The Guang Yan Crown Prince wanted to agree to the Uto's request for peace, causing waves in the capital. The censor's report did not change the Guang Yan's mind. The Uto envoy, who had been placed under house arrest by Emperor Wenxuan, reappeared near the palace. Although he was smiling and speaking humbly to the officials, his eyes could not hide the smugness.
After the court session, the officials all had different thoughts. Everyone hid their thoughts in the depths of their hearts. Two days had already passed. Tomorrow was the day of entering the Imperial Mausoleum. Once they entered the Imperial Mausoleum, the Crown Prince would ascend to the throne.
Just as they left Chengle Palace, they heard the sound of books in front of them. The officials looked over and saw that in the empty space in front of Chengle Palace, there were dozens of green-robed students sitting there.
These students were all sitting on the ground. The person at the front had a long beard and white hair. He wore an official's robe and was already old. He had a cold expression. It was the head of the Xianchang Dojo, Wei Xuanzhang.
Wei Xuanzhang was actually a person with real talent. However, his personality was too stubborn and he offended many people when he was young. Later on, he was sent to be the head of the Xianchang Dojo. This position was very suitable for his preaching personality. Although he did not have any real power, he had enjoyed himself these years. This time, the Guang Yan Crown Prince had agreed to the Uto's request for peace and opening a market in Da Wei. Wei Xuanzhang strongly opposed it. Apart from the censors, he was the one who wrote the most. It was just that his current official position was so low that he did not even have the qualifications for Guang Yan to take a second look at him. Those disgusting words from the bottom of his heart were just another piece of paper added to the pile of waste paper.
"Dojo Wei?" An official who knew him asked, "What are you doing here?" He then leaned closer and whispered, "Sir, quickly go back. His Highness will not change his mind now."
This was a former student who was familiar with him. He did not want to see him offend the future Emperor, so he kindly reminded him.
Wei Xuanzhang was unmoved. He only looked in the direction of Chengle Palace and said, "I am risking my life to remonstrate. I ask His Highness to retract his order and not allow the Uto to open a market in Da Wei! "
There was no movement in Chengle Palace.
The sun shone quietly on the long ground outside the palace, as if it was sprinkled with a layer of fine gold. The young students were full of vigor, and their eyes were clear and bright. The old officials were like the setting sun that was about to set, with a little bit of brilliance, standing in the spring wind.
He slowly stood up. His body, which had always been robust, was now showing signs of old age. He was staggering a little. After standing, he suddenly recited, "Qi, Qi, Qi, Qi, Manifold.. Below is He Yue, above is Ri Xin. To others, it is said to be vast and boundless, to fill the cang of the underworld … "
The students next to him paused for a moment, then followed the elderly curator and began to recite the poem.
"… The yellow road should be cleared of barbarians, Hanhe spits out the Ming Court. When times are poor, we can see it. One by one, we hang up our painting! "
.....
Wei Xuanzhang recited the Song..
In Chengle Palace, Crown Prince Guang Yan smashed the cup in his hand to the ground. "What did that old thing say outside? I'm going to chop off his head! "
His trusted aide hurriedly knelt and pulled at the corner of his robe. "Your Highness, you must not! At least not before the coronation ceremony! Wei Xuanzhang has no other crimes. He is also the owner of the Virtuous Prosperity Dojo. If he is punished lightly, I am afraid it will cause the court officials and the people to talk … "
"He is just a little teacher. If I want to kill him, I will kill him. Who dares to talk about it?" The Guang Yan was furious. "How is he not guilty? He does not put me in his eyes at all. He despises the imperial family! What is the meaning of this outside? Threatening me? What a joke! How can I be threatened by an old thing like him? Do you believe that I will immediately send people to arrest all his students? Let's see who dares to talk about this matter! "
"Yes, yes, yes." The aide wiped his sweat. "But even if you want to teach him a lesson, please be patient for a few days. This Wei Xuanzhang has a strange temperament. When His Majesty was still alive, he would often speak rudely … "
"I am not as benevolent as Imperial Father." The Guang Yan gritted his teeth. "If he thinks I will be as forgiving as Imperial Father, then he is gravely mistaken!"
"Of course." The aide hurriedly said, "But for now, it is better for Your Highness not to appear. Let him make a ruckus outside. It will not be too late for Your Highness to settle the score after the coronation ceremony. "
The Guang Yan snorted and kicked away the broken teacup lid in front of him. "Then let him live for two more days."
Outside, Wei Xuanzhang was still reciting loudly. His old and shriveled body stood straight in the wind.
"Or for the hat of Liaodong, pure and fierce ice. Or for the example of the teacher, ghosts and gods weep heroically … "
"… Or for the strike of the thief, the reverse vertical head is broken. Is the majesty of the spirit, the biting cold of eternity. "
The young students behind him followed the old teacher and recited. It was as if they were not in front of Chengle Palace, under the eyes of the court officials, but in the school of the Virtuous Prosperity Dojo, reading and listening in the spring sun.
"Looking at this, I look up to the white clouds. My heart is sad for a long time, and the heavens are in the extreme. "
"The day of the philosopher is far away, and the typical is in the past. Reading under the wind eaves, the ancient path illuminates the color."
After he finished reciting, there was no reaction at all in Chengle Palace.
Wei Xuanzhang stopped and looked at the courtiers in front of him.
The courtiers either avoided his gaze or were full of pity. Wei Xuanzhang took a step forward and walked up the stairs shakily. As he walked, he took off the official hat on his head.
His voice was steady and clear like a large bell. He only said, "As a general, I am loyal and fierce, I am proficient in the light of day, I strive for the glory of my life."
He then put down the wooden tablet in his hand. "Civil officials are not like military generals. The saints said that civil officials are moral and knowledgeable. They are precisely in their position. The civil officials are extremely beautiful and cannot be more beautiful."
He walked to the last step and slowly knelt down. He put the official hat and wooden tablet aside and looked at the empty hall of Chengle Palace. His voice was bleak but firm.
"Although this humble subject does not have the courage to fight, nor have I made any great contributions, I only have a loyal and righteous heart and am open and aboveboard. The Virtuous Prosperity Hall teaches students to read all the books of the saints. Now that I see Your Highness going astray, it is this humble subject's fault if I do not advise you. "
"Fighting to the death in martial arts, admonishing to the death in literature. Life and death are like floating clouds to me. Today, this humble subject will boldly use this humble subject's life to advise Your Highness to rein in the horse at the edge of the cliff and not make a huge mistake."
"This humble subject asks Your Highness to retract your order. Do not let Uto set foot on Da Wei's land. Do not let wolves into the house and open the door to thieves!"
After saying this, he suddenly slammed his head against the vermilion pillar in front of Chengle Palace.
Blood splattered all over the ground in a split second.
The courtiers standing at the side paused for a moment and then cried out in alarm. The students of the Virtuous Prosperity Hall rushed forward and surrounded Wei Xuanzhang in the center. The wooden table and official hat that had been put to the side were trampled into pieces in the chaos. In a split second, the front of the Chengle Palace was in a mess.
In Qinglan Palace.
Concubine Lan sat quietly and read a book. Not far from her, Noble Lady Ni looked at the smoke slowly rising from the copper cauldron with an anxious expression.
Tomorrow was the day that Emperor Wenxuan entered the imperial mausoleum and also the day that they would be buried together with him. If the Guang Yan was merciful, they would be able to have a quick death with a pot of poison. If this brat was more deliberate, they would be sealed in the imperial mausoleum and suffocated to death.
"Sister, you still have the mood to read!" Noble Lady Ni could not help but stand up and walk over to Concubine Lan and snatch the book away. "Tomorrow is the day that you and I die. I don't believe that you'll be so calm about it."
No one could disregard life and death. When Noble Lady Ni competed with Concubine Lan for favor, she thought that she would be able to replace Concubine Lan because of her youth and beauty. She did not expect that she would incur the wrath of Emperor Wenxuan. After that, Guang Ji was handed over to Concubine Lan to raise. With Guang Ji in Concubine Lan's hands, Noble Lady Ni restrained herself a lot and did not dare to go overboard. However, she was still unhappy.
Now, however, she and Concubine Lan had suddenly become burial objects together, no different from the vases that were buried with Emperor Wenxuan. Thus, all of their past grievances could be thrown to the back of their minds. At least at this moment, they were on the same side.
There were no eternal enemies in the world, and no eternal friends. Noble Lady Ni was impulsive and arrogant. After entering the palace, she did not have anyone who understood her. Now, there was no one who could give her advice. After thinking about it, the only person she could rely on was this thorn in her side from the past.
Concubine Lan raised her eyes to look at her. Her tone was as gentle as before, "Tomorrow is tomorrow. Why are you worried today?"
"Why should I worry?" Noble Lady Ni said, "Of course I'm worried! Can't you see that there is something fishy about this posthumous edict? His Majesty is usually very soft-hearted. It's fine if it's someone else, but why would he let the two of us be buried with him? I think that Guang Yan bastard is using his position to avenge private wrongs. " She looked at Concubine Lan again and said mockingly, "I know that older sister is carefree and doesn't care about life or death, but does older sister not think about the fourth prince? My Guang Ji is still so young. You and I both know what kind of personality the crown prince has. Right now, he is dealing with you and me. After the crown prince ascends the throne, it will be Guang shuo and Guang Ji's turn next. Could it be that you want to watch your son die in front of your eyes? "
Hearing this, Concubine Lan's calm expression finally changed slightly.
But before she could say anything, a palace servant rushed in from outside and whispered a few words to the servant girl guarding the door. When the servant girl heard this, she revealed a surprised expression and quickly walked over. When she arrived in front of Concubine Lan, she whispered, "Niang niang, something happened in Chengle Palace."
Concubine Lan and Noble Lady Ni both looked at her.
"It's said that Lord Wei of the Virtuous Prosperity Hall risked his life to remonstrate and asked His Majesty the crown prince to retract the decree. His Majesty didn't respond, so Lord Wei crashed his head into a pillar of Chengle Palace and died. Many officials saw it. Right now, it's a mess outside. The students of the Virtuous Prosperity Hall are unwilling to leave. "
"Remonstrance to death?" Noble Lady Ni frowned, "It's been many years since I've heard of this in the palace."
Emperor Wenxuan was soft-hearted and excessively tolerant. Out of the three memorials sent by the imperial censors, he would at least read one. There was no need to use such a drastic method. However, in this way, even if the Guang Yan ascended the throne, they would have a bad reputation for forcing an old official to die. Most of the students of the Virtuous Prosperity Hall came from noble families, and the youths were the most hot-blooded. They had personally seen the curator die. If the Guang Yan still insisted on reconciling with the Uto like they did in the beginning, it wouldn't be good if word got out inside and outside the palace.
Concubine Lan held onto the armrest of the chair and didn't say anything.
Noble Lady Ni said indifferently, "We're struggling to survive here, but someone is still rushing to die. However, that Wei Xuanzhang is already seventy or eighty years old, so it's not a loss for him to die. I haven't lived a good life for many years, so I'm not willing to die like this. "When she thought of the Guang Yan, she couldn't help but grit her teeth," Damn it! "
Concubine Lan sighed slightly, and the servant girl helped her stand up.
She walked to the window. The sun was just right outside. It was spring, and everything was thriving.
"Look, look, look a few more times." Noble Lady Ni couldn't help but sneer, "After tomorrow, you won't be able to look anymore."
"Lady Ni," Concubine Lan turned around and looked at her, "Do you want to live?"
"You know the answer."
"If you want to live." Concubine Lan's voice was gentle, and in the silence, there seemed to be a deeper meaning, "Do as I say."
He Yan drove to the Wei family as soon as he knew that Wei Xuanzhang was going to die.
The Wei family was already packed with people inside and outside, and people were still coming in. Over the years, the Virtuous Prosperity Hall had taught batch after batch of students. If Xu Jingfu's students were all over the court, Wei Xuanzhang was not inferior in nature. However, after the students left the hall, Wei Xuanzhang didn't like to interact with them too much. Therefore, just from looking at it, his status was not as respected as Xu Jingfu's.
However, now that he was using his life to remonstrate, when the former students heard the news, they rushed over from all directions to see him for the last time.
He Yan squeezed into the crowd with great difficulty and saw He Xinying supporting Madam Wei, who was about to faint from crying. When he saw He Yan, He Xinying was also stunned. When the new students came over to take care of her, He Xinying walked over and asked, "Sister He, why are you here?"
In fact, in terms of age, the current "He Yan" could not be called He Xinying's elder sister. However, He Xinying always felt that perhaps his dead elder sister was still alive, which should be He Yan's appearance, so he ignored many rules.
He Yan replied, "Mr. Wei is Huaijin's division commander. It will take some time for Huaijin to rush over from outside the city, so I came over to take a look first. Is Madam Wei alright? "
"Not very good." He Xinying shook her head. "Director Wei probably already had the intention to die. After the incident today, Madam found a few letters in the wooden drawer in his study. They were the last words for her family."
He Xinying was also very sad. Because of her elder sister, she lived in Wei Xuanzhang's residence. Wei Xuanzhang spent most of his time at the Xianchang Hall and rarely came back. He Xinying spent more time with Madam Wei. Madam Wei was gentle and didn't care about her previous identity. Who knew … that such a thing would suddenly happen.
"I heard that Director Wei wanted His Highness the Crown Prince to withdraw the order to make peace with the Uto." He Xinying asked tentatively, "Then now …"
He Yan smiled bitterly. "I'm afraid that won't do."
How could the Crown Prince, a Guang Yan, change his mind just because of Wei Xuanzhang's life? Not only would this person not feel ashamed at all, but he would also be angry that Wei Xuanzhang did not know how to appreciate favors.
Just as he was thinking, a voice came from behind him. "Sister He, why are you here?"
He Yan turned around and saw Lin Shuanghe and Yan He coming in from outside. The two of them were also students of the Xianchang Hall in the past. When they found out about this matter, they naturally rushed over without stopping.
"Didn't Huaijin come with you?" Yan He looked around.
"He's on duty today. He's training with the Nan Mansion soldiers outside the city." He Yan sighed in his heart. It was really unfortunate. If Xiao Jue happened to be present today, she might have been able to stop Wei Xuanzhang.
"Generals Yan isn't here today either?" He Yan looked at Yan He.
Yan He was furious. "If I was here, how could I let such a thing happen!"
Because Emperor Wenxuan had passed away and the Guang Yan was acting so recklessly, Yan He was also very dissatisfied. He didn't want to go to court at all and found an excuse to not be here. In any case, the Guang Yan going to court was just a pretense. Now, he was just taking advantage of the opportunity to eliminate dissidents. Who knew that when he wasn't present, something big would happen.
"I'll go see Master's wife." Lin Shuanghe walked in.
Although Wei Xuanzhang was old-fashioned and pedantic and was very strict with women, he didn't take in any concubines in his residence. All these years, he had helped Madam Wei through thick and thin. Now that Madam Wei was left alone in this world, one could imagine the blow to Madam Wei.
The young students all knelt in front of the old man's couch. On the couch, Wei Xuanzhang, whose blood had already been wiped off, was lying quietly. His official robe was crumpled, and the dirt and blood on it were mixed together, but he seemed cleaner than anyone else.
He Yan looked at him and felt extremely sad.
Although this old man used to be old-fashioned and strict in the Xianchang Hall, and the youths always secretly scolded him for being stubborn behind his back, it was also him who bravely stood up when the civil officials were all trying to protect themselves. Just as he had taught back then, "Read the books of the saints and do loyal and righteous deeds", he finished the last lesson.
Lin Shuanghe's voice sank, the corners of his eyes were not as light as before. He only said, "Mister Wei is righteous … …"
"It's useless to be righteous," Yan He sneered, "Look at that person in the palace, has there been any movement? Believe it or not, in a few days, the limelight will pass and those Uto will still appear on the streets of Shuo Jing! "
"I really don't understand," Lin Shuanghe murmured, "Why does the Crown Prince insist on doing this? Even someone like me who doesn't understand the affairs of the imperial court can see it. Those who are not of our race must have different intentions. Could it be that he can't see it?"
"It's not that he can't see it," He Yan said softly, "It's just that he has a request."
Yan He and Lin Shuanghe looked at him at the same time.
Lin Shuanghe frowned and asked, "He meimei, what do you mean by this?"
Yan He didn't ask and only looked at her thoughtfully.
He Yan thought for a moment and motioned for Yan He to go to the side. Yan He said impatiently, "If you have something to say, say it quickly. You and I have different identities. What if other people see it and gossip?"
He Yan, "… …"
He was particularly clean in this aspect. It was probably because the family rules were very strict.
If it was in the past, He Yan might tease him. But today, she really didn't have the mood to joke with Yan He. She only asked in a low voice, "Generals Yan, have you seen the Fourth Prince?"
Yan He stilled. The gaze he looked at He Yan gradually changed. After a while, he said in a low voice, "Why are you asking about this?"
"Tomorrow is the time to enter the imperial mausoleum." He Yan looked at him, "According to His Majesty's posthumous edict, Gui fei niangniang will be buried with him. How can the Fourth Prince stand by and do nothing? Plus, something happened to Mister Wei today … Generals Yan, "she asked," you should know. "
Yan He's expression changed a few times. The arrogant and impatient expression in the past disappeared and gradually became calm and cold.
He said, "Marquis Wu An, stop here. There's no need to ask anymore."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
