On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month in the fourth year of Changzhi, according to the news from the southwest front line, Fu Shen, the commander-in-chief of the West Army and the Duke of Yasukuni, was killed by the rebels and unfortunately died.
On the ninth day of the seventh lunar month, the Tianfu Army sent Yan Xiaohan from Jinling to the southwest, but failed to ask the rebels for Fu Shen's body. Duan Guihong angrily rebuked Yan Xiaohan in front of the battle, claiming that the traitors in the DPRK had formed a party for selfishness, harmed the hero, deceived the Holy Spirit, and caused Fu Shen to die with hatred. The army in the southwest swore to the side of the Qing emperor and executed the ministers, in order to tell Fu Shen that he was in the spirit of heaven.
Fu Shen was at the Southwest University of Nutrition. He almost laughed when Du Leng recited Du Leng's remarks before the battle: "Isn't this what he thought?"
If Duan Guihong had the ability to confuse black and white and tell nonsense with his eyes open, he wouldn't be so stiff with the emperor.
"Who else could it be?" Duan Guihong walked in angrily and said sarcastically, "Of course it was taught by my exquisite 'niece-in-law'."
Fu Shen was not ashamed, but proud: "It's too much, it's just a little clever, it's not something to be proud of."
Duan Guihong: "..."
The matter of being scolded wildly before the battle seemed to make Yan Xiaohan's face very uncomfortable. When he returned to the army, he strictly ordered the army not to leak the matter out. But Fu Shen's death was full of doubts. The stricter the military order, the more people felt that what Duan Guihong said was the truth, and the rumors became more and more widespread. Some people even said that Emperor Changzhi was afraid of Fu Shen's excessive military power. Pai confidant secretly assassinated Fu Shen, and then pushed the black cauldron on Duan Guihong.
The obituary was sent back to the capital together with the gossip, and the court was shocked. The garrison in northern Xinjiang almost mutinied on the spot. Emperor Changzhi couldn't stop the rumors in the court, and under the pressure of public opinion, he had to re-call the Yanying Palace to discuss how to posthumously reward Fu Shen and fill the vacancy.
On the twelfth day of the seventh month, on the day of the Yanying Palace meeting, Yan Xiaohan returned to the capital with Fu Shen's armor and commander seal, and went straight into the palace. The court official Ya Que was silent, he didn't say a word, he just slammed the iron armor on the table, "dang bang", and shattered the teacup in front of Xue Sheng.
There were still bloodstains on the armor that had not been washed away.
The palace officials in the four states of northern Xinjiang cried bitterly on the spot, and the others either lowered their eyes in trance, or remained silent. Xue Sheng's face was sinking like water, and Emperor Changzhi was terrified, and his tone involuntarily brought a little compromise: "Yan Qing has worked hard, sit first... Come on, serve tea."
The favored Eunuch Yuan Zhen next to the emperor hurried forward, filled Yan Xiaohan with tea, and said respectfully, "Sir, please."
Yan Xiaohan glanced at him like frost, Eunuch Yuan Zhen shrank his neck, did not dare to let out the air, and quickly slipped back to the emperor's side.
"Prince Yasukuni has fought for the country for many years, and he has the merits of helping the society and the crops. In terms of merits, he should enter the golden stage and take a picture of the Kylin Temple." En Rong should have shaded his descendants, but the two adults... have no children under their knees, but the lower official remembers that Duke Jingguo has a brother..."
"That's exactly what you said," Yan Xiao said coldly, "I heard that Young Master Fu hasn't ascended to the throne. He was lost a few days ago. Have you found it now, Master Xue?"
Xue Sheng wondered if he hadn't slept well recently, with dark circles under his eyes and drooping eyelids, his eyes seemed unreasonable: "How could I know about the Fu family? Master Yan is joking."
"Emperor Yasukuni passed away, no matter how heartless I am, I wouldn't be joking at this time," Yan Xiao said coldly, "Master Xue, do you know what the rumors are spreading now? I was not in the capital at the time of the incident. But I want to ask you, who pushed the court to the cusp?"
His words were vague, but the implied meaning was very obvious. Everyone pricked up their ears and felt that they would hear something amazing.
"Since you just came back from the front line, you should know that Duke Jingguo was killed by the traitor Duan Guihong," Xue Sheng gritted his teeth, "As for the traitor's confounding and nonsense bite, Master Yan actually wants to Use this to find Xue's fault? You see clearly, this is Yanying Hall, not your Feilongwei!"
"Okay! Shut up!" Emperor Changzhi shouted sharply: "In a large audience, what a formality!"
Yan Xiaohan and Xue Shengyan calmed down and stood up to accuse each other. Emperor Changzhi had a headache and said helplessly: "The deceased is dead, Yasukuni's public service is in the shrine, and it should be generous and generous. As for the photo of the Kylin Hall... The Ministry of Rites organized it as usual, Yan Qing, you go take him a ride. The matter of the southwest needs to be discussed again... "
Before he could finish speaking, his heart suddenly felt cramps, his body could not hold back, and he slumped straight towards the imperial case. Yuan Zhen hurriedly grabbed him to support him, and said, "Your Majesty! Imperial Physician! Quickly announce the Imperial Physician!"
Yanying Hall suddenly became chaotic.
Emperor Changzhi's face was pale, only his cheeks were glowing with two abnormal blushing, leaning on Yuan Zhen's body, he couldn't hold his breath, one hand pressed against his heart, and a little red foam overflowed from his lips. After the imperial doctor arrived, he immediately administered acupuncture to Emperor Changzhi, and then ordered him to take medicine for decoction, and he continued to toss in chaos until the afternoon.
The emperor is ill, which is a big deal. After the court officials dispersed, they held a group and sent a letter. Looking at the emperor like this, it seems that he has a heart attack, and he suddenly falls ill one day. Now that the prince is young, there are no other children under the emperor's knees, and several brothers are still young and strong. When the throne changes, it will inevitably be another storm.
These palace officials are in the center, but in fact they are still independent, and the small abacus in their hearts is cracking. For a time, the atmosphere in the courtroom became strange and unpredictable.
In the evening, Emperor Changzhi woke up once, and the empress and concubines were all waiting in front of the bed. He moved his fingers, and there was a slight breath in his throat, and the imperial physicians hula-la surrounded them.
Yuan Zhen immediately stepped forward: "Your Majesty?"
"What time is it?"
Yuan Zhen said: "Go back to Your Majesty, it's time for Xu."
"Tomorrow... Stop the court," Emperor Changzhi said slowly, word by word, with a faint breath, "If there is an undecided matter... I will pay attention to the public opinion of Fu Yanying Hall. Where is Yan Xiaohan?"
"Your Majesty," Yuan Zhen said cautiously, "Master Yan, he, he went home to observe filial piety..."
Emperor Changzhi was sullen for a while, and the imperial doctor hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, don't get excited."
"Let him come back," Emperor Changzhi closed his eyes wearily. "In extraordinary times, there is no need to hold ceremony, and the affairs of Yanying Palace will be handed over to him to preside over."
When he said this, he remembered something, opened his eyes and glanced at Empress Fu, who was hanging her head silently at the bottom, only to see that she was wearing plain clothes and no hairpin jewelry, he sighed softly, and ordered: "No need to wait, Yuan Zhenliu Wait and wait, everyone else will go back."
Fu Ling's brows were dyed with grief, thin and weak, and bowed before the imperial couch, like a hazy white flower separated by the rain and fog, and whispered: "I retire."
In the evening, Yan Xiaohan received a message from the eunuch in the palace, ordering him not to keep his filial piety behind closed doors, and to return to the court to preside over the proceedings of the Yanying Palace, he couldn't help but sneered: "It's really people who are going to have tea, and the funeral has not yet been held, so he has not been sent to him. Is it serious?"
Yuan Zhen's face didn't change, he watched his nose and his heart, pretending that he didn't hear anything.
"Go back, I know," Yan Xiaohan said, "It's only a few months, I can still afford it."
Since then, Emperor Changzhi's heart disease has not improved, and the originally scheduled trip to Jiangnan in September could not be made. When winter entered, the disease became heavier day by day, and Emperor Changzhi could occasionally show up at the court meeting. , completely bedridden after October. The imperial doctor in the palace kept his mouth shut, only reporting good news but not bad news. Even so, some well-informed people knew from various sidelines that the emperor was afraid that it was bad, and secretly prepared.
On the fifth day of November in the fourth year of Changzhi, the capital fell for the first time since the beginning of winter.
In the middle of the night, there was a knock on the corner door of Yan Mansion. A man of short stature, wrapped in a cloak, wearing a hood, and carrying a wind lantern, whispered to the housekeeper who came to open the door, "Please come out, please come in immediately. Gong. Eunuch Yuan spread the word, that one is not good."
Not long after, a pony car stopped outside Zhangxuanmen. The man in white and plain clothes stepped out of the carriage, Yuan Zhen was waiting at the door early, and hurriedly asked the little maid to hold an umbrella for him: "My lord, you are coming, hurry up, you won't be able to stop it any later..."
"What are you panicking about?" A snowflake floated on his eyelashes and turned into a small drop of water. Yan Xiaohan walked unhurriedly towards the palace, and said casually, "Whoever died is not death? Sooner or later."
In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the candle light goes out.
Emperor Changzhi had been tortured for several months, and now he was only a handful of bones so thin that he could barely hold the quilt while lying on the couch. His face was as white as paper, but his lips were black, his breathing was almost inaudible, his eyes were deeply sunken, and there was no trace of his gentle and handsome appearance in the past.
Fu Ling wiped his face with a damp towel, meticulously. There was no one in the hall, only the flickering candlelight cast her thin shadow on the bed tent, twisting and crooked, looking at it in a trance, as if it were a vine crawling out of the dark underground.
Her eyes lingered over the bridge of Emperor Changzhi's forehead and nose, counting his light breathing, and involuntarily tightening the five fingers holding the cloth towel, as if she was firmly grasping some dangerous thought that was about to come out.
He looked like he might lose his breath at any moment, and the flimsy throat snapped.
Fu Ling's wrists were trembling, and she could hardly hold the cloth towel, but there seemed to be an invisible rope pulling her hand, which made her fearfully and persistently send the wet cloth to Emperor Changzhi's mouth and nose.
This man used to be her life's support and destination, but it was also him who personally ruined the years of friendship between husband and wife, and even sent her only brother to death.
There are no fathers and sons, no brothers, and of course... no husband and wife.
With a "squeak", the door of the palace opened wide, and a gust of wind swept into the warm palace. Fu Ling's expression froze, and he retracted his hand as if he had been burned. He quickly threw the cloth into the basin, and stood up and said sharply, "Who is there? Outside?"