punishment!"
…………
Then, Xiao Qingkuang raised the golden spoon, tilted his head back, and drank the wine in it in one gulp.
When Xiao Qingkuang tossed the golden spoon into the wine pot with a "clang," the somewhat thrilling controversy surrounding the succession was temporarily brought to an end...