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Chapter 37: Emperor Kangzhi's Death (Subscription Request)
Tang Ming also knelt aside to admit his mistake and told Mrs. An everything about the letter he had sent to Tang Zhao.

Madam Tang hadn't anticipated that the entire incident had been instigated by Tang Zhao from beginning to end. She said with disgust, "I was wrong. Since she doesn't want to acknowledge the Duke of Wei's Mansion as her family, don't blame the Duke's Mansion for being ruthless."

Tang Ming responded, and the resentment he felt at being schemed against by Tang Zhao dissipated a little.

Old Madam An turned her anger towards Tang Zhao, and seeing the mother and daughter kneeling on the ground and honestly admitting their mistakes, she felt more pleased. She took back the power of the family, and punished the two of them to be confined to their homes for three months and copy Buddhist scriptures a hundred times before sending them away.

After a day of chaos and war, the Duke of Wei's mansion finally settled down.

Inside the Bidan Courtyard of Prince Xuan's Mansion, Nanny Song was directing everyone around busily, "Put all the silks, jades, and precious jewelry sent by the Ministry of Rites in proper order. They are all gifts from the Emperor, so make sure they are not knocked or bumped."

Chunfeng personally watched the treasures being put into the warehouse and recorded them in detail.

Tang Zhao sat on the imperial concubine's couch and played with the golden seal in his hand. The four big characters "Princess Zhaoshan" were engraved on it, which looked domineering and noble.

The candlelight was reflected by the golden seal and shone directly onto Gu Ci's face.

Gu Ci turned his head to avoid the glare, "Next time before you do something earth-shattering, could you please give me a heads up in advance?" so that he could be mentally prepared.

"Okay," Tang Zhao was in a good mood and easy to talk to.

Gu Ci looked at her suspiciously, and after a moment he said, "If it happens again, I..."

Tang Zhao: "What about you?"

The man thought for a moment, then realized that he had no way to deal with her, and pursed his lips in displeasure.

Tang Zhao chuckled, "Alright, I know you're worried about me, and I'm not stupid. If I wasn't absolutely sure, how would I dare to file a complaint with the emperor?"

"I promise, next time, I will tell you in advance before I do anything!"

Gu Ci reluctantly believed her for once.

For the next few days, Tang Zhao stayed at home obediently.

"Miss, the story of you beating the drum to file a complaint to the emperor has been written into a storybook by a storyteller!" Qiuyu went out to buy it, and came back eager to share the latest news.

"What's the response?" Tang Zhao asked.

"It was quite lively, young lady, you should see it with your own eyes. It was packed with people, there wasn't even room to step in the teahouse," Qiuyu said. "The people were all on your side, cursing that Song family." She slapped her head. "Oh, no, that concubine has no surname. That concubine is nothing. Not only is she shameless herself, but she's also tarnishing the reputation of the Protector of the Nation and the Song family."

Tang Zhao shot an arrow with a smile, hitting the straw man right in the chest.

"Wow!" Qiu Yu continued while clapping, "Besides that, many people also spoke up for the stepmother."

What about the hardships of giving birth to a legitimate son, what about being gentle and virtuous and putting aside her status to personally welcome the concubine into the house, what about giving up the power of the family in order to educate the concubine's children, and how she washed away most of the dirty water.

"That's fine," Tang Zhao said, aiming at the scarecrow. "Although An Shi has the title of the principal wife and the old lady's support, she is ultimately no match for Duke Wei's partiality. Now that her reputation has greatly improved, it's good for her to fight Song Qingyan to the death."

"Miss, aren't you afraid that the An family will turn things around?"

Tang Zhao released the bowstring. "Turn over? In front of me, the original wife and the victim, she will never be able to turn over in her life."

Swoosh! The arrow pierced the scarecrow's head and stabbed into the blue bricks on the ground.

Three days later, the first spring rain fell in Luoyang. Emperor Kangzhi personally left the palace to inspect the disaster area. Seeing that the victims were busy preparing for spring plowing and the fields were thriving, the emperor's heart, which had been hanging in the balance since the snow disaster in Luoyang, finally settled down. He relaxed and fell ill when he returned to the palace.

The imperial physician stayed by the dragon bed for a day and a night before Emperor Kangzhi woke up. This cold was like the last straw that broke the camel's back. Emperor Kangzhi fell into a coma and woke up again and again.

The country could not be without a ruler for a single day. With the insistence of his ministers and the support of the Empress, the Crown Prince took charge of the government affairs temporarily. He was so busy every day that he even had to go to the Yangxin Palace to serve her medicine. In the blink of an eye, it was early summer.

The imperial physician forcibly performed acupuncture at the emperor's signal. The emperor finally regained some energy and raised his hand to wave to the prince who was kneeling on the footstool and looking at him attentively.

Emperor Kangzhi stroked the crown prince's head with his aged hand, "In the blink of an eye, you have been the crown prince for thirty years."

"Although you've done some inappropriate things over the past thirty years, overall, you haven't committed any serious offenses. You're also broad-minded and resourceful," Emperor Kangzhi said, looking at his eldest son, whom he had personally raised. "It's just that you've often been impulsive when it comes to matters in the northwest."

The prince lowered his head and said, "I know I was wrong."

"Father understands that Prince Xuan commands 300,000 Northwest Army troops. But Prince, the Northwest Army not only makes you uneasy, but also makes the Turks sleepless. No matter how you fight, the Great Yu Kingdom will always belong to the Gu royal family. But if the Turks ever arrive at the gates, the world will truly be overthrown."

"My son, I know my mistake."

"You are the crown prince, the future emperor. Prince Xuan is your brother, born of the same mother. He is your subject, your helper, and even your arm!" Although Emperor Kangzhi was seriously ill, his imperial power remained undiminished. "The emperor guards the capital, and the princes guard the frontiers. Only when the sons of the Gu royal family unite together can the Great Yu dynasty be passed down for ten thousand years!"

The prince was deeply disappointed.

"Prince Xuan is a man of deep affection. You grew up with him and have always been friendly to him. On the day he left the capital, he told me he was willing to defend the Great Yu Kingdom for his brother." Emperor Kangzhi breathed rapidly. "Do you understand what he meant?"

The Crown Prince quickly reached out to appease Emperor Kangzhi, crying, "Your Highness understands. I was blinded by my own heart and misunderstood my second brother. I swear I will never be so foolish again!"

"I'm glad you figured it out," Emperor Kangzhi said, pleased. "My son is kindhearted. I don't ask you to expand our territory. I only hope you can protect this hard-earned kingdom and safeguard this hard-earned peace. If you do that, I'll be at peace."

"Father! Father!" the prince cried bitterly, "Your Majesty, I will obey your will."

Emperor Kangzhi: "Clean up the mess and call the ministers in."

The prince finally stopped crying, tidied his appearance, and called the ministers and concubines who were kneeling outside the hall into the hall.

All ministers above the third rank were present, and the empress and concubines knelt before the dragon bed to listen to his orders.

"After my death, the crown prince will succeed me, and you will assist him."

"The minister obeys the order."

"After the great filial piety, King Xuan and his family went to their fiefdom in the northwest and were not allowed to return to the capital without an imperial decree. The same was true for the other vassal kings."

Gu Liu and Gu Ci kowtowed and accepted the order.

"The treasury is empty and people's lives are difficult. A grand funeral ceremony is unnecessary. The things I used to use during my lifetime can be buried with me. There is no need to spend more money from the treasury, and the people should not mourn excessively."

Emperor Kangzhi felt that he had explained everything he needed to, so he closed his eyes and rested.

The queen bit her lower lip hard to keep from crying.

In his dream, Emperor Kangzhi's experiences flashed through his mind one by one, and finally stopped at the northwest desert.

Song Hongcheng, wearing armor and carrying a wine jar, walked up to Emperor Kangzhi and said, "Your Majesty, I owe you some wine, and today I can finally repay you."

Emperor Kangzhi laughed, and the two of them walked away together.

The person on the dragon bed gradually stopped breathing.

"Your Majesty, you are dead!"

The first volume of Luoyang's abuse of scum ends here for the time being. The second volume will start tomorrow. Zhao Zhao is going to the northwest. I wonder what will happen.
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(End of this chapter)