The city is full of plain, a piece of white, such as a cold snow in the September weather, snowflakes scattered around the imperial city, all the streets and alleys of the houses. It's not really snow, it's just white cloth, white paper, white lights, white hanging, and lanterns.

The white expanse is really clean, and the clean people suppress their sadness and crying in their lungs, for fear of disturbing the saddest day in the past 20 years of Qingguo.

After all, it is impossible to keep the news of the death of His Majesty the emperor all the time, especially when the rumors are getting more and more prevalent, the queen mother immediately decided, waited a little and sent the army to Dadongshan to retrieve the body of His Majesty, and could not wait for the continuation of the investigation, so she sent out this obituary that shook the world.

The people of Kyoto were already mentally prepared, but once they were confirmed by the imperial court and saw the big white lanterns hanging in the square towers of the imperial city, they were still greatly shocked. People often think of a person's benefits only after he dies - no matter what kind of person the emperor of Qingguo is, but at least during the more than 20 years that he ruled Qingguo, the rìzi of the people of Qingguo was the happiest time ever.

Therefore, Kyoto was full of sorrow all night.

The emperor died of illness on the top of Dadong Mountain, which was the truth that the magnates of Qingguo wanted to tell the people of Qingguo. As for what the real truth is, it may take a few years before it will be gradually revealed, rushing into the hearts of the people of Qingguo like a flood, and those powerful people will once again use the hearts of the people of Qingguo to seek their further benefits.

Before the day of the national mourning, Kyoto has become a white world. However, the Ministry of Rites Shangshu and the Honglu Temple Zhengqing should have died on the top of the distant Dadong Mountain with His Majesty, so it always seemed a little uncomfortable to implement the rules, like a whimpering tragedy, and he was always forced to play a few pauses in the middle.

It is precisely because of these unhappiness that the big people in the inner palace of the court are more in a state of panic and anxiety in addition to grief. Over the years, although Emperor Majesty has not taken any too amazing moves, and it seems a little mediocre and quiet, but this dead person is Emperor Qing after all, and he is the core of the entire Qing Kingdom God!

After all the people got used to sadness, they began to feel the absurdity, how could His Majesty the Emperor, who was incomparably brilliant and brilliant back then, and His Majesty, who had the great cause of dominating the world in his heart, pass away so quietly? It's not that they can't accept the departure of His Majesty the Emperor, it's just that everyone seems to be unable to accept this way of leaving.

This way of leaving is quietly too eerie.

The ruler passed away quietly to meet the ...... of Gyeongguo What will it be?

Is it the collapse after the turmoil, or the rebirth after the succession of stability?

Seeking stability because of fear, people were determined, and everyone set their eyes on the dragon chair in the Taiji Palace, desperately hoping that a prince would quickly sit on that chair with his hips and stabilize the government of Qingguo.

The crown prince is naturally the first choice, no matter in terms of name, from the relationship with the queen mother, and from the perception of the ministers, it stands to reason that the crown prince should inherit the throne. However, as we all know, the greatest purpose of the emperor's visit to the east mountain to worship the heavens is to abolish the crown prince...... There are people who think of something, think about something, but don't dare to say anything. Those ministers who entered the palace and cried their spirits, looking at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who was crying bitterly in the coffin from afar, their hearts were extremely cold and awe-inspiring, and they seemed to see a young emperor His Majesty, crying and being reborn next to the coffin.

The truth about the matter of Dadongshan is circulating among the officials, and it seems to be related to Lord Xiao Fan, some people believe it, and some people don't. But Fan Xian disappeared, perhaps died on Dadong Mountain, or absconded in fear of crime, leaving behind the child in the womb of his father and wife, and ran away to a distant foreign country.

The ministers know that if Lord Xiao Fan does not have the ability to turn the sky, then he can only bury his name in the dark in the future, and the general trend is ...... Decided.

Empress Dowager ―――――――――――――――――― sat at the door of Hanguang Hall, listening to the bursts of crying from behind the hall, her brows furrowed imperceptibly, and a trace of grief flashed in the eyes of the old man. However, she knows that now is not the season for her to be unbridled and sad, and she must hand over Qingguo to the next generation in order to truly rest.

Outside the door, according to the old customs of the place where the Li royal family was born, there is a brass basin, and some paper money used by people in the market is burned in the basin. Huang Sè's paper money gradually burned into ashes, as if it was a foreshadowing of the impermanence of life, no matter how beautiful the life is, it will only turn into a puff of smoke and ashes in the end.

The whole palace is busy, busy in the depression and tension, the inner palace wall is not high, and you can faintly see the pole head of the white banner purchased by the inner court, hurriedly running on the wall, heading towards the front palace. In the Taiji Hall, something will happen today that will determine the future direction of Qingguo, and everyone's eyes will stay there.

In comparison, the Hanguang Hall is a little deserted here. The Queen Mother withdrew her cloudy gaze from the heads of those white flags, and said in a slightly sandy voice: "The court can't be chaotic, so it's okay to have some chaos in the palace today." ”

Then she glanced back at the old minister beside her, and said in a gentle tone as much as possible: "You are an old minister, and you are trusted by His Majesty, at this juncture, you should consider the imperial court." ”

Shu Wu half-bent over, looked at the flames in the yellow basin that were gradually extinguishing with old and quiet eyes, and said in a suppressed voice: "The old minister understands, but His Majesty's edict is here, and the minister does not dare to disobey it." ”

A trace of jumping flame flashed in the eyes of the Queen Mother, which was immediately extinguished after a while, and she gently reached out and threw the unopened letter in her hand into the copper basin, and the paper money in the copper basin that was about to be extinguished suddenly burned even more.

The edict written by Emperor Qingguo on the eve of his assassination, designating the heir to the throne of Qingguo, gradually became useless paper money to commemorate himself.

Shu Wu stared at the letter in the copper basin and was speechless for a long time.

"Now that the man is gone, it no longer matters what he has said. The Queen Mother coughed suddenly, coughing very hard, and only after a long time did she calm down and breathe rapidly, looking at Shu Wu, with an extremely sincere look, with a trace of gentleness that should never be deserved: "For the future of Qingguo, what the truth is, it never matters, isn't it?"

After Shu Wu was silent for a long time, he shook his head: "The Queen Mother, the minister is just a scholar, the minister only knows that the truth is the truth, the holy will is the holy will, and the minister is the courtier of His Majesty." ”

"You've done your best. The Queen Mother looked at him calmly, "You have done your duty as a courtier." If you have a chance to see Fan Xian again, remember to sue him, and the mourning family will give him a chance to clear his name, as long as he stands up. ”

A chill surged in Shu Wu's heart, knowing that if Lord Xiao Fan really entered the palace last night to meet the Queen Mother, he was afraid that he would become a prisoner at this time, and officially become the real murderer of His Majesty's assassination, and the salute before the crown prince ascended the throne.

He shook his head to the ground and said respectfully: "Go to the Taiji Palace." ”

The Queen Mother smiled and shook her head: "Go ahead, you know, everything is predestined, since it can't be changed, any attempt to change will only make things worse, so why bother?"

Shu Wu is the old minister of Qingguo, his status is respected in the hearts of the people, and his protégés are all over the court, but this person was born a stubborn son, and now the crown prince ascended the throne, but he disregarded life and death, and forcibly asked to see the queen mother, intending to change the matter.

Only this old minister is qualified to do this, if he is replaced by another official, I am afraid that he has already become a wisp of grievances under the palace wall at this time. Emperor Qing is in mourning, the crown prince ascends the throne, at this juncture, the queen mother is mainly stable and will not be too persecutive to this old minister.

However, Shu Wu can't change anything, if he is smart, he will quietly wait for the crown prince to ascend the throne, and then immediately beg for bones and return to his hometown.

............ Shu Wu walked to the gate of the Taiji Hall alone, and he couldn't hear the greeting of the officials in plain clothes beside him, nor did he hear the voice of Duke Hou passing the prince's will and inviting scholars to enter the palace. He just stood at the gate of the palace in a daze, looking at the somewhat chaotic sacrificial procession in the square in front of the palace, looking at the white flags standing upright, looking at the forbidden officers and soldiers above the imperial city, listening to the bursts of firecrackers in the distance, and the terrible whip outside the palace gate, he suddenly felt a burst of hot blood surging into his head, making his head dizzy.

From this moment on, Scholar Shu's head had been extremely dizzy, so that he walked into the empty Taiji Hall like a wooden man, standing in the second position of the civil service, and the whole person was a little confused.

He didn't hear what the Queen Mother said in a slightly sad voice behind the bead curtain on the side of the dragon chair, nor did he hear the sincere crying of the crown prince, the eldest prince, the second prince and the third prince, and the cry of the ministers of Qingguo echoing in the palace.

It's just that occasionally a few words get into his ears, such as Fan Xian, such as rebellion, such as wanted, such as raiding his home...... Scholar Shu fell to his knees with the ministers in a daze, stood up in a daze, and stood quietly aside. Scholar Hu in front of him glanced at him with concern, and conveyed the reminder with his eyes, but he did a great job of hiding the chill in his heart.

All the courtiers were very well disguised, only sad, not moved.

Shu Wu frowned, he couldn't hear any sound in his ears, looking at the extremely familiar colleagues in the queue, he felt so strange at this moment, especially the scholar Hu in front of him, the two of them had a good relationship, although since last night, there was no time to say anything, but today outside the palace, he had hinted to Scholar Hu.

Why is Scholar Hu so calm?

Shu Wu's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and suddenly his body trembled, and his ears, which had been deaf for a long time, suddenly regained his hearing at this moment, and he heard the sound of gongs, drums, and bamboos outside the Taiji Hall.

He opened his mouth, and then he knew that what he had to say was finished, the prince...... It's time to ascend the throne!

............ Shu Wu's abnormal appearance today has fallen in the eyes of many people. But the ministers of the court and the central government all knew that the first emperor and Shu Wu had always been on good terms with the monarchs and ministers, and when they suddenly heard the news of His Majesty's death, the old bachelor was overwhelmed by the emotional impact, and it was natural for him to lose his soul and be a little depressed, so not many people were suspicious.

However, the Queen Mother, who was sitting behind the beaded curtain next to the dragon chair, had been staring coldly at Shu Wu's every move, her eyes turned, and a eunuch walked behind Shu Wu, ready to help the old bachelor to rest first.

The prince's gaze fell on Shu Wu's body, and he forcibly covered his sorrow and said, "The old bachelor went to the side hall to rest for a while. Then he stopped looking at the crowd, nor at the brothers at the bottom of the stairs, calmed his mood, and walked in the direction of the dragon chair.

Standing in front of the dragon chair, the crown prince looked down at his brothers and courtiers who were kneeling on the ground, knowing that when he sat down, he would become the fifth monarch since the founding of the Qing Kingdom, and the ruler who controlled the life and death of hundreds of millions of people in his hands.

This is the goal he has been fighting for for a long time, for this goal, he has been afraid, jealous, and debauched, but in the end he has learned his father's forbearance, calmness, and waiting...... Vicious.

When such a goal was suddenly close at hand, the crown prince Li Chengqian's mood was so calm that he felt a little strange in his own light.

The prince's eyes drooped slightly, looking at the second brother below, looking at the calm and gentle look on the second brother's face, somehow, he remembered Fan Xian, who had secretly sneaked into Kyoto.

The news that Fan Xian was alive came back from the direction of Dongshan Road last night, and the prince's heart was like a sugar thorn, sweet and painful. For some reason, knowing the news that Fan Xian was alive, he breathed a sigh of relief, and for the following ...... A sneer flashed in the heart of the second brother, the Ye family's army was not far from Kyoto, and the second brother's heart was still so difficult to calm down.

"Please ask the emperor to ascend the throne. ”

"Please ask the emperor to ascend the throne. ”

If this is the case three times, the crown prince Li Chengqian bowed three times to show his awe of the heavens, earth and people, and then he straightened up, looked at the ministers kneeling down in the hall, and seemed to see the hundreds of millions of people under the whole world kneeling to him, and a sense of satisfaction in controlling the world arose, but after a while, it disappeared without a trace, and he only felt that this matter was very boring, and it was a little boring.

"Perhaps he is the only emperor who sits on the dragon chair with a frown. ”

Thinking like this, Li Chengqian sighed in a corner of his heart, turned around and bowed respectfully to the Queen Mother, and then went to sit on the dragon chair.

............ Shu Wu felt that he was really dizzy, at such a solemn and sad moment, when the court was quiet, and Wanchen knelt down, he actually knelt on his knees, walked two steps out, came to the dragon chair, kowtowed to the ground, and shouted loudly: "No!"

As soon as the word "no" came out, everyone in the court was shocked, the face of the queen mother behind the bead curtain sank, and several eunuchs began to walk towards the direction of Shu Daxue, but on the contrary, the prince who was about to sit on the dragon chair breathed a sigh of relief, because he finally understood what his doubts were before.

Yes, it is impossible to ascend the throne so smoothly, there will always be some twists and turns.

And after Shu Wu shouted these two words, he got rid of those dizzy states, the old bachelor took a deep breath, and felt unprecedentedly clear, he knew what he should do.

Lord Xiao Fan wanted to borrow his own bones and use them, so he threw out this old bone, which can be regarded as repaying His Majesty's kindness for many years, and the people of Qingguo have sent their residence to officials.

Shu Wu didn't look at the eunuch who helped him, straightened up, looked at the queen mother behind the bead curtain, the prince in front of the dragon chair, and tried his best to fight for the honor and disgrace of his life, and fought for the life and death of the family, and called out sadly.

"On the occasion of His Majesty, there is a testament, the prince...... No succession!"

The house was quiet, and no one spoke.