Chapter 678: Imperial Edict <<<
"My father personally designated me as the Crown Prince Regent, and you dare to encroach upon my authority? Tomorrow, will you depose me from this position of Crown Prince? The day after tomorrow, will you take my seat yourself?"
As he spoke, Li Chen pointed his finger at the golden and splendid dragon throne on the imperial platform, which was empty.
That was a chair representing the supreme power in the world.
This chair is only for the emperor to sit on.
And these words, almost pierced directly into Zhao Xuanji's heart.
"Prince!"
Zhao Qinglan said coldly, "Don't pester me anymore. Do you not even listen to this palace? Can this palace no longer control you?"
The Qin Dynasty established its country through military might and ruled the world with filial piety.
So, in this situation, Li Chen couldn't possibly give a definitive answer to this question.
He spoke with indifference, “As a son, I naturally respect my mother. But it depends on the situation. If my mother conspires with outsiders and tries to ruin our Li family’s century-old foundation and vast territory, then I cannot simply stand by.”
Zhao Qinglan's face turned pale, her phoenix eyes filled with anger as she rebuked, "What did you say?! How could I have ruined the centuries-old foundation and the vast rivers and mountains! Shouldn't this be something a prince like you should say to me?!"
"So, is it what a mother should do to ally with the relatives of her family and attempt to usurp my position as crown prince?"
Li Chen stood firm, needle against wheat awn, not giving an inch.
"What a turnaround!"
Zhao Qinglan's face contorted with rage, but her heart remained remarkably calm.
Li Chen has been disrespectful to her before, this is not the first time.
She had long been used to it.
And this scene, his own father had long foreseen.
She has a plan to deal with it.
That's because Li Chen wouldn't dare to flip the table.

"Someone, come here!"
Zha Qinglan's phoenix robe fluttered as she spoke in a commanding voice, "I am Empress Xiao Yi Ren of the Great Qin Empire. Now that the Emperor is unwell and unable to discipline the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince has become disobedient and unfilial, I order you to bring him back to the East Palace. Until further notice from me, he is not allowed to leave the East Palace!"
The Qin Empire had extremely strict rules governing the imperial harem.
If a harem is prohibited from interfering in politics, the possibility of the harem meddling in state affairs would be largely eliminated.
Therefore, in normal circumstances, the empress's authority was confined to the inner palace, and her influence on court affairs was minimal.
Especially the emperor's confirmed crown prince, the Empress would be addressed as "Empress Dowager," but in reality, both held equal status. In terms of actual power, the crown prince, as heir apparent, was clearly more powerful than the Empress.
There are always exceptions to every rule.
As brilliant as the founder of the Qin Dynasty was, when he established the imperial rules, he probably couldn't have imagined that in later generations, there would be a situation where an emperor fell seriously ill and remained unconscious, and the empress conspired with powerful ministers to suppress the prince.
After all, the Empress Dowager nominally rules over the world, and the Crown Prince is her son. If they openly rebelled, they would inevitably be labeled as unfilial.
While in the Qin Dynasty, filial piety was a grave crime.
If ordinary people are unfilial, they will be lightly punished with thirty lashes, and severely punished by being exiled to the frontier.
If the prince is unfilial, then the legitimacy of his inheritance of the throne in the future will be questionable.
This is the confidence of Zhao Qinglan and Zhao Xuanji.
They bet that Li Chen wouldn't dare to risk being called unfilial by the whole world by defying the Empress Dowager's imperial decree.
As expected, after Zhao Qinglan's imperial decree was issued, the eunuchs in the inner court looked at each other with conflicted emotions.
They wouldn't dare to move the crown prince.
They would not dare to defy the imperial edict, let alone disobey it.
Moreover, Zhao Qinglan even brought out her own title. This is a situation of life and death.

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