The daily life of the concubine of the Prime Minister

Besides, the rumors about Xiyao in Beijing have stopped at that. Qin Ke is a steady person, so there is nothing to worry about.

On the second day, Qin Ke took Chen Xiyao and Li Mei and headed south.

Liu Yu stayed with Master Chen San.

Although the obstacle Wang Xun has been removed, the garrison cannot be left leaderless.

They waited until the third day, when a man named Xun Lin, also known as General Xun, was sent from the capital to take over the remaining garrison.

Mr. Chen San asked Xun Lin for a team of men to clear out several secret locations set up by Wang Xun, including the inn.

As the garrison was too slow to return to the capital, and the captured people could not be delayed, they were finally brought back to the capital by Mr. Chen Sanye.

It was five days later that Liu Yu and his companions arrived in the capital.

As soon as he entered the village outside Beijing, Liu Yu discovered something was wrong. White sails were hung on the doors of every household.

She just thought that a respected elder in the village had passed away and didn't think much about it.

But as we got closer to the capital, we saw that all of them were hanging without exception, which made people think more.

Both Mr. Chen Sanye and Liu Yu felt a pang in their hearts, and a bad emotion surged in their hearts.

They looked at each other, and Liu Yu pulled over an auntie who was entering the city and asked, "Auntie, what happened? Why are there white sails even at the city gate?"

Although she had some guesses in her mind, she still wanted to hear the answer with her own ears before she would believe it.

The aunt looked at her for a moment, and seeing that she looked exhausted, she asked, "Sister, you just returned to the capital today, right?"

"Yes, auntie." Liu Yu replied with a smile: "Did something happen in the capital?"

"The emperor died suddenly last night."

Liu Yu couldn't believe his ears: "Aunt, you are indeed the emperor, not the empress dowager? The emperor is in his prime, and he hasn't been on the throne for two years."

"Who says it's not true?" Auntie sighed and muttered softly, "The court is getting worse and worse. There was just a benevolent emperor who did some practical things for the people, but within a few days, he died. I'm afraid that in the future, we ordinary people will suffer again."

"Auntie, we will live a peaceful and prosperous life." Liu Yu said this with certainty and caught up with Mr. Chen Sanye and the others.

She told Uncle Chen Sanye exactly what the aunt said.

She asked:

"You believed it last time. Did the Heavenly Family say anything unusual?"

"no"

It was common knowledge that the new emperor was in poor health, but the pulse diagnosis given by the Imperial Medical Bureau had always concluded that the emperor could live for at least another four or five years.

It is intriguing that he died suddenly, especially when Mr. Chen San had just left the capital.

When the emperor was alive, he did not have a crown prince, and he only had one eldest prince who was also in poor health.

"What should we do now?" Liu Yu asked.

Master Chen San climbed onto his horse and said, "I will go to the palace to find out what is going on. You should return home quickly and comfort your mother and sister-in-law."

Liu Yu nodded: "Okay."

The last time the old emperor passed away, people are still terrified by what happened to the Chen family.

Seeing Master Chen San leaving on his horse, Liu Yu immediately ordered: "Uncle, please hurry up and get into the city..."

……

In the newly built mourning hall in the imperial palace.

Below were a group of concubines kneeling and weeping. On the left stood Zhou Zheng and three officials of the Zhou faction. On the right stood Yang Shizhong and two people, Chen Sanye, who was loyal to him. Kneeling beside them was the eldest prince who was guarding the body of Emperor Ren'an.

Every minister had a sad look on his face and wiped his tears with a handkerchief.

Zhou Zheng winked at the six people behind him and walked to the back, and the other six followed him out one after another.

They entered a temporary classroom.

"My Lords, you have seen that the First Prince only trusts and is close to Chen Zhihe's people. If the First Prince ascends the throne, will there still be a place for us in the court in the future?"

The six of them shook their heads in unison.

Zhou Zheng's lips curled slightly, then he sat down at the table, cleared his throat, and asked seriously:

"What do you think of what I mentioned to you earlier?"

The six people were shocked. They originally thought that Zhou Zheng was just saying it casually, but now that he mentioned it seriously, it seemed that he had already made the decision.

Their hearts began to pound. Those sitting in the back quickly stood up, looked outside, and closed the door tightly after making sure that no one was there.

"Master, what you mean is to change the emperor?" someone asked in a low voice.

Zhou Zheng hummed.

"Master, do you have someone in mind?" Although Emperor Ren'an left in a hurry, he did leave behind an imperial edict of succession, which clearly stated that the eldest prince Li Ke would succeed to the throne.

"There is one." Zhou Zheng did not hide anything and spoke frankly.

"Who?"

Zhou Zheng:

"The second son of the late emperor, the younger brother of Emperor Ren'an, Prince Qi Li Qi." Zhou Zhengzheng was the one who collaborated with Wang Xun from both inside and outside.

What happened in Quanxing County was sealed up by Mr. Chen Sanye.

At this time, Zhou Zheng had not received the news of Li Qi's death and was still carrying out the normal plan.

Some people frowned. This was a matter of life and death. If he was really a wise candidate, they would be willing to risk their entire family's life and wealth.

But Qi Wang Li Qi, over the years, has not done a single thing well.

He is the one who played a good hand of cards badly.

For people like this, it would be better for them to do nothing. Even if the eldest prince trusts Chen Zhihe, as long as they do nothing, don't think about promotion, and just lie in their original positions, there will be no problem.

When the court is good, they work hard; when the court is bad, they just lie down. This is the essence of their ability to serve stably in the court after going through several dynasties.

Zhou Zheng was unhappy, but he still analyzed the pros and cons with a smile on his face.

"Everyone, let me tell you something here! If the eldest prince was a good person, I wouldn't have bothered him, but he is a sickly person. I went to the director of the Imperial Hospital to ask for a correction.

The eldest prince will not live past eighteen. You have all seen how a healthy man got sick and died in an instant.

To sit in that position, talent is important, but having an important body is also very necessary.

Is Li Qi really that bad? I don’t think so! We all know why Emperor Ren’an was able to ascend to the throne.”

Zhou Zheng's words really touched the hearts of the six ministers.

Think about it, Emperor Ren'an was almost forced to abdicate by Li Qi, and it was Chen Zhihe who took action to make Prince Qi lose the opportunity to compete for the position.

The coup d'état launched by Li Qi was also judged by Chen Zhihe and Yuzhang Hou.

All appearances prove that it is not that Prince Qi is incompetent, but that Chen Zhihe is too powerful.

"What if it's Chen Zhihe..." Some people were still worried that Chen Zhihe would come back and punish them.

Zhou Zheng raised his hand to stop the official from speaking, and said firmly:

"Don't worry, everyone. Chen Zhihe won't be coming back."

"Really?" The six officials exclaimed, their eyes wide open, looking at Zhou Zheng in disbelief.

Zhou Zheng stroked his beard with satisfaction.

"Without Chen Zhihe as an obstacle, do you still think there is no hope at all?"