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Chapter 547 Rumors (Part )

Emperor Taihe was furious when he heard this, and he frowned, "This is my decision, and has nothing to do with my elder sister. If anyone else talks nonsense, my mother will beat the servant who talks too much to death, so don't say these things in my ear."

Queen Mother Li did not expect her son to be so angry, and she felt aggrieved: "I am only thinking about the safety of your throne. It would be fine if you didn't appreciate it, but you blame your own mother instead."

"Now the border troops are defending Sizhou and resisting hard, while the Rouran cavalry are surrounding Sizhou and burning, killing, looting and abusing everywhere. If this continues, I don't know how many innocent people will die. Isn't the emperor heartbroken?"

Emperor Taihe looked miserable, and after a while he said, "I am heartbroken, and I hate myself for being incompetent!"

As he spoke, his body swayed.

Empress Dowager Li's expression suddenly changed. She rushed forward to support Emperor Taihe, her voice trembling: "Don't be upset. It's all my fault. I made you angry by talking too much. You should calm down quickly and don't get angry."

Emperor Taikang fainted several times, and the last time he closed his eyes forever. Emperor Taihe had the same illness as Emperor Taikang, so he should not overwork himself, and especially avoid extreme emotional ups and downs.

Emperor Taihe closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, and then opened them tiredly: "I'm fine, just need to rest for a while."

Empress Dowager Li originally wanted to apply some eye drops to Nanyang Princess Jiang Shaohua, but now she no longer had the heart to do so. She carefully helped her son sit down and asked someone to summon Doctor Ji.

Doctor Ji gave Emperor Taihe acupuncture and prescribed medicine. After drinking a bowl of black medicine, Emperor Taihe quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

However, even in his sleep, Emperor Taihe had a frown on his face, showing that he was deeply worried.

Yes, the border troops could only barely defend the city, and the surrounding counties were being slaughtered by the Rouran cavalry, so they had no time to take care of them. The people were suffering, the country was unstable, and as the emperor, there was no reason not to be anxious.

Princess Baohua was even more worried. She did not sleep well that night and had a high fever the next morning.

Jiang Wanhua and Fan Jianing, who had entered Jingyang Palace to pay their respects, immediately went to the princess's bedroom to visit her after hearing the news.

Jiang Yuehua came out with red eyes and whispered, "Your Highness is worried and sick. Her internal heat is too strong and her forehead is terribly hot. Several imperial doctors are consulting. You wait outside for a while."

Jiang Wanhua had her hair done up in a bun, and her rosy oval face exuded a newlywed charm. She said bitterly, "I don't know who is so vicious, gossiping and slandering the princess."

"Her Highness is gentle and virtuous, kind and amiable, very nice to everyone around her, and never makes enemies with anyone." Fan Jianing's eyes also turned red, and she choked up and said, "Who is fanning the flames and using such vicious words to hurt the princess?"

Fan Jianing had been the princess's tutor for several years and had a deep friendship with Princess Baohua. Now that Princess Baohua was caught up in rumors, Fan Jianing was filled with indignation.

Furthermore, the border army was not going well, and General Fan, as the commander of the border army, had to repel the Rouran cavalry. Otherwise, if the territory was lost, he would be the sinner of Daliang.

With double worries, Fan Jianing was extremely anxious.

Jiang Yuehua whispered, "This rumor also involves Princess Nanyang. It is said that Princess Nanyang was the first to stand up and insist that there could be no marriage. She instigated the emperor to drive away the Rouran envoys. This is why there was a war."

Jiang Wanhua had always disliked Jiang Shaohua, and couldn't help but spit when he heard such words: "This is simply nonsense! In my opinion, it is clear that there are villains spreading rumors to make people feel uneasy. There are also many cowards in the court, and when they see that the war is not going well, they blame this and that and shirk responsibility."

"What does this have to do with Princess Nanyang!" Fan Jianing also said: "What Princess Nanyang did was for the emperor and the stability of the court. She donated military rations and sent reinforcements. If it weren't for the Nanyang Army, the border army might not even be able to defend Sizhou. Princess Nanyang has clearly made great contributions!" Jiang Yuehua sighed: "Forget it, what's the point of us saying this. With cousin Shaohua's temper, she will definitely respond. Let's take good care of Her Royal Highness the Princess!"

……

Princess Baohua was so ill that she was bedridden.

Zheng Chen was busy for five days and reported to Emperor Taihe: "After my investigation, I found the two eunuchs and a palace maid who spread the rumor. However, I couldn't find anything further."

Emperor Taihe, who had been unable to sleep or eat for several days, had lost some weight and looked unhappy: "Just torture me!"

Zheng Chen nodded his head in agreement. As a result, after being tortured, the palace maid could not bear it and died in prison. Before the two eunuchs died, they confessed that they were instructed by Prime Minister Wang.

Prime Minister Wang was so angry that he had to submit a memorial to defend himself, and angrily accused Zheng Sheren of deliberately framing him.

The Anguo Duke faction showed no sign of weakness, and immediately submitted memorials to impeach Prime Minister Wang for disregarding the overall situation and disrupting the court for his own personal grudges. Empress Dowager Zheng once again broke into the Jinluan Palace and angrily accused Prime Minister Wang of being unworthy of being a prime minister and that he should voluntarily retire if he had any shame.

Prime Minister Wang was not afraid at all, and said coldly: "I have received great kindness from the late emperor, and I have long vowed to assist the emperor with all my strength, and to work tirelessly for Daliang until my death. Right now, the border troops are fighting against the Rouran, and as the prime minister, I cannot and dare not resign. It is the Empress Dowager who is not content with the harem and keeps interfering in the government affairs. She is too ambitious."

"Daliang is ruled by the Jiang family. Could it be that the Empress Dowager wants to let the Zheng family take over as regents and change the family name of this country?"

Even Empress Dowager Zheng could not bear such murderous words. Duke Anguo immediately knelt down and cried to the emperor about the loyalty of the Zheng family.

The factional disputes that had been suppressed for several months had suddenly reignited, and they were coming with great force, with the intention of taking advantage of the opportunity to decide the winner.

Emperor Taihe was exhausted and lost his temper in the court: "Now is the critical moment of the war, and we need the monarch and his subjects to work together to resist the foreign enemy. At this time, you are still fighting and competing with each other. I will not sit on this throne anymore, and I will give it to you."

After saying this, he turned away with a sullen face amid the frightened apologies of his ministers.

……

"As expected, it was another mess."

A few days later, the news reached Nanyang County. Jiang Shaohua, who was in the Imperial Guard Camp, sighed to Song Yuan: "The person who spread the rumor should not be Prime Minister Wang, but the Zheng family father and son."

"They want to take advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble, using Princess Baohua and me as spears to attack Prime Minister Wang."

"The Emperor already has many complaints against Prime Minister Wang, and now the conflicts are piling up deeper and deeper. One day, they will explode completely."

"Once Prime Minister Wang is overthrown, Duke Anguo will fight for the position of Prime Minister. Even if he fails, once the leader of the Prime Minister's party is replaced, their power will be greatly weakened. Then it will be the turn of the Zheng family and their son to dominate the court."

Song Yuan's eyes flashed with anger: "At this time, they still want to fight. If the border troops cannot defend Sizhou, the entire north will be trampled by the iron hooves of the Rouran."