Shipin Dalizheng

Li Dequan bent his body, stuck out his butt, and buried his face deeply in his hands, perhaps because he didn't have the word "guilty" on his head.

Emperor Xuanning frowned and pointed at him, "Drag this coward out. I want to hear the explanation from Earl Jian'an."

He Daban kicked Li Dequan and said, "Get lost."

Li Dequan responded, held his head with his hands, curled up into a ball, and "rolled" out. The emperor and his ministers were speechless.

Emperor Xuan Ning pointed at him and asked, "When did this fellow become such a scoundrel?"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty,"

Rong Tang took over the conversation, "Don't you want to hear my explanation? I will explain it to you. The deposed emperor was shot dead in the street by Sun Xianbin. I was busy comforting the people in the city and taking in the refugees outside. I was not paying attention and the Second Prince was abducted by Xie Yushi. I don't know why Xie Yushi did this, but I guess in his heart, loyalty to the emperor is more important than his life. I have issued a warrant for his arrest, and I think he will be brought to justice soon."

"Do you really think you can bring him to justice?"

"I believe that whether he is brought to justice or not is not detrimental to the overall situation. The unification of Dai Viet is a fact. The deposed emperor has abolished the throne, and both the former crown prince and the second prince have lost their legal right to inherit. Your Majesty will have a difficult decision to make if he is captured, whether to kill him or not. However, if he remains on the run, he will never see the light of day. Your Majesty's most important priority is not to reap unnecessary lives, but to publish the decree of the deposed Southern emperor as soon as possible and establish legal legitimacy. This way, Your Majesty will gain a reputation for benevolence and the people will naturally be loyal to him."

Emperor Xuanning looked at him inquiringly, "How can you, at such a young age, understand the art of maintaining a balance in the court?"

Rong Tang grinned, "I don't understand balance. Master Xie cheated me, so I cheated him. Your Majesty, Master Xie has come to kneel here a lot recently, right?"

Thinking of Taifu Xie frequently kneeling and apologizing for hours, Emperor Xuanning felt a sense of relief. He let out a long sigh, "I won't hide it from you. After you left, the Queen Mother had a few fights. She still treats the man in the south like a mother and son, and her feelings for him are deeper than mine. I've been thinking about what to do with the father and son over there after we conquer Jiangnan. Just like you said, if I kill them, the Queen Mother won't allow it. If I don't kill them, my authority will be gone. It's great that he died at the hands of his own subjects. As for the children..."

Emperor Xuanning sneered, "Nangong Yan has already escaped, so what if a younger one runs away? I have six sons, four of whom are adults. I am still worried that the two sons of the deposed emperor will rebel. As you said, he has already abolished the throne, and his sons have lost their legal right to inherit. If they plot again in the future, it will undoubtedly be rebellion. If they are executed then, even the Queen Mother will have nothing to say."

Rong Tang felt relieved. The fact that Emperor Xuanning listened to him proved that he was not stupid. He knew that he should use a gentle strategy to appease the people in the south of the Yangtze River first. Indiscriminate killing would only lead to criticism from some corrupt officials.

"My emperor is majestic and powerful."

Emperor Xuan Ning laughed heartily, came over and patted him on the shoulder, "You are a good boy, very smart."

He himself did not want to be stained with the blood of Nangong He and his son, so he had to ask others to do it. Unexpectedly, Rong Tang was smart enough, and he did not have the blood of the direct line on his hands. Even if the Queen Mother wanted to find someone to vent her anger, she could not find Rong Tang.

"Now tell me honestly, where does the money and food for disaster relief and resettlement of refugees come from?"

Rong Tang replied naturally, "Nan Chao collected it on his own in the early stage. After that, it was gone. I went out and robbed it."

"You sly fellow, yet you still say you're being honest..."

Emperor Xuan Ning wanted to slap the bald man, but thought it was inappropriate and scolded him with a smile: "You are so evil that pus is flowing. You deserve to be a monk."

As he was speaking, the commander of the imperial guards came in to report, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has driven out the people guarding the coffin of the deposed Southern Emperor, leaving only a eunuch who followed from the south."

Emperor Xuanning's eyes suddenly became deep, "It's Cao Laiwang!"

He Daban sighed, "He and I were castrated together. He was assigned to the Second Prince, and I followed Your Majesty. It's been nearly forty years."

Emperor Xuanning looked at Rong Tang and said in a reproachful tone, "Why are you so careless?"

It was his fault for leaving the murderer alive and giving him something to hold against him. Once Cao Laiwang said something in front of the Queen Mother, she would definitely find trouble with Rong Tang.

Rong Tang did not explain much and followed Emperor Xuanning towards Jinghe Hall where the deposed emperor's coffin was temporarily placed.

When they arrived at the place, they found out that the empress dowager had ordered the coffin to be moved to Shoukang Palace. The empress dowager had gone to her bedroom. It seemed normal for her own son to want to guard the coffin himself.

Arriving at Shoukang Palace, Emperor Xuanning forbade the palace servants to pass on the news from a distance. He walked straight to the door of the side hall and heard the Empress Dowager sternly ask Cao Laiwang, "Did he really not force the prince?"

Cao Laiwang said, "No, Empress Dowager. The late emperor was deeply poisoned by the Sun family at that time and was about to die. The late emperor voluntarily wrote a letter of abdication in order to reduce the killing. This is a benevolent virtue that lives up to the ancestors of the emperors of all dynasties. Sun Xianbin killed the emperor in the street, and the Earl of Annan risked his life to save him, suffering an arrow wound that has not fully healed to this day..."

Queen Mother Wang wept a few times, and Queen Wang's voice was heard trying to persuade her, "Mother, although the death of our second brother is heartbreaking and regrettable, it was certainly a fitting death. The people of Jiangnan still remember his kindness, so there's no need to grieve too much."

The Queen Mother knew very well that this was the most honorable ending for her own son, but as his biological son's mother, she still felt an unrelieved anger.

Unable to find fault with Rong Tang, he took his anger out on Sun Xianbin.

"I want Sun Xianbin to be torn into pieces by five horses, no, to be executed by slow slicing."

After she finished venting, Emperor Xuanning coughed at the right time and the hall fell silent.

When Emperor Xuanning walked in, Cao Laiwang knelt deeply, not daring to breathe loudly.

The Queen Mother demanded sharply, "Your Majesty, what will you do with my son's body?"

Emperor Xuanning looked around and saw that besides Queen Mother Wang and Queen Wang, there were also several eunuchs and palace maids.

With a wave of his hand, all the palace servants of Shoukang Palace retreated outside the hall.

The Queen Mother's face turned pale with anger. "Tell me clearly, what are you going to do with him?"

Emperor Xuanning frowned, "What does your Majesty mean? Since he abdicated the throne, he should be buried according to the rules for ordinary princes of the imperial family. Do you still want him to be buried according to the rules for the emperor?"

The Queen Mother was stunned for a moment. "Will you give him a proper burial?"

"Of course, he has lived up to the Nangong royal family's reputation for benevolence by sparing the people of Dai Viet from war and chaos. He won't be crowned a king, but as the late emperor's biological son, he will still be given a proper funeral."

The Queen Mother bit her lip and was speechless, because Emperor Xuanning's reaction had exceeded her expectations.

She originally thought that she would not be able to give her own son a decent funeral, and it was even very likely that the situation would develop into something she could not face. How could she, as his biological mother, then coexist peacefully with the emperor?

For a moment, I felt relieved, but also powerless, like punching cotton.

She couldn't utter a word of objection, and Emperor Xuanning immediately issued an edict, "He Daban, draft an edict. Select a date for the burial of the late emperor's second son, Nangong He, in the imperial mausoleum. The regulations are half as strict as those for princes. His son, Nangong Yan, abandoned the city and his father and fled, joining the rebels. The second son, Nangong Xian, fled after the city was broken and will be demoted to a commoner. Neither of them will ever return to their clan."

The Queen Mother opened her mouth. Although her son was buried in the imperial mausoleum in a respectable manner, he became a lonely man without roots or descendants.

But on second thought, if the two sons did not escape, lifelong imprisonment would also be waiting for them, which would not necessarily be a better fate.

"You are the emperor, you have the final say."

"Mother, in that case, carry the coffin back to Jinghe Palace. After today's Little New Year, all officials and ladies will come to the palace to pay homage. Don't alarm others."

The Queen Mother sobbed, "The body must be properly kept for forty-nine days, with sutras chanted to pray for the soul's soul, and then an auspicious date must be chosen after the New Year for burial."

Emperor Xuanning didn't care when he was buried. How stupid he was to argue with a dead person.

"The Queen Mother decides."

Afterwards, he exchanged glances with Queen Wang.