Reincarnation of the powerful minister

Although the Empress Dowager's face was livid because of Zhu Helin's unceremonious rebuttal, but speaking of this, if she refused to show the will to the public, it would appear that she was guilty, and it would also arouse more suspicion and speculation among the officials.

So she grimaced and nodded to the inner officer beside her.

Holding the edict, the internal official walked down the steps and showed it to the six important ministers standing on both sides of the main hall one by one.

These imperial edicts have been seen too much, and the court chiefs who are familiar with the standard, handwriting, and seals all leaned over to read them carefully, looked at each other and nodded:

"Tianzi's 24 seals, this edict covers the head of the 'Emperor Fengtian Treasure'. The imperial edict uses the Chuan Guoxie, that's right."

"It's indeed Lan Xi's handwriting."

"From the choice of words and sentences, it looks like the emperor's usual style."

"Could it be... the emperor's mind was so dizzy during his illness that he really changed his mind?"

"Then, should such a will be obeyed or not?"

"If the holy will is so, we, as subjects, should follow the imperial edict."

"I still think it's inappropriate..."

The whispers turned into chatter.

The Empress Dowager stared at Zhu Helin with cold and proud eyes: "The imperial edict has been conveyed to all the ministers, and the holy will is unquestionable. What else can I say about the abolished prince? The edict in your hand, even if it is true, is only to call you back to Beijing. It’s just a will.”

She didn't wait for Zhu Helin to speak again, and immediately ordered: "Come here, take down this deposed prince who despises the will and violates the law!"

The officials were shocked. Many people knelt down and begged the queen mother to take back her order. Some officials who abide by orthodoxy fell in front of the steps, weeping and remonstrating.

The queen mother was unmoved, and the big Han generals standing on both sides of the Fengtian Hall stepped forward to escort Zhu Helin away.The officials refused to give up, and knelt on the ground and hugged the prince's legs tightly. Jin Yiwei threatened with a knife, and they stretched their arms in front of the knife's edge to protect each other.

For a while, the sound of scolding, shouting, howling, and pleading resounded through the Golden Luan Palace.

A man's voice shouted in the chaos: "—Here is the imperial edict written by the Holy Son of Heaven, everyone listen to the edict!"

Its voice was high-pitched and clear, like the ringing of a bell, and the panic in the hall was instantly suppressed. The officials and guards turned their heads involuntarily to look for the voicer, all with expressions of surprise:

Why is there a will?Where did another will come from?It's still written by the imperial pen!

I saw Yang Ting, the chief assistant of the cabinet who had been silent before, holding up a roll of yellow silk in his hand, and his eyes scanned the audience. On his face, which was gentle and even lost to tenderness, there was a faint and majestic anger like a diamond.

This scroll of yellow silk had been hidden in his arms for two months.

After the Kneeling Case, Emperor Jinglong secretly summoned him and the Minister of Rites, Yan Xing, to have a secret talk. After leaving the gate of the imperial study, there was such a roll of yellow silk in his arms.

Yang Ting took it with him day and night, letting it burn his heart like burning coals.

In the past two months, he has been holding on to a frightening possibility, he can't eat well, sleep well, and has lost several catties.If it weren't for this secret and an ally who supported both sides, he might collapse due to this huge mental burden.

At this moment in the hall, Yan Xing, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was watching him solemnly, and silently told him with his arched hands: I will advance and retreat with Duke Yang!

They were secretly appointed by the emperor, just like the Dharma protectors around the Buddha, but they once had doubts about their own abilities and determination, and even panicked in the stormy and gloomy days.

They didn't dare to meet in their respective mansions, fearing that there would be too many people, so they met in Weifu and went to a remote teahouse to discuss countermeasures and draw strength from each other.

But what they never expected was that this private meeting was secretly captured by King Yu.The content of their discussion also caused waves in King Yu's heart.

King Yu is ambitious, ambitious, righteous and affectionate.The conflict of mixed flavors caused him to summon his confidant, Zong Shi, to have a secret talk with Commander Hua, which was not only to test his subordinates, but also to question his own heart.

If the prince hadn't returned to Beijing in time, maybe he would have taken a completely different path.

But that night, the crown prince came back - Su Yan also came back.

King Yu's heart was thus settled.

That night, after the five people made up their plan to divide the army into three groups, Zhu Helin and Su Yan visited Yang Ting and Yan Xing in private, and learned the location of the real edict.

Today, Su Yan originally wanted to accompany Zhu Helin to the palace, but Zhu Helin, who always loved to cling to him and love to pull him over everything, refused.

Zhu Helin said: "As a prince, if you don't even have the courage and ability to fight alone, how can you control the people in the future? Besides, Qinghe, as the servant of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, will inevitably be criticized by others when he returns to Beijing privately. It is better not to appear in the public eye It's better to go up."

Su Yan feels that the prince has really matured a lot, not only has responsibility, but also plans, and he is very pleased about this.

Because of discussing the details with the crown prince, Yang and Yan went to court a little late, but fortunately they were in time and did not miss this crucial court meeting.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Yang Ting unfolded the yellow silk in his hand, and loudly read out the imperial edict entrusted to him by Emperor Jinglong two months ago:

"I am humble and weak, and I have inherited my ancestor Piye for 18 years. I worry about diligence at night, and strive to achieve the ultimate governance. I am afraid that the virtues will not be in harmony with the world, and I am ashamed that there are still poor people in the country.

"Today's illness and death are common sense, and people in ancient and modern times cannot avoid it, so why worry about it. Fortunately, the successor has a successor, and the clan's life and people depend on it. Even if I die, I will regret it!

"The eldest son, the Crown Prince He Lin, is benevolent, filial, intelligent, and virtuous, so he should be the emperor. He will be assisted by all the civil and military officials in the court, and finally give his ambition.

"The second son of the emperor, He Zhao, was young and intelligent, and he was entrusted to Concubine Shu to raise him carefully.

"The empress dowager is benevolent and has worked hard for half her life. It is advisable to move to the quiet and beautiful place of Dongyuan to take care of her for the rest of her life."

"Funeral ceremonies are in accordance with the legacy of the former emperor. They must be frugal, and they must not be laborious. Clothes are released on the 27th, and music and marriage are not allowed; guards and military officials of the court and military officials of the court are not allowed to leave their posts without authorization; princes and counties outside the country are exempted. Go to Que to salute.

"I hope that the county ministers inside and outside will be loyal and upholding the festival, assist the heir, Yongning our country, and living in peace and happiness. I command the world to hear about it."

The Empress Dowager sat on the phoenix seat, the more she listened to it, the paler her complexion became, and when she said "it is time to move to Dongyuan", her face became even paler!

She was in disarray, and the strength in her hands was also out of control, causing the second prince to suffer unbearable pain, so he broke free from her arms, climbed onto the dragon chair beside him, curled up into a ball, and burst into tears.

How can the queen mother care about the second prince at this moment, her mind is full of thoughts: the emperor has left behind!

The previous edict was issued in duplicate, one copy was sent to the cabinet, and the other was kept by the harem.It was written by Lan Xi, and the writing was simple. It only said that the prince succeeded to the throne and was burned by her cruelly.

But he didn't think that it was just Mingxiu's plank road, and the imperial edict in Yang Ting's hand was a dark secret!

This posthumous edict was written by the emperor to increase its authenticity and weight. Not only is the content more detailed, but it also painstakingly arranged the ending of the second prince and the queen mother - one was raised by his concubine, and he became a vassal as an adult, completely cutting off the way of succession. ; the other was forced to move to the palace, bid farewell to the political arena completely - and even announced it to the world, everyone knows it!

It was like a basin of ice and snow pouring over her head, her body was cold, the Empress Dowager's hands were trembling constantly, her fingers were tightly entwined on her knees covered with Chinese clothes, and several long nails broke without knowing it.

... Wei'er, Wei'er, you and I are a mother and son. We supported each other and achieved each other in the first half of our lives, but why did we come to this step where we suspected each other, guarded against each other, and even killed each other in the second half of our lives!

"——It is indeed written by the imperial pen! In addition to the 'Emperor Fengtian Zhibao', it is also stamped with the four seals of the emperor, Chengyun, appointed, and Zhigao."

"This edict was bestowed on Mr. Yang Ge by the emperor himself, and I, Yan, was also on the spot! Anyone who doesn't believe it can come forward and ask questions, and I will answer them one by one."

"These two edicts... are contradictory. What is going on? Which one shall prevail?"

"Isn't it obvious? The handwriting shall prevail! The seal shall prevail! The Sacred Heart of Heaven and Earth, and the ancestral etiquette shall prevail!"

"Then the edict in the Queen Mother's hand..."

"I can't! Wouldn't it be..."

The Empress Dowager could no longer hear the humming and humming of the ministers, nor could she clearly see the expression of Prince Zhu Helin.At this time, her mind was in a mess, she was frightened and fearful, resentful and hated, and even more so was the hostility to fight to the death!

She patted the armrest, got up abruptly, and yelled: "The abolished prince is planning to do something wrong, and the cabinet is instigating people's hearts with false edicts. Why don't you take down these rebellious officials and thieves quickly! Order the Jinwu Guard and Habayashi Guard to enter the palace to calm the bandits!"

The Great Han General of Jin Yiwei in the hall received his orders, rushed out of the hall door, and shouted loudly: "Where are the Jinwu Guard and Habayashi Guard!"

The cry echoed for a long time over the empty Fengtianmen Square, but there was no response.

The big Han general became anxious, and shouted again: "Jinwuwei! Habayashiwei!"

In the palace roads outside the high walls on both sides of the square, a team of Jinwu Guards and a team of Habayashi Guards knelt down on the ground with their heads in their hands, and were aimed at densely packed arrows on the wall.

The leader's head has fallen into a pool of blood.

Shen Qi wiped off the blood on the Xiuchun Knife on his robe, and said solemnly to the rest of the kneeling guards: "The chief culprit has been punished. You have no choice but to obey orders, and you will be spared the death penalty. You should thank His Highness the Prince for your benevolence."

The guards escaped from death, full of fear and gratitude, kowtowed one after another, praising "My Lord's benevolence".

Under the palace gate not far away, Su Yan looked at Shen Qi's back in the dark blue gold-woven flying fish suit, and said to Long Quan, the Commander of the Tengxiang Guard who was beside him: "Thank you Commander Long, otherwise the number of Jinyi Guards alone, I'm afraid there is no... It's so easy to control the two top guards."

Longquan cupped his fists at him: "Your Majesty Su, you are welcome. The emperor has secretly ordered me to protect my safety once I return to Beijing. He also said that at that time, Lord Su may come to contact me personally." .”

Su Yan was slightly stunned, and murmured: "My lord...had long guessed that I would leave my post without permission and escort the prince to Beijing...I..."

Longquan laughed: "The emperor asked me to tell my lord that this is Qinghe's act of courage and sincerity. Not only did he expect it, but he also approved it, so it is not considered AWOL."

Su Yan wiped his face vigorously, calmed down and asked him, "Is the emperor still awake? I want to see him."

In the Fengtian Palace, the Queen Mother issued a decree to arrest someone, but there was no response for a long time.The Jinwu and Habayashi guards who had been arranged in advance seemed to have evaporated in the palace, and there was no news.

In the awkward silence, Lan Xi, the eunuch with the handprint of the supervisor of ceremonies, appeared at the entrance of the hall, followed by Duo Guier and several other servants who were serving in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"It's Eunuch Lan! He always stays around the throne, but now he suddenly came up to the hall, could it be..." Several courtiers in the back row couldn't help whispering.

Lan Xi walked to the center of the hall, did not stop, but continued to climb up the steps, and finally stood firmly in front of the dragon chair, flicked the whisk in his hand, and said with a smile: "Oh, His Highness the Second Prince is naughty, how can he climb up?" Let's go to the dragon chair. Only your father can sit on it, do you understand? Come down quickly."

He stretched out his hand, carried the sobbing Zhu Hezhao off the dragon chair, and handed it to the servant behind him: "The emperor has a decree to send the second prince to Concubine Shu's palace."

The empress dowager's face was ashen, and she took a step forward as if she was rude, trying to snatch the second prince back: "The emperor is seriously ill and comatose, where's the order? Could it be that you, an old slave, passed on a false oracle?!"

She doesn't know why Lan Xi is a person, he may not be disloyal to the emperor, and he may not be loyal to the emperor with his life.When she put pressure on her, she fell down like grass on a wall without much resistance, wrote an edict when asked to write an edict, and built a jade seal when asked to cover it. It seemed that she was very obedient and aware of current affairs, so she saved a life in her hands.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, he seemed to have eaten the heart of a bear, and dared to do anything wrong in front of her and the courtiers!

Lan Xi waited for the empress dowager's reprimand without changing his face, then bowed, and with a humble posture and tone, said something that shocked everyone like thunder: "Report to the empress dowager—the emperor has woken up."

He turned to face the ministers, straightened his slumped waist for the past two months, and announced in a sharp voice: "The emperor is awake! He hastened to summon His Royal Highness, the cabinet ministers, the six ministers, and Su Yan, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites of Nanjing—— See you in the Heart Palace!"

The emperor woke up...my son woke up...the queen mother thought blankly, but the first person he wanted to see was not his mother...no, he didn't mention his mother at all!

In the main hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Zhu Helin paced up and down while waiting anxiously, turning his head to glance at Su Yan from time to time.

Su Yan sat on the round stool brought by the waiter, his face was gloomy, and he didn't say a word.

When he first received the verbal order from Lanxi's people, he was overjoyed and thought: The emperor is indeed in good health, maybe the "serious illness" of the previous two months was all done to paralyze the opponent.

But when he arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he discovered that this was not the case——

Emperor Jinglong, who paid attention to his appearance and demeanor, did not sit upright in the main hall to summon his important ministers, but asked his inner servants to lead the ministers and ministers to the bedroom...except that the emperor couldn't get up from the bed, he couldn't think of any other reason .

King Yu and Ah Zhui set out to sneak into the palace at midnight.The gates of the palace opened at the fourth watch, and the officials experienced a chaos and shock in the Fengtian Temple. Now it is the fifth watch.

The first batch of important ministers who were summoned left the dormitory, stepped down the steps, and stood in the courtyard to wait for orders. The morning light shone slightly in the sky, and the sky changed from indigo to fish-belly white.

Hearing the servant's footsteps, Zhu Helin subconsciously got up from the chair and asked anxiously, "When will Father see me?"

The servant lowered his head and said, "Master Su, please come in."

Zhu Helin turned around and pulled Su Yan's wrist, and wanted to go in together, but was stopped by the servant: "The emperor called Master Su to have an audience alone, please continue to wait, young master."

Su Yan was confused, and pretended to be calm, he patted the back of Zhu Helin's hand: "I'll go in first. You father and son haven't seen each other for more than a year, and you stayed until the end to summon the young master. There must be a lot of love to share."

Zhu Helin had no choice but to continue to sit back on the chair, looking at Su Yan with worried and reluctant eyes until his back disappeared behind the heavy curtains and doors.

Walking through the familiar corridor, Su Yan saw Lan Xi standing outside the bedroom door, and suddenly felt that this cheap uncle had aged a lot since he hadn't seen him for more than a year.The arrogance that once belonged to a powerful official and bullied his superiors faded away on his face, leaving only worried wrinkles.

Su Yan was moved, and after bowing his hands to him, he was about to enter the palace gate when he heard Lan Xi whispering, "At the fourth watch, the emperor ordered our family to send His Royal Highness Prince Yu and a commoner away, saying that there is a palace in the palace. Even if it is out of good intentions and has made meritorious service, no one will be allowed to come and go."

In this way, it is indeed King Yu and Ah Zhui who awakened the emperor... But why did the emperor summon the prince and important officials, but did not leave the clan prince behind?

Lan Xi said again: "Su Shilang, please persuade the emperor to keep the martial arts master who was traveling with King Yu, and let him cooperate with Doctor Chen Shiyu to treat the emperor's headache."

Su Yan was startled, and asked, "Did Ah Zhui see something?"

Lan Xi briefly explained what Jing Hongchai did and said.Before he could finish speaking, all the servants who served him personally retreated from the bedroom, bowed to Su Yan and said, "The emperor ordered Mr. Su to enter immediately, and there should be no further delay."

Brain lesions, lumps, changes in shape and texture... Before Su Yan had time to think carefully, he could only wave his hands to Lan Xi again, and then walked quickly into the bedroom.

The air in the hall is filled with a faint smell of medicine, which is an indescribable, slightly pungent and slightly bitter herbal aroma.

The curtain on the dragon bed is half-draped, reflecting the silhouette of the emperor half leaning on the pillow.

"Minister Su Yan—"

Su Yan was about to pay respects to the emperor when he heard the emperor say, "Look, there is no outsider here...Qinghe once said, 'In this room, we have the feeling of a flounder', right? real?"

"It's true." Su Yan laughed, with a sore nose.He stopped saluting, walked straight into the corridor in front of Ba Bu's bed, stepped on the pedal and sat sideways on the edge of the bed, bent over and hugged the emperor's neck directly.

He put his face on the emperor's chest, and said softly, "I miss the emperor every day in Nanjing. 'Meeting is parting, life is not about business', I really understand the three tastes."

The emperor held Su Yan's back with one hand, and sniffed the fragrance on the top of his head: "I also miss Qingqing, even in a drowsy dream."

With moist eyes, Su Yan raised his head and asked, "Then can I kiss you?"

The emperor stared into his eyes and asked back: "I have been ill for several months, am I now haggard and dismembered, unsightly?"

Su Yan smiled with tears in his eyes: "The Emperor will always be as handsome as when I first met him."

He went up to kiss the emperor's lips, but the emperor turned his face away, and the kiss only fell on the side of his face.

"I'm suffering from a serious disease, I'm afraid it will affect you, so don't get too close." The emperor said in a deep voice.

Regardless, Su Yan held the emperor's temples and cheeks with both hands, leaned forward and kissed promiscuously: "It's not a serious illness! Let Dr. Chen treat it, and Ah Zhui will help, and he will be cured soon."

The emperor couldn't avoid it, couldn't force it, his face was wet from being kissed, he couldn't help hugging him tightly with his arms, and sighed: "Qinghe..."