The wind was blowing under the eaves, and the floating clouds in the air were low pressure above the main hall, and there was a slight haze.
Feng Yan, Yin Jianzheng and several other ministers stood there in front of the Wutai Hall, waiting to be summoned. Everyone's brows were darkly furrowed and their faces were sluggish.
Since the emperor felt a little sick a few days ago, he has not been in court for several days, and he has not summoned any ministers. This has never happened since he took the throne. The emperor has always been diligent in government affairs, even if he feels a little uncomfortable, it will definitely not be like this, not to mention that the war in the East China Sea is at a critical moment, which is naturally extraordinary.
The imperial doctor ordered Huang Wenshang to enter the palace banquet that night and never came out again. Since then, the two palaces have been heavily guarded, and no one can get accurate information. According to this situation, the only possibility is that the emperor is seriously ill, but he is sent to the Wutai every day. However, the palace memorials were all read by the imperial pen, and they were sent to the three provinces on the second day. A few days ago, an imperial edict was issued, giving King Zhan the right to make decisions on the fly, ordering him to lead an army of 500 warships and 320,000 troops in the East China Sea to divide into three groups and launch a full-scale attack on the Japanese pirates.
Si Weiyun, who is now Zhongshu's servant, felt even more uneasy when he saw those memorials and edicts, and Du Junshu, who had also followed the emperor for many years, felt the same way.
In the past, several close and old ministers of Prince Ling's Mansion knew that there was a person in this world who could learn the emperor's handwriting so vividly that it was almost unreal, but no matter how similar they were, there were slight differences after all. It was not approved by the emperor at all, but by the empress.
At this time in front of the hall, both of them saw traces of worry in each other's eyes. After waiting for a while, Yan Xi, the imperial servant, came out of the hall, stood in front of the steps, and passed the oral order: "The emperor, Xuanfeng, is coming to see you!" , My lords, please wait a moment."
Yin Jianzheng, who was standing next to him, tightened his brows, Feng Yan straightened his sleeves and robes, and followed Yan Xi into the room. Along the way, Yan Xi only lowered his head to lead the way without raising his eyes, but he didn't go to the announcement room where he usually met his driver, nor entered the bedroom palace, but turned around the corridor and went straight in, and stopped in front of a quiet room, raised his hand to hold the sandalwood The openwork door was pushed open, still bowing his head: "Feng please."
Feng Yan was surprised, the embroidered curtains in the room were lowered, and the bead curtain was hidden behind the curtain like smoke, and the queen was sitting behind, with no palace attendants around her, the only wisp of faint fragrance of Fengchi lingering like silk .
"Minister, see your empress."
"Father, please get up." A soft and hoarse voice came from behind the bead curtain, and Feng Yan's eyebrows twitched. This "father" was obviously a family courtesy.
When he got up, he heard the queen ask: "Are the ministers outside still insisting on seeing the emperor?" Although the voice was calm, there was a trace of tiredness that could not be concealed.
Feng Yan said: "The emperor has not been in court for several days, dare to ask the empress, what is the reason?"
There was a low sigh from behind the curtain, as if suffering from nothing, weak and powerless: "I will tell my father, the emperor is seriously ill."
Just a few words made Feng Yan's heart jump violently, his eyes were dimly lit, and he inquired: "The emperor has always been in good health, how could he suddenly become seriously ill?"
The queen was silent for a moment, only the shadow of a feathered White House dress could be seen through the phoenix Yan lightly flickering through the pearls and jade, the faint eyebrows and eyes, the snow sculpture-like person behind the jade curtain seemed to have no warmth around him, even the voice was weak: "Today, please My father came here to discuss this matter with my father. The emperor's illness was poisoned by someone, and the imperial doctor ordered Huang Wenshang to confess that he was instructed by King Zhan to use poison on the emperor. Now the poison has penetrated into the bone, and we can only rely on medicine to take it If something happens to the emperor, no one in the world can suppress King Zhan, our Feng family will suffer a catastrophe, even our daughter will not be spared, we must have a comprehensive countermeasure right now."
Feng Yan's eyes flickered, but his words did not appear flustered, and he asked the key point: "The emperor treats King Zhan well, and even ordered King Zhan's son to live in the palace, why is King Zhan like this?"
The queen's voice was cold, as if a thin snow had fallen: "The emperor read the old instructions of the empress dowager, and has been lenient with King Zhan, but in the end it was too difficult to tolerate. My father didn't know that King Zhan had intended to murder the emperor's heir. At that time, his daughter almost died in his hands. The emperor already had the heart to kill him, and the two of them had already turned their faces. The emperor ordered King Zhan to go to the East China Sea. The original purpose was to send him away from the imperial capital. He is now imprisoned by me in Hanguang Palace, no one can see him."
Feng Yan said: "King Zhan is very powerful in the court, what does the empress want to do with him?"
"As soon as the war in the East China Sea is peaceful, King Zhan should be questioned on the day he returns to the capital. It's just that his father will help him in this matter, and the court will also have to rely on his father in the future. Not to mention the current situation of the emperor, it means that the emperor is safe and sound." , a daughter cannot give birth to a prince. Although the emperor has made an oath before him and is in his favor, how can he have no other intentions in his heart? God's grace is impermanent, and in a few years, the love will fade away, and the daughter will not be in danger?"
The last sentence was spoken weakly, Feng Yan saw the Queen turned her face sideways, and the silk handkerchief brushed her cheek. What is calm and proud, what is calm and easy, what is decisive and intelligent, in front of him is just a woman who has lost her trust, and the future is worrying. With the Feng family's name on it, and entering this deep palace like the sea, besides the power of the family, what else can she rely on
He narrowed his eyes slightly, raised his head to look through the bead curtain, his eyes were not shy, and his originally respectful posture suddenly became domineering. The emperor is seriously ill, and King Zhan is thousands of miles away, and with the queen in his hands, with the power inside and outside the Feng family, he can cover the sky with one hand. But what is the emperor's situation still makes people scrupled.
"How is the emperor's illness?"
"A few days ago when I came back from Chaoshang, I coughed up blood. I fell into a coma with high fever for several days, and I was unconscious. My father will find out when he goes to check later. Although the poison is not fatal immediately, the emperor's body is ruined."
"How long can you last?" Feng Yan's eyes were deep under his brows, revealing the light, and this question was already very bold.
The queen's slender fingers held Ropa, and her voice was soft: "A year and a half is already a blessing."
"Shouldn't the empress have made plans earlier? After a year and a half, what will the empress do?"
The words of confiscating the family and exterminating the family were spoken outright, and it seemed that the queen lost her color in shock. There was a chill in the quiet room, the queen met Feng Yan's eyes across the jade curtain, and the surrounding snow, silk and jade were cold and white, and only a pair of pitch-black phoenix eyes flashed into the depths of her eyelashes. .
In the deep palace of the dynasty, the courtiers rely on the emperor for their high positions, and the glory and wealth of the concubines depend on the emperor. If you don't have this support, if you once favored the six palaces and the mother of the world, the Qingdeng Ancient Buddha will be the rest of your life The only sight to be seen.
"I also ask father to give advice." The queen calmed down for a while, and asked politely.
"For the current plan, apart from getting rid of King Zhan, it is necessary to let the emperor have an heir, otherwise the power will be lost in the future, and it will be in danger."
"My daughter is not healthy, and the emperor is in such a state, how can there be an heir?" The queen lowered her eyes and frowned slightly.
"If the empress really wants the emperor to have it, the emperor can have it. In the harem, the empress is the only one who is the only one to be respected. As long as the empress says she is the heir of the emperor, who would dare to question it?"
There was a moment of silence, the clouds were lingering, the jade curtain shimmered, and it fell on the empress's phoenix clothes. It was still cold and cool, but the empress smiled. Qing Juan's phoenix eyes raised steadily from that smile, and suddenly there was a soul-stirring brilliance, "Father is still thinking thoroughly, so nothing will go wrong."
As the wind picked up speed, the clouds swept across the majestic and towering golden dragon roof of the main hall with the wind, and the clouds fell densely and spread all over the sky.
The ministers in front of the palace waited for nearly an hour, but still did not see any orders, and the sky was gloomy. It seemed that a thunderstorm was coming, and the low air made everyone anxious, and felt that the time was long.
I don't know how long it took before I finally saw Feng Yan walking out of the palace, with a half-smile on his face, showing a bit of arrogance of a powerful official hard to hide. I saw the emperor just now, she was seriously ill, her life was at stake, although the empress had a calm face, she was obviously tired and helpless, anyone could see how haggard she was. He comforted her with words, after all, the queen is not an ordinary woman, so she is not completely flustered. King Zhan had a lot of troops in his hands, and it was difficult to deal with it. The queen wrote a letter, full of true and false difficulties, with sad and sad words, begging King Zhan to hurry back to Tiandu. Now that all kinds of big plans have been made, once King Zhan is eliminated, and then he uses extraordinary means to support the prince, who else can compete with the Feng family
When everyone saw Feng Yan coming out, they stepped forward to inquire. Feng Yan raised his eyes and said, "The emperor's dragon body is not in good condition, so let's all obey the order."
All the ministers then stood in silence, but hearing the hurried footsteps, several servants stood in front of the steps first, and then the sound of wearing rings was soft, and the fragrance was wafting, it was the queen who stepped out of the hall. In surprise, Yin Jian raised his head inadvertently, and suddenly saw dozens of imperial guards guarding the front and back of the Wutai Hall. The bright golden armor was particularly glaring under the gradually darkening sky, and an ominous premonition suddenly arose in his heart.
Above the jade steps, the queen's calm voice came: "The emperor has recently violated the holy body, and all court proceedings are temporarily suspended. There is a decree."
Following these words, everyone knelt at the bottom of the steps one by one. Next to him, Yan Xi unfolded a roll of yellow silk, and loudly proclaimed the imperial decree—Feng Yan was appointed as the Grand Master, and he was in charge of the government. Entering Zhongshu Province, the second son Feng sent a letter to give the title of General Zuo Yiwei, commanding the two cities' forbidden forces... and transferred several important positions one after another, all of whom were relatives of the Feng family's disciples. In the blink of an eye, the world was almost turned upside down, the Feng family quickly took control of the government, and even the imperial guards of the two palaces were in their hands.
Yin Jian was dumbfounded, he could no longer care about etiquette in shock, and looked up in disbelief, only to see a coldness suddenly appear in the empress's calm phoenix eyes, sweeping across the stairs like an ice blade, and immediately passed away. Yin Jian was looking at the indifferent smile on the queen's lips, and a chill ran through his body, feeling that something was wrong. Before he could speak, he heard the queen's voice again, but said to Si Weiyun: "The emperor has another order for you. Yesterday Huzhou reported that the construction of the two canals is nearing completion. In order to prevent any mistakes, I ordered you to go to supervise the construction. Finished, departing today."
Si Weiyun frowned fiercely, the Huzhou project will be completed in a few days, everything is going well, why bother? He leaned over and said, "I am in charge of the decree." But Du Junshu who was beside him said, "Major, what is the illness of the emperor? What is the current situation? Many important matters in the court are waiting for the emperor's ruling, but the ministers have not seen the holy face for several days. I haven't seen the imperial doctor's pulse case yet, I hope the empress will let you know."
The queen lowered her eyes lightly: "The emperor is fine, there are imperial decrees every day for court affairs, you just follow suit."
Du Jun said: "I have the courage to ask my mother if the memorials sent to the three provinces were actually reviewed by the emperor himself?"
The queen raised her eyebrows and twitched slightly, she stared calmly and saw Feng Rui: "Why did you say that?"
Seeing the changes in the imperial court, Du Junshu was worried, and said bluntly: "I have seen that your mother's handwriting is exactly the same as that of the emperor. The memorials of the past and the imperial decree today, dare to ask whether it comes from the imperial pen?"
"Bold!" The queen raised her phoenix eyes and shouted in a cold voice, "How can the emperor's imperial pen and verdict allow you to be suspicious? As an important minister of the court, your words are shameless and unseemly. From today onwards, you don't have to come back to the palace anymore. Wait for the call!"
But with just a few words, two important ministers were directly expelled from the center, demoted and punished. The ministers present all knelt down to beg for mercy in panic, only Feng Yan showed a smile on his face.
Du Junshu was about to speak again, but Si Weiyun secretly grabbed his wrist and stopped him abruptly.
Si Weiyun looked up, and met the queen's passing gaze. Suddenly, the scene of Princess Ling ordering the gates to be opened on the Yongshui embankment to flood the army suddenly appeared in front of him. That pair of eyes, just like now, has a slightly murderous air, which catches people's mind, but in the depths, it is exactly the same as the emperor's deep and calm, cold and arrogant.
For many years, he may have the worry of being with the king like a tiger, but he has never doubted the queen at all. The queen's words and deeds can be clearly seen in her eyes. She not only treats him as a teacher and friend, but also treats the emperor with deep affection. There are some people who can make him believe in it all his life. , that's it.
"Your Majesty! I'm waiting to see the emperor. The Emperor's body is not in good condition, but I have not been able to visit him for several days. I don't know why? I hope the imperial decree is true or not, and I hope the empress will express it!"
After hearing what Du Junshu said, Yin Jianzheng concluded that something happened to the emperor. Feng Yan and the queen joined forces inside and outside to control everything. If they succeeded, it would be a catastrophe. All kinds of countermeasures flashed through my mind, and I immediately asked questions first.
The queen's expression was cold and serious, she didn't see any joy or anger, and said in a low voice: "The emperor just took the medicine and fell asleep. If Yin Xiangruo has something important to do about the country and society, the emperor's dragon body should be the most important thing."
"Naturally, I have something important to announce, so I dare to disturb the emperor."
"Oh?" The queen said in a clear voice, "If you dare to ask Prime Minister Yin what is important, is it more important than the emperor's body?"
"I want to ask the emperor to establish a prince as soon as possible, so as to establish the foundation of the country and secure the society!"
Looking at the royal family, there is only Princess Lanyang under the emperor's knees; King Hao suffered an accident in the past, and since then he has no wives and concubines, and the son of the mansion is adopted; King Li and King Che have no heirs; King Li has a son who is still in his infancy. If you want to register as a crown prince, it must be the son of Prince Zhan. There are changes in the palace right now, the Feng family has seized power, and the situation has taken a turn for the worse. Only here can the disadvantage be regained.
As soon as these words came out, Yin Jian suddenly saw the faint smile on the queen's lips slowly deepening, and then heard Feng Yan's solemn voice: "I'm afraid Yin Xiang has forgotten, the emperor has an imperial edict, if there are ministers, then mention the crown prince's order." It is a crime of treason!"
The words are like knives, gloomy to the bone, and Yin Jian is just like being killed by thunder. Only then did he realize that the queen knew that he must have this idea from what he said just now. They took hold.
"Come here, take this traitor down!"
Following the Queen's clear order, the imperial guards pressed Yin Jianzheng and immediately removed his official uniform. Yin Jianzheng was furious, "The demon queen is messing with the government! I want to see the emperor!"
The queen kept her eyes fixed on her, her cloud sleeves swung down, and the guards couldn't help but put the humerus old minister out of court without showing any mercy.
But for a moment, the empress demoted the important ministers of the court one after another, and raised the center, which was unprecedented since she came to the harem to deal with politics. The remaining few ministers were all frightened and silent for a while.
In front of the Hunxiong Hall, the Empress stood on the dragon steps, with the wind fluttering her sleeves and fluttering slightly, the sky behind her was changing, and the imperial guards spread their wings like phoenix wings, standing in line, standing still. She slowly turned her gaze to Feng Yan, Feng Yan stroked his beard and nodded, his arrogant figure was reflected in those awe-inspiring phoenix eyes, falling into endless depths as the sky darkened.