The Prince of Huainan was the last one to arrive in Beijing. For the Queen Mother's birthday celebration, the princes had to arrive in Beijing at least ten days before New Year's Eve. As the Queen Mother's own son, it was not too much for the Prince of Huainan to arrive in Beijing a month in advance. Although the princes were not allowed to enter Beijing without being summoned, it was the birthday celebration of the stepmother, and filial piety was the most important thing. No one would say anything if he arrived a little earlier, and some people would even praise the prince for being filial.
Who would have thought that the King of Huainan would arrive in Kyoto the day before New Year's Eve? At this time, all government offices had stopped working to prepare for the New Year, and Emperor Jingren even stopped the morning court session, but the King of Huainan had not yet arrived. When Emperor Jingren had already begun to think about how to send troops to suppress the King of Huainan if he did not obey the order, the King of Huainan came to the gate of the imperial city with a convoy of gifts and a team of elite soldiers.
He thought he could enter the city smoothly with the imperial edict of Emperor Jingren summoning the vassal kings to Beijing, but he was stopped by the city guards. It was late at night when Prince Huainan arrived in Beijing, and the city gates were closed at night. Except for the Jinyiwei who were carrying urgent secret documents, the city gates were not opened to anyone, not even Emperor Jingren himself.
This was a clear decree from Emperor Jingren. The imperial decree said that if the emperor was in trouble, the cabinet could completely elect a new emperor from the clan, but once the imperial city was occupied, the foundation of the Xia Kingdom would be shaken. Compared with his life, the safety of the people in the imperial city was the most important. If Emperor Jingren wanted to open the city gate at night, he had to go to the Five Cities Military Department to get permission to open the gate. Under such a strict order, the city gate guards would never open the gate for the King of Huainan.
Huainan King Shen Junyi had been away from the capital for many years and had no idea that there were such rules in the capital. He lost his temper with the city gate guard outside the gate and threatened the guard that if he did not open the door, he would break in.
This is what Shen Junyi knows about the imperial city. The city gate guards are just a decoration for Su Huailing. They often follow the teams entering or leaving the city in the middle of the night. It is no different from his own gate. Thinking about it this way, it is also very easy to enter the city at night. Who knows that when the captain of the city gate guards heard what Shen Junyi said, he hurriedly sent someone to report to his superiors and relayed the original words of the King of Huainan to the Five Cities Military Department. The commander-in-chief of the Five Cities Military Department heard this, it was obvious that the King of Huainan was leading a team of elite soldiers to attack the city! He hurriedly sent someone to send a message to the Jinyiwei and the Imperial Guards. The current commander of the Imperial Guards is no longer the commander of the Jinyiwei, but the former deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, Feng Mingyi.
After receiving the news, Jing Xixian and Feng Mingyi immediately led the secret guards and a large number of soldiers out of the city. Shen Junyi, who was still arguing with the city gate guards, was captured by the imperial guards who descended from the sky. A team of elite soldiers were tied up one by one, and he himself was taken to the clan house to drink tea overnight.
Emperor Jingren did not receive the news until the next morning that "Prince Huainan led 500 soldiers and horses to break into the city gate at night, but was promptly subdued by the imperial guards. Your Majesty, please make the decision." As the Tongzhengsi was on break and no memorials could be delivered, the news could only be reported by Jingxixian who brought the token he had been rewarded with into the palace.
After hearing the news, Emperor Jingren frowned slightly. He knew that the Prince of Huainan had a rebellious heart, but someone who could plan such a sophisticated assassination in the hunting ground would not be stupid enough to break into the imperial city at night when the Queen Mother was celebrating her birthday? With such a disloyal and unfilial act, even if Emperor Jingren really died suddenly one day, the Prince of Huainan would not be able to sit on the throne.
"What information did the Jinyiwei find out?" asked Emperor Jingren.
Jing Xixian lowered his head and smiled softly, then replied, "Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei investigated overnight and confirmed that after the King of Huainan said he would force his way into the city, he did not take the next step, but continued to show off his power to the city gate guards, and even threatened that if they offended me, the king, the city gate guards last night would have their entire families executed, the women would be sent to religious institutions, and the men would all be sent to the palace as eunuchs."
"Nonsense!" Emperor Jingren said angrily, "Where did he learn such a dandy style? The city gate guards did nothing wrong, so why should their entire family be executed? Pass on my decree that the city gate guards are loyal to their duties and are not afraid of power. This style is worthy of praise and learning. All the guards who stood guard last night will be given an additional six months' salary, and the captain will be given an additional year's salary as a reward. In addition, order the clan office to bring the King of Huainan to see me. As for the troops he brought... Confirm that those without martial arts skills can enter the palace through the ceremonial carriage and servants. The five hundred elite soldiers and skilled servants will all be detained in the imperial guards, and will be escorted back to Huainan after the New Year."
"Your Majesty is wise." Jing Xixian accepted the order and smiled slightly while lowering his head.
The King of Huainan had been away from the capital for too long, and probably didn't know how strict the guards were now in the capital. Your Majesty was an emperor who was strict with himself and lenient with others. All of Jing Xixian's men were in awe of your Majesty. Since ancient times, the leaders of the Jinyiwei had never died a good death because they knew too many secrets. But Jing Xixian had a feeling that under your Majesty's command, he could have a good end.
It didn't take long for the news that the Prince of Huainan had broken into the Imperial City at night and was detained in the Imperial Clan Court to spread throughout the capital. If the Tongzhengsi hadn't been closed, the memorials impeaching the Prince of Huainan for his disrespect for the emperor and his rebellion would have piled up on the desk of Emperor Jingren. The Empress Dowager had naturally heard the news, and before the Prince of Huainan entered the palace, she came to plead for mercy.
Emperor Jingren was wise, and there would be no harem interfering in government affairs. The empress was strong-willed. Since Concubine Xiang was banished to the cold palace, no one in the harem dared to carry out private punishment. The palace servants had to ask the empress for instructions for any slightly serious mistakes. In addition, the four concubines were demoted, and the empress was the only one in power, so no one in the palace dared to make trouble. Everything was peaceful inside and outside the palace, and the empress dowager was really just an old Buddha who enjoyed a good life every day. She had no turn to interfere in anything, and it was very quiet.
But the Prince of Huainan was the Queen Mother's biological son after all. When she heard that her son was imprisoned, the Queen Mother could not sit still. But she also heard that the Prince of Huainan was arrested because he led troops to break into the imperial city at night with the intention of rebellion, so she did not dare to plead for her son without authorization. After thinking for a long time, the Queen Mother could only bring the Queen to give her courage, so she dared to go to Emperor Jingren to inquire about the news and plead for the Prince of Huainan according to the situation. As for why bringing the Queen can give her courage, it is probably... because with the Queen, the ghosts in the palace are all suppressed, right? After all, the Queen looks like a door god, which makes people feel safe.
Since the confession that day, Emperor Jingren felt that he had not seen the Queen for a long time. Today was New Year's Eve, and the Queen had to be present when entertaining officials at night. After Emperor Jingren and the Queen worshipped the gods together, Emperor Jingren drank with the officials in the front hall, while the Queen rewarded the ladies in the back. Emperor Jingren was mentally prepared to see the Queen, but he did not expect that he would see the Queen not at night, but during the day.
The Queen following behind the Queen Mother seemed to have lost some weight. Of course, this might just be her own psychological effect. After all, the Queen was still so strong and looked more like a guard next to the Queen Mother.
"Mother." Emperor Jingren stood up to greet the Queen Mother, and when he held her arm, he glanced at the Queen. But the Queen did not look at Emperor Jingren. Her eyes fell on Xiao Shunzi, who had been keeping his head down. She looked a little unkind and a little condescending, as if she was looking at an ant.
Emperor Jingren did not pay attention to the Queen's look. After all, with the Queen's status, Xiao Shunzi, a mere eighth-rank eunuch, was naturally an ant-like figure.
"Mother, please take a seat." Emperor Jingren bowed to his mother politely and helped her to the seat of honor. Xiao Shunzi quickly moved Emperor Jingren's chair to be closer to the empress dowager and slightly in front of her, which not only showed the status of the emperor, but also showed that he was very close to his mother.
Xiao Shunzi always remembered the Queen's words: Emperor Jingren was the king first, and then the target of attack; the king was supreme.
As expected, the placement of the chair made Emperor Jingren give Xiao Shunzi an admiring look, while the empress looked at Xiao Shunzi again with a cold gaze. However, Xiao Shunzi remained motionless under the empress's gaze.
The Queen Mother had no intention of caring about the strange atmosphere between Emperor Jingren, the Queen, and Xiao Shunzi. She went straight to the point and sighed, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Prince of Huainan had entered the capital when I woke up this morning. I waited and waited, but he did not come to the palace to pay his respects to me. Your Majesty must catch this ignorant brother and teach him a lesson."
The Queen Mother pretended not to know that the Prince of Huainan had been invited to the Ministry of Clan Affairs, and only said that she wanted to teach her disobedient son a lesson. This not only made clear what she was trying to ask, but also gave Emperor Jingren a way out to let him give the Prince of Huainan a lighter sentence.
She said it cleverly, but unexpectedly, Emperor Jingren was an unmoved emperor. He only heard Emperor Jingren say: "Mother, the Prince of Huainan intended to lead his troops to break into the city gate last night. If we talk about the crime, it is the crime of treason. I have ordered people to bring the Prince of Huainan into the palace for personal interrogation. If he has no such intention, he will be punished lightly."
"This..." The Queen Mother sighed deeply, "How could this child be so confused? He must have been anxious to see his brother and mother, so he hurried on the road and entered the city at night."
This was another clever plea, misinterpreting the King of Huainan's dissolute behavior as an act of filial piety.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Jingren said, "All the other princes came to the capital seven days ago and have paid their respects to the Queen Mother. Only the Prince of Huainan has been late in coming to the capital. Huainan is only half a month's drive from the capital, and the imperial edict arrived in Huainan two months ago. He is late enough."
Queen Mother: “…”
This plea is totally impossible!
The Queen Mother had no choice but to stop talking about the Prince of Huainan. Someone would bring him here soon anyway. When the brothers met, they could talk about their past friendship. It would be easy for her to plead for mercy. So she just chatted with Emperor Jingren about family matters and mentioned the selection of concubines next year. She said that she and the Queen would choose a few who were easy to bear and raise.
As soon as she mentioned the selection of concubines, Emperor Jingren couldn't help but look at the queen again. Seeing that the queen was also staring at him, he couldn't help but say: "All matters in the harem are decided by the queen."
This... The Empress Dowager is stuck again. The Empress has suppressed the entire harem to the point that no one except him has slept with him for half a year. The four originally favored concubines have all been demoted. If the Empress is allowed to decide on the selection of concubines again, will the Emperor still be able to have children
In fact, as the Queen Mother, even without the Phoenix Seal, she could still suppress the Queen. But the Queen had such an aura that no one dared to refute her, and the Queen Mother could only gently mention it in front of the Queen, not daring to speak in depth.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I will carefully select beauties to enter the palace." The queen replied with a faint smile.
Eunuch Lian, who was serving on the side, felt that the whole hall was like a Shura field. He could hardly breathe and was almost suffocating.
At this moment, a eunuch announced: "The Prince of Huainan has arrived."