In the thirteenth year of Longqing, in the autumn of the Dinghai year, October.
Several major events occurred in Tianyu Kingdom this year.
On the fifth day of October, the powerful Ninth Prince brazenly launched a coup and led his troops directly to the Qinzheng Palace.
At the critical moment, the mighty Marquis Mo Yu pretended to be the emperor and sent his confidant to escort the emperor out of the palace.
After leaving the palace, Emperor Xuanwu secretly went to the outskirts of Beijing and mobilized an army hidden in the deep mountains outside Beijing, led by General Ruan Hongmao, to counterattack the imperial city.
That night, the shouts of killing echoed throughout the capital city, and the people waited until dawn in panic.
Before the troops from all over the country could move to the capital to support the emperor, the palace coup had already been quelled.
On the sixth day of October, the Ninth Prince and his followers and clansmen were all arrested, and countless gold, silver and jewelry were confiscated from their properties and put into the national treasury.
For several days, the capital was in a state of panic.
On the tenth day of the tenth month, the powerful and influential Prince Yi Qingyu of a different surname was stripped of his royal surname and sentenced to execution along with his entire clan. The execution was supervised by General Ruan Hongmao, who defended the country.
At noon that day, Caishikou was packed with people. All 213 members of the Ninth Prince's family were executed, and Caishikou became a river of blood.
On October 12, the surviving female members of the Ninth Prince's lineage who were in their prime were sent to the Jiaofang Bureau, and the rest were reduced to slaves. As for the remaining men, some were sent to the palace as slaves, and the rest were exiled to the northern border, never to return to the capital.
The maternal relative Wang Guojiu and his three sons were sentenced to be beheaded at noon, and the rest were exiled to the northern border. Concubine Wang volunteered to enter Tailing to guard the tomb of the late emperor.
On October 14, the leaders of the Ninth Prince's cronies, the first-rank Prince's Grand Tutor and Grand Marshal Lu Lianheng, the first-rank Left Inspector of the Inspectorate Zuo Qiyuan, and the second-rank Commander of the Imperial Guard Helian Feng were all executed along with their entire family.
Many other officials of various ranks were implicated, and everyone in the court felt insecure.
On October 20, Gong Wenmin, the former aide of the Ninth Prince, was appointed as the governor of Xuanzhou and took office on the same day;
Chen Tianhe, the Left Cavalry General, had made great contributions in protecting the emperor, but he lost an arm and could no longer serve the country. He was retained as the Left Cavalry General and was granted the title of Earl of Yong'an, a fief of 3,000 households, and was granted the residence of the Earl of Yong'an, which was not hereditary.
Bian Yingwei, who made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion during the palace coup and had outstanding military exploits, was promoted to the rank of Xuanjie Xiaowei, the eighth rank;
General Ruan Hongmao was promoted to Grand Commandant and granted a fief of 5,000 households, but the actual fief was 1,500 households.
Prime Minister Leng Xingchang was granted a fief of 5,000 households, of which 1,500 were actually granted, and was also given a number of gold, silver and jewels;
Leng Jingcheng was promoted to Palace Censor;
…
After taking iron-blooded measures, Emperor Xuanwu, who had been on the throne for many years, finally regained power in his own hands.
However, when it came to rewarding people for their merits, only one person was left out.
The mighty Marquis Mo Yu.
Lord Mo has been sleeping in the emperor's bedroom since the palace coup and is still in a coma. His honor and favor are unparalleled in the court.
However, Mo Yu's name was the only one not on the list of rewards this time.
However, his sister, Mo Ranran, the eldest daughter of the Weiwu Marquis's Mansion, was named Princess Pingning, and was granted the residence of the Princess, a fief of one thousand households, and was married to An Ruochen, the sixth prince of the Ankui Kingdom, and the wedding was completed soon.
The emperor's mind was unpredictable, and court officials were discussing the matter in private, but no one dared to speak up for Marquis Weiwu in front of the emperor.
The current Yi Jinyi is no longer the timid and incompetent little emperor.
He truly became the Xuanwu Emperor who purged the court and the country with thundering means.
The Panlong Hall is magnificent and brightly lit.
On the bed, Mo Yu lay quietly, his hateful fox eyes tightly closed, his expression peaceful, as if he was asleep.
After the court session, Yi Jinyi dismissed the palace maids and stayed to guard Mo Yu alone.
This has been happening every day for more than half a month since he fell into a coma.
"… I arranged for Ran Ran to marry An Ruochen. I know that they are in love with each other, but the wedding date was set a little too soon. I don't know if you can make it to her wedding."
Yi Jinyi's fingers gently slid across Mo Yu's cheek. His face, which used to have sharp edges and corners, was now lifeless and as quiet as a doll.
"She is your only sister. If you really can't make it to her wedding, I don't know if you will blame me when you wake up."
The person sleeping on the bed showed no reaction.
"… She will definitely be surprised." Yi Jinyi smiled, "But don't worry, I will definitely hold a grand wedding for her and let Ranran marry in style. By the way, she is Princess Pingning now, are you happy?"
Still no response.
"You know what? Actually, I never wanted to be the emperor."
"My mother was just an unfavored concubine of the late emperor. She was infatuated with my father and resolutely gave up the glory of being the principal wife and was willing to enter the palace to be a concubine. But my father was a playboy by nature and had many beauties in the harem. His favor was only temporary and he forgot about my mother."
As the candles flickered, Yi Jinyi seemed to be back in those difficult nights of his childhood.
"As far back as I can remember, I often saw my mother hiding in her room crying alone... You see, the palace is so cold that you can't even cry freely, right?"
He stood up and looked at the candlelight quietly, his eyes dark and unclear.
"What my mother often does is to stand at the palace gate and watch my father's carriage from afar. The long procession of carriages, with flickering lights, looks like a long winding dragon, but it has never set foot in my mother's palace."
Yi Jinyi picked up the silver scissors beside him and gently cut the wick of the lantern on the table. He watched the flame fall, becoming weaker and weaker until it finally went out.
"Originally, I was not qualified to be the emperor."
"If it weren't for the accidents that happened to my brothers, the ministers would have remembered me, the 'cowardly and easily manipulated' little prince." He laughed self-deprecatingly, "In fact, I never wanted to be the emperor. My biggest wish is to take my mother away from this palace after I grow up, take her to travel around and appreciate how beautiful this vast land is. Or, take her to live somewhere far away from the world, and make her happy is better than anything else."
"But I became the emperor. In order to prevent the throne from falling into Yi Qingyu's hands, I had to rack my brains to plot, and even dragged an innocent girl into it. I became the person I hate the most."
The Queen - could have had a happier life, but she was dragged into this vortex by him.
He returned to the dragon couch and sat down, looking deeply at the unconscious person on the couch, muttering to himself: "I used to regret it very much, but now, I don't regret it anymore."
"Because I met you."
"I… "
He wanted to say something else, but at this moment, the voice of Eunuch Li came from outside the palace:
"Your Majesty, the Empress requests an audience."
Yi Jinyi took back the person who was stroking his cheek, closed his eyes, and turned himself into the almighty emperor again.