imperial study room
The warm pavilion in the room is covered with heavy yellow curtains. It is said to be a study room, but it is actually a place for giving instructions. The floor is covered with blue bricks for light, and there is a heater underneath.
Outside is the cloister corridor, with palace maids and eunuchs standing all around. They wear soft shoes when they occasionally move, and their steps are light and silent.
Four eunuchs stood on the left and right sides of Nuan Pavilion, all holding whisks in their hands and looking intently. The emperor sat behind the table with a medicine bowl in front of him, and an eunuch was waiting on him.
"Ahem!" The emperor took a few sips, coughed a few more times, took a handkerchief and wiped the corners of his mouth: "Take this medicine off, I won't drink it anymore."
"Your Majesty, what should I do if you don't use medicine?" the eunuch advised.
"Hey, take it away. This medicine is really good for healing. I have been cured a long time ago." The emperor sighed and watched the eunuch take the medicine out.
"The prince has arrived." The young eunuch guarding the door shouted.
The prince followed Liang Yuanzhi as they entered together and stepped forward to salute. The emperor ordered: "Sit for the prince and give the prime minister a seat!"
The prince sat on a shorter chair with cushions, while Liang Yuanzhi sat on a porcelain pier.
Liang Yuanzhi sat down for a while, then leaned up again: "Your Majesty, I led Doctor Chen to visit the prince. The prince was just frightened this time. Hearing about your majesty's care, he insisted on entering the palace to pay his respects to your majesty and to ask your majesty to convict him."
"It is only natural for a son to see his father. If the prince wants to see him, his legs are on his body. Can you stop him?" The emperor was also amused and laughed, but he coughed twice more.
"Father, has the wind and cold gotten better these days?" The prince stood up and asked. The emperor listened to the prince's greetings and showed a trace of kindness: "It's okay, you're feeling better already."
"The prince was frightened yesterday when he encountered an assassin while patrolling the streets in Daitian. Please tell me what happened yesterday." The emperor changed the topic and asked.
The prince listened to the emperor's questions about the assassination. Thinking of yesterday's incident, he shuddered all over. He seemed to be a little frightened, and his face turned pale.
Seeing the prince's appearance, the emperor couldn't help but darken his face. The prince quickly calmed down and said: "Yesterday, when I was greeting the people and walking to Tianjie, fireworks suddenly exploded. The fireworks exploded towards the crowd, disturbing the people. .”
"The guard actually handled the situation quite appropriately. If you intercept him now, please be quiet."
"Then the dancing dragon's head smashed down, breaking the array, and the assassin rushed out from the dragon's body to kill."
Hearing this, the emperor leaned back slightly and leaned on his chair, seeming to be thinking about the scene at that time. Liang Yuanzhi was also listening quietly on one side, seeming to be facing what he heard yesterday.
"The three generals Chen Hu, Li Anjun, and Lu Sheng acted as if they had no idea. They led dozens of soldiers and said they would support them. However, Chen Hu shouted to protect his ministers, but suddenly led his soldiers to attack the guards. The guards tried to dissuade him, but he was attacked and killed by Chen Hu."
"My son was frightened, but the guards were brave and the reinforcements from the capital were timely. Therefore, he was not injured and there was no serious problem. After going back and taking the Ningshen Decoction, there was no serious problem. Father, there is no need to worry." The prince said. In front of the emperor, these things were explained in detail one by one.
After listening to the prince's description of the matter, which was clear and logical, and although he was frightened, he had not lost his mind, and it was very consistent with yesterday's report without any pretense. Liang Yuanzhi said: "Your Majesty, Chen Hu attacked the prince in front of everyone. He is really crazy."
Hearing what Liang Yuanzhi said, the emperor smiled dumbly: "Prime Minister, show the note to the prince!"
Then he asked the prince: "Do you think it was written by King Lu? If so, how should it be dealt with?"
Liang Yuanzhi agreed, carefully took the note, and handed it to the prince with both hands. The prince stood up, took the note, and read it carefully. He was surprised at first, and then his face turned red, seemingly angry.
Liang Yuanzhi observed the prince's expression, and the emperor also looked at him. The prince angrily said: "This is nonsense, a plan to alienate."
Hearing this, the emperor was startled. The prince picked up the note again and apologized: "I just saw such heartbreaking and divisive words. I can't help myself. I hope my father will forgive me."
After hearing this, the emperor breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice: "Prince, just tell me your opinion."
"My son is thinking that back then, when the smoke was rising in the sky, my father raised the three-foot sword to level the world. He suffered a lot before he conquered the world."
"There are tens of millions of people in this world, but we are only three brothers."
"Prince Lu and I are biological brothers. We usually love each other. How could it be possible that Prince Lu sent someone to assassinate his son? This is definitely a villain who is stirring up trouble and plotting a secret conspiracy to destroy our country."
"Not only can't we take it seriously, but we must cut through the mess quickly and calm down the matter quickly before it gets fermented, so that the villain has nowhere to find a loophole. If he doesn't take it seriously, he will be blamed for it."
The emperor looked at the prince blankly, and suddenly remembered the childish look of the prince when he was born. In a blink of an eye, he had grown up, and his eyes were much gentler, no longer harsh.
Liang Yuanzhi was startled after hearing this, and said: "What the prince said is very upright. The emperor has flattened the world. In the past ten years, the world has returned to its heart, and the government and the public have been submissive. Seeing that the prosperous age is coming, as long as we don't mess with ourselves, there will be no villains to cause harm." There is room for improvement—I second the proposal!”
These words were resounding. The prince said this, with the bearing of an eldest brother, a father is kind and his son is filial, and brothers and sisters are respectful to each other. It is really a great blessing for Xu.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne and nodded.
The prince's tone changed: "It's just that this matter cannot be tolerated blindly. The three generals sent out troops to encircle and kill them. To the country, it was a great treason. To private people, they concealed the note and framed it. This is to frame and alienate the relationship between our brothers. It is a scheming move. The depth is shocking, these three people must not be kept."
The prince's tone was filled with anger, and his face turned red when he said this.
Looking at the appearance of the prince in front of him, the emperor suddenly laughed. This eldest son finally looked good.
The prime minister raised his head slightly and saw the emperor's smile. When he saw the prince, he continued: "I believe that this kind of matter should be kept quiet rather than announced. It should be done quickly rather than delayed, so that the government and the public should not be disturbed in order to preserve the overall situation."
"These three generals should be dealt with quickly. The remaining people should not be pursued too closely, let alone King Sinlu!"
"If there are rumors among the people, they must be dealt with decisively."
"My son, I've finished my words - I still ask my father to make a decision!"
The emperor stood up, pondered for a moment, and said: "I have made up my mind. Three generals will be killed immediately. Chen Hu will be confiscated and all men over ten years old will be executed."
Then he smiled at the prince: "I know that you love your brother, but King Lu has misbehaved and violated my will, so I have to wipe it out. I have been demoted to King Lu, and I will spend three months behind closed doors, but there is no formal decree yet. Now I have made up my mind!"
Seeing that the prince still had something to say, he waved his hand: "Just follow this decree, there is no need to interrogate, just deal with it!"
Then he said softly: "I am tired, and the prince has been frightened and worked hard. Go down and rest!"
Prince Lu's Mansion
King Lu was sitting in the palace, and the maids and eunuchs were all standing quietly, not daring to make a sound, but occasionally seeing each other with frightened eyes.
The emperor's troops surrounded the palace, and some news spread in the palace that King Lu's assassination of the prince had been exposed.
This is a heinous crime.
There was some snow falling in the sky, hitting the dead trees in the garden, and people in Prince Lu's mansion were panicking.
Outside Prince Lu's Mansion, there were many soldiers standing, wearing large cotton-padded jackets, cold iron armor on their bodies, and raincoats on the outside, with an unspeakable awe.
King Lu is writing, flying dragons and snakes are walking around, her demeanor is quite calm.
"Your Majesty, the matter has been investigated clearly. The prince was attacked last night. We scattered the chess pieces without any return, so today we are still in the dark." Eunuch Liao said from one side.
"Now the pro-army troops are surrounding the mansion, but they do not prohibit the servants from going out. The people in the mansion are uneasy. Several thieves have already stolen gold, silver and soft goods and escaped and were caught. There are also some Qing Dynasty guests who want to leave the mansion with excuses - Your Majesty, what should I do?"
King Lu did not speak, and practiced calligraphy with peace of mind. After a long time, he stopped writing. He held the blue and white porcelain tea cup on one side, took a sip of tea, and said: "Instructions to go down, anyone in the house who dares to disturb the military morale in the house will be killed with a stick." Those who escape will be killed immediately."
"As for those purging guests!" King Lu showed a sinister smile: "If they want to leave, just let them go. Just write down the list."
"Yes, Your Highness." Eunuch Liao responded and turned around and walked out.
"Eunuch, have mercy on me, Eunuch, have mercy on me." Suddenly, several people begged for mercy from the criminal room in Prince Lu's Mansion.
"Traitor, please live or die." Eunuch Liao said. Several screams were heard later, but there was no sound. Several eunuchs dragged several bloody corpses wrapped in white cloth out of the criminal room.
At this time, the guard in front of the door hurriedly entered with some panic: "Your Highness, there is a decree from the Holy One."
"Set up the offering table to welcome the angels." King Lu was generous and calm, and led the crowd to greet him. Only one person was seen holding the imperial edict in both hands and stood on the incense table facing the south. When he saw King Lu leaning over him: "My dearest ministers, I respectfully greet you. !”
"Honor, Holy Gong!" The imperial envoy read out the imperial edict: "Zhi said: King Lu has misbehaved and disobeyed me. She has demoted her rank to the king of the county and has given her her original title. She has spent three months behind closed doors. I admire this!"
Although he had been prepared, when the imperial edict was issued, King Lu's eyesight turned black and he fell to the ground: "My son, thank you... thank you..."
The father-in-law was used to seeing King Lu being confident and dignified, and showing no pretense to his ministers. He didn't expect that the emperor would be rude to his own son. With this decree, King Lu trembled, and his face turned pale, and he was dissatisfied with the emperor's power. I couldn't help but feel a little more in awe, and sighed. Seeing that King Lu had accepted the order, he took a step forward, bowed to King Lu, and said, "This servant is doing things according to the order, and he can't help himself. Your Majesty, you can't help it!"
"Give this father-in-law fifty taels of silver." King Lu calmed down, said with a pale face and wiping sweat. He also felt annoyed. When he came out, he still wanted to maintain his manners and have a kingly demeanor. But after the imperial edict was actually beaten, I immediately realized that I was not as tough as I thought.
This time the imperial edict only reduced the prince's title, but still retained the county prince's title. What if next time it reduced the title to civilians and imprisoned them, or even sentenced them to death
The closer you get to the imperial power, the more you understand the horror of the imperial power. There are thousands of people in Prince Lu's palace and hundreds of black-clad guards. How many of them dare to resist the decree for themselves
Thinking of this, King Lu couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
(End of chapter)