The First Auxiliary Road from the Imperial Examination

"In the ninth year of Yanping, the emperor passed away in Qingyuan Palace, leaving an imperial decree behind, ordering the crown princess, Princess Zhaode, Jiang Yuzhong, to inherit the throne."

——From "History of Chu·Biography of Emperor Yanping"

"In the ninth year of Yanping, the Empress of Emperor Renzong announced the will in the Lanzheng Hall, allowing the second assistant An Suiyun to retire, and promoted Sheng Yuan, the Minister of Revenue, to the position of the Minister of State Affairs, and entrusted him with the task of teaching the young emperor."

——From "Biographies of Famous Officials of Yan, Chen and Chu"

"In the spring of the tenth year of Yanping, the Crown Princess Yu Chong succeeded to the throne and changed the reign title to 'Shunning'. The Empress was honored as the Empress Dowager, and the title was 'Empress Dowager of Wisdom, Benevolence, Courtesy, Wisdom, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Goodness and Kindness', or 'Empress Dowager of Wisdom' for short."

——From "The Biography of the Empress Dowager Ruide"

"When Renzong succeeded to the throne, he doted on the Empress and loved her very much. During his ten years on the throne, the harem was empty, and the couple sat on the throne together to manage state affairs."

——From "Three Dynasties: Biography of Wise Emperors"

"Emperor Yanping trusted the Empress and entrusted the country to her. He personally wrote an imperial decree to pass the throne to the Crown Princess, and designated the two characters "Rui De" as the Empress Dowager's emblem. He ordered the Empress Dowager to take charge of the government on behalf of the young emperor."

——From "The Book of Chu: Empress Dowager Ruide"

"Emperor Shunning ascended the throne at the age of ten. He was too young to govern the country. His mother, Empress Dowager Ruide, followed the order of the previous emperor and presided over the government, assisted in governing the people, issued a general amnesty, and appointed many capable officials."

——From "Chu Dynasty·Biography of the Empress"

……

By the time the ministers reacted, everything was already a foregone conclusion.

Emperor Yanping's last will had already been known throughout the world, and Empress Sheng Zhen was already firmly seated in the Lanzheng Hall.

Even if some ministers wanted to jump around, they could open their eyes and look around. In front of them, the five armies controlled by Sheng Yuan were blockading Kyoto, and in the back, the Military Affairs Camp taken over by Lu Sheng, the son of Marquis Chengzhong, was stabilizing the situation. As for the Inner Guard and the Imperial Guard on both sides, they were loyal to the Emperor, Empress and Crown Princess from beginning to end.

The Jiucheng Bingmasi, which was originally controlled by Sheng Xiangya, the Duke of Sheng, has now been handed over to the Queen's cousin Zheng Peng. Therefore, both the City Patrol Division and the City Defense Camp are now used by the Queen to cooperate with the Five Armies in guarding the capital.

At this moment, the lessons of the past have not yet faded, and the reality is coming as a shocking blow. Therefore, even if there are ministers who are not clear-headed, they will shut up after a little thought.

Forget it, there is still a lot of time. The most urgent task now is to deal with the funeral of the late emperor and the various matters related to the new emperor's ascension to the throne. There is no need for them to compete with the new emperor and the empress dowager at this moment.

Thinking of this, all the ministers in the cabinet felt better.

……

"Auntie."

Sheng Yuan came to Lanzheng Hall, intending to discuss the education of the little emperor with her sister, but unexpectedly, she met her own student before her sister.

"Your Majesty, I remember that you should be learning the etiquette of the coronation ceremony from the teacher of the Ministry of Rites."

After the ceremony, Sheng Yuan kindly reminded: "The Queen Mother is busy with government affairs at the moment. If she knew that you didn't study according to the course, she would be unhappy."

"I, I..." As soon as the little emperor opened his mouth, he remembered the etiquette teacher's teachings and quickly changed his self-proclaimed name. Then he continued to hang his head, pursed his lips in depression, and whispered, "I miss my father."

As he spoke, the little emperor's eyes turned red. He looked up at Sheng Yuan with tears in his eyes, then hurriedly lowered his head. In just a moment, tears fell to the ground one by one.

Sheng Yuan saw the child's trembling shoulders and the look as if he was trying hard to suppress his sadness, and he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable too.

"Aunt." The little emperor blinked blankly as he felt the gentle touch on his wrist, and then threw himself directly into the arms of the squatting Sheng Yuan, sobbing and whispering, "Aunt, I, I, I don't want to be the emperor, I want my father to come back!"

Sheng Yuan let the patch be wetted by tears and silently stroked the back of the helpless and pitiful child until she was tired of crying. Then he held her hand and walked into the side hall.

Taking the hot handkerchief handed to her by the palace maid, Sheng Yuan gently wiped the tears from the sobbing little emperor until she took a deep breath and her emotions gradually calmed down. Then he put down the handkerchief, picked up the teacup and fed her a few sips of warm water.

Looking at the little emperor's red cheeks and sad face, Sheng Yuan thought for a moment and suddenly said, "When God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make his heart and mind suffer and his muscles and bones work hard..."

"…starve their bodies, deprive them of their possessions, and do not disturb their actions, so as to stimulate their hearts and strengthen their natures, and improve their abilities." Sheng Yuan had just started, and the little emperor followed suit. Seeing her actions, Sheng Yuan could not help but nodded slightly: "Your Majesty, have you ever heard about the hardships that the late emperor suffered when he was the crown prince?"

Hearing this, the little emperor stared at Sheng Yuan with his big wet eyes, nodded slowly, and whispered, "I, I... have heard about it from Nanny."

"The late emperor... it's like taking an exam. The same paper, the same content, but the late emperor took less than half the time to answer. He answered the paper in a hurry, but the result was no worse than others. With such a result, the late emperor must be proud but also regretful."

Sheng Yuan said something completely unrelated to the previous sentence, but it still made the little emperor cry.

"The late emperor's foundation was damaged before he ascended the throne, so he reluctantly left your majesty and the queen mother. When he was in power, he did everything he could to lay a good foundation for your majesty and the queen mother. This is the late emperor's painstaking efforts and sincere love. Your majesty should cherish it."

Sheng Yuan gently stroked the little emperor's hand, and said in a slow and gentle voice: "The late emperor had great talent and great ambitions, but he was not allowed to do things at will. Many things he wanted to accomplish were not done in time... Your Majesty, as the late emperor's favorite child, should complete the late emperor's great cause and become a wise ruler who surpasses the late emperor and ancestors... Your Majesty misses the late emperor, which is human nature, but the late emperor did not leave Your Majesty.

You are not alone because the Queen Mother and the late Emperor's love for you are with you; you are not lonely because the vast country left by the late Emperor is your responsibility.

It is inevitable that you feel sad because of missing the late emperor. If your majesty feels sad, just cry a little and let your tears take away all the sadness, leaving only the happiness that the late emperor hoped you would have forever. Then live a good life, shoulder the heavy responsibility entrusted to you by the late emperor, and live up to the late emperor's expectations."

"......Hmm!" The little emperor sniffed, nodded vigorously, and then burst into tears again.

……

"Sister Yuan, why did you come back so late today? Is the Emperor or the Empress Dowager very busy?" An Yu still couldn't get used to the change in address.

Sheng Yuan sighed, briefly explained the reason, and then mentioned the convoy outside the mansion that was lining the streets: "It's only been a few days, and the front and back doors of Yongxing Marquis's mansion are so busy! There are so many carriages and horses, and so many people. If you know it, you must think it's the mansion of a duke, but if you don't know it, you might think it's a market that has moved to a new location!"

An Yu scratched his head and sighed helplessly and amusedly: "People and things in this world are just like this, bustling with people and interests... Now that the late emperor has clearly stated in his imperial decree that the empress dowager will take charge of the government, everyone's eyes will follow the empress dowager's network of relationships to the Yongxing Marquis' Mansion?

Sister Yuan, don't think that there are too many people now, hehe, just wait and see, this is just the beginning! ! When the Queen Mother has conferred all the titles that should be conferred, the Yongxing Marquis Mansion, our parents, and our eldest brother will all have new titles, the outside of this mansion will be even more lively!

Of course, it's not uncommon for outsiders to come here to get close to the emperor! After all, the new emperor is only ten years old now. Even if he is sixteen, it is still a long way to go before he can rule the country! Not to mention that the new emperor is a girl. If she really wants to rule the country, she will have to wait until she gets married and has children. In the meantime, the queen mother is the uncrowned emperor. "

Having said this, An Yu glanced at Sheng Yuan again and said jokingly: "But, Sister Yuan, have you ever thought that among the group of people outside, a large part of them are here for you, the second assistant, the minister of state, and the emperor's teacher?!"

"..." Sheng Yuan was speechless. After sighing, she looked in the direction of the nursing home, "It seems that our parents can't leave the house for a while... If it really doesn't work, we can move back to Ancheng Marquis Mansion and help reduce the firepower of the mansion."

"You are wise after the event! Haha, my parents found that the number of people coming to hand in their greetings was increasing this morning, so they took the people and gifts and went out through the back door in advance. They should be walking in the farm outside the city now!"

"...What about my brother and the others?" Sheng Yuan's eyes widened, as if she had guessed what her brother had done.

"My eldest brother ran away from Kyoto with his wife and children under the pretext of escorting our parents to the farm to relax."

“So…” Sheng Yuan took a deep breath, looked into An Yu’s eyes, and said with a half-smile, “Now in the Yongxing Marquis’ Mansion, we are the only two left who can take charge, right?!”

Seeing An Yu really nodded and said yes, Sheng Yuan didn't know what to say.

"Everyone else is running, why don't you run with them?"

"I want to run away! It was my eldest brother who said that someone should be watching over the mansion, otherwise there might be trouble."

If An Yu had not been able to snatch the opportunity from his brother-in-law and let him take his wife and children to escort Taishan and Taishui out of Beijing, he would have run away long ago!

What a pity!

In terms of thick-skinnedness, good mentality and many ideas, his brother-in-law is his master!

"Sister Yuan, how about... we leave tomorrow too?"

Seeing Sheng Yuan touching her forehead, An Yu was afraid that she would be angry, so he hurriedly offered some advice.

"That's fine." Although Sheng Yuan felt that it didn't matter whether they moved or not, it would be good if it could make the area in front of the Yongxing Marquis Mansion quieter.

"By the way, Sister Yuan, ever since my eldest cousin replaced Duke Sheng to take charge of the Nine Cities Military Division, relatives in Jiangling have written to me, hoping that the Queen Mother and you can help promote other people."

"Who asked me to promote him? Who else do I need to promote?!" Sheng Yuan found it funny. "My eldest cousin practiced martial arts since he was young, and later joined the army as a martial arts champion. He worked hard in the barracks for a long time before he got the opportunity. It was just a coincidence. Even my second cousin, who was also a Jinshi and worked in the Imperial College, didn't get the chance to be sent out. How can I have the nerve to promote those other relatives who don't make progress?!"

"It's because my eldest cousin and second cousin are my eldest uncle's children! My eldest uncle has two sons and one daughter, and both sons have received support from the Marquis' Mansion. The other two uncles must have some ideas!" An Yu imitated his father-in-law's words to persuade his daughter-in-law, trying to appease Sheng Yuan.

Unexpectedly, Sheng Yuan's words were very sharp: "You have an idea? Then go ahead! What does it have to do with me?! I am not a waiter, I have to take care of everyone?! You want to help? Let them lift their collars first!" (End of this chapter)