Yang Fan was slightly surprised by the special privilege of the Empress, but he saw a smile and kindness in Wu Zetian's eyes. The Empress, who was usually cold and stern, occasionally showed kindness. This made Yang Fan a little uncomfortable. The eunuch quickly added a mat and a table for him. Yang Fan sat down at the last seat.
Wan'er did not look at him. Everyone at the banquet was smart. If she was not careful, she would give herself away. After Yang Fan became the Commander of a Thousand Cavalry, he could walk around the palace as he pleased. He had more opportunities to meet with Wan'er in private. Naturally, he was not as hungry as he had been for a long time.
Princess Taiping, on the other hand, looked at Yang Fan with a smile. Everyone knew about the scandal between her and Yang Fan. The only one who needed to avoid it was the Emperor's son-in-law. Even if the Emperor's son-in-law saw it, he would only pretend not to see it. The banquet continued for about an hour. Wu Zetian put down her wine cup and slowly sat up.
Shangguan Fei, who was standing to the side, saw this and quickly waved her hand. The music stopped and the dancers retreated. Everyone knew that the Empress had something to say. They all stopped eating and sat up.
Wu Zetian sighed and said softly, "I am old. This empire will be handed over to you sooner or later. I hope that all the officials will continue to work together to protect the court. I hope that the Wu and Li families can live in harmony forever! "
Wan'er said, "Everything will be as the Saint wishes!"
Everyone agreed.
Wu Zetian nodded slowly. She looked at everyone and said, "Today, there are the princes of the Wu and Li families, my daughter, the Emperor's son-in-law, and the Prime Ministers. I like the happy and harmonious scene today. I hope … that you will also be like this in the future. You will share weal and woe together and protect the Zhou Dynasty that I have built with my own hands!"
Everyone left the banquet and bowed to the Emperor.
Wu Zetian gladly raised her cup and said, "Come, a full cup!"
After everyone had filled their cups with wine and raised them, Wu Zetian said emotionally, "Great Zhou is renewed and the country is stable, just like the sun rising from the east. From now on, as long as the princes and ministers follow the path that I have set, the country of Great Zhou will be protected for thousands of years!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The crowd roared in agreement. Prince Xiang, Li Dan, suddenly stepped forward and clasped his hands. "Queen Mother, a wise sage once said that the safety of a country comes first from the lineal line, and the danger of the country comes first from meritorious service. Now that the Great Zhou Country is prosperous and the four seas are at peace, the crown prince position should be passed to the mother's eldest son. Going against this, the four seas are disappointed. My son and Qilang are Empress Mother's biological sons. Qilang was the elder brother and his son was the younger brother. Qilang should be the crown prince. Qilang is benevolent, filial, dignified, and intelligent. He is the best candidate for crown prince. Your son is willing to resign from the crown prince position and asks Empress Mother to appoint Qilang as crown prince, to the Eastern Palace, to reunite the country for tens of thousands of years and to unite the four seas! "
The news of Yi Qing becoming the crown prince had long since spread. No one present was surprised, only Wu Sansi felt a little disappointed. Although he had long known that this day would come, he still couldn't help but feel dejected when he heard it for himself.
Li Xian naturally hurriedly left the banquet to decline. The two brothers pushed each other in front of the emperor, putting on a show of brotherly respect for each other. Only then did the prime ministers rush forward and unanimously approve of Yi Qing becoming the crown prince. Wu Sansi and Wu Youji also braced themselves and stood among them, saying things that they didn't mean.
Wu Zetian slowly nodded her head and cheerfully said, "There is an ancient saying: a righteous father, a benevolent mother, a friendly brother, a respectful younger brother, and a filial son. We are comforted that my son can be like this. I approve of your memorial. Your elder brother will be the crown prince. Tomorrow, he will announce it to the court and the world! "
Seeing that his mother had spoken, Li Xian stepped forward to receive the edict. This time, it had to be more solemn. He knelt in front of his mother and solemnly accepted the edict. Wu Zetian said, "As a ruler, you should respect and cultivate your moral character. You should be upright in order to control your subordinates. You should be firm in order to resolve matters. You should be bright in order to observe the minute details. If you do not slack off, the world will change and the atmosphere will be harmonious. You are the crown prince. You should study the ways of a ruler in order to strive for a prosperous country and to help the people! "
Li Xian kowtowed and said, "I sincerely obey Empress Mother's teachings!"
Wu Zetian then said to the prime ministers, "All of you, civil and military officials, are assisting officials. You should wholeheartedly and faithfully assist the ruler. The ruler has the beauty of appointing virtuous people and accepting advice. The officials have the loyalty to assist the ruler in admonishing. We should discuss the rise and fall of the rebellion, the gains and losses, so that the ruler can understand the most important things. This can serve as a warning. If the ruler is wise and the officials are good, then the country can prosper! "
All the prime ministers, princes, and even the two Zhangs knelt on the ground to accept the edict. Because Wu Zetian's first words were "all of you, civil and military officials," Yang Fan could not escape the "military" part. He could only follow the prime ministers in kneeling and kowtowing. Their solemn appearance had the aura of someone who cared about his life.
From Yang Fan's point of view, this seemingly harmonious scene of the ruler and officials choosing the crown prince was just a play. Moreover, it was a play whose ending was already known. It was very boring.
All the officials put on an impassioned appearance and cooperated with the Emperor in completing this grand play of choosing the crown prince. All the prime ministers expressed their support and praise. Tomorrow, when the court officially chose the crown prince, there would be no need to worry about any accidents. Wu Zetian, who had long felt tired, returned to the inner palace.
Once the Emperor left, how could the officials sit there and eat and drink? All the princes, princesses, and even the prime ministers dispersed. Yang Fan walked out of the Black Tortoise Gate. Ren Wei was already waiting there. Seeing him come out, he said, "This subordinate has already given the order. Tomorrow, the news will spread throughout Luoyang!"
Yang Fan smiled slightly and reminded, "It is not very useful for the people to know. It will only be useful if they want to know. If they don't want to know, then you can make a ruckus. What does it have to do with them? Let the people above know that the two Zhangs come from prestigious families and their friends are all officials. Only these people can truly influence them! "
Ren Wei's eyes revealed a smile. He nodded and said, "This subordinate understands! The reason why we have to go from the bottom to the top is to make it difficult for them to find out. "
… …
The next day, at the court assembly, a piece of news that had long been known by the court and the public was announced in a loud and heavy manner: Yi appointed the Prince of Luling, Li Xian, as the crown prince. The happiest person was probably Yi 'an Junzhu, Li Xinyu, but the most unhappy person was also her.
She was happy because she had just been demoted to a Junzhu and was immediately promoted back to a Junzhu. She was unhappy because her sisters had all been promoted to Princess while she was still a Junzhu. This made Yi 'an Junzhu, who had always liked to compare, very unhappy. However, she had just been punished. If she was directly promoted to Princess, the Emperor's lecture would become a big joke. She could only accept the fact that she was one level lower than her sisters.
The replacement of the crown prince was already known by everyone. The only difference was that no one knew when it would happen. Therefore, the news of Li Dan resigning from the crown prince position and Li Xian ascending to the crown prince position did not cause much of a stir in the court and the public. Instead, the rumor about the Shu merchants Song Basi and Long Jiutao entering the capital to befriend the two Zhangs began to spread in an orderly manner.
In the rumor that Yang Fan had inspired to spread, Song Basi, Long Jiutao, and the other Shu merchants were first described as unbearably vulgar and unceremonious nouveau riche. This was very much in line with the mentality of those who hated the rich. Then, they concocted many vile acts of preying on the common people, shorting weight, and raising prices in the process of doing business. This was also in line with the mentality of those noble scholars who had always looked down on merchants. At the same time, it aroused the hostility of the common people who had suffered at the hands of the unscrupulous merchants.
Thus, these people all joined the ranks of those who spat. This was not all. There were also some words and short stories about what Song Basi, Long Jiutao, and the others had "said" after entering the capital that mocked the people of the capital.
Of course, Song Basi and the others had not said such things, but the common people would not doubt who had been standing next to them and heard these words and knew so much. Song Basi and the others could not pull passersby to explain one by one. Once this pot of shit was put on them, Song Basi and the others immediately became the public enemies of the capital.
At that time, the regional barriers were very serious. Song Basi's "regional discrimination" speech could easily cause the local people to unite against a common enemy. Moreover, they were discriminating against the common people of the capital who had a strong sense of superiority. How could this be tolerated? For a moment, Song Basi and the others became the target of scorn. It was as if everyone wanted to beat them up. Not only did they not dare to go out, even those who spoke with a Shu accent did not dare to go out.
Soon after, there was a vague mention of the day of the banquet in the palace. They were led into the palace and the news that they were expelled by the Emperor. In this little story, Song Ba Zi and the others once again became unbearably vulgar and ignorant country bumpkins. They made a lot of jokes in the Royal Palace. How ugly they were, they became the laughingstock of the people of Jingdou.
Then, under the inquiry of some people, some well-informed people began to reveal some information. It seemed that the person who led them into the palace was the descendant of the Prime Minister, the current Fengchen Magistrate, Young Master Zhang. Some people also mentioned that it was said that these tasteless country bumpkins had given Young Master Zhang a golden bull because Young Master Zhang was born in the year of the ox.
Dirty water and ridicule began to slowly spread from Song Basi and the others to the Zhang brothers.
At the beginning, Song Basi and the others were very angry at the rumors in the capital, but they did not take it to heart. In any case, it did not affect the overall situation, so they could only comfort themselves with the words "the innocent will be innocent, the turbid will be turbid." But gradually, they found that Zhang Tongxiu and the other Zhang brothers began to alienate and ignore them. They no longer accepted their invitations, and when they came to visit, they were often "closed the door!"
They finally realized the seriousness of the problem, but it was too late to change it. The Zhang brothers were disciples of a noble family and now had power and influence. Money was just icing on the cake for them and did not have much allure. Reputation was what they wanted to have and maintain the most.
Now, the entire matter had been formed by a large amount of public opinion. Song Basi and the others were alone in a foreign land and could not defend themselves in the face of this overwhelming slander. They had already guessed that their identities had been exposed and that Xian Zong had secretly done something, but they had never dreamed that Xian Zong would use such a method.
They had spent a lot of effort and money to get close to the Zhang brothers, but before they could use this relationship at all, they had been spat out.
"Don't slack off!"
When Yang Fan heard Ren Wei's report, he imagined the anxious appearance of Song Basi and the others and couldn't help laughing. "They have failed, so they will definitely think of another way. We have to keep an even closer eye on them! I still don't know why they have come, but their goal must be their greatest weakness! "
"This subordinate understands!"
Ren Wei had just responded when the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside. Before the footsteps reached the door, the old steward's nervous voice came, "Ah Lang! Something has happened, something big has happened! "
… …
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