A moment later, Wei Changkong and the chamberlain appeared in front of Chunjia one after another.
The chamberlain came in one step later. Seeing Wei Changkong's presence, he didn't say anything, but moved his steps to stand beside him.
"Don't you want to see Uncle Wang?" Seeing this, Chunjia ordered, "Go now. Brother Zhen is here, and I will accompany him."
Wei Changkong thanked him, saluted, and went out.
The emperor then asked: "Where are the people?"
"Your Majesty, the princess refused to open the door. She only told the slave that she understood what Your Majesty meant." The chamberlain didn't know why and said, "Then she stuffed this letter into the slave and said it was for Your Majesty."
He was a little worried that he would incur Chunjia's wrath because he failed to bring Lu.
But there was no way, after all, this was the regent's annex. Lu refused to open the door, and Chunjia didn't explicitly express his intention to punish her. How could he dare to be openly disrespectful to the princess
"Letter?" Chunjia raised his eyebrows. After Yan Yin checked that there was no problem, he took it in his hand. As soon as he saw it, his face suddenly darkened!
Based on the experience of coming to the other courtyard today, the emperor was not surprised that Mr. Lu refused to come to meet her and only left a letter.
When he thought about it, this letter was probably just asking for help, with at most some pleading and explanation.
Who would have thought that Mrs. Lu would just say: "I have completed what Your Majesty asked me to do. I know that my sin is serious and I have nothing to ask for but to have my own son Zhen'er under my knees..."
Chunjia didn't look at the person below. He turned around and told Yan Yin, "Send a few people to invite the princess to come over."
However, when this group of people went to the back, they found that Mr. Lu had drunk the poison.
The body was still warm, but its breath was gone.
Gong Xiangzhen had just been greatly stimulated by his mother's murder of his father. When he heard the news again, he fainted on the spot.
Chunjia's face was livid. Under the guise of investigating Lu's motive for murdering the regent, he urgently called the Imperial City Department to the scene and carefully searched both inside and outside the courtyard, especially Lu's residence. In the end, only Lu's residence was searched. A bottle of poison was found in the dressing table, as well as the maids who served Lu on a daily basis. Most of them were hanging on the back. The result of the imperial doctor's examination was that these people committed suicide at about the same time as Lu took the poison. They should have set off together, master and servant. .
After confirming that except for the letter in his hand, there was nothing else that should not be there, the emperor was slightly relieved. He would never be charged with murdering Uncle Wang.
A direct uncle and nephew, a nephew who kills his uncle, will at most be discussed a few times. He is a tyrant in private and cannot tolerate the reputation of his relatives. However, Chunjia is not a member of the Shenzong family. Since he came to power, his in-law family, Ji family, and his mother-in-law have supported him in coming to power. Ji Sheng has been silent one after another. If the death of the regent is related to him at this time, you can imagine the criticism he will receive!
The key is…
What happened this time was really not his doing!
The regent is not a fool, how could he let someone put their hands on his step-concubine
When the uncle and nephew secretly conspired to deal with the Ji family, although the regent returned part of the Imperial City Division at Chunjia's request, Chunjia was never tainted by the manpower that was related to the safety of his palace!
After all, this uncle Wang has been in charge of the Imperial City Department for many years. Even if his methods are not as good as those of the emperor, Chunjia will not underestimate his control over his own mansion.
Therefore, Chunjia never thought of doing anything in the regent's back house.
Although he is the emperor, with the gradual recovery of power, the manpower, material and financial resources he can mobilize gradually exceed those of the regent. However, after all, he has only been in power for five years and has limited accumulation. He does not want to send people to bury nails in the regent's palace. The chicken loses the rice, but the regent caught him and turned to make things difficult for him.
Anyway, in Chunjia's plan, as long as he acted steadily and had a righteous name, he could gradually disintegrate the Gu family's control over the Dingbei Army... The remaining political methods were enough to make the regent cool.
The fact that the regent had no successor could not conceal his decline, so why should he resort to cunning tactics to increase the risk of his reputation being damaged
The result is now interesting... Who is so bold as to pretend to be himself and deceive Mr. Lu
Or was Mrs. Lu actually killed, and someone was trying to mislead the emperor under the guise of her suicide note
Chunjia thought of the chamberlain saying that he had not seen Mr. Lu's face before, he only said a few words through the door, took the letter and left, squinting slightly.
... The palace heard the news half a day late. At this time, the regent had woken up, but he was too weak to speak. He could only listen to what Chunjia said to him.
Regardless of what Gong Xiang was feeling at the moment, he fainted again soon after.
Only he might know whether he was weak or fainted.
During this period, some of his people rushed over to visit, but not many of them were there. There was nothing that could be done about it. After all, many people who supported him had begun to waver in the past two years. This time, the regent looked at him and wanted to No, the emperor is still standing by like a good nephew. Whoever goes to visit now is waiting for the emperor to settle accounts in the future.
Unless they really care about loyalty, or there are some old members who cannot be cleared, others have doubts and dare not come forward.
This situation made Chunjia feel better.
After the collapse of the Ji family, another faction in the court, and the most difficult faction, was about to fall and disperse.
It was naturally a big step away from his true Yuji Yunei.
The emperor left in the evening. Before leaving, he specially left the imperial physician behind, saying that he would prepare it for the regent. Although the imperial physician repeatedly expressed that he was helpless, he at least did his best to obey fate.
Gong Xiangzhen fainted because his mother was gone. When he woke up, he heard the bad news that his father was dying and almost fainted again.
He was pinched from left to right and fed calming soup, and reluctantly sent Chunjia off. He even subconsciously wanted to grab Chunjia's sleeves along the way.
After all, he is the only person left in charge of other affairs at the moment.
Gong Xiangzhen, who had been hidden in the inner courtyard since birth and didn't even have a friend to play with, was very scared.
"It's not convenient for me to spend the night here." Chunjia looked pitiful and finally said, "Do you know about your elder brother?"
Gong Xiang's eyes turned red and he nodded slightly.
The emperor said: "Such a big thing has happened, and it is inevitable that your brother and sister-in-law will not come forward. It's just that they have always kept a low profile, so they may not know it yet. Well, I'll have someone call them over."
He sent someone to call him, even if Gong Xiangxiao didn't want to come.
At this time of lighting the lamp, Gong Xiangxiao and Yin Nuluo hurried over. After learning that they had passed by, Yin Nuluo just returned the favor. She was just the daughter-in-law and had no relationship with the regent, concubine Yuan, or step-concubine. She looked serious at this moment. Most of them were thinking about the impact this would have on their young couple; but Gong Xiangxiao lifted up his robe and gave Gong Xiang a shock, almost knocking his unsuspecting brother down the corridor.
Seeing this, both sides rushed to help. Yin Nuluo was also startled, and hurriedly grabbed her husband who was still about to take action: "My condolences, husband! Could it be that you are too sad and confused? That is my younger brother!"
I know you don't like Gong Xiangzhen and you don't like his mother, but is it appropriate to attack your half-brother in full view of everyone
Especially Gong Xiangzhen is only ten years old!
Gong Xiangxiao's eyes were red, he threw Yin Nuluo staggering, pointed at the frightened Gong Xiangzhen and sneered: "I still thought that the person Lu was hiding so tightly and guarding so carefully was some kind of talented person! He's just a kid with a dirty mouth! He just kicked me out of the house, but now for him, even... even... "
His throat rolled and he seemed to be choking, but he immediately led him away and said solemnly, "Even the regent got into trouble because of him. How can such an ominous person who brought trouble to the family have the nerve to be here?! Get out of here with me!!!"
"Husband!" Yin Nuluo wished she could go up and scratch his ears to wake him up. No matter how much she hated Mr. Lu, her death was still exposed by her own son. Gong Xiangzhen did such a thing, and he was so young. Young, are you afraid that when you become the eldest brother in the future, you will have no reason to control him
No matter how resentful you are, isn't it good to go back and settle the accounts slowly? Do you have to do it in front of so many people at this time, and do you think you can't tolerate your brother's reputation
She grabbed Gong Xiangxiao's sleeve tightly, "Husband, my father is lying on the bed, and he must be thinking of you right now! Let's go see my father first, and we'll talk about other things later, ah?"
After mentioning the regent again and again, Gong Xiangxiao didn't say anything more and went first with a flick of his sleeves.
Yin Nuluo looked at his back, but did not catch up immediately. Instead, she Wenyan apologized to Gong Xiangzhen: "Your eldest brother has always missed you, but he just couldn't see you for various reasons... He was so heartbroken just now. What happened later is not directed at you, just for the sake of flesh and blood, don’t take it personally.”
"...Well." Gong Xiangzhen tried hard to hold back his tears, lowered his head and whispered, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I'm fine."
It was the first time Yin Nuluo met him, and she couldn't tell whether he really didn't mind or if he held a grudge. But at this moment, she had no time to stay for long. After saying a few polite words, she followed Gong Xiangxiao and went to see the regent.
Not to mention the chaos in the courtyard that night, there was also a commotion in the palace.
Everyone is talking about what is going on with the regent. What kind of hatred does Lu Jifei have that she would kill her own husband
And someone who had been forgotten by the former harem for some time was also brought up, that is Lu Chuncao.
Yun Fenghuang sighed: "There are benefits to being the Empress Dowager."
As soon as the news reached the palace, the Empress Dowager summoned Lu Chuncao to see him.
At that time, Chunjia was still personally guarding the regent in the other courtyard as his caring nephew.
There was no one in the harem to stop the Empress Dowager.
Until now, Chunjia had returned, and Lu Chuncao was still with the Empress Dowager.
After Chunjia found out about it, he passed away.
They didn't separate until midnight, and Lu Chuncao was left in the palace for the whole night. Since he was a eunuch, it didn't matter.
The next day, all the ministers knew about it and came to the palace to see Chunjia.
The monarch and his ministers deliberated for most of the night, almost past lunch, and finally came to the unanimous conclusion that the step-concubine Lu was poisoned by someone sent by Hele, which made her insane and accidentally killed the regent.
Anyway, the relationship between Guochao and Hele is left there, and it doesn't matter how dirty water is poured on it.
After the matter of the regent, who has only been alive for two days, is finalized, the next thing will be simple, it is nothing more than dealing with the aftermath.
This was not difficult, but the ministers still had a dispute: a dispute about the succession of the title of regent.
It is impossible for the royal title of Prince Regent to continue to be passed on, and even the officials who seek death dare not mention this at this time.
Even some of the regent's ministers were relieved.
Because the regent fell so unexpectedly, there was no tragic or ugly fight. As long as they took office quickly and left neatly, the possibility of a happy death was still very high.
Everyone agreed to use the title of King Yi before the regent as the title for his son to succeed to the throne.
Chunjia has no objection to this. Anyway, there are many vassals in the country. As long as his throne is not threatened, he has been treating Xiaozong's daughter well for many years. Minghui has tolerated it, no matter how annoying the regent is. , Gong Xiangxiao and Gong Xiangzhen, the two younger brothers, the emperor's perception is not bad.
To be given a vassal title shows that there is nothing wrong with showing kindness to one's own Shenzong flesh and blood.
But the ministers argued over which son should inherit the king's title.
Some people think that Gong Xiangxiao is the eldest son of the Yuan concubine. Even though he asked to give up his position as the crown prince and almost broke with the regent's palace, Lu Jifei played a lot of role in this. Now Lu Jifei even poisoned the regent herself... No matter Was it because he was bewitched or for some other reason? In short, if it weren't for Concubine Lu Ji, Gong Xiangxiao would have been the natural heir to the throne.
Now that Concubine Lu Ji's conspiracy has been exposed, it is time for Gong Xiangxiao to succeed to the throne.
However, some people felt that there was something wrong with Gong Xiangxiao. Although the regent was a bit indifferent to his eldest son, the father was in a high position, so why should he always pamper his already grown son? It is also unfilial for a son to not tolerate his father at all. Especially the fact that Gong Xiangxiao never took his wife back to visit his parents after they got married, which shows that he is narrow-minded and has cut himself off from his father's family! In this case, he has asked himself to give up his position as Crown Prince, so why can he still inherit the title of King
This title should be given to Gong Xiangzhen!
The two sides were arguing endlessly. What made Chunjia almost laugh out loud was that many of the ministers who supported Gong Xiangzhen's succession showed tacit intentions.
...Obviously, they may not sincerely think that the prince should be given to Duke Xiangzhen, but they suspect that Chunjia was responsible for what happened to the regent and his wife. The death of Concubine Lu Ji happened to be so coincidental, and she may have reached an agreement with Chunjia. This is a mother-in-law. Besides doing this for his son, what else could he do for
So maybe the holy will is Gong Xiangzhen
Chunjia ignored the argument below and turned to Yan Yin to ask: "It hasn't been found out yet?"
Yan Yin said in panic: "The Imperial City Division is still investigating, but the people serving the Lu family are gone..."
Originally, the emperor had no infiltration into the regent's backyard. Now that all the Lu family's servants are dead, it can be said that they are dead without evidence. Even the Imperial City Department will have a hard time finding out the culprit who faked Chunjia's name.
Seeing that the Emperor Mianqi's expression was not so good, Yan Yin hurriedly whispered, "Now that the Regent is gone, the rest of the people, unless they are deceived by lard, will definitely abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side. Maybe there will be clues by then."
The reason why the emperor cannot control the affairs in the regent's residence is simply because the regent has been the owner of the Imperial City for many years.
But now that he is cold, it is impossible for all these people to accompany him. Maybe they will defect to Chunjia. Maybe they can find the truth
It's just that these people are bound to be in chaos now, and it may not be easy to achieve results in a short period of time.
Chunjia frowned and whispered: "Let Sun Yu be more agile."
Yan Yin responded in a low voice.
Seeing that they were still arguing, the emperor got annoyed and decided directly: "Since the elders and younger ones are in order, I have ordered Duke Xiangxiao to inherit the title of king and become the king of benefit."
In view of the previous dynasty's experience of bringing down large clans, the imperial dynasty was very harsh on the canonization of clans.
If one cannot inherit the title of king, unless he is particularly favored by the emperor, such as the Marquis of Shouning before Gong Xiangxiao, the clan will be idle.
When Chunjia saw Lu's suicide note, he decided not to give Gong Xiangzhen too many benefits, lest the world would suspect that he had ordered Lu to kill the regent.
But after all, who instigated the Lu family has not yet been found out, so he thought about it and said again, "Gong Xiangzhen is young, his mother has lost his mother, and his biological father has become bedridden... I pity him very much! The emperor's heirs to his left and right. We will go to school after we return to the palace, so let him come with us then."
This means that when the regent becomes cold, he will keep Gong Xiang in front of him and treat him like a prince.
The understanding of the courtiers was that the emperor's move was not only to show his generosity and charity, but also to hold Gong Xiangzhen as a hostage and not allow the remnants of the regent's party to cause trouble.
This is what it should be and no one objects to it.
So the matter was settled.
After the harem heard the news, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Since Ji's Liangliang, everyone knows that there must be a battle between the royal uncle and nephew.
This time the regent fell so quickly, it was like giving points to Chunjia. Apart from the unexpected surprise in the previous harem, most people were very happy.
After all, there are only a few people like Yun Fenghuang who like to cause trouble. Everyone thinks that it is good to have passed a hurdle without major turmoil.
Perhaps the most unacceptable thing was that Gong Xiang was shocked when he stood in front of everyone, but to be honest, no one cared what he thought.