When Xue Rui found out that the Emperor had fallen ill, the first thing he thought of was to inform Xue Lingnan. However, when he rushed back to the fu, the front yard steward told him that the Prime Minister had just left the residence. When asked where did he go, he couldn't answer.
He could only restrain his impatience and wait at home. At noon, the sun rose for a while before hiding in the clouds. In the afternoon, a sudden rain came and the temperature dropped.
Hōtoku held an umbrella and ran to the corridor. He breathed on his palms and wrapped his collar tightly. Without lifting the curtain to enter the room, he reported from outside the door: "Young master, I saw the Prime Minister's palanquin return to the fu."
Xue Rui who was resting on the pillow with his eyes closed suddenly sat up. He picked up his boots and was about to walk out. Baode rolled up the curtain and saw that Xue Rui was wearing thin clothes, so he hastily stopped him and said, "My lord, you don't dare to go out like this. It's freezing outside."
"Umbrella." Xue Rui took the umbrella from his hand and walked into the rain. Hōtoku was so anxious that he jumped. He didn't care about the mud on his shoes. He went into the room to grab some thick clothes and chased after him.
.....
Xue Rui found Mumei Hall. Before he reached the door, he was stopped by a servant in the corridor: "The Prime Minister has just rested and ordered that no one is allowed to enter. Please come back later." "I have an urgent matter. Move aside." "Young master, you can't."
Xue Rui pushed the servant away and walked to the door: "Grandfather, this matter is urgent."
Xue Lingnan hadn't slept at all. He had heard the movement outside and his thoughts were in chaos. He frowned and coldly said: "Come in."
Xue Rui pushed the door and entered. He saw Xue Lingnan dressed neatly and sitting at the tea table. He had come here to meditate as soon as he returned to the fu. He didn't know what trouble he had encountered.
"How could you be so rash? How many times have I taught you not to panic even if the sky falls?" Xue Lingnan glanced at Xue Rui's wet clothes in dissatisfaction.
This time Xue Rui did not listen to the lecture obediently. He closed the door and walked closer. He lowered his voice and said, "Grandson received news that the Emperor was bedridden yesterday. The Empress is in charge of the Imperial Palace. She only summoned the Great Tiandao."
Xue Ling Nansong's wrinkled eyelids trembled, but he did not show any signs of panic. He raised his head to look at him and asked, "Guess who I went to see just now?"
Xue Rui was puzzled. Just as he was pondering, he heard Xue Lingnan coldly say: "It was Count Zhong Yong. He told me privately that if the Emperor does not improve after three days, the Great Edict will follow the secret edict and announce that Ning Wang will be the governor."
Xue Rui was shocked. The situation couldn't get any worse. Historically, when the Emperor was ill, the first person to be the governor was always the Crown Prince. Even though Emperor Zhao Qing hadn't named a successor, this kind of edict was announcing to everyone that Ning Wang was the future Crown Prince, the next ruler.
"Ning Wang being the governor, are you sure it is the Emperor's will?" He was suspicious. Emperor Zhao Qing had always favoured Ning Wang, but he had never been willing to give in on the matter of naming the Crown Prince. Now that Emperor Zhao Qing had just fallen ill, the Great Edict revealed the edict for Ning Wang to be the governor. No matter how he looked at it, it was unusual.
"It can't be fake," Xue Lingnan's expression was hazy, "Even though Zhu Muzhao is a treacherous person, his loyalty to His Majesty is unquestionable. Anyone can pass a fake edict, but he can't. Even more, Celestial Commissioner isn't the only one involved in this matter. Prime Minister Yin and Duke Jing are also involved. If the three of them work together, even if Ning Wang is a pile of mud, he can hold up a wall. "
"At this point, the Empress finally can't sit still." Once Ning Wang was in power, the first to be threatened would be Empress Rui's position. Ning Wang's birth mother, Yin Shu Fei, wouldn't be willing to be under her.
Xue Rui asked: "That Zhong Yong Bo came to discuss with you because he wants to ally with the Xue family?"
Xue Lingnan snorted coldly: "Of all the imperial sons, only Jing Wang can compete with Ning Wang. Of all the officials, only this old man can compare with Yin Tian Hou. If the Empress wants to stop Ning Wang from being in power, she can only let go of the past and ally with the Xue family. Rui Ang, in order for me to interfere with Ning Wang's governance, made a verbal agreement with me. When the Emperor's illness improves, the Empress will come out and support Jing Wang to be the Crown Prince. "
"Grandfather, you can't," Xue Rui frowned: "The Emperor has already been suspicious of you before. If you come out and oppose the Imperial Decree now, I'm afraid that the day the Emperor gets better, the Xue family will face a calamity."
"There's no need for you to say it, I'm not that muddle-headed," Xue Lingnan said: "That old man Rui Ang has a good plan. He wants to pull this old man to be his spear, drawing a big pie in the sky and thinking that I will take the bait. He didn't think that if the Xue family wants to help Jing Wang fight for the throne, there's no need to ally with them."
Xue Rui's mind moved and he probed: "You are saying?"
Xue Lingnan looked at him with a deeper meaning, saying: "Are you like the rest of the world, thinking that Xiang Wang is an idle and useless person?"
For a moment, Xue Rui's mind flashed. He almost grasped the crux of the matter but his attention was captured by Xue Lingnan's next words.
"These are all old matters, there's no harm in telling you in private. The current Emperor and Xiang Wang are born from the same mother and were both raised by Empress Dowager Ren Jing. The Emperor is older by two years but isn't as intelligent as Xiang Wang. When xiandi was alive, the most favoured prince was Xiang Wang. There was another eldest son, Song Wang, who was skilled in both literature and martial arts. In comparison, the Emperor was much more mediocre. In xiandi's later years, Song Wang secretly rebelled and was sentenced to death after being exposed by Rui Ang. Then came the change of the Celestial Commissioner. Zhu Mu Zhao inherited his father's position and the Zhu family produced two Great Tidian. Finally xiandi issued an edict and the Celestial Commissioner decreed that the present Emperor was crowned Crown Prince. Two years later, xiandi passed away and the Emperor succeeded the throne, changing the era to Zhao Qing. "
Xue Lingnan narrated calmly but Xue Rui could hear some secrets from it. Firstly, the Emperor and Xiang Wang are both di sons and their ages are similar. One is mediocre while the other is intelligent. Our dynasty does not differentiate between the young and the old like the previous dynasty, but why was it the mediocre Emperor Zhao Qing who ascended to the throne?
Other than that, the Zhu family had two Great Tidian. This was unprecedented in the 300 years of history of the An dynasty. Was it intentional or a coincidence?
He vaguely felt that all this had a lot to do with his birth father, Yun Hua, stealing the 《Book of Mystery Maiden Liu Ren》.
"After the Emperor ascended the throne, Xiang Wang pleaded several times to leave the capital to guard the border but was not granted permission. He could only hide in the city. These years, he pretended to be stupid but it was only to dispel the Emperor's suspicions."
Xue Lingnan concluded, "Don't forget that your youngest aunt is the mistress of Xiang Wang Fu. Even if Xiang Wang doesn't think for himself, he has to think for the shizi. With his help, the one laughing at the end may not be Ning Wang."
Xue Rui thought in his heart but did not show it. Looking at his experienced face, he asked in a low voice, "Have you decided?"
He had decided to bring the entire Xue family to participate in this fight for the throne and support Liu Tan to take the throne.
Xue Lingnan's eyes were like torches. For the first time, he showed his burning ambition in front of him, "Ning Wang as the Crown Prince will sooner or later act against the Xue family. Rather than ending up with the destruction of the family, it is better to fight. Now, even if we don't want to fight, we have to fight."
The fight for the throne had long quietly begun.
Xue Rui looked at the high-spirited expression of the old man in front of him but felt it was slightly unfamiliar.
"That's right," Xue Lingnan suddenly changed the topic and asked, "The day before, Furen of State Wei used the refugees to escape Jing, did you have anything to do with it?"
Xue Rui denied it, "Since the last time I returned to Jing, I have not seen them."
Xue Lingnan was not suspicious. Looking at the rapid rain outside the window, he said coldly, "His Majesty mistakenly believed Zhu Muzhao's slander and forced Dongjing Wang into a corner with no other choice but to rebel. His Majesty's illness this time can be said to be adding oil to the fire. I'm afraid that Dongjing Wang will take advantage of the situation. He has at least four hundred thousand soldiers under his command. Once he moves, there will be a fierce battle with corpses everywhere."
As he spoke, he stared at Xue Rui, "Do you have a way to secretly contact Dongjing Wang?"
Xue Rui shook his head. Xue Lingnan's expression showed disappointment. His eyelids drooped as he thought for a moment before he sighed, "Actually, it is a fortunate thing for our Xue family that Furen of State Wei was able to escape."
Xue Rui was silent.
"I have told you everything that needs to be said. This old man is tired and needs to rest. Call your second uncle over tonight. Us three, grandfather and grandson, will discuss further. "
Xue Rui retreated and closed the door. Hōtoku stuck his head out from the entrance of the courtyard. Seeing him come out, he hurriedly hugged a bundle of thick clothes and ran forward.
"Young master, look at how pale your face is from the cold. Quickly put it on, quickly put it on."
Xue Rui's icy cold fingers retracted into the fluffy fur, but the chill in his heart could not subside. From the moment he understood his parentage, he decided to repay his foster father's kindness. If the Xue family needed him to help them rise to the throne, he would definitely risk his life to accompany them.
But if Xue Lingnan wanted to kill the person who broke his life and his ultimate goal was to usurp the throne, where would he go?
***
On the fifteenth of the twelfth month, the palace announced that the Emperor was ill and the court meeting was not held.
On the sixteenth of the twelfth month, the seriously ill Emperor Zhao Qing finally woke up after being unconscious for three whole days. He immediately summoned a number of officials into the palace. On the dragon couch, he publicly announced the matter of Ning Wang regaining control of the country. After that, he once again sank into a state of unconsciousness.
On the seventeenth of the twelfth month, the civil and military officials were summoned to the palace. They saw that there was another seat under the steps of the dragon chair in Tai An Hall. Just as everyone was bewildered, Ning Wang strode with his head held high and sat down on that seat. The Great Supervisor appeared to dictate the edict. Prime Minister Yin and Duke Jing also appeared to support him. They informed everyone that the Emperor was ill and had moved to the temporary palace to recuperate. From today onwards, Ning Wang would temporarily be regaining control of the country.
When this order came out, the officials in the hall were in an uproar. There was fierce opposition from a group of people on the spot. The reason was that Ning Wang was not the eldest di son, nor was he the Crown Prince. He did not have the right to take on such a great responsibility. There were also people who questioned the authenticity of this imperial edict and clamored to see the Emperor. There were even more radical people who took off their official robes and said that if the Emperor was not willing to retract the edict, they would be removed from their positions.
With this ruckus, Liu Hao's expression was certainly not good. In the past, whenever there was talk of the succession, he was the loudest voice. Who would have thought that on this day, there would be so many people who desperately opposed it.
In the end, it was the Great Supervisor who appeared and suppressed the voices of opposition. Prime Minister Yin, on the other hand, stood to the side obediently and did not interfere. He had no intention of standing up for Ning Wang. At the same time, Xue Lingnan also dutifully stood to the side, acting as a spectator. No matter how much noise they made, he did not speak.
An impromptu morning court session ended on a sour note.
Yu Shu stood in an inconspicuous corner and watched the entire process. She looked at Ning Wang who was sitting upright in the throne room. At the same time, she thought that it was bad. At the same time, she was even more certain of one thing — Yun Hua did not lie to her. Without the Book of Mystery Woman Liu Ren, there was no way for the succession of the Crown Prince.
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.
