After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 540 Loyalty and bravery
Xie Wenzai looked filled with emotion.

Before tonight, although he had vaguely heard about Concubine Xian's past, he didn't know that not long after she entered the palace, she went to Kunning Palace to deliver something to Empress Wu on the order of Empress Dowager Zhou. He accidentally ran into the fire, and together with the palace attendants around Empress Wu, he helped the frightened Empress Wu give birth to the seventh prince, who was in premature labor, and then worked with the palace attendants to escort the seventh prince to Cining Palace for refuge. Over the past ten years, He has been taking good care of the young son left by Queen Wu.

Cao Gengyun and Lu Bainian also lamented: "No wonder Concubine Xu Xian was just a palace servant, and I heard she was not a stunning beauty, but she was so favored by the emperor. She turned out to be such a loyal, kind and brave woman! The Queen Mother Zhou knew that the Seventh Prince was still alive. , but is also willing to let Concubine Xu Xian serve the emperor and give birth to the eighth prince, there is an explanation! "

"Yes, if Concubine Xu Xian had not been favored as a concubine and given birth to the eighth prince, which attracted the attention of Concubine Sun and the Sun family, I am afraid that the seventh prince would have been discovered. At that time, Concubine Sun was in great glory and held great power. How can we allow Empress Wu’s son to survive? The reason why Empress Wu’s youngest son is saved is not only thanks to the protection of the Queen Mother, but also Concubine Xu Xian’s great contribution!”

After Cao and Lu finished sighing, Cao Gengyun thought of another thing: "Since the Seventh Prince is also living in seclusion in Cining Palace, the survivors of the Wu family must know about it, right? No wonder the Empress Dowager kept letting them go after she sent them out of the palace. They live in the residence of Marquis Chengen and are not allowed to go out or see outsiders. Last year, they secretly sent people to Chang'an for fear that they would leak the news! Fortunately, they also understood the seriousness of the matter, even after arriving in Chang'an. They were detained and did not tell anyone about the Seventh Prince. Otherwise, if there were spies from the Sun family in the city at that time, wouldn't it cause a big disaster if the news got back to the capital?"

Lu Bainian nodded in agreement.

Xie Wenzai hesitated for a moment: "I don't know whether Mrs. Gui and her daughter knew about it, but Wu Ke probably knew it. I asked him just now, and he admitted that he had done it to His Highness Seventh Prince during those years in the palace. I read with His Majesty the Seventh Prince under the tutelage of the learned female officer of Cining Palace. I think he has a solid foundation in his studies, but it does not seem to be the way of reading for literati, and he focuses more on poetry and history books. This is probably why. "

Because the person who taught Wu Ke in the past was not a palace official who was accustomed to taking the imperial examination, Wu Ke always had a lingering smell of powder when writing articles. However, Wu Ke could quote classics and often draw lessons from history, which is quite a bit of a high-level view. means. Xie Wenzai was always curious about which gentleman this student studied with, and now he finally figured out what was going on.

It wasn't that the palace lady taught Wu Ke in a special way, but that he was just the seventh prince's companion and went to school with him. The female officials in the palace would not teach the seventh prince how to write imperial examination articles, but she would teach him how to learn from history books and how to be a good prince. As a reading companion, Wu Ke will naturally be weird when learning a set of books. But the advantage is that the foundation is firmly laid and the person is smart and eager to learn. After a few years of slowly training and teaching, he can bring the child back to the right path of being a scholar.

Hai Xiya asked Xie Wenzai: "So, the emperor had no choice but to disclose his life experience because Concubine Sun discovered the existence of the seventh prince and to save his life? But why is this? Why couldn't it be disclosed before? The birth of the eighth prince There had been no heir in the palace for a long time, and even the prince who succeeded the clan was almost retiring. The emperor was not in good health at that time and was seriously ill, but he never mentioned it at that time. The people of the government and the public will not be alarmed if they know that there is a seventh prince!"

You know, when they heard the belated old news from Beijing in Guazhou, they were really worried about the royal family for a long time! At that time, Xie Wenzai and several close friends couldn't sleep at night, and they even got up and cried silently facing the moon outside the window!

Xie Wenzai also remembered the dark history of that year. He touched his nose with some embarrassment and whispered: "I heard that the Seventh Prince was not in good health... Empress Wu was so frightened by the fire that she gave birth to him early. It is said that the fire spread very quickly at that time, and the three His Highness was seriously injured again. The mother and son managed to escape to the back hall of Kunning Palace with the help of their confidants. There was no way to hold on. There was no Wen Po and no imperial doctor. Even the umbilical cord of His Highness Seventh Prince was missing. Empress Wu bit it with her teeth.

"Empress Wu will not survive after giving birth to the child. By that time, the Third Highness had already died of serious injuries. Concubine Xu Xian and another palace official braved the fire and fled in a hurry, trying to escape to Cining Palace without the eyes and ears of everyone around them. The Queen Mother I didn't dare to alarm too many people, so I could only ask trusted imperial physicians to diagnose and treat her, but the medicines and supplements were insufficient. It was difficult to find a wet nurse for His Majesty the Seventh Prince. Later, Mrs. Gui brought her daughter into the palace, and only the Queen Mother had one. The reason for recruiting wet nurses..." Due to various reasons, the Seventh Prince was born with deficiencies and was not well-nurtured, so his body has been thinner than that of ordinary children since he was a child. Empress Dowager Zhou was worried that he might not live to adulthood. Even if the emperor knew of his existence, he would not choose such a weak heir. Rather than letting him become a thorn in Concubine Sun's side and die unexpectedly at a young age, it would be better for him to stay in the palace and grow up quietly, and wait until his body is well enough to make plans for the future.

Xie Wenzai said: "According to Ma Shangyi, the Queen Mother kept it secret for several years at first. When His Highness Sixth Prince passed away and the Emperor was seriously ill and was taken to Cining Palace to recuperate, the Queen Mother informed the Emperor about His Highness Seventh Prince. The Emperor knew that he There is still an heir alive, he is in a good mood, and his condition has improved. But when the emperor recovered, he saw the frail appearance of His Majesty the Seventh Prince, and he worried that this was not a long-term solution..."

Everyone understood as soon as they heard that when the emperor was seriously ill, he would be very satisfied if a prince could inherit the throne. However, once his illness recovered, he began to dislike the seventh prince's frailty and did not want to reveal the identity of the seventh prince. .

According to Ma Shangyi, at that time, the emperor wanted to recruit a new favorite and regenerate the emperor's heir, but Concubine Sun tried her best to stop it. She would rather let Prince Ji's son, who married the daughter of Sun's family as his concubine, return to the family line. The emperor was not happy and had to choose someone from among the palace ladies. The Queen Mother felt that this could not continue. Once the emperor had a new heir, and the seventh prince had not been able to clear his name, would he still have a foothold in the future?

So Concubine Xu Xian was pushed out...

She was indeed a shield. She gave birth to the eighth prince to protect the seventh prince. However, it was a fact that the seventh prince was in poor health, and no one knew whether he would die before reaching adulthood. There is no way for such a weak legitimate prince to become the crown prince. Rather than letting him spend his energy to withstand the wind and rain, it would be better to let him live in peace and quiet. The eighth prince born to Concubine Xu Xian has always been close to his elder brother. The two brothers love each other. Even if the eighth prince becomes the crown prince, he will take good care of his frail brother.

With this idea in mind, the emperor asked the important officials of the court to meet with the seventh prince. When the ministers saw that the seventh prince looked half like the emperor and half like Duke Wu Wen'an, they had no doubts about his life experience. It's just that he is so pale and thin, and everyone knows that he has deficiencies, so he may not be able to grow up. In addition, he and the eighth prince stood hand in hand in front of the ministers, and the brothers were harmonious and friendly. Whether they were the ministers who held the idea that "the legitimate son of the palace is the rightful heir to the throne" or the officials who supported the idea of ​​"Kunoyori Naga-kun", they all had a strong impression of the emperor. There was no objection to the plan.

As for those officials who were more inclined to establish Prince Ji as Crown Prince, they completely lost their voices.

The emperor has no shortage of sons, including a smart older legitimate son and a smart and healthy younger son. It makes sense no matter who he chooses to be the crown prince. There is no need for the concubine prince to get involved, right?

After this incident, the Sun faction suddenly panicked. Then the case of Sun Yongbai came out and the three divisions held a joint trial. This time, even the Minister of Punishment, who favored Mr. Sun Ge, began to hesitate.

(End of this chapter)