The night was so dark that there was not a trace of light, and at the darkest moment before dawn, the sound of cloud panels pierced the dark fog and echoed over the imperial city for a long time without end.
Emperor, the funeral is over.
All the officials knelt and waited outside the palace gate, all prostrate on the ground, howling loudly.
Inside the Ganlin Palace, Chief Assistant Zhang Nianling took out the brocade box with the edict in his trembling hands, and slowly opened the lid under the watchful eyes of countless pairs of eyes. Concubine Chen, who was about to faint from crying, pinched her handkerchief to cover her face, and turned to sobbing softly, staring eagerly at Zhang Nianling's movements with her bright eyes.
Zhu Yunxuan lowered her eyes, the corners of her eyes were red, her tensed face was extremely cold and serious, and the hands under the sleeves of her large clothes clenched into fists.
Zhang Nianling slowly unfolded the imperial decree, and said in a deep voice: "I, with Feide, inherited the great career of my ancestors for twenty-four years. Yun Qiong is unique and unique, making virtue natural, suitable for the heir to the throne... The heir emperor is still in his prime, and it is appropriate to concentrate on classics. The instructions and judgments are carried out... the imperial edicts are issued at home and abroad, and the salty envoys will hear about them."
Zhu Yunxuan's fingertips dug deep into the palm of his hand, and he bit his teeth hard.
Zhang Nianling's last word was pronounced, and there was a moment of silence in the hall. The next moment, someone helped the nine princes who were still ignorant and could only cry. The cabinet ministers headed by Zhang Nianling had already Kneeling in front of the little prince, he was about to meet the new king.
Liang Zhen who was behind the crowd suddenly said, "Wait a minute."
Zhang Nianling frowned immediately, and reminded him in a deep voice: "If King Zhao has anything to say, it's better to say it later."
"It's too late."
Liang Zhen got up unhurriedly, and walked to Zhang Nianling's side. Concubine Chen glared angrily at him who came out to interrupt him at this time, Liang Zhen ignored him, and only asked Zhang Nianling: "Can the edict be given to me?" Wang see?"
Zhang Nianling frowned: "What does King Zhao mean by this? Could it be that he suspected that the edict was forged?!"
Liang Zhen said lightly: "Whether it's fake or not, you have to read it to know. Why is Mr. Zhang Ge so anxious, he seems guilty."
Zhang Nianling was taken aback for a moment, and then he was furious: "You are talking nonsense! Shuzi wants to slander the old man!"
"Then let everyone have a look at the will." Liang Zhen's tone was not heavy, but his posture was very strong and uncompromising.
Not only Zhang Nianling, but also the other two court elders who were also ordered to keep the will, blushed. The civil servants cared about their own reputation the most, not to mention that Liang Zhen suspected that their crime was to implicate the nine clans.
The expressions of all the people in the hall changed, and all kinds of inquiring and suspicious eyes fell on Zhang Nianling and the others. Among the princes of the clan, some took the lead and shouted: "In that case, the elders will bring this edict to us all." Let's see!"
Zhu Yunxuan glanced at the speaker calmly, it was a cousin of Emperor Zhaoyang who was named King Xian. The princes of the Zhu family, not counting those who went to the fiefdom, there are no brothers of Emperor Zhaoyang in Liujing. King Xian is the closest relative to Emperor Zhaoyang among his peers, and he has been treated favorably by Emperor Zhaoyang. Even when all the princes saw him, they would respectfully call him uncle.
Zhang Nianling was so annoyed that he had no choice but to pass the edict to Liang Zhen: "King Zhao's eyes widened to see clearly! The edict was written by His Majesty himself before his death, and half of it is a forgery!"
Liang Zhen took it without changing his expression, scanned it quickly, and lowered his gaze: "Coincidentally, this king also has a will here, which was also drawn up by His Majesty himself before his death. As for the content... I don't know if it is the same as this one, Eunuch Feng was also present when His Majesty wrote the will, so why don't you let Eunuch Feng read the testimony together with this king."
Zhang Nianling was stunned: "How could there be another will! Why doesn't this old man know?! What do you want to do?!"
Liang Zhen asked him calmly, "Why does Mr. Ge know that there is no other will? Haven't read it yet, what is Mr. Ge worried about?"
"you!"
The whole hall was in an uproar, and everyone started whispering to each other. Concubine Chen twisted the handkerchief in her hand and stared at Liang Zhen. Liang Zhen didn't care, and once again reminded Zhang Nianling, who was already looking very ugly: "I'd better read the will quickly. Come on, to comfort the emperor's heart, and to put the world at ease."
King Xian yelled, "Read, read, read! Of course you have to read!"
No matter what their intentions were, the others echoed them one after another: "Since there is still a will, of course I have to read it."
"That's right, that's also His Majesty's will."
"Hurry up and read, what's the delay..."
Feng Sheng unfolded the imperial decree and read it slowly.
The content at the beginning is the same, but from the middle part onwards, it completely changes.
"The fifth son of the emperor, Rui Wang Yunxuan, is benevolent and filial to the heavens. His virtues have long been accomplished. He should obey the precepts of the ancestors and obey the sentiments of the people. He is the emperor..."
Before the edict was finished reading, Imperial Concubine Chen yelled out: "This is impossible!"
She staggered to her feet, struggling to snatch the imperial decree from Feng Sheng's hand, and shouted in a gaffe: "This is fake! This must be fake! You are so brave! How dare you pretend to try to seek the throne!"
Feng Sheng wrinkled his face and stepped back, shouting grievances: "Your Majesty, you have learned a lesson! Even if I borrow ten thousand courage from my servant, I will not dare to do such a rebellious thing!"
Concubine Chen's chaos caused Zhu Yunqiong, who was frightened, to cry too. Zhu Yunxuan pursed her lips tightly and said nothing, but she could feel that many eyes had turned to him, with fear, Suspicion and scrutiny.
Zhang Nianling was trembling with anger: "Absurd! Absurd! You...you are so courageous!"
Liang Zhen still had that unhurried look: "This is really strange, the contents of the two wills are so different..."
"You must be fake!"
Several cabinet ministers shouted one after another, each of them blushing with anger, Liang Zhen ignored them, and only said: "Since there are two completely different wills, let everyone comment on them together."
The two edicts were circulated in the hands of a group of people in turn. From the looks of it, the handwriting on the two edicts was the same, both were written by Emperor Zhaoyang, and both were stamped with jade seals, but the contents were quite different. It's really hard to know how to judge.
Another elder behind Zhang Nianling argued: "That day His Majesty summoned us into the palace, and the three of us were present when His Majesty wrote the imperial edict with his own hands! How could it be possible to make a forgery! It is clear that you, King Zhao, have ulterior motives and fabricated this other A posthumous edict intended to usurp the throne!"
Liang Zhen's expression turned cold: "Seeking to usurp the throne? What dynasty and position is this king planning to usurp? According to the posthumous edict, His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince Rui ascended the throne. This king and King Rui have never had any intersection. he?"
Without waiting for the other party to refute, he continued: "However, His Highness Ninth Prince is my nephew, and His Highness Ninth Prince's concubine Chen Guifei is my cousin, and this King has the same surname as Liang. If you want to help them, this King should also help them. What's more, the edict in your hands was given to me as the regent and supervisor of the country, if this king really wants to usurp the throne, why let the regent not do it, and go to work for the ruthless Fifth Highness?"
Concubine Chen was furious: "Liang Zhen! You did it on purpose! How could you do such a thing! You—"
Liang Zhen looked at her coldly, and reminded in a deep voice: "Chen Guifei, please be careful."
Touching his frosty gaze, Concubine Chen was shocked, cold sweat broke out for no reason on her back, thinking of something, her lips moved, but she didn't dare to say it anymore.
Zhang Nianling cursed in grief and indignation: "Zhu Zi dare you!"
Liang Zhen immediately retorted: "Several court elders, don't just rely on being the top of the hundred officials to act together, deceive the emperor, disrupt the court, and forge the imperial decree to pass on the throne, which is equivalent to conspiracy. You insist on setting up a baby doll to be the puppet emperor. What do you want to do? Minister Gu Ming is not enough to satisfy you, and you still want to change the dynasty?"
"You!" Zhang Nianling was so agitated by Liang Zhen's aggressiveness that he didn't bring it up, and almost passed over, relying on the support of his colleagues behind him, he could barely stand upright.
Everyone in the hall looks at me and I look at you, no one dares to stand up at this moment.
Liang Zhen looked at it coldly, and asked everyone again: "Now that the two edicts are here, what do you think?"
No one dared to respond, Zhu Yunxuan looked at Liang Zhen who was calm and calm at this time with a complicated expression, and the feeling in his heart was even more complicated and unspeakable. Liang Zhen didn't look at him, but confronted those few cabinet ministers.
Zhang Nianling knelt down in front of Emperor Zhaoyang's body, crying bitterly: "Your Majesty! The old minister has been through three dynasties, and has always been dedicated to his duties and loyal to the emperor! The minister is worthy of the sky, and he is not ashamed of others! But now... now the minister is It's because you can't keep this Great Yan Jiangshan! If I don't have a face to live on in this world, why don't I go with you!"
Liang Zhen said indifferently: "Mr. Zhang Ge's words are too much. Are you cursing me that Dayan Mountains and Rivers will be destroyed?"
These words were really heartbreaking, that Zhang Nianling was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot, and the whole hall was in chaos.
In the chaos, a series of urgent footsteps suddenly sounded outside, and the imperial guards surrounded the entire Ganlin Palace inside and out. The figure, the torch, and the faint sound of the sword being unsheathed are even more frightening.
The commander of the imperial guards came into the palace, glanced at the situation in the palace, and respectfully asked Liang Zhen for instructions: "Your Majesty has passed away, fearing that there will be chaos in the inner palace, the lower officials have ordered to strengthen the patrols and defenses in the palace, please give me your instructions." .”
At that moment, the faces of the people in the palace became extremely subtle, as if they just remembered that as early as when Emperor Zhaoyang was seriously ill and lying on the bed, all the soldiers and horses in the capital, including the Imperial Palace Guards, had returned to the domineering and arrogant man in front of him. The kings with different surnames were transferred together.
If he really wanted to seek to usurp the throne, it would be all right to sit on that throne himself.
Seeing this, Zhang Nianling, who was already in a state of distress, was even more furious, and angrily scolded: "You asked these people to surround this Ganlin Palace... You... You are trying to force me to submit! Don't even think about it! Even if the old man dies, he will never Let you and other rebellious officials and thieves get their wish!"
Liang Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly, and the last trace of patience in his eyes was exhausted.