Jiuxi

Chapter 584 [Thousands of Pointed at]

This gift from Queen Mother Xu forced the young heir into a corner.

What Lu Chen said to Li Zongben earlier, "There is a difference between the ruler and his subjects," was not pretentious, but one of the rules that must be followed when living in this world.

Before a person has the power to make rules, trampling on existing rules will give people a reason to criticize him, which will lead to an unbearable crisis.

Even the emperor has many constraints.

Not to mention that Li Zongben's coronation ceremony will be held the day after tomorrow, even if he is now the emperor, this gift from Empress Dowager Xu will still be extremely difficult to deal with. If he fails to handle it well, this matter will greatly affect his influence in the hearts of the court and the public, and will have a serious impact on the imperial power and ceremony.

Since the Great Qi ruled the world with loyalty and filial piety, how could an emperor accept the courtesy from his biological mother?

If this matter were to be spread, people would not seek the truth behind it, but would only secretly criticize the new emperor for threatening the queen mother.

Once there is turmoil in the court in the future, this matter will become a sharp weapon in the hands of some people.

Lu Chen thought of these key points instantly, and the moment Empress Dowager Xu slightly lowered her body, he moved to the side.

Li Zongben's movements were surprisingly not slow at all.

He moved to the other side, then bowed his head and said, "Please allow me to report to you, Your Majesty. Regarding my third brother's matter, I am not unwilling, but I cannot."

This scene made Lu Chen feel complicated.

Li Zongben's reaction was fast and decisive enough, leaving no room for Empress Dowager Xu to take advantage of the situation, unless she could completely lose face and continue to pressure the heir with etiquette and filial piety even though the heir had already performed the ceremony.

However, by that time it was not the new emperor who threatened the queen mother, but the queen mother who was aggressive.

More importantly, Li Zongben did not choose a tough approach, but left a loophole in his words, giving Empress Dowager Xu a smooth way out.

In the solemn atmosphere, Queen Mother Xu looked at Li Zongben through the pearl curtain. After a moment of silence, she stood there and asked, "Prince, please stand up and speak clearly."

If Li Zongben continued to use the late emperor's will as an excuse, she would certainly not agree.

Of course, she would not ignore any problem that Lu Chen could think of.

Once Li Zongben completes the coronation ceremony, it will undoubtedly be very difficult for me to force him to submit. Only at this critical juncture, if he wants to complete the ceremony smoothly and peacefully, he must make some concessions in this Cining Palace.

Li Zongben stood up slowly and said sincerely, "Queen Dowager, the reason why my third brother was stripped of his title by my father was because he, as a prince, actually plotted to assassinate an important official of the country. In the past hundred years of Da Qi, has there ever been such a terrible thing? The foundation of the royal family lies in the people, and the officials in the court are the representatives of the people. My third brother, as a prince, did such a thing, which is equivalent to creating a deep rift between the royal family and the officials in the court. My father made my third brother live in seclusion in Qiushan Lane. On the one hand, it was to punish him, and on the other hand, it was also to protect him. I hope the Queen Dowager will understand."

Empress Dowager Xu remained silent and looked at the figure on the other side.

Lu Chen looked calm, but he felt a little emotional in his heart.

He knew that Li Zongben must have had some ulterior motive for bringing him here, and now he saw that it was indeed the case.

Who is the person that the third prince is plotting to assassinate?

Of course it was him, the military noble.

Simply put, the victim of the Qingfeng Street assassination case is here. No matter how much you, Your Majesty, pity your young son, you must at least take the feelings of this victim into consideration, right?
In Lu Chen's opinion, although this successor was forced to do so, he was more or less unkind.

Empress Dowager Xu said calmly, "Marquis of Shanyang."

Lu Chen bowed his head and replied, "I am here."

Queen Mother Xu sighed, "Li Zongjian was wronged by you in that matter. I understand that this request is unreasonable, but... although Li Zongjian was stripped of his title, he is still your Majesty's son. Your Majesty had great trust and expectations in you during his lifetime, and you have never let your Majesty down. Such loyalty between the monarch and his subjects is enough to be recorded in history, and I will not interfere. I only hope that you can show some sympathy and allow Li Zongjian to send your Majesty on his last journey on my behalf. Afterwards, I will definitely let Li Zongjian apologize to you in person."

Lu Chen's heart moved slightly. He had never paid attention to the women in the palace before, but today he realized that these women were not simple.

Empress Dowager Xu could use filial piety to force Li Zongben, but she could not use the same method against Lu Chen, and she did not do so.

Because if she bowed to Li Zongben to express her gratitude, it would only affect the reputation of the heir. If she bowed to Lu Chen as the queen mother, it would be accusing Lu Chen of having a rebellious heart and forcing the young marquis into a desperate situation.

The details involved are not complicated, but the fact that she was able to think through them calmly and with restraint shows that Empress Dowager Xu was well versed in this.

Lu Chen couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for Li Zongben next to him.

Of course, sympathy is sympathy, their friendship is not that good yet, and Lu Chen does not intend to take on this bomb directly.

He is now qualified to make his own decisions on these matters.

Thinking of this, he said calmly: "Your Highness is right. The biggest impact of Lieutenant Fengguo's actions is not the personal grudge between him and me, but the justice of the court. Moreover, the late emperor has passed away not long ago. If Your Highness overturns the late emperor's decision, how will the people of the world view Your Highness? Please think twice, Your Highness."

What he meant was that whether he forgave the third prince or not was not important; the key lay in what the officials thought.
If Li Zongben changed his mind every day, wouldn't people think he was an unfilial descendant?

Li Zongben looked down at the ground, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

Queen Mother Xu turned around and walked back to the couch, her tone colder: "Since the Crown Prince and Marquis of Shanyang both think that my proposal is inappropriate, I have nothing to say."

Lu Chen maintained the posture of eyes watching nose and nose watching heart.

He would not have a direct conflict with Queen Dowager Xu because it would be a loss-making deal.

Although the Queen Mother could not interfere in state affairs, her status was too transcendent. As long as the Great Qi Dynasty existed, she would be the most honorable woman in this land.

Although Lu Chen is not afraid of her now, if she nags him every now and then, it will have a very bad impact on his future layout in the court.

The reason is very simple. The words loyalty and filial piety have long been rooted in the hearts of the vast majority of court officials. Even if we take a step back and say that they do not take loyalty and filial piety seriously, they will certainly support it unwaveringly on the surface.

When Empress Dowager Xu's tone changed, it meant that she had given up this unrealistic idea. It also meant that the coronation ceremony might cause some disturbances.

Li Zongben knew this very well. He suddenly sighed softly and said to the woman behind the pearl curtain: "Empress Dowager, I know you are not deliberately making things difficult for me. You just can't bear that my third brother can't see our father off for the last time. In this case, I propose a compromise. Please make your decision, Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager Xu's eyes changed slightly, and she nodded and said, "You go ahead."

Li Zongben considered and said, "On the day of the emperor's funeral, I will have someone go to Qiushan Lane to pick up my third brother and have him follow the funeral procession to the imperial mausoleum. When the emperor's coffin is placed in the coffin palace, I will have someone send my third brother back to Qiushan Lane."

At this moment, the emperor and his ministers outside the curtain noticed that Queen Mother Xu's momentum had relaxed, and then they heard Queen Mother Xu say: "This is very appropriate, let's follow the prince's words."

Li Zongben lowered his head, his eyes calm.

After a while, Li Zongben and Lu Chen left the Cining Palace.

The eunuch, who was in his thirties, followed behind with a group of palace servants.

Lu Chen looked back and asked, "Your Highness, where is that Young Supervisor Lu?"

Li Zongben thought for a moment and said, "He is at the imperial mausoleum, and he will guard the imperial mausoleum in the future."

Lu Chen said no more.

As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints his own ministers. Although the outer court has not yet undergone changes due to the transfer of imperial power, the palace has already taken a step ahead.

Old friends are gradually leaving and new people are taking their place. The traces once left by the Emperor of Great Qi will gradually disappear with the passage of time.

Li Zongben turned his head and looked at him, saying with guilt: "I really had no choice today, please don't mind it."

They both knew what they were concerned about.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Your Highness, you are too kind. In fact, even if I am not here, Your Highness can still persuade the Queen Mother."

"After all, I was a little nervous, so I dragged you along, but this is just one example."

Li Zongben laughed at himself, and then said: "If I have any plans in the future, I will inform you in advance."

"I don't deserve it. Your Highness, I will take my leave."

"it is good."

The king and his minister parted ways.

Li Zongben looked at Lu Chen's back as he left under the guidance of the eunuch, his eyes extremely deep.

He stood there quietly for a long time without moving, until Lu Chen's figure disappeared among the numerous palaces.

……

Jingchao, Dadu.

There is a magnificent mansion in the south city, which is the residence of Changshan Prince Qing Yugong.

Over the past ten years, no matter how honest and upright the nobles were, even the princes under Emperor Jing, no one dared to act presumptuously around this mansion.

The name of the military god Dajing is enough to shock everyone.

Especially after the end of the war to pacify Zhao, Qing Yugong's reputation within the Jing Dynasty reached its peak, and countless young people from the Jinglian clan wanted to join him and serve under him.

When Qing Yugong led his army south with such brilliance, most people thought that he would be victorious as usual, destroying the Southern Qi army in one fell swoop and laying a solid foundation for Dajing to unify the world.

However, when the news of Yongqiu's defeat came, the entire capital city fell into silence.

Qing Yugong led an army of 100,000 and fought a decisive battle with the border troops of Southern Qi outside the city of Yongqiu.

Failed!

More than half of the army was killed or wounded!

Loss of soldiers and generals, loss of territory and humiliation of the country!
The biggest defeat in Dajing’s decades of history!

In the dead silence of the capital city, a turbulent wave was gradually brewing.

Thoroughly investigate the root cause of this defeat and severely punish the culprit Qing Yugong!
Several powerful tribes, such as the Huiluo, Jiagu, and Gute clans, stood up one after another, and the memorials impeaching Qing Yugong almost filled up Emperor Jing's study.

As the storm spread among the people, more and more people began to angrily accuse and scold the military god Dajing, whom they once worshipped as a god.

The Jinglian people are tough and this is not uncommon.

However, no one from the government, especially the Chief Auditor, came to stop it, so the situation escalated.

In such a dark and cloudy atmosphere, groups of young people appeared around the Prince's Mansion. Some of them even spat on the ground viciously in front of the palace guards to vent their dissatisfaction.

The palace guards looked at the chaotic scene indifferently.

Due to Qing Yugong's strict order, they could only watch and quietly tighten the hilts in their hands.

Let the anger build up in your heart.

(End of this chapter)