The current Holy Emperor is a diligent and good emperor. He has never missed a morning court since he ascended the throne. But today, for the first time, he did not appear in the morning court.
Si Fangzheng said that the emperor was ill and ordered him to preside over the morning court, convey the holy orders, and collect official memorials.
Such hasty behavior is really unbelievable. If the emperor hadn't been in his prime and Si Fangzheng had always been loyal, all the officials would have been thinking of other things.
Prime Minister Meng was the first to stand up and object. He believed that the emperor had never been absent from the court due to illness. Even if he was really ill, he should entrust the prince or a prestigious minister to act in government affairs. It would be too casual to let a eunuch do it for him.
Most of the officials in the DPRK and the Central Government were his people. When he objected, the officials below naturally responded and stood up to support his remarks.
Marquis Dingyuan is not here, and General Wu'an is not here either. The only Duke Su Xiaoguo who can compete with Prime Minister Meng has been absent-minded and wandering in the world. The rest are neutrals who remain silent.
Although Si Fangzheng was a popular figure around the emperor, he was not justified in his reputation. Under pressure, he had to send someone to the East Palace to invite the prince to take charge of the overall situation.
In fact, he did not get the emperor's order, because after the emperor heard the news of Zhao Jingyu's assassination last night, he became furious and fell ill.
These days, the Queen and the Prince were having conflicts with the Emperor. He did not dare to say anything to anyone, but quietly invited the Emperor's most trusted doctor Liu Yu. He also ordered people to notify Marquis Dingyuan and General Wu'an.
Marquis Dingyuan took a quick look, then left the palace to look for Zhao Jingyu, leaving General Wu'an to guard the emperor in the palace.
He could not tell the ministers this, so he could only rely on Prime Minister Meng and invite the prince to stabilize the situation.
Song Jingxing arrived very quickly. Although he didn't sleep much all night, he was in good spirits. He was wearing a bright yellow python robe and sitting on the dragon chair. He was majestic and majestic, and his emperor's appearance was vaguely visible.
After being the prince for twenty years, he finally sat on the dragon throne for the first time today. Seeing the civil and military officials below prostrating themselves before him and shouting a thousand years ago, Song Jingxing felt so excited that it was hard to express in words. He would remember this day well. day, because starting today, his time will come.
Feng Shao stood behind the officials, closest to the palace gate, and looked at the high-ranking young man through the crowd of heads. He also had mixed feelings in his heart, which were too complex to describe.
The prince, who had escaped the control of the empress, was so ruthless that others did not know it, but he knew very well in his heart that the emperor suddenly fell ill because the prince had someone secretly tampered with the incense in the Qiande Palace, so the emperor would Falling suddenly when stimulated.
The plan to assassinate Zhao Jingyu was originally a plan that the prince had thought of to kill two birds with one stone. It not only eliminated foreign troubles for himself, but also took advantage of the emperor's illness to take over the government affairs. With the help of Prime Minister Meng, it won't be long before the emperor even When the body recovers, power will be emptied out. Either he becomes a puppet emperor, or he has no choice but to abdicate in favor of someone more worthy.
Although for now, the prince's plan is only half successful, and Zhao Jingyu is hiding somewhere, but as long as the prince can continue to control the government in the coming days, Zhao Jingyu will not be afraid of life or death. A fugitive illegitimate child with no name and no status, It can't afford any waves.
"Huh!" Feng Shao breathed a long sigh of relief, and his tense nerves slowly relaxed. The prince got what he wanted, and his merits were complete. The glorious ancestor was just around the corner.
What happened in the court quickly reached Kunning Palace. After hearing this, Queen Meng sat in front of the dressing table in a daze for a long time. Her slightly haggard face and dull eyes were reflected in the mirror. She had to admit that she was Aging rapidly.
From the day she fainted, the prince left angrily and has never entered Kunning Palace again. He also strictly ordered the people in the East Palace not to reveal any information to Kunning Palace. Only then did she realize that this son was no longer under her control. of.
The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, and a new generation replaces the old. This is the eternal law of the world. She knew that sooner or later her son would no longer need her, but she did not expect that this day would come so quickly, nor did she expect that her son would do such a wonderful job. .
This is true for her, and it is true for the emperor.
No matter what, things are always moving in a good direction. No matter how heartless the prince is, there is no way he will deny her as his mother. When the prince successfully ascends the throne, her hard work over the years will be worth it.
As a mother, you can still hold a grudge against your son.
"As for Zhao Jingyu, although he is no longer a threat to the prince, it is better to be dead than alive. Send all our people out, find him and kill him as soon as possible. This is a gift from my mother to my son. Go!" she ordered Wang Lu.
"..." Wang Lu thought of the prince's resolute departure that day, reluctantly said "yes" and bowed out.
However, he and the queen did not know that the prince did not need their help at all and had driven Zhao Jingyu to a dead end.
During the morning court, the prince was discussing with the civil and military officials the riot that occurred in the Lantern Market last night. Because the incident happened suddenly and the situation was chaotic, no one knew the specific cause of the entire incident, let alone who participated in the riot. All I know is that after the riot, Zhao Jingyu, the second son of Dingyuan Hou, disappeared.
The Kyoto Prefectural Government and the Five Cities Military and Horse Division investigated and visited overnight, and came to only one conclusion: the thugs assassinated with a purpose. As for the target of the assassination, they were not sure who it was, but someone heard them shouting to kill the man in red.
According to the analysis of this clue, the target of those people is most likely Zhao Jingyu, the second son of Dingyuan Hou, because Zhao Jingyu loves to wear red, and everyone in the capital knows about it. However, this is just a guess. Whether it is true or not, we have to wait until the group is caught. Or we can only find out Zhao Jingyu himself.
"Some people say that there were officers and soldiers assisting the thugs to kill people and shooting people with bows and arrows to create chaos." Su Xianqiang, the young prince, said with energy.
So far, people didn't know that his daughter was missing too. He just didn't want to arouse others' suspicion, so he forced himself to come to the morning court.
"The officers and soldiers should be thugs pretending to be thugs. We have confirmed with various government offices that no officers and soldiers were sent out that night." Kyoto Prefect responded.
"We will continue to investigate. There cannot be any clues about such a big matter. Dingyuan Marquis is an important minister of the country and has made great contributions to the great Zhou Dynasty. You must find the second son of Zhao intact!" Song Jingxing's true meaning! Said earnestly.
The ministers all praised him for his broad-mindedness and his disregard for past grudges. He would definitely become a famous king like the emperor.
At this time, the chamberlain announced outside the door that King Dongshan wanted to see him.
King Dongshan and several other princes were left in the capital by the Queen Mother to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Tomorrow he will leave for his fiefdom. At this time, he should be preparing for departure in his own palace. Why did he suddenly come to the court to ask for an audience
Everyone was curious and waited quietly for the prince's reaction.
The prince seemed surprised, and then ordered his chamberlain to invite King Dongshan into the palace.
After a while, King Dongshan stumbled into the hall under the attention of everyone, knelt down in front of the prince with a plop, and cried bitterly, saying that his youngest son encountered a riot in the lantern market last night and was separated from his brother's bodyguard. Zhao Jingyu, the second son of Dingyuan Marquis, was killed in a remote alley. He asked the prince to make the decision for him, bring Zhao Jingyu to justice, and pay for his son's life.
The ministers were shocked and exclaimed in unison.
The prince's face changed drastically, and he stood up from the dragon chair suddenly, shaking his body and said tremblingly: "What did the emperor say, that the third brother was killed?"
The King of Dongshan was distraught: "Your Highness, the murderer is Zhao Jingyu. Please seek justice for my son!"
"Did King Dongshan misunderstand? Zhao Jingyu disappeared in the lantern market last night and there has been no news yet. How can the prince be sure that he killed someone?" Su Xian couldn't help but defend his son-in-law.
"Yes, yes, does the prince have any evidence to prove it?" the officials nearby asked one after another.
King Dongshan took out a mutton-fat jade pendant with green silk from his arms, and raised his trembling hands above his head: "Your Highness, please see, this jade pendant was found in the palm of my son's hand. According to insiders, this is the daughter of the Duke of Zhen. The token of love given to Zhao Jingyu was probably torn off by my son when Zhao Jingyu committed the murder. If your highness has any doubts, you can ask the Duke’s daughter to identify the authenticity.”
As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was in an uproar. The ministers were so shocked that they forgot that it was an early morning court and started talking among themselves.
The young Duke Su Xian's face was even pale and his hands and feet were weak.
Could it be that Zhao Jingyu really killed the son of King Dongshan, and there is still no news about him? Was he trying to avoid assassination, or was he absconding out of fear of crime
Xiuer is also missing. Is it possible that he is with Zhao Jingyu
He had not disclosed the news of his daughter's disappearance to the public before. If he said that his daughter was missing at this time, would it make even Xiu'er suspicious
How should he respond at this moment
While thinking about it, His Royal Highness the Prince was already calling him: "Does the Duke of Zhen Guo recognize this jade pendant?"
"..." Su Xian hurriedly walked out of the queue and bowed, "Back to His Royal Highness, I don't pay much attention to things between children, and I have never seen with my own eyes the jade pendant my daughter gave to Zhao Jingyu, so I shouldn't take it lightly. Conclusion.”
"In that case, please trouble the Duke to invite Ling Qianjin to help identify it!" Song Jingxing said.
"This..." Su Xianwei said, "Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to. My daughter is still waiting for her marriage, so asking her to come to the court and identify her suspected fiancé's token in full view of the public is really not a good idea for her family. It’s inappropriate. As a father, I can’t bear it. I hope your highness will understand.”
"Why are you being considerate? I think you just want to protect your son-in-law!" King Dongshan roared angrily, "My son is dead, and you only care about your daughter's dignity. It's really unreasonable!"
Su Xian has a gentle temperament, which does not mean he has no temper. As it concerns his daughter, he immediately fell out with King Dongshan: "Your Majesty has lost his beloved son. We deeply sympathize with you, but it would be unfair for your Majesty to bite others randomly because of this." Royal decency, let alone whether this jade pendant is still not confirmed to be Zhao Jingyu's, even if it is Zhao Jingyu's, who knows if he lost it and was picked up by someone else, or maybe someone deliberately stole his jade pendant to frame him, the prince made such a subjective assumption , what’s the difference between slander and slander?”
"You!" King Dongshan was so furious that he got up from the ground and raised his fist to greet Su Xian.
Su Xian did not dodge, raised his head and said: "You see clearly, this is the court, not a place for you to run wild, you dare to touch me and try it!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!" The officials nearby hurriedly stepped forward to stop King Dongshan.
Song Jingxing was silent for a moment without arguing, and finally patted the armrest of the dragon chair and said in a deep voice: "Send the order, and the whole city will search for Zhao Jingyu's whereabouts. Before dark today, I must see Zhao Jingyu. Otherwise, all relevant personnel will be dismissed!”
(End of chapter)