The person who walked in was Wan Xu, who had been sent out by the emperor before. However, after the Empress Dowager came back, the emperor transferred Wan Xu back and kept him by his side, and then sent Liang Shulin out again.
Wan Xu is a very arrogant person who looks down on everyone. Of course, an arrogant person has some real skills. Wan Xu learned from Changhong Jian, a top martial arts master. He was mediocre for many years before being employed by the emperor, so he was eager for success.
Being beaten by the Night King that day was the first setback in his life in martial arts.
In order to wash away the previous humiliation, he has to work twice as hard.
Therefore, the Emperor assigned him to surround the East Pavilion and prevent the Empress Dowager from leaving. He actually felt that it was a waste of his talent, because the Empress Dowager did not bring many people back, just two old women. Did she want him to bring so many people
However, since this was the imperial decree, he had no choice but to obey it.
However, after many days in the palace, he also witnessed the swift and decisive methods of the Empress Dowager. She was not afraid to scold the officials when she went to court, and punished those who should be punished. She could make decisions without blinking an eye to rectify military and government affairs. He felt that this was purely reckless. She had not been involved in government affairs for a long time, so how could she know the current situation? If she made a decision casually, many people would be busy.
However, she seemed to be completely oblivious, and those officials, although resentful, did not dare to speak out.
With this in mind, he decided to vent the emperor's anger. He entered the palace and said arrogantly, "I, your humble servant, pay my respects to the Grand Empress Dowager. The emperor has ordered that the Grand Empress Dowager is old and should spend her remaining years in the palace. If there is nothing else, please do not leave."
The Empress Dowager had just finished drafting an imperial decree. When she saw him come in, she listened to his words quietly and asked, "What if I insist on leaving?"
"Please don't make things difficult for me, Empress Dowager. I am only doing my job according to your orders," said Wan Xu.
Aunt Ah She took a look at the door and said with a sigh, "The emperor is really generous. He dispatched dozens of imperial guards to deal with us two old women. Look, they have surrounded the East Pavilion tightly. Not to mention people, not even a fly can fly out."
Seeing that she seemed to be about to step out, Wan Xu said, "Aunt, please go back to the hall."
Aunt Ah She sighed, "Living out in retirement? This is clearly house arrest."
She felt that it was inappropriate to say this, "It's either house arrest or confinement."
She turned around and looked at the Grand Empress Dowager. "Why? Did I get it right? You don't have to go to court tomorrow."
"You have to go up when you should!" The Empress Dowager said lightly, and without paying any attention to Wan Xu, she went straight into the inner hall.
Aunt Ah She chased in and asked, "Have you drafted the decree?"
Wan Xu retreated coldly. Should she go on? She could go out and talk about it later.
Wan Xu brought his men and personally guarded outside the East Pavilion of the Xiwei Palace for a whole night. He wanted to see how she would go to the Golden Palace for the morning court.
There was no movement in the East Pavilion. The lights in the hall seemed to have been turned off very early, and no one was seen entering or leaving.
The next morning, Eunuch Lu got up very early and helped the emperor put on his dragon robe.
He didn't want to challenge the Empress Dowager so openly, but he had no other choice.
The old officials in the court still supported her.
He was going to announce in the Golden Palace that from now on, the Empress Dowager would no longer be involved in state affairs.
Now, there is no rule in the Great Zhou Dynasty that the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics. However, this rule was established when the ancestors founded the dynasty. However, since Long Zhanyan established Huizu, this rule of the ancestors has been invalidated. Now, he wants to quote the ancestral will again to suppress Long Zhanyan.
"Your Majesty, if you do this, it will be tantamount to breaking with the Empress Dowager." Eunuch Lu straightened his crown and reminded him softly.
"She forced me to do this. I'm not dead yet, but she came back to interfere in state affairs. Is that reasonable? Is there no one left in my Murong family?" the emperor said coldly.
Eunuch Lu sighed softly in his heart, didn't you force her to come back? With the Queen Mother's temperament, how could she be easily threatened
"Call Wanxu!" the emperor said coldly.
"Yes!" Eunuch Lu bowed and went out.
After a moment, Wan Xu strode into the palace, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"
"Was there any movement in the East Pavilion last night?" asked the emperor.
Wan Xu said: "In reply to the emperor, there has been no movement from the Empress Dowager, and she has not woken up yet."
The emperor frowned, "She didn't get up? She said she would attend court early today, why didn't she get up?"
Wan Xu smiled, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager probably knows that she can't attend the morning court today, so she just doesn't bother to get up to avoid embarrassment."
The emperor's eyes shot over coldly, "How dare you!"
Wan Xu's expression straightened up, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. That's not what I meant. I just think that the Empress Dowager retreated when she saw the difficulty."
"She will never back down when faced with difficulties. You must keep a close eye on her. No matter what tricks she plays, you must not let her go!" the emperor warned.
"Yes, I know!" Wan Xu replied.
"Get out!"
Wan Xu bowed and went out.
The emperor looked at himself in the bronze mirror and found that the red spots on his face seemed to have faded a little, but were still very obvious.
He called Eunuch Lu, "Help me cover the red spots on my face. Don't make them too obvious."
He couldn't let the officials know that his condition had worsened. He had finally taken the elixir and felt a little more energetic. He wanted to take advantage of today to finish what he needed to do.
Eunuch Lu applied some powder on him, but it couldn't cover up the red spots, it just lightened the color slightly.
"Your Majesty, perhaps we can find a regent princess. Don't be anxious to get into conflict with the Empress Dowager." Eunuch Lu couldn't help but say again.
The emperor glanced at him with a cold face, "You think I can't control her, right?"
"No, that's not what I meant. I just think that if we really anger the Empress Dowager, what will happen to the Emperor's health?" Eunuch Lu said worriedly.
The emperor looked disappointed. "There is no way. Her heart is cold. No matter what I do, she will not save me. It's ridiculous that I thought that after she came back, even if she was angry with me, she would not stand by and watch me die. Now she doesn't even care about the life of the seventh son. If I don't make arrangements for my affairs after my death, I am afraid that this country..."
He said this but he didn't feel happy. What was the point of doing this
After his death, no matter who took the throne, what would it have to do with him? It would not be someone from another family, and the country would not fall into the hands of others.
"Your Majesty, how about..." Eunuch Lu had been with him for many years, and he knew that he was wavering. "How about you admit your mistake to the Grand Empress Dowager, and then... Didn't the Grand Empress Dowager reveal before that she also agreed to the Third Prince ascending the throne? After the Third Prince ascends the throne, you will still be the Grand Emperor, and nothing will change."
Of course he didn't dare to say the word "abdication".
The emperor was silent for a moment, then raised his head and said firmly: "No, I will not abdicate."
When San'er ascended the throne, he was indeed the emperor emeritus, but don't forget that Murong Jie was still the regent, which he had forgotten before.
He shook the dragon robe on his body. Now, it was not just about the throne. He just wanted to tell her that she was no longer the Empress Dowager, and she could not cover the sky with one hand.
He strode out, and Eunuch Lu shouted, "Your Majesty, please get up!"
(End of this chapter)