On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the rebels entered the city. Everyone in Yujing was in danger. There was almost no other sound on the long street except the sound of horses' hooves pounding the ground and soldiers advancing.
By the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, when the first ray of morning sunlight filtered through the clouds into this century-old capital, only clean white snow was left quietly piling up on the streets, without the slightest sign of bloodshed or swordplay. Everything that was heard last night seemed like just a horrific nightmare that everyone had together.
The palace gates were locked, and a large group of officials gathered in front of Taihe Gate. They stood under the misty sunlight of the winter morning, waiting silently with ulterior motives in their minds.
Su Huaijing lowered his head and looked at the white marble tiles under his feet, on which his own shadow was reflected.
After a while, another shadow appeared beside him.
Sheng Chengli walked up to him, not smiling as he did last time, but frowning, as if mocking or blaming him, and suddenly said, "Master Su's methods are truly admirable."
Su Huaijing took a half step back, and first saluted him without making any mistakes, and then asked, "Why do you say that, Your Highness?"
Sheng Chengli looked at him gloomily: "Master Su, don't you know?"
Su Huaijing: "Your Highness, please explain clearly."
There were many people around, and everyone was already tacitly waiting for the final result in the palace. If a drama was staged at the palace gate at this time, it would be exciting enough to attract the most distinguished people in the world to stop and watch. It was a pity that neither of them could be the monkey for people to watch.
Sheng Chengli stared at Su Huaijing for a long time, snorted heavily, and left. Su Huaijing glanced at his back, then looked away. From beginning to end, his expression did not change at all, and he looked calm and contented.
It was not until dawn and the palace gates were opened that the Grand Eunuch summoned all officials to court in a feminine voice. A pair of turbid eyes glanced over everyone one by one, and only then did people with ulterior motives enter the palace through the Taihe Gate.
Unlike the peaceful scene outside, inside the palace gates, all one could see was a sea of blood.
Scarlet blood flowed down from the white jade floor tiles, along the towering steps, and flowed to the bottom, gathering into the shape of a river.
Some of the less courageous officials were so frightened that their legs went limp on the spot. Su Huaijing frowned, instinctively disgusted by such a fishy and smelly scene. He pursed his lips slightly and followed the crowd upwards.
In the open space in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there were many corpses lying in a disorderly manner. All of them were wearing the dark uniforms of the rebels and died in a miserable way.
Everyone's heart was trembling, and they walked into the hall in doubt and fear. At a glance, they saw several people kneeling in the middle of the hall.
The third prince Sheng Chengxing, the sixth prince Sheng Chengyun, and the great general Xia Jingyi, who had been prominent throughout his life, all looked embarrassed and pale.
The emperor, who had been claiming to be ill for many days, wore a bright yellow robe and sat on the dragon throne, gazing solemnly at everyone in the hall.
So everyone didn't dare to delay any longer, and they all found their positions and knelt down.
Some of those with sharper eyes noticed that the commander of the guards beside the emperor had a different face.
Su Huaijing only glanced at the man when he first entered the hall, then quietly withdrew his gaze, following the rules without any overstepping of the mark, and looked extremely respectful.
There was also dried or fresh blood in the hall, and it was unclear whether it was because there was no time to clean it up or whether the emperor deliberately left it to warn newcomers.
Emperor Renshou said solemnly: "My dear ministers."
All the officials immediately shouted in unison: "Long live His Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Renshou snorted coldly and said with an ambiguous tone, "Long live my life? Some of you are probably hoping that I will die right now!"
The emperor was furious, blood flowed and the people were terrified.
Emperor Renshou stepped down from the dragon throne and walked slowly among the people in the court. His face was full of anger and his tone was low: "Do you know these three people in the hall?"
The officials were unsure of the emperor's thoughts, and adhering to the principle of saying less and making fewer mistakes, they all knelt on the ground with their heads down, not daring to respond.
Emperor Renshou said: "One is my prince, one is my father-in-law, and the other is my son who has been blessed with the destiny and all kinds of honors since birth."
The hall was empty, and it was usually a quiet place during court sessions, but now it was even quieter.
Although it was approaching the Spring Festival, the air was filled with deathly silence. The emperor walked majestically as if he would take the lives of everyone in the hall in an instant.
"They are all royal relatives, pillars of the country, and loyal ministers of Dayu. They will be future emperors and generals..." Emperor Renshou said solemnly, stopping in front of Sheng Chengxing. He stared at him for a long time without saying a word, and then said slowly and coercively: "Why, you can't wait for me to die, and you can't wait to rebel and make trouble, and force me to abdicate?!"
Emperor Renshou said this as he suddenly raised his foot and kicked Sheng Chengxing to the ground.
The court officials in the palace bowed their heads and knelt on the ground, and urged in a low voice: "Your Majesty, calm down and take care of your health—"
Emperor Renshou turned his gaze and said, "And you—"
"Do you think I am blind? All these years, everyone has formed cliques and plotted secretly, assisting this and that, isn't it all for the throne under my seat?"
Sheng Xuyan laughed angrily and asked sternly: "Why, now that I have come down, who among you has the courage to sit on it in front of me, so as to save the trouble of supporting others, huh?"
Sheng Xuyan walked around the hall a few times, knocked down a few ministers to vent his anger as he pleased, and finally sat back on the dragon throne, where the eunuch read out the imperial edict.
Xia Jingyi had evil intentions and harbored rebellious intentions, so he and his entire clan were executed.
The third prince, Sheng Chengxing, as an heir of the royal family, has been blessed by heaven, but he does not know how to repay the favor. Instead, he is violent and wanton, intending to rebel. He is unfilial to his father and disrespectful to his ancestors. According to the law, he should be executed; but since the son is unfilial, the father cannot be unkind, so he is exempted from the death penalty, thrown into the Heavenly Prison, and imprisoned for life, and he shall not be released until he is dead.
Although the Sixth Prince Sheng Chengyun did not directly participate in the rebellion, he failed to fulfill his duty of urging and reminding, nor did he persuade his brother to do good, which eventually led to such consequences. He was fined one year's salary, confined to his home for half a year, and had to guard the imperial tomb for half a year, and reflect on his mistakes.
The eunuch who announced the decree closed the imperial edict, and everyone in the hall dared not breathe.
Overnight, several people with the most respected status in Dayu were instantly scattered like monkeys. Yesterday, they were guests at a banquet in a high building, but today they became death row prisoners on the steps of a hall.
Whoever dares to say one more word, wouldn't be afraid of getting into trouble
After the emperor sentenced the person to death, he stood up and stood on the throne, towering like an insurmountable mountain.
The emperor's heavy robe swept across the white marble floor tiles. He turned to leave, but the person kneeling at the steps suddenly raised his head and smiled sarcastically at the emperor.
Sheng Chengxing said: "The heir of the royal family has received the grace of heaven? He is violent and wanton, intending to rebel? He is unfilial to his father and disrespectful to his ancestors. Should he be executed according to the law?"
He had just gone through the most chaotic night of his life, and was kicked by Emperor Renshou and vomited blood. He staggered to his feet, looked up at the monarch above millions of people, and asked him sarcastically and coldly: "Father, you have been on the throne for too long, and have read too many eulogies and false parallel prose. Have you forgotten how you got to this position?"
He said: "In terms of brutality, disrespect for ancestors, and evil intentions, who among all the civil and military officials, royal family members, and relatives can compare to you?"
“Don’t forget it!” Sheng Chengxing’s eyes were red, and he was filled with hatred, wanting to drag everyone down with him to hell: “When my uncle was alive, Dayu was not what it is now. Look at the entire court, how many people truly obey you? How many people support you as the king for eternity?!”
"At least at that time, it was only you and your lackeys who wanted to overthrow the late emperor, who plotted evil, colluded with foreign nations, caused border wars, and killed the late crown prince, General Wei, and tens of thousands of frontier soldiers and people!"
"Compared to you, at least I did not personally open the city gates to invite foreign tribes to invade our territory—"
With a "puff" sound, Sheng Chengxing's words were completely stuck in his throat, and a few drops of warm blood splashed on the heads of the people in the front row of the team.
"The bastard is a scoundrel, talking nonsense, and should be killed."
The emperor's angry and majestic voice sounded above their heads again. Someone bravely raised his head and saw a long sword with the blade piercing Sheng Chengxing's chest. The hilt was in the emperor's hand. The new imperial guard had an empty scabbard hanging around his waist.
Everything happened in a flash. Sheng Xuyan threw away his sword and glanced at everyone's heads in a cold and gloomy manner. He didn't get angry, didn't explain, and didn't lose his composure. He just said calmly, "Go home for the New Year."
It seemed as if he had not just wanted to kill all the ministers in the hall, and he had not personally killed his own son in the Golden Palace.
He just said something calmly, then left the fifth and sixth princes behind and dismissed all the court officials. Even Xia Jingyi had been taken away by the inner court guards.
The last time Su Huaijing left, he saw Shen Feiyi pulling the sword out of Sheng Chengxing's chest in the Golden Palace, and a lot of blood gushed out. He wiped the blood off the sword, hung it back on his waist, and then stood behind Emperor Renshou, silent like a stone statue.
The sun has come out completely, and its light is scattered on the snow on both sides, which is dazzling white and golden.
The officials in the capital who used to chatter in groups of two or three now dared not speak. They focused on walking quickly out of the palace, fearing that if they were a little slower, they would be trapped in this cannibalistic palace forever.
Su Huaijing raised his eyes and saw a distraught figure. His eyes moved slightly, and he took the initiative to walk over and greeted him: "Master Xiao Lu."
Lu Jiaxi turned pale, and stared at Su Huaijing for a long time before finally coming to his senses. He called out softly, "Master Su."
Su Huaijing nodded and asked, "Do you want to come to my house for dinner? Tangtang said a few days ago that he hadn't seen you for a long time."
Ke Hongxue and Mu Jingxu went to the south of the Yangtze River. The situation in the capital was unsettled and Su Huaijing was busy. Rong Tang seldom went out, so naturally he hadn't seen Lu Jiaxi for a long time.
The latter paused after hearing this, thought for a moment, and nodded: "Excuse me, Master, and the Crown Princess. If it is convenient, can you lend me a set of casual clothes? I have many sisters at home, and it would be intimidating to go back like this."
There were bloodstains everywhere on his shoes, on the hem of his shirt, some dark, some fresh. Some were the bloodstains left on the hall and the steps, and some were the blood that had just overflowed from Sheng Chengxing's body.
They got on the carriage and Su Huaijing poured Lu Jiaxi a cup of tea.
Master Lu held the teacup in his hand but didn't take a sip for a long time.
Su Huaijing asked him, "What are you thinking about?"
Lu Jiaxi looked up and looked at him blankly, without responding for a moment.
What are you thinking about
Many, many things, the cruelty of killing nine generations of the royal family for grudges; the ascension to the throne in accordance with the will of heaven in the mouth of Sheng Chengxing, is a conspiracy to usurp the throne; just as he said that a father should be kind, he killed the emperor's own flesh and blood in court...
He couldn't tell what he was thinking. It was only after a long time that he finally found his voice. All he could say turned into a whisper: "There will be no more flower-picking clubs in the future..."
(End of this chapter)