Things in the capital have changed.
The weather was getting colder and the New Year was approaching, but accidents happened one after another in the palace. First, Chu Jingmeng and Chu Jingqian, who had suddenly won the favor of Emperor Longqing for unknown reasons, suddenly fell from grace and were exiled to **, never to return to Beijing again.
Then, near the end of the year, the Jiang father and son, who were very famous, got into trouble again.
Jiang Songwen was reported to have embezzled hundreds of thousands of taels of silver allocated by the Ministry of Works for the construction of river embankments, and secretly accepted bribes from officials. In order to form a clique for personal gain, he hired someone to kill Guanzhong Hou and asked Zou Qing to take the blame. He also secretly attacked the Zheng Palace with ill intentions and almost took the lives of Princess Shouning and Princess Zheng.
Emperor Longqing was furious and had Jiang Songwen thrown into the Dali Temple. He ordered the three courts to try the case. Censor Chen, who had been imprisoned before, was found not guilty and was deliberately framed by the father and son of the Jiang family. He was reinstated and Emperor Longqing also specially appointed him as the chief judge to try Jiang Songwen's case.
Letting a person who was framed by the father and son of the Chiang family to try the case and judge the father and son of the Chiang family, it is almost self-evident what the emperor's intention is.
When Emperor Longqing talked about this with Concubine Lin Shufei, he was a little sad and self-deprecating: "In the end, I lost. Over the years, I tried my best to suppress those brothers, but in the end, they finally got their way."
He was already very old and haggard, but his fifth brother was still in his prime.
The late emperor got married to Prince Linjiang when he was forty years old. He had always treated him with great care and love. Moreover, Prince Linjiang was also very capable and had always been the late emperor's favorite.
In the past, he had forced Prince Linjiang to ascend the throne, but now, he couldn't suppress him anymore, and finally, Prince Linjiang got what he wanted.
Concubine Lin Shu held his hand, knelt beside his dragon bed and whispered to him in a soothing manner: "Your Majesty, don't think so much..."
Emperor Longqing shook his head, looked at the still beautiful Concubine Lin Shu, and laughed softly: "Concubine Shu, for so many years, no one around me can stay with me for a longer time. I always thought it was the fault of others. Queen Ming was virtuous, but I thought she was weak and biased towards her mother's family. Queen Fang was bright and beautiful, but I thought she didn't know the general situation. Anyway, I was always right. But now, I suddenly understand that it's not that those people are all wrong. The mistake is that they followed me. I am not a good husband, nor a good father..."
When people have been sick for a long time, they always like to think back to the past. Things that they couldn't understand before, now slowly become clear after a long time. Those women were all good at the beginning, and they all had attractive qualities about them, either gentle and virtuous or bright and generous, but later on, they all became hateful without exception.
If there is only one case, then it might be someone else's problem, but when all women become like this, you can no longer deceive yourself.
He smiled bitterly, and when he saw that Concubine Lin Shu seemed to want to speak, he shook his head: "You don't have to comfort me. I know it in my heart. I have brought this upon myself. It's not that I can't give birth to a son, but I'm not worthy of being a father. Those children died because of me... Now only Xiaowu and Xiaoliu are left. Xiaowu had no choice. I was so angry at the time and did such a ruthless thing that everyone in the world knew about it. He has no hope, but Xiaoliu is different..."
Concubine Lin Shu knelt in front of the couch and handed a handkerchief to Emperor Longqing. She lowered her eyes and couldn't help sighing: "I dare not ask for too much, I just hope that Xiaoliu can grow up safely... That's all."
This wish was too simple. Emperor Longqing looked at her deeply, lowered his head and said with an unclear emotion: "It's good for you to think this way. If you are greedy for more, it will easily cause trouble."
The situation is stronger than people, and the situation also forces people to bow their heads. Emperor Longqing looked at the Sixth Prince who was brought back by the wet nurse, waved at him, and suddenly laughed: "Come here quickly."
The Sixth Prince ran from the entrance to the bed of Emperor Longqing. His fat body flexibly climbed onto the bed, and he came forward and hugged Emperor Longqing's neck affectionately, calling him softly, "Father."
Emperor Longqing's heart was melted by him. He had many sons, but for various reasons, when the children grew up, they either died or were ignored by him. Only the Sixth Prince was the child he liked and was close to.
He touched the Sixth Prince's head and asked him kindly, "Where are you from?"
"I went with my cousin to pick plum blossoms to put in a vase for my mother." The Sixth Prince looked just like Emperor Longqing when he was a child, with two dimples and a chubby face that looked particularly festive and honest.
Emperor Longqing liked him very much, and he laughed when he heard it: "Really? Shen Chen is a restless kid, you have to be careful when you follow him, don't fall, tell him, if he gets you hurt, I won't forgive him!"
The Sixth Prince clenched his fists innocently and said, "My cousin is amazing. He doesn't even need to climb a tree. He just jumps onto a rock nearby and flies up! He won't let me fall."
Concubine Lin Shu gently wiped the sweat off the Sixth Prince's forehead and said, "It's snowing heavily, and you're sweating all over. It's so cold and hot, don't let yourself get cold!"
Emperor Longqing frowned and hurriedly ordered Huang Qing: "Hurry up, tell the nurse to take the Sixth Prince away, change his clothes, and ask the imperial physician to come and take a look!"
Huang Qing quickly agreed, and carefully carried the Sixth Prince down to hand him over to the wet nurse.
Emperor Longqing said to Concubine Lin Shu: "You are right. We should not ask for more now. The child is so young now. It is a blessing for him to grow up safely. No matter what, the fifth child is much more capable than the Cheng Wang and the others. Just as your brother said, with Shen Chen here, he will not be as petty as a child. I know what to do. I will try my best to make the future of the child and you smoother."
After he said this, he started coughing violently again. He gasped for a long time and couldn't utter a complete sentence.
Concubine Lin's eyes turned red, and she quickly stood up and patted his back: "Please speak slowly, speak slowly..."
Emperor Longqing waved his hand, and after calming down, he said to him: "After a while, I will send someone to find someone to bring back Prince Zheng. Among my brothers, he is the most honest one, and he has a good relationship with the fifth brother. If he comes back, he may be able to take care of you in the future."
Concubine Lin Shu choked up and said yes, and then asked him: "Take good care of yourself. Xiao Liu'er is still young. I am afraid to be alone. We all rely on you..."
Emperor Longqing sighed deeply. He really wanted to treat the Sixth Prince and Consort Lin well this time, but it was too late. (To be continued)