Forensic Imperial Concubine novel Chapter 647

"Prince Francis is smart and virtuous, so he is qualified for the position of the crown prince."

"But Prince Francis has been weak all year round. He has to spend more than half a year on the bed every year. With such poor health, how could he perform the duties as a crown prince well? I don't think he is a good choice." Someone immediately objected to the proposal. After all, Francis had been weak for so many years and was often seriously ill. If he was to be chosen as the crown prince, it wouldn't be good for the Bright Dynasty to have a crown prince who might succumb to his illness at any time.

"Prince Lucas is smart and in good health. Although he is such a ladies' man."

"He enjoys all forms of gambling and likes to go whoring. Aren't you afraid that he might lose the entire Bright Dynasty on the gambling table?" Someone furiously expressed his disapproval. Lucas' dishonorable deeds were too numerous to be listed down. When he was only thirteen years old, the emperor gave him a beauty, but he immediately lost her in a gambling game. When he was fourteen years old, the emperor gave him a mansion as his residence, but he lost the deed of its title in another gambling game even though he had only been living in it for a couple of days. Fortunately, Matthew had brought the title deed back to him. When he was fifteen years old, the emperor ordered him to work at the Ministry of Revenue. Later on, he ended up owing a huge sum of money from gambling and told his creditors to collect the money from the Ministry of Revenue with evidence of debt, including the debt he owed for going whoring and throwing banquets with his whores.

"Well... But except those mentioned bad habits, Prince Lucas doesn't really have any other one."

"Don't you think he already has too many bad habits?" a courtier blurted out, flying into a fit of rage. "How can such a wicked prince like him handle the great responsibility? No, I absolutely disagree. He is even worse than Prince Francis. Prince Francis' health has been seeing some improvement. Who knows? Maybe he would even recover completely very soon."

"Prince Francis has been ill for fifteen years. He should have recovered a long time ago if he could. Considering the fact that he still hasn't recovered yet, it's safe to say that he is never going to recover completely."

"You're talking nonsense. Prince Francis can walk normally just like everyone now, can't he? Why would you think that he can't recover? He's a much better option than Prince Lucas, who goes whoring every day, without even attending to his proper duties. How could such a man as Prince Lucas take the great responsibility of being the crown prince?"

Divided into two camps, the courtiers kept arguing, foaming at the mouth. For the time being, there were only two feasible options presented—Francis or Lucas as the new crown prince. Francis was weak, while Lucas was perverse. The two groups of courtiers went on insisting their own views, neither of them showing signs of giving in. Their debate was about to overturn the roof of the Golden Hall.

In the gathering's entirety, not once did Franklin take part. He simply watched and listened to the others as they argued as an onlooker. Zack, on the other hand, was a bit laid-back, as he echoed the opinions of both groups of courtiers. Needless to say, he was simply taking pleasure in watching this good play.

As he looked at the two groups go at each other's throats, Allen helplessly shook his head in disappointment. "I'm old," he exclaimed.

"You must be kidding, Father. You are not old at all," Clark commented with a smile. Truth be told, he wasn't taking the debate among the courtiers very seriously, but he felt like watching a play. After all, the new crown prince was going to be determined by the emperor himself rather than any of the courtiers. Now that the emperor hadn't fully recovered yet, the courtiers' debate would not be of any use, regardless of how fiercely they tried to argue about it.

"Franklin, do you think there will be any result after their debate?" Allen looked at Franklin and asked, in a way making it seem as if this was not a serious question at all.

"The heir to the throne concerns the whole country. Not only does the new crown prince have to be healthy, but he also has to be virtuous. With that in mind, I have no idea if there will be any result," Franklin smiled in a tactful manner. Most of the emperor's sons were either dead or stripped of their titles. At the moment, only two grown-up princes were available. However, a sudden realization came to Franklin's mind as he remembered that the emperor still had one more grown-up son.

Due to his own realization, Franklin's eyes lit up. But just as he was about to say something, a loud voice rang out. "What happened in the Golden Hall today? It's so noisy here. Is it because I haven't been back to the imperial capital for too long a time that I wasn't made aware that the Golden Hall has turned into a vegetable market?"

Hearing this, the crowd looked toward the door, where the voice was coming from. They saw a young man wearing a prince's robe walking slowly. With a gentle smile on his face, he showed his nobleness through his gestures and expressions. His name was Jason Jun, the third son of the emperor, the prince Franklin had just remembered. It had been a while since the last time he was in the imperial capital.

"Your Highness!"

"Long time no see. Why are you looking at me in a way as if you've seen a ghost or something? Do I have something on my face?" Jason asked with a playful smile, touching his face with his hand.

"Your Highness."

"Stand up please. There's no need for formalities. I came back in great haste after I heard that Father was seriously ill. Now that Father is much better, I feel very relieved. I wonder what you are quarreling about so fiercely," Jason asked as a great big smile crept onto his face, as though he truly had no idea what it was all about.

The courtiers looked at one another in silence. Their eyes all lit up at the same time as they realized that apart from Francis and Lucas, the emperor still had another son—Jason. They had completely forgotten about him because he had been away from the imperial capital all year round and out of their sight. Now that Jason had appeared in front of them, they all thought that he would be the best choice out of the three. After all, he was both healthy and virtuous.

"Your Highness, we were just arguing about some trivial things. I guess you won't be leaving the imperial capital again since you're finally back," a courtier asked hesitantly.

"No, I won't be leaving anytime soon. I won't think about it until Father has fully regained his health," Jason flatly answered. Cupping one hand with the other to make an obeisance toward the courtiers, he went on and added, "Well, I'm going to visit Father. Everyone, goodbye."

"Goodbye, Your Highness."