He got on the sedan chair and just as he walked out of the gate of Xiwei Palace, he saw a large number of men in black coming quickly and sealing the entrance of Xiwei Palace tightly.
"emperor!"
The person who led the men in black was actually the eunuch Sun who previously served the Empress Dowager.
"How dare you stop the emperor?" Wan Xu said angrily.
Eunuch Sun smiled slightly, "Your Majesty, calm down. The Empress Dowager has gone to the court. She has ordered that Your Majesty stay in the palace to rest before the court is over."
A wave of anger spread from the emperor's heart, and a familiar fishy sweetness rose in his throat. His eyes went dark, and he almost fainted.
Wan Xu sneered, "Nonsense, the Empress Dowager has been in the East Pavilion and has never come out."
Eunuch Sun raised his whisk and looked at Wan Xu calmly, "Master Wan may have a sharp eye, but he may not be able to see the entire East Pavilion."
"I will send people to guard all the exits of the East Pavilion. Unless the Empress Dowager knows how to pass through walls, it will be impossible for her to leave." Wan Xu said affirmatively.
The emperor gripped the railing of the sedan chair, his hands turning pale, and he gasped, "Fight him out!"
Eunuch Sun smiled slightly, "Your Majesty, why do you have to be so hard on the Empress Dowager?"
He turned slightly to allow the emperor to see the person behind him clearly.
Before the emperor could take a closer look, Wan Xu screamed, fell backwards, and sat on the ground.
Those men in black actually had their feet off the ground, but their robes were longer, so if you didn't look closely, you couldn't see it.
Wan Xu was afraid of Ruo Si because he had heard from his ancestors that the former Zhou general Bai Qingye once had a team of ghost soldiers called the Night Wolf Army. Each of them was very good at light work and could fly to kill the enemies in front of the battle. Almost no one could defeat them.
However, after the fall of the Former Zhou Dynasty, the whereabouts of the ghost soldiers became unknown. Could it be that they were obtained by the Empress Dowager
However, how could such a powerful army like the Night Wolf Army be willing to be led by a woman? This is really too mysterious.
The emperor's face gradually turned pale, losing his blood colour bit by bit.
How could he think that he could compete with the Empress Dowager
Wan Xu knelt on the ground and saw that the emperor was about to fall. He said palely, "Your Majesty!"
The emperor looked deathly pale. He slowly turned around, staggered, and fell to the ground.
Xiwei Palace was suddenly thrown into chaos.
Wan Xu really couldn't understand how the Empress Dowager got out. He watched her closely all night and no one could get out.
Could it be that he is still in the East Pavilion
Thinking of this, he went to the Golden Palace.
In front of the palace, he saw Aunt Ah She standing there waiting. The ministers were already waiting outside, and someone was shouting, "The Empress Dowager summoned all the officials to the court!"
He was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped. Did it really come out
When the emperor woke up, the Empress Dowager had already returned from court.
Moreover, officials above the first rank were kneeling beside the bed, waiting for him to wake up.
The Empress Dowager sat by the bed and gently stroked his hair. "Emperor, are you feeling better?"
"Ancestor!" he shouted, but he couldn't even hear his own voice. He didn't even have the strength to speak. He slowly turned his head and saw Eunuch Lu kneeling beside the bed and cleaning up the blood on the ground.
He vomited a lot of blood.
All the officials below were crying, and the empress and concubines were kneeling outside the palace, and no one was allowed to come in without the permission of the Empress Dowager.
The emperor looked at the Empress Dowager dejectedly. Was he about to die
I'm not willing to accept this! I'm not willing to accept this!
The Empress Dowager leaned down and pretended to listen, as if she couldn't hear clearly, and asked: "Emperor, please explain it more clearly. Who should be made emperor?"
When all the officials heard this, they fell silent. The emperor was entrusting them with his final affairs.
Whoever is appointed as the crown prince means that when the emperor passes away, he will become the new emperor.
"Who?" the Empress Dowager asked again.
The emperor opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but no word came out.
However, the curtain was hanging to the ground, so people could not clearly see whether he opened his mouth or not. They only vaguely saw the Empress Dowager leaning forward to listen.
The emperor used all his strength to grab the Empress Dowager's sleeve and said in an almost inaudible voice, "I... abdicate!"
The Empress Dowager glanced at his head gently, her eyes full of thoughts. She stood up and said, "The Emperor has decreed that the Third Prince be made the Crown Prince, and the Regent will supervise the country. On the first day of September, the Emperor will abdicate and the Crown Prince will ascend the throne. The Regent will continue to exercise the power of regent and assist the new Emperor until he is eighteen years old."
"Long live the emperor!" All the officials bowed their heads and wailed.
The so-called abdication of the emperor also means the death of the emperor. Even if the emperor can hold on until that time, he will abdicate and become the emperor emeritus. After the crown prince ascends the throne, the regent will exercise the power of supervision, and the emperor emeritus will no longer be needed to assist in state affairs.
The emperor listened to the cries of the officials and looked at the Empress Dowager quietly. All his strength was drained from his body and even breathing seemed to be a struggle.
After all the officials left, the Empress Dowager ordered that the enthronement ceremony for Concubine Mei be held as soon as possible. For the sake of efficiency, she decided to hold the enthronement ceremony for Concubine Mei and the enthronement ceremony for the Crown Prince together.
The overall situation in the palace has been determined.
The Empress Dowager still did not rescue the emperor, but gave him another pill and asked him to wait until Xia Zian returned.
Wan Xu replaced Liang Shulin as the commander of the imperial guards of Xiwei Palace. Liang Shulin was promoted three ranks and became the deputy commander of the imperial guards.
As for the commander of the imperial guards, Xiao Tuo was appointed.
At the same time, the Empress Dowager promoted Su Qing to the rank of General Shenwu, commanding all patrol guards in the capital and taking charge of all the gates.
The emperor was placed under house arrest in Xiwei Palace, and Concubine Mei was serving him.
Concubine Mei had no complaints. Even though the emperor no longer had any power and only had the title of emperor, her attitude did not change at all.
The emperor was sidelined, and even Wan Xu had secretly tried to curry favor with the Empress Dowager without telling him. His former capable people also asked to leave one after another. Now, in the west pavilion of the Xiwei Palace, apart from a few third-class palace maids and eunuchs, there was only Eunuch Lu.
It is true that a dragon swimming in shallow water is bullied by shrimps. An emperor waiting to die, with the Empress Dowager whom he had offended above him, has experienced the fickleness of human nature.
An emperor didn't have to go through all of this, but the Empress Dowager seemed to be competing with him. No matter who treated him coldly, the Empress Dowager would not stand up for him. She just watched him suffer injustice with cold eyes.
No one came to see him, whether it was the Queen or Concubine Liang. He was afraid that if he accidentally offended the ancestor, his life would be difficult in the future.
The emperor's temper became particularly bad. Even though Concubine Mei served him wholeheartedly, all she got in return was either verbal abuse or vicious curses from him.
Concubine Mei seemed as if she couldn't hear anything and continued to be served as she was supposed to be.
Even when the emperor's condition worsened, Concubine Mei went to ask the Empress Dowager for elixirs and gave them to him.
Prince Li went to the palace to see him. The two brothers sat in silence. It was also the first time that Prince Li realized that some people just would not listen to reason.
Zhuangzhuang had never come, and she always felt resentment in her heart. This resentment would probably last until he or she died.
The Empress Dowager would ask Aunt Ashe to come once a day to listen to what the Emperor said, but the Emperor did not say a word to Aunt Ashe. After Aunt Ashe went back to report, the Empress Dowager did not say anything, but just shook her head gently, with growing disappointment in her eyes.
(End of this chapter)