Chapter 686: Collapse

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Son of Heaven has always been diligent in government, although Zhu Di is not as close to his father Zhu Yuanzhang as he must bow to everything, but as long as he is not out of the north or the northern expedition, the court will be almost rain or shine, even if the palace maid in his later years is supported, he will definitely appear in Fengtianmen early in the morning. Zhu Gaochi is far inferior to his grandfather and father in terms of energy, but since he ascended the throne for more than half a year, he has reluctantly participated in every court meeting, and the boycott of the court is only occasional. As a result, this time, the Son of Heaven did not go to court for seven or eight consecutive days, and it was said that he was slightly ill, but no one believed in it, and even the common people were talking about it.

In the evening of that day, Yang Ji, who had been wandering outside for a day, returned to the front of the house. Hearing the housekeeper Yang Zhong say that his father hadn't come back yet, his brows furrowed into a big pimple, and he didn't get out of the car at the moment, so he simply instructed Yang Zhong: "You go in and say it, I will personally go to the left gate of Chang'an to pick up people." It's all at this juncture, and the old man can't make a mistake. ”

Seeing that Yang Ji put down these words and ordered the coachman to set off without looking back, Yang Zhong couldn't help but be stunned there, until the person walked away without a trace, he put his palms together and recited a Buddha, and then pulled his legs and reported to the master mother inside, and his heart was really happy and relieved. Since he arrived in the capital, although the eldest young master often fights outside, he is not as fierce as before, and now he can still remember the master, which is really a thousand blessings, and nothing can be exchanged for a good thing.

Yang Ji didn't care what others thought of him. In the days when he first arrived in the capital, he thought that his father was a believer of the Son of Heaven, and he could walk sideways on the road, but it was easy to catch a few sons and brothers on the right road, and others looked down on him! Until now that the new monarch has ascended the throne, his father has been promoted to the official without humming or ha, first as a waiter in the third grade of the Ministry of Rites, and then as a young master of the prince of the second grade.

But if it is really like the legend of those people outside, wouldn't this hard-won good day come to an end?

The left gate of Chang'an is located in the east of the Daming Gate, the red wall and yellow tile, the three gate towers, the civil and military officials enter the palace and have to walk after getting off the sedan chair here. At this time, it was already the time of the next duty, and many officials dressed in full official uniforms came out one after another, some on horseback, some on mules, and some on cars...... There are fewer families waiting on the side of Chang'an Avenue.

Yang Ji sat in the car and waited for a while, but finally couldn't bear to jump out of the car, and actually paced back and forth in front of the car. Just when he was walking dizzy, he finally saw a familiar figure come out of it, and hurriedly greeted him with an arrow: "Dad! ”

After sitting all day, coming out of the cabinet straight room, Yang Shiqi only felt as if his legs were filled with lead, if it weren't for the little eunuch next to him, he would almost have been able to get here. Hearing this call, he recognized his son not far away, and was taken aback. When he crossed the threshold of the white marble and walked out of the left gate of Chang'an, he waved his hand to the little eunuch, grabbed Yang Ji's outstretched hand, and slowly walked to the carriage.

"Why are you here?"

"Dad, don't I worry about you?" Yang Ji diligently helped his father into the car, climbed up himself, and then lowered the curtain. Seeing Yang Shiqi sitting there with his eyes closed and recuperating without making a sound, he hurriedly took out a clean soft towel covered with ice cubes from the wooden barrel next to him and handed it over, and said again, "There are many rumors outside these days, and there are all kinds of things to say!" There is even what the one who killed a thousand knives said...... said that Daddy, you are almost the same as Huang Zicheng Qitai back then! ”

His voice was suddenly very low, and he didn't notice Yang Shiqi's face at all: "Dad, it's not that I'm talkative, how similar is the current situation to the Jianwen period?" The crown prince is young, and there is an uncle of the vassal king outside......"

"You shut up for me, this kind of big thing is also something you can get involved in?" Yang Shiqi was shocked and angry, and drank his son who was going to talk about it in one gulp, and his face, which rarely showed an angry face, was also tense, "Don't go out again these days, you give me to stay at home honestly!" Do you know what major events in the court, just use the past as an analogy? Since you know a lot of rights and wrongs these days, you should know that if you are grabbed by someone at this time, no one can save you! ”

Full of enthusiasm was poured down by this basin of cold water, Yang Ji was not angry, but after all, his father had accumulated power for many years, and he didn't dare to say anything, only muttered in his heart. When he arrived at the front of the house, he had just helped Yang Shiqi out of the car when he heard the sound of horses' hooves galloping from behind the alley.

"Boss Yang!"

The horse rushed towards him as if it were carrying a man, and before he could stop it, a eunuch jumped down from it. He stepped forward in three steps and two steps, bowed to Yang Shiqi, and then said respectfully: "The emperor has an order, announce your visit to the Qianqing Palace!" ”

Although it was just such a short sentence, Yang Shiqi was shocked in his heart. After responding, he didn't even need Yang Ji's support, and got into the carriage with his hands. When he turned around and saw Yang Ji who was about to follow, he ordered in a deep voice: "You stay at home with your mother, don't go out." Yang Zhong, give me a good look at him, if he takes a step out of the door, I will only ask you when I turn around! ”

All the way back to the left gate of Chang'an, the sky was completely dark. The two little eunuchs who had been waiting here helped Yang Shiqi out of the car, and then carried him to the left and the right. After all, Yang Shiqi is already sixty miles away, and according to his walking posture, he can walk for a quarter of an hour from the left gate of Chang'an to the noon gate, and he doesn't know when he arrives at the Qianqing Palace. At this time, the two of them were walking like flying on his back, and he didn't need to exert his strength, but he couldn't help but think about the situation in the Qianqing Palace in his heart.

Is it that the emperor has woken up and is ready for them to draft the edict? Or has the emperor died, and Empress Zhang summoned them to take care of the aftermath? Or did those imperial doctors in the Tai Hospital finally exert their skills of rejuvenation and let the emperor turn the corner?

Impetuous and impatient, he didn't put aside all those chaotic thoughts until he was carried up the last step in front of the Qianqing Palace. Under the guidance of people, he entered the room familiarly, and he saw that everyone in the cabinet had arrived, whether it was Yang Rongjin Youzi, who used to smile often, or Du Zhen, who had always had a cold face, or Huang Huai, whose face was pale because he had been in prison for many years, they were all sitting there upright at this moment, their faces were ugly one by one. In addition, Jian Yi and Xia Yuanji were also present, and both of them were worried. Seeing this, he had no choice but to sit down and wait.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the emperor has summoned!"

Hearing the word summons, the old men who were stable in front of the people stood up one after another, and when they saw that it was Liu Yongcheng who was preaching the decree, everyone's hearts were hanging. According to the customary order, after Jianyi Xia Yuanji entered, Yang Shiqi entered, followed by Huang Huai, then Yang Rongjin Youzi, and finally Du Zhen. Du Zhen, who was walking last, heard Huang Huai in front of him cough uncontrollably twice, and saw that his back was a little rickety, and he couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart.

Huang Huai has been in Jinyiwei Prison for ten years, and now the emperor trusts him, but this body has to be raised slowly. If the Son of Heaven really has three longs and two shortcomings, will the new monarch in the future still think about the years he suffered in prison?

Empress Zhang personally helped Zhu Gaochi to sit up and straight, and instructed the palace maid to stuff two soft cushions behind his waist, seeing that his face was pale and sweating profusely, she only felt uncomfortable in her heart, but she couldn't show her face. Seeing everyone enter the house to bow and salute, she had to announce on behalf of her husband, and when everyone stood up, she reminded loudly: "Your Majesty, everyone has arrived." ”

This was the first time Zhu Gaochi had seen a foreign minister since he fell ill for 10 days. He wakes up from time to time these days, often losing consciousness again after not being able to say a few words, and the imperial doctor often waits in the Qianqing Palace day and night. He woke up for a long time ago, but he only had a long talk with Empress Zhang, and then summoned Zhu Ning at her suggestion, but he fell asleep again without seeing anyone. Now, even if he didn't look at the cautious faces of those imperial doctors, he already knew the truth that those people didn't dare to proclaim.

For many years, he has been looking forward to being able to get rid of such an embarrassing position as the prince, at least not to spend every day in such a sincere fear, but this kind of good life has only been more than half a year, and he has already come to an end. His grandfather lived to be in his seventies, his father was in his early sixties, and he is still under fifty! Thinking of the ambition of the past six months, and the indulgence of the past six months, he couldn't help but grit his teeth fiercely.

"Your Majesty."

It wasn't until Empress Zhang's voice came to his ears again that Zhu Gaochi came back to his senses. Glancing at the people who were summoned this time, he said word by word: "Today's summons of Zhuqing is for my future affairs. After Yang Qing drafted the edict, if the prince did not return when I was in the middle of the day, everything would be as usual, and no outsiders would know the truth. The court should be subject to the Zhuqing's draft vote, and the queen Zhu will approve the punishment. And when the prince returns, you should serve him like a servant! ”

After barely saying this, Zhu Gaochi actually felt a little out of breath again, and the whole person was shaky. Empress Zhang, who was next to her, saw that the situation was not good, and hurriedly looked at the court to judge Shi Quan. At this time, Shi Quan didn't care about anything else, gritted his teeth and pricked the needle in the three acupoints of the emperor's Baihui, Juque, and Shenque, and then put the needle in the middle belly and Zusanli, and saw that this supreme could easily open his eyes again, and then he retreated to the side sweating profusely.

"Yang Qing, plan to edict!"

Although there were two cabinet scholars surnamed Yang here, everyone knew that the emperor was referring to Yang Shiqi. Because Zhu Di favored Yang Rong in his later years, he often called him Yang Bachelor in front of everyone without a name, and now Zhu Gaochi still uses this name, but he often writes Yang Shiqi for executing major events or preparing edicts on weekdays. At this time, seeing the two eunuchs move Gao Jijindun in front of him, and immediately sent the four treasures of the study, and waited for the grinding ink next to him, Yang Shiqi didn't dare to hesitate anymore, and sat down after bowing.

Compared with Zhu Di's deathbed, he said more and wrote less, although Zhu Gaochi was barely supporting it at this time, he was extremely detailed word by word. Yang Shiqi, who was at the beginning, took notes and polished them casually, and it was easy to wait until Zhu Gaochi finished speaking, and his draft had been completed, and then he wrote like a god. He was a literati with excellent words, and after a while, he finished drafting the edict, read it twice from beginning to end, and saw that there was nothing wrong, so he handed it over to Fan Hong, the young eunuch who was waiting next to him.

"I inherited the ancestral Hongye with the heirs of Feide, and the king of the world has been over the years, and the emperor is not far from the mountain tomb of Emperor Taizong, and he is eager to mourn; The north and south of the sea have not recovered, and they have been tired all night. When you are sick, you are dying. The husband is dead and alive, day and night, the same path, full of sorrow. However, the people of the sect must have a monarch, the eldest son of the crown prince is benevolent, filial piety and wisdom, the first emperor dreamed of his great weapon, and the subjects Xianqin his order, it is appropriate to be the emperor, in order to serve the unity of the gods, and raise the billions of trillions.

I am approaching the imperial sun, and the shallow grace has not been lost to the people, and I can't bear to have heavy labor in the mountains and mausoleums. The system is thrifty, the mourning system uses days and months, and both Chinese and foreign countries are released on the 27th, and there is no ban on marrying music. The prince's domain outside the country is important, and he must not leave his country, and the commanders and garrisons of the general military towns and important ministers and civil and military officials are not allowed to leave their posts without permission. The day of mourning ends in the three days of crying in the morning and evening, and they are not allowed to go to the Que to salute. Emperor Taizong's uniform system is still in accordance with the order of August last year.

Woohoo, the north and the south provide hundreds of millions of labor, the army and the people are trapped in all directions, to Yangxian belongs to Nanjing, Si Yiwu's heart. The people of the monarchy should follow the will of the people, all Chinese and foreign civil and military ministers, loyal to the heirs of the emperor, and the people of our country will be born in Yongning, and I have no regrets. The edict was heard by Chinese and foreign envoys. ”

After barely lifting his spirit and reading this edict, Zhu Gaochi nodded stiffly. Looking at the dancing candle flame in the room, he only felt that his eyes were gradually blurred again, and the sound of calling in his ears had all disappeared. He stretched out his right hand towards Empress Zhang with all his might, however, before that familiar hand could grasp him, he lost the last trace of consciousness.

When there was mourning in the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Ning was not in Kunning Palace. Although she agreed to Empress Zhang, she had no intention of establishing any authority in this place where she might become the harem of the first emperor. It's just that the news just came was extraordinary, and even if she wanted to turn a blind eye, she couldn't let go of such a thing.

Compared with Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, Zhu Gaochi did not have many concubines, most of them were old people in the East Palace. Among them, Guo Guifei, who lives in the Changning Palace of the East Sixth Palace, is not only second only to the queen, but also has given birth to three sons, and is the granddaughter of the Marquis of Wuding, which is far from being comparable to other concubines.

Changning Palace is a two-entry courtyard, and all the palace maids and eunuchs waiting in it are standing under the stone shadow wall of the first courtyard, and they all dare not even make a sound. In the past, when Guo Guifei was favored, they went in and out with their heads held high, but since the emperor fainted here and was carried out, and the six palaces in the east and west were all closed, they knew that Feng Shui had turned.

Seeing Guo Guifei standing there with a pale face, Zhu Ning couldn't help frowning. She didn't look back at the two Shang Palaces of Empress Zhang, but just asked coldly: "Concubine Guo, but what did you incite Wang Jieyu to do?" ”

"Since the county lord said yes, then it is, and the concubine has nothing to justify." Since the six palaces were all the first emperor Dai Xiao, Guo Guifei was dressed extremely simply, and there were only jinghai velvet flowers on her head. At this moment, she hung her hands stiffly, and it took a long time before she burst out with a sentence, "The six palaces of the east and west are closed, this is the queen's decree, and the concubines can't and dare not say anything, but the concubines and others are the concubines of the six palaces, so they naturally want to know what the emperor's situation is now." Besides......"

She raised her head suddenly, and her eyes full of anger stared at Zhu Ning: "Empress Renxiao passed away, Zhang Guifei and Wang Guifei were in charge of the affairs of the six palaces one after another, and then the first emperor was seriously ill, and there were no high-ranking concubines in the palace, and the county lord served in the Xinuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace for a period of time; Now although the concubine is guilty, there is also Wang Shufei and Zhao Huifei, all of whom are the imperial concubines of the same book on the day after the book, the queen can't trust the concubines, but she can't trust them, so she would rather entrust the important affairs to the outsider of the county lord? ”

Even if he was reluctant to take the hot potato, but when he was scolded by Guo Guifei pointing his nose like this, Zhu Ning naturally would not swallow his anger, and immediately sneered: "Guo Guifei's sentence is trustworthy, but it really makes people feel fresh." Since she is the imperial concubine who was canonized on the same day as the queen, she should remember the female commandments and virtues. It's not been a day or two since the emperor is not in good health, and the queen has advised you, have you ever advised him? Have the rest of the concubines ever been advised? Things have come to this point, how can the queen be trustworthy? Now that the emperor's health has not improved, he is worried inside and outside, and the queen has to deal with the overall situation of the court and politics, and she has no time to deal with you, so she can only let me, an outsider, come forward. ”

"You ......"

Guo Guifei was not familiar with Zhu Ning, but she occasionally heard people mention that Zhu Ning was deeply loved by Zhu Di in the East Palace, and when Zhu Di was sick, he was once taken care of by him in the Xinuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, and was also in charge of the six palaces. She had never personally comprehended the momentum of this noble lady of the clan, and she was so choked that she couldn't speak at this moment. She pinched her palms with her fingernails, and only then did she regain her instinct for words.

"It's the concubine who lost her words. Now that the concubines and others can't leave the palace for half a step, can the county lord tell the emperor how his condition is? ”

"What is the emperor's condition, he has his own hospital to take care of it right now. Guo Guifei, now that the matter has come to this, you should also reflect on it. You are a tiger girl in Jiangmen, not an ordinary small family jasper, don't do this kind of shameful thing again, you must know that you still have King Teng, King Liang and King Wei! ”

Glancing at Guo Guifei's pale cheeks and deeply sunken eyes, Zhu Ning knew that Guo Guifei should understand the hint in his words, so he immediately turned his back and went out of the door, and only when he arrived at the door did he order: "There are four palace maids and two eunuchs in Changning Palace, and the rest of the people are all forbidden to be strictly controlled in the north and south rooms of the side hall, and they are not allowed to be released without an order." ”

Hurried down the steps, she heard a mournful cry from the palace. Although she was in a panicked mood, she still didn't stop, and it wasn't until she entered the Jinghe Gate on the top of the single eaves rest mountain on the east side of Kunning Palace that she finally recovered a little bit of vitality. Originally, she was supposed to go back to Kunning Palace directly, but she wanted to go to Qianqing Palace very much, so she explained to the two Shang Palaces, and only brought two eunuchs, but she went out of Jinghemen again and walked slowly to Qianqing Palace. When she went around to the east side of the Qianqing Gate, she saw a group of officials going out, and she couldn't help but stop and count the number of people silently.

Seven people...... There were seven of them!

Zhu Ning has been in the capital for many years, and she is extremely familiar with the court, at this time, she is only a handful, and then thinking of the clothes of those people, she roughly guessed which officials are these. After standing silently in place for a while, she dismissed the idea of going to see Empress Zhang, and turned around and walked inside without looking back. When she returned to Kunning Palace, she went to the inner room, and when she saw that the two Shang Palaces had not returned, she couldn't help but feel a little strange, so she turned to the back of the curtain to make incense. Just as he was about to come out, he heard the whispers of two people outside.

"It's good now, Wang Jieyu of Xianyang Palace left her last words and cut herself. I don't know how to make such a noise, but now it's even more noisy. ”

Hearing Lu Shanggong muttering like this, Li Shanggong shook his head disapprovingly, and saw that there was no one else around, so he sighed in a low voice: "No wonder Wang Jieyu, death is death now, and death will be death in the future." She didn't have children in the first place, so if she broke into such a big disaster, could she still have a way to live? Don't say it's her, it's Guo Guifei, I'm afraid it's time to be vigilant now. If it weren't for the fact that she had three sons, then it would have been a matter of her fault to let her be buried! ”

In an instant, Zhu Ning only felt his heart skip a beat, and then he took a deep breath. She naturally remembered Wang Jieyu's horror when she just passed Xianyang Palace, but she didn't expect that she would go to a dead end so quickly. Emperor Hongwu was martyred more than 40 people, Yongle Emperor was martyred more than 30 people, if the current emperor died, how many people were martyred? Don't look at Guo Guifei having three sons, isn't it easy to let her be buried voluntarily when the time comes? When it comes to this, I only hope that Guo Guifei can really understand her situation.