Niao Ni
Chapter 535: Everyone Has a Layer of Skin on Their Heart
At this moment, the imperial palace was in complete chaos. Empress Dowager issued several decrees in quick succession, ordering both the Empress of the East Palace and Consort Ning to move to the Han Guang Palace immediately. Consort Yi, who had raised the Qing Kingdom Emperor's youngest son, was no exception.
Consort Yi had clearly heard these decrees in the hall, and she naturally understood that moving to the Han Guang Palace was merely a means of conveniently monitoring those in the palace.
Her thoughts were somewhat muddled, unsure of what situation she and her son would face... The Emperor is dead? The Emperor is dead! Her hair at her temples was slightly disheveled as she shook her head vigorously, as if trying to drive this earth-shattering news from her mind.
"How could the Emperor die? How could he die?"
She bit her lower lip tightly, leaving a pale mark on her red lips. The rain outside the palace had stopped, and the cicadas had ceased their chirping, but a chilling coldness permeated the air, enveloping her body and causing her to shiver.
Although the Emperor had never shown any particular preference for women, the harem consisted of no more than twenty-odd concubines. However, Consort Yi had been the most favored in recent years, and it would be false to say that she had no feelings for the Emperor. However, her sorrow, her fear, and her unease were not solely due to the news of His Majesty's passing.
The military, the Supervisory Council, the prefectures and counties, all sent messages a thousand miles to the capital, conveying the shocking news to the nobles in Kyoto—His Majesty had been assassinated!
However, the information from the military and the prefectures and counties stated that the assassin was Fan Xian, the Deputy Director of the Supervisory Council!
Little Lord Fan, in collusion with Si Gu Jian of Dongyi City, had harbored rebellious intentions and launched a sudden attack to assassinate the Emperor during the Heaven Worship ceremony on Mount Dong.
The Supervisory Council's information only confirmed the Emperor's death, and the specific description of the process was particularly vague, which only confirmed the authenticity of the previous two pieces of information.
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However, Consort Yi didn't believe it!
It wasn't that she didn't believe that His Majesty the Emperor had passed away, but that she simply didn't believe that Little Lord Fan had done it! It made no sense at all. The Emperor was going to depose the Crown Prince during the Heaven Worship ceremony, and Fan Xian's position would only be further solidified after the ceremony. How could he suddenly choose such an absurd course of action at this juncture?
Consort Yi was truly afraid. She felt that a net had already been cast upon Fan Xian, and closely following, upon Shufang Palace. She came from the Liu family, and she shared the same fate as the Fan residence, and Fan Xian was even appointed by His Majesty as... the Third Prince's tutor!
If Fan Xian were to truly become the chief culprit of treason, the Fan residence would naturally be executed to the last person, and the Liu family would hardly escape unscathed. Consort Yi might be pushed into a well, and the Third Prince...
"Mother! Mother!" The Third Prince, having just received the news, ran into the hall, crying as he ran. When he reached Consort Yi, he stopped abruptly and looked at his mother cautiously with eyes that were more mature than those of his peers.
Consort Yi nodded distractedly.
The Third Prince pursed his lips, trying hard to hold back, but he couldn't help but burst into tears, throwing himself into Consort Yi's arms.
After a long while, Consort Yi bit her lip, forcefully pulled her son from her arms, looked at his eyes fiercely, and said forcefully, "Don't cry, don't you dare cry. This is not the time to cry... Your father is an upright and honorable monarch, you cannot cry."
The Third Prince, Li Chengping, sobbed but stood firmly in front of his mother, nodding heavily. The years of life in the palace, the year spent following Fan Xian in Jiangnan, had long tempered the mind of this ruthless prince, who dared to open a brothel at the age of nine, and he knew that the words his mother was about to say at this time were extremely important.
"Now everyone is saying that your tutor, Lord Fan, assassinated His Majesty." Consort Yi stared into her son's eyes.
The Third Prince's eyes flickered slightly before quickly calming down, and he said with hatred, "I don't believe it! Master is not that kind of person, and... he has no reason to."
Consort Yi forced a smile and patted her son's head, saying, "Yes, although there are reports from the military and the prefectures and counties, not many people will believe that your tutor would be detrimental to His Majesty... You must know that he is the most valued minister of your father."
"It's not just us who don't believe it." Consort Yi said through gritted teeth, "The Empress Dowager doesn't believe it either, otherwise the Fan residence would have been raided long ago, and that crazy woman wouldn't have been buried by the Empress Dowager."
The Third Prince nodded.
Consort Yi lowered her voice and said, "But the Empress Dowager won't completely disbelieve it either. Although I don't know why... your uncle is about to enter the palace, and Chen-jiejie and that girl Sisi are also going to enter the palace. If the Empress Dowager really believes that the Mount Dong affair was done by your tutor, I'm afraid that the Fan and Liu families will fall into a desperate situation immediately."
"What can I do?" The Third Prince clenched his fists, knowing that his future was completely placed on his tutor, Fan Xian. If his tutor was really labeled as a regicidal villain, he would never have a chance to turn the tables.
"Don't do anything, just cry, be sad, and accompany the Empress Dowager..." Consort Yi suddenly sighed, a trace of pity flashing in her eyes, and she hugged the Third Prince again. "Until the Mount Dong affair is cleared up, and until your tutor returns to Kyoto, the Empress Dowager will not immediately take action against the Fan family. We need this time to influence the Empress Dowager, and then... wait for your tutor to return."
After a moment of silence, the Third Prince nodded. Like his mother, he had always had great confidence in Fan Xian. In their hearts, as long as his tutor returned to Kyoto, he would definitely be able to resolve the whole matter.
The eunuch was urging them from outside.
Consort Yi began to prepare to move to the Han Guang Palace, feeling somewhat at a loss.
A trace of ruthlessness flashed in the Third Prince's eyes. He pulled out a poisoned dagger that Fan Xian had given him from under the table and carefully hid it in his cute little boots.
He did not agree with his mother's previous words. The Han Guang Palace was not necessarily safe either. What crazy things could those two elder brothers not do for the chair left behind by their father?
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Crown Prince Li Chengqian slowly straightened his clothes. There was not a trace of mad joy on his face. When the news of the Emperor's death reached the palace, the Crown Prince, like all the princes and ministers, prostrated himself on the ground and cried loudly, his grief was hard to conceal.
However, his face was a little pale in addition to his sadness. He walked to the gate of the East Palace, bowed deeply to the distant twilight in the east, and two strings of tears fell from his eyes.
After a long time, he straightened his body and stood upright, thinking sadly in his heart: "Father, it's not that your son is unfilial, it's just that you have forced me to the point where I have no way out."
Hongzhu led the guards at the entrance of the East Palace, waiting to invite the Empress and the Crown Prince to move to the Han Guang Palace.
The Crown Prince glanced at the gate of the palace, turned back to look at the Empress, frowned slightly, forcibly suppressed the helplessness in his eyes, held his mother's hand, and whispered in her ear, "Please, Mother, restrain your grief."
The Empress, who had always had a gentle and dignified appearance, had been confined to the East Palace for the past six months and no longer had her former splendor. However, when she suddenly heard the news that His Majesty had been assassinated on Mount Dong, this woman, who had been childhood sweethearts with the Emperor, broke down. She listened to the news from the various palaces like a walking corpse, and all she could do was sit on the couch and cry.
"Your father is dead..." The Empress stared blankly at the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince slowly lowered his head and said, "Your son knows, but... everyone has to die."
His face was still full of sorrow, but he said these words extremely calmly.
The Empress seemed to regain her senses in an instant, understood these words, and looked at her son with disbelief, her mouth wide open, unable to say a word for a long time!
"The Heaven Worship ceremony was not completed." The Crown Prince said in a low voice, "Your son will rightfully become the next Emperor of Qing Kingdom, and you will be the Empress Dowager."
The Empress's heart was filled with countless complex emotions for a time, her lips trembled, and it was not until a long time later that she stuttered, "Yes, yes, yes... Fan Xian, that damned fellow, I... I said long ago that he was an evil star... Our old Li family... will always be destroyed by their mother and son... When we go to the Han Guang Palace later, immediately ask the Empress Dowager to issue an edict to execute the entire Fan family! No, execute the entire Fan and Liu families, and also kill that old dog Chen Pingping!"
The Crown Prince's hand holding the Empress's hand suddenly tightened a few times, and the Empress felt pain and stopped talking.
The Crown Prince leaned close to her ear and said in a low voice, word by word, "Don't say these things, remember, don't say a word... If you still want me to sit on that dragon throne, then don't say anything. No one will believe that Fan Xian committed regicide now. If you say this, no one will believe it even more... So we have to wait in the Han Guang Palace. In another four or five days, the witnesses and evidence will all be back. By then, even if you don't say it, the Empress Dowager will know what to do."
The Empress was trembling all over, as if she had never known her son before.
The Crown Prince finally whispered in her ear, "Qin Heng will enter the palace later... Talk to the old man, so that it will be easier to talk to the Empress Dowager."
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In the Second Prince's residence, not far from the Imperial Palace, the Second Prince was tidying up his clothes and simulating sadness, just like his brothers. As members of the Emperor's family, they were most skilled at acting, so even when his mind was occupied with many thoughts, the expression on his face was still spot on.
Princess Consort Ye Ling'er watched him indifferently from the side, without offering to help. After a moment, she asked softly, "Do you believe it?"
The Second Prince's hand paused, and he replied calmly, "I don't believe it. I admire Fan Xian, he has no reason to do this."
Ye Ling'er frowned prettily and asked, "Then why... are the rumors saying this?"
"Rumors are just rumors, they stop with the wise." The Second Prince lowered his head slightly, rolled up his snow-white sleeves. He was wearing a light-colored single garment today, which made him look particularly low-key and silent. "I won't believe that Fan Xian would be so bold and reckless before there is any evidence."
Ye Ling'er's heart softened slightly, and she said softly, "Be careful when you enter the palace."
The Second Prince forced a smile and patted his wife's face, saying, "What's there to be careful about? My father has passed away, but the news is being kept secret for now. After the Mount Dong affair is cleared up, the whole country will definitely mourn, and then the Crown Prince will ascend the throne, and I will still be that inconspicuous Second Prince."
"Are you willing?" Ye Ling'er looked at him in surprise.
After a moment of silence, the Second Prince suddenly said, "I won't hide it from you, I suspect that the Mount Dong affair was done by the Crown Prince..."
Ye Ling'er was shocked and covered her mouth tightly.
The Second Prince gave a wry smile and said, "It's just a guess."
After saying these words, he walked towards the gate of the mansion, summoned his personal attendant in the corner, and whispered, "Notify my father-in-law to be ready to enter the capital at any time."
Yes, his father had died. The Second Prince stood at the gate of the mansion and suddenly felt that the sky above his head had begun to shine with a beautiful azure light, and no one could stand above him anymore. He saw the Mount Dong affair very clearly, because Princess Chang never concealed it from him.
Let the Crown Prince ascend the throne, but how could those old fellows standing behind Fan Xian, whether Fan Xian was dead or alive, be willing to surrender?
A sneer appeared on the Second Prince's lips. He would help the Crown Prince. Let him sit on that chair for the time being, let him face the Supervisory Council and the Fan family's strong backlash. He only needed to watch indifferently. When the Crown Prince, that good-for-nothing, was exposed as the mastermind behind the patricide and regicide in the future, he would see what kind of end he would come to!
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There was no time for sorrow.
All the people who knew about the news of His Majesty the Emperor's assassination had no time for sorrow. After a moment of shock, they began to calmly, even somewhat indifferently, arrange the follow-up matters. Those who were qualified to sit on that chair began to prepare, and those who were qualified to decide the ownership of that chair began to communicate secretly.
Although the Empress Dowager asked the relevant personnel to enter the palace as soon as possible, she still gave those people enough time to communicate.
Everyone seemed to have forgotten that the one who died was the most powerful monarch since the founding of Qing Kingdom, the supreme being who had ruled this land for more than twenty years, and the spiritual symbol of all the people of Qing Kingdom.
They were disturbed by the benefits in front of them and the fragrance at the tip of their noses, and they only had time to be excited and fearful, and to pretend to be sad, but they had no time to be truly sad in their hearts.
Only one person was an exception.
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Princess Chang slowly pushed open the gate of the royal villa, which had been nominally closed for several months, and stood calmly on the stone steps, looking at the carriage and eunuchs below who had come to welcome her into the palace. There was not a trace of tremor in her beautiful and exquisite features. She was wearing a thin white dress, which was extremely beautiful, extremely plain, and extremely sad.
She did not look back at the villa, but slowly raised her head, looking at the azure sky after the clouds and rain had cleared. The sadness on her face became heavier and heavier, denser and denser. When it reached the extreme, it became faint. There was not a trace of emotion, and her jade-like skin seemed to become transparent, allowing all the people in the world to see the true feelings in her heart.
That touch of pain and calmness.
Li Yunrui smiled slightly, and a clear light spread out. She whispered in her heart to a certain imperial soul on that distant mountain: "Brother, have a good journey."
Then she got into the carriage and drove to the imperial palace, which was about to determine the ownership of the Qing Kingdom.
Unlike the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, she did not bother to guard against the Supervisory Council and the Fan residence at all. Because she stood higher and saw further. The key to the whole matter had been confirmed with the three weary horses that had traveled thousands of miles back to the capital. The subsequent matters were just very simple and natural.
As long as His Majesty died, the whole thing would be over.
Regardless of whether the Empress Dowager would believe that Fan Xian committed regicide, she was, after all, the Empress Dowager of Qing Kingdom, and she had to believe it. Moreover, Princess Chang also had a way to make her believe it.
As for whether the Crown Prince or the Second Prince would succeed to the throne, Princess Li Yunrui did not care much. What she cared about was only the death of that person.
I can help you, when you abandon me, I can destroy you.
The woman in the carriage smiled, and then she cried.
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Rainwater dripped slowly from the branches at the city gate. It had been many days since the three riders entered the capital to report the news. There were no walls that didn't leak wind. The changes in the palace and the City Gate Division, the dispatch of all the Kyoto Prefecture yamen to maintain order, and the Supervisory Council's abnormal silence allowed the people of Kyoto to vaguely guess the truth.
The truth that they dared not believe.
The reactions of the common people were always different from those of the nobles. They looked at things more directly, and sometimes more accurately. They only knew that the Emperor of Qing Kingdom was a good emperor. At least from the perspective of the lives of the people of Qing Kingdom, Emperor Qing was a rare good emperor.
So the people were sad, grieved, cried, and were at a loss, not knowing what the future of this country would be like. They also had doubts in their hearts, and no matter what, they did not believe that Little Lord Fan would be... that damned traitor!
The officials also did not believe it at first, but the five hundred Black Knights belonging to Fan Xian's relatives had not yet returned, and the official ship docked in Danzhou had disappeared without a trace. The testimony of the surviving "living mouths" from Mount Dong pointed directly at Fan Xian, and countless pieces of evidence began to converge on the Imperial Palace, which was not enough to prove anything, but it could convince some people who were willing to be convinced.
The Fan residence had been controlled.
The Duke's residence had also been controlled.
Perhaps what was about to come was a bloody storm.
It was said that the palace had begun to prepare for the Crown Prince's succession to the throne.
The Crown Prince who was about to be deposed was succeeding to the throne... History and reality were always so absurd.
At this moment, a bean oil merchant, wearing a bamboo hat and using the documents of the Gongfang Division, entered the semi-closed East City Gate with great difficulty, walked to a corner in the South City, and checked into an inn.
Through the window of the inn, he could vaguely see the two residences before and after the Fan residence, which were surrounded by heavy troops. The merchant took off his bamboo hat, looked at the distant residences, covered his chest and coughed twice, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
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(I have been staying at my best friend's house in Shanghai, and I haven't seen my friend and his wife for three days - this is the big problem brought about by not going to a place for a long time. If friends haven't seen each other for four or five years, if they don't see each other, then heaven and man will be angry, so I travel every night on the unfamiliar streets of Shanghai, enduring the chest-tearing pain caused by a cold and inflammation.
I have been taking medicine and drinking very little wine, but my illness has not improved. Looking at the schedule of appointments on the paper, there are always omissions, and I am in a state of manic frenzy - when did I become such a social butterfly? Why is traveling in big cities as long as a spring outing every time?
This year's annual meeting, I specially postponed the date of leaving Shanghai so late, because there are too many friends who want to see and chat, but I still can't arrange it properly. This is my own problem. I will use some pages to wink at the friends I haven't seen, and I will come again next year.
ps: It has not affected the writing of Qing Yu Nian, which is something I am very surprised about. However, after all, I am sick, and my head has been in a daze all the time. Can I ask everyone for a day off tomorrow? Bow and step down.
I never thought that Shanghai at this time would be so cold.)