The Legend of Zhen Huan: Rebirth of Ling Rong

Nian Gengyao presented a memorial to the emperor to congratulate him on the astrological event, but he accidentally wrote "Xiyang Chaoqian" instead of "Chaoqian Xiti". This mistake infuriated the emperor, who threw the memorial to the ground in anger.

Su Peisheng, who was standing by, hurried forward to pick up the memorial. Seeing the emperor so angry, Su Peisheng was so scared that he didn't dare to say a word.

In the end, this memorial was sent back to Nian Gengyao without the emperor's approval.

The next morning, during the morning meeting, civil and military officials held a heated discussion on the matter in the court and impeached Nian Gengyao one after another.

They listed dozens of charges against Nian Gengyao in detail, each of which was enough to sentence him to death.

The emperor summoned his civil officials to the imperial study to discuss how to deal with Nian Gengyao.

Everyone had their own opinions. Some demanded severe punishment for Nian Gengyao, while others advocated delaying the process. After all, Nian Gengyao held a large number of troops, and what would happen if he was forced into rebellion?

The emperor sitting on the dragon throne looked gloomily at the ministers who were arguing with each other below. These officials who usually lived a life of luxury and were high and mighty were now arguing like old ladies buying vegetables in the market, with red faces and thick necks. The whole imperial study was in chaos.

"Shut up!" The emperor finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted angrily. Everyone in the hall was shocked and fell silent.

The emperor took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then said, "My dear ministers, I have summoned you here today to discuss how to deal with Nian Gengyao. Nian Gengyao, a senior official of the imperial court, has not considered repaying his country's kindness. Instead, he has become arrogant and tyrannical. Therefore, I would like to hear your opinions."

After a while, a minister stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, although Nian Gengyao is guilty, he has made certain contributions to the country. Moreover, he commands a large military force. If we deal with him hastily, it will probably cause unnecessary trouble. In my opinion, it would be better to temporarily confine him and strip him of his military power, and then slowly investigate his crimes. This way, we can prevent him from taking desperate measures and maintain the dignity of the court."

Another minister retorted, "Your Majesty, Nian Gengyao has already committed a grave error. We cannot let him off simply because he has made contributions. If we do not act decisively now, disaster will surely ensue. Moreover, since Nian Gengyao has dared to act so presumptuously, he must have harbored rebellious intentions. If we hesitate, he will only become more arrogant."

The third minister continued, "Your Majesty, although Nian Gengyao commands a large army, his forces are not monolithic. If we can secretly incite some generals to defect, we can weaken his power. Furthermore, we can strengthen the defenses of the capital, just in case."

The fourth minister agreed: "Your Majesty, Nian Gengyao should indeed be punished, but the current situation is complicated and we should not rush. First, we must quickly gather evidence of Nian Gengyao's crimes to ensure we have a solid basis for trial. Second, we must prepare for the worst-case scenario. If Nian Gengyao rebels, we must have sufficient troops and countermeasures."

The fifth minister warned, "Your Majesty, Nian Gengyao's problem isn't just his personal ambition; it affects the entire officialdom. If we don't punish him severely, others will dare to challenge the imperial power in the future. Therefore, we must make an example of him to warn everyone, to let everyone know that the emperor's authority cannot be violated."

The sixth minister echoed, "Your Majesty, Nian Gengyao is indeed extremely despicable, but he is also one of the most important generals in the court. If we are too tough, it may cause panic among the other generals and even lead to civil unrest. Therefore, we must consider it carefully and try to resolve this issue peacefully..."

For a moment, there were many different opinions, and everyone insisted on their own opinion, and no one would give in.

The emperor finally decided to remove Nian Gengyao from his post as Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, demoted him to General of Hangzhou, abolished the positions of Nian Fu and Nian Xing in the court, and dismissed a large number of officials recommended by Nian Gengyao.

"My lady, Eunuch Su is here and said that the emperor wants you to go to the imperial study!" Baojuan ran to tell me happily.

The Emperor invited me to the Imperial Study? It must have been because of Nian Gengyao's incident. Concubine Hua went to the Emperor to plead for mercy, but the Emperor couldn't refuse outright out of consideration for his feelings, so he asked me to go.

But it doesn’t matter. I don’t care about the emperor now, so why would I care whether he is sincere to me or not?

As long as I can gain favor, I will not be bullied in the palace and everyone will respect me.

Nian Gengyao was at the end of his rope, and Concubine Hua had nothing else to do.

"Since the Emperor wants me to go, then I will go. Baojuan, let's go!"

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" I bowed respectfully to the emperor.

The emperor looked up and saw me coming. His face immediately lit up with smiles and he reached out to help me up.

"Rong'er, I haven't seen you for a few days. I heard that you went to accompany Concubine Hui a few days ago. Mei'er and I should thank you very much!"

"Your Majesty, please do this. Sister Mei and I are like sisters. Your Majesty has been busy with state affairs recently. It is my duty to take better care of you. I dare not take credit for it." I looked at the emperor sincerely.

Although I hold a high position, I do not have many children. The eldest prince followed Empress Chunyuan, the second prince died of illness, the third prince is mediocre, the fourth prince is of humble origin, and the fifth prince is mischievous. I feel deeply sorry for my ancestors."

As the emperor said this, there was a hint of guilt in his eyes.

"The Emperor is in his prime, so there is no need to worry now. The princes are of noble character, and the Emperor's children will naturally be good."

Concubine Hui gave birth to the sixth prince for me. Now I am looking forward to the child of you and Concubine Wan. If I can have two more princes, I will be relieved.

"Your Majesty, isn't the princess good enough? She's as lovely and beautiful as Princess Wen Yi. How wonderful!"

"Our children, whether princes or princesses, are all good. If they are princesses, they will definitely be like Rong'er, gentle, sensible, and considerate."

Looking at the emperor's expectation for children, even though he is the emperor, he also wants to have many children so that he can enjoy the happiness of family.

But once these simple things are associated with power, they become distorted.

There is no such thing as sincerity in the royal family. Even between husband and wife, father and son, mother and son, and brothers, there are no exceptions.

Songzhi got the news and hurried to tell Concubine Hua: "Your Majesty, this is terrible. The Emperor has just demoted the general to the general of Hangzhou and also revoked the positions of the two young masters."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Hua was so frightened that her legs went limp and she collapsed on the couch.

"The Emperor actually demoted my brother to the position of General of Hangzhou. The Emperor is angry and wants to punish my brother. How could he even remove his prosperous and prosperous position? No, I have to go see the Emperor. Please ask if he is free to see me."

"Forget it, there's no need to ask." Concubine Hua stopped Songzhi who was about to go out.

"I will go to the Emperor right now and plead for my brother!"

"Eunuch Su, is the emperor free to see me now?" Concubine Hua asked Su Peisheng with a pleading look on her face.

"Empress Hua, the Emperor is busy now. You don't need to come to pay your respects to him these two days." Su Peisheng stopped Concubine Hua outside.