Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife-Chapter 411: Pride, Recruitment, and Proclamation
Behind Pei Jinheng appeared a person, it was none other than Pang Shuangyue!
At this moment, Pang Shuangyue was extremely proud, like a peacock flaunting its feathers, smug yet reserved!
She knew that after today, she would become the Hidden Empress, and when Pei Jinheng eventually mastered great power, she would truly become the Empress!
Being second only to one, above all others, holding the lives of countless concubines in the harem in her hands, that feeling of supreme power was simply marvelous!
As Pang Shuangyue spoke, she walked with noble and graceful steps among the ministers, even swaying a bit in front of some palace concubines, looking down from such a high position felt incredibly refreshing!
"Hmm? Why isn’t father speaking? Isn’t it a cause for celebration? Hahaha..."
She said coquettishly, laughing up to the sky!
At this moment, Pei Shangqing was already dumbfounded.
Pei Jinheng, is he actually the posthumous son of the Crown Prince Chu from the Chen Country that Qi Yun destroyed years ago?
This... how is this even possible?
The woman holding Jinheng back then, she was clearly in rags, claiming that she had too many children at home to feed, begging them to save this child, even if it meant just giving him a bite to eat, even using him as a servant would do?
Who could have thought that the child they almost took in as a servant was actually the posthumous son of the Crown Prince Chu of the Chen Country?
Pei Shangqing staggered and fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
He looked up at Qi Yun on the dragon bed in the grand hall, suddenly knelt down, and started banging his head desperately: "Your Majesty, this old minister is guilty, I’m guilty, I have failed our ancestors, I have failed the people of the world!"
Blood oozed from his forehead, but no one went up to console him, everyone watched him coldly.
Pei Shangqing, you old fool, you’re causing deaths here!
It’s fine to adopt a son, but of all people, you chose a remnant of the Chen Country? This is truly... a disaster out of nowhere!
They all suffered an unexpected calamity!
Qi Yun still lay on the dragon bed, muttering to himself: "Traitorous minister, traitorous minister..."
It seemed that’s all he could say now, as if he no longer perceived the external world.
The Emperor has become like this, what hope do they have?
"It’s you, it’s you! You’re the one who has doomed the Emperor like this, isn’t that right? You damned son, traitorous son!!!"
Pei Shangqing suddenly lifted his head, looking at Pei Jinheng behind him with a blank expression, and roared.
Pei Jinheng stood with his hands behind his back, and said calmly, "Prime Minister Pei, as long as you submit to me, you will still be my adoptive father. I will treat you with respect, and in the future, you’ll still be the Prime Minister of the new dynasty, with wealth and honor unmatched!"
He had long wanted to tell Pei Shangqing these words, but he knew the old man was stubborn, and saying it back then would probably just have him drag him to Qi Yun.
But now it doesn’t matter, everything will be settled soon, he will establish a new Emperor, but this Emperor is merely a puppet, the real power behind the throne will be him, Pei Jinheng!
Moreover, once he’s fully in control of the empire, that puppet will be unnecessary, and he will ascend the throne, changing the nation’s title, truly restoring the kingdom!
How grand a feat is this?
Pei Jinheng was delighted in his heart, took a deep breath, feeling even the air was sweet, it was exhilarating!
"Ptooey!"
Pei Shangqing spat forcefully at him, full of disdain, "Traitorous minister, this old man feels ashamed to be associated with you!"
"Father, don’t be so stubborn! You can be as steadfast as iron, be a great loyal minister, but what about mother? And your other children, are you not going to care about their lives?"
Pang Shuangyue spoke beautifully with a smile on her face, but a hint of malice flashed in her eyes.
The Pei family wasn’t kind to her; after Long Yue caused a scene at their wedding, Mrs. Pei was dissatisfied with her. Plus, after she married into the Pei family, without producing any offspring, she received even less respect.
They would even scold her to her face, which made Pang Shuangyue deeply resentful, but for Pei Jinheng’s grand scheme, she had to endure it.
Now, her patience had finally paid off, hahahaha!
After talking, she glanced haughtily at Pei Shangqing lying on the ground.
Pei Shangqing suddenly trembled, shivering.
Yes, he wasn’t afraid of dying, he could die for the Dazhou Dynasty, but what about his family? He had two sons from concubines, three daughters, should they also accompany him in death?
Seeing Pei Shangqing’s trembling body, Pei Jinheng knew he was moved, so he urged warmly: "Father, surrender.
There’s nothing shameful in surrendering, I can ensure your future wealth and prosperity. Maybe they’ll call you a traitor now, but ten years, twenty years from now? Who will remember this? History is written by the victors!"
As he said this, he glanced at other ministers, which was no less than an invitation; many of these people were pillars of the nation, and there were not many in his hands. Recruiting them could be helpful.
Moreover, the fewer court officials that change, the lesser the criticism will be, making this endeavor achieve multiple goals at once.
Pei Shangqing knelt there like a clay statue, not knowing what to decide, while some ministers already pledged their allegiance to Pei Jinheng.
These people were originally Pei Jinheng’s, and now pledging their allegiance seemed more than appropriate.
And, as they pledged, it would encourage other ministers to do the same, quickly drawing people to their side.
"Shameless, incompetent, useless, you turncoats! You are unworthy of being officials, unworthy!" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Cui Yuanhe, a straightforward loyal minister, was trembling with anger at this moment, feeling those ministers who surrendered were disgraceful and unworthy of being officials of Dazhou!
He roared loudly, but few paid him any mind. One of the ministers even said, "Prime Minister Cui, surrender, at least you can ensure the safety of yourself and your family!"
"Ptooey, shameless brat, I refuse to associate with you!"
The official who tried to persuade him was spat on by Cui Yuanhe, getting furious instantly, and cursed, "Old fool, you’re like a stinking rock in a latrine, the moment I try to lift you, you snap? Afraid of dying, afraid of the extermination of nine generations, suit yourself, huh!"
"Traitorous minister, traitorous minister..."
Qi Yun continued to mutter lying on the dragon bed, long having witnessed the disgrace of these ministers, knowing clearly who was loyal and who was treacherous.
"Alright, stop arguing, these are the ones who came over, don’t worry, this prince will remember you, and in the future, there will certainly be no shortage of benefits, as for those, they will be executed later!"
Pei Jinheng stood with one hand behind his back, waving the other impatiently: "Go announce the imperial edict!"
Reading the imperial edict requires witnesses, additionally, for a new Emperor to ascend, there’s a need for a general amnesty, currently, these ministers cannot be killed, they need to serve as a facade.
Soon, an eunuch who had been won over by them came forward with a roll of the imperial edict.
"Under the will of heaven, the Emperor decrees, the Seventeenth Prince is sincere, filial, and talented... excels in governance, skilled in utilizing people, thus appointed as Crown Prince, to ascend the throne immediately!"
After the imperial edict was announced, the grand hall fell silent!
