Emperor Renshou had eight sons in his lifetime.
The eldest son died at the beginning of his reign, the second prince was crowned king and went to Lingnan, the third prince was assassinated in court, the fourth prince died in the heat, the sixth prince was punished to kneel in the imperial mausoleum, the seventh prince was cowardly and useless, and the eighth prince was immature and naive.
It seemed like a glamorous and admired life, but in reality, it was a life of disunity among his family members and rebellion among his ministers. In the end, he turned around and saw that in the huge palace, only Sheng Chengli, who had been placed in the cold palace since childhood, was still barely available.
Throughout Sheng Xuyan's life, he was honored and favored in his childhood, acted recklessly in his youth, and killed his brother to seize the throne in his prime. Now that he is middle-aged, he finally begins to look around in confusion, unable to tell what he has done in his life.
The house was filled with the scent of sandalwood and the monks' chanting was clear and deep, like ancient Sanskrit sounds, and every word was enough to shock people.
After a long while, the emperor stood up and said slowly, "Master, thank you for your hard work."
He left the Wentian Tower and walked towards the palace gate again. He was surrounded by countless eunuchs and attendants, but he was just a lonely man.
After Huimian finished reading the scripture, he stood up from his cushion, stood by the window and looked at the towering imperial city for a while, then raised his eyes to the sky in the distance and said, "It's going to snow."
The clouds are rolling and piling up, as if auspicious snow is coming, which will herald a good harvest.
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Because of the case of Sheng Chengxing and Xia Jingyi's treason, the atmosphere of this year's New Year's Eve is far different from previous years.
The palace cancelled the traditional palace banquets, the wealthy and powerful families stopped visiting each other, and even ordinary people, no matter how dull they were, could sense the restless factors in the air of Yujing City, which seemed to be ignited if they were not careful, and eventually exploded into a brilliant firework.
After Wang Xiuyu left the capital, Rong Tang's status in Ningxuan Palace became very awkward.
If he wanted, he could go back and have a New Year's Eve dinner without any scruples, but that would not only annoy Rong Mingyu, but would also annoy Rong Tang himself.
Simply not going, Rong Tang and Su Huaijing went to the outskirts of the capital, had a reunion dinner with the eldest princess, and stayed in a villa at night, watching the fireworks from the homes of the landlords in the distant farms far away from the capital, and spent a peaceful year without worrying about worldly affairs.
Then he returned to the capital and once again stepped into the center of the vortex of power.
The most direct change brought about by Sheng Chengxing's rebellion was that Sheng Chengli was the only prince left who could be used in the court.
This might be the scene that Sheng Chengli wanted to see, but the path was probably different from what he expected, so he found Su Huaijing on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month and questioned him.
He did not expect Sheng Chengxing's rebellion to succeed, but at least he should fight for a while before he came forward to save his father and gain the greatest benefit.
But now, almost the moment Xia Jingyi's personal troops entered the capital, they were already surrounded by layers of encirclement.
Under Su Huaijing's instructions, Shen Feiyi had already mobilized the entire capital's Jinwu Guards, and secretly went to the palace to report the unusual things he had discovered during his patrols in the suburbs of Beijing. Finally, he stayed by the emperor's side without leaving.
The so-called alchemy poisoning was just a cover-up deliberately put up by Sheng Xuyan, just to see who could not sit still and was eager to take his place.
The result of the experiment was as expected, and the two foxes, Sheng Chengxing and Xia Jingyi, were easily identified.
Concubine Hui wanted to plead for her father and brother, but was banished to the cold palace by the emperor.
The destiny of the Sixth Prince was tampered with by a traveling sorcerer when he was born. According to the original novel, Sheng Chengli would reveal it in the end and tell Emperor Renshou how he was deceived by such a ridiculous forged destiny all these years.
This was a cool point in the original novel, but up to now, with Sheng Chengxing dead, Marshal Xia's entire family executed, and Concubine Hui no longer in favor, the Sixth Prince Sheng Chengyun's fate of purple air coming from the east is naturally worth less than grass.
Sheng Xuyan also asked Huimian what he thought about the child being endowed with purple energy.
Huimian said calmly and quietly, "Under the whole world, if there were no changes of dynasties and the overlapping of the old and the new, how could both of them have the fate of being emperors at the same time?"
Emperor Renshou sat there thinking for a long time, and finally realized that the paper motto was never an auspicious sign to help him start a rebellion.
The purple air belongs to his son, so what is the empire he has built over the years? Is it just a wedding dress for his son
So Sheng Chengyun was also very annoyed. Less than two months after the New Year, the imperial decree to observe mourning for half a year in the imperial mausoleum was changed to permanent mourning in the imperial mausoleum.
In this situation, no matter how stupid Sheng Chengli was, he couldn't point out that that was supposed to be his fate.
Sheng Xuyan looked much older overnight, and became extremely wary of the fifth and seventh princes, who were still young.
But he inexplicably yearned for the father-son relationship, and wrote twice in three months to Lingnan, asking about the political affairs of the fiefdom of Rui Wang Sheng Chengming, and whether he wanted to return to Beijing to mourn his mother. He was also of marriageable age, and there were countless girls of marriageable age in Beijing, so he wondered if he had found someone he liked...
He was earnest and sincere, and gave earnest guidance, just like every father in the world who cares about his son.
Sheng Chengming didn't know whether he was tired of the family's struggle or had been warned by someone in advance. When Emperor Renshou wrote to him, he would reply three times. First, he was grateful for his father's kindness. Secondly, the political affairs of the fiefdom were complicated. He had lived under the shadow of his father and had fun all day long. He had never really experienced the hardships of handling political affairs and seeking the welfare of the people. Now, although he was in a remote area, it was also the territory of Dayu. His father was firmly in the capital, so he would share his father's worries in Lingnan and contribute a little. He hoped that his father would take care of his health.
Perhaps it was because his son was far away, Emperor Renshou read several letters over and over again, and felt that his second son, who he thought was reckless in the past, had now grown into a mature and steady adult.
Compared with him, Sheng Chengxing with evil intentions, Sheng Chengli with a covetous eye, and Qi Zi who was dull and stupid, all seemed hideous.
In the court, he frequently praised Lingnan for its achievements and sent envoys to deliver rewards to King Rui's fiefdom many times.
But Sheng Chengming was not in the capital, so it was impossible for him to see him even if he wanted to.
On the one hand, he missed his eldest son who was far away, and on the other hand, his mood was changeable. Because of what Sheng Chengxing said before his death, Emperor Renshou thought that everyone in the court was trying to confuse the public and spread rumors that he had obtained the position illegally, and that his heart was worthy of death.
For a time, everyone in the court was in danger. The Censorate and the Dali Temple had searched more houses in half a year than in the previous three years combined. Officials dared to be angry but not to speak out, and new faces appeared in the court every day.
The heart of the emperor is unpredictable, and his trusted ministers changed several times. In the end, only the Zhongcheng of the Censorate, the former General of the Right Guard of the Jinwu Guard who was promoted to the leader of the guards, and several others who made frequent political achievements after the flood that year were left.
Thinking back then, he was young and willful, daring to compete with the imperial capital for glory. His brothers and sisters followed him north all the way. Zhang Ge Lao retired and returned to his hometown. Xia Jingyi was sentenced to death by him personally. His old friends scattered and most of them turned into a handful of yellow earth. In the end, only Rong Mingyu was left by his side.
The court was ever-changing, but Rong Mingyu still sat firmly as the king of a different surname, second only to him, enjoying great glory and being admired by all.
Until one day, Emperor Renshou wanted to talk about the joy of family life, and went to Fengqi Palace to meet the Eighth Prince. When he heard from the palace servants that the Empress had taken the Eighth Prince to the Empress Dowager's palace, he did not seem unhappy at all, but instead went to Shoukang Palace to meet the Empress Dowager with great interest.
He did not let the palace servants inform anyone, but walked straight to the door, wanting to create a surprise.
When she reached the door, she heard a burst of laughter from inside. The Eighth Prince had already learned to walk unsteadily and could speak some coherent sentences, which made her mother and grandmother very happy.
Emperor Renshou also smiled. His fatigue from the court had mostly dissipated. He was about to push the door open when he heard the old maid inside say, "Old people often say that children will look like whoever they live with for a long time. Your Highness is looking more and more like the Empress now."
Queen Wang smiled with her hands covering her lips, but still said angrily: "Mammy, why are you saying these things in front of the child?"
"Yes, I'm a rude old slave." The maid laughed and laughed. The whole room was full of joy. She said nonchalantly, "I just feel that the Eighth Prince's eyebrows and eyes don't look like the Second Prince. They look more like the Ningxuan Prince's childhood. I thought about it over and over but couldn't figure out why. I think it's probably because you and the previous princess are sisters, and the Eighth Prince was supposed to be born in your belly, so they look so similar."
The Queen Mother frowned when she heard this, her loving eyes changed for a moment, and she looked at the Eighth Prince thoughtfully.
Emperor Renshou stopped where he was pushing the door open, and the people serving in the courtyard did not dare to make a sound for a long time.
After a long time, he put down his hand and left Shoukang Palace with an unclear expression.
Later that day, an imperial edict was secretly issued from the palace, bringing Su Huaijing into the palace.
It was late spring and early summer. Sheng Chengxing had passed away and the Zhehua Society had lost its whereabouts, but the city of Yujingdu was still bustling with activity.
Rong Tang sat in the yard, looking at the layers of clouds floating over in the distant sky. Some were pure white, some were misty, like cotton wool, filling the shabby holes one by one.
He stared at the sky for a long time. The lotus on the Buddha statue in the study was already eighty-nine percent open and was about to bloom. Half of the system space in his mind was exposed, and he saw countless lifelike creatures.
Dayu is still prosperous, and although there are termites in hidden places, the people appear to be still living and working in peace and contentment.
The court was under the control of the emperor, and there were waves of bloodbaths, but some perceptive people discovered that those who replaced them were actually pillars of the country with great talents.
After the ministers who had been doing nothing stepped down, they were replaced by fresh blood full of ambition.
Dayu is in turmoil, and Dayu is thriving.
The darkest and deepest night before dawn is hidden behind the clouds.
Rong Tang smiled softly and whispered: "When will you come to see me?"
In this situation, if he doesn’t come looking for him, what kind of heaven-defying opportunities will the heavens, or the mastermind, give to the male protagonist so that he can reach what they believe to be “orthodoxy”
Rong Tang was very curious.
(End of this chapter)