The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 122

Moreover, it's simply inappropriate for the Dowager Princess to enter the capital; it's against all propriety. Under what status should she have entered the capital?

Yang Tinghe naturally understood Zhu Houcong's meaning: he wanted to change his mother's status to Empress Dowager.

However, doing so would be tantamount to indirectly acknowledging the deceased Prince Heunghyeon as the former emperor.

This is a loophole that must never be opened.

"Your Majesty, you have now entered the main lineage, and your status is different from that of the Dowager Princess."

Yang Tinghe said.

The main reason is that Zhu Houcong didn't explicitly say he wanted to bring Lady Jiang to the capital; he originally intended for Yang Tinghe to say it.

Yang Tinghe pretended to be confused and didn't respond.

"Does Grand Secretary Yang mean that I'm disowning my own mother in order to become emperor?"

Zhu Houcong pressed for an answer.

Upon hearing this, Yang Tinghe found himself in an even more difficult position. If he continued along the lines of what was said, it would be as if he had made the emperor unfilial. Yang Tinghe, who was meticulous in his work, would naturally not bear such a crime.

Yang Tinghe subtly winked at Xia Yan. He was very dissatisfied with Xia Yan's continued pretense of death and wanted Xia Yan to come out and say something. After all, Xia Yan was the Minister of Rites, so it was most appropriate for him to step forward at this time.

Xia Yan remained with her eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to Yang Tinghe's subtle actions.

In fact, Xia Yan was almost asleep. Mainly because he was nearly forty years old and hadn't slept all night, he had difficulty even opening his eyes. In addition, he felt guilty about what happened last night, so he naturally ignored Yang Tinghe.

Yang Yiqing, Zhang Cong, and the others looked at Yang Tinghe's slightly embarrassed appearance with amusement.

They and Yang Tinghe and his ilk were never on the same side. Perhaps they had cooperated briefly before due to interests, but now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe is the biggest obstacle to their rise to power.

Yang Yiqing, in particular, was only one step away from becoming the Grand Secretary, and his ambition was already uncontrollable. He couldn't wait for Yang Tinghe to retire and return to his hometown.

Although he is five years older than Yang Tinghe, and is already 68 years old this year, with his neck almost buried in the yellow earth, power makes people young. Neither Yang Yiqing nor Yang Tinghe showed signs of aging, and most of their hair was still black.

"Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. I understand Your Majesty's filial piety and desire to bring the Dowager Consort to the capital to enjoy her old age. However, under what status should the Dowager Consort enter the capital? Entering the capital under the Dowager Consort's status is not in accordance with etiquette."

Yang Tinghe had no choice but to jump into the trap set by Jiajing, even though he knew it was a trap set for him.

Only then did Yang Tinghe realize just how troublesome this fifteen-year-old emperor was, who, once he gained the upper hand, gave him no chance whatsoever.

Yang Tinghe deeply regretted his decision to support this man's ascension to the throne.

Yang Tinghe's financial difficulties were noticed by many people, including Yang Yiqing.

He instantly realized his chance had come, so he stepped forward.

"Your Excellency Yang is mistaken. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty by Emperor Taizu, the principle upheld by our Great Ming has always been to govern the country with filial piety. Back then, after Emperor Taizu established the Ming Dynasty, he posthumously honored Emperor Renzu as Emperor Chun. Now Your Majesty is merely wishing to emulate your ancestors. What is wrong with that? It is Your Excellency Yang who is obstructing us at every turn. I wonder what your intentions are?"

Emperor Jiajing, sitting on the throne, was immediately energized when he saw that the old fox Yang Yiqing had finally stepped in.

Today, I've been dominating everyone, all to lure this guy into the game. Once he's willing to get involved, things will go much more smoothly from here on out.

Yang Yiqing was highly respected in the court. As soon as he entered, many people were like sharks smelling blood, and immediately realized that their opportunity had arrived.

"Your Majesty's filial piety is truly touching and a blessing to our Great Ming Dynasty. I believe that Your Majesty should bring the Dowager Consort Wang to the capital and posthumously honor her as the Empress Dowager, thus fulfilling Your Majesty's filial duty."

Zhang Cong stepped forward.

Xia Yan opened her eyes and looked at Zhang Cong after hearing his words.

Zhang Cong is forty-seven years old and just passed the imperial examination this year. He was appointed to a position in the Ministry of Rites, but unexpectedly, he betrayed Xia Yan right away, which made Xia Yan very angry.

"Your Majesty, Minister Yang and Lord Zhang are absolutely right. Our Great Ming Dynasty governs the world with filial piety, and we should certainly grant Your Majesty's wish to be filial."

Han Jie was originally on the side of Zhou Chu and the emperor, and seeing that the opportunity had come, he naturally had to stand up and speak for Jiajing.

For a moment, the court was plunged into an extremely strange atmosphere, as no one expected today's court meeting to turn out this way.