You have truly caused me great suffering!

Bianliang, within the imperial city.

Zhao Huan looked at Wang Yin and surprisingly did not feel afraid.

He was directly assigned to the Emperor's personal guard—the Imperial City Guard—and immediately promoted to a junior officer position.

These are the emperor's personal guards, a battalion that only the emperor of the Song Dynasty can command, and they are only responsible to the emperor.

Everyone knows that Prince Chen Shao of Dai, with his powerful army, posed a great threat to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

What they didn't know was that the current emperor and the Prince of Dai were longtime pen pals.

The two corresponded very frequently, especially Zhao Huan, who would write a letter every few days.

The wording in the letter was downright nauseating.

However, Chen Shao was a kind and honest person who treated others with respect. He did not look down on him because of this, but was very polite and replied to every letter.

Sometimes it gets really annoying, so I'll just write something to get by.

Zhao Huan carefully kept these letters in his private residence.

The current emperor visits the inner palace every few days, and the Imperial Household Department all thinks he is as greedy for money as the former emperor.

Actually, this was a misunderstanding. He was simply taking stock of the valuables to see if they were enough to meet the Jurchens' peace terms.

Now, there's an additional project: rereading these letters to soothe my fears.

Over time, his fear of Chen Shao gradually decreased, and he felt more at ease.

Even if the Prince of Dai were to usurp the throne, he would not plot against me.
Before Wang Yin arrived, he hadn't expected things to turn out this way; everything suddenly became much easier.

So, the Prince of Dai had such a powerful pawn in Bianliang.
Wang Yin was speechless, but also very excited. With this inside man, what great thing couldn't be accomplished?

Following Emperor Zhao Huan's ascension to the throne, a series of actions were taken.

Rumors about his weakness are already rampant.

Everyone knows that this official has no temper.

Not to mention Zhao Ji, who always looked down on him. From the very beginning, Zhao Huan was suppressed by him to no end.

In the past, he deliberately cultivated a son named Zhao Kai to annoy the Crown Prince. He was kind and gentle to Zhao Kai, but cold and indifferent to him.

It was simply because they feared that the courtiers would surround the crown prince and gradually erode his power.

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) valued imperial power very much.

To be fair, although the emperors of the Song Dynasty varied in ability, they all had a heart set on making the country strong.

Everyone wants to make a name for themselves.

Only Zhao Ji held onto imperial power solely for his own enjoyment.

Now, seeing his power seized by a group of treacherous officials, and being imprisoned in Genyue living a very "hard" life, Zhao Ji felt that life was worse than death.

In fact, what he considered to be a life of hardship was simply that he couldn't afford to squander money; Zhao Huan did not cut off his supplies.

Emperor Huizong of Tang also frequently sent eunuchs to persecute merchants in Bianliang City. They often broke into merchants' shops to rob them, and there were even cases of people being killed.

Early this morning, Zhao Huan, who had always been very tolerant of the Emperor Emeritus, suddenly issued an edict prohibiting the eunuchs of the Inner Palace from harassing the people of the capital.

However, no one took it seriously, assuming it was just an idea suggested to the emperor by Li Gang, Wu Min, and others.

Seemingly deliberately provoking his son, the next day several groups of eunuchs robbed the people of their property in Bianjing.

Normally, the government offices in Bianliang would turn a blind eye to such things, and whoever got involved would be considered unlucky.

Any resistance would result in a severe beating.

In Bianliang, people avoided these eunuchs like the plague, and countless families were ruined and destroyed because of them.

But today, people were lying in ambush early on, watching them from the moment they came out.

Shao Chengzhang personally led a team and captured a group of eunuchs who were forcibly seizing silk in front of a clothing store.

The group remained completely calm, sneering, "This is for the Emperor Emeritus. Are you trying to bully him?"

"His Majesty has just issued an edict." Shao Chengzhang was about to start cursing, but the eunuchs, as if they had received a promise, completely ignored him. Not only did they not beg for mercy, they interrupted him, saying, "Even if it is His Majesty, he is still the son of the Retired Emperor. Do you want to make His Majesty unfilial?"

After he finished speaking, he was still smug, but Shao Chengzhang was genuinely wary.

It's very difficult to strike the right balance in this kind of situation.

If one is not careful, it could really leave a stain on the official's reputation.

But before he could speak, there was a sudden thud, and the young eunuch who had spoken knelt on the ground.

Behind him, the guard with the knife sheathed it, stepped on the base of his neck, and cursed, "Shut up!"

After saying that, he ignored Shao Chengzhang and directly grabbed the four eunuchs and took them outside.

Bianliang was densely populated, and a large crowd had already gathered to watch the spectacle.

The guards from the Imperial City Guard forced the eunuchs to the center of the crowd and shouted, "His Majesty has decreed that palace servants from the Palace Eunuchs' Office are strictly prohibited from disturbing the people. These few knowingly violated this decree, which is a crime of deceiving the Emperor and deserves death! By imperial decree, they are to be beheaded as a warning to others!"

After saying that, he drew his sword, and several guards together swiftly brought the sword down, and a head fell to the ground.

Shao Chengzhang and his eunuchs were stunned.

Looking at these guards from the Imperial City Guard again, something seemed off about them as well.
Shao Chengzhang suddenly realized that the Imperial City Guards were all selected from the sons of local nobles and relatives in Bianliang, but these men spoke with a Guanzhong accent. They were definitely not from Tokyo!
But this was personally delivered to his people by the emperor that morning.
Shao Chengzhang felt a chill run down his spine. When he looked at the heads and heard the cheers and applause of the people, he stood there stunned.

Day two.

Inside the Daqing Hall, Zhao Huan summoned his ministers, intending to take them to Genyue to pay homage to the retired emperor.

The ministers were all confused, only having heard that the Emperor had issued an edict yesterday to execute several of the retired Emperor's men.

At this point, the task is probably to have everyone come up with an idea to apologize to the Emperor Emeritus.

The usually timid emperor suddenly made some outrageous moves, which actually pleased everyone.

Everyone was afraid that the retired emperor would once again seize control of the government.

The Song Dynasty can no longer withstand his wrath.

Thinking that since he had already embarrassed him, it wouldn't matter if he apologized now.

Now everyone knows that the current emperor is not a completely weak ruler. You, the retired emperor, should not go too far in the future.

Inside the imperial carriage, Zhao Huan's fingers trembled slightly. He glanced at the figures among the guards and suddenly felt a surge of courage.

He swallowed hard, closed his eyes slightly, and began to conserve his energy.

In the palace of Genyue, Lin Qiaonu sat languidly in front of her dressing table, surrounded by palace maids who flitted about like butterflies. Behind her, four palace maids held hair oil, perfume, and various grooming tools, while one of them combed her hair with a rhinoceros horn comb.

Before Zhao Ji abdicated, he was just a Zhaoyi (a high-ranking concubine), yet he still has this kind of pomp and circumstance now.

It is clear that Zhao Huan did not make things difficult for his father.

Or dare not.

Emperor Huizong sat blankly on the dragon bed, not even glancing at his concubine.

He never imagined that his cowardly son would actually dare to kill someone.

He felt that someone must have instigated it, or even that someone had kidnapped Zhao Huan.

Could this person then directly attack him?
Zhao Ji felt a pang of fear.

Just then, a palace attendant rushed in, saying that the Emperor had arrived, accompanied by many officials.

Zhao Ji was even more frightened. The eunuch, who was Wu Min's man, quickly comforted him, saying, "It seems that His Majesty has come to apologize."

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) was then somewhat relieved.

If Zhao Huan has truly come to apologize, then he is still his cowardly son, and there is no need to fear him.

What happened yesterday was probably just the arrogant behavior of those below.

He held on to his last breath and led his men into the hall where he was to meet his ministers.

At this time, Zhao Huan was already waiting there with some of the more important officials in the court.

Upon seeing him enter, the ministers all bowed in greeting.

Emperor Huizong's face was ashen as he secretly observed his son's actions. He saw Zhao Huan also bow, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, no longer feeling fearful.

She had even started thinking about how to scold her son later.

As Zhao Huan stood up, he suddenly exclaimed, "Father, please have some self-respect!"

This shout came suddenly, and one could clearly feel Zhao Huan's excitement; his voice trembled and was high-pitched.

Everyone was stunned.

"What time is it now! The nation is in peril! Because of your poor judgment of people and your extravagant lifestyle, the government has fallen into disarray, officials have become corrupt, and the people are exhausted!"

"The Jin army marched south, bringing devastation and suffering to the people!"

"Father, you have caused such a great disaster, yet in the end you issue an edict of self-reproach and pass the throne to your son. For the sake of our ancestors' legacy, your son has devoted himself wholeheartedly, the ministers have worked diligently, and the generals have risked their lives to drive the Tartars out!"

"It's only been a few days, Father, how could you revert to your old ways and send people to harm the people of the capital!"

"Isn't this just a relapse of an old illness!"

As Zhao Huan continued cursing, he suddenly felt enlightened and relaxed, as if he had finally coughed up a phlegm that he had been holding in for over twenty years.

Overjoyed, he gradually forgot his limits and began to use increasingly harsh words.

Finally, his face turned red, and his voice, no longer high-pitched but even somewhat clear and resonant, said, "I hope that Father Emperor will prioritize the ancestral legacy and not ruin it for himself!"

After saying this, he left behind a group of stunned ministers and returned to his imperial carriage.

With his back against the imperial carriage, he repaid all the grievances he had held for over twenty years in one go.

Two lines of clear tears slid down his cheeks. He raised his head slightly and opened his eyes, and the world seemed a little brighter.

Zhao Huan felt as if he had been reborn and lived a new life.

Back in the capital, in his private quarters, he guarded the mountains of gold, silver, and jade artifacts.

There was only one official from the Imperial City Guard in the room, Wang Yin, who came from Taiyuan.

"Officer Wang, if you hadn't been here, I truly wouldn't have dared to speak my mind!" (End of Chapter)