The Emperor passed away at the end of the month, and it was destined that the entire capital would not be able to celebrate the New Year as usual.

Emperor Bai Zhizhen of Zhenshun is the first emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty for more than 280 years, this dynasty has never had a precedent for the funeral of Emperor Xun, and in ancient times, it has always been taboo to talk about what happened after his death when he was alive, although the Emperor Taishang has been sick for two years, people from all sides have long known that he will not live long, and it is impossible for anyone to openly discuss what to do with the funeral after his death while he is still alive.

It is because the emperor has really passed away, and the Ministry of Rites is inevitably a little blind, and I don't know what specifications this funeral should be carried out according to. If it is too grand, it will inevitably appear disrespectful to the current emperor, and it will be a little slow and afraid that it will tire the current emperor's filial piety.

"A qiē is operated in accordance with the specifications of the emperor's great line, and there must be no simplification." His Majesty the Emperor was very cheerful, and before he could finish listening to the wording of the Ministry of Rites, he gave clear instructions.

The new secretary of the Ministry of Rites couldn't help but praise the emperor's filial piety.

According to the specifications of the emperor's big bank, in fact, it is only easy to say. According to the old calendar of this dynasty, the emperor died, and the first assistant of the cabinet needed to draft an edict for him, which was an important step that the emperor had to take immediately after driving, and then the emperor's enthronement ceremony, the canonization of the concubine and other ceremonies. The Ministry of Rites and a series of related yamen are inevitably still busy for a while.

But at this stage, these are just small things.

Regardless of their rank, qualifications, or positions, the courtiers all understand that the death of the Emperor Taishang will be a watershed, and after this major event, it will be the ultimate showdown between Jinshang and the Three Princes. At that time, no one will be sure who will kill the deer. When they heard the news of the funeral of the Emperor Taishang, all the courtiers raised their hearts.

Disputes over storage positions have been common throughout the ages, and the consequences can be large or small, and it is difficult to predict. Compared with those courtiers who had already stood in line and had secretly been assigned tasks by their masters, the people who sat on the wall and watched were more worried and panicked all day long, hoping for and fearing the coming turmoil.

In fact, even those who have a clear position in the eyes of outsiders do not know much about the inside story.

"Brother Qiu, can you make it clear what you plan to do today? Could it be that to this day, Su's loyalty has not been able to win the trust of today? Su Qianying, the secretary of the ministry, as the most trusted person among the ministers, saw that a few days had passed since the death of the Emperor Taishang, and the members of the Tan Party were ready to move, as if they were actively preparing for war, but he only knew that Qiu Yu had received a simple instruction similar to "Don't act rashly" in a few words from Jinshang, and he was anxious in his heart, and when he came to the court room to rest halfway through the palace crying, he pulled Qiu Yu to ask.

Qiu Yu shook his head and said: "Brother Su, don't be impatient, there is no instruction for me today except to strengthen vigilance and pay attention everywhere." I don't know what he is going to do, but he is not a reckless person today, and he must have made a calculation in his heart. Let's be on standby. ”

Su Qianying knew that he was more trustworthy than herself, and there was nothing to ask when he heard him say this, but his heart did not let go at all.

In the past few days, the members of the Fang Tan Party have been coming and going frequently, and they have even gone from dark to light and are no longer afraid of being known. What are the plans for today, but they don't even know their henchmen, do they want to fight against dozens or even more people on the other side with the strength of one person?

Today, he is a hidden person, keeping a distance from his subordinates, and no one can be sure of his temperament and resourcefulness. Judging from the tug-of-war with the Tan Party over the past year or so, I am afraid that Jin Shang is more than smart, cunning is insufficient, and most of his style is biased towards being above board, and even from time to time he is suspected of being reckless and reckless.

Of course, it's imaginable for a reckless person to think like this, but how can that be a win? Master Su is really worried.

In fact, as early as the day when the news of Emperor Taishang's funeral was announced, when all the ministers bowed and changed into filial piety clothes and gathered in the imperial palace for funeral, there had already been an accident.

Because after hearing the news of the funeral of the Emperor Taishang, he immediately ordered Qiao Anguo to be arrested and prepared to be executed, Wu Chongxun, who was in charge of the military department at that time, persuaded him in the Imperial Palace: "After all, Qiao Anguo is a person who is trusted by the first emperor, and the first emperor has a spirit in the sky, so he must not bear to see his front foot just left, and the former companion was brutally punished. ”

The emperor was slashed and filial piety, and his pale blood-colored face was gloomy like water, more majestic than usual, and replied coldly: "Qiao Anguo has committed many crimes, and it is difficult to write about them, one of which is to form a party for personal gain and control the dynasty. Wu Qing's family made such efforts to speak for him, which shows that he had a great friendship with him in the past, and he must be one of his friends. Someone came, Wu Chongxun was immediately taken into custody, sent to the edict for torture, the mansion was sealed, and the family members were temporarily detained in the mansion to listen to interrogation! ”

At that time, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty gathered in the Imperial Palace, and the audience was shocked when they heard this.

The emperor of this dynasty has always been cautious in dealing with courtiers, and the outline of what monarchs want ministers to die and ministers have to die has long been diluted in this dynasty, even if he is as vigorous and resolute as the emperor, he needs to go through a series of review and verification steps to punish the courtiers, and it will never be as simple as a sentence to go to prison.

Now the emperor actually pushed him to the end and directly arrested him and put him in prison just because Wu Chongxun begged for a favor for Qiao Anguo, and only asked for a temporary suspension of the disposal.

Several courtiers immediately pleaded for mercy, but the emperor ignored it, and said unabashedly: "I am intending to track down Qiao Anguo's henchmen, and if anyone makes a plea, they will all be condemned as eunuchs!" ”

At this moment, even the royalist party led by Su Qianying couldn't help but wonder: What's going on today? Dealing with Qiao Anguo was originally a matter for us to take care of, and if someone pleaded for mercy and wanted to refute it, we could bring out the most powerful argument that Qiao Anguo had died as a pill guide, and it seemed that he disdained to reason with him.

Wu Chongxun's words actually have their truth, the first emperor just passed away and disposed of his close companion, no matter how to comply with public opinion, there is also a suspicion of filial piety and disrespect. Now is the critical moment when King Tan and his party are waiting for the opportunity to move, the most important thing is to be cautious everywhere, not to show their edge, it is just to arrest Qiao Anguo, and to use such a harsh method against the courtiers, isn't it obvious to give people a handle?

It seems that this is becoming more and more like an invincible battle, and the royalists are all worried, and it is not excluded that some of them have already developed cowardice and have the intention to defect. And the emperor Xià, who was questioned by everyone, didn't seem to care about this, and still went his own way.

In the past, the Daxing Emperor would stop in the Qianyuan Palace, but now the emperor does not live in the Qianyuan Palace, and the matter is cheap.

In fact, what most of the courtiers of the front court did not know was that at the head of the next day, there was another accident in the back court.

Although the affection between Empress Taishang and Emperor Taishang is not as good as that between the Emperor and Qiwen, it can be regarded as a deep couple, which can be seen from the fact that Emperor Taishang left a total of three children, two of which were born to Empress Taishang.

It is precisely because of affection that after the Emperor Taishang abdicated the throne and avoided the Ciqing Palace, he left only the Empress Taishang by his side, and moved the remaining nine concubines to live in the imperial garden east of Zhiyang Palace. It is almost equivalent to letting the nine ladies experience the life of widowhood in advance.

Emperor Yan was in a hurry that day, and no one thought of the nine concubines in the imperial garden, so they waited for a whole day, and the next day someone arranged for them to be named concubines and come to Qianyuan Palace to cry.

Empress Taishang, that is, the Empress Dowager who had just been crowned, although she had expected the death of her husband, was still inevitably sad and depressed, and she was sick all day long.

"The concubine knows that you have suffered for more than a year, and she always hopes for the opportunity to serve in front of you, but she has no choice but to hinder others and has not been able to make the trip. I didn't think you'd just go. I knew this was the case, even if the concubine was fighting for her life, she would have to come and serve you with her own hands, so why did you let you suffer such a long time of slow treatment, walk so lonely, and be so wronged! ”

"What nonsense are you talking about!" The Queen Mother's red and swollen eyes widened in disbelief and asked sharply.

Since I summoned these nine concubines over early this morning, I heard them crying and referring to each sentence, as if they were accusing her of joining forces with Jinshang's mother and son to snub the emperor, and even directly led the emperor to be delayed to death.

The Queen Mother was originally dizzy, and she suspected that she was too careful, but when she heard Concubine Xu Zhuang's unclear cry, she was sure and couldn't help but reprimand.

Concubine Cheng Xian on the side gently held the queen mother's arm and persuaded: "Sister, don't mind, Sister Xu is also sad that the first emperor has passed away, and she is in a hurry to speak freely." After all, our sisters have only seen the first emperor once or twice in the past year, and no matter how worried about his illness, he can't do anything, and he will inevitably feel sad in his heart. ”

Isn't this the same accusation that someone who has the ability to accompany the emperor is suspected of negligence?

Without waiting for the Queen Mother to speak, another concubine persuaded: "I know that the Queen Mother is also clumsy in taking care of the first emperor alone, and I heard that the court has been reduced more and more recently, and the mother is also a clever woman who is difficult to cook without rice, no matter how much she wants to do her best, she is powerless." As we all know, the first emperor has been not on good terms with his father and son all year round, and we have also seen it, and it is not unusual for him to return so much today. ”

The Queen Mother was full of surprise, and her red and swollen eyes widened: "What did you say?" Yuan Chen has never deducted the share of Ciqing Palace......"

"Yo!" Another concubine came up and intercepted her words, and said in a strange manner, "I advise my sister, although my sister and Jinshang are biological mothers and sons, if you want to excuse her, you must be cautious." Today, even if he is the king of a country, it is unreasonable to do such things that violate filial piety. Dayan has always ruled the world with filial piety, and if the king is not filial, he is immoral, this is a matter of ...... It's big or small! ”

This time, it even used threats. The Queen Mother was really shocked, could this also be Yuan Yingbu's game, and the target was against Yuan Chen's throne?

In my ears, the women chattered and complained about it, and they accused the emperor of treating his biological father slowly, causing the death of the first emperor, how to rebel.

The Queen Mother was already exhausted, and she could barely stay here to fulfill her responsibilities after holding on to her breath......

Separated by a Sishan Gate, inside is the place where the female dependents cry for the soul, and outside is the area where the emperor leads a group of noble courtiers to guard the soul and cry for the soul. This all-weather crying lasted for three days, and after three days, it became a cry every morning and evening.

Not long after the incident, the emperor heard the report. When he heard Wang Zhishu say this when he was sitting in the room and resting for a while, he first sighed deeply, and then asked, "Yuan Ying hasn't visited, right?" ”

Wang Zhidao: "No, the third prince must have also received the news, but he still pretended not to know on his face, and he didn't see any movement." ”

Yuan Ying didn't need to "get the news" at all, but should have guessed that this would be the result when she was rehearsing this play. This time, even the queen mother became his abandoned son!

The emperor has reduced all the expenses except for the Ciqing Palace in the past year, and those imperial concubines have not only been restricted from moving, but also have been snubbed by the emperor, but also because of his "deduction", life is far less comfortable than before, and naturally they all have grievances against him. In the end, these women are just trying to eat and dress well.

The emperor really felt that he had nothing to say, he didn't expect that the vanguard arranged by Yuan Ying was actually this group of aunts, this was simply a farce, the movement was so big, if he threw the royal face to the outer court, how much good would it do him?

Today is the beginning of spring, but the capital has not yet found a trace of the breath of spring. The overcast weather was wet and cold, as if the whole world was an unpleasant light gray.

After going to Ciqing Palace to visit his mother, he deliberately made people take a detour and did not alarm the women in Sishanmen. He knew that the queen had been busy in the past two days, presumably when the queen mother was squeezed out by the concubines and fell ill, she was not there at all, so it was not easy to say anything to help, but with her cowardly nature, it would not help much, if she changed Qiwen, it would be almost the same.

It's a pity that Qiwen's current identity is still a seven-rank palace maid, and now she doesn't even have the qualifications to accompany those internal and external wives in the wall to cry on the ground, but she just ends up relaxed - crying is a hard work of physical and mental torment.

Riding on the shoulder in the middle of the road, the emperor thought about this matter and faintly felt funny, and asked Qiwen to help the queen mother quarrel? I don't know when this kind of scene will happen.

The Queen Mother's body is fine, in fact, she is physically and mentally exhausted, and she is angry again, and she can't hold it for a while. I fell asleep on the kang between the east end of the front hall of Ciqing Palace, and my spirit was restored.

When she opened her eyes, she suddenly saw the emperor sitting by the kang and looking at her, which frightened the queen mother.

I don't know when and what month it began, after seeing her son's cold and indifferent face, her first reaction was fear, as if her son was a debt collector, and she would be in trouble when she saw him come to the door.

Without saying a word, the emperor took a velvet cushion next to her and put it beside her, took the copper kettle simmering on the smoker cage and added a little hot water to the teapot on the kang table, poured a cup of tea, pinched the teacup and tested the temperature before pushing it to his mother.

The Queen Mother's nose was sore, tears flashed in her eyes, and she tried her best to endure it, so she finally didn't cry. She sat up and took a sip of tea, opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.

There are a lot of things she wants to ask, and she wants to ask, "Do you know about Yuan Ying's plan?" How much do you know? Is there a solution? Or even "If you have a problem, is there anything I can do to help you?" ”

But how could she ask these words? This is no longer limited to whether she is willing to admit her mistakes, the relationship between mother and son for more than 20 years is indelible, even if she sees Yuan Ying's style clearly and understands her position, she still really doesn't want to deal with Yuan Ying, and she doesn't want to see a miserable result.

She wished she had fallen asleep and not waking up, so that she could escape the terrible situation of having to choose between one of her two sons and put the other to death.

"Don't think too much, it's important to take care of your body." He simply made this reassuring sentence, and was about to get up and leave.

And at this time, he didn't want to trouble his mother, not only did he complain without a word, but he didn't even reveal a word of help, which is the expression of his filial piety.

"You...... In the end...... "The Queen Mother owes herself, and spit out these three words with great difficulty, but she still can't ask.

He looked back, his eyes were warm, as if he was pleased to see his mother's concern, and then raised his hands and bowed to her: "Take care of the queen mother, and the son will retire first." ”

The Queen Mother looked closely at his back and left, although she didn't move for a long time, her mind chased him away, as if she saw him go this time, and there was no chance to see him again.

The emperor came out of the main hall of Ciqing Palace, exhaled a breath of white steam in the wet and cold air, and looked back, but his heart was relaxed.

Only he knows best that this seemingly meaningless meeting actually means a lot to himself, and it can also be said that it is of great significance to the future of the Great Yan Dynasty.

The emperor looked around, white flags were hung all over the palace, white veils were covered with lanterns under the eaves, and people in the past were dressed in white.

To this day, in this vast white Zhiyang Palace, no matter the front court or the back court, people are waiting in panic while watching. And the only one who really knows what he has in mind is that person.

I can't imagine what she is doing, the matter of the servant has spread all over the harem, and now no one will send her as a palace maid, but because she has no name, and she does not need to fulfill the obligations of a concubine, probably she is just hanging around somewhere now, and she is also stupidly speculating about what he is doing.

The emperor unconsciously hooked the corners of his lips. The day after his father's death, his mother had just fallen ill from exhaustion, and it was really not appropriate for him to show any pleasant feelings on his face. Just when I think of her, there is joy in my heart that unconsciously spreads, like a morning flower blooming in the wind......

The crying spirit in the Huangji Hall was much lower than that of the Qianyuan Palace, and there were chamberlains who slipped around the courtiers kneeling in front of the hall without a trace, and came to the side of King Tan, who was guarding the spirit card, and whispered a few words to him. After the king of Tan nodded, the chamberlain left.

Su Qianying, who was kneeling in the second row of the courtiers, watched this scene coldly, and couldn't guess what the third prince was doing, and there was inevitably a burst of anxiety in his heart.

King Tan still lowered his gaze, and his face did not show joy or anger. The few mother-son conversations in the Ciqing Palace were relayed to him word for word, and it didn't sound unusual.

Things don't seem to deviate from expectations in the slightest, and everything goes smoothly. However, if it is different, it is precisely this shun lì that is a bit too much, and it is beyond imagination.

He wanted the second brother to deal with Qiao Anguo as soon as his father died, and the second brother complied, he wanted the second brother to turn his face and condemn himself as soon as he heard that someone was interceding for Qiao Anguo, and the second brother also complied, the second brother was too obedient, and he simply obediently followed the path he rowed, and took the initiative to take the charge of unfilial piety that he wanted to deduct on his head.

That's weird. Could it be that the second brother is really a stunned young man who is the same on the outside?

King Tan is really not sure about the character of this second brother, but after thinking about it, he really can't find a loophole in his strategy. It seems that there is no other explanation than believing that the second brother is an impulsive and reckless mediocrity.

The spotless gold brick floor was as bright as a mirror, and the king of Tan lowered his eyes and thought for a while, silently comforting himself, the arrow was on the string, and he had to send it, and now he had to go down.

At least on the surface, he still has a good chance of winning.