Countless things happened that night. The fate of most people was rewritten in their dreams. When they woke up the next day and all the officials went to court, the court had changed completely. Emperor Longqing was seriously ill, and he urgently summoned Prince Linjiang, the chief minister Xu Anying,
Cabinet minister Qin Sheng and others entered the palace, announced their abdication, and asked the cabinet chief Xu Anying to draft an edict of succession, passing the throne to Prince Linjiang.
When the news came out, there were also those who found it strange and bizarre - looking at Emperor Longqing's recent attitude, it seemed that he would not stop until the Prince of Linjiang was killed. How come he suddenly changed his mind in just a few days
However, these matters were not their business after all. The people were still sober, and the cabinet elders had confirmed the authenticity of the edict. Since the throne was to be passed on to the King of Linjiang, then so be it. They were all officials, and officials wanted to be stable. To be honest, they were all already glamorous enough. As long as the change of dynasty did not affect their continued service as officials, then changing the emperor to serve would do the same thing, and it would not have much impact on them.
What's more, the country relies on an elder monarch, and it is much better for King Linjiang to take the throne than for a child. At least everything can be discussed, right
As for the noise in the palace last night, whether people outside knew about it or not, and whether they had any suspicions, that is no longer important. The overall situation has been decided, and there is no point in pursuing these things. Instead, it will cost one's life. Of course, it is best to pretend that nothing happened. Since the imperial edict has been issued, the coronation ceremony cannot be sloppy. The Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory are busy racing against time, and all major affairs of the court have been handed over to the cabinet and decided by Prince Linjiang.
The transition of power ended in a fierce but not overly fierce manner. The process could be considered a peaceful handover. All the people felt at ease and no other problems arose.
However, the number of people patrolling the streets from the Five Cities Army had increased by almost half, and the curfew was much stricter than before. Once night fell, the streets were almost deserted.
This quiet period lasted for a long time, but the Dingbei Marquis Mansion did not enjoy this quietness at all. Ever since the news of Prince Linjiang's ascension to the throne spread, guests began to come to the mansion one after another. Needless to say, the purpose of their visits was that everyone in Prince Linjiang's Mansion had already entered the palace, and Prince Linjiang's Mansion did not have many relatives outside the palace, and the Wei family was one of the most important families among them.
Old Madam Wei was extremely annoyed. She knew very well that those who came up to her to flatter her in the hope of gaining benefits were the real culprits and she hated them very much, so she simply asked the Third Madam and the Second Madam to close the door and refuse visitors.
The second and third wives had not received the news beforehand, and they were more shocked than happy after hearing the news of the palace coup. Everyone was not a fool. Since the King of Linjiang wanted to coup and succeeded in one fell swoop, it must have been planned for a long time. Since it was planned for a long time, did he take into account the fact that Wei An was still in the palace? Obviously not, and since he didn't even take Wei An into consideration, if the Wei family jumped again, wouldn't it be the first bird to be shot
But sometimes hiding is not a foolproof solution. The Wei family really had no intention of causing trouble, but there were people who just wanted to come forward, such as the Qin family who came unexpectedly.
After learning that the Qin family had come to visit, Old Lady Wei asked in confusion: "Qin family? Which Qin family?"
The Third Madam also knew her doubts, coughed, raised her eyebrows and said, "It's that... the Qin family that had the former princess."
Old Madam Wei frowned in confusion. She knew about the Qin family, and she was also very clear about the grudge between Wei An and Princess Linjiang, but why did the Qin family come? They were not affected by this matter, and the King of Linjiang still treated them well as always.
It is hard to say that the Qin family is trying to curry favor with the Wei family. In the heart of King Linjiang, the Qin family is definitely more important than the Wei family.
So why did the Qin family come? Old Mrs. Wei was a little suspicious: "Who from the Qin family came? Did they tell me what they were here for?"
The third wife knew what she meant, so she nodded and said, "It was the third wife of the Qin family who came. She said that there would be a wedding banquet at home in a few days, and she wanted to invite you to the banquet. I said that you were sick and were recuperating, and I was afraid that you could not go. So she said that she wanted to come and visit you..."
After all, there was no need for the Wei family to offend the Qin family now, so the third lady still came in to report the news.
Old Madam Wei lowered her head and thought for a while. The Qin family and the Wei family had no friendship, and they had never sent invitations to each other in the past. Now they came to the door for no reason. If they wanted to ask for help from the Wei family, the Qin family would not bother, because they themselves had a much closer relationship with the Linjiang Palace than the Wei family. However, if they said it was just a simple visit or an invitation to a dinner, Old Madam Wei did not believe it.
The Third Madam did not dare to disturb her and waited quietly for a while before she heard Old Madam Wei say, "Go and bring her in. I'll see what she's here for."
Madam Qin San was always good at talking, and she was even sweeter to Old Madam Wei, caring for her in every possible way. When she heard that Old Madam Wei had caught a cold, she hurriedly said, "Our old master is also suffering from this disease. Fortunately, we have a doctor from the south who is treating him. The doctor is very good. If the old lady doesn't mind, you can ask him to take a look. The old man's illness still needs to be carefully taken care of."
Old Madam Wei nodded, not really appreciating Third Madam Qin's uninvited visit and overly warm attitude. She smiled and said, "Never mind, it's not a serious illness. People are getting older, and some minor illnesses and pains are inevitable..." Then she changed the subject and asked, "I wonder why Third Madam came here?"
Mrs. Qin San uttered an ouch and patted her head gently, then said: "I was just about to tell you that I came back to tell you something..."
She lowered her head and straightened the non-existent wrinkles on her clothes. Her tone gradually became slower and slower. After arousing people's curiosity, she sighed faintly and said, "Something happened to the princess in the palace."
Mrs. Wei couldn't hold on any longer. Her hand on the edge of the bed grabbed the bed sheet in an instant and she looked at her with a pale face: "What happened?"
This is the second reason why the Wei family stayed indoors. Ever since Shen Chen came to their house and told them that Wei An would be in the palace, the Wei family soon learned that the King of Linjiang was about to ascend the throne, but there was no news from Wei An. The Marquis of Ping'an had been in the palace these days and had not left, and the King of Zhennan was the same. The people of the Wei family had no place to go to find out.
They didn't know what was going on outside, and they felt even more uneasy. They didn't dare to meet any of those who came to flatter them, for fear that they would become a knife in someone else's hand. (To be continued)