The Forbidden City in the night is like a dark and bottomless abyss, with a ferocious mouth trying to swallow all light.
The rain in the afternoon was rare and rare. It didn't gradually decrease until after dark, but it was continuous and continuous.
But there is a moon in the sky, and it seems that it also wants to witness all the ugly things in the world.
On the dark palace road, it was hard to tell whether it was blood or rain. The fight had already begun, and after probing each other, the two covetous people seemed to have exhausted their patience, but they never expected that it would be such a coincidence that they both chose to fight on the same day.
Those who stand in my way kill!
At a time like this, all those wandering outside are enemies, even if there are some accidental injuries, who cares.
The sound of footsteps of tom tom, running back and forth non-stop, and the sound of fighting and screams came from time to time. Some eunuchs and maids knew that this was a big deal. Apart from moving the furniture against the door, all they had to do was cover their heads with quilts, hoping that all this would pass quickly, and that everything would be as good as ever after dawn tomorrow. Then you can't do anything else.
The lights are on in the Qianqing Palace, and in this late night, it seems like an outsider who is independent from the world.
The bright yellow curtains hang down, and the faint ambergris fills the whole space, making the place look peaceful and peaceful. But there was a dead person on the ground, if someone else was here, he would definitely be able to recognize that this person was Yong Wang.
King Yong opened his eyes wide, as if he still had many puzzles. He couldn't figure it out, he obviously put the ecstasy incense in the censer, but he didn't fascinate the Dai Wang, but went to the Hall of Yama by himself.
How did he know that some people had already taken his life when he just wanted to keep them out of the way. There is no such thing as good luck or not, it's just that the means are not as good as others.
So you can't blame others when you die.
Dai Wang took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the blood on his hands, but he did not pull out the dagger on Yong Wang's chest. Once it is pulled out, a lot of blood will flow out. He is not afraid of blood, but he feels that it is inconvenient to clean up later.
The hall was very quiet, they had always just stood quietly in the corner, unlike the living eunuch who had already fallen to the ground unconscious.
The surroundings were so quiet that it made one's heart seep, and there was a faint sound coming from a distance, but it was not obvious.
Someone walked in quickly and knelt down on one knee in front of Dai Wang: "Your Highness, all the people of Yong Wang have been executed. Other places have been guarded, and no one is trying to resist for the time being."
King Dai nodded, and was about to say something, when suddenly there was a series of hurried footsteps, and it was Empress Wei who came.
Empress Wei was dressed up, and it could be seen that she hadn't rested all the time, and she didn't just get up when she heard something.
In fact, how could Empress Wei sleep at such a time. She had been waiting quietly in the Kunning Palace, until the people below came to report that the matter was over, and she was completely relieved.
This night was undoubtedly difficult for Empress Wei.
When it was found that someone was making trouble in the palace at night, some timid concubines either ordered people to come to Kunning Palace, or came in person, wanting to inquire and seek asylum. But without exception, they were all blocked by the tightly closed palace gate of Kunning Palace. During this period, many souls were added, and who knows.
Empress Wei's face was a little pale, and she was out of breath. It could be seen that everything that happened outside had no effect on her.
Dai Wang waved his hand, and the man in shining armor withdrew, leaving only the mother and child in the hall.
To be correct, it should be said that there are three people, and there is another person lying on the most luxurious dragon couch in the world, who is not dead but looks like a dead person.
Not dead!
To use a folk saying, the tiger is not at home, and the monkey is the king.
Facts have proved that folk proverbs are not unreasonable. If Emperor Hongjing is still well, everything tonight probably would not have happened.
Empress Wei obviously had thousands of words to say, but she didn't know what to say in the face of this kind of scene and the somewhat unfamiliar second son.
"Is the queen mother here to see the emperor father for the last time?" It was the acting king who spoke out first.
Empress Wei froze for a moment, then turned to look at the person on the dragon couch with some difficulty.
The Qianqing Palace's back bedroom has always been a place where women in the harem cannot easily set foot. Even Empress Wei, as the first wife of Emperor Hongjing, only stayed for a short time, not even eligible to stay overnight. There are so many concubines in the harem, if there is anyone who spends the night here, it should be the woman who has lost her beauty early.
It was only after knowing this that Empress Wei made up her mind to let Concubine De die.
For a while, Empress Wei's mind was in a state of confusion, as if she had thought a lot, but at the same time she seemed not to think about anything.
Obviously Dai Wang had lost his patience, and he didn't want to worry about the other party's wife's benevolence at this time, so he said what he said just now.
It is a reminder and a reminder.
"Can you..."
"No! Empress Dowager!" Dai Wang said very decisively, and after taking off his usual disguise, he finally revealed the arrogant and supercilious aura in his bones. "Don't forget, there is no turning back when you start a bow. Once you have done it, you can no longer repent. My great-grandfather, grandfather, and uncles are all desperate. This is not only for the success of my son, but also for the Wei family. , for your mother.
"Don't forget, the father didn't intend to pass on the throne to his son. His preferred heir is King Jin. If King Jin ascended the throne, how would he treat his mother? Treat the Wei family? Could it be that he had no intention of passing on the throne to his son? Is there really no doubt about the concubine's death? Even if there is no doubt about it, he should have doubted everything the queen mother has done to him. That kid Zhao Zuo threatened you with that matter, but you must know what the king of Jin said. The antidote to the poison was obtained from him, or more accurately, it should be from the Wei family. King Jin has already understood the conspiracy behind it, and his forbearance is just to hit one hit. Empress, you don't want the kindness of a woman!"
That's right, she shouldn't be kind to a woman, and it was discussed early tomorrow.
In order to deceive the world, they did not attack His Majesty directly, but made a detour. According to the plan, they will use their grand plan after His Majesty is unconscious, and take advantage of His Majesty's sudden death, leaving a will to pass on the throne to the acting king before his grand visit.
But what they never expected was that there were people obstructing them one after another, and King Jin actually used his eldest son, who was only three years old, to come out, which delayed them a lot of time.
They tried to exploit some loopholes, but they failed. They simply did not do anything, and acted directly. The only person who wasted a lot of time was Yongwang, who was dead at this time.
Now that they have completed their work, the news of His Majesty's visit will be revealed when tomorrow's dawn is approaching, and then everything will go according to the original plan.
There is no arrow to turn back when you open the bow, so your majesty must die.
Only after death will there be a will.
Only then will the acting king ascend the throne, only then will she be crowned as the empress dowager, and only then will the Wei family last forever.
Following the chaotic thoughts, Empress Wei walked towards the dragon couch step by step.
The emperor on the dragon couch was already an old man, with wrinkles on his face, gray hair and beard, and light brown spots on his once strong and powerful palms.
Empress Wei had tears in her eyes, and vaguely remembered the time when he married Emperor Hongjing. He is handsome and mighty, she is shy and pretty, beautiful like a dream.
pity…
It's a pity that they are not ordinary couples after all, he is destined to have many women, and she is destined to just watch. She once thought that one day he would come back to her, she was his queen after all.
But this firm belief gradually faded with the passage of time.
He is the emperor, she is the empress, they are no longer husband and wife.
…
Empress Wei suddenly turned around and left without looking back.
She was dressed up today, on the big red golden embroidered phoenix robe, the embroidered golden phoenix spread its wings lifelike, the long skirt dragged to the ground, and soon disappeared from sight.
Dai Wang looked back at the dragon couch, raised his hand and waved, then a ghost-like person approached the dragon couch.
The person casually picked up a soft pillow from the dragon couch, and covered the person lying on it. The person lying on the dragon couch was silent at first, but suddenly struggled, but it was very weak, and soon became silent again.
The man covered it for a while, and then let go of his hand, his head was sweating profusely. But he didn't bother to wipe it, he stretched out his hand to test the other person's breath, and then came to Dai Wang's side.
"Your Highness, I'm out of breath."
Dai Wang nodded, didn't stay any longer, only left a sentence to arrange everything, and left in a hurry.
When Yaoniang felt that there was no one around her, her heart subconsciously tightened.
But she faintly saw a faint light outside the curtain, she picked up the clothes on the bedside and put it on her body, then got off the couch and raised the curtain to look outside.
The light is reflected from outside the screen, the faint yellow light, there is a thin figure on the screen, with long hair loose behind him, his figure is like a bamboo, as if he is sitting.
There was a person standing in front of him, and the two were talking, because the voice was very low, Yaoniang couldn't hear clearly from inside. But as long as she saw the figure on the screen, she felt completely at ease.
She didn't go out either, she just leaned on the pillar of the Babu bed and looked out.
It's like watching a shadow puppet show. Unfortunately, except for the occasional swaying of the candlelight, the two figures will shake for a while, but most of the time they don't move, as if they are not tired.
Finally the standing person stepped back, the sitting person suddenly moved, the figure on the screen flashed away, but came in across the screen.
As soon as King Jin walked in, he saw her standing there, with her smooth long hair draped behind her head, and she was only wearing light green pajamas. Tender, small, like a jade rabbit that has lost its way.
"Why don't you sleep?"
She seemed a little embarrassed to be discovered by peeking, she rubbed her eyes: "I woke up, I see you are not here. Is something wrong?"
"nothing."
"Don't lie to me, something must have happened."
King Jin came over, took her by the waist and walked towards the bed, "It's nothing, but something may have happened in the palace."
"What's up?"
"I don't know what happened, I should know after dawn."
King Jin was not given a chance to wait until after dawn. Before the time came, news came again.
It turned out that the Meridian Gate was opened at Yinshi according to the system, and the civil and military officials of the upper dynasty entered through the Meridian Gate, crossed the Jinshui Bridge, and arrived at the Taihe Gate. But today was a good day, when the time came, the drums and bells did not ring, and the palace gates did not open, and all the officials who came to court were blocked outside.
Just when everyone was discussing, the palace gate opened, and a few imperial guards came out from inside, with sad faces, and wanted to invite several important ministers headed by Mr. Chen Ge to enter the palace.
Because the situation was really weird, Chen Gelao and the others were unwilling to enter the palace without knowing what was going on. These talents had no choice but to tell frankly that Emperor Hongjing actually collapsed in Qianqing Palace last night.
Because of the sudden incident, everyone was unprepared, and the empress mourned so much that she passed out. There was a great chaos in the palace, so the time to open the palace gate was missed.
These people spoke eloquently, and this kind of thing is not something that can be joked casually. On the spot, several veteran officials fainted because they couldn't bear the stimulation, and there was a lot of crying in the field.
After crying, what should be asked is still to be asked. Several ministers headed by Mr. Chen Gel asked His Majesty if there is a will to leave, and what is the situation in the palace now.
But this kind of thing is not something that a few imperial guards can answer. After some discussion, a group of dozens of important officials decided to go to the palace in person, and the others went back to each mansion to wait for the funeral. The news naturally spread .
Yaoniang didn't sleep well all night, so she sat up with King Jin.
Hearing that Fucheng came to report that Emperor Hongjing had passed away, Yaoniang was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth for a long time, she subconsciously said that she had kept Xiaobao from this in advance, so she couldn't let him know.
The two got up in a hurry, and the person sent by King Jin to the palace had already returned.
The news sent back was that after Mr. Chen Ge and the others entered the palace, the gate of the palace was closed again and the guards were heavily guarded.
"This is how to do?"
"Don't panic, stay in the mansion well, I will go and see for myself."
King Jin was not the only one who received the news. Several palaces including Prince An's Mansion and Prince Lu's Mansion also received the news, so when King Jin arrived at the Meridian Gate, King An and King Lu all came.
Only Yong Wang and Dai Wang were missing, but yesterday was just the time for the two of them to take turns serving the sick, so they should be in the palace at this time. King Hui didn't come either, but for some reason, King Lu was very irritable. He stood at the gate of the palace and yelled at him, asking the guards to open the gate, but no one responded.
Not long after, a few people who looked like generals of the imperial guards appeared on the gate tower of the palace gate. The leader said to the people below: "This is an extraordinary period. The empress has issued a decree, ordering all the kings to return to their residences and wait for the kings to return to the palace." Only the edict can leave the government, and those who violate it will be regarded as conspiracy."
"Conspiracy, I'm plotting against your mother, Xipi, quickly open the gate of the palace, or when I come in, I will screw your heads off and use them as stools!" King Lu cursed.
"I also hope that His Royal Highness King Lu will not show off his ability to talk, and the last general will obey orders. Before His Majesty's grand visit, he has left a will, and now several old ministers are discussing with the empress about the succession of the emperor. Please, Your Highness Hurry back to the mansion, absolutely don't do anything irreversible."
"The last edict? Could it be that you guys made this edict to fool people? I have never heard of the fact that my father lost his son and couldn't go to the funeral. Hurry up and open the palace gate for this king, otherwise this king will be killed." Treat you like traitors."
"His Royal Highness, misfortune comes from the mouth. The authenticity of the edict, the old ministers of the cabinet will recognize it."
"Where are the Yongwang people?" King An said this suddenly.
The person above the gate was stunned for a moment, and replied: "Where is His Royal Highness Prince Yong, it is not the last general who guards the palace gate."
Wang An's complexion suddenly turned ugly, he didn't say much, turned his head and led the people away.
This behavior surprised King Lu. Seeing that King Jin also turned around and left, he hurriedly rode his horse to follow.
"Second Brother, Fifth Brother, why are you leaving?"
He said it, and at the same time, he also realized that the current situation in the palace was obviously caused by Queen Wei's involvement. In this case, it is naturally impossible for King Yong to have anything to do with it. Not to mention whether Emperor Hongjing made a will or not, even if there was a will, it might have been replaced by others.
"They are so brave!"
Isn't it very courageous? !
It's just that what's the use of saying these things now, it's absolutely unreasonable to let the other party take the lead, but who would have expected that Emperor Hongjing would die suddenly, which caught people off guard.
King An and King Jin obviously had an insight into the truth, and planned to go back to the mansion to arrange the next regulations. Thinking of this, King Lu didn't dare to delay, and hurriedly took people to King Lu's mansion.
In the Qianqing Palace, many people gathered at this time.
Dozens of ministers who had just entered the palace, Dai Wang, Empress Wei, and several concubines were crying beside them, which was disturbing.
The empress also had a mournful face, but she suppressed her sadness and told several ministers about the situation before Emperor Hongjing passed away last night, as well as her last words.
It is reasonable to say that there should be several confidant ministers present when the emperor made a will, but it is a pity that Emperor Hongjing left too hastily.
"Eunuch Li was also there at the time. Eunuch Li, please present your Majesty's will to all the old cabinet ministers."
Li Dequan had a mournful face, and came up with a scarlet tray in his hand, on which was the will.
After seeing the remains of Emperor Hongjing first, then seeing Li Dequan again, and now that there is an edict, half of the doubts in everyone's hearts have faded away. After Chen Ge, Meng Ge and others checked the edict one by one, they confirmed that the handwriting on it was written by Emperor Hongjing, and there was no problem with the seal. Several people looked at each other before returning the edict to Li Dequan.
"Your majesty's last will must be known to all the old ministers. Your majesty means to pass on the throne to the third son of the emperor to act as the king. The acting king is from this palace and your majesty. His character is precious and obvious to all. I hope all the ministers will help you a lot in the future." help."
Everyone put their eyes on King Dai, his eyes were red with hot tears, he was obviously extremely sad, if not, how could a man cry so much if he didn't flick it easily.
Now that there is a will, it doesn't look like a fake, it can only be acquiescence.
Elder Tian Ge, Elder Meng Ge and others all bowed their hands and bowed down, "The ministers will definitely live up to the entrustment of the Emperor Daxing and the entrustment of the empress. For the sake of the country, we will do our best and die."
According to the system, after the death of Emperor Daxing, according to his will, the Ministry of Rites and the cabinet elders or Hanlin officials will gather together to submit a "Notes on the Funeral Rituals of Emperor Daxing" to the successor emperor. Only after the successor emperor approves can the ceremony be implemented. .
The so-called etiquette is complicated and complicated, but it cannot escape the mourning, big funeral, small funeral, officials, royal relatives, nobles and wives crying and mourning, posthumous posthumous titles, and so on. In other words, even the empress is not qualified to dictate the funeral of Emperor Daxing, only the next emperor can.
If the enthronement ceremony has not been held, but has the status and qualifications of the emperor, he is called the successor emperor.
As for the qualification and identity, it is not just what you say, it needs to be recognized by all officials. This is also the reason why Dai Wang and Queen Wei took so much trouble.
Now that Elder Tian Ge, Elder Meng Ge and others have checked the edict and confirmed that it is correct, with these elders and important ministers present, the others will naturally have no problems. As soon as he thought that he would eventually ascend to the throne of the emperor, Daiwang couldn't help flashing a trace of excitement on his face.
"etc!"
Just when Tian Ge and Meng Ge were about to worship at the feet of Dai Wang, it was Chen Ge who suddenly spoke out.
"Old Chen Ge, what are you—"
Mr. Chen Ge straightened his clothes, bowed his hands and bowed to the sky: "I have doubts about this edict. About a month ago, Your Majesty felt that the dragon's body was unwell. He called me to come together with the Zongda scholar and Hong Shangshu, and set down the imperial edict. A posthumous edict. The successor in this edict is not His Royal Highness, but someone else."