The bead curtain parted and cold light shot out in all directions, just like the empress dowager's bottomless eyes. The empress dowager stared coldly at Shu Wu and said each word clearly, "Shu the Scholar, lying about an edict is a great crime of deceiving the monarch!"
Shu Wu's expression changed slightly. After a moment of silence, he bowed respectfully and replied, "The Qing Kingdom has no monarch today. How could I deceive the monarch?" Facing the empress dowager, this scholar did not yield an inch.
The empress dowager extended her old hand and slowly pulled aside the bead curtain. Walking out from behind it, she stood beside the dragon chair. The Crown Prince quickly supported her.
"The Emperor was assassinated by the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, Fan Xian, in collusion with Dongyi. It happened suddenly, so how could there be a posthumous edict?" The empress dowager stared into Shu Wu's eyes and said calmly, "If there is a posthumous edict, where is it now?"
Shu Wu's heart chilled slightly. He knew that the empress dowager's words were pushing him to be involved with Fan Xian. He sighed and replied, "The posthumous edict is presently in the hands of the Duke of Danbo."
After these words were said, the court immediately burst into an uproar. At the beginning of the Crown Prince's ascension ceremony, he had already pointed out Fan Xian's crimes and directly sent him into the endless abyss. None of the officials had thought that Shu the Scholar would suddenly bring up the so-called posthumous edict. That posthumous edict was in Sir Fan junior's hands.
The empress dowager coughed and looked at Shu Wu. "Is that so? Fan Xian is a criminal who has committed the most heinous of crimes. The court has been secretly searching for him for a number of days and still doesn't know he has returned to Jingdou. How did you know about the posthumous edict? "
Shu Wu bowed to the ground and said with deep pain, "The Emperor was assassinated on Dong Mountain, and the whole world mourned. However, it was not more than half a month ago. The military and the prefectures have confirmed that it was done by the Duke of Danbo. I know the Duke of Danbo's character well. He would not dare to do such an evil thing. As for the posthumous edict, it is indeed true. I have seen it with my own eyes. "
The Crown Prince's hands were icy cold. The depths of his heart were even colder. He had never thought that his father would leave a posthumous edict before the Dong Mountain incident. He didn't even need to think to know what was written on the posthumous edict. The Crown Prince suddenly felt a glimmer of sorrow. It looked like his father truly hated him to the bone.
He was silent by the Empress Dowager's side. A bitter smile rose in his heart. He knew that his grandmother's spirit was extremely exhausted today. Otherwise, she would not have made such a miscalculation. As the revered Empress Dowager, why would she need to tangle with an old official over these details? However, the topic had already been opened. If he wanted to sit on the Dragon Throne smoothly, he had to defeat this posthumous edict that had suddenly appeared!
"Fan Xian colluded with Sigu Jian to commit this great evil."
The Crown Prince looked at the officials below and slowly said, "Fan Xian is used to putting on makeup and deceiving the world to gain fame. Scholar Shu, please do not be deceived by this kind of scoundrel. If Imperial Father really has a posthumous edict, this Imperial Consort, as his son, will certainly hope to see Imperial Father's handwriting again … "
As he spoke, the Crown Prince's voice was filled with sorrow. His subordinates comforted him, and he took the opportunity to stabilize his emotions.
The meaning of these words was clear. Something like a posthumous edict could be forged. Shu Wu, as the leader of the Hall of Governmental Affairs, how could he secretly have private dealings with Fan Xian, an imperial criminal?
The Crown Prince looked at Shu Wu and furrowed his brows. "I have always deeply respected the scholar's character, but what I have seen and heard today has disappointed me. To think that you are secretly protecting an imperial criminal. Thinking of how highly Imperial Father regarded you in the past, yet you are so muddle-headed and vicious today. I don't know how I will have the face to see my Imperial Father in the future!"
The Crown Prince's gaze gradually grew cold. A rarely seen tyrannical aura began to infect all the officials in the Hall as he spoke.
"Scholar Shu Wu colluded with an imperial criminal of the court and pretended to be the previous Emperor's edict. Someone, kick him out of the Hall. Because of his age, lock him in prison to await further trial!"
After these words were said, the entire Hall burst into an uproar. All the Qing officials knew that when it came to the struggle for imperial power, there was never any gentleness to speak of. Shu the Scholar had brought out the so-called posthumous edict with unusual tyranny. The Crown Prince would certainly choose the most ruthless method to suppress it.
However, no one was used to how the gentle Crown Prince would, in an instant, display a domineering aura so similar to that of the recently deceased Emperor.
In this moment, it was like a wooden fish had been gently struck by a wooden stick in everyone's heart, making a clacking sound.
Because of Shu Wu's sorrowful cry, the Crown Prince's process of ascending the throne was forcefully interrupted. All of the officials had already stood up. The wide sleeves of their black or white plain robes fluttered weakly. Everyone was dumbstruck. They opened their mouths and were speechless. The ripples on their sleeves rose gently.
Inside the spacious Taiji Palace, all of the officials were silent. They watched as a few eunuchs supported Shu the Scholar's arms. At the same time, they glanced out of the corner of their eyes at the indistinct figures of many people walking around. They should be the guards of the Palace, the guards with short straight knives. All of the officials knew that if they didn't handle this well, it would probably be a bloodbath in the Hall.
…
…
Shu Wu laughed bitterly and didn't struggle at all. He allowed the eunuch beside him to bind his arms. He had already done what he needed to do. If the officials in the Hall were afraid of the empress dowager's might, the Crown Prince's position, and the Eldest Princess's power and remained silent, then what could he do even if he took out the posthumous edict?
If the empress dowager said the posthumous edict was fake, who dared to say it was real?
He shook his head and glanced at the empress dowager with his old eyes. He looked at her quietly and sighed in his heart. Why did Fan Xian insist on not using the posthumous edict to contact the officials? If he had made contact last night in the officials' manors, with the Emperor's posthumous edict protecting them, these civil officials would have been more daring. They would not have sunk into loneliness like they did today.
The posthumous edict that the Qing Emperor had personally written was not thrown into a brass basin by the empress dowager and burned. What was burned was only a piece of white paper in the envelope. What was burned was the last bit of hope Shu the Scholar had for the empress dowager.
The eunuchs half supported and half escorted Shu Wu out of the Hall. Outside the Hall, guards with murderous auras were waiting.
The Crown Prince let out a slight breath. In the end, these stubborn civil officials still submitted to the might of the royal family and did not dare to be too impudent. The empress dowager's heart also calmed slightly. She hoped to quickly drag Shu Wu, the old man who did not understand the times, away and let the Crown Prince's ascension ceremony end.
Shu Wu was dragged away wretchedly. As he was dragged, the old man thought to himself that with his reputation here, he might not die immediately. However, once the Crown Prince truly sat firmly on the throne, would he be greeted with a cup of poisoned wine or a piece of white silk?
At this moment, many people heard a faint sigh.
The sigh came from the day the civil officials stood at the head of the Hall of Governmental Affairs, the originator of the Qing Kingdom's new literature movement, and Hu the Scholar who had a high reputation in court.
Hu the Scholar looked at Shu Wu and shook his head with a pained smile. He then stepped out, knelt down, kowtowed, raised his head, and opened his mouth.
"I ask the Crown Prince to take back the edict."
The officials were in an uproar.
The empress dowager's expression changed slightly. The hand hidden in her sleeve trembled slightly. She had not expected that Hu the Scholar would stand out at this time. No matter how good his personal relationship with Shu Wu was, on this sacred moment when the country was passing on its throne, this Hu the Scholar …
Hu the Scholar lowered his head. The three-inch beard on his chin was incomparably calm. "Since the Emperor has a posthumous edict, I dare ask the empress dowager to announce the Emperor's edict in the palace."
Not waiting for the empress dowager and the Crown Prince to speak, Hu the Scholar lowered his head and continued, "The Dong Mountain matter is full of doubts. If the Duke of Danbo had already returned to the capital, he should be summoned to the palace to present the so-called posthumous edict in person. The matter of treason should be investigated by the three divisions. How could it be decided carelessly by the military's intelligence? The Emperor's life and death is a matter of great importance. Up until now, we have not seen the dragon's body or heard the Tiger Guards' reports. The Overwatch Council is in chaos … "
The leader of the Qing civil officials spoke faster and faster. Even the empress dowager's cold rebuke did not stop him from speaking.
"I think the most important thing now is to find out the truth about Dong Mountain. The only one who knows the truth about Dong Mountain is the Duke of Danbo. "
"Whether the posthumous edict is real or fake, we still have to see it."
"Whether or not the Duke of Danbo should be hacked to pieces will have to be discussed after he is captured."
"I believe that capturing the Duke of Danbo and bringing him to justice is the most important matter. I sincerely ask the empress dowager to make a clear decision."
…
…
It was silent in the palace for a long time. The empress dowager looked at Hu the Scholar with an ashen face and said three times, "Good! Good! Good! Good, you Killer Hu! "
Killer Hu was the bandit title the Qing Emperor had given Hu the scholar as a reward for his upright and clear heart. The situation in the palace was dangerous. After a long silence, Hu the scholar suddenly made a clanging sound. In front of the empress dowager and the Crown Prince, he did not yield an inch. Every word and sentence stabbed at the hidden truth.
The empress dowager's eyes slowly narrowed and a cold light gradually grew. However, the Crown Prince's expression remained as calm as usual. His eyes swept down.
The Crown Prince had his own trusted aides in court. Although the officials often swung back and forth between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince because of the Eldest Princess's methods, they still stood out bravely at a time like this. The Minister of Appointments, Yan Hangshu, gazed at Hu the Scholar and said coldly, "Earlier, the empress dowager had already ordered Fan Xian to be stripped of his title and confiscated the Fan family. For you to still call him the Duke of Danbo is somewhat inappropriate. Fan Xian has committed the great crime of treason. You two scholars have not forgotten to argue for him today. I wonder if there is some unspeakable secret behind this. "
Shu Wu was at the door. He looked with shock and relief at Hu the Scholar kneeling below the dragon chair.
Hu the Scholar didn't even glance at the Minister and said with disdain, "I am an official of the Qing Kingdom and the Emperor's official. I am the head scholar of the Hall of Governmental Affairs. I handle national affairs by imperial edict. If the Emperor has a posthumous edict, I will read it. What cannot be revealed?"
The three princes in the row below the dragon chair each had complicated emotions. The Second Prince was mocking his grandmother and the Crown Prince in his heart. He thought, You have to walk the open and honorable path when it concerns the chair. No wonder you have caused so much trouble. The Great Prince, on the other hand, was silently calculating whether the posthumous edict the two scholars spoke of was true or false.
Only the youngest Third Prince lowered his head slightly and felt the hard feeling coming from his calf. His heart felt a chill. He wondered what he should do if a large group of guards charged in later. Of course, he wouldn't allow the Crown Prince to kill all of these old officials.
The Crown Prince, standing high on the dragon chair, looked coldly at Hu the Scholar kneeling below. His emotions were complicated. He thought to himself that his aunt's judgment had indeed been correct. Of the Qing Kingdom's two arms, other than the military, the civil officials always had their own brains. This brain was something the Emperor allowed them to have. At this moment, this brain was beginning to bring endless trouble to the Crown Prince's path to the throne.
Both scholars have stood out … the Crown Prince thought self-mockingly in his heart. He then coldly opened his mouth and said, "As an official, you falsified a posthumous edict. Hu the Scholar, you should also reflect on yourself."
As his words fell, another eunuch guard came forward and supported Hu the Scholar's two sides. In an instant, Taiji Palace was immediately filled with a terrified atmosphere. Two scholars of the Hall of Governmental Affairs opposed the Crown Prince's ascension. Both scholars were going to be taken into prison.
When was the last time such a situation had occurred in the history of the Qing Kingdom? No official could think of it. They only knew that these two scholars were the leaders of the civil officials. If the Crown Prince was unable to subdue them openly and could only use such violent methods to suppress them, then many problems would eventually appear.
The problem of the heart of the court.
This problem immediately appeared as Hu the Scholar was being escorted out of Taiji Palace. When Hu the Scholar and Shu the Scholar looked at each other and smiled wordlessly at the door, the civil officials who had been standing solemnly in Taiji Palace for a long time knelt down with a crash.
It was a black mass.
…
…
"Please, empress dowager, reconsider. Please, Crown Prince, reconsider."
Half of the civil officials knelt down in an instant and cried out in unison. This was no longer just pleading for mercy for the two scholars. This was already a demonstration to the grandfather and grandson on the dragon chair. It was telling the people of the Li family that in the Qing court, it was not only the two scholars who were not afraid of death. There were many other people.
The civil officials on the Eldest Princess's side and the row of military generals who had been silent all this time couldn't help but be moved when they saw this scene. They didn't understand what these civil officials kneeling on the ground were thinking. What exactly did they want? Were they really going to help Fan Xian escape punishment? Were they really going to stop the Crown Prince's ascension? Other than that mouth and that name, what other power did they have?
Looking at the black mass of officials at her feet, the empress dowager felt a wave of dizziness in her head. She could not stand stably. The Crown Prince's expression finally could no longer maintain its calm. It became gloomy. He had not thought that a posthumous edict that had not appeared in front of everyone would bring such disaster to the ascension ceremony.
Were there really people in this world who were not afraid of death? There shouldn't be. If the civil officials were all so open and candid, loyal officials who did not fear death, then what did the Qing Kingdom need the Overwatch Council for?
In this instant, the Crown Prince's thoughts were slightly dazed. He didn't understand why there were so many people opposing him. Normally, it was impossible to detect it. The officials kneeling in front of him were all of the neutral faction. Had Fan Xian cast some sorcery on them?
Kill them all?
What if he didn't?
A pent up pain between the Crown Prince's brows began to spread through his brain. He suppressed it in his heart and thought, Fan Xian, Fan Xian, looks like I still underestimated your power in Jingdou.
The empress dowager, who had already returned to her chair, cursed a name viciously in a low voice. Only then did she remind the Crown Prince that this scene of officials kneeling and remonstrating was not something Fan Xian could start.
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