Other courtiers were also crying, but Cao Xun knew that Li Yong's crying was different, he was crying for a brother with a different surname who had been with him for more than 30 years.

Cao Xun took Cao Shao and knelt behind several cabinet ministers led by Gu Lao.

Qianqing Palace.

Empress Cao lay on the corpse of Emperor Yuanqing, crying so much that her liver and intestines were broken, the prince, the second prince, and Princess Yi'an also knelt beside her and cried.

A little eunuch came to the side of Gonggong Wan, who was kneeling outside, and whispered something, Gonggong Wan listened, choked up and came to the dragon couch, and said to Queen Cao: "Niangniang, the ministers of the cabinet, the two uncles, the princes, and the civil and military officials are here, and they are crying and kneeling outside the palace, and they also ask the mother to signal, which ministers are invited to enter the palace." ”

Empress Cao didn't seem to hear it, and it wasn't until Grandpa Wan repeated it again that Empress Cao recovered a little bit of reason from her grief, looked at Grandpa Wan, Grandpa Wan, and Li Yao, and asked while crying: "When the emperor is dying, can there be an edict, or any words?" ”

Gonggong Wan shook his head: "The emperor has no edict, and his last words ......"

Xiao Wan's father-in-law, who had been touching the ground with his forehead, flashed a dark glint in his eyes, raised his head crying, and said intermittently: "Return, back to Niangniang, tonight is the slave and maid staying by the emperor's side, the emperor suddenly fell ill, and he only had time to tell the slave and maid 'pass on the crown prince, Niangniang's auxiliary government', and then he couldn't speak anymore, woo, the emperor went to the immortal, and he was in a hurry over there......"

Li Yao, who was kneeling beside him, tightened his hands holding the bricks suddenly, and his green tendons were exposed.

Fart!

Since the emperor wrote the word "two" in the palm of his hand, it was clear that he wanted His Royal Highness Second to succeed to the throne, how could he say such a thing to Gonggong Xiaowan?

Empress Cao was very relieved to hear what she wanted to hear, but she still didn't forget the last person who witnessed the death of the emperor, so she continued to look at Li Yao with teary eyes: "Li Yao, has the emperor told you anything?" ”

Li Yao lowered his head and gritted his back molars tightly before he said, "Yu Niangniang, when the minister rushed in, the emperor was already unable to speak. ”

This is consistent with what Father-in-law Wan and Little Father-in-law Wan said.

Empress Cao didn't have any worries, her eyes swept over the second prince kneeling in front of her, she looked in the direction outside the palace and said, "Summoning the ministers of the cabinet, the six Shangshu, the uncle Cao Xun, and the Duke of Ningguo Li Yong to enter." ”

The palace people passed the queen's decree to the palace gate one by one, and the guards at the gate saw the will, so they opened the palace gate.

Gu Shoufu led the dozen or so people mentioned in the decree to hurriedly run towards the Qianqing Palace.

When he arrived at the dragon couch, he saw Emperor Yuanqing, whose face had turned gray, and the ministers wept bitterly.

When Gonggong Xiaowan announced Emperor Yuanqing's last words again, Empress Cao wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said to Gu Shoufu: "The emperor is in a hurry, at this time I have no master of the six gods, how to act next, please preside over it." ”

Gu Shoufu mourned: "The country cannot be without a king for a day, the first emperor died, the crown prince should succeed to the throne immediately, and then thoroughly investigate the cause of the first emperor's death." ”

When Empress Cao heard this, she asked the prince to stand beside him.

The crown prince is only twelve years old, he has known since he was a child that he will be the future emperor, although he was startled by his father when he was in Nanyuan last year, and later saw that his father did not favor the second prince or anything, and the prince gradually relaxed again, so he didn't think too much about the succession tonight, and his father was gone.

The prince's sadness was overflowing, and he sobbed and stood beside his mother, his eyes still looking at his father on the dragon couch.

Gu Shoufu took the lead, changed his words and called the prince the emperor, and performed three kneels and nine bows.

Only then did the crown prince react and looked at the ministers blankly.

Empress Cao held her son's shoulders and looked at Gu Shoufu and the others: "The emperor is young, you are all the ministers of the first emperor's heavy arms, and I hope to continue to assist the emperor wholeheartedly in the future." ”

"The ministers obey the order, and they will live up to the trust of the emperor and the mother."

Empress Cao looked at Li Yong again: "The first emperor trusted you the most during his lifetime, and it is also the business of Jinyiwei to thoroughly investigate the cause of the first emperor's death, and then I will bother the grandfather of the country." ”

Li Yong cried and said: "Don't worry, the minister will definitely find out!" ”

After speaking, Li Yongxian called all the imperial doctors in the Tai Hospital and ordered them to check the dragon body of Emperor Yuanqing.

After the imperial physicians discussed in a low voice, they believed that Emperor Yuanqing was poisoned.

Then there must be something wrong with the entrance.

Tai Hospital successively checked the things that Emperor Yuanqing had eaten and drunk today, including the remaining four "Qi Nourishing Pills" sent by Tongyuan Zhenren.

Tongyuan Zhenren had already been escorted over, and when he said unilaterally, Imperial Doctor Deng, who gave Emperor Yuanqing the wind and cold medicine, suddenly knelt on the ground, crying and pointing at Tongyuan Zhenren and scolding: "You usually do alchemy, and you never use ephedra, why did you add this medicine tonight?" ”

Although Tongyuan Zhenren guessed that Emperor Yuanqing's death was probably due to this ephedra, he was not weak-hearted, and said with words: "Ephedra is a common medicine for the treatment of wind and cold, the first emperor drank your medicine and it didn't work, I added ephedra to help the first emperor sweat and disperse the cold, what's wrong?" ”

Imperial Physician Deng: "Then do you know that Shi Wei was added to the decoction we prepared for the first emperor tonight?" Shi Wei and ephedra are compatible, you still add so much weight, the first emperor is already weak, and he is ...... by your pill."

He didn't need to say the rest of the words, and everyone knew what happened to the first emperor.

Tongyuan Zhenren's face turned pale, and he hurriedly knelt in front of Empress Cao and the little emperor and shouted wronged.

It sounds like he's innocent, but who knows if there's something else going on inside?

Empress Cao asked Li Yong to continue the investigation.

Li Yong brought all the palace people who were serving Emperor Yuanqing tonight, including Li Yao and other imperial guards, everyone in the Tai Hospital, Tongyuan Zhenren and the little Taoist priests around him, to Jinyiwei and interrogated them overnight.

Almost all of the suspicions are on the Tai Hospital and Tongyuan Zhenren, and Li Yao and other guards are the easiest to pick out, because they are only responsible for duty, and they have never touched the decoction and pill from beginning to end.

When Li Yao was tried, in the face of his own son, Li Yong, who was strong in spirit, couldn't hold back the grief in his heart, and cried again.

The monarch's best friend, who used to be opposite day and night, is gone if he says no.

Grandpa Guo was so out of shape that the rest of Jinyiwei consciously avoided it and asked Li Yao to appease his father.

Li Yao took the opportunity to tell his father the secret he had been holding back for a long time.

Li Yong broke out in a cold sweat, looked around, and asked his son in a low voice: "Is this serious?" ”

Li Yao glared at him and said angrily: "This kind of thing, can I still make it up?" ”

He stretched out his palm and slashed three times in a row like Emperor Yuanqing.

Li Yong's tears fell again, he and Gu Shoufu both knew that the emperor did have the idea of abolishing the crown prince and replacing the second prince, and he died suddenly tonight, before he died, the emperor's most concern was of course the matter of the throne, whether it was impulsive or not, he had already made a decision, he believed in his son's words, and the emperor did have this move.

He asked his son, "Have you told anyone about this?" ”

Li Yao's face turned pale: "It's useless to tell anyone, there is no evidence, and the third brother is on the side of the Second Highness, which one will believe me?" Not to mention that Xiao Wan's father-in-law still said that, he has indeed been by the emperor's side, if the emperor has the strength to speak, he will only have time to say to him, if I confront him, the Manchu Dynasty will be civil and military, and I believe that he must be more. ”

Li Yong held his son's hand and said with an unprecedented solemn look: "You did the right thing, you shouldn't say it tonight, and you don't have to mention it to anyone in the future, including your mother, your wife, your children, including Gu Lao, just let this matter rot in your stomach until you bring it into the coffin." ”

Li Yao understood what was involved, but he was aggrieved: "Then forget it?" Second Highness......"

Li Yong motioned to his son to stop.

Not to mention that the emperor is dead, even if he is alive now, he insists on changing the crown prince, and those sons and ministers will not agree, including Gu Shoufu, because the prince is the concubine of the main palace, the prince has not made any mistakes, and Wenchen is qualified to support orthodoxy, and even the emperor cannot compete with orthodoxy, unless he wants to be a faint monarch, unless he has to stabilize the country with great difficulty to give birth to civil strife, giving foreign countries a chance to take advantage of.

The emperor can't compete with the orthodoxy supported by the ministers, and the son really conveys the emperor's intentions truthfully, because there is no evidence, the ministers will not believe it, even if they believe it, they will move out of the orthodox etiquette to oppose it, and firmly support the prince, including Gu Shoufu and Cao Xun, will not stand on the side of the son because of the relationship between in-laws, and oppose the literati and the people of the whole world in an unjustified manner.

All in all, no matter what the son says or not, the successor will only be the crown prince.

If that's the case, then why bother? Not only will it affect the entire Ningguo Mansion, but even the second prince who could have been a wealthy feudal king may be involved in the battle for the throne, or die in the palace due to illness, or be accused of colluding with the Ningguo Mansion to deliberately usurp the throne.

Three days later, Li Yong reported the results of the interrogation to Empress Cao and the little emperor, and the first emperor died of medicinal restraint, and there was no conspiracy in it.

After Empress Cao consulted with the cabinet, she dismissed the two imperial doctors from their official positions, and sent Tongyuan Zhenren to the army, thus closing the case.

A month later, the little emperor held an enthronement ceremony and was called Emperor Qianxing.

Chapter 53 "Take care of the prince, and take care of yourself."

On the 27th day of the state funeral, when the twelve-year-old Emperor Qianxing held the enthronement ceremony, the entire capital finally recovered from the heavy atmosphere of the death of the first emperor.

It's just that once the son of heaven and the courtiers, the civil and military officials are all watching the next move of the Empress Dowager Cao and Emperor Qianxing.

The former crown prince and today's Emperor Qianxing, after being the emperor for a month, finally began to put up the emperor's genealogy.

The first thing he had to solve was the second prince.

Emperor Qianxing will never forget the fright brought to him by his father when his father gave Li Xian to the second prince as a companion in Nanyuan, and that night he was so frightened that he fell seriously ill, so that the Manchu Dynasty civil and military people saw his jokes.

Emperor Qianxing would not resent his father, because it was useless to resent, and it was impossible for him to have any unfilial actions towards his father who died.

The second prince became the best candidate for him to vent his resentment.

"Queen Mother, I want to abolish the second prince as a concubine." Emperor Qianxing first mentioned his plan to Empress Dowager Cao.

Empress Dowager Cao laughed: "Nonsense, he didn't make any mistakes, what reason do you have to abolish him?" ”

She also saw that the second prince was not pleasing to the eye, and as long as the second prince lived, she would remember that the first emperor had the idea of abolishing her son, and there were even courtiers who secretly supported the second prince. In this case, Empress Dowager Cao wishes that the second prince would die early, but even if she is now the queen mother and her son is the emperor, the mother and son cannot do whatever they want, and they have to be famous for everything.

Emperor Qianxing said unhappily: "It can't be abolished, is it just the same thing that happened before?" ”

Empress Dowager Cao said softly: "What happened before? You have to remember that your father only transferred Li Xian to his side, and this move has no deep meaning, and you have always been the best candidate for the prince in the heart of the first emperor. However, now that you have ascended the throne, it is time to crown your second brother as king, and then choose a suitable domain. ”

Emperor Qianxing's heart moved, and he immediately asked the palace people to take the map of the thirteen provinces of Great Xia.

In addition to the coastal provinces, the other provinces are the closer to the edge the poorer, and then according to the tax revenue in the past few years, Guizhou, which is close to Yunnan in the southwest, is the bottom of the thirteen provinces, it is said that there are many deep mountains and bad waters, and the people of many villages are still barbarians, and they can't even speak official language, and they can't read a single big character.

Emperor Qianxing pointed to the Liping Mansion below Guizhou, gloating: "Let's do it here, I will make him the king of Li." ”

Sending the second prince to a bitter place, if he dies of illness and short-lived, it has nothing to do with him.

Empress Dowager Cao: "The sealing of the feudal domain is a major matter, and it still depends on what the cabinet ministers say." ”

Emperor Qianxing thought to himself, he was the emperor, and the second prince was completely a private matter of the imperial family.

The next morning, the five elders led by Gu Shoufu came to the Qianqing Palace to perform affairs, and after discussing the government affairs that needed to be dealt with urgently, Emperor Qianxing mentioned the feudal domain of the second prince.

The elders of the pavilion are all elites, and just looking at the domain chosen by Emperor Qianxing for the second prince, you know that the little emperor is still worried about the incident of Nanyuan last year.

Because it really doesn't matter if a young prince's vassal is a vassal, they can't make Emperor Qianxing unhappy because of this, so as not to be jealous of the queen mother's mother and son, and they have the heart to support the second prince.

Gu Shoufu and the Li family are in-laws, and Li Xian is a companion by the side of the second prince, so it is even more difficult for him to object.

The matter was decided, and Emperor Qianxing was very happy in his heart, and sent someone to call the second prince and Li Xian over.

He first announced the matter of sealing the second prince as the king of Li.

The fourteen-year-old new King Li knelt down and said: "Thank the emperor for his grace, and when the minister arrives in the fief, he will definitely obey the emperor's entrustment, make every effort to educate the local people, and assist the court in improving the local people's livelihood." ”

His thin and handsome face was calm, and there was no anger to be seen, and there could not have been any joy, and it was not unusual as usual.

Emperor Qianxing was a little unhappy, because he wanted to see the pitiful appearance of King Li who was angry but powerless.

King Li's performance did not satisfy him, Emperor Qianxing set his eyes on Li Xian, this time, he didn't even hide his emotions, and directly sneered: "Li Xian, my father and emperor appreciated you extremely when he was alive, and asked you to read for his second brother." Now although the second brother is going to Guizhou to become a vassal, he is still young, and his studies cannot be wasted, so you can go to Guizhou with the second brother, continue to study for him, and it will not be in vain for your father to appreciate you. ”

Li Xian knelt down to receive the order: "The minister obeys the order." ”

It's just three words, and there are no other words, just like when the crown prince begged the first emperor to transfer him out of the palace, Li Xian never made any excuses.

Emperor Qianxing had a sense of grievance when he punched the cotton.

After the two of them retreated, Emperor Qianxing snorted at his newly promoted eunuch Wan Gonggong, "It seems that the punishment I gave them is still too light. ”

This Gonggong Wan is an eighteen-year-old little Gonggong, and his godfather Lao Gonggong Wan took the initiative to resign and return to his hometown to care for the elderly after the burial of the first emperor.

Throughout the ages, people who are too loyal to the old master will definitely not be reused by the new master, and it is better to ask themselves to leave than to be nostalgic for power and finally be excluded by others.