The emperor was seriously ill and unable to attend the morning court. After some discussion, the civil and military officials returned to their offices to do their duties.
That afternoon, news came that Prince Jin was unharmed and would be returning to Beijing soon.
Jiang Changning smiled and said to the Concubine Dowager, "Mother, I said that the prince is blessed by heaven and will return safely. Was I right?"
"You're right." The concubine knew that her son was safe and sound, and her spirits improved immediately.
Most people in the world act according to the situation. When they learned that Prince Jin was fine, the officers and soldiers guarding Prince Jin's Mansion no longer prevented people from entering and leaving the Mansion.
The next day, Yan Yinyao took Princess Kang Ren and Zeng Mi to the city gate to meet Prince Jin. Jiang Changning was pregnant and did not go.
When entering the city, Prince Jin was sitting high on his horse, wearing a dark suit and a dark cloak, looking high-spirited and heroic.
"Uncle Wang."
"Uncle."
Princess Kangren and Zeng Mi stood on the second floor of the teahouse and shouted loudly.
King Jin heard it, smiled at them and waved his hand.
"Ah, Your Majesty!" The women watching all exclaimed, "The Your Majesty is looking at me."
"My Lord is looking at me."
"I'm not looking at you, I'm looking at me."
"My Lord, My Lord, I am here."
Yan Yinyao pursed her lips and smiled, "My cousin is still as popular with women as ever."
"I heard from them that many women want to enter the palace to serve the prince." said the maid.
Yan Yinyao asked casually, "What about you?"
"I, I dare not." The maid lowered her head and said.
Yan Yinyao said solemnly, "Don't think about these things. It's not good for you." He paused, "I overlooked that you are not young anymore. It's time for you to marry someone."
The maid bent her legs and was about to kneel down, and another maid beside her quickly supported her.
"If you have anything to say, let's talk about it when we get home." Yan Yinyao ignored her and looked out the window again.
Prince Jin was stopped by someone, and the person who stopped him was a eunuch from the palace.
The eunuch came with the Queen's oral order, "Your Highness, the Queen has summoned you to the palace immediately to discuss something."
Prince Jin frowned. He entered the city in a high-profile manner in order to deliberately spread the news that the emperor was seriously ill. But why was it the Empress who summoned him to the palace
Logically speaking, it would be more appropriate for the Queen Mother to issue an edict.
There is something else to discuss!
Aren’t you afraid of arousing people’s imagination by saying this
"Why did the Queen summon me? But something happened to His Majesty?" Prince Jin asked deliberately.
The eunuch hesitated, not knowing whether to tell the truth.
The Prince of Jin added, "The harem is not allowed to interfere in state affairs. I am sorry that I dare not accept the summons from the Empress."
"Your Highness, the Queen is not trying to interfere in state affairs. It's just that His Majesty has suddenly become seriously ill, and the Queen Mother and the Empress have issued an order to summon other adults to the palace." The eunuch said anxiously.
It was the Queen's idea to summon the Prince of Jin. The Queen Mother was not willing to do so, but she had no way to stop it and could only acquiesce.
"Why is your majesty so ill?" Prince Jin asked again knowing the answer.
The eunuch didn't know how to answer, and the Prince of Jin didn't need him to answer, so he immediately continued, "The doctors from the Imperial Hospital are right behind me. Let them come with me into the palace to treat His Majesty."
After the news of the emperor's serious illness was made known to everyone.
Pessimistic people are wondering, is there going to be another national mourning
Optimists think that the white cloth piled up in the warehouse can be sold.
Prince Jin entered the palace and saw the emperor lying half-dead on the bed. He curled the corners of his lips. Not only did he hurt him time and time again, but he even dared to covet his princess. Did he really think he had no temper
The emperor used up all his strength to glare at Prince Jin hatefully.
Unfortunately, the Queen Mother and the Empress did not know how to read minds, so they could not hear his inner cries.
Prince Qing, Prince De, Prince Yu, General Song, the Secretary of State, several dukes, county dukes and other officials were summoned into the palace, and they were all waiting in the side hall.
Everyone knows what they are waiting for: the emperor's death and the decree to pass on the throne.
We waited from the afternoon until the evening, and a eunuch came in and said, "My Lords, the Queen Mother has summoned you."
The officials filed in and when they saw the unconscious emperor, they could already foresee that he was about to die.
The Queen Mother and the Empress held their handkerchiefs, covered their mouths, and cried.
"Please accept our condolences, ladies and gentlemen." Duke Xinjian said with a stiff face.
The emperor is about to die, and his funeral arrangements must be made. No matter how much you cry, you can't bring the emperor back to life.
The Queen Mother wiped away her tears and said, "Thank you, Scholar Fang, for drafting the edict."
"Yes, your majesty." A middle-aged official replied.
Although the emperor has only one son, he still has to write an edict to pass on the throne.
After a while, Scholar Fang brought the drafted imperial edict to the Empress Dowager for her review. Because it was drafted by Scholar Fang and not dictated by the Emperor, there were no humble words in the imperial edict, only flattering words.
Why do we want peace and prosperity for the country and happiness for the people? We should work diligently, carefully, and cautiously, day and night, without any slackness.
And I work hard, as if every day, and do my best
If we did not know that the emperor had achieved nothing since he ascended the throne, just by listening to this edict, we would really mistakenly think that the emperor was a wise ruler.
At this time, the emperor suddenly opened his eyes, looked straight ahead, and said with his lips moving: "Jin"
He wanted to say that it was Prince Jin who poisoned him, but he only said one word and tilted his head.
The head of the Imperial Hospital reached out and touched his neck, then shook his head.
Eunuch Yu choked up and shouted, "The emperor has passed away!"
"Emperor!"
"His Majesty!"
The Queen Mother and the Empress burst into tears, their tears rolling down like beads from a broken string.
Everyone in the room knelt down and cried. Whether they were really sad or pretending to be sad, their faces looked sad.
"The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Go and invite the emperor to arrange the funeral of the late emperor." The queen who was about to become the empress dowager said in a deep voice.
Although the new emperor was less than three years old and had no idea how to arrange the funeral of the previous emperor, it had to be done in his name.
The funeral is easy to arrange. The biggest problem now is that the new emperor is too young to manage the government.
Someone must support the new emperor and make decisions for him.
Is it the Queen Mother who is in power
Or is the Prince Regent
The Duke of Sui wanted the Queen Mother to rule the country, while several princes wanted the Prince to be regent.
General Song found Duke Sui and said, "I am willing to join forces with you and let the Queen Mother rule the country, but the new emperor must also respect the concubine, his adoptive mother, as the Queen Mother."
Duke Sui sneered, "It's beautiful that you can imagine it."
"If you don't join forces with me, can you, the Duke of Sui, deal with those princes?" General Song asked with a fearless smile.
Duke Sui was silent for a long time, then said, "Okay."
But he agreed, but his daughter, the former queen, disagreed, "That bitch has the nerve to call herself a foster mother. How long has she raised the new emperor? How can she be honored as the queen mother?"
"She is just a concubine. Don't even think about being called the Queen Mother with me."
"Father, Mr. Song is as cunning as a fox. If you join hands with him, you will be courting disaster. Besides, even if you join forces with Mr. Song, do you think you can defeat those princes?"
Duke Sui fell into deep thought.
(End of this chapter)