spend time

Chapter 662: Storm (I)

Cui Du had his own tasks and it was impossible for him to stay in the harem every day to show his virtue and courtesy. After two days, he returned to the imperial manor.

Empress Dowager Zheng's evaluation of Cui Du was a little too high.

As for King Ping, he now had a new brother-in-law. This was a very remarkable thing for King Ping. He was eight years old, and he could only remember the faces of less than ten people!
His favorite was his cousin Shaohua, and the one he was most familiar with was naturally his mother. He hadn't seen his mother for several days, and it felt like a big piece was missing in his life. Even though he couldn't explain it clearly, he vaguely sensed something.

That day, he cried and insisted on seeing his mother.

Eunuch Ge, with scratches all over his face, went to beg Eunuch Zhao.

In view of the fact that Eunuch Ge was usually respectful and willing to show his respect, Eunuch Zhao responded, "I will take you to see the Empress Dowager, but I cannot guarantee whether the Empress Dowager will agree or not."

Eunuch Ge bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude.

Empress Dowager Zheng was in a good mood these days, so she didn't try to stop him. She just said calmly, "Mother and son are connected by heart. If Prince Ping wants to see his mother, let him go. However, Concubine Fan is still ill, so don't stay too long, lest she get sick."

Eunuch Ge breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the Empress Dowager for her grace on behalf of his master with tears in his eyes.

Half an hour later, Prince Ping met Concubine Fan Gui, who was "confined in the palace to recuperate."

Concubine Fan Gui was thin, pale, and walked with a weak step. She looked sick. But Prince Ping was heartless and had no worries. He had gained some weight recently, his arms were chubby, and his face was round like an apple, white and rosy.

Concubine Fan Gui burst into tears and cried while hugging Prince Ping.

Eunuch Ge had to remind him in a low voice: "My Lady Concubine, His Highness Prince Ping lives in Jingyang Palace. He eats well and sleeps well every day. No one dares to bully him. The Emperor comes to pay respects to the Empress Dowager every day and is patient and gentle to His Highness. Even the Earl of Changning is very kind to His Highness. My Lady Concubine does not need to worry about His Highness."

To put it bluntly, even if Prince Ping sat on the throne, what would happen? Could we still expect Prince Ping to attend court and manage affairs? It was just an empty title.

Living a carefree life like this, with the protection of the Grand Empress Dowager and the care of Empress Zhaoping, and everyone respecting and pampering me, is already a wonderful life. What else can I ask for?
If Concubine Fan Gui could think more positively, she wouldn't be crying every day. She didn't say a word, and turned around and angrily scolded Eunuch Ge: "Stop talking!"

Eunuch Ge had no choice but to shut up.

Concubine Fan Gui cried for a long time, and Prince Ping became impatient. He pushed his crying mother away and ran out. Concubine Fan Gui wiped her tears helplessly and chased after her. Concubine Fan Gui ran out of breath, but she couldn't catch up with the running Prince Ping. Prince Ping chuckled triumphantly.

A palace servant hurried over and reported in a low voice: "Madam Concubine Dowager, General Fan has sent a letter to the palace."

Concubine Fan Gui was shocked and said without hesitation: "Present the letter immediately."

General Fan was the uncle of Concubine Fan Gui, and could be said to be Concubine Fan Gui's greatest support and backbone. Unfortunately, General Fan was far away at the border in charge of the frontier army, and the situation in the capital was turbulent and changing rapidly. General Fan was out of reach and had no time or way to get involved.

The new emperor had already ascended the throne when General Fan's first letter was delivered to the palace.

It's actually too late now.

Even if General Fan wanted to start a rebellion, it would be against the principle of justice. Moreover, General Fan had a shallow foundation in the border army. How many of the 70,000 or 80,000 border soldiers would really follow him in the rebellion? I am afraid that if he showed his dissatisfaction with the new emperor, a bunch of generals would jump out to restore order. Taking a step back, even if General Fan encouraged his men to join him in the rebellion, they would immediately become rebels. Without the capital to transport food and grass, they would have to rely on plundering the people. When would they be able to fight to the capital? The possibility of winning is not high, and the Fan family may not get much benefit. If they lose, they will be doomed.

Is an ignorant King Ping worth General Fan giving up his life and property for?
Or to put it more directly, is the Fan family willing to take this doomed dead end?

Even Eunuch Ge could see and think clearly, but Concubine Fan Gui couldn't. She opened General Fan's letter with great hope, but after reading it, she was extremely disappointed. She even threw the letter in anger, gritting her teeth and saying, "They are all spineless snobs!"

Not only did General Fan have no intention of raising an army to support Prince Ping, but in his letters he repeatedly advised Concubine Fan Gui to respect the new emperor and not to cause trouble.

After waiting for two months, this is the letter she received. The more Concubine Fan thought about it, the angrier she became. She stood up suddenly, bleeding profusely, her eyes went dark, and she fell down.

……

At this time, Jiang Shaohua was also reading General Fan's handwritten letter.

The border is a long way away, and it takes more than a month to send a letter 800 miles away. Calculating the time, General Fan should have written a letter and had it delivered to the capital as soon as he heard that Jiang Shaohua was competing for the throne.

The letter was on the road for more than half a month and was finally presented to her on the day after the emperor's enthronement ceremony.

"…The princess is a man of great talent and vision, a man of both civil and military talents, and has a broad mind. I only regret that I am far away at the border and cannot personally attend the court to support the princess' ascension to the throne!"

"By the time the princess reads this letter, I should have changed my address to the emperor. This is a blessing for Daliang, and also for the officials and the people."

General Fan expressed his position in a timely and decisive manner. He was indeed a powerful figure who was able to snatch the border troops from General Zuo that day.

Jiang Shaohua smiled and continued reading.

General Fan continued to express his loyalty in the letter, and did not hesitate to mention King Ping and his son.

Concubine Fan Gui was short-sighted, shallow and narrow-minded. General Fan begged Jiang Shaohua not to bother with an ignorant woman in the harem. He also made it clear that the Fan family had always been loyal to Daliang and would be loyal to the new emperor and would never have second thoughts.

Jiang Shaohua smiled again.

In the final analysis, it was nothing more than that King Ping was a weakling who could not afford to pay. It was not worth it for the Fan family to risk everything to fight for him. The cost was too great, and the benefits were not enough. The biggest possibility of starting a rebellion was that the Fan family would be completely wiped out.

How could General Fan, an old minister who has served in the court for decades, be willing to do such a loss-making thing?

"How many letters did General Fan send to Beijing?" Jiang Shaohua asked casually.

Song Yuan at the side responded in a low voice: "General Fan sent a total of four letters, one was presented to the Zhaohe Palace, one was delivered to Concubine Fan. The other two were delivered to the Fan family and the Zheng family respectively."

Sending it to the Fan family was probably to remind and warn the clan members not to do anything disturbing.

As for the letter sent to the Zheng family, it should have been sent to Fan Jianing.