Wan Zhen’er said: “Don’t cry! Don’t cry!”
The prince continued crying, saying between sobs: “Aunt Wan, don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!”
Wan Zhen’er kissed the prince’s delicate, small face, tenderly saying: “Aunt Wan won’t leave you! Aunt Wan will always be with you.”
The prince calmed down, looking at Wan Zhen’er with bright eyes.
Then, the prince smiled, tears still hanging on his face.
Deposed Prince
When the prince was five years old, he was finally deposed as those small-minded people had long wished. They had been yearning for the prince’s eccentric uncle to issue an imperial decree deposing the prince and establishing his own biological son, Zhu Jianjing, as the new heir.
Fortunately, the prince’s eccentric uncle wasn’t completely heartless. Remembering that the prince was his late brother’s flesh and blood, and sharing the Zhu surname, he didn’t completely destroy the prince’s future, granting him the title of King of Yi.
But her voice had lost its previous resonance, and many matters were no longer under her control. For instance, she strongly opposed preventing her biological grandson Zhu Jinshen from becoming the future emperor, but her opposition was ineffective.
The one sitting on the dragon throne was no longer her biological son, and the person on the dragon throne refused to listen to Empress Dowager Sun, leaving her powerless to change anything. The court officials, so-called pillars of the state, were either uninvolved or unwilling to offend the current emperor.
If the emperor were to blame them, they could be mutilated, and not only be disabled but also have their entire clan punished, with wives, children, and grandchildren reduced to slavery for generations. Those officials who feared death, embracing the philosophy of “every man for himself,” didn’t object much to Emperor Jing Zhu Qiyu pushing his nephew Zhu Jinshen off the heir’s position and placing his own biological son Zhu Jianjing on the throne. They obediently complied, and some even applauded.
The one who stood up against this was Empress Wang, Emperor Jing’s wife.
