The prince is more stable

Chapter 630 The Deposed Empress Becomes a Nun
The father and son had no taboo topics when they talked; they could talk about anything.

From the day Zhao Xiaoqian was born, the fates of father and son were inextricably linked.

Zhao Xiaoqian knew that Zhao Hao was doing something mysterious, something that seemed outrageous now, but in a few years, it might be in accordance with the will of Heaven.

Treason?
No, this is not true. This is an internal matter of the Zhao imperial family of the Great Song Dynasty. Just like in the Tang Dynasty, there is no such thing as the eldest son succession system. Instead, there is the Xuanwu Gate succession system, where whoever is capable takes over.

"Father, be careful in everything you do. After losing his son, the Emperor seems to have changed his mind. You must be even more cautious. In everything you do, make sure to erase your own traces first, and never leave any handle for others to use against you," Zhao Xiaoqian earnestly instructed.

Zhao Hao laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm an expert at this. To outsiders, I'm just an old playboy who walks dogs, fights cocks, and plays with crickets. Nobody will even look at me."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at Huang Chenxiang, who was bound in the distance, and said, "Huang Chenxiang, you can take him away. Consider today as me leading the Imperial Guards out of the city for a hunt, and I didn't do anything."

After the father and son finished talking, they walked side by side toward Chen Shou and the others.

Zhao Xiaoqian gave Huang Chenxiang a deep look, then waved his hand: "Hand this man over to my father to take away."

Chen Shou was taken aback upon hearing this, but he said nothing and handed Huang Chenxiang over to the man in black who had come with Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao and the others led Huang Chenxiang away, while Zhao Xiaoqian stood still, quietly watching their figures disappear.

After a long silence, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly said, "Prefect Chen, aren't you going to ask why you handed the man over to my father?"

Chen Shou grinned: "They're all father and son, it doesn't matter who takes them away."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him and said, "Tell the brothers that we went out of the city today for a hunt. You guys go and hunt some game nearby to make it look like we're doing nothing else, and we certainly didn't capture any Huang Chenxiang alive."

Chen Shou agreed without saying a word.

Zhao Xiaoqian asked curiously, "Aren't you going to ask why?"

Chen Shoudao said, "Your Highness's orders must have their reasons. I am just a rough man, so I will do whatever you say."

"What if I'm doing something shameful?"

"This humble general will accompany you in your shameful acts. If Your Highness wishes to kill someone, this humble general will hand you the knife," Chen Shou said frankly.

Zhao Xiaoqian patted Chen Shou's shoulder hard and said with a smile, "Good brother, I've always trusted you with my back to him all these years. You've put my mind at ease."

Chen Shou lowered his head and said softly, "This humble general doesn't understand those grand principles of loyalty to the emperor and serving the country. Whoever is good to me, I will serve them with my life, that's all."

Turning around to look at the hundred or so Imperial Guards behind him, Chen Shou said, "We brothers have followed you for many years, fought alongside you on the battlefield, and killed the Liao and Western Xia people. Every time you personally lead the army into battle, we brothers are by your side. Our loyalty to you is as clear as day."

"I swear on the ancestral tablets of my Chen family that nothing will be heard of what happened today."

Zhao Xiaoqian stared intently at him. The act of handing Huang Chenxiang over to Zhao Hao just now might have made Chen Shou vaguely realize something.

And Chen Shou made his choice.

The imperial guards under Chen Shouhe were not under the jurisdiction of the Prince of Chu's residence; they were controlled by the Imperial Guards of Bianjing.

However, over the years of protecting Zhao Xiaoqian in his campaigns, Chen Shou and the Imperial Guards had long been loyal to Zhao Xiaoqian. This bond of life and death was something that could not be bought with mountains of gold and silver.

Today, Zhao Xiaoqian dared to hand over Huang Chenxiang to Zhao Hao in front of them, which shows his trust in Chen Shou and the others. Zhao Xiaoqian believes that they will not betray him.

After a long while, Zhao Xiaoqian laughed and said, "Let's go back to the city. The brothers have worked hard today, so I have to show my appreciation. Chen Shou will arrange for everyone to take turns on leave. Go to the accounting office and get twenty taels of silver each. You can drink or play with girls, whatever you want."

The Imperial Guards behind him cheered and thanked him, praising the young master for his bravery. They said he had only been on a small mission and fired a few shots at a group of men in black of unknown origin, and yet he had received twenty taels of silver for nothing. Where else could one find such a good deal?
…………

In the imperial court, rumors of the empress's deposition grew increasingly rampant.

No, it's no longer a rumor, but an undeniable fact.

Zhang Dun was ordered to investigate the case of Empress Meng opening a ritual altar in the palace to seek talismanic water. The Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate, and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs assisted in the investigation. Within a few days, more than 300 eunuchs and palace maids were arrested, imprisoned, and interrogated.

As the matter escalated, the Empress, despite being the most powerful woman in the country, was powerless against the crushing force of the state apparatus. She had no chance to argue and could only passively allow Zhang Dun to take away all the palace servants who served her.

If the court officials still couldn't sense anything from such a commotion, they would be idiots.

Clearly, the Emperor has already decided to depose the Empress and has already taken action.

It must be said that the Empress had quite a lot of influence. The Prime Minister personally handled the matter, and the four officials of the court assisted in the process. Overnight, the Empress's palace was emptied, all the palace servants were taken away, and only Empress Meng was left alone in the palace, grieving and weeping.

The old faction in the court was in a panic, and Empress Meng was their last remaining representative.

Although this empress never participated in court politics, her stance was inherently aligned with the old party, which was indelible, given that she was betrothed to the emperor by the Empress Dowager.

As a result, the old faction submitted memorials one after another, pleading for the innocence of Empress Meng. They also stated sternly that an empress should not be deposed or installed lightly, as this would shake the foundation of the country, cause unrest among the people, lead to suspicion among the subjects, and damage the prestige of the imperial family.

Unfortunately, most of the positions and strongholds in the court have now been occupied by the new party, leaving the old party weak and powerless. Apart from submitting memorials to remonstrate and arguing in court, they are powerless to change anything.

Zhang Dun was very proactive in deposing the empress. He regarded anything related to the old party as an irreconcilable enemy, and the empress was no exception. The process of deposing the empress went smoothly until Empress Meng made a huge mistake: she actually set up an altar in her palace and prayed for talismanic water.

This fact is something she can't clear her name even if she jumps into the Yellow River.

However, in reality, Empress Meng set up the altar because the young prince was ill; she was praying for blessings, not cursing him.

But now that things have come to this point, who cares why she opened the altar in the first place?
Regardless of her original intentions, Zhang Dun concluded that the Empress was practicing witchcraft and sorcery.

After seeing Zhang Dun's conclusion, Empress Meng finally gave up and stopped struggling.

When the emperor is determined to depose the empress, who in the world can stop him?
Empress Meng then submitted a memorial to Emperor Zhao Xu, in which she still insisted on not admitting guilt and expressed her innocence. However, since their marriage was over, Empress Meng requested to be deposed and asked the Emperor to banish her from the palace, wishing to become a commoner and never set foot in the palace again.

The Empress's memorial was immediately shown to the court by Zhang Dun.

The day after the memorial was submitted, Zhao Xu approved it.

At the Empress's request, Empress Meng was immediately deposed, banished from the palace, and moved to Yaohua Palace to become a nun. The Empress herself bestowed upon Empress Meng the title "Yuqing Miaojing Immortal Master" and the Dharma name "Chongzhen".

After years of being estranged, Zhao Xu deposed Empress Meng without the slightest hesitation.

However, Zhao Xu still retained a sliver of kindness. In the imperial edict deposing the empress, he did not link the death of the young prince to Empress Meng, but only said that the empress practiced witchcraft and sorcery, disturbing the harem.

In the end, Zhao Xu managed to preserve a shred of innocence for Empress Meng.

On a clear morning in the first month of the third year of the Shaosheng era, Empress Meng rode in a carriage and left Yanfu Palace, where she had lived for five years.

After five years of marriage, they ended up becoming bitter enemies and going their separate ways.

Sitting in the swaying carriage, Empress Meng lifted the curtain and looked back at the palace that was gradually receding into the distance. In front of the carriage, the imperial street was sunny and clear, with a constant flow of carriages and people.

Empress Meng's feelings, suppressed for five years, suddenly brightened up, much like the weather. A long-lost smile even appeared on her lips.

She suddenly realized that leaving the palace was the end of her life as empress, but also a new beginning.

Should I be happy?
of course.

…………

After a heated debate in the imperial court, and some old-fashioned officials offering tearful advice, Zhao Xu remained steadfast in his resolve.

Once the imperial edict deposing the empress was issued, there was no possibility of it being changed.

The Prince of Suining's Mansion in Bianjing.

The Prince's Mansion paid no attention to the uproar surrounding the deposition of the empress.

Zhao Ji was now concerned with something else, something that made him extremely angry and uneasy.

None of the men sent to silence Huang Chenxiang the day before yesterday have returned; clearly, something has happened.

Yesterday morning, Emperor Huizong was somewhat uneasy, so he sent people to investigate the area near the cliff again. Today, news finally arrived.

More than a dozen people died, and their bodies were buried in the grass by the cliff. Clearly, the killers were very professional, not only killing but also burying the bodies.

The men sent to examine the corpses found that they had all been killed by firearms, and apart from the fatal wounds from the iron balls fired by the firearms, there were no sword or knife wounds on their bodies.

This result greatly angered Emperor Huizong of Song.

Firearms remained top secret in the Song Dynasty. Apart from being issued to the three armies in Bianjing, no civil or military officials in the court were allowed to be equipped with them. Even inquiring about firearms was a serious crime.

The only exception in the entire capital was the Prince of Chu's residence.

Zhao Xu once issued a special decree allowing the Chu Prince's guards to be equipped with firearms, including the guards accompanying Prince Zhao Hao of Chu and the guards accompanying Prince Zhao Xiaoqian, the son of Prince Zhao Hao of Chu. They could legally and legitimately be equipped with firearms.

No one objected to this special decree, because it was common knowledge that firearms were invented by Zhao Xiaoqian, so there was no reason not to equip him with them for self-defense.

In other words, it can be basically confirmed that the people who killed more than a dozen men in black were the Imperial Guards under Zhao Xiaoqian's command.

This result infuriated Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji).

It's Zhao Xiaoqian again!
When he was sent to guard the border, Emperor Huizong and he kept to themselves. However, once he returned to Bianjing, he still opposed him.

The dozen or so men in black were dead, so be it. They were all assassins anyway, so Zhao Ji wasn't worried about them leaking any secrets. But what terrified Zhao Ji even more was that Huang Chenxiang had disappeared.

If nothing unexpected happens, it should fall into Zhao Xiaoqian's hands.

(End of this chapter)