Murong Jie's words still aimed to win over the heart.
Although the Grand Tutor has fallen, there are still many people who follow him. It’s not that they are loyal to him, but that Grand Tutor Liang knows their weaknesses. No matter how fallen Grand Tutor Liang is, they dare not disobey him.
Not all of them came today, and the emperor has decided to keep them and use them as sharp blades to deal with Prince Nan Huai. It would be better to add Taifu Liang as a sharp awl.
He still has power, and it would be a waste if he doesn't make use of it.
How comfortable it is to watch the fire from the other side of the river!
Taifu Liang's expression changed several times, and finally, it fell on the emperor's face, "Even if Prince Nan Huai is spreading rumors, the crown prince and Concubine Liang saw the emperor's ghost face sore with their own eyes."
Murong Jie sneered, "As soon as the rumor came out, the Crown Prince and Concubine Liang rushed over eagerly. Who doesn't know what they were thinking? So, the Emperor simply asked Zi'an to make a fake little human face on the Emperor's arm, and then take medicine that would cause a rash, so that the Emperor would look like he really had a ghost face sore. The purpose was to test the Crown Prince and give him one last chance. If he went out and didn't make a fuss, the Emperor would give him another chance. Unfortunately, he went out and immediately went to find the Imperial Tutor. The Imperial Tutor thought it was a godsend opportunity and seized it tightly. He actually teamed up with Prince Nan Huai, which was exactly what Prince Nan Huai wanted."
Taifu Liang's knees went weak, all the strength in his body was gone, and he collapsed to the ground.
Liang Taifu was dragged out, and Lu Gonggong said gently: "Taifu, don't worry, my family used to work in the knife room, and the work is meticulous and neat. It will only take a moment, and it won't hurt."
Master Liang rolled his eyes and finally fainted on the ground.
After being dragged out by the tutor, the emperor was exhausted and almost fainted.
Murong Jie immediately went to call Zi'an in. Zi'an took a look and said, "It's nothing serious, he's just tired. Just take a rest. The emperor is very weak now."
After investigating the Liang family, he found out that they were not actually that wealthy. The total wealth in the family was only 30,000 taels. It was obvious that he had spent all his energy and money to win people's hearts over the years.
From the account books of the Liang family, it can be seen that Concubine Liang has given a lot of money to the Liang family over the years. Where did Concubine Liang's money come from? Her annual salary is just this little.
The palace expenses were so huge, and she was the one who had the final say in managing the accounts. The palace expenses were outrageously high, and she also took a lot of money from it to subsidize her parents' family.
The prince was deposed and moved to Xia'an Street, the poorest place in the capital. The people living around it were all poor people. There was almost no commercial area. Most of the goods were sold at stalls. There were also shops, but they were mostly empty and had no business, because the poor people believed that the things at the stalls were always cheaper than those in the shops.
In such a place, lived the once prominent tutor and the crown prince of the current dynasty. Who says that life is not always like this
The Taifu was truly castrated and became a rootless person. His tendons in his hands and feet were cut and he is now a useless person.
But Murong Qiao was still afraid of such a useless man, because since the day he entered Xia'an Street, the Grand Tutor had said to the prince: "If you want to make a comeback, you have to serve me well. I have handles on many people, and they will all be used by us."
The court provided him with daily expenses, but there was no one to serve him. From then on, the former prince had to chop wood, cook, boil water and wash clothes.
As luck would have it, the disfigured Xia Wan'er, unable to make a living, begged on Xia'an Street and fainted at the door of Murong Qiao. Murong Qiao picked her up and made her a maid to serve them both. Xia Wan'er had always dreamed of marrying the prince, and now she could finally be with him. It was a pity that he was no longer the prince.
However, she didn't care about so many things, because as long as she had something to eat, it was like heaven to her.
In this era, the woman has no ability to make a living and is disfigured. Even if she wants to marry a commoner, no one will want her. Moreover, she is the daughter of a criminal. Who would be willing to offend such a Bodhisattva
Let's not talk about that. There is still Concubine Liang who has not been dealt with. The emperor is not thinking of any favors, but he is concerned about his other son Murong Xin. After all, Concubine Liang is his mother.
The emperor hinted that if Prince Liang pleaded for Concubine Liang, she would be given a light sentence, but if he did not plead, she would be banished to the cold palace.
Over the years, some concubines were banished to the cold palace, but they could not survive more than two years in that place.
The torment of the cold palace is something that only those who have experienced it can understand.
Everyone thought that King Liang would plead for mercy because he had always listened to his mother and was very filial.
However, this time, to everyone's surprise, he did not plead for mercy, and he didn't even ask about the matter. He was so cold as if he didn't even know this person.
The Empress Dowager seemed to have aged many years all of a sudden and fell ill.
She had always felt that the crown prince was unfit to be emperor and wanted to depose him, but when she really deposed him, she felt very sad to see him end up like this, after all, he was her own grandson.
Although the emperor's parasitic fetus was removed, his lupus erythematosus had become very serious and he was suffering from kidney failure. Moreover, the medical care here was backward, and although acupuncture could temporarily control the condition, it was not a long-term solution.
Now, there is an urgent need to appoint a crown prince.
Moreover, there is one thing that needs to be done urgently, which is to quell the rumors among the people.
The common people are a very strange group. They can believe some things completely if they are just hearsay, but they won't believe a word of some other things even if those in high positions come out to refute them.
The best way is for the emperor to come out himself and let everyone see that he is not suffering from ghost face sores. Seeing is believing.
Therefore, the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory jointly prepared a ceremony to pray for the Empress Dowager. Officials from the Jingzhao Yin Yamen sat on horseback and shouted throughout the capital that the Emperor would attend the ceremony.
The emperor was in very weak health, and it was very dangerous for him to attend the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.
Before setting off, Zi'an gave him acupuncture to concentrate his spirit, but the emperor still insisted on taking some Wu Shi San, which could make him excited and look more energetic.
However, to attend the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, one must strictly control the time, because the face skin is fake, and the north wind is strong. One can stay indoors for two hours, and can only last for more than an hour outside at most, because if the wind is strong, the fake face skin will dry out and fall off. Even if it does not fall off, it will look very unnatural.
To be on the safe side, Zi'an made an extra one which could be replaced. Considering the complicated journey and the preparations for offering sacrifices to the heaven, it was indeed necessary to replace it.
Murong Jie arranged for Zi'an to accompany the emperor. Since women were not allowed to attend the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, Zi'an had to dress as a woman in case the emperor had any sudden problems.
Prince Nan Huai had not left the capital yet, but Murong Jie had already intended to let him go. After the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, he would have to leave.
Murong Jie was very unhappy that the previous trap he set up failed to trap King Nan Huai.
Prince Nan Huai also had to attend the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, because, after all, he was a prince of a frontier clan and a descendant of the Murong family. He had to attend the ceremony to pray for the Empress Dowager since he was in the capital.
Qingning Pavilion!
"I let him escape last time, but this time, I want him to show his ghost-faced face in front of the people." King Nan Huai said viciously.
(End of this chapter)