Jiuxi

Chapter 854 852 [Mother and Son]

There was a solemn and murderous atmosphere inside and outside the palace.

The imperial guards, wearing armor and holding swords, were on full alert, the generals at all levels had solemn expressions, and the atmosphere was extremely depressing.

At daybreak, more than twenty senior officials in purple robes were already standing in the square outside the Hening Gate. They did not gather in groups of three or five and whisper to each other as usual, but stood silently, with sad and heavy expressions on their faces.

There is also some worry that is difficult to conceal.

No one could have imagined that such a devastating event would happen in the palace on a single stormy night, and that the Emperor of the Great Qi would be assassinated in his own bedroom.

Flipping through the vast history books, there are indeed some similar records, but what we learn from books is always superficial. When the Yanyan people really encountered such horrifying and bizarre things, the fear and panic in their hearts were difficult to describe in words.

Moreover, we cannot think about this matter too much. The current emperor is indeed not as good as the previous emperor, but this does not mean that the imperial palace is leaky on all sides. At least there are three layers of protection from the outside to the inside, namely the imperial guards, the imperial guards and the inner guards. Even if it was the emperor's personal maid who assassinated him late at night, what were the inner guards who were on duty outside the palace doing at that time?
These important officials all knew that the emperor had been constantly adjusting the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the past two years, and the new heads of various departments were all eunuchs he trusted. Even if Yuan Yuji was out of Beijing on official business during this period, were Chen Hong and others dead?
In other words, if one wants to kill the emperor silently, firstly, the mastermind behind the scenes needs to infiltrate the palace for a long time, and secondly, he needs the cooperation of someone inside the palace.

When everyone was frowning, a burst of orderly horse hooves sounds came from the Imperial Street.

They turned their heads and saw hundreds of armored cavalrymen arriving in the dim light of the sky and the torches lit around the square.

In the crowd, Left Prime Minister Xue Nanting and Right Prime Minister Xu Zuo looked at each other and walked forward together.

They already knew who was coming. At this extremely tense moment, any disturbance could lead to unimaginable consequences, so they had to take it seriously.

The group of cavalry stopped when they were still more than twenty feet away from the square, and then four of them came side by side.

After seeing the face of one of them clearly, Xue Nanting's pupils shrank slightly, and the important officials who followed behind him also felt a chill in their hearts.

Appearing before them were the three existing dukes of Da Qi, and Li Bingxue who was holding Li Tianrun's wrist.

Xue Nanting greeted the three men, then glanced unobtrusively at the hundreds of powerful cavalrymen behind them.

In this situation, Xiao Wangzhi was the chief military minister in charge of the Military Academy, and Lu Chen was a powerful duke who commanded more than 100,000 elite border troops and had supervised the military affairs of the three states in Jiangbei last year. However, the two of them kept silent in tacit understanding.

Instead, Duke of Wei Li Tianrun, who had been away from the court for a long time and had no real power in his hands, let Li Bingxue let go and pushed him away. He held the hilt of the knife with one hand, looked around at everyone and said, "Prime Minister Xue, Prime Minister Xu, and all the lords, the emperor's death was caused by a traitor. This matter concerns the safety of the country. Before the truth is found out, I can't sit idly by. Now the capital and the palace are under martial law. In order to prevent someone from taking advantage of the situation, I specially ask Duke Rong and Duke Qin to summon their personal soldiers to come to the imperial city to assist in the protection. Please don't panic."

No one dared to question it.

They might secretly suspect Lu Chen, or even doubt Xiao Wangzhi's loyalty, but they dared not show any disrespect to Li Tianrun.

This was not only because of the late emperor's trust in Li Tianrun, but also because of his prestige as he had guarded Jingzhou for more than ten years and made countless contributions. In the end, he handed over military power without any complaints and returned to the capital to retire. Such noble character is enough to make people admire him.

Xue Nanting nodded and said, "What the Duke said is very appropriate."

Li Tianrun looked behind him and asked, "May I ask Prime Minister Xue why the palace gates are not open yet?"

Xue Nanting replied solemnly: "Just now, the commander of the Imperial Guards, Shen Yu, came to convey the Queen Mother's order, asking everyone to arrive before entering the palace."

Li Tianrun said, "That's fine."

Lu Chen listened to the conversation between the two calmly, his eyes swept across the dozen civil officials opposite him, and paused for a moment on the face of Li Shizhi, the Minister of Personnel.

As if sensing Lu Chen's gaze, Li Shizhi looked at him solemnly.

The two looked at each other but there was no further contact.

After a while, the heavy and solid Hening Gate was slowly pushed open, and the commander of the Imperial Army, Shen Yulai, walked quickly to the square.

He obviously knew the origins of the hundreds of elite cavalrymen on the Imperial Street. He showed no fear on his face. He walked straight to the two prime ministers and the three dukes and said loudly, "According to the Queen Mother's order, I summon Prime Minister Xue, Prime Minister Xu, Duke of Wei, Duke of Rong, Duke of Qin, Minister of Personnel Li Shizhi, Minister of Rites Hu Jingwen and seven others to the Jingren Palace. The rest of the ministers will wait in the Chongzheng Hall for the time being."

The meaning of this imperial edict was very clear. Seven important ministers, representing the civil and military officials, went to confirm the cause of the emperor's death. The others needed to wait for a while before discussing the various matters after the emperor's death.

Xue Nanting and the others received the order and were about to take a step forward when Shen Yulai suddenly said to Li Tianrun: "Duke, this knife..."

Li Tianrun turned his head to look at him, and the Right Prime Minister Xu Zuo said first: "The late emperor has specially ordered that the Duke of Wei can bring weapons into the palace. This is known to everyone. Could it be that Lord Shen has forgotten it?"

Shen Yulai quickly apologized and said, "I was negligent for a moment, please forgive me, Duke."

Li Tianrun said calmly: "The safety of the country now rests on your shoulders alone. What's the value of this little misunderstanding?"

This sentence made Shen Yulai feel sympathetic. From the moment he learned that the emperor was assassinated, he was completely tense. On the one hand, he had to deal with the nobles in the palace, on the other hand, he had to rectify the imperial guards and impose martial law on the whole city, and on the other hand, he had to worry about whether the forces of all parties were stable. He did not relax for a moment from beginning to end.

After a small episode, dozens of important officials walked into the solemn imperial palace.

When they reached the back of Duancheng Hall, the rest of the people were led to Chongzheng Hall by the imperial guards and eunuchs, while the seven important ministers continued to go to the harem.

At this moment, there were still a large number of guards outside Jingren Palace. They looked at Shen Yulai and the seven important ministers in silence, with grief and lingering guilt on their faces.

The bodies of the palace maids in the outer hall had been temporarily moved to the morgue, and the eight people walked into the inner hall with heavy steps.

The emperor was still lying on the dragon bed, with ice cubes placed around him.

Empress Dowager Xu, Empress Dowager Liu, Queen Ning and Prince of Yanning Li Daoming stood aside, looking at the eight important ministers sadly.

"His Majesty!"

Xue Nanting knelt down first and cried out in pain, "Your Majesty! I have failed the late emperor's trust and your majesty's confidence. I will never atone for my sins even if I die a thousand times!"

The rest all fell to their knees.

Xue Nanting looked at the emperor on the dragon bed, tears streaming down his face, his voice mournful: "The mountain and mausoleum have collapsed, the whole country is mourning, your majesty has been murdered by thieves, I am ashamed to be a minister, how can I live in this world with dignity! Your majesty, I, Xue Nanting, deserve to die!"

The grief that the nobles in the palace had finally suppressed spread again, and Queen Ning cried so hard that she almost fainted.

Empress Dowager Xu said with tears in her eyes: "Prime Minister Xue, my lords, now that the emperor has passed away, the country is in great danger. I hope you will work together to protect the country of Great Qi."

"I will die first."

Xue Nanting seemed to have aged a lot at this moment.

"My lords, please stand up." Empress Dowager Xu swept her eyes over the three dukes and noticed the long sword at Li Tianrun's waist. Her eyes jumped suddenly, and then she forced herself to suppress the surging thoughts in her heart.

After everyone stood up, three famous doctors from the Imperial Hospital stepped forward and explained to them the details of the emperor's murder.

When it was confirmed that the emperor was strangled to death by several palace maids, the murderous look on Xu Zuo's face could hardly be concealed.

How insane is this?
Such behavior was almost like trampling on the face of the Great Qi Dynasty and the dignity of all the civil and military officials in the court.

Previously, they only knew that the palace maid assassinated someone late at night, but they were not aware of such details.

If the real culprit behind the scenes is not found and his bones and ashes are not destroyed, everyone will be stabbed in the back by the people of Da Qi for the rest of their lives.

Xue Nanting suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice: "The cause of his majesty's death must not be disclosed. Just say that it was stabbed by a palace maid."

Empress Dowager Xu's eyes flashed with relief, and she nodded and said, "Prime Minister Xue is absolutely right. I have strictly ordered no one to spread rumors in private. Those who discovered that the emperor was assassinated have been controlled. The palace ban will not be lifted in the short term until all the disturbances have subsided."

Although Xue Nanting knew that Empress Dowager Xu intended to take advantage of the opportunity to seize power in the harem, he did not speak out against it as the overall situation was the most important thing at the moment.

Upon seeing this, Queen Ning quietly held Li Daoming's hand tightly, feeling sad.

After a brief silence, a cold voice suddenly rang out in the hall: "Lieutenant Fengguo, why are you here?"

It was Lu Chen.

He stared indifferently at a man in the corner, murderous intent in his eyes.

In fact, several important ministers had already seen Li Zongjian when they came in. The problem was that they were ministers of the Great Qi after all, and they had to express their condolences to the murdered emperor first.

Li Zongjian choked, looking at Lu Chen's cold and sharp eyes, and subconsciously became nervous.

Queen Mother Xu turned her head and looked at Lu Chen, and said in a deep voice: "Lieutenant Fengguo is not only my son, but also the brother of the late emperor. Why can't he be here?"

Lu Chen met the Empress Dowager's unfriendly eyes and said without hesitation: "Empress Dowager, the late emperor is not without an heir. Even if there is a funeral, it is not his turn, Li Zongjian."

"you--"

Empress Dowager Xu was extremely displeased.

Lu Chen said seriously, "The late emperor was mysteriously assassinated, and the real murderer has not been caught yet. As the only brother of the late emperor, Lieutenant Fengguo will naturally be suspected by the world. Even if we take a step back, Lieutenant Fengguo appeared in the emperor's bedroom less than two hours after the late emperor passed away. Isn't the empress dowager afraid of criticism from the world?"

Empress Dowager Xu was suddenly speechless.

Throughout history, at such critical moments of imperial power change, any slight mistake could lead to results that are far off the mark.

Empress Dowager Xu has regained power in the harem today. Empress Dowager Liu is obviously not good at power struggles, and Empress Ning is of a lower generation. In addition, although Shen Yulai is loyal, he has not shown a firm enough attitude. Only then can Li Zongjian enter the palace smoothly.

"The court has its own rules and regulations, and the harem is no exception. If the Queen Mother does not want the world to talk about the reputation of the royal family, she should let the Lieutenant Fengguo abide by his duties. The more panicked people are, the more we cannot let the situation become more chaotic. I have been trusted by two generations of emperors of Da Qi, and I dare not fail to make plans for the safety of the country. I hope the Queen Mother will forgive me."

Lu Chen finished his argument with reason and then looked at the four civil officials who held great power in the court.

Xu Zuo was the first to speak: "Her Majesty, I agree with what Duke Qin said, and I think that Lieutenant Fengguo should take the initiative to imprison himself in the government office, which is the best way to take the overall situation into consideration."

Xue Nanting glanced at the noble ladies, then nodded and said, "Duke Qin and Prime Minister Xu have a point. Please ask the Queen Mother to order Lieutenant Fengguo to leave the palace immediately."

Xiao Wangzhi and Li Tianrun said in unison: "Please ask the Queen Mother to issue an order!"

Although Li Shizhi and Hu Jingwen were one step behind, they also said solemnly: "Please ask the Queen Mother to issue an order!"

Empress Dowager Xu looked at these important ministers who were working together for her. Although she now at least had control over the inside and outside of Jingren Palace and seemed to be in power, she suddenly felt dizzy and her heart was extremely weak.

Especially since even Li Shizhi started to agree with her, she couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

Even though she was the Queen Mother, she could not ignore the combined power of these eight people.

"I didn't think this through."

After a moment of silence, Empress Dowager Xu said awkwardly, "Zong Jian, you can go back."

Li Zongjian had just clearly sensed the murderous aura of these important officials, especially Lu Chen, and his legs could not help but go weak. Although he really wanted to stay in the palace, by his mother's side, and look closely at the dragon throne, he knew that if he dared to act recklessly at this moment, he might be killed by Li Tianrun, so he said timidly, "Your son obeys your order."

Xue Nanting sighed inwardly, turned to Shen Yu and said, "Shen Hou, please dispatch a team of soldiers to escort Lieutenant Fengguo back to the mansion."

Looking at the left prime minister's deep gaze, Shen Yulai understood that protection and surveillance are one and the same. This sentence obviously asked him to keep an eye on Li Zongjian in the name of protection.

He did not find it difficult, but felt relieved because someone finally helped him carry such a heavy burden.

wrong……

He glanced at Lu Chen, who was standing tall and majestic. This young Duke was the one who could make the real decision.

Shen Yulai sighed in his heart and accompanied Li Zongjian out personally.

After such a commotion, Empress Dowager Xu's face looked obviously a little ugly, and she was no longer as calm as before.

Queen Ning, who was standing at the side and behind, was still holding Prince Li Daoming's hand, but her strength had been mostly removed, and she seemed to feel a lot more relieved.

Queen Ning looked over there calmly and happened to meet Lu Chen's gaze.

For some reason, Queen Ning had a vague feeling that her thoughts had been seen through by the young Duke.

But she was not at all panicked, instead a glimmer of hope quietly emerged in her mind.

It was as if a ray of light appeared among the dark clouds that covered the sky.

(End of this chapter)