"Mr. Zhou and Mr. Wu are here." Wang Chengen whispered on the edge of the dragon bed.

Although it was early in the morning of August, it was lukewarm, but the doors and windows in the temple were closed, and several charcoal basins were burned in the corners. Zhou Yanru and Wu Fu both felt a burst of heat.

Queen Zhou and Yuan Tian, the two concubines, both pear blossoms with rain, cried in a low voice. The crown prince also burst into tears, and the second king of Yongding was still young, but he also looked sad.

Hearing Wang Chengen's voice, the emperor lying on the dragon bed seemed to be trying to open his eyelids.

Zhou Yanru secretly observed the emperor and found that the emperor's face was extremely pale, his eyes were blank, and his lips were squirming, but he couldn't say a word.

No one expected that the emperor, who was still full of spring breeze a few days ago, suddenly couldn't even speak. The emperor is only thirty years old, and he is in the prime of life.

"Your Majesty, this is?" Zhou Yanru couldn't help but ask.

"Your Majesty suddenly suffered a wind illness, half of his body was paralyzed, and he was speechless." The answer to Zhou Yanru was Liu Qiao, the commander of Jinyiwei, and Zhou Yanru only found out at this time that in addition to Liu Qiao, there was also the heart of the commander of Dongchang.

"The emperor is fine, how could he suddenly have a wind illness?" Wu Fu couldn't help but ask.

Wang Zhixin said on the side, "Last night, His Majesty summoned our family and Liu Jinwu to inquire about the assassination of Chu Guogong. His Majesty was furious when he heard that the assassin was most likely a Tartar assassin. But when we left, His Majesty was fine. Then early this morning, His Majesty was already hemiplegic and speechless. ”

The two auxiliary ministers carefully inquired about the night after Liu Qiao and Wang Zhixin left, and then Wang Chengen carefully told them. Last night, after Liu Qiao and the two left, the emperor dealt with the fortifications for a while. Then, the emperor summoned a palace person to Linxing, and then in the morning there was a scream from the palace person, and Wang Chengen rushed in, and found that the emperor was paralyzed and could not speak. ”

"What about the palace people?"

"It's gone."

"It's gone. How could it be gone? Zhou Yanru's beard shook wildly. But the fact is that the person is gone, Wang Chengen was busy looking for the imperial doctor, informing the queen and the concubine, and also going to find Zhou Yanru and Wu Fu, but when he was done, the palace man could no longer be found.

"Imperial Physician Wang, how is the emperor's situation?" Zhou Yanru couldn't care about the palace people at this time, and he hurriedly pulled the most famous imperial doctor in the palace.

A few people walked to the corner.

Imperial Physician Wang's face was heavy, "Your Majesty is now relying on ginseng soup to take a breath, but the time limit is approaching." ”

Zhou Yanru and the others were shocked. It's not that the wind is hemiplegic, why is the limit approaching all of a sudden? "Why is Your Majesty like this?"

Imperial Physician Wang revealed Chongzhen's condition with some hesitation, and there was a reason for it. After the examination of their imperial doctor, it was basically determined that the emperor's stroke was actually a stroke.

A sentence that immediately winds, everyone understands. But what everyone doesn't understand is that the emperor is not the kind of person who is addicted to beauty, how could he suddenly be lucky with a little palace maid, and he just had the wind right away. Then this palace maid is still missing today, and no one knows the identity of this person yet.

"We found out that there is a medicine in His Majesty's body." Doctor Wang's truthful report.

Everyone was even more shocked that the emperor had been poisoned.

Liu Qiao said at this time, "The missing palace man." She is by no means an ordinary palace person, she is most likely a spy assassin who infiltrated the palace, and she is here to assassinate His Majesty. The Duke of Chu had just been assassinated in Tianjin, and now His Majesty was poisoned in the palace. These damn tartars. ”

"I'm afraid it's not going to be that simple." Wu Fu didn't quite agree with Liu Qiao, "If the palace person who was fortunate by His Majesty last night was an assassin sent by the Tartars, she would have had the opportunity to contact Your Majesty." Why use poison? Even if you use poison, why not assassinate you afterwards? ”

"Jifu is right, this matter is very strange. But the imperial physician also said that His Majesty was poisoned, and the people in the palace were either poisoned or poisoned by someone else, but it is certain that His Majesty was poisoned. Now immediately investigate the palace and search for the murderer. ”

Wu Fu asked Imperial Physician Wang, "Your Majesty's situation, is it really so bad?" ”

"It's all hanging with a mouthful of century-old ginseng soup."

Wu Fu frowned, pondered for a while, and then said to Zhou Yanru, "Shoufu, at this time, immediately prepare for the future." Inform the other ministers of the cabinet, as well as the six ministers and nine secretaries, and let them enter the palace. ”

Zhou Yanru nodded, and couldn't help but ask the imperial physician again, "Can Your Majesty still speak?" ”

Seriously ill people often have a moment of recollection, Chongzhen is suddenly critically ill, and it is too late to explain any aftermath, at this time, if the emperor can have a moment of soberness, he can still do some explanations.

Imperial Physician Wang shook his head. The emperor was not only critically ill, but also paralyzed, and even if he returned to the light, he could not speak.

"But if Your Majesty is awake, he can't speak, but he can write. However, His Majesty is in extremely poor condition, and he may not be able to come to his senses again. Now, although His Majesty can occasionally open his eyes when he calls His Majesty, he is not conscious. ”

Everyone sighed helplessly.

Everyone walked to the emperor's bed and gathered around the emperor together.

Chongzhen's condition is extremely bad, not only is he hemiplegic, but he has also fallen into a critical situation, and the whole person is not sober. His lips kept moving, but he couldn't say anything, and his eyes were shaking, but the doctor said it was just an unconscious shaking.

Not only could the emperor not speak, but he could not listen to it.

Wang Chengen took a pen and tried to put it in the emperor's hand, hoping that the emperor could write his last words when he was dying. But when the pen was put in Chongzhen's hand, his hand was just trembling, and he couldn't grasp it at all.

The pen ends up falling to the ground.

Liu Qiao bent down to pick it up, but let out an exclamation.

Liu Qiao picked up the imperial pen from the ground and picked up a clothing belt.

There were dried blood stains on the clothes.

But if you look closely, you will find that it is indeed blood, but it is not a simple bloodstain, but a word written in blood.

"This is His Majesty's edict!" Liu Qiao excitedly held up the belt and shouted.

Zhou Yanru and Wu Fu hurriedly looked over, Wang Chengen and Wang Zhixin also came over, and even Queen Zhou heard the prestige.

"Your Majesty vomited a lot of blood last night." Imperial Physician Wang hurriedly said.

Liu Qiao held the belt and looked at the words on it carefully, "This is Your Majesty's words, two old gentlemen take a look." ”

Zhou Yanru took it first, looked at it carefully, and then handed it to Wu Fu, "It looks like it is indeed His Majesty's handwriting!" ”

"The crown prince is benevolent and filial. To nature, it is appropriate to be the emperor. ”

"Crowned Yizi Zhili Governor Ciye as the king of Liaodong County, and Zhou Yanru, Wu Fu, Liu Zongzhou, and Zhu Ciye as ministers of Gu Ming, wholeheartedly assisted, and praised all government affairs."

"Shenwai's civil and military ministers are assisted by their concentricity to protect the cause of the sect for thousands of years."

The belt is not large, and the blood written on it is limited. But if you look closely, it is indeed the emperor's handwriting, and the content on it is also an edict. Although compared with the edicts of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, the number of words is less. But content matters.

"Your Majesty's blood book and clothes with an edict, ordering the crown prince to succeed to the emperor's throne, the righteous son Zhu Ciye Liaodong County King, Your Majesty also ordered the first assistant Zhou Yanru, the second assistant Wu Fu, the left capital imperial history Liu Zongzhou, and the governor of Zhili Zhu Ciye as the ministers of the order, praise all government affairs!" Liu Qiao had already shouted out loudly when Zhou Yanru and the others were still shocked by this sudden appearance of the edict.

Empress Zhou and the crown prince have already come over, "Is this Your Majesty's edict?" ”

Zhou Yanru had no choice but to submit the edict to the past, and Queen Zhou took the edict and read it carefully. Then he burst into tears, "This is Your Majesty's handwriting, this is Your Majesty's edict, Your Majesty must have been unable to open your mouth at that time." But while his body was still moving, he made this edict on this belt with a blood letter. ”

"Prince, this is the edict left by your father."

The crown prince Zhu Cihong stretched out his hand to take it and held it in his arms.

Zhou Yanru and Wu Fu looked at each other. I don't even know what to say. They instinctively had some doubts about this edict, and even if it was true, the content of the edict was somewhat surprising.

The emperor ordered the crown prince to succeed to the throne. It's normal. But there are four ministers who take care of their lives, and they also praise all government affairs, which is somewhat inconsistent with the situation in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is not without the situation that the crown prince was young when the emperor died, and in this case, the cabinet generally managed the government. There has never been such a deliberate designation of ministers to assist the government in the edict.

Designated ministers of care, the first three of them can be accepted, the first auxiliary and the second assistant and the left capital of the imperial history, these are all important ministers in the court, but the fourth is not other auxiliary ministers nor the Ministry of Shangshu and other Jiuqing, but let a military general be the minister of life.

Especially before the emperor appointed Liu Jun as the minister of Gu Ming, he also crowned Liu Jun as the king of Liaodong County for the first time.

In this way, not only one of the ministers is a military general, but this military general is also a military general who has been crowned a king, saying that he is a minister with a different surname, but he is also the emperor's righteous son included in the genealogy.

Originally, they still thought of not recognizing this edict, or quietly crossing out Liu Jun's name from the edict, and canceling the edict of the king and the content of the minister.

But as soon as Liu Qiao shouted, the crown prince took the edict over, and directly decided that it was the emperor's edict, and now the edict was held in the arms of the crown prince, and they wanted to deny it and change it, but it was impossible.

Zhou Yanru thought about how to change this unfavorable situation, but at this time, Liu Qiao had already walked to the emperor's bed with the crown prince, holding the emperor's hand and talking to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, is this edict made by Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty, your edict ordered the crown prince to be the emperor?"

"Your Majesty, have you bequeathed Zhu Ciye as the king of Liaodong County, and made him and the three ministers of Zhou, Wu and Liu as ministers of Gu Ming, assist the new emperor, and praise all government affairs?"

The emperor was completely dying at this time, unconscious, and he couldn't hear what he said, and he couldn't understand what he heard.

But Liu Qiao was asking.

Then, Emperor Chongzhen's eyes rolled a few times, two lines of hot tears flowed down, and he slowly raised his right hand tremblingly.

"Your Majesty!"

Empress Zhou threw herself in front of Chongzhen's bed.

Chongzhen's hand trembled and shook in the air, and then snapped down, and although the emperor's eyes were still open, they no longer turned.

Imperial Physician Wang and the others hurriedly stepped forward, carefully examined them for a while, and then knelt down in a sad mood and said to the queen and others, "Your Majesty is a big deal!" ”

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!" Empress Zhou cried, and Concubine Yuan Tian also hurriedly rushed over and grabbed the emperor's hand. The crown prince knelt in front of him with the edict, and the second king of Yongding and the two princesses knelt behind him.

Bell, bell, bell

The death knell sounded, and a group of eunuchs began to report the bad news of the emperor's death.

In the end, the edict was still issued, with the queen and the prince here, Zhou Yanru and Wu Fu couldn't change the edict. However, when the edict was issued, it was still changed. It is not to change Liu Jun's part, but just like the emperor's usual holy decrees will be polished, some words and sentences have been added according to the general system, but the core content has not changed.

"I bow down, look up to Pixu, and ascend to the great treasure for ten or four years, respect the heavens and the people, filial piety and reason, and work hard all night, but the first emperor is afraid of it, but now the illness is dying, the Buddha can rise, the common sense of life and death, although the holy wisdom can not be disobeyed, and the succession is unified, what a pity!"

"The crown prince is benevolent and filial, and he is naturally natural, and he should be the emperor, and he will abide by the law of his ancestors, study and cultivate virtue, and make him able to use his lover sparingly, without arrogance or slackness."

"The righteous son Ciye is pure, loyal and loyal, and his southern expedition to the north is very great, and he is also worried about the economy, appeases the frontier, and Xun is a famous minister who is not born in the world. He was appointed as the king of Liaodong County with the merit of the Northern Expedition, and ordered to be the minister of the first assistant Zhou Yanru, the second assistant Wu Fu, and Liu Zongzhou, the imperial history of the left capital, and he was dedicated to assisting and praising all government affairs! ”

"Shenwai's civil and military ministers are assisted by their concentricity to protect the cause of the sect for thousands of years."

"The funeral is in accordance with the legacy of the first emperor, with the day changing the month, the 27th release, the sacrifice is shy, there is no ban on music to marry, the heir is the heir to the inheritance, the Ministry of Rites and Rites choose to marry, can be held this year, do not have to be violated. The prince of the clan is sent, not to leave the country, everywhere to guard the general army governor and other officials and the three officials of the three divisions, strictly seal the territory, appease the army and the people, do not leave their posts without permission, on the day of the funeral, stop in the day and night of the place to cry for three days, into the incense of each official on the behalf. Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Fuzhou, County, and Tuguan and the various political secretaries, Nanzhili, and the Yamen below the seven grades are exempted from incense, and the edict is made known to the world. ”

The palace was mourning, and Zhou Yanru and Wu Fu finally asked to see Queen Zhou.

"Niangniang, the ancestral legal system of this dynasty, there is a cabinet vote, and the eunuch is red, even if the prince is still young when he succeeds to the throne, why should he set up a minister to assist the government? The crown prince's throne was determined early, and with the sage of the queen, he would never fail the emperor. In particular, His Majesty conferred the surname of the prince, which violated the ancestral system. And to give Zhu Ciye the title of prince, and to include him in the list of ministers who care for life, is it appropriate? ”

"Since Zhu Ciye is crowned as the king, then you must not make him an auxiliary government to take care of your life, Niangniang, please use the legal system of the ancestors of this dynasty to make Zhu Ciye a vassal country as soon as possible, and he will always be a vassal of the imperial court, and he must not leave his country, so as to avoid future disasters."

Empress Zhou sat behind the curtain and did not listen to the persuasion of the two elders. Although she is the queen, she was born in the Ping family, and as the master of the harem for many years, she has always been indifferent and less contentious. Now that the emperor is in a big business, the crown prince is only twelve years old, and it is still early to become an adult, and Empress Zhou has no intention of listening to the government.

Feng Ciye was the king, that was what the emperor personally said to her earlier, and she believed that the edict was true and was made by Emperor Daxing himself. Since Emperor Daxing specially selected four ministers to take care of his life, and made Ci Ye one of the four ministers, she believed that Emperor Daxing's arrangement had a deep meaning.

"Emperor Daxing's will cannot be changed, so the two gentlemen don't need to mention this matter again." (To be continued.) )